Choosing a WordPress forum plugin
Pick a forum plugin that still works at scale
Six questions to ask any forum plugin, how Jetonomy, bbPress, wpForo and Asgaros compare, and a free plugin you can test today.
Before you install anything
Six questions to ask any forum plugin
A forum with fifty posts and one with fifty thousand face different problems. Put these to every plugin on your list, including this one.
-
Stay fast at 100,000 posts
How Jetonomy answers
Forums slow down when every list counts rows on page load. Jetonomy uses indexed tables and stored counters.
Built for 100,000+ posts -
Keep spam out without a full-time moderator
How Jetonomy answers
Akismet checks posts and replies from members. New accounts start at trust level 0 with rate limits. Flags land in one queue.
Akismet + trust levels -
Help people find the answer
How Jetonomy answers
Search-as-you-type full-text search and tag pages. Q&A spaces mark the accepted answer, so the next visitor sees it first.
FULLTEXT search + tags -
Belong to your site, not bolt onto it
How Jetonomy answers
The frontend runs on the WordPress Interactivity API and picks up your theme. Override any template from your theme.
Template overrides + RTL -
Decide who can read and post
How Jetonomy answers
Each space is open, request-to-join or invite-only. Gate spaces by MemberPress or Paid Memberships Pro level in the free plugin.
3 join policies -
Bring members back
How Jetonomy answers
An in-app bell with unread count, immediate email notifications and per-user preferences. Members hear about replies without checking in.
Bell + email
Jetonomy, bbPress, wpForo and Asgaros side by side
Competitor figures come from each plugin's wordpress.org listing and documentation, checked on September 17, 2026.
| Jetonomy Free | bbPress Free | wpForo Free + add-ons | Asgaros Forum Free | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latest release | 1.9.7 | 2.6.17 (Sep 16, 2026) | 3.1.5 (Aug 16, 2026) | 3.4.0 (Mar 21, 2026) |
| Active installs on wordpress.org | Download from Wbcom | 100,000+ | 20,000+ | 10,000+ |
| Where posts are stored | 22 dedicated tables | WordPress post types | Its own tables | Its own tables |
| Spam defences | Akismet, trust levels, flag queue | Akismet | Antispam, Akismet, reCAPTCHA | Approval, banning, reporting |
| Member standing | Reputation + trust levels 0 to 5 | Roles from Keymaster to Blocked | Reputation and badges | Moderators and usergroups |
| Fitting your theme | Template overrides in your theme | Theme compatibility API | 5 layouts, color settings | Customizable responsive theme |
All four are maintained and free to start. Pick Jetonomy when you expect heavy growth, want trust-level moderation, or need Q&A and Ideas beside the forum. Its importer brings bbPress, wpForo and Asgaros content across.
Which option fits your situation
- A small forum inside a WordPress sitebbPress is actively maintained (2.6.17, September 2026) and stays close to core. Jetonomy imports it if you outgrow it.
- A forum that wants ready-made layoutswpForo ships five layouts, including Q&A, plus reputation and badges. Jetonomy imports wpForo when you want trust levels and Ideas spaces.
- Polls and reactions without payingAsgaros Forum includes polls, reactions and usergroups in its free plugin. In Jetonomy, polls and reactions are part of Pro.
- A community headed for six-figure post countsJetonomy keeps posts in 22 dedicated tables with indexes and stored counters, built for 100,000+ posts.
- A support site or course communityQ&A spaces with accepted answers and Ideas boards with a status column sit next to your forums in one plugin.
- An app, headless frontend or AI agentJetonomy exposes 86 REST routes, 19 WordPress Abilities, 225 hooks and WP-CLI. Pro extensions add routes of their own.
Already picked one? Jetonomy can import it
The importers ship with the free plugin and run in batches with a progress bar. If the tab closes, the import resumes from the last finished batch. Old forum URLs are not redirected, so plan redirects for pages that rank.
- bbPress Published forums, topics and replies. Dry run from WP-CLI. How the bbPress move works
- wpForo Boards and forums map to categories and spaces.
- Asgaros Forum Categories, forums, topics, replies and uploaded files.
The forum is free. Pro is optional.
Pay once and own it forever, or pick the annual plan. All features included in every plan, no hidden add-ons.
- Unlimited sites, no licence key
- Forum, Q&A, Ideas and Feed spaces
- Six trust levels and a moderation queue
- Voting, reputation and a leaderboard
- Search across posts, spaces and tags
- REST API, WP-CLI, 8 blocks and 8 shortcodes
- bbPress, wpForo and Asgaros importers
- MemberPress and Paid Memberships Pro gating
- Everything in Free, plus all 17 Pro extensions
- 1 site
- Private messaging, 1:1 and group
- Emoji reactions and polls
- Community analytics
- Email digest, web push and reply by email
- AI spam detection and advanced moderation
- Webhooks for Slack, Zapier or a CRM
- Updates and support, annual or lifetime
- Everything in Pro Personal
- 5 sites
- Priority support
- Updates and priority support, annual or lifetime
- Everything in Pro Developer
- Unlimited sites
- Priority email support
- Updates and priority support, annual or lifetime
The plugin keeps working. Updates and support stop until you renew.
Free forever. Annual licenses include a year of updates and support and renew at 30% off. Lifetime licenses are a one-time payment and never expire.