Flarum vs Phorum
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
| Feature | Flarum | Phorum |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Forums & Community |
| License | MIT | PHP-3.01 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,739 | ★ 67 |
| First released | 2015 | 1998 |
| Replaces | phpBB, vBulletin | phpBB |
Why pick each one
Choose Phorum if…
- Released under the PHP-3.01 license
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Flarum or Phorum better?
Neither is universally better. Flarum has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Flarum and Phorum free and open-source?
Yes. Flarum is licensed under MIT and Phorum under PHP-3.01. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Flarum and Phorum with Docker?
Flarum: yes. Phorum: check the project docs for container support.