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Best WordPress Plugins for Forums

15 plugins compared · Updated August 2026 · Forums

All Free only 15 Premium only

Choosing a WordPress plugin for forums comes down to a few things: whether it is still actively maintained, whether real users rate it well, and whether it does the specific job you need without dragging the rest of the site down.

We ranked 15 plugins using our WPScore, which weighs the user rating (adjusted for how many people actually rated it), how many sites run it, how recently it was updated, and which WordPress version it is tested against. 15 of them have enough public data to be scored; the rest are listed below the ranked block, clearly marked, rather than being given a number we cannot justify.

How this list is funded. Some links here earn us a commission if you buy. It costs you nothing extra, and it does not move anything up the list — the order comes from the WPScore, which is calculated from public ratings, install counts and update history. See the method.

At a glance

  1. 1. wpForo Forum Best overall 87/100
  2. 2. Asgaros Forum 82/100
  3. 3. Inline Image Upload for BBPress 82/100
  4. 4. Private groups 82/100
  5. 5. Discussion Board 81/100
  6. 6. Forumax 80/100
  7. 7. reCAPTCHA for Asgaros Forum 79/100
  8. 8. topicPolls Pro for bbPress 77/100
  9. 9. GD bbPress Tools 76/100
  10. 10. Antimanual 76/100
  11. 11. powerSearch for bbPress 76/100
  12. 12. Website Toolbox Forum 76/100
  13. 13. ForumWP 74/100
  14. 14. CM Answers 74/100
  15. 15. bbPress 73/100
1 wpForo Forum
Best overall Free by Tomdever

wpForo Forum

Number one WordPress forum plugin with AI features. Full-fledged forum solution with modern forum design. Community builder WordPress forum plugin.

4.7★
from 390 ratings
20k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
87

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
2 Asgaros Forum
Free by Asgaros

Asgaros Forum

Asgaros Forum is the best forum-plugin for WordPress! It comes with dozens of features in a beautiful design and stays simple and fast.

4.8★
from 208 ratings
10k+
active installs
Updated
Mar 2026
Tested to
WP 6.9.7
82

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
5 Discussion Board
Free by Marketing Fire

Discussion Board

Discussion Board is a simple, effective way to add a forum or discussion board to your site, helping you build and engage an active community.

4.6★
from 43 ratings
2k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
81

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
6 Forumax
Free by Spider Themes

Forumax

Build powerful communities with Forumax. A fully standalone, feature-rich forum plugin with voting, private replies, and Elementor integration.

5★
from 18 ratings
600+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
80

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
7 reCAPTCHA for Asgaros Forum
Free by Hitesh Chandwani

reCAPTCHA for Asgaros Forum

A free plugin (add-on) for Asgaros Forum that allow you to easily add Google reCAPTCHA v2 or Google reCAPTCHA v3 on your Asgaros Forum.

5★
from 3 ratings
4k+
active installs
Updated
May 2026
Tested to
WP 6.9.7
79

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
8 topicPolls Pro for bbPress
Free by Milan Petrovic

topicPolls Pro for bbPress

Implement a polls system for topics in bbPress powered forums, with settings to control voting, poll closing, display of results and more.

4★
from 4 ratings
200+
active installs
Updated
Jul 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
77

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
9 GD bbPress Tools
Free by Milan Petrovic

GD bbPress Tools

Adds different expansions and tools to the bbPress plugin powered forums: BBCode support, signatures, various tweaks, custom views, quote...

3.8★
from 24 ratings
1k+
active installs
Updated
May 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
76

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
10 Antimanual
Free by Spider Themes

Antimanual

AI-powered plugin with smart Chatbot, AI Search, Auto-Posting, Docs Generator, Bulk Rewrite, FAQ Generator, Forum AI, and AI SEO tools.

4.5★
from 4 ratings
100+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
76

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
11 powerSearch for bbPress
Free by Milan Petrovic

powerSearch for bbPress

Enhanced and powerful search for bbPress powered forums, with options to filter results by various criteria.

5★
from 1 ratings
100+
active installs
Updated
Jul 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
76

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
12 Website Toolbox Forum
Free by Website Toolbox LLC

Website Toolbox Forum

Effortlessly build a beautiful discussion forum with instant setup, seamless embedding, and exceptional support.

4.6★
from 13 ratings
70+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
76

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
13 ForumWP
Free by Ultimate Member

ForumWP

Add a forum to your website with ForumWP.

3.6★
from 12 ratings
800+
active installs
Updated
Apr 2026
Tested to
WP 6.9.7
74

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
14 CM Answers
Free by CreativeMindsSolutions

CM Answers

Discussion Forum Plugin for WordPress Q&A. Build engaging community forums with voting, moderation, notifications, and AI integration.

3.8★
from 86 ratings
300+
active installs
Updated
Jun 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
74

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
15 bbPress
Free by John James Jacoby

bbPress

bbPress is forum software for WordPress.

3.9★
from 342 ratings
100k+
active installs
Updated
Jul 2025
Tested to
WP 6.9.7
73

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org