bbPress vs Simple:Press
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | bbPress v2.6.20 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 3.9/5 Visit Details | Simple:Press v6.11.15 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.2/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 100,000+ | 300+ |
| Last updated | October 15, 2026 | September 17, 2026 |
| Editions | bbPress | Simple:Press · Simple:Press Pro ($) |
| Pros | Free and open source, from the WordPress contributors; Uses WordPress users and roles, and works with BuddyPress | Forums and subforums run inside WordPress; Uses WordPress users and a user group system; Topic moderation tools in the admin |
| Cons | Lean feature set compared with dedicated community suites; Forum styling depends on the theme | Many features such as messaging and polls need the paid Pro bundle; Add-ons need a licence key entered in the admin; Pro features arrive as separate add-on downloads |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | 1 |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Forum, topic, reply and stats widgets, Login widget, Akismet spam checking for posts, BuddyPress activity integration, Theme compatibility layer | User groups admin panel, Topic lock and unlock moderation tools, Email a user from the admin tools, Spoiler shortcode, Forum statistics computed on the site, Theme update checks from the admin panel, Pro add-on updates via licence key ($), Daily add-on status check ($) |
| Integrations | ||
| Plugins | Akismet, BuddyPress | Yoast SEO |
| Other | — | Simple:Press add-on licence server ($), Simple:Press news feed |
| Requires WordPress | 6.0 | 5.7 |
| Requires PHP | 7.2 | 7.0 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | No | No |
| External services | — | simple-press.com |
| Shortcodes | — | 1 |