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phpBB

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Free, open source bulletin board software for self hosted discussion forums.

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  • Deployment On Premises
  • Starting price Free
  • Free trial Not offered
  • Best for Freelancers, Startups, SMEs

What is phpBB?

phpBB is free and open source forum software released under the GNU General Public License, meaning there is no license fee to download, install or run it. It supports multiple database engines including MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLite and Oracle, offers hierarchical subforums, topic split, merge and lock tools, user groups and permissions, and full text search, and can be extended through a marketplace of community built extensions and styles.

Because phpBB is self hosted, the only real cost is web hosting, which typically ranges from a few dollars to around twenty dollars a month for shared or VPS plans, or more for larger managed or cloud hosting. The software is UTF-8 based for multilingual communities and includes mobile friendly responsive templates out of the box.

Key Features of phpBB

phpBB lists 10 documented features, including Free and open source under GPL license, Support for MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, SQLite and Oracle and Hierarchical subforums and flat topic structure. The list below covers what the product does rather than how it is marketed.

  • Free and open source under GPL license
  • Support for MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, SQLite and Oracle
  • Hierarchical subforums and flat topic structure
  • Topic split, merge and lock moderation tools
  • User groups and granular permissions
  • Full text search
  • Extensions and styles marketplace
  • UTF-8 multilingual support
  • Mobile friendly responsive design
  • Email, Jabber and ATOM feed notifications

phpBB Pricing

phpBB lists one plan, at Free.

Open Source

Free

Self hosted, unlimited

Request pricing

GPL licensed forum software, free to download and self host; only cost is your own web hosting

phpBB Specifications

phpBB is available on web app. It has a free plan.

Deployment
  • On Premises
Billing cycle
Onetime
Desktop
  • Web App
Languages
  • English
Built for
  • Freelancers
  • Startups
  • SMEs
  • Agencies
  • Enterprises
Public API
No
Free trial
No
Free plan
Yes
Runs in browser
Yes
Customisable
Yes
Website
phpbb.com

phpBB Videos

phpBB Screenshots

phpBB screenshot 1

phpBB Reviews

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phpBB FAQs

Yes, phpBB is free and open source software with no licensing fees. The only expense is the web hosting you choose to run it on.

phpBB itself is self hosted software; various third party hosting providers offer managed phpBB hosting, but phpBB does not sell its own hosted SaaS plan.

Yes, phpBB supports custom styles, themes and a large marketplace of community built extensions to add or change functionality.

phpBB supports MySQL, MariaDB, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, SQLite and Oracle Database.

Yes, phpBB includes responsive, mobile friendly templates so forums work across devices without a dedicated app.