Macroporous silicon carbide (SiC) ceramics were fabricated by powder processing and polymer processing using carbon-filled polysiloxane as a precursor. The effects of the starting SiC polytype, template type, and template content on porosity and flexural strength of macroporous SiC ceramics were investigated. The ${eta}$-SiC powder as a starting material or a filler led to higher porosity than ${alpha}$-SiC powder, owing to the impingement of growing ${alpha}$-SiC grains, which were transformed from ${eta}$-SiC during sintering. Typical flexural strength of powder-processed macroporous SiC ceramics fabricated from ${alpha}$-SiC starting powder and polymer microbeads was 127 MPa at 29% porosity. In contrast, that of polymer-processed macroporous SiC ceramics fabricated from carbon-filled polysiloxane, ${eta}$-SiC fillers, and hollow microspheres was 116MPa at 29% porosity. The combination of ${alpha}$-SiC starting powder and a fairly large amount (10 wt%) of $Al_2O_3-Y_2O_3$ additives led to macroporous SiC ceramics with excellent flexural strength.