phpFox
phpFox: A broad community platform with self-hosted control, hosted plans, and branded mobile apps. Ranked #5 of 126 in Community Platforms by our editors (8.8/10); pricing: 14-day trial; best for self-hosted social communities.
At a glance
- Editor score8.8 / 10
- Pricing14-day trial
- Best forSelf-hosted social communities
- Free planNo
- Paid from$39/mo
- Facts checked23 Sep 2026
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
Our verdict on phpFox
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 chat, voice and video calls, multimedia sharing, and administration tools. Its self-hosted and hosted options, API access, and branded native iOS and Android apps make it suited to organizations that want to shape a community around their own brand rather than rely on a narrowly focused discussion tool.
Pricing is split between perpetual licenses and monthly subscriptions. Pro Perpetual costs $299 one time and includes lifetime usage, 12 months of updates and support, the full-featured web platform, phpFox-branded mobile apps, web and backend source code, and mobile build services. Ultimate Perpetual costs $899 one time and adds premium white-label mobile apps, mobile source code, and one mobile build service. Monthly plans start with Pro at $39 per month, including phpFox-branded apps, an R2 cloud server, daily automatic backup, and mobile build services. Ultimate costs $99 per month and adds white-label apps and one free mobile build service. Ultimate Plus costs $159 per month and includes an R4 cloud server.
The platform’s main strength is breadth: community owners can combine structured forums and private spaces with events, content publishing, polls, marketplace tools, subscriptions, paid content, advertising, and activity points. Admin permissions, member management, layout and theme controls, and moderation tools support branded community operations. PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay cover listed payment integrations, while web, iOS, Android, API, and self-hosted access broaden deployment choices. phpFox suits teams that need many community functions and control over branding or source code. Those seeking a smaller, forum-only product or a no-cost starting point should look elsewhere.
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phpFox pricing
All 5 phpFox plans and prices →
phpFox fact sheet
| Free plan | No |
|---|---|
| Paid from | $39/mo |
| Member limit | Not verified |
| Event hosting | Yes |
| Private spaces | Yes |
| Custom domain | Not verified |
| Moderation tools | Yes |
| Mobile apps | Both |
| Free trial | 14 days |
| Deployment | Cloud, Self-hosted, Mobile |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android |
| Compliance & security | GDPR, 2FA |
| Support | Tickets |
| Built for | Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate) |
| Pricing | 14-day trial (source) |
| Website | phpfox.com |
| Facts checked | 23 Sep 2026 |
Alternatives to phpFox
- DiscourseA mature choice for communities that need discussion, chat, moderation, and private spaces.9.4
- RedditA flexible, free home for public topic discussions with substantial moderation tools.9.2
- UNAA flexible community stack for organizations that want control over hosting, features, and mobile apps.9.0
phpFox vs the competition
- phpFox vs Discourse
- phpFox vs Reddit
- phpFox vs UNA
- phpFox vs NodeBB
- phpFox vs Whaller
- phpFox vs Higher Logic Vanilla
Compare phpFox with any tool side by side →
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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