UltraGuest vs SmartGB

SmartGB and UltraGuest are both long-running free guestbook services, and both host the guestbook as a page on their own servers. This page puts what each offers side by side. Everything said about SmartGB was read on its own website (home page, Features, FAQ and privacy page) in September 2026 and is reported without judgement; features and terms change, so please check smartgb.com for the current details. UltraGuest is not affiliated with SmartGB.

What they have in common

Both are free to use. Both give you a guestbook at the service's own address that you link to from your site. Both can hold new messages for your approval, notify you by e-mail or RSS, block IP addresses, offer private messages and show the guestbook's interface in many languages. Both have been around a long time: UltraGuest started in 2003, and SmartGB's site carries a copyright line from 2005 to 2026; its privacy page names the company behind it, Internetservice i Väst AB in Fjärås, Sweden.

Side by side

	UltraGuest	SmartGB, as described on smartgb.com (September 2026)
Cost	Free; no paid plans today.	Free. A premium account removes the ads; its price is not stated on the public pages and payment is through PayPal.
Ads	None today, on our pages or in guestbooks.	Yes on free guestbooks, through Google AdSense; its FAQ promises no pop-ups, flash banners or offensive content. The premium account removes them.
On your site	A hosted page; the Control Panel gives you the link code.	A hosted page: a URL to link to, plus HTML tags to copy and paste; its FAQ also discusses iframes.
Look and feel	Colours, fonts, background image, header text and full custom CSS.	Over 125 predefined themes; customisable design and input fields. Custom CSS: not stated.
Messages	Plain text with smilies and simple formatting; links are not accepted; up to three custom fields; private messages; no owner replies.	HTML allowed; e-mail addresses and URLs linked automatically; smilies shown as images; private messages; a reply function; password-protected read or write mode.
Moderation	Optional approval of new messages; edit, hide, trash and delete; word filter; blocked IP addresses.	Approval before publishing; edit and delete; a trash bin that keeps deleted messages for restoring; trace and block IP addresses; an adjustable spam and language filter.
Spam protection	Cloudflare Turnstile on every post, no links, rate limits, automatic content rules and regular scans.	Captchas (image verification codes), open spam lists and pattern databases, and an abuse team, per its FAQ.
Notifications	E-mail for public, private and pending messages; RSS feed.	E-mail or RSS notifier when a new message is posted.
Languages	24 guestbook languages.	28 languages listed on its Features page (the FAQ says "25+"); the language can be set with a URL parameter.
Limits	A daily limit on posts to one guestbook, as flood protection; no ceiling on the total number of messages; up to ten guestbooks per account.	5,000 messages per guestbook, after which the guestbook is locked for new messages; one guestbook registration per e-mail address per week.
Your data	Download everything as JSON or CSV and delete the account yourself; no tracking, no data sales; servers in the USA.	Backup and restore of messages from its archives (format not stated); no manual import; you delete the account yourself. Its privacy page says it follows the GDPR as a European company and that AdSense sets cookies.

Which one is for you?

If you want a large choice of ready-made themes, HTML in messages, automatic links, a reply function and 28 interface languages, SmartGB lists all of those, and a guestbook that will stay well under 5,000 messages loses nothing to the cap. If you prefer a guestbook with no advertising on any account, a stylesheet you control completely, messages that cannot carry links and no ceiling on how many of them you keep, that is what UltraGuest is built for. Both are free, so the surest way to decide is to try each with your own site.

SmartGB details were checked on smartgb.com (home page, Features, FAQ, privacy page) in September 2026 and may have changed since; please verify current features and terms there. SmartGB is the property of its owner; UltraGuest is not affiliated with or endorsed by SmartGB.