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Forum Free

The modern forum bbPress never became

Open threads, three-level replies, upvotes and downvotes, pinned topics, and tag-based organization. All on custom database tables that stay fast as your community grows.

Read the full discussion forum guide →

The Jetonomy community home page showing categorized spaces and a list of recent threads with vote counts

The problem

Legacy WordPress forums feel dated and slow. They store every topic and reply in wp_posts, which bloats your whole site, and the most popular option has gone years without serious updates.

  • Threaded replies up to three levels deep, so parallel conversations stay readable
  • Built-in upvote and downvote with a Popular sort that floats the best topics up
  • Pin up to three topics per space and close threads when a discussion has run its course
  • Tags, categories, and a trending sidebar so members find the right thread fast
  • Custom database tables with cursor-based pagination, built to scale past tens of thousands of topics

How threads and replies work

A Jetonomy forum looks like a forum should: each space holds a list of topics, and each topic opens to its replies. Members post a topic with a title and rich content, then the conversation builds underneath.

Replies thread up to three levels deep. You can reply to a topic, reply to a reply, and reply to that. This lets several side conversations run inside one topic without tangling into each other. Past the third level, new replies stay at level three so a thread never collapses into an unreadable staircase.

Sorting is yours to control. Read a discussion from the start with Oldest first, jump to the latest with Newest first, or switch to Best to rank replies by net vote score. Long topics load in batches with a Load more control, so a thread with hundreds of replies opens fast instead of dumping everything at once.

Voting, pinning, and keeping order

Every topic and reply carries an upvote and a downvote. The score updates the moment you click, with no page reload, and the best topics surface through the Popular sort and a trending sidebar that rewards recent momentum. Members cannot vote on their own posts, and each person gets one vote per item.

Moderators get a real toolkit. Pin up to three topics to the top of a space, close a thread to stop new replies while keeping it readable, and move, merge, or split topics when a conversation lands in the wrong place. The controls stay out of regular members’ menus, so the space stays tidy without feeling locked down.

Fast on your own site

Jetonomy stores forum content in its own database tables, not in wp_posts. That single decision is why it stays quick as you grow. Indexes are built for the queries the forum actually runs, pagination is cursor-based, and your core WordPress tables never bloat with topic and reply rows. Your forum can reach tens of thousands of topics and the rest of your site keeps running at its normal speed.

Who it's for

Product & SaaS teams

Run a fast support and discussion hub on your own domain instead of a slow legacy forum.

Membership sites

Give members a real place to talk that keeps up at scale and matches your theme.

Communities switching off bbPress

Get threading, voting, and trust levels without bolting on three add-ons.

Common questions

Is this a fork of bbPress?

No. Jetonomy is built from scratch on its own database tables, not on WordPress custom post types. That is what keeps it fast as your forum grows and keeps your wp_posts table from bloating. If you are on bbPress now, a built-in importer brings your forums, topics, replies, and users across.

How deep do replies thread?

Up to three levels. Members can reply to a reply, and reply to that reply, which keeps parallel conversations inside one topic from colliding. Beyond level three, new replies stay at level three so the thread stays readable.

Does voting come built in?

Yes. Every topic and reply has an upvote and a downvote, the score updates instantly with no page reload, and votes feed the Popular sort and a trending sidebar. Votes also drive reputation and trust levels, so helpful members rise without manual role changes.

Will it slow down my WordPress site?

No. Because forum content lives in dedicated tables with proper indexes and cursor-based pagination, the forum can grow to tens of thousands of topics without dragging down the rest of your site.

Run it on your own WordPress.

Download the free plugin, run the 5-minute wizard, and turn this feature on. No SaaS rent, your data, your domain.