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GrigoravsXenForo

The best XenForo alternative if you needed a website, not a forum

XenForo is excellent community software and it is only community software. There is no store, no newsletter platform and no real page CMS, and hosting it means $195 up front plus a server, or $60 a month on XenForo Cloud. Grigora is a website, CMS, newsletter and store from $12/mo.

From $12/mo Real CMS and blog Newsletter included Store included

Last updated August 2026

The verdict

This is not a like-for-like comparison and the page will say so up front. XenForo is the best forum software in its category, and Grigora does not have a forum. Where the two genuinely overlap is the large number of sites running XenForo as the whole website because it was the thing that got installed first: the pages are add-ons, the blog is not really a blog, there is no store and no newsletter, and the bill is a licence plus a server or $60 a month of cloud. If that is your situation, Grigora is the better website and XenForo is still the better forum.

Choose Grigora if you want…
  • A real website with pages, a CMS and a blog
  • Moderated comments on posts without running a forum
  • A newsletter and subscriber list in the same subscription
  • A store included in the plan
  • A managed platform with no server and no licence renewal
Stick with XenForo if you…
  • Run an actual discussion community with threads and members
  • Need moderation tooling, user reputation and member profiles
  • Depend on its add-on ecosystem or existing member data
Bottom line: If your site is a community, keep XenForo. If your community is really a comments section on a website you have not built yet, build the website.

XenForo alternatives at a glance

How Grigora and the other platforms compare if what you need is a website.

Swipe the table sideways to see every column

PlatformBest forFree planStarting priceSales commissionExport your site
GrigoraWebsites with a CMS, newsletter and storeYesFrom $12/mo0% (processing only)
XenForoDiscussion communitiesNo$195 licence or $60/mo cloudNot applicable
WordPressMaximum plugin choiceSoftware is freeHosting + plugins0% (processing only)
WixTemplates and app marketYes (Wix ads)From $17/mo0% (processing only)
SquarespaceDesign-led sitesNo (trial)From $19/mo2% on Basic, 0% on Core+Partial
ShopifySerious online storesNo (trial)From $29/mo0% w/ Shopify PaymentsPartial

List pricing as of August 2026. XenForo's self-hosted licence is a one-time $195 with one year of updates and support included; continued updates require a paid extension.

Why people move from XenForo to Grigora

The situations where forum software turned out to be the wrong foundation.

1

The forum became a comments section

Plenty of communities are now a handful of regulars replying to articles. That is a content site with comments, which does not need a forum platform underneath it.

2

Everything except threads is an add-on

Marketing pages, articles and anything resembling a CMS come from third-party add-ons, each of which has to survive the next XenForo upgrade.

3

There is nowhere to sell

No store, no products, no checkout. Monetising means bolting on an external platform or leaving the site to do it.

4

The costs stack up quietly

A $195 licence, a server, an annual extension for updates, add-on purchases, and $30 a month on Cloud just to remove the branding.

What XenForo does well

  • The best forum software in its class, with excellent moderation tooling
  • Self-hosted licence includes source-code access and lifetime use
  • Cloud plans are fully managed and include the complete XenForo suite
  • Clear data-ownership policy, including a full copy of your data if you leave

Where XenForo falls short

  • No store, no email marketing platform and no real page CMS
  • Self-hosting means a server, a database and ongoing security work
  • Updates and support stop after year one unless the licence is extended
  • Cloud starts at $60/mo, with $30/mo more to remove XenForo branding

Grigora vs XenForo at a glance

Compared on the job of running a website rather than a forum.

XenForo

Forum software

Entry cost:
$195 licence or $60/mo cloud
Server required:
Yes, if self-hosted
Page builder & templates:
Add-ons and styles
Blog & CMS:
Not really
Newsletter:
Online store:
AI first-draft site:
Discussion forum:
Best in class
Free SEO tools suite:
RECOMMENDED
Grigora

All-in-one website platform

Entry cost:
$12/mo
Server required:
Page builder & templates:
131 templates + block editor
Blog & CMS:
CMS, collections, directories
Newsletter:
Included
Online store:
Included
AI first-draft site:
Discussion forum:
Free SEO tools suite:
210 tools

Grigora vs XenForo: feature by feature

A category-by-category breakdown, pricing, AI, design, e-commerce, email, SEO, performance, and support.

Pricing & value

Grigora wins

XenForo has two routes and both are more expensive than they first look. The self-hosted licence is $195 once, which buys lifetime use and one year of updates and support, after which continued updates need a paid extension, and you still pay for a server. XenForo Cloud starts at $60 a month, with branding removal a further $30.

FeatureGrigoraXenForo
Cheapest managed plan$12/mo$60/mo (Cloud Starter)
Self-hosted routeNot applicable$195 licence plus a server
Updates after year oneIncludedPaid licence extension
Removing platform brandingIncluded+$30/mo on Cloud
Free planYesNo

Takeaway: XenForo Cloud Starter costs five times Grigora Starter, for software that does a completely different job.

What each platform is actually for

Even match

The most useful category on this page. XenForo builds communities: threads, members, moderation, reputation, media galleries and search. Grigora builds websites: pages, content, email and commerce. Neither replaces the other, and plenty of people are using one to do the other's job.

FeatureGrigoraXenForo
Discussion forumBest in class
Member profiles and reputation
Moderation toolingComment moderationFull community moderation
Marketing pages and site designAdd-ons and styles
Blog, newsletter and store

Takeaway: Pick based on whether the members are the product or the audience is.

Blog, CMS & pages

Grigora wins

XenForo has no content management system in the sense a website needs. Static pages and article-style content come from add-ons, and structuring a marketing site around them is a workaround rather than a feature. Grigora ships the whole editorial model.

FeatureGrigoraXenForo
Marketing pagesBlock editorAdd-on pages
Blog with categories and authorsAdd-on dependent
Structured collections and directoriesBuilt in
Comments on articlesBuilt-in moderationForum threads
AI blog writing

Takeaway: Running a business site on forum software means every page is an exception.

Newsletter & email

Grigora wins

XenForo can email its members about threads and notifications. It is not an email marketing platform, and running campaigns means an external service integrated against your member list. Grigora includes the list, the campaigns and the automations.

FeatureGrigoraXenForo
Email marketing included2,500 to 25,000 subscribers
Campaign builderIncludedExternal platform
Automation and segmentationIncludedExternal platform
Member and subscriber notificationsComment notificationsStrong
Professional inboxFrom $5/mailboxSeparate provider

Takeaway: XenForo notifies members. It does not market to an audience.

E-commerce & online store

Grigora wins

XenForo has no store. Selling anything means an add-on, an external platform, or handling payments outside the site entirely. Grigora's store is part of the platform on every plan.

FeatureGrigoraXenForo
Store included
Catalog, variants and stock
Digital and physical products
Paid membershipsNot offeredUser upgrades
Platform commission0%Not applicable

Takeaway: XenForo can sell forum upgrades. It cannot sell products.

Hosting, maintenance & security

Grigora wins

Self-hosted XenForo means a server, a database, PHP versions, backups and security, all yours. XenForo Cloud removes that for $60 a month and upward. Grigora is managed at every price point.

FeatureGrigoraXenForo
Server to run and secureYes, if self-hosted
Software updatesHandled for youYours, and licensed annually
BackupsAutomaticYours or Cloud
Managed optionAlwaysFrom $60/mo
Add-on compatibility riskNoneReal on upgrades

Takeaway: The licence is the cheap part of self-hosting. The server and the upkeep are not.

SEO & site speed

Grigora wins

XenForo's forum pages are well built and index reasonably, and forum content is a weak foundation for a business site's search presence: thin threads, duplicate patterns and little control over the landing pages that actually convert.

FeatureGrigoraXenForo
Meta, schema and sitemap controlsForum defaults
Landing pages built for searchAdd-on dependent
Free SEO tools suite210 tools
IndexNow submissionAdd-on
Fast hosted deliveryDepends on your server

Takeaway: Threads rank as threads. They do not do the job of a service page.

Ease of use & setup

Grigora wins

Getting a XenForo forum running self-hosted is a server task: requirements, database, files, licence, then styles and add-ons. Cloud removes most of that at $60 a month. Grigora starts with a sentence about your business.

FeatureGrigoraXenForo
Time to a first live draftMinutesHours to days self-hosted
AI site generation
Templates included131Styles marketplace
Editing pages visuallyTemplate editing
Mobile editingLimited

Takeaway: Different jobs, and only one of them starts with choosing a server.

Ownership, export & support

XenForo wins

XenForo is genuinely good on ownership. The self-hosted licence includes source-code access, the data is yours, and XenForo Cloud explicitly offers a full copy of your content and data if you cancel. Grigora exports your content but not the platform.

FeatureGrigoraXenForo
Export content
Source-code accessSelf-hosted licence
Full data copy on cancellationContent exportOffered on Cloud
SupportEmail, priority on higher plansLifetime on Cloud, year one on licence

Takeaway: XenForo treats your data well. That is worth saying about a paid platform.

Grigora vs XenForo pricing

XenForo sells a licence or a cloud plan. Grigora sells one subscription with the website, newsletter and store in it.

GrigoraAll-in-one

Website, newsletter & store in one plan

Starter
1 site · 15K AI credits · 2,500 subscribers · store
$12/mo
$144/yr · $15 month-to-month
ProPopular
2 sites · 40K AI credits · 7,500 subscribers
$20/mo
$240/yr · $25 month-to-month
Business
5 sites · 250K AI credits · 25,000 subscribers
$45/mo
$540/yr · $59 month-to-month

Annual rates shown. Hosting, CDN, SSL, backups, the CMS, the newsletter and the store are included on every plan, with 0% platform commission on any gateway.

XenForo

Licence or managed community hosting

Self-hosted licence
Lifetime use, one year of updates and support, then a paid extension
$195 once
plus a server
Cloud StarterEntry cloud
400K monthly page views, 50GB storage, fully managed
$60/mo
less if paid yearly
Cloud Standard
1M monthly page views, 100GB storage
$100/mo
less if paid yearly
Cloud Business
4M monthly page views, 240GB storage, priority support
$250/mo
less if paid yearly

XenForo pricing as listed August 2026, shown exclusive of VAT. Removing XenForo branding on Cloud is an extra $30/mo. Self-hosted add-ons such as Media Gallery and Resource Manager are purchased separately; Cloud plans include the full suite.

Grigora Starter at $12/mo is a whole website with a store and a newsletter. XenForo Cloud Starter at $60/mo is a forum, and a very good one.

The real cost: Grigora vs XenForo

The licence price is not the running cost, and neither platform covers what the other does.

What you pay forXenForoGrigora
Platform$195 licence or $60 to $250/mo cloud$12 to $45/mo (all-in)
Server and hostingYours, if self-hostedIncluded
Updates after year onePaid licence extensionIncluded
Removing platform branding+$30/mo on CloudIncluded
Marketing pages and blogAdd-onsIncluded
Email marketingExternal platformIncluded (2,500 to 25,000 subs)
Online storeNot availableIncluded

Grigora vs XenForo, side by side

XenForo builds communities. Grigora builds the website around one.

Grigora
Grigora AI website builder homepage
Grigora, the site, newsletter and store in one plan
XenForo
XenForo homepage
XenForo's homepage (xenforo.com), captured August 2026

Is Grigora the right XenForo alternative for you?

Where Grigora is the right move, and where it is not.

Best XenForo alternative for a business website

If the forum is the only thing you have and the business needs service pages, a blog and a store, you need a website platform.

… for communities that outgrew the forum model

Many discussion sites are now content sites with a comments section. Grigora gives you the content site and moderated comments.

… for anyone facing a licence renewal

Updates stop after year one unless you extend. That is a reasonable moment to ask what the site is actually for.

Not a fit: an active discussion community

Grigora has no forum, no threads and no member profiles. If those are the product, stay on XenForo.

Which one is right for you?

Choose Grigora if…

  • Your site needs pages, a blog and a store more than it needs threads
  • You want moderated comments without running a community
  • You would rather not maintain a server or a licence
  • You want a newsletter and a store in the same plan
  • You are an agency that wants to resell under your own brand

Choose XenForo if…

  • You run a real discussion community with active members
  • Moderation, reputation and member profiles are core to the site
  • You have existing member data and add-ons you depend on

How to move from XenForo to Grigora

Be clear about what you are moving. Threads and member accounts do not transfer to Grigora, because Grigora has no forum. Articles, pages and a mailing list do.

  1. 1

    Decide what the site is for

    If the discussion is the product, keep XenForo. If the discussion is a comments section on content, a website platform is the better foundation.

  2. 2

    Start your Grigora site

    Describe the site in a sentence and the AI generates a first-draft site with pages, layout and copy.

  3. 3

    Move the content, not the threads

    Bring your articles, guides and pages into Grigora's CMS, where they gain categories, authors and moderated comments.

  4. 4

    Bring the audience

    Export the member email addresses you are entitled to mail and import them into Grigora's built-in newsletter.

  5. 5

    Point your domain and redirect

    Connect your domain and redirect the URLs worth keeping so existing rankings carry over, then retire the licence or Cloud plan.

Why people look for a XenForo alternative in 2026

XenForo is very good at what it does, and what it does is forums. This page exists because a large number of sites are running on forum software while trying to be something else: a business site, a publication, a membership brand with something to sell. That mismatch does not show up on day one. It shows up the first time you need a proper landing page.

Everything that is not a thread is an add-on

Static pages, article-style content and anything resembling a content management system arrive as third-party add-ons. Each one has to be chosen, installed, styled and then survive the next XenForo upgrade, and none of them turns forum software into a website builder.

There is nothing to sell with

No store, no catalogue, no checkout. XenForo can sell user upgrades, which is a membership mechanic rather than commerce. Anything else means sending people to another platform and losing the thread.

The costs are quieter than they look

The self-hosted licence is $195 once, and that buys one year of updates and support before a paid extension is needed, on top of a server you run and secure yourself. XenForo Cloud removes the server for $60 a month, plus $30 a month if you would rather the footer did not say XenForo.

How Grigora compares

Grigora is a website platform, and the comparison only makes sense in that direction. It will not run your community. It will run the site around it: pages, a CMS with categories and authors, structured directories, moderated comments, a newsletter and a store, all managed, from $12 a month.

Comments without a community platform

The most common reason a small site ends up on forum software is that it wanted discussion under its articles. Grigora includes moderated comments with admin replies as a core feature, which covers that need without a member system, a moderation queue and a server.

Where XenForo still wins, completely

If people come to your site to talk to each other, XenForo is the right software and nothing on this page suggests otherwise. Threads, member profiles, reputation, moderation queues and its add-on ecosystem have no equivalent in Grigora. The honest recommendation for an active community is to keep XenForo, and to build the marketing site somewhere that is built for marketing sites.

Frequently asked questions

Only for the website half. Grigora is a website, CMS, newsletter and store platform from $12/mo, and it has no forum, threads or member profiles. If you run an active discussion community, XenForo remains the right software. If your XenForo install is really doing the job of a business website, Grigora is the better foundation for that.

As listed in August 2026, the self-hosted licence is $195 once, which grants lifetime use plus one year of updates and support, with a paid extension needed after that, and you supply the server. XenForo Cloud is $60/mo for Starter, $100/mo for Standard and $250/mo for Business, cheaper if paid yearly, with $30/mo extra to remove XenForo branding. Prices exclude VAT.

No. XenForo is forum software. Static pages and article-style content come from third-party add-ons, there is no e-commerce, and its email is member notifications rather than an email marketing platform. Grigora includes all three.

No. Grigora has moderated comments with admin replies on posts and pages, which covers discussion under content, but there are no threads, member profiles or community moderation queues. That is the main thing you give up.

Yes, and for an active community that is usually the right answer. Keep XenForo on a subdomain for the forum, and run the marketing site, blog, newsletter and store on Grigora, linking between the two.

Articles, pages and guides can be moved into Grigora's CMS, and member email addresses you are entitled to mail can be imported into the built-in newsletter. Threads and member accounts do not transfer, because Grigora has no forum.

Compare Grigora with other platforms

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