XMB, short for eXtreme Message Board, and Website Toolbox are two very different ways to run a discussion forum. XMB is free, open source forum software written in PHP with a MySQL database backend, and it is self-hosted: you download it, install it on your own server, and manage it yourself. Website Toolbox is a fully hosted, turnkey forum service that we set up, customize, and run for you. Both can host a discussion community, but they differ sharply in how much technical work you take on, how your members sign in, and how well the forum blends into your own brand and website. This article compares XMB and Website Toolbox to help you decide which one fits your situation.
Quick Comparison: XMB vs Website Toolbox
| Feature | XMB | Website Toolbox |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Self-hosted. You buy web hosting, set up PHP and a MySQL database, and manage the server yourself. | Fully managed hosting. No server to set up, patch, or maintain. |
| Setup | Download the software, install it on a server, configure file permissions, then build your board. | We set up and customize your forum for you, ready to go. |
| Cost | Free, open source, but you pay for hosting, a domain, and the time you spend managing and securing it. | Simple, transparent pricing with migration included in every plan. |
| Development status | Actively maintained open source project run by volunteers. The current release was published recently. | Actively developed and supported, backed by a company with 24 years of experience. |
| Maintenance | You handle security patches, updates, backups, and uptime. Security fixes are applied manually. | We handle updates, security, backups, and monitoring for you. |
| Embedding | Runs as its own website or subfolder; embedding into another site requires wiring it together yourself. | Fully embeddable directly into your existing website, or run standalone on your own domain. |
| Branding | You can restyle the forum, but matching it to your brand and keeping it coherent is your work. | 100% your brand. Website Toolbox is invisible to your members, including a fully branded mobile app. |
| Mobile app | No first-party branded mobile app. Members use the responsive site or third-party apps. | A branded mobile app under your own name and colors. |
| Single Sign On | No built-in single sign on. You set up and maintain any integration yourself. | Seamless single sign on without members leaving your site, and our team sets it up for you. |
| Themes | Themes can change the colors and visual appearance, but maintaining them is your responsibility. | Multiple genuinely different themes plus an easy theme builder. |
| Support | Community forums and documentation only. No dedicated, personal support. | Email, phone, and chat support, with a team that can set up and customize your forum for you. |
| Webhooks and API | Advanced integration requires writing and maintaining your own code. | Webhooks and API access included in the standard plan. |
| Company | Volunteer open source project maintained by a small team. | Profitable company with 24 years of experience. |
Hosting and Maintenance
The biggest difference between XMB and Website Toolbox is who runs the servers. XMB is self-hosted software. To run it, you need a web host, a domain, PHP, and a MySQL or MariaDB database, and you are responsible for installing the software, keeping it updated, applying security patches, and dealing with downtime. XMB's own security notices have warned that new vulnerabilities can be discovered across versions and that admins must patch their forums and watch the support forums for updates. For a capable developer this is routine work, but it is ongoing work that never ends, and a security lapse on a community platform can expose your members' data.
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.
Development Status
It is fair to credit XMB's longevity. The project has been around for well over a decade, and it is still actively developed: the current release was published just recently by the volunteer team that maintains it. Because XMB is open source and licensed under the GPL, you can read the code, modify it, and take full control of your installation. For teams that want complete ownership of their forum software, that is a genuine strength, and we will not argue otherwise.
The tradeoff is that a volunteer open source project has no commercial support team behind it. Development slows or changes direction based on who has time to contribute, and when you hit a problem, you rely on community forums and documentation rather than a support staff that answers quickly and knows your specific setup. Website Toolbox is maintained and supported as a paid service, so your forum keeps working as the web moves forward, with someone accountable to you.
Ease of Setup
Setting up XMB means downloading the software, installing it on a server that runs PHP and a database, configuring file permissions, and then building out your forum's structure. It is straightforward for a developer, but it demands technical comfort, and you are the one who must keep that environment healthy going forward.
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
XMB lets you change its look and add modifications, and because you host it yourself, you control the whole stack. But making the forum feel like part of your existing website is work you take on: if you want it embedded, you wire it into your site yourself and keep that integration working as both your site and the forum change.
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
XMB does not come with built-in single sign on. If you want your members to log in using an existing account system, you need to find, install, and maintain the integration yourself, and keep it working as your environment changes.
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.
Branding and Mobile App
Because XMB is self-hosted, you own the whole stack and can restyle the forum page itself. But there is no first-party branded mobile app, and no one handles the messaging or experience for you beyond what you build. Delivering a fully coherent brand across the forum, your website, and mobile is extra work 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 for a consistent experience on desktop and mobile.
Customer Support
XMB's support is community-based. When something goes wrong, you troubleshoot with your own skills and whatever documentation and forum threads you can find, with no dedicated team on call for your specific board. If a security update is released, you apply it yourself and make sure nothing breaks.
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
XMB 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. Those add up, especially if your time is valuable.
Website Toolbox has simple, transparent pricing, with migration included in every plan as are webhooks and API access in the standard plan. You pay a clear price and get managed hosting, done-for-you setup, and responsive support in return.
Conclusion
XMB is a reasonable choice if you want free, open source forum software, you are comfortable hosting and maintaining your own server, and you want complete control over the code. Choose Website Toolbox if you want an embeddable, fully branded forum that we host, maintain, and set up for you, with real support and transparent pricing, 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.