SHSelfHostIndex

SMF vs lemmyBB

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?
SM SMF Simple Machines Forum community bulletin board VS LE lemmyBB Forum-style web front-end for the Lemmy backend
FeatureSMFlemmyBB
CategoryForums & CommunitySocial Networks
LicenseBSD-3-ClauseAGPL-3.0
LanguagePHPJavaScript
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM256 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 745★ 199
First released20042023
ReplacesvBulletin, phpBBReddit, phpBB

Why pick each one

Choose SMF if…

  • Reliable and well established
  • No licensing fees
SMF details

Choose lemmyBB if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in JavaScript
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
lemmyBB details

Frequently asked questions

Is SMF or lemmyBB better?

SMF is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider lemmyBB if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are SMF and lemmyBB free and open-source?

Yes. SMF is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and lemmyBB under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run SMF and lemmyBB with Docker?

SMF: yes. lemmyBB: yes.

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