Best XenForo Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 platforms from online community platforms ranked against XenForo on the same published basis.
- 1XenForo vs HumHub
- 2XenForo vs NodeBB
- 3XenForo vs Open Social
- 4XenForo vs Circle
- 5XenForo vs Discourse
- 6XenForo vs phpBB
- 7XenForo vs Archive of Our Own
- 8XenForo vs Daisie
- 9XenForo vs Fora
- 10XenForo vs Geneva
- 11XenForo vs Heartbeat
- 12XenForo vs Lobsters
- 13XenForo vs Mighty Networks
- 14XenForo vs Bettermode
- 15XenForo vs Crowdstack
- 16XenForo vs Forums.net
- 17XenForo vs Higher Logic Vanilla
- 18XenForo vs Hivebrite
- 19XenForo vs Invision Community
- 20XenForo vs Nodyx
XenForo alternatives compared
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HumHub | 7.3 | Free plan | — | Android, API, iOS, self-hosted, Web |
| 2 | NodeBB | 7.3 | Free plan | $20/mo | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 3 | Open Social | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Android, API, iOS, self-hosted, Web |
| 4 | Circle | 6.7 | No | $89/mo | Android, API, iOS, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 5 | Discourse | 5.9 | Free plan | $100/mo | self-hosted |
| 6 | phpBB | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | self-hosted, Web |
| 7 | Archive of Our Own | 5.7 | Free plan | Free | Web |
| 8 | Daisie | 5.7 | Free plan | Free | iOS, Web |
| 9 | Fora | 5.7 | Free plan | Free | Web |
| 10 | Geneva | 5.4 | Free plan | Free | Web, iOS, Android |
| 11 | Heartbeat | 5.4 | No | $19/mo | Android, iOS |
| 12 | Lobsters | 5.3 | No | — | Web |
| 13 | Mighty Networks | 5.3 | No | $79/mo | Android, iOS, Web |
| 14 | Bettermode | 5.2 | No | $399/mo | Web |
| 15 | Crowdstack | 5.2 | No | $999/mo | Web |
| 16 | Forums.net | 5.2 | No | $49.99/mo | Android, iOS, Web |
| 17 | Higher Logic Vanilla | 5.2 | No | — | — |
| 18 | Hivebrite | 5.2 | No | — | Web, iOS, Android |
| 19 | Invision Community | 5.2 | No | — | Web, iOS, Android |
| 20 | Nodyx | 5.2 | No | — | Web, Linux, Windows, Mac |
Make your platform an alternative to XenForo
See the priceThe sponsored alternative slot on this page is labelled Sponsored.
Questions about XenForo alternatives
What is the best alternative to XenForo?
HumHub, number 1 in online community platforms with a score of 7.3 out of 10. The others here: NodeBB, Open Social, Circle and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to XenForo?
HumHub is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 9 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it.