MyBB vs SMF
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted forums & community options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
MyBB
Free and extensible community forum software
VS
SMF
Simple Machines Forum community bulletin board
| Feature | MyBB | SMF |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Forums & Community | Forums & Community |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,232 | ★ 745 |
| First released | 2005 | 2004 |
| Replaces | vBulletin, phpBB | vBulletin, phpBB |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is MyBB or SMF better?
Neither is universally better. MyBB has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are MyBB and SMF free and open-source?
Yes. MyBB is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and SMF under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MyBB and SMF with Docker?
MyBB: yes. SMF: yes.