XenForo is solid, proven software that has served communities well for over a decade. It also comes with a job: licenses, hosting, updates and add-on upkeep. ForumSpark gives you the same community, fully managed, with theming and AI built in.
| XenForo | ForumSpark | |
|---|---|---|
| Yearly cost | $195 license + $60/yr renewals + hosting + paid add-ons | ✓Flat from €5/mo, unlimited members on every plan |
| Updates & security patches | Manual, and add-ons need retesting | ✓Automatic, zero downtime, never your job |
| Themes | Paid marketplace + CSS work | ✓Theme Studio: no code, AI Smart Start included |
| AI answers & summaries | Third-party add-ons | ✓Built in, sourced from your own board with citations |
| Media gallery | Separate paid add-on ($70 + renewals) | ✓Included from Launch: albums, video, likes and comments |
| Selling downloads & resources | XFRM $70 add-on, payments extra work | ✓Marketplace built in from Launch: sell downloads, services and merch, paid straight to you |
| Spam defense | Plugins + manual moderation queues | ✓Trust Levels: autonomous, zero moderation overhead |
| Server maintenance | Your responsibility | ✓None, ever |
Also switching from: Invision Community · vBulletin · phpBB · Discourse
Yes. Every member arrives with their username, email, join date and post history. Depending on the platform, passwords either migrate directly or members set a new one with a single reset on first login.
Old topic URLs redirect to their new homes, so every link that ever pointed at your community keeps working and your search rankings carry over instead of resetting.
Most communities switch over a single weekend. We import everything to a private staging board first, you review it and pick a theme, and your current forum keeps running untouched until you flip your domain.
Nothing. We run the import for free on any plan. You only ever pay your flat monthly plan, starting at €5/mo with a 30-day free trial. Email [email protected] and we take it from there.
Start a free 30-day trial, then email [email protected] and we will plan your move together.
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