PlushForums review
A hosted community platform with subscriptions, moderation, backups, and private spaces.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
PlushForums is hosted forum software for organizations, businesses, schools, and other community operators. It combines real-time discussions with private conversations, private forums, custom profiles, member directories, events, blogs, paid subscriptions, file uploads, configurable permissions, and email notifications. Communities can use custom domains with SSL, while web, iOS, and Android access support members across devices. The product is designed for operators who want a branded community service without managing their own forum infrastructure.
Pricing is monthly in USD, with a 14-day free trial and no free plan. Small costs $49 per month and supports 100 members online at once, unlimited pageviews, unlimited members and staff, SSL, and 15GB of storage. Medium is $75 for 250 concurrent members and 30GB of storage, adding Single Sign On alongside SSL. Large costs $120 for 600 members online at once and 35GB of storage; Extra Large is $200 for 1,250 and 70GB; Double XL is $375 for 2,500 and 125GB; and Giant is $650 for 5,000 and 250GB. All plans include unlimited pageviews and unlimited members and staff.
The feature set favors community operators who need more than discussion threads. Pre-moderation and auto-moderation support content control, while hourly backups and JSON export address operational continuity and portability. MailChimp, PayPal, Google Analytics, Akismet, and StopForumSpam provide connections for email, payments, analytics, and moderation workflows. Single Sign On is available from Medium upward through a proprietary connection to an existing website. PlushForums suits organizations seeking subscriptions, private spaces, and managed hosting; teams requiring self-hosting or standard SAML or OIDC identity integrations should choose an alternative.
PlushForums pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Built-in paid subscriptions, blogs, events, and private forums
- Hourly backups and JSON data export support continuity and portability
- Moderation tools, custom domains, SSL, and mobile apps included
- Where it doesn't
- Starts at $49 per month with no free plan
- Self-hosting is not available
- Standard SAML or OIDC support is not specified
PlushForums fact sheet, pricing and score →
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