Forum Software Comparison Thread

[Flutterings]

Theres bound to be someone asking at some point or another, so we might as well discuss it.

What do you think the best forum softwares are and why?


I obviously love vbulletin (this forums software). Im a total junkie. Ive had a license for 4 years now, and set up about 35 sites for different people / communities.

Upsides to Vbulletin: powerful tool, no adverts

Downsides: Need large bandwidth and it has a lot of options, if your new to forums they can overwhelm you at first.


Invision power, I like the invisionfree forums but invision power is not worth your money. The only extra i can see you get is the ability to change the colour of peoples names, not worth it! Stick with the freebies!

[Esko]

Yeah, i would stick with the freebies too. Personally i like phpbb the best. Spambots are a problem but fortunately theres many modifications to stop that too. And phpbb 3 is going to be released soon too. Or at least the beta is out...

[Flutterings]

I haaaaaaate phpbb, its so bland and yuk. lmao.

Vbulletin isnt freebie, its the most expensive (I believe) but the best mmmmmm

[Ishy]

I've been administrator and moderator at forums which use phpBB, SMF, Invision Power Boards, vBulletin, MyBB. And I have to say:


WORST: phpBB, by far. spammers are a HUGE problem there and by the looks of it, that's not really going to change with phpBB3. Also lots of errors from time to time, and also very annoying AdminPanel

As for IPB; it's a rip-off of vBulletin. It costs money and is not as good as vBulletin, so IF you are wanting to pay then please go for vBulletin :dry:

MyBB and SMF are both free and nice software if you can't afford vBulletin.
Though I'd prefer SMF over MyBB, as SMF has more options, plus it's easier to convert to vBulletin if you would buy a license for that in the future.

So ya..
I'd say vBulletin!! or if you can't afford it -> SMF

and definitely NOT phpBB and Invision Power Boards

[Esko]

I like phpbb because it looks simple and its fast. I dont like all the cool buttons and stuff filling out everything on the site. Simple for simple :D


Anyways, theres a handy mod that stops for example people registering with a home page in their profile, fishes out all the bots

[Veritas]

vbulletin...its the reason i joined!

[sedated]

I've always been fond of SMF, it's far more compatible with new security plugins such as recaptcha, it looks and feels nicer, and can be given themes and modifications far easier than the leading competitor, phpbb. the only downside i can see is that SMF can be slow at times. i tried vbulletin recently, it seems identical to phpbb in every way, can't understand why it would be worth paying for the upgrade?

[Becky Rose]

I quite like PunBB because it is simple, extremely fast, easy to style and very versatile. However as a programmer and admin I hate it because the code is not object orientated and installation of mods can require re-application in later releases. This aspect of it has really turned me off it.

[legacy]

i prefer phbb3 well thats the only one i use lol..easy to use for me and know it like the back of my hands and also love the portal