Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

Head-to-head · Community Platforms

phpFox vs Mateflow

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 6 checks side by side
Higher score phpFox #5 in Community Platforms 8.8/10 14-day trial Free trial✓ 3 of 4 features Visit phpFox
Mateflow #10 in Community Platforms 8.4/10 14-day trial Free trial✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Mateflow

phpFox leads on 1 check, Mateflow on 0, and 5 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scorephpFox · 8.8/10
  • Lowest starting pricephpFox · $39/mo
  • Free trialboth
  • Most featuresMateflow · 4 of 4

phpFox scores higher on our rubric for community platforms: 8.8 against 8.4 out of 10; our editors rank them #5 and #10.

phpFox is cheaper to start at $39/mo against $49/mo.

phpFox is the better fit for self-hosted social communities. Mateflow is the better fit for paid communities with courses and live rooms.

  • phpFox fits best

    Self-hosted social communities

  • Mateflow fits best

    Paid communities with courses and live rooms

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature phpFox 8.8/10 Visit ↗ Mateflow 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.8 8.4
Ranking #5 in Community Platforms #10 in Community Platforms
Best for Self-hosted social communities Paid communities with courses and live rooms
Pricing model Paid Paid
Starting price $39/mo (best) $49/mo
Free plan — —
Free trial 14 days 14 days
Free trial length 14 days 14 days · no card needed
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted, Mobile Cloud, Mobile
Platforms Web, iOS, Android Web, iOS, Android
Support Tickets Email, Docs
Compliance GDPR, 2FA SSO/SAML
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features phpFox 3/4 · Mateflow 4/4
Event hosting ✓ ✓
Private spaces ✓ ✓
Custom domain Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Moderation tools ✓ ✓
Specs
Member limit Not checked yet Not checked yet
Mobile apps Both Both
Our review
Pros
  • Profiles, feeds, groups, forums, events, chat, and media in one platform
  • Monetization tools include subscriptions, paid content, and marketplace features
  • Source code access and branded mobile apps vary by plan
  • Unlimited members and spaces on every listed paid plan
  • Courses, memberships, Stripe payments, and live rooms in one platform
  • API, webhooks, SSO, Zapier, Slack, and mobile app support
Cons
  • No free plan; the free trial lasts 14 days
  • Perpetual licenses include 12 months of updates and support
  • White-label mobile apps are limited to Ultimate plans
  • There is no free plan
  • Displayed Starter, Growth, and Business prices use annual billing
  • Advanced governance and white-label features require higher tiers
Our verdict

phpFox is a social networking and community platform for businesses, creators, organizations, and other community builders. It brings together profiles, friends, following, activity feeds, groups, Pages, forums, events, private and group…

Read the review →

Mateflow is a hosted community platform for creators, brands, education teams, and organizations that need more than discussion feeds. It combines community spaces, access control, messaging, events, courses, cohort learning, live video…

Read the review →
  1. phpFoxCommunity Platforms 8.814-day trial
  2. MateflowCommunity Platforms 8.414-day trial

Strengths and trade-offs

  • phpFox — where it wins

    • Profiles, feeds, groups, forums, events, chat, and media in one platform
    • Monetization tools include subscriptions, paid content, and marketplace features
    • Source code access and branded mobile apps vary by plan

    Where it doesn't

    • No free plan; the free trial lasts 14 days
    • Perpetual licenses include 12 months of updates and support
    • White-label mobile apps are limited to Ultimate plans
  • Mateflow — where it wins

    • Unlimited members and spaces on every listed paid plan
    • Courses, memberships, Stripe payments, and live rooms in one platform
    • API, webhooks, SSO, Zapier, Slack, and mobile app support

    Where it doesn't

    • There is no free plan
    • Displayed Starter, Growth, and Business prices use annual billing
    • Advanced governance and white-label features require higher tiers
  • phpFox8.8/10 · 14-day trial

    A broad community platform with self-hosted control, hosted plans, and branded mobile apps.

    Visit phpFoxFull verdict →
  • Mateflow8.4/10 · 14-day trial

    A broad community platform for paid learning communities and live member experiences.

    Visit MateflowFull verdict →

More comparisons

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update