Side by side
Vanilla Forums vs XenForo
Both stand on discussion forum software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Paid
Visit Vanilla Forums Paid APISelf-hostedWeb
XenForo provides forum software with broad content, moderation, security, and extension features. Buyers can choose managed cloud plans with stated limits or a one-time self-hosted license requiring their own infrastructure.
Visit XenForoThe facts
| Vanilla Forums | XenForo | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Not published | No |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Not published | API, Self-hosted, Web |
| Lowest paid plan | Not published | XenForo Cloud Starter: $60 a month |
| Plans published | None | 5 |
| Maker | Higher Logic | Not published |
| Website | higherlogic.com | xenforo.com |
| On discussion forum software | #16 of 16 | #12 of 16 |
Vanilla Forums: what it does well
XenForo: what it does well
- Supports forums, Q&A, suggestions, and articles
- Rich editor with Markdown and BB code
- Bulk moderation and approval queues
- REST API and add-on framework
- Cloud plans include SSL and DDoS protection
What to know first
- No free plan
- Self-hosted license excludes hosting and management
- Cloud page-view and storage limits apply
Alternatives to Vanilla Forums Alternatives to XenForo The whole list