Compare
Bondry vs XenForo, AMS and WordPress
XenForo is forum software. Articles come from the AMS add-on, and memberships or courses usually mean adding WordPress plugins. Bondry covers these in one product.
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What XenForo does well
XenForo is established forum software with a large ecosystem of third-party add-ons and styles, and a self-hosted license that many communities have run for years.
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Who should choose XenForo
Choose XenForo if the forum is the product, you want the widest choice of third-party add-ons and styles, and you are comfortable assembling the rest from add-ons or WordPress.
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Who should choose Bondry
Choose Bondry if you want forum, blog, payments and gamification in one core, with memberships, courses, a visual builder and AI access as modules of the same product.
Prices checked on 10 October 2026 on the vendors' public pricing pages; they can change; hosting, domains and taxes are not included unless stated.
Feature comparison
Based on each vendor's public documentation. Included means part of the base product, Add-on means an official add-on or module, Third-party plugin means a separate vendor's product.
| Feature | Bondry | XenForo with AMS | WordPress with plugins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forum | Included | Included XenForo | Third-party plugin BuddyBoss Platform |
| Blog and articles | Included | Add-on Article Management System | Included |
| Private messaging | Included | Included | Included |
| Members directory and profiles | Included | Included | Included |
| Moderation tools | Included | Included | Included |
| Memberships and paywall | Add-on Members Plus | Included User upgrades | Third-party plugin MemberPress |
| Courses and LMS | Add-on LMS | Not available | Third-party plugin LearnDash |
| Visual page builder | Add-on Designer | Not available | Third-party plugin Elementor Pro |
| Payments built in | Included Stripe, PayPal, Mercado Pago and Asaas gateways ship free with the core | Included Payment profiles | Third-party plugin MemberPress |
| Gamification | Included | Included | Third-party plugin |
| Media gallery | Not available | Add-on Media Gallery | Third-party plugin |
| Downloads and resources | Not available Attachments on posts only | Add-on Resource Manager | Third-party plugin |
| Events and calendar | Not available | Third-party add-on | Third-party plugin |
| Clubs and member groups | Not available Member groups exist for permissions, not clubs | Third-party add-on | Third-party plugin BuddyBoss groups |
| REST API | Included | Included | Included |
| AI agent access (MCP server, scoped tokens) | Add-on AI Connector | Not available | Third-party plugin |
| Themes and languages | Included | Included | Included |
| Self-hosted | Included | Included | Included |
| License model | One-time purchase with 12 months of updates and support included. Yearly extensions are optional and never renew by themselves. | One-time license with 12 months of updates and support. A yearly extension keeps both, and add-ons renew on their own terms. | The core is free. Each plugin is a yearly subscription, per site, with its own renewal price. |
Prices used in this page
Prices checked on 10 October 2026 on the vendors' public pricing pages; they can change; hosting, domains and taxes are not included unless stated.
| Item | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Bondry core | $140.00 one-time | 12 months of support included. Security fixes continue for 12 months after the update window ends. |
| Each paid module | $75.00 one-time | Designer, LMS, Members Plus and AI Connector. 12 months of support included. |
| Bondry Complete | $349.00 one-time | The core and the four paid modules in one checkout. |
| Branding removal | $250.00 one-time | Optional, one-time. |
| Core update extension | $60.00 per year | Optional, no automatic renewal. The software keeps running without it, and releases published inside the paid window stay downloadable. |
| Module update extension | $35.00 per year | Optional, no automatic renewal. The software keeps running without it, and releases published inside the paid window stay downloadable. |
| XenForo self-hosted license | $195.00 first year, then $55.00 per year | Self-hosted. Includes 12 months of updates and support. |
| Article Management System (AMS) | $55.00 first year, then $40.00 per year | By XenAddons. Includes 12 months of updates. |
| XenForo Media Gallery | $70.00 one-time | Official add-on. Its yearly extension is sold as a combined renewal. |
| XenForo Resource Manager | $70.00 one-time | Official add-on. Its yearly extension is sold as a combined renewal. |
| XenForo Enhanced Search | $60.00 one-time | Official add-on. Its yearly extension is sold as a combined renewal. |
| XenForo branding removal | $350.00 one-time | |
| XenForo Cloud Starter | $60.00 per month | XenForo Cloud, shown for reference only. |
| XenForo Cloud Standard | $100.00 per month | XenForo Cloud, shown for reference only. |
| XenForo Cloud Business | $250.00 per month | XenForo Cloud, shown for reference only. |
| Elementor Pro Essential | $59.00 per year | Essential plan, 1 site. |
| LearnDash Essentials | $259.00 per year |
Three-year cost
Two scenarios over three years. Scenario B adds the WordPress plugins for courses and page building. XenForo already includes memberships through user upgrades.
| Option | Components | Year 1 | Each of years 2 and 3 | Three-year total | Arithmetic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scenario A: forum and articles | |||||
| XenForo and AMS |
|
$250.00 | $95.00 | $440.00 | $250.00 + 2 x $95.00 = $440.00 |
| Bondry core with yearly extensions |
|
$140.00 | $60.00 | $260.00 | $140.00 + 2 x $60.00 = $260.00 |
| Scenario B: forum, articles, memberships and courses (XenForo, AMS, LearnDash and Elementor Pro) | |||||
| XenForo, AMS, LearnDash Essentials and Elementor Pro on WordPress |
|
$568.00 | $413.00 | $1,394.00 | $568.00 + 2 x $413.00 = $1,394.00 |
| Bondry Complete with all updates every year |
|
$349.00 | $200.00 | $749.00 | $349.00 + 2 x $200.00 = $749.00 |
The software keeps running without an extension, and security fixes continue for 12 months after the window, but the comparison counts every year of updates on both sides.
XenForo and AMS renewals, and the WordPress plugin subscriptions, are what you pay to keep receiving updates and support. XenForo already includes memberships through user upgrades, so no membership plugin is counted. Hosting is not included for any option.
What Bondry does not do
A comparison is only useful if it says where the other options are stronger. Today Bondry does not offer the following.
- Cloud hosting. Bondry is self-hosted, so you provide the server, the backups and the domain.
- A marketplace of thousands of add-ons. The catalogue is the core and four official modules.
- A WooCommerce-style store. Payments and memberships are built in, but there is no full product catalogue with shipping and inventory.
- A long track record. Bondry is a newer product with a smaller community, fewer tutorials and fewer third-party developers.
- A media gallery. Members can attach images to posts, but there is no album or gallery module.
- A downloads and resources manager. Files are attachments on posts only.
- Events and a calendar.
- Clubs. Member groups exist for permissions, not as clubs with their own space.
Sources
Figures come from these public pages, checked on 10 October 2026.
See the Bondry prices
Every Bondry price on this site comes from the same catalogue. The pricing page explains what each license includes.