Compare: forum hosting
Traxio vs ProBoards
ProBoards is one of the biggest hosted forum platforms: free, with unlimited members and posts. On Traxio you run your own forum software for £0.99 a month after a free 30 days, so the database is yours to back up and move.
- No card to start
- 30 days free
- Then £0.99/month
- No adverts on your site
The short version
Where ProBoards is the better choice
- It’s free for good
- Unlimited members, posts and pageviews with nothing to manage
- Software, security and updates handled for you
- No domain needed to start
Where Traxio is the better choice
- No adverts on your forum, for 99p a month
- A full backup of your forum, any time
- Free to modify: any theme, package or code change
- Your own domain and email address
ProBoards is mature and reliable, with no limits on members, posts or pageviews, and it’s free. Free forums are funded by adverts, and on standard plans you can’t download a full copy of your forum. On Traxio you install SMF (or phpBB or MyBB) with no adverts, and back up the whole forum whenever you like.
Side by side
| Traxio | ProBoards | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free for 30 days (no card), then £0.99/month | Free; ad-free and premium features are paid; business plans from $49.99/month |
| What you get | Your own forum software on your own hosting | A forum on ProBoards’ hosted platform |
| Forum software | SMF, phpBB, MyBB or any PHP forum | ProBoards’ own software |
| Members, posts, pageviews | No member or post limit; 3GB space and 100GB bandwidth | Unlimited |
| Adverts | None, ever | Shown on free forums; ad-free is a paid upgrade |
| Your own domain | Yes (bring your own) | $14 a year plus your registrar’s fee |
| Customisation | Any theme or package, plus file access | Themes and plugins within the platform |
| Files and database | Yours: FTP, SFTP and phpMyAdmin | No (hosted platform) |
| Full forum backup or export | Download files and database any time | Not available on standard plans (per ProBoards staff); “fully exportable” listed on business plans |
| Support | Help centre and AI-first help desk, with a person on escalation | Support offered for free forums |
| Updates and security | Your job, with guides; daily offsite backups | Handled by ProBoards |
Competitor details checked on 6 October 2026 from the sources listed below. Plans and prices change; check ProBoards’s own site before deciding. Prices are shown in the currency each provider uses. Traxio has no affiliate relationship with any service on this page.
Which should you choose?
Choose ProBoards if…
- you want zero maintenance and unlimited scale at no cost
- adverts are acceptable to you
Choose Traxio if…
- owning and backing up your community’s data matters to you
- you want an ad-free forum on your own domain for £11.88 a year
Not sure? Traxio’s first 30 days are free with no card, so you can try it properly and decide before paying anything. How the free 30 days work
Sources
Checked 6 October 2026. If something here is out of date or wrong, please tell us through the contact page and we’ll correct it.
Questions
Can I move my ProBoards forum to SMF?
Not directly. ProBoards staff have said a full download of a whole forum isn’t possible on standard plans, so there’s no database to import. Communities that move usually start fresh and copy key content across.
Does ProBoards have adverts?
Free ProBoards forums show adverts. Removing them is a paid upgrade.
Which handles bigger forums?
ProBoards, without effort on your part: members, posts and pageviews are unlimited. Very large boards eventually need more than shared hosting.
- Other comparisons:
- InfinityFree
- ByetHost
- WordPress.com
- Forumotion
- Create A Forum
Start free.
Stay for 99p.
Proper shared hosting on your own domain with no adverts. First 30 days free with no card, then £0.99 a month.
- £0 today
- No card required
- £0.99/month afterwards
- Cancel anytime