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Flarum vs Simple Machines Forum (2026): which should you pick?

As of Nov 13, 2026, Flarum and Simple Machines Forum share a 2.0 GPA, both are free, so the choice depends on which features you need.

Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA

They get the same grade on all five counts.

Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.

Flarum

Free open-source forum software you host yourself

Free
Full detailsflarum.org

Simple Machines Forum

Free open-source community forum software (SMF)

Free
Full detailssimplemachines.org

Which one is for you

Pick Flarum if

  • Fits if you can run a server and want a forum you control
  • Works for communities that want extensions and themes

Look elsewhere if

  • Skip it if you can't manage PHP, a database and SSH access
  • Not for you if you want courses, memberships or payments, as it has none
  • Watch out: support comes from the volunteer community forum, not a paid vendor
  • Watch out: no official migration tool, only the third-party Nitro Porter

Pick Simple Machines Forum if

  • Fits if you can host a PHP forum yourself
  • Works for people who want a BSD-licensed forum

Look elsewhere if

  • Not for you if you want hosting included, as the project does not offer hosted plans on the pages read
  • Tight if you need paid support, as help is a community forum and wiki
  • Watch out: the project's own site could not be read, so details come from its GitHub repository

How we grade them

2.0GPAFlarumFair2.0GPASimple Machines ForumFair
Value for money
CFree software, but only if you host it yourself, and hosting is your cost. That puts it in the middle for value.
CThe software is free but you pay for hosting and run it yourself, which keeps it at the ordinary grade.
Free plan and trial
BThe whole software is free under the MIT license. You pay only for hosting.
BFree and open source with no caps, though you provide the server.
Features
CForums with groups, permissions, extensions, themes and notifications. It does that smaller job fully, and has no courses, memberships or payments.
CThe listing shows a basic forum with a wiki and community forum for help, but little about its features.
Ease of use
DIt needs PHP 8.3 or newer, a database and SSH access, which rules out much shared hosting. No store rating is on record.
DNo store rating on record, and it must be installed and maintained on your own server.
Platforms and integrations
CWeb only, with no integrations listed on the vendor pages.
CWeb only, and no integrations are listed.
Best fora free forum you host yourselffree BSD-licensed forum software

The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Flarum and Simple Machines Forum. How we grade

Price against what you get

Flarum has no paid plan and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Simple Machines Forum has no paid plan and scores 1.7.

On this chart the two sit in the same place: the same score for the same starting price. Of the other course and community platforms on the chart, none scores higher than Flarum for less, and none scores higher than Simple Machines Forum for less.

Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged

D1.0C2.0B3.0A4.0Free$5$10$20$50$100$200$500$1kMore for lessCosts more, scores moreCosts less, scores lessCosts more, scores lessFlarumSimple Machines Forum

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

  • The best score at each price
  • Has a free plan
  • No free plan
The full chart of course and community platforms, and the best at every price

Where they differ

    In commonFree planWebOpen sourceSelf-hostableCommunity

    At a glance

    FlarumSimple Machines Forum
    PricingFreeFree
    Starts atFreeFree
    Free planThe whole software is free under the MIT license; you pay only for your own hosting.The software is free and open source under a BSD 3-clause license; you pay only for your own web hosting.
    Free trialNone listedNone listed
    Web
    Made byFlarum FoundationSimple Machines
    Price read fromdocs.flarum.orggithub.com
    CheckedNov 13, 2026Nov 13, 2026

    Worth knowing

    Flarum

    • You run it yourself: the installer needs PHP 8.3 or newer, a supported database and SSH access, which rules out much shared hosting.
    • No official migration tool; the docs point to Nitro Porter, a third-party import and export tool.
    • It has no courses, memberships or payment features, only forums.
    • Support comes from the volunteer community forum rather than a paid vendor.

    Simple Machines Forum

    • You install and maintain it yourself; the project's site does not offer hosted plans on the pages read.
    • The project's own website could not be read during research, so details come from its GitHub repository.
    • Support comes from the project's community forum and wiki.

    Key features

    Flarum

    Groups and permissions
    Assign permissions to groups, control member access across categories, and use built-in moderation and flagging.
    Extensions
    Hundreds of community-built extensions add features, and bundled ones include Tags, Messages, Realtime, Statistics and Markdown.
    Themes and styling
    Change the look through admin settings, install themes, or add custom CSS that applies across the whole forum.
    Editors
    Supports lightweight Markdown editors and full WYSIWYG editors, depending on the extensions you install.
    Notifications
    In-browser notifications and email digests, with real-time updates available through the bundled Realtime extension.
    Choice of database
    Flarum 2.0 runs on MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite or PostgreSQL, and search can be swapped to another engine through search drivers.

    Simple Machines Forum

    Open-source license
    The software is licensed under the BSD 3-clause license, and its development repository is public on GitHub.
    PHP with MySQL or PostgreSQL
    The project's repository lists PHP, MySQL and PostgreSQL as its stack, so it runs on common shared and virtual hosting.
    Quick setup
    The project says you can set up your own online community within minutes of getting the software.
    Project wiki and forum
    The project runs a community forum and a wiki for documentation and help.

    Plans

    Flarum

    • Flarum$0

      Free MIT-licensed software that you install and run on your own server.

    Simple Machines Forum

    • SMF$0

      Free download. You host and maintain it yourself.

    Common questions

    Which is cheaper, Flarum or Simple Machines Forum?

    As of Nov 13, 2026, both Flarum and Simple Machines Forum are free to use.

    Which has a free plan, Flarum or Simple Machines Forum?

    As of Nov 13, 2026, both Flarum and Simple Machines Forum have a free plan.

    More comparisons

    How this page was made

    • The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
    • The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
    • Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
    • The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.
    How we review and grade