ElkArte vs Laravel.io
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted forums & community options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | ElkArte | Laravel.io |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 56 · Fair | 68 · Good |
| Category | Forums & Community | Forums & Community |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 188 | ★ 2,501 |
| First released | 2013 | 2014 |
| Replaces | SMF, phpBB, vBulletin | phpBB |
What are ElkArte and Laravel.io?
ElkArte
ElkArte is a modern, free, and open-source community forum platform derived from SMF. It emphasizes a clean interface, drag-and-drop posting features, and a flexible permission system.
- Drag-and-drop attachments
- Granular permissions
- Mention and notification system
- Theme support
Laravel.io
Laravel.io is a clean, modern discussion forum built with the Laravel PHP framework, offering threads, tags, and user reputation. It is the software that powers the official Laravel community forum.
- Built on Laravel
- Threads and tags
- Developer friendly
- Powers the laravel.io community
ElkArte vs Laravel.io: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for ElkArte versus MIT for Laravel.io. Laravel.io has the considerably larger community, at 2,501 GitHub stars versus 188.
Why pick each one
Choose ElkArte if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Laravel.io if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (2.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is ElkArte or Laravel.io better?
Neither is universally better. Laravel.io has the larger community, while ElkArte is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are ElkArte and Laravel.io free and open-source?
Yes. ElkArte is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Laravel.io under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ElkArte and Laravel.io with Docker?
ElkArte: check the project docs for container support. Laravel.io: check the project docs for container support.