10 Best Private groups Alternatives in 2026
Updated September 7, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
Private groups sits at #9 in the WordPress.org Forum Plugins ranking. These 10 plugins share its category or its tags on WordPress.org, are actively maintained, and each has at least 100 active installs. They are ordered by how closely they match, not by our opinion.
The 10 closest alternatives to Private groups
- 1
Asgaros Forum
Closest match4.8 (208) 10,000+ active installsAsgaros Forum is the best forum-plugin for WordPress! It comes with dozens of features in a beautiful design and stays simple and fast.
#3 in the WordPress.org Forum Plugins ranking. About 10 times the installs, last updated March 21, 2026.
- 2
4.2 (23) 300+ active installsThe most versatile and feature-rich forum plugin for WordPress. Create unlimited forums with awesome features directly in your WordPress site.
#8 in the WordPress.org Forum Plugins ranking. About a third of the installs, last updated January 29, 2026.
- 3
ForumWP – Forum & Discussion Board
3.6 (12) 800+ active installsAdd a forum to your website with ForumWP.
#5 in the WordPress.org Forum Plugins ranking. A similar number of installs, last updated April 1, 2026.
- 4
Forumax – AI Powered Advanced Community Forum Plugin
5.0 (18) 600+ active installsBuild powerful communities with Forumax. A fully standalone, feature-rich forum plugin with voting, private replies, and Elementor integration.
#4 in the WordPress.org Forum Plugins ranking. About half the installs, last updated 25 days ago.
- 5
FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses
4.9 (90) 8,000+ active installsGet a fast & all-in-one community plugin. Create unlimited communities, and courses with robust social networking and LMS features.
#6 in the WordPress.org Forum Plugins ranking. About 8 times the installs, last updated 4 days ago.
- 6
4.7 (390) 20,000+ active installsNumber one WordPress forum plugin with AI features. Full-fledged forum solution with modern forum design. Community builder WordPress forum plugin.
#1 in the WordPress.org Forum Plugins ranking. About 20 times the installs, last updated 22 days ago.
- 7
3.9 (342) 100,000+ active installsbbPress is forum software for WordPress.
#2 in the WordPress.org Forum Plugins ranking. About 100 times the installs, last updated 4 days ago.
- 8
Simple Ajax Chat – Add a Fast, Secure Chat Box
4.9 (215) 2,000+ active installsDisplay an Ajax-powered chat box anywhere. Lightweight, flexible, fast, and secure. Fully customizable with many options.
Shares the forum tag on WordPress.org. About 2 times the installs, last updated 11 days ago.
- 9
5.0 (77) 1,000+ active installsThis toolbox allows you to extend the functionality of Asgaros Forum.
Shares the forum tag on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, no update since May 6, 2024.
- 10
GD bbPress Attachments
Paid version available4.3 (26) 6,000+ active installsImplement attachments upload to the topics and replies in bbPress plugin through a media library and add additional forum-based controls.
Shares the bbPress tag on WordPress.org. About 6 times the installs, last updated April 12, 2026.
Private groups against each of them
Head to head on installs, ratings, reviews and updates. Each measure names its own leader; there is no overall winner.
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Private groups vs Asgaros Forum1,000+ vs 10,000+ installs · 4.9 vs 4.8
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Private groups vs Simple:Press Forum1,000+ vs 300+ installs · 4.9 vs 4.2
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Private groups vs ForumWP1,000+ vs 800+ installs · 4.9 vs 3.6
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Private groups vs Forumax1,000+ vs 600+ installs · 4.9 vs 5.0
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Private groups vs FluentCommunity1,000+ vs 8,000+ installs · 4.9 vs 4.9
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Private groups vs wpForo Forum1,000+ vs 20,000+ installs · 4.9 vs 4.7
Switching from Private groups: common questions
What is the best alternative to Private groups?
Asgaros Forum is the closest match: it shares the Forum Plugins top 10 with Private groups and has 10,000+ active installs with a 4.8 out of 5 rating.
Which Private groups alternative has the most users?
bbPress, with 100,000+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Which Private groups alternative is rated highest?
Toolbox for Asgaros Forum, rated 5.0 out of 5 by 77 reviewers. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted.
Are these Private groups alternatives free?
Every plugin listed here is free to install from WordPress.org. Where WordPress.org marks a plugin as commercial, the developer also sells a paid version or add-ons, and that is shown on each plugin.
How are alternatives chosen?
Automatically, from WordPress.org data: plugins that share a category top 10 with Private groups score highest, then plugins that appear in the same WordPress.org rankings, then plugins with the same tags, weighted so rare tags count more than common ones. Plugins by the same author and plugins rated under 4.0 are left out.
How we choose these alternatives
Nothing on this page is picked by hand. Every day we walk the whole WordPress.org directory, then score every plugin against Private groups on three signals: sharing a category top 10 counts most, then appearing in the same WordPress.org rankings, then carrying the same tags, with rare tags counting for more than common ones like "wordpress". Plugins by the same author are excluded, so an author's own add-ons cannot fill the list, and so is anything rated below 4.0 or with fewer than 100 active installs. The ten highest scores are what you see, in that order. Full methodology.
The bottom line
Asgaros Forum is the closest match to Private groups by the data we track, and bbPress has the widest reach with 100,000+ active installs. FluentCommunity shipped the most recent release, on September 3, 2026. The list is rebuilt every day from WordPress.org, so a plugin that stops being maintained drops out on its own.
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What moved this week
One email a week, built from the same daily snapshots these rankings come from: the plugins that climbed, what launched, and one ranking worth a look.