How fast can we be live?
Answer
About five minutes. Sign in, name your portal, and it is online at yourcompany.myforumcat.com. Nothing to install.
phpBB
phpBB is free to download.
The server is the part that costs you.
phpBB forum software still runs well, and plenty of boards are happy on it. If yours has turned into a patch list, here is a phpBB replacement you switch on instead of install. Live in about five minutes, with nothing to run.
Free for 7 days. No credit card. Live in about five minutes.
5 minfrom sign-up to a live portal
0security patches to apply
$9one time for a working portal
7 daysfree, no card needed
About phpBB
What phpBB is, and what it asks of you
phpBB is a free, open source forum package written in PHP. You download it and put it on a server you rent, with a database behind it. From that moment it is yours to look after.
People still pick it for good reasons. It costs nothing to license and the code is open. The community is large, and there is a style or an extension for almost anything.
The cost shows up later. Someone has to keep PHP current and apply the security releases quickly. Someone renews the certificate, checks the backups, and clears out the spam accounts. That someone is usually the person with the least time.
There is no importer, and that is the point
There is no importer. Nothing here reads a phpBB database, and we are not going to pretend otherwise.
That is on purpose. Old boards carry years of dead threads, and dragging them across makes a new portal feel old on day one. Start with the questions people are asking now.
Your old board can stay online, read-only, for as long as it is useful.
Side by side
Running phpBB, and running this
The same jobs, and who does each one. Their column describes the software as it is normally run, not any one plan.
| phpBB on your server | Forumcat | |
|---|---|---|
| Install | You install PHP, a database, and the package | Nothing to install |
| Server and hosting | Yours to rent, size, and patch | None. We run it |
| Updates and patches | You apply every release | We apply them |
| SSL certificate | You set it up and renew it | Automatic, and renewed for you |
| Backups | You set them up and test them | Part of the hosting |
| Spam and moderation | Extensions and captchas you pick and tune | Sign-in needed to post, plus staff tools and bulk actions |
| Price shape | Free to download. You pay for the server and the hours | $9 one time, or $99 a month on your own domain |
| Your own domain | Yes, it is your server | Yes on Pro, with SSL included |
| REST API and MCP server | Depends on the extensions you add | On every plan |
| Private questions | Permissions you configure yourself | Private questions and private categories |
| Time to live | A day or two, if nothing goes wrong | About five minutes |
Vendor pricing moves, so we describe the shape and leave the number to their pricing page.
Inside
The whole install, in one form
There is no download step and no database step. You give the portal a name and an address, and it is online at that address.
The first question can go up the same morning you decide to move.
- Votes on questions and replies, so the shared ones rise
- One accepted solution, pinned under the question
- Search, related questions, and a log of searches that found nothing
Starting over
When a fresh start is the right call
A phpBB modern alternative makes sense when the board is quiet and the upkeep is not. If the last three jobs on your list were about the forum itself, the software has become the work.
Starting fresh here takes a name and an address. The questions your customers ask this month become the archive. Every answer is public, searchable, and indexed from day one.
The fresh start
Three things, and you are running
No download, no database, no certificate. The whole setup is a name and an address.
- 1
Create the portal
Sign in, give it a name and an address, and it is online. There is no server to point at and nothing to configure first.
- 2
Answer the ten you always answer
Post the questions your team types out every week, and answer them once. That is the archive started, and it is public and searchable straight away.
- 3
Send people to it
Link it from your site, from your old board, and from your support replies. Reading and searching need no account at all.
Pricing
Two plans. Both flat.
The bill does not grow with traffic, questions, or seats. Pick a plan, and that is the price.
| Basic | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9 one time | $99 a month, or $990 a year |
| Portal address | yourcompany.myforumcat.com | Your own domain, SSL included |
| Team seats | 2 | Unlimited |
| Registered members | 1,000 | 10,000 |
| Questions | 10,000 | Unlimited |
| Media storage | 1 GB (≈2,000 images) | 50 GB (≈100,000 images) |
| Page views a month (fair use) | 100,000 | 1,000,000 |
| Search, votes, accepted solutions | ||
| Structured data, sitemap, markdown view | ||
| REST API and MCP server | ||
| Google sign-in under your brand | ||
| Analytics and search log | ||
| Free trial | 7 days, no card | 7 days, no card |
Unlimited seats and questions on Pro carry a quiet fair-use backstop, lifted for any real portal that reaches it. Page views are fair-use limits, not a meter.
Questions people ask before moving
Fair questions.
Can we import our old forum or help docs?
Answer
Not today. There is no importer. Most teams start fresh and let the new questions build the archive, which is live in minutes.
Can we keep our old forum online?
Answer
Yes. It is your server, so nothing here touches it. Many teams set the old phpBB board to read-only and leave it up for saved links. The front page then points at the new portal.
What does it cost in month twelve?
Answer
The same as month one. $9 one time for a portal on a Forumcat subdomain, or $99 a month for your own domain. The bill never grows with traffic or questions.
Does it work on our own domain?
Answer
Yes, on Pro. Point a subdomain like help.yourcompany.com at Forumcat and SSL is set up for you. Your Forumcat subdomain redirects to it.
What happens to our answers if we leave?
Answer
They are yours. Every question and answer is readable through the REST API, so you can pull it all out any time.
Where to go next
Leave the patching behind
Your questions and answers, hosted, on your own domain when you want it.
Create your portalFree for 7 days. No credit card.
