SMF vs Lainchan
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?
SMF
Simple Machines Forum community bulletin board
VS
Lainchan
Image board engine forked from vichan
| Feature | SMF | Lainchan |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Forums & Community | Forums & Community |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Tinyboard |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 745 | ★ 594 |
| First released | 2004 | 2014 |
| Replaces | vBulletin, phpBB | 4chan-style boards |
Why pick each one
Choose Lainchan if…
- Released under the Tinyboard license
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is SMF or Lainchan better?
SMF is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Lainchan if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are SMF and Lainchan free and open-source?
Yes. SMF is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Lainchan under Tinyboard. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run SMF and Lainchan with Docker?
SMF: yes. Lainchan: check the project docs for container support.