16.07.2026
Is There a XenForo Mobile App? (2026 Answer)
Yes — but not an official native one. As of 2026, a XenForo forum can go mobile three ways: the free progressive web app (PWA) built into XenForo itself, hosted third-party services such as ForumApps, or a native app you own — either open-source Forum Copilot or a one-time-license white-label product like ours. This guide compares all of them honestly, including the free option.
If you searched for “xenforo app” and landed on xenforo.com’s own PWA page, that is the official answer: XenForo Ltd. does not ship a native iOS or Android app and recommends the PWA instead. Whether the PWA is enough for your forum is the real question, and it depends on what you need push notifications, store presence, and branding to do for you.
Route 1: the official XenForo PWA (free)
XenForo ships PWA support out of the box. Once configured, visitors see an “Install the app” button in the browser and get your forum on their home screen — no app store, no reauthentication, no cost. The official documentation lives at docs.xenforo.com/manual/configuration/pwa.
The PWA is a genuinely good default, and we say that as a company selling the paid alternative. It is free, updates instantly with your forum, needs no store approval, and comes from XenForo itself.
Here is where it stops:
- No App Store or Google Play presence. There is no store listing to link in a “download our app” announcement, no store search discoverability, and no icon a member finds by searching your forum’s name.
- Push notifications on iPhone need a manual step almost nobody performs. iOS has supported web push since 16.4 — but only after the user adds your site to their home screen through Safari’s share sheet. Most visitors do not know that step exists. Android web push is far less fussy. So PWA push is not broken on iOS; it is gated behind an install ritual you cannot automate. A native app asks for push permission with one tap.
- Browser-based experience. The PWA renders your responsive web theme in a browser shell. There is no native rendering layer, and no native community features such as in-app chat or stories.
For a small forum whose members mostly read on desktop, none of these may matter. For a community whose lifeblood is the reply-notification loop on phones, the iOS push friction alone is usually the deciding factor: push benchmark reports from vendors such as Airship and Pushwoosh put typical mobile app push opt-in around 61–67%, a rate the manual-install PWA path on iOS cannot approach.
Route 2: hosted subscription services
ForumApps
ForumApps (forumapps.net) has converted XenForo forums into mobile apps since around 2017. It is a hosted service: they build, host, and maintain the app, and you pay monthly. Pricing, verified July 2026: Thread at $79/month, Sub Forum at $99/month, Forum at $199/month.
The trade-offs are structural. The base tier carries ForumApps branding and includes their platform ads; removing the branding and running your own ad network requires higher tiers, and moderation tools plus analytics are reserved for the top Forum tier. No tier includes source code. Over three years the subscription totals $2,844 to $7,164 — and the app stops working if you stop paying.
Their genuine strength: zero maintenance. If you want a forum app with no involvement in builds, updates, or store submissions ever, and the recurring cost fits your budget, the hosted model does what it promises.
Hell-Desk
Hell-Desk (hell-desk.com) offers a white-label XenForo app for iOS and Android with Firebase Cloud Messaging push, infinite scroll, dark and light themes, Google Analytics integration, AdMob monetization, and GDPR-compliance features including account deletion and consent flows. Pricing is not published — evaluation starts with a contact form and a free trial. We cannot compare costs because there is no public price to compare; factor the sales process into your evaluation time.
Route 3: a native app you own
Forum Copilot (open source, free)
Forum Copilot (forumcopilot.com) is an open-source native mobile app for XenForo, listed on xenforo.com’s resource marketplace with code on GitHub. It works two ways: a shared hosted “Forum Copilot” app where admins register their forum, or an open-source template you build into your own single-forum branded app via their XenForo add-on.
The honest assessment: the code is free and transparent, and the project is community-driven — real strengths. The costs are in kind rather than cash. The self-build route needs a Flutter or mobile developer, your own store accounts, a build pipeline, and ongoing maintenance as iOS and Android evolve; there is no installation service or guaranteed support SLA. The shared hosted app avoids that work but puts your community inside an app that is not your brand in the store.
If you have in-house mobile development capacity, Forum Copilot deserves a serious look before you pay anyone.
XenForo Mobile App (one-time license — our product)
Our product converts a XenForo forum into true native iOS and Android apps built with Flutter — actual native binaries, not a WebView wrapper. The Regular license is $199 one-time for a single forum and includes both builds, installation, six months of support, and updates. The Extended license is $499 one-time and adds the complete Flutter source code with rebrand and resell rights for agencies, plus twelve months of support. There is no subscription.
Shipped features include forum browsing, thread posting with BBCode, attachments, polls, likes, bookmarks, advanced search, private conversations, moderation tools, real-time chat, stories, profile walls, a marketplace module for member classifieds, offline reading, biometric login with Face ID or fingerprint, dark mode, and Firebase FCM push notifications for replies, mentions, quotes, reactions, and private messages. White-label means your name, icon, and colors on both stores, published from your own developer accounts. Home-screen widgets and Media Gallery support are coming soon — roadmap items, not shipped features.
One capability deserves its own mention: App Control. The app is managed from your XenForo admin panel — toggle a module on or off, change the tab order, enable maintenance mode — and every installed app on every member’s phone reconfigures itself within seconds via a silent push. No store resubmission, no app review, no waiting for members to update. For an admin, it means the mobile app is as adjustable as the forum itself.
Proof over promises: demo apps are live on the App Store and Google Play, and real customer forums run the app in production — the “Live in the wild” section on our homepage links to them.
All five options at a glance
| Option | Model | Price (July 2026) | Source access | Chat / stories | Remote management | Store listing owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official XenForo PWA | Built into XF | Free | n/a (web) | No | n/a (web) | No store listing |
| ForumApps | Hosted subscription | $79–199/month | No | No | — | Customer (white-label on higher tiers) |
| Forum Copilot | Open source | Free (DIY build) | Full (GitHub) | No | — | Customer (self-built) or shared hosted app |
| Hell-Desk | White-label service | Undisclosed (contact form) | Not stated | No | — | Customer |
| XenForo Mobile App (us) | One-time license | $199 / $499 once | Extended: full Flutter source | Yes | Yes (App Control via ACP) | Customer |
Competitor details last verified July 2026.
And Tapatalk?
Tapatalk still appears in “xenforo app” searches, but it is an aggregator — one shared app hosting 200,000+ forums under Tapatalk’s brand — and as of July 2026 its listing on xenforo.com’s resource marketplace is marked [Deleted]. The documented history of injected ads and member-email practices is covered in our dedicated guide: the Tapatalk alternative for XenForo forums. We do not recommend starting a new mobile strategy on it in 2026.
Which XenForo app option should you choose?
Choose the free PWA if your forum is small or desktop-heavy, your members are mostly on Android or fine without push, and you want zero cost and zero maintenance. Enable it either way — it costs nothing and coexists with every other option on this list.
Choose ForumApps if you want a fully hands-off hosted app, accept recurring $79–199/month indefinitely, and are comfortable with no source access and branding limits on lower tiers.
Choose Forum Copilot if you have a Flutter or mobile developer available and want full code transparency at zero license cost, in exchange for owning the build and maintenance work yourself.
Choose Hell-Desk if its feature set fits and you are willing to go through a contact-form sales process to learn the price.
Choose our one-time license if you want your own branded app in both stores with reliable one-tap push, need chat, stories, a marketplace, and a social layer beyond the forum core, and prefer paying once over renting forever. At $199 against $79–199 per month, the arithmetic settles itself within a few months.
Choose custom development only if you have an unusual product vision and the budget for it — agency quotes for dual-platform native apps commonly start in the tens of thousands of dollars, before annual maintenance.
Frequently asked questions
Does XenForo have an official mobile app?
No. XenForo Ltd. does not publish a native iOS or Android app. The official recommendation is the built-in progressive web app (PWA), documented at docs.xenforo.com/manual/configuration/pwa. Native apps come from third parties.
Do XenForo PWA push notifications work on iPhone?
Yes, with friction. iOS 16.4+ supports web push, but only after the user manually adds your forum to their home screen via Safari’s share sheet — a step most visitors never discover. Native apps request push permission with a single tap, which is why iOS push reliability is the most common reason forums outgrow the PWA.
How much does a XenForo mobile app cost?
Free (official PWA or self-built Forum Copilot), $79–199/month hosted (ForumApps, as of July 2026), $199–499 one-time licensed (our product), or undisclosed (Hell-Desk). Add roughly $99/year for an Apple Developer account and $25 one-time for Google Play if the app publishes under your own name.
Can members find my forum in the App Store with the PWA?
No. A PWA has no store listing, so there is nothing to find by searching the App Store or Google Play. Store presence requires a native app published under a developer account.
Is the PWA enough for a small forum?
Often, yes. If your community is under a few hundred active members, largely desktop-based, or not dependent on instant mobile notifications, the PWA delivers most of the value at zero cost. Revisit the decision when iOS push complaints or “do you have an app?” questions start recurring.
See a native XenForo app before you pay for one
Our demo apps are on the App Store and Google Play — install one, log in, and judge the native experience yourself. When you are ready to compare licenses, the pricing section covers the $199 Regular and $499 Extended options, both one-time. And if you are specifically escaping Tapatalk, start with our Tapatalk migration guide for XenForo.