Flarum vs PunBB
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 | PunBB |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Networks | Forums & Community |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,739 | ★ 197 |
| First released | 2015 | 2003 |
| Replaces | phpBB, vBulletin | phpBB |
Why pick each one
Choose PunBB if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Flarum or PunBB better?
Neither is universally better. Flarum has the larger community, while PunBB is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Flarum and PunBB free and open-source?
Yes. Flarum is licensed under MIT and PunBB under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Flarum and PunBB with Docker?
Flarum: yes. PunBB: check the project docs for container support.