Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Discourse VS PHPBack

Compare Discourse VS PHPBack and see what are their differences

Discourse logo Discourse

Discourse is an open source discussion platform built for the next decade of the Internet.

PHPBack logo PHPBack

Open source customer feedback software
  • Discourse Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-13
  • PHPBack Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-16

Discourse features and specs

  • Modern Interface
    Discourse provides a clean, intuitive, and responsive user interface that works well on both desktops and mobile devices.
  • Open Source
    Discourse is open source software, allowing for customization, self-hosting, and community contributions, which can reduce costs and increase flexibility.
  • Rich Features
    The platform includes a variety of built-in features such as threaded replies, real-time notifications, and community moderation tools.
  • Scalability
    Discourse is designed to handle small communities as well as large, active forums, making it suitable for a variety of use cases.
  • Security
    Regular updates and a dedicated security team help keep the software secure against vulnerabilities.
  • Integration and APIs
    Discourse offers extensive APIs and integrates well with various other services and plugins, facilitating seamless extensions and automation.

Possible disadvantages of Discourse

  • Resource Intensive
    Discourse can be resource-heavy, which may require significant server capacity and maintenance, especially for large communities.
  • Hosting Costs
    While you can self-host Discourse, the server and maintenance costs can be high. Managed hosting plans provided by Discourse can also be expensive.
  • Complex Setup
    Installing and configuring Discourse can be complex, particularly for those without technical expertise in server management and Ruby on Rails.
  • Learning Curve
    Users and administrators might face a steeper learning curve compared to more traditional forum software due to its modern interface and extensive features.
  • Limited Built-in Themes
    The default theme options are somewhat limited, and extensive customization requires knowledge of front-end development.
  • Dependency on PostgreSQL and Redis
    Discourse relies on PostgreSQL for its database and Redis for caching, which might complicate setup and maintenance compared to solutions that use simpler database architectures.

PHPBack features and specs

  • Open Source
    PHPBack is open source software, which means it can be freely used, modified, and distributed. This allows for extensive customization and community involvement.
  • User Feedback Management
    Designed to collect and manage user feedback efficiently, PHPBack helps in gathering user input for product improvements and feature requests.
  • Easy Installation
    PHPBack has a straightforward installation process, enabling users to quickly set it up and start managing feedback with minimal technical knowledge.
  • Multilingual Support
    The application supports multiple languages, making it accessible to a global user base and enhancing user engagement from different regions.
  • Simple Interface
    PHPBack offers a clean and simple user interface, which makes it easy for users to navigate and manage tasks without being overwhelmed by complexity.

Possible disadvantages of PHPBack

  • Limited Features
    Compared to more comprehensive feedback management tools, PHPBack offers a relatively limited set of features, which might not suffice for larger organizations with complex needs.
  • Dependence on PHP Environment
    As a PHP-based application, it requires a PHP-compatible environment, which might limit its use in organizations using different technology stacks.
  • Lack of Advanced Integrations
    While it does the basics well, PHPBack may lack advanced integrations with other tools and platforms, potentially limiting its utility in an integrated tech ecosystem.
  • Community Support
    Being an open-source project, high-level support and regular updates rely on community involvement, which might not be as consistent as commercially-backed software.
  • Security Concerns
    As with many open-source projects, security updates and patches might not be as frequent, posing potential security risks if not monitored closely.

Discourse videos

Why We Chose The Discourse Platform For Our Forums

More videos:

  • Review - Why Discourse is the Best Forum Software Out There (No, Really) | Location Rebel
  • Review - A Grammar Review for Discourse Analysis

PHPBack videos

No PHPBack videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Discourse and PHPBack)
Forums And Forum Software
Help Desk
0 0%
100% 100
Forums
96 96%
4% 4
Community Platform
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Discourse and PHPBack

Discourse Reviews

20 Telegram Alternatives to Chat With in 2024
Discourse is a basic forum function that could be an alternative to Telegram if you want to stick to text discussions. It's pretty analog, missing both video and livestreaming tools. Instead, Discourse is a basic community that lets you organize discussions--it feels a bit like having your own reddit or Quora.
18 Best Discord Alternatives 2020 | Expert Reviews
Discourse comes in a couple of flavours. You can self-host it yourself in which case the software is free, and you simply need to sign up for server space, or you can pay Discourse for a hosted-for-you option, though self-hosting is a lot cheaper the premium option takes care of the technical side.
IndieHackers: Best forum software
I used Flarum when trying to get a community set up for my product (ended up abandoning it to revisit when we have a larger customer base). It worked fairly well and I enjoyed it but it's definitely beta and unless you're fairly tech savvy it's not quite worth the setup / maintenance. Lots of config changes, crashes, huge issues with plugins, and some features missing. I'd...

PHPBack Reviews

We have no reviews of PHPBack yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Discourse seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 23 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Discourse mentions (23)

  • Qilin: A Starter Project Template For Every Open Source Project
    GitHub Discussions can also be a great place for support as long as these are regularly monitored. Another option along the same lines is Discourse and the Open Source Matrix which is used by quite a few Open Source and community-based projects. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: How to run an old-school mailing list?
    A lot of communities use [Discourse ](https://discourse.org). [LPSF](https://forum lpsf.org) migrated to it when Yahoo Groups was discontinued. Some of the advantages are that it's open source, self-hostable, and can be configured to work as both a traditional mailing list and modern forum. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • My Fediverse use – I'm hosting everything myself – PeerTube, Mastodon and Lemmy
    More like https://discourse.org/. You can run it yourself, but I can also just have them ding a credit card every month and not think about it again (I do this for a community). - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Reddit faces content quality concerns after its Great Mod Purge
    Discourse perhaps? I've seen it in use in a few places; it has a modern look and feel to it at least. https://discourse.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • So Long, Twitter and Reddit
    I fully agree with you see my comment here[0] -- I think you may have misread my comment, it says "Discourse" (as in the forum software[1]), not Discord. [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37245220. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
View more

PHPBack mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of PHPBack yet. Tracking of PHPBack recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Discourse and PHPBack, you can also consider the following products

Flarum - Flarum is the next-generation forum software that makes online discussion fun. It's simple, fast, and free.

UseResponse - Open-source, self-hosted customer feedback software, live chat and helpdesk system that you can install on your server. Organize documentation using knowledge base and get feedback from social networks with centralized system

Vanilla Forums - Build an engaging community forum using Vanilla's modern cloud forum software.

phpBB - Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi is a cheap, credit-card sized computer. The official website uses phpBB for their discussion forums. phpBB is not affiliated with nor responsible for any of the sites listed on the showcase.

Freshdesk - Freshdesk is a cloud-based customer support software that lets you support customers through traditional channels like phone and email, social channels like Facebook and Twitter, and your own branded community

XenForo - Intuitive. Social. Engaging. Fast. XenForo brings a fresh outlook to forum software.