--- title: MyBB canonical: https://saasranked.com/software/mybb/ category: Customer Community Software points: 47 rank: 7 of 8 facts_checked: 2026-10-09 --- # MyBB Free, open-source PHP forum software with a plugin system, run on your own server. 47 points out of 100. #7 of 8 customer community platforms. Vendor: MyBB Group. Website: https://www.mybb.com/ - The software is free to download and licensed under LGPL-3.0 [1][3]. - Version 1.8.41 is listed as the latest download, dated 16 September 2026 [2]. - First posts from new members can go to a review queue before they appear [5]. - Two-factor sign-in is available, but only for administrator accounts [8]. - MyBB's published pages name no single sign-on, public API, webhooks or SOC 2 report [1][10][11]. Verdict: MyBB suits teams that can run their own PHP server and want a free forum with group permissions, bans, spam tools and a plugin system [1][5][6][7]. MyBB's published pages describe no hosted plan, so you install and host it yourself [2][12]. The documentation names no single sign-on, API, integrations or compliance reports [10][11]. Best for: Teams with their own web host who want a free forum with built-in moderation tools. ## Points | Criterion | Line | Value | Points | Note | |---|---|---|---|---| | Price | Free plan | Not published | 0/6 | MyBB is software you download and run yourself; the home and download pages describe no hosted plan, so a free hosted plan is not published [1][2]. | | Price | Cheapest paid plan with a custom domain | $0 | 12/12 | No hosted plan is described; the software is free to download under LGPL-3.0, so counted as $0 [1][2][3]. | | Members and access | Unlimited members | Yes | 6/6 | Self-hosted software; the requirements page mentions no member or user limit [4]. | | Members and access | Custom domain | Yes | 3/3 | You upload it to your own web server and set your own forum URL in the install guide [12]. | | Members and access | Single sign-on | Not published | 0/10 | Not published on the vendor's home page, docs index or administration docs [1][10][11]. | | Members and access | Groups with their own permissions | Yes | 4/4 | Permissions are set per user group, globally and for individual forums [7]. | | Moderation and answers | Moderation tools | Approve before posting, Ban or suspend members, Spam or word filters | 6/8 | First posts can be held for review; accounts, IPs and emails can be banned; CAPTCHA and StopForumSpam checks exist [5][6]. | | Moderation and answers | Accepted answers | Not published | 0/5 | Not published on the vendor's home page or documentation index [1][10]. | | Connections | Named integrations | Not published | 0/8 | Not published: Slack, Salesforce, Zendesk and HubSpot are not named on MyBB's home page or docs index [1][10]. | | Connections | Public API | Not published | 0/8 | Not published on the vendor's docs index, which lists plugin hooks but no API reference [10]. | | Connections | Webhooks | Not published | 0/3 | Not published on the vendor's docs index or home page [1][10]. | | Your data | Export your community data | Yes | 6/6 | Admin panel backups offer a download of selected database tables [9]. | | Your data | Open source | Yes | 4/4 | Repository and README state GNU LGPL v3 [3]. | | Your data | Self-hosting | Yes | 3/3 | Download page offers the .zip; the install guide covers uploading to your own web server [2][12]. | | Security | SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001 | Not published | 0/8 | Not published on the vendor's home page, docs index or GitHub page [1][3][10]. | | Security | Written uptime guarantee | Not published | 0/3 | Not published on the vendor's home page or docs; no hosted service is described [1][10]. | | Security | Two-factor sign-in | Yes | 3/3 | Admins can turn on two-factor sign-in; the docs say it is only for administrator accounts [8]. | ## Plans | Plan | Price | Per month (USD) | |---|---|---| | MyBB (self-hosted) | Free [1][2][3] | $0 | MyBB lists no hosted or paid plans; the site offers downloads and donations [1]. ## Strengths - Free and open source under LGPL-3.0 [3]. - Permissions can be set for each user group, globally and per forum [7]. - Spam controls include CAPTCHA, StopForumSpam checks and review of first posts [5]. - Admins can download a database backup from the admin panel [9]. ## Limits - No hosted plan is described, so you need your own server [1][4]. - Two-factor sign-in is limited to administrator accounts [8]. - The documentation index lists no REST API, webhooks or single sign-on [10]. - The spam page describes no word filter [5]. ## Sources 1. [MyBB: free and open source forum software](https://www.mybb.com/), MyBB, accessed 2026-10-09 2. [Download MyBB](https://www.mybb.com/download/), MyBB, accessed 2026-10-09 3. [mybb/mybb](https://github.com/mybb/mybb), GitHub, accessed 2026-10-09 4. [Requirements](https://docs.mybb.com/1.8/install/requirements/), MyBB Docs, accessed 2026-10-09 5. [Spam](https://docs.mybb.com/1.8/administration/spam/), MyBB Docs, accessed 2026-10-09 6. [Banning](https://docs.mybb.com/1.8/administration/banning/), MyBB Docs, accessed 2026-10-09 7. [Permissions](https://docs.mybb.com/1.8/development/permissions/), MyBB Docs, accessed 2026-10-09 8. [Using Two-Factor Authentication with MyBB](https://docs.mybb.com/1.8/administration/security/2fa/), MyBB Docs, accessed 2026-10-09 9. [Backups](https://docs.mybb.com/1.8/administration/backups/), MyBB Docs, accessed 2026-10-09 10. [MyBB documentation index](https://docs.mybb.com/contents/), MyBB Docs, accessed 2026-10-09 11. [Administration](https://docs.mybb.com/1.8/administration/), MyBB Docs, accessed 2026-10-09 12. [Installation](https://docs.mybb.com/1.8/install/), MyBB Docs, accessed 2026-10-09