Flarum vs phpBB
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Flarum | phpBB |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 82 · Excellent |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,751 | ★ 2,097 |
| First released | 2015 | 2000 |
| Replaces | phpBB, vBulletin | vBulletin, Discourse |
What are Flarum and phpBB?
Flarum
Flarum is a free, open-source forum software designed to be simple, fast, and elegant. It uses a single-page interface with an extension system for adding features.
- Single-page reactive UI
- Extension marketplace
- Mobile-friendly design
- Tag-based organization
phpBB
phpBB is a long-standing, free, open-source forum software written in PHP. It offers a comprehensive bulletin board with permissions, styles, and a large library of extensions.
- Mature bulletin board
- Granular permission system
- Styles and extensions
- Large community support
Flarum vs phpBB: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Flarum versus GPL-2.0 for phpBB. PhpBB is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Flarum. PhpBB is the more established project (first released 2000), while Flarum arrived in 2015. Flarum has the considerably larger community, at 6,751 GitHub stars versus 2,097. Flarum lists first-class Docker deployment; phpBB does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Flarum if…
- Fast and clean interface
- Easy to extend
Watch out for
- Smaller core feature set
- Relies on extensions for parity
Choose phpBB if…
- Runs on basic shared hosting
- Decades of stability
Watch out for
- Dated default look
- Traditional page-load UI
Frequently asked questions
Is Flarum or phpBB better?
Neither is universally better. Flarum has the larger community, while phpBB is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Flarum and phpBB free and open-source?
Yes. Flarum is licensed under MIT and phpBB under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Flarum and phpBB with Docker?
Flarum: yes. phpBB: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Flarum or phpBB?
phpBB has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Flarum. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.