MyBB and Website Toolbox are both forum-first products, but they take very different approaches to running a community. MyBB is free, open source forum software that you download and install on your own server, run by a volunteer project that has been around since 2002 and powers thousands of communities. Website Toolbox is a fully hosted, turnkey forum service that we set up, customize, and run for you. Both can power a busy discussion community, but they differ sharply in who does the technical work, how the forum fits into your brand and website, and what the service really costs over time. This article compares MyBB and Website Toolbox to help you decide which one fits your situation.
Quick Comparison: MyBB vs Website Toolbox
| Feature | MyBB | Website Toolbox |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Self-hosted. You buy web hosting, set up PHP and a database, and manage the whole stack. | Fully managed hosting. No server to set up, patch, or maintain. |
| Setup | Download the software, install it on a server, configure the database and file permissions, then build your board. | We set up and customize your forum for you, ready to go. |
| Cost | Free, open source software, but you pay for hosting, a domain, and your own time managing it. | Simple, transparent pricing with migration included in every plan. |
| Technical skill | Requires comfort with servers, PHP, MySQL, and security patching. | No code or server experience needed. A guided, user-friendly interface. |
| Maintenance | You apply updates and security patches yourself, and security releases arrive regularly. | We handle updates, security, backups, and monitoring for you. |
| Embedding | Runs as its own website; embedding it into an existing site is not a built-in feature. | Fully embeddable directly into your existing website, or run standalone on your own domain. |
| Branding | You can edit templates and remove branding, but a polished, fully branded experience is work you do yourself. | 100% your brand. Website Toolbox is invisible to your members, including a fully branded mobile app. |
| Mobile app | No official branded mobile app. Members use the website in a mobile browser. | A branded mobile app under your own name and colors. |
| Single Sign On | No built-in single sign on. You install, configure, and maintain third-party plugins yourself. | Seamless single sign on without members leaving your site, and our team sets it up for you. |
| Themes | A template and stylesheet system, but the default look is dated and a distinctive design is a development project. | Multiple genuinely different themes plus an easy theme builder. |
| Support | Community forums and documentation, run by volunteers. | Email, phone, and chat support, with a team that can set up and customize your forum for you. |
| Migration | A self-serve merge tool you run yourself, with no dedicated help. | Migration included in every plan, done for you. |
| Webhooks and API | Integration and automation require plugins or custom development. | Webhooks and API access included in the standard plan. |
| Company | Volunteer-run open source project maintained by a small team and the community. | Profitable company with 24 years of experience. |
Hosting and Maintenance
The biggest difference between MyBB and Website Toolbox is who runs the servers. MyBB is self-hosted software. To run it, you need a server with PHP and a database, and you are responsible for installing the software, applying updates, backing up data, and dealing with downtime. MyBB's volunteer team releases security updates regularly, and many of them fix vulnerabilities that could expose your members' data, but every fix is only as good as your willingness to install it promptly.
Website Toolbox is the opposite. Everything runs on our managed platform, backed by a company with 24 years of experience keeping forums online and secure. There is no server for you to set up, patch, or back up. You focus on your community, and we handle the operations.
Ease of Setup
Setting up MyBB means preparing a server with the right versions of PHP and MySQL, uploading the software, creating a database, configuring file permissions, and then building out your forum's structure. The documentation is decent, but the process demands real technical comfort before you have anything to show your community. You also own every compatibility problem between MyBB, your plugins, and your host's PHP version.
With Website Toolbox, setup is fast and guided, and our support team will even do the setup and customization for you. You are not wrestling with a server; you are building the community you want. We add every feature you need in a user-friendly way, without the operational burden or the bloat that comes when feature-rich software is left to run itself.
Customization and Embedding
MyBB is genuinely customizable. It has a template and stylesheet system, and the MyBB Extend directory offers hundreds of community-built plugins and themes that can add everything from social login to media embeds. The catch is that you are the one doing that work: themes and templates must be created or maintained, plugins need to be kept compatible across updates, and the default look has not aged well. Building a distinctive, modern design is a development project. MyBB also runs as its own website; it is not designed to be embedded into an existing site.
Website Toolbox is designed to look and feel like part of your own website. You can embed it directly into your existing site, or run it as a standalone forum on your own domain, and use multiple genuinely different themes plus an easy theme builder to match your brand. You get real customization without taking on a development project.
Single Sign On
MyBB does not come with built-in single sign on. If you want members to log in with an existing account system, you need to find a third-party plugin, configure it, and keep it working across updates. Because MyBB is self-hosted, anything that touches authentication is code you are responsible for securing.
With Website Toolbox, single sign on is seamless and our team sets it up for you. Members log in on your site without being sent away to a third-party service, which keeps the community feeling like a natural part of your website rather than a separate destination. You can read more about single sign on methods.
Branding and Mobile App
Because MyBB is self-hosted, no third-party brand is forced on your forum, and you can edit the templates to remove the default footer credits. But that is where the work begins: making the forum feel like a polished part of your brand is entirely on you, and there is no official mobile app. Members use the website in a mobile browser, and anything more polished is a project you take on yourself.
Website Toolbox can be made completely invisible to your community. The branding is 100% yours, and your members do not even know they are using a third-party platform. That includes a fully branded mobile app, so the experience stays consistent on desktop and mobile, under your own name and colors.
Customer Support
MyBB has an active community forum and solid documentation, and for an open source project that is genuinely valuable. But there is no dedicated support team on call for your specific community when something goes wrong. You troubleshoot with the help of the community and your own skills, and your forum stays down while you do it.
Website Toolbox offers email, phone, and chat support, and our team can help you set up, customize, integrate, and use your community. When you need help, there is a responsive team that knows your forum, not just a general help forum.
Pricing
MyBB itself is free and open source, which is genuinely appealing if you have the technical ability and time to run a server. The real costs are hosting, a domain, and the hours you spend installing, securing, and maintaining the software, plus any paid third-party plugins or themes you buy. Those add up, especially if your time is valuable.
Website Toolbox has simple, transparent pricing, with migration included in every plan, and webhooks and API access included in the standard plan. You pay one clear price and get managed hosting, done-for-you setup, and responsive support in return.
Migration
If you already run a community elsewhere, MyBB offers a self-serve merge tool that can convert forums from several popular platforms. It is a capable utility, but you run it yourself: you handle the server work, the testing, and any problems that come up, and the community forums are your only help.
Website Toolbox includes migration in every plan, and our team handles it for you, so your members and their history carry over without you doing the technical work.
Conclusion
MyBB is a capable, free, open source forum with a long history, and it is a strong choice if you want complete control over your software and server, and you have the technical skills and time to install, secure, and maintain it yourself. Choose Website Toolbox if you want an embeddable, fully branded forum that we host, set up, and support for you, with transparent pricing and migration handled by our team, so you can spend your effort on your community instead of your server. Check out our WordPress plugin for seamless embedding, or our single sign on documentation if you need to integrate an existing login system.