Simple Machines Forum

Free, professional-grade software for running your own online community

About Simple Machines Forum

Simple Machines Forum, known as SMF, is a free forum software package written in PHP that lets you set up and run an online community in minutes. It includes discussion boards, member management, moderation tools, permissions, themes and a package manager for modifications, all through a web administration panel. It suits hobby groups, support communities and organisations that want a classic, self-hosted discussion forum they fully control on their own server.

Simple Machines Forum website preview

Homepage preview of Simple Machines Forum

Live preview of simplemachines.org via the WordPress mShots service — it can take a few seconds to generate on a first visit.

Simple Machines Forum: strengths & things to check

Strengths

Completely free to use — this directory lists no paid plan for it.
Covers forum, community, php, open source, self hosted — see the focus areas listed in its key facts.
Has 6 close alternatives in the same category on this page, so switching or comparing is easy.

Things to check

Free tools can change their model or shut down — avoid locking critical work into it without an export path.
Current plan prices are not listed here (they change too often to print reliably) — confirm the exact price on the official site.
It is one of 565 tools in the Communication & Collaboration category here — compare it against the alternatives below before you commit.

Derived from this listing's own data (pricing model, focus areas and category) — not a hands-on review score.

Simple Machines Forum pricing

Pricing model	Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.
Free access	Yes — fully free
Current plan prices	Listed on the official site — prices change, so this directory links out instead of printing a number that may already be stale.
Official site	simplemachines.org

Simple Machines Forum key facts

Category: Communication & Collaboration
Pricing: Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.
Focus areas: forum, community, php, open source, self hosted
Official site: simplemachines.org

Simple Machines Forum FAQ

How much does Simple Machines Forum cost?

Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it. Current plans and prices are listed on the official site (simplemachines.org).

What is Simple Machines Forum used for?

Free, professional-grade software for running your own online community Its focus areas in the Communication & Collaboration category: forum, community, php, open source, self hosted.

Where can I try Simple Machines Forum?

On its official site, simplemachines.org — the Visit Official Site button above goes straight there.

Simple Machines Forum vs alternatives

	Simple Machines Forum	Misago	b1gMail	Elgg
Pricing	Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.	Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.	Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.	Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.
Focus areas	forum, community, php, open source, self hosted	forum, open source, self hosted, community	webmail, self hosted, php, open source	social network, community, self hosted, open source
Official site	simplemachines.org	misago-project.org	b1gmail.eu	elgg.org
Directory status	Listed	Listed	Listed	Listed

Side-by-side from each listing's own directory data. Full alternative cards are below.

About the Communication & Collaboration category

Chat, video meetings, and messaging apps that keep teams connected. The Communication & Collaboration category on Tools Hub currently lists 565 tools. Alongside Simple Machines Forum, it includes FreeScout, mailcow: dockerized, FreeSWITCH, Yarn.social.

FreeCommunication & Collaborationforumcommunityphpopen-sourceself-hosted

Alternatives to Simple Machines Forum

Tools in the same Communication & Collaboration category that share focus areas with Simple Machines Forum — worth comparing before you commit:

Communication & Collaboration

Misago

Complete, featured and modern forum solution

Freeforumopen-sourceself-hostedcommunity

Communication & Collaboration

b1gMail

Self-hosted webmail solution that runs on ordinary PHP webspace

Freewebmailself-hostedphpopen-source

Communication & Collaboration

Elgg

Open source social networking engine and framework

Freesocial-networkcommunityself-hostedopen-source

Communication & Collaboration

MyBB

Free and open source forum software for online communities.

Freeforumscommunityopen-sourceself-hosted

Communication & Collaboration

OSSN

Open source social network software you can self-host

Freesocial-networkcommunityself-hostedopen-source

Communication & Collaboration

phpBB

The most widely used open-source bulletin board system in the world

Freeforumbulletin-boardcommunityphp

More in Communication & Collaboration

Comparing tools in the Communication & Collaboration category? These related listings are worth a look: FreeScout — Free self-hosted help desk and shared mailbox for support teams; mailcow: dockerized — The mailserver suite with the 'moo'; FreeSWITCH — Open-source telephony platform for real-time voice and video.