MyBB vs Vanilla Forums
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?
MyBB
Free and extensible community forum software
VS
Vanilla Forums
Open-source community forum software
| Feature | MyBB | Vanilla Forums |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Forums & Community | Social Networks |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,232 | ★ 2,800 |
| First released | 2005 | 2009 |
| Replaces | vBulletin, phpBB | phpBB, Discourse |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is MyBB or Vanilla Forums better?
Neither is universally better. Vanilla Forums has the larger community, while MyBB is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are MyBB and Vanilla Forums free and open-source?
Yes. MyBB is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and Vanilla Forums under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MyBB and Vanilla Forums with Docker?
MyBB: yes. Vanilla Forums: yes.