MyBB vs Mouthful
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
Mouthful
Lightweight self-hosted commenting engine
| Feature | MyBB | Mouthful |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Forums & Community | Forums & Community |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,232 | ★ 774 |
| First released | 2005 | 2018 |
| Replaces | vBulletin, phpBB | Disqus |
Why pick each one
Choose Mouthful if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is MyBB or Mouthful 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 Mouthful free and open-source?
Yes. MyBB is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and Mouthful under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MyBB and Mouthful with Docker?
MyBB: yes. Mouthful: yes.