Vanilla Forums

How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.

Directory rank vs rivals

wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you

How often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.

Share of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

Refined from the date this plugin crossed into its current band.

No paid tier is visible, so we don't put a figure on revenue or sale value: that would be guessing. The install base is a real asset to an acquirer, just not one public data lets us price. A small install base leaves thin data to model from.

1. ★★★★★ Tennant

   6.8y ago

   Works fine with WordPress 5.2.4 and Vanilla 2.8.1. Likely works with upgraded versions of both. Any comments about it not working, either have other problems going on, outdated versions of software, or incorrect configuration. Read the install instructions and enjoy easy SSO with this plugin. Developers, thank you for updating this!

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ Sirmadsen

   7.9y ago

   Plugin not working, can’t change page url, youtube video is outdated and the embed only creates an empty page.

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ dbrooke1007

   7.9y ago

   This plugin does not change with wordpress changes or Vanilla app changes. There are bugs in the current version having to do with SSO and role propagation and the company has taken the position they don’t support SSO for the open source community. We are moving to Discourse. ‘edit: 10102018’ I’m adding back a star to my review. It’s true most of what I said, but I figured out the Role Propagation issue after months of looking for an answer. Adding back a star. Would be nice if Vanilla cared about us plug-in users though. This topic was modified 7 years, 9 months ago by dbrooke1007. Reason: 1 issue resolved

   Read on wp.org ↗
4. ★★★★★ Bobthearch

   8.2y ago

   I’ve tested about every method of integrating a forum into WordPress websites. I’ve used plugin forums, standalone forums as separate sites, and standalone forums in iFrames. So far it looks like Vanilla might be the best solution, the easiest and best-integrated. So why four-stars instead of five? You can add sub-forums to forums, but you cannot group forums into true categories in the same way that mainstream forum software does. There is a Vanilla plugin to address this but the plugin is many years old, has reported bugs, and was never released as a stable version.

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ certainlyakey

   8.6y ago

   We’ve managed to make it work for SSO based authorization on a VF forum (with users logging in/registering via a WP site), but had a lot of troubles with bad UI, unexpected errors, not really decent documentation.

   Read on wp.org ↗
6. ★★★★★ omnix32

   10.8y ago

   This plugin allows you to have people register on your blog and takes that same information to register them also on your vanilla forums. It’s automatic for them. I am using the free open source version of vanilla forums and this set up with some reading and common sense. Nobody has tried to sell me anything and the plugin works as intended with the open source version of Vanilla. You will also need the JSConnect plugin from Vanilla forums Plugin page for single sign on. Setting this up is pretty self explanatory. A great plugin.

   Read on wp.org ↗
7. ★★★★★ Cpatain.Austin

   11.0y ago

   Ok so i have everything set up perfectly but still have one MAJOR issue, Permalinks. If i don’t have my permalinks set to default the forums displays a 404 not found. I don’t want to use default permalinks so i guess im not using vanilla forums sadly until this is fixed.

   Read on wp.org ↗
8. ★★★★★ deepakkhasa

   11.3y ago

   Not worth the hassle, plus its a paid service and dosnt integrate in all themes, BB press is a lot better in my opinion

   Read on wp.org ↗

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.4.2

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

1. 2025-04-13 200+ → 100+ down after 3 days in tier
2. 2025-04-10 100+ → 200+ up after 3 days in tier
3. 2025-04-07 200+ → 100+ down after 389 days in tier
4. 2024-03-14 300+ → 200+ down after 5 days in tier
5. 2024-03-09 200+ → 300+ up after 6 days in tier
6. 2024-03-03 300+ → 200+ down after 322 days in tier
7. 2023-04-16 400+ → 300+ down

Competes with

The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).

• wpForo Forum 20K+ installs · 4.7★ · 3 shared tags A
• Asgaros Forum 10K+ installs · 4.7★ · 3 shared tags A
• Ultimate Member – ForumWP forum integration 500+ installs · 2.9★ · 3 shared tags D
• bbPress 100K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags C
• FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A
• Forumax – AI Powered Advanced Community Forum Plugin 600+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A

Embed this report card

Drop a live Pulse card for Vanilla Forums into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

Vanilla Forums: 100+ active installs, 2.8★ (17 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-09-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/vanilla-forums