phpBB mChat vs Spectrum
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?
phpBB mChat
Shoutbox extension for phpBB forums
VS
Spectrum
Open-source platform for building online communities
| Feature | phpBB mChat | Spectrum |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Forums & Community | Forums & Community |
| License | GPL-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14 | ★ 10,837 |
| First released | 2014 | 2017 |
| Replaces | vBulletin chatbox | Discord, Discourse |
Why pick each one
Choose phpBB mChat if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose Spectrum if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 10.8k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is phpBB mChat or Spectrum better?
Neither is universally better. Spectrum has the larger community, while phpBB mChat is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are phpBB mChat and Spectrum free and open-source?
Yes. phpBB mChat is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Spectrum under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run phpBB mChat and Spectrum with Docker?
phpBB mChat: check the project docs for container support. Spectrum: yes.