Community & Comment Platforms Market Share & Usage Statistics (2026)
Livefyre runs on 227,094 live websites, 80.1% of the 283,492 sites we detect using community & comment platforms. Below, all 63 tools we detect in this category, ranked by live websites, with market share and 30-day adoption momentum.
Data updated Aug 19, 2026
- #1
Ultimate Member
Ultimate Member is a free WordPress plugin for creating user profiles, membership sites, and online communities.
Customers25,279Market Share10.73%Top CountryUnited States - #2
Disqus
Disqus is a third-party comment hosting service for websites and online communities, offering moderation tools, social login, and analytics.
Live websites13,033Market Share4.6%Top CountryUnited States - #3
XenForo
XenForo is a commercially licensed PHP forum platform, and the most-deployed self-hosted forum software we detect after Disqus.
Live websites7,881Market Share2.78%Top CountryUnited States 
phpBB
phpBB is a free open-source PHP forum platform, still the most-deployed self-hosted forum we detect after Disqus and XenForo.
Live websites6,550Market Share2.31%Top CountryUnited States
BuddyBoss
BuddyBoss is a WordPress-based platform purpose-built for online courses and branded communities.
Customers3,912Market Share1.66%Top CountryUnited States
Discourse
Discourse is an open-source forum and community platform built for modern web discussion.
Live websites3,760Market Share1.33%Top CountryUnited States
Invision Power Board
Invision Power Board (now Invision Community) is proprietary PHP forum software from Invision Power Services, in continuous development since 2002.
Live websites3,001Market Share1.06%Top CountryUnited States
GeoDirectory
GeoDirectory is a WordPress directory plugin for building local business directories, classified listings, and job boards.
Customers2,302Market Share0.98%Top CountryUnited States
vBulletin
vBulletin is proprietary PHP forum software owned by MH Sub I, LLC, powering discussion boards and support communities since the early 2000s.
Live websites2,154Market Share0.76%Top CountryUnited States
Asgaros Forum
Asgaros Forum is a free WordPress plugin that adds a discussion board to any WordPress site.
Live websites2,068Market Share0.73%Top CountryUnited States
Reddit
Reddit is a social news aggregation and community platform whose embeddable widgets and share buttons are detected on over 67,000 active domains.
Live websites1,853Market Share0.65%Top CountryUnited States
bbPress
bbPress is a free, open-source forum plugin for WordPress that adds discussion forums directly to WordPress sites.
Live websites1,056Market Share0.37%Top CountryUnited States
Community & Comments Market Data
Adoption and 30-day momentum across 63 community & comments technologies, measured from our live detection crawl.
Biggest Movers
Market Share
Livefyre80.11%- Disqus4.6%
- XenForo2.78%
- phpBB2.31%
- Discourse1.33%
- Invision Power Board1.06%
- …Others7.8%
Community & Comments
FAQ.
What is Community & Comments software?
Community & Comments covers the tools a site can load or configure to handle this part of its stack. We detect one of the 63 community & comments tools in this category on 283,492 live sites. A detection means we found the technology on the site, which is not the same as a paid account.
What are the most popular community & comments platforms?
Across 283,492 detected sites, the most widely found community & comments tools are: Livefyre (80.11% share, 227,094 sites), Disqus (4.6% share, 13,033 sites), XenForo (2.78% share, 7,881 sites). Others we see regularly include phpBB and Discourse.
Which community & comments tool has the largest market share?
Livefyre is the most widely detected community & comments tool at 80.11% share, on 227,094 sites. The largest share of those sites belongs to various companies, and to businesses in the 1-10 employee band.
Which industries use community & comments software the most?
The industries with the most detected sites in this category are Higher Education, Technology, Information and Internet, Non-profit Organizations, Software Development, IT Services and IT Consulting. Industry mix follows where these tools get installed, so a category carried by website builders or agency templates will lean toward the verticals those platforms serve rather than the vendor's target buyer.
Which countries have the highest adoption of community & comments tools?
We detect the most community & comments sites in United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain. Country here is the company's registered location in our enriched data rather than where the site is served from, so read it as a ranking of markets rather than a measure of any single one.
How do I choose the right community & comments platform?
Start from your own size, industry and primary use case rather than from share. Livefyre, Disqus and XenForo are the three we detect most often in this category, which tells you what is common, not what fits you. Compare their integrations, pricing tiers and support commitments against the workflow you actually run, and check each vendor's own documentation for current capabilities.
How many companies use community & comments software?
TechnologyChecker.io detects community & comments tools on 283,492 live sites. That is a count of sites carrying the technology, not a count of paying customers, and a site running two tools in this category is counted under each. We crawl 2 billion+ URLs across 29.9M live business domains each sweep.
What is the source of this data?
TechnologyChecker.io's web crawling and technology detection platform. We've logged 2.12 billion total detections over 20+ years, covering 40,000+ technologies across the 29.9M live business domains we successfully crawl each sweep. Detection methods include JavaScript analysis, HTTP headers, HTML patterns, DNS records, and certificate transparency logs.
People Also
Ask.
Common questions about community & comments software, answered with real data.
What is the best online forum software?
It depends on your platform and audience. For WordPress sites, bbPress dominates with 81,825 active domains and 34.72% market share — it's free and integrates natively with WordPress users and themes. For standalone communities, Discourse (3,013 domains, 1.28%) is the modern choice used by GitHub, Docker, and Cloudflare. vBulletin (8,942 domains, 3.79%) is a legacy option still running thousands of enthusiast communities.
What is the most popular forum software?
bbPress holds a commanding 34.72% share of the forum and community market across 81,825 active domains. Ultimate Member ranks second at 10.73% (25,279 domains), though it's more of a membership/profile plugin than a pure forum. vBulletin sits third at 3.79% (8,942 domains). Among modern, standalone forum platforms, Discourse leads at 1.28% with 3,013 domains. WordPress-based tools dominate this category by a wide margin.
What free software is used to create discussion forums?
Several free options exist. bbPress is the most popular free forum plugin for WordPress (81,825 domains). Asgaros Forum (1,602 domains) is another free, lightweight WordPress alternative for basic discussion boards. Discourse offers a free self-hosted open-source version — you only pay for hosting. BuddyBoss has a community edition too. The free WordPress plugins cover basic forum needs; Discourse is the better choice if you want a modern, standalone community platform.
Is Discourse better than vBulletin?
They serve different eras of community building. vBulletin (8,942 domains, 3.79% share) is a legacy forum platform with deep customization but aging architecture. Discourse (3,013 domains, 1.28%) is the modern alternative — open source, mobile-first, real-time, with built-in moderation tools. vBulletin's higher domain count reflects its 20+ year history, but its previouslyUsedCount of 39,712 suggests significant churn. New communities overwhelmingly choose Discourse.
What's the difference between bbPress and BuddyBoss?
bbPress is a free, lightweight forum plugin — it adds discussion boards to WordPress and that's it. BuddyBoss (3,912 domains, 1.66%) is a full community platform that bundles forums, member profiles, social groups, online courses, and native mobile apps. BuddyBoss customers cluster in professional training and education. Use bbPress if you just need a forum. Choose BuddyBoss if you're building a membership site or online learning community.
How do I choose the right community platform?
Start with your tech stack. If you run WordPress, bbPress (34.72% share) is the simplest add-on for basic forums. Need member profiles and content restriction? Ultimate Member (25,279 domains) handles that. Building a branded learning community? BuddyBoss (3,912 domains) combines LMS with social features. For developer communities or open-source projects, Discourse is the standard. For location-based directories, GeoDirectory (2,302 domains) is purpose-built.
Can I build a community website with WordPress?
Yes — WordPress powers the majority of community sites we track. bbPress (81,825 domains), Ultimate Member (25,279 domains), BuddyBoss (3,912 domains), and Asgaros Forum (1,602 domains) are all WordPress plugins. Combined, WordPress-based tools hold over 48% of the forum and community market. The advantage is using your existing WordPress theme, users, and hosting. The trade-off is that standalone tools like Discourse offer more advanced moderation and real-time features.
What happened to traditional forum software?
Legacy forum platforms are declining. vBulletin shows 8,942 current domains but 39,712 previously used — an 81% historical churn rate. Communities moved to social platforms (Reddit, Discord, Facebook Groups) or modern tools like Discourse. The forums that survive tend to be niche enthusiast communities with loyal user bases. New community projects overwhelmingly choose WordPress plugins or Discourse over traditional forum software.
How much does forum software cost?
Most options are free or cheap. bbPress, Asgaros Forum, and Ultimate Member are free WordPress plugins. Discourse is free to self-host (you pay for server costs — around $20-50/month) or $50-300/month for managed hosting. BuddyBoss charges a one-time license fee starting around $228/year for the theme and platform. vBulletin costs $249+ for a license. The biggest hidden cost is moderation time, not software fees.
Is building a forum still worth it in 2026?
Yes, but for specific use cases. Generic discussion forums lost to Reddit and Discord. What works now are purpose-built communities: customer support forums (Discourse powers this for GitHub and Docker), online learning communities (BuddyBoss), and niche interest groups with dedicated audiences. Our data shows bbPress adding new installations monthly. The key is owning your community data rather than depending on a social platform's algorithm.