Flarum vs FreeScout
A side-by-side comparison of Flarum and FreeScout on what each one charges, what it meters, and which plan every capability actually sits on.
The short answer
5 of the 10 capabilities tracked on both differ.
| Measure | Flarum | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Included, where the other says no | 0 capabilities | 1 capability |
Capability by capability
5 of the 10 capabilities tracked on both products differ.
Channels
| Capability | Flarum | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| IncludedEmail digests are named alongside in-browser notifications as the built-in engagement channel, with real-time websocket updates available as an extension. | IncludedFree core. FreeScout is a shared mailbox first, connected over IMAP and SMTP. | |
| Live chat | NoNo chat channel in core. Real-time websocket extensions exist for live updating discussions, which is not the same as a support chat widget. | Paid add-onLive Chat Module, $13.00 once per instance. |
| SMS | Not published | Paid add-onSMS Tickets Module (Twilio), $12.00 once per instance. SMS Notifications is a separate $8.00 module. |
| Not published | Paid add-onWhatsApp Integration Module (Meta Cloud API), $4.00 once per instance. | |
| Instagram / Facebook | Not published | Paid add-onFacebook Integration Module, $4.00 once per instance. Instagram is not published as a channel. |
| X / Twitter | Not published | Paid add-onTwitter Integration Module, $14.00 once per instance. |
| Community forum | IncludedThe whole product. Groups and permissions with per-category access control, built-in moderation and flagging, a choice of Markdown or WYSIWYG editors, in-browser notifications and email digests. | Not published |
Ticketing
| Capability | Flarum | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| Shared inbox | NoNo inbox, no ticket and no agent workspace. Flarum is a discussion forum and nothing else. | IncludedFree core. |
| Ticket queues | NoNo ticket object, queue, assignment or SLA. | Not published |
| SLA policies | Not published | Paid add-onSLA rules are part of the Workflows Module, $14.99 once per instance. |
| Macros / saved replies | Not published | Paid add-onSaved Replies Module, $4.99 once per instance. Not in the free core. |
| Custom fields | Not published | Paid add-onCustom Fields Module, $7.99 once per instance. User Fields is a separate $8.00 module. |
Routing & automation
| Capability | Flarum | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| Workflow builder | Not published | Paid add-onWorkflows Module, $14.99 once per instance. |
AI resolution
| Capability | Flarum | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| Autonomous resolution agent | NoNo AI of any kind in core, and no AI pricing surface, because there is nothing to price. | NoThe free core ships no AI. A ChatGPT Module and a Chrome GPT Assistant are announced as paid modules on the vendor news list, with prices Unknown, and neither is documented as resolving a conversation without an agent. |
Knowledge base
| Capability | Flarum | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| Public help center | NoNo knowledge base, article model or versioning. A forum thread is not a documented article, which is the practical difference when a support team is choosing where answers should live. | Paid add-onKnowledge Base Module, $12.00 once per instance, attached to a mailbox. |
| Custom domain | IncludedSelf-hosted, so the domain is whatever the operator points at the server. Nothing to buy and nothing to unlock. | Not published |
Reporting
| Capability | Flarum | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| Prebuilt dashboards | Not published | Paid add-onReports Module, $14.99 once per instance. Wallboards is a separate $14.99 module. |
| Raw data export | IncludedDirect database access rather than an export feature. Posts, users, groups and extension tables live in the operator's own MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite or PostgreSQL instance. | Paid add-onExport Conversations Module, $6.00 once per instance, for CSV. A database dump is free and ungated. |
| CSAT / NPS | Not published | Paid add-onSatisfaction Ratings Module, $8.99 once per instance. |
Collaboration
| Capability | Flarum | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| @mentions | Not published | Paid add-onMentions Module, $5.00 once per instance. |
| Assignment | Not published | IncludedFree core, with "User can see only assigned conversations" and "Hide from Assign list" as per-user restrictions. |
Enterprise
| Capability | Flarum | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| SAML SSO | Not publishedNot core, and not established. Flarum ships a deliberately minimal core where "most of the features that ship with Flarum are actually extensions", and authentication beyond the built-in accounts is left to the community package ecosystem. Whether a given SSO extension exists, is maintained and supports Flarum 2.x has to be checked package by package. | Paid add-onSAML SSO Module, $10.00 once per instance. LDAP Integration is a separate $17.99 module. |
| Role-based access control | Included"Assign permissions to groups, control member access across categories, and keep things tidy with built-in moderation and flagging." Group-based permissions are core rather than an extension, and there is no tier that withholds them. | IncludedFree core: an admin and user split with per-mailbox permissions. The paid Teams Module ($11.00) groups users. |
| Custom roles | Not published | NoNo custom role builder is published. Permissions are the admin and user split plus per-mailbox and per-user restrictions. |
| Audit logs | Not published | IncludedFree core, under Manage then Logs. The outgoing email log keeps the last 6 months and is cleaned monthly. |
| HIPAA / BAA | Not published | NoNot applicable by architecture. No vendor processes the data, so there is no counterparty to sign a Business Associate Agreement. |
| SOC 2 | NoNot a gap in the software, a category error. Certification attaches to whoever operates a service, and here that is the customer. No SOC 2, ISO 27001 or any other attestation exists or can exist for a project that runs nothing, and any compliance claim about a Flarum forum is a claim about the operator's own hosting. | NoNot applicable by architecture. There is no vendor-operated service to audit; the operator runs the only instance. |
| ISO 27001 | Not published | NoNot applicable by architecture. No vendor-operated service exists to certify. |
| GDPR | Not published | Paid add-onGDPR Module, $5.00 once per instance, for bulk customer and mail-server deletion. Compliance itself is the operator's responsibility. |
| Data residency | IncludedAbsolute, by construction: the data is wherever the operator puts the server. No region list, no plan gate and no vendor to ask, which is a stronger position than any hosted competitor in this category can offer and comes with correspondingly more responsibility. | IncludedFree core, by construction: the operator picks the server and therefore the jurisdiction. There is no vendor region to select and no residency add-on. |
Developer
| Capability | Flarum | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | IncludedAn API exists and is the basis of the extension model: "Build your own, or commission custom development — the API makes it possible." It is a developer surface for building against the application rather than a documented integration endpoint with a published reference of the kind hosted vendors publish. | Paid add-onAPI & Webhooks Module, $12.99 once per instance. Documented endpoints for conversations, threads, customers and custom fields. |
| Webhooks | Not published | Paid add-onSame $12.99 API & Webhooks Module. HMAC-SHA1 signed, 12 event types. |
Both entries last checked Sep 9, 2026.
What Flarum costs
- Billing unit
There is no price and no paid tier - Free tier
Yes - Data export
Self-serve - Automation export
Full
What FreeScout costs
- Billing unit
The core application is free with no agent cap and no ticket cap - Free tier
Yes - Data export
Self-serve - Automation export
Partial