Asgaros Forum vs Vanilla Forums
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Asgaros Forum v3.5.0 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 4.7/5 Visit Details | Vanilla Forums v1.3.1 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 2.8/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 10,000+ | 100+ |
| Last updated | October 23, 2026 | July 3, 2020 |
| Editions | Asgaros Forum | Vanilla Forums |
| Pros | Forum runs inside WordPress with no external service; Moderation covers reports, bans and user groups; Polls, reactions, uploads and spoilers included | Embeds the forum or replaces blog comments with forum threads; Forum widgets for discussions, activity and active users; Single sign-on through jsConnect |
| Cons | Forum content lives in custom tables, not post types; Large forums need care with notification volume | Needs a Vanilla forum, hosted or self-hosted, to connect to; Last tested with WordPress 5.3 per the readme; Replaces native comments once a forum URL is set |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | 1 |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Polls in topics, Reactions on posts through a REST route, File uploads on posts, Users can report posts, Ban and unban users, Email notifications for new posts, Spoiler shortcode | Embed the Vanilla forum inside a WordPress page, Replace native blog comments with Vanilla threads, Discussion, activity and active-user widgets, Single sign-on with jsConnect, Choose forum category for embedded content and widgets |
| Integrations | ||
| Plugins | Yoast SEO, Autoptimize, myCRED | — |
| Other | — | Vanilla Forums |
| Requires WordPress | 6.4 | 3 |
| Requires PHP | 5.3 | — |
| Tested up to | 6.9 | 5.3 |
| Phones home | No | No |
| Shortcodes | 3 | — |