phpBB vs vBulletin

[lasutton]

I'm looking at using vBulletin as an internal community system but am being asked to compare it to phpBB. Does anyone have a side-by-side comparison of the two?

[cspirit]

I would say vBulletin. Thousands of mods and themes which can be installed within 2 minutes, fast support - vBulletin of course.

[RHWiRED]

Lol, phpBB doesn't even compare too vBulletin :)

Thanks

[youradhere4222]

Thanks

You're welcome.

[Dismounted]

You're on a vBulletin site, so you'll most likely get biased opinions. But that's how it is :p.

[Marco van Herwaarden]

There are a few threads on our main website vBulletin.com comparing these 2, but for an unbiased opinion i suggest you visit some independent websites that discuss board software.

[SmileyR]

if anything if your looking at free i would compare Mybb to Vbulletin and with its soon release of its new version its looking to be the best and better than Vb =]

[Alfa1]

Here are some threads that may be helpful:

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=649761
http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53516&page=5
http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=276207
There are a load of threads about importing phpbb3 forum into vbulletin, so that may say something as well.

[tazzarkin]

Vbulletin is better, but sometimes it depends on what mods are available. For example, the only time we've used phpBB is for a cartoon web site or an A.I. site because more mods were available.

However, even for the A.I. side, we are switching to vbulletin once a new mod is finished.

To be honest, it is always good to understand both. I've taken a lot of phpBB ideas and have always made requests to convert those ideas over to vbulletin. vBulletin is always the first choice.

[Jase2]

Really, this question shouldn't even be asked. I've tried both - vBulletin FTW.

You get what you pay for.

[MarkFoster]

babez

[Taragon]

I?ve used phpBB for about 4 years, and am using vBulletin for almost a year or so.
I like vBulletin a lot, but I also like quite a few of the phpBB features (their template engine mostly)

It all depends a bit on what you?d like to do with your board, since there are quite a few explanations to give when talking about an ?internal community system?.

If you?re starting from scratch I would suggest to take a look at other forum software as well, like IPB, SMF, Drupal, not sure who they are but the guys who made http://www.colourlovers.com/, etc.

Like the name of this board already mentions, we are all vBulletin lovers over here, therefore it would be hard for us to write an unbiased review.

[ForestersLLC]

phpBB=easy to hack and run rampant

vBulletin=far more secure

Experience has shown this, from the perspective of being a site admin on a site whose phpBB got thoroughly hacked by a bunch of Russian hackers. They tried the same on my site after we brought a new site up with vBulletin, and they got smacked down HARD.

[Brandon Sheley]

Really, this question shouldn't even be asked. I've tried both - vBulletin FTW.

You get what you pay for.

I've tried them both as well, and ran both for years.. vbulletin is defiantly the way to go ;)

[RedeemedWarrior]

I've run everything thing in mainstream and Vb by far is the best

[tazzarkin]

If you’re starting from scratch I would suggest to take a look at other forum software as well, like IPB, SMF, Drupal, not sure who they are but the guys who made http://www.colourlovers.com/, etc.

Like the name of this board already mentions, we are all vBulletin lovers over here, therefore it would be hard for us to write an unbiased review.

----------------------------------

VBulletin all the way. They have the best support and service too.

Just an added note, I also purchased IPB (still have that license) and I was really disappointed, especially with their attitude about upgrading their software. They seemed more concerned about supporting their business-end products, and kept delaying their next version release.

Drupal gave me a headache. And to be honest, I just use phpBB for ideas of things to convert to vBulletin.

As for colourlovers.com, it's a nice site, but how does that relate to this thread? (Unless it's just a plug for your site. In which case, very nice...)

[cheat-master30]

You can't even compare vBulletin to phpBB, simply because vBulletin kills it every possible way. Better security for vBulletin, better customisation for vBulletin, better mods and installation, better features and just about better everything. And that's compared to phpBB3, which still doesn't even have a quick reply feature! As for phpBB2 or the like... just avoid like anything.

I really can't be bothered to list the better features individually, but a few nice ones that vB has as better:

Quick reply (I couldn't go without this)

Easy mod installation with zero file edits most of the time compared to the phpBB file edits for everything.

More security/quicker security patches and such like.

Better at keeping spam out because the vB captcha actually works to any extent, and the question and answer verification kills spam dead most of the time. Or there's recaptcha if you want something different.

Finally, being able to edit the templates through the Admin CP and easily is great, the lack of customisation in phpBB compared to this is apalling (I hate many free pieces of software for the lack of this kind of interface).

[helpmehost]

I used phpbb for 5 years, installed tons of mods. I know almost all about phpbb.
I also used SMF for two years I am still using both of them and now use vbulletin.
what a waste of time. should have started with vbulletin from the very beginning but those are all free communities so do not want to spend much money on them

[RvG2]

I have lost so many hairs in phpbb... but I've them back with vbulletin. get it? :)

[iogames]

I asked myself the same question time ago, and = vBulletin all the way!
I won't run nothing serious on phpBB, great effort tough, but still we have everything here :)

[Quillz]

You can't even compare vBulletin to phpBB, simply because vBulletin kills it every possible way. Better security for vBulletin, better customisation for vBulletin, better mods and installation, better features and just about better everything. And that's compared to phpBB3, which still doesn't even have a quick reply feature! As for phpBB2 or the like... just avoid like anything.

I really can't be bothered to list the better features individually, but a few nice ones that vB has as better:

Quick reply (I couldn't go without this)

Easy mod installation with zero file edits most of the time compared to the phpBB file edits for everything.

More security/quicker security patches and such like.

Better at keeping spam out because the vB captcha actually works to any extent, and the question and answer verification kills spam dead most of the time. Or there's recaptcha if you want something different.

Finally, being able to edit the templates through the Admin CP and easily is great, the lack of customisation in phpBB compared to this is apalling (I hate many free pieces of software for the lack of this kind of interface).
But to be fair, you are forgetting that phpBB has arguably more modding communities than vBulletin. I think Gaia-Online (often considered the world's largest forum) is a great example of just how many mods do exist for phpBB. Quick reply, obviously, exists for phpBB as do a number of other so-called exclusive vB features.

It may be free, but having complete access to the source code also gives it an advantage, to some extent.

[Dismounted]

It may be free, but having complete access to the source code also gives it an advantage, to some extent.
Anyone that owns a vBulletin license has complete access to the source code as well. ;) I think you are trying to say that anyone can download and see the source.

[InoffLine]

I'm looking at using vBulletin as an internal community system but am being asked to compare it to phpBB. Does anyone have a side-by-side comparison of the two?
Vbulletin has better hook system, vbulletin has better security.
phpbb has better template system, better default design, better admincp(more modern design)

[Quillz]

Vbulletin has better hook system, vbulletin has better security.
Vbulletin has better template system, better default design, better admincp(more modern design)
Saying it has a "better" or "more modern" design is opinion, not fact, and shouldn't be considered when comparing the two boards. After all, what looks good to you may not look good to someone else.

[GhOsTxX]

if phpbb wasnt so frikin easy to hack, then i think it would be among some of the best forum software. but its go too many flaws and too many internal exploits. SMF and IPB are also some of the most secure board software out there.

I've used phpbb3 and i would have to say that vBulletin comes in ftw.

Its really a matter of functionality, and great interface, and vBulletin scores 10 on all of these and much much more.

As said before, you get what you pay for. simple and clean.

[kevcj]

I'm looking at using vBulletin as an internal community system but am being asked to compare it to phpBB. Does anyone have a side-by-side comparison of the two?

Here is a side by side comparison of vbulletin and phpbb.

This is a scientific comparison with every detail between the 2 forums compared.


VBulletin:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/external/2008/07/18.jpg



PHPBB
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/external/2008/07/19.jpg


Do you have any more questions I can help you with??? I think that pretty much sums it up.

:)

[josepheseven]

I don't think phpbb(3) is that bad ^^

It should be something like this : (If you know these cars then you will understand the difference)

vBulletin :
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/

Phpbb3
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/external/2008/07/17.jpg

Vbulletin is my first choice, but don't think phpbb is any bad.... best of all its free :)
The only problem is that its for advanced users, It takes a lot of time to even install a small mod as compared to few clicks here and there in vb!

[Quillz]

I don't think phpbb(3) is that bad ^^

It should be something like this : (If you know these cars then you will understand the difference)

vBulletin :
http://morningcup.files.wordpress.com/2006/09/bugatti-veyron.jpg

Phpbb3
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/external/2008/07/17.jpg

Vbulletin is my first choice, but don't think phpbb is any bad.... best of all its free :)
The only problem is that its for advanced users, It takes a lot of time to even install a small mod as compared to few clicks here and there in vb!
Again, I disagree. Mods in general are for more advanced users. Considering that Jelsoft offers professional installation services, it shows that not everyone will have an easy time with vBulletin.

[kevcj]

I don't think phpbb(3) is that bad ^^



I can respect that statement.

Ok then, how about this? The internet is like a warzone, with constant attacks and security issues. If you are going to defend your website against hackers, which one would you rather use?

VBulletin:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/external/2008/07/15.jpg

PHPBB:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/external/2008/07/16.jpg


I think those are fair comparisons.

[SEOvB]

Again, I disagree. Mods in general are for more advanced users. Considering that Jelsoft offers professional installation services, it shows that not everyone will have an easy time with vBulletin.

don't confuse good common sense business practice as making something not easy. It only makes sense to increase revenue to offer such a service during purchasing.

If phpBB3 were commercial, they'd offer the same service as both setups and installs are the same (create database, create user, assign permissions, click next button 15 times)

[iogames]

The whole point is that vBulletin is the Best! Capish?

[Gene Steinberg]

The whole point is that vBulletin is the Best! Capish?
Well, here's the deal: I have played with half dozen of these forum products, the free ones and vBulletin. phpBB is available everywhere, but it is feature poor. Try, for example, to get a true Contact form mod for phpBB 3. Maybe there's one now, but vBulletin includes that as part of the standard install.

I tried SMF, and I like it's features, but the interface is poor. For example, by default signatures appear in a smaller typeface, even though one's customized signature is an important part of community involvement. For the new SMF version under development now, I tried a Contact form add-on, but it only works on the default theme, and that's true with most of their "packages," or mods. You have to hack them to make them work for most other themes, even the extra ones that come with the default installation. They have a good installation setup, however, but some poor decisions about the design were made early on.

MyBB is a free vBulletin knock-off, with a good feature set. But my brief involvement as a beta tester in their upcoming 1.4 version showed an incredible degree of incompetence and a lack of maturity on the part of its young development team (lead programmer is 15). I actually had a decent-sized MyBB forum, and underwent a little pain migrating to vBulletin, because of bugs in MyBB.

That forum can be accessed at http://forum.theparacast.com, if you want to try it out for size, particularly if you find the subject matter of interest. It has 12 mods, a decent number of template alterations (minor) to customize the look and feel to my obsessive/compulsive standards. I don't know a lick of PHP, but did 95% of this myself with little difficulty, and asked some mod developers for advice and code for the rest. Feel free to see how things function from a member's standpoint, and try free forum software, too, if you must on test boards and then decide.

I'll never go back to free, at least for this sort of thing. If you depend on a forum as a part of your business activities, the price of a vBulletin license isn't terribly high in the scheme of things. Nor are the annual renewals. Here in the U.S., a couple of tanks of gas gets you a vBulletin license.

Peace,
Gene

[Jase2]

At the end of the day, this discussion could go on all day -- it still won't prove anything. There will always be critics -- that's a fact. Some will say this discussion if from a biased pov, others' will disagree. It's up to the person to decide which forum software they choose -- just check the features list, and try the demos and see which you find more user-friendly and more comfortable.

[cheat-master30]

This forum is also not exactly the best place to ask this kind of question without expecting a biased response. The only people against vBulletin here would pretty much be trolls attacking it to annoy people since the fans of other software would be at that's forum's support community...

[kevcj]

MyBB is a free vBulletin knock-off, with a good feature set. But my brief involvement as a beta tester in their upcoming 1.4 version showed an incredible degree of incompetence and a lack of maturity on the part of its young development team (lead programmer is 15). I actually had a decent-sized MyBB forum, and underwent a little pain migrating to vBulletin, because of bugs in MyBB.


Peace,
Gene

When I saw one of their lead developers arguing AGAINST a paid subscription modification, I was wondering what the problem was.

One of the programmers or members made the suggestion of including a "Paid Subscriptions" section - like what VB has. The reply back from one of the lead developers was reasons why "not" to have such a function.

I thought to myself, why would anyone not want a way to make money?? Oh well, I guess they think everything should be free. When I saw the replies, I knew myBB was not commercial grade forum software, nor will it ever be with that kind of attitude of the developers.

[tonyswifey]

You get what you pay for.

This is all that has to be said, I'm very happy with Vbulletin and wouldn't switch back :)

[Gene Steinberg]

This is all that has to be said, I'm very happy with Vbulletin and wouldn't switch back :)
Right you are. But after moving from vBulletin and back again (don't ask), I have found a really great community here. I've been using over a dozen mods on my various forums, and I'm pleased that the authors have been happy to work with me to resolve problems and, sometimes, even add a few tweaks to fulfill my obsessive/compulsive needs. :)

That's really a very important commodity. The purchase price of vBulletin isn't high in the scheme of things, but all the free stuff available makes it a lot more useful.

Peace,
Gene

[lstintxs100]

I am not bias at all when it comes to forum software. I hate PHPbb with a passion. I hated cutting and pasting code into files and then trying to troubleshoot it with limited tools.

[Gene Steinberg]

I am not bias at all when it comes to forum software. I hate PHPbb with a passion. I hated cutting and pasting code into files and then trying to troubleshoot it with limited tools.
That's a bias my friend. But you seem to have a valid reason.

Peace,
Gene

[Quillz]

I am not bias at all when it comes to forum software. I hate PHPbb with a passion. I hated cutting and pasting code into files and then trying to troubleshoot it with limited tools.
XD @ "not being biased" and yet still endlessly trashing phpBB.

[Shaliza]

vBulletin by far. I tried phpBB a while back & didn't like it at all. The vB support is way better AND there are great features included in vB that phpBB requires mods for.

[Gene Steinberg]

vBulletin by far. I tried phpBB a while back & didn't like it at all. The vB support is way better AND there are great features included in vB that phpBB requires mods for.
Consider that vBulletin is commercial, and I've learned the hard way that no freebie can compete in terms of features and support. The crew at vBulletin earn their bread by working on the program. While open source can inspire lots of dedication too, at the end of the day, if your business depends on an online community running efficiently, where should you place your confidence?

[Fynnon]

I recently moved to vB especially because i wanted a change but i used phpBB 3 for my forum for 1 year and i must say that for a free software it is fantastic !

i can talk about phpBB3 for a week there are good parts and bad parts...but don`t compare vB to phpBB2, compare it to the new phpBB3, and maybe you should not compare this 2 because one is
180$ +60/year and the other one is free !

phpBB3 is not perfect yet but they are really close...and they can push vB to be much better software then it is now

comparing them it`s like comparing linux (phpBB) vs windows (vB)

[bizhat]

I use phpBB on my from for about 7 years. I think about upgrading to vbulletin several times. Recently i upgraded to vbulletin and i really like it. I will never go back to phpBB on the site. I still have few sites with phpBB as i don't want to spend on those sites. If you can afford to buy vbulletin, go for it.

[Gene Steinberg]

I use phpBB on my from for about 7 years. I think about upgrading to vbulletin several times. Recently i upgraded to vbulletin and i really like it. I will never go back to phpBB on the site. I still have few sites with phpBB as i don't want to spend on those sites. If you can afford to buy vbulletin, go for it.

One thing that impresses me about vBulletin is that, fully equipped with 16 mods and all, our traffic at the main forum we use has gone up tremendously in just two months. We were using MyBB previously which has, out of the box, a lot more features than phpBB.

That means our members enjoy the community more and want to participate more actively. More traffic means more hits, and more ads, of course.

So this was a worthwhile investment for us (we have three vBulletin licenses now).

Peace,
Gene

[cheat-master30]

^I understand the exact same. My traffic personally went up by about 1000% due to using vBulletin from a free forum software (then again, it was also free hosted, so the domain and stuff may have made a difference).

[Taragon]

^I understand the exact same. My traffic personally went up by about 1000% due to using vBulletin from a free forum software (then again, it was also free hosted, so the domain and stuff may have made a difference).

I can't say this would always happen reading one of briansol's articles: http://skeymedia.com/invision-power-vs-vbulletin-re-visited/

[cheat-master30]

Keyword is that it might not always happen. Just saying from personal experience though, and from my research and readings on both vBulletin.org and The Admin Zone, people are influenced, even slightly, by what forum software you use, and paid software will get higher stats as a result (unless maybe your members like working on open source projects).

[mlthmp]

Hey guys.

I'm an administrator on smallball.org we're a community for an online baseball/soccer game. Anyway, in my time in the community we've phpbb2, SMF, and now VB (although I wasn't an administrato in the phpbb2 days) I can honestly say that in the short time we've used Vbulletin our members have been more active compared to SMF and phpbb.

First off, I've noticed people feel "safer" using our forums now because they feel VB's security is better. Also, of course they enjoy the new additions and features when compared to SMF.

When someone is searching around on the internet.. I fully believe that when they see a community site running software like VB (meaning paid, and not free) I believe the tend to gravitate towards that.. Almost like they can see the effort people put into that community to actually pay for something.

Anyway.. I've never liked phpbb2 or 3.. I have to admit I do love SMF but neither of those can touch vBulletin.

[ForgotenDynasty]

ive had the opportunity to use both i started with phpbb then when i was offered an owned vbulletin for 50 bucks I couldn't pass it up.

Basicly heres what ive noticed

vbulletin
Pros:
Alot of out of the box features such as quickreply quick edit and overall better look
Easy to install mods Simply just upload the xml file
And your site gets an overall better reputation when it shows that you have actually put money in to your site.
Easier to moderate (moderator controls are more accessible.)

Cons:
Cost money (not just the board with its self is 200$ new but if you want VbSEO you tack on 150 if you want a skin your talking around 40) in the end your talking 400$ to just get your site presentable.
ACP isn't as User Friendly as PhpBB (Its not that its more confusing its just that theirs so many features its almost overwhelming IE it takes forever to set permissions where as Phpbb is just a dropdown box)

PHPbb:
Pros:
Free (Seo and all mods are)
ACP is very user friendly
Since you install the mods manually its alot easier to customize it when you see the accuall code behind it.

Cons:
People don't give you as much respect when they see a free board
Less features
Mods are a pain to install
NO out of the box features
and not only are the mods hard to install their are always like 5 different versions of each mod so if you want to just try each your talking 6 hours where as Vbulletin you just upload the XML file if you don't like it remove it and try the next.

[disembowelment]

If you want to see some good examples in difference look here:
Vbulletin forum my site: www.RareWareCentral.com
phpBB forum my site: www.NintendoExtreme.co.uk

i like how you used my site as an example of phpBB when my site is actually a MyBB.

[lisss001]

phpbb, the name is self explanitory. Vbulletin talks quality.

[Rubiano]

I'm looking at using vBulletin as an internal community system but am being asked to compare it to phpBB. Does anyone have a side-by-side comparison of the two?


I had a phBB forum, but in March I got vBulletin. Lets just say- vBulletin drives phBB right into the ground. vBulletin crushes any competition!

[punjabi.king]

look this is my personal opinion, im not sayin this cuz im on vbulletin site

phpBB is nothing close to vbulletin
i think vbulletin is the best board out there right now

1. there is no exploit for vbulletin as of today
2. its easy to use
3. more security in 3.7.x series
4. fast support from vb team
5. 1000 of mods and themes that anyone would ever need

I mean vbulletin is vbulletin, u can't compare it to any board out there

i have tried both IPB n phpbb so believe me vBulletin is the best

[ZombieAndy]

I Became a moderator on a gaming forums in 2001, and started my own forums later that year.. my first forums were ikonboard, then i went to invision, then finally in 2003 to vBulletin.

Now i havn't used SMF or PHPbb to be fair, but i know people who have and they are always complaining.. i personally have never wanted to use another forums system since, i know vB is the best around.

[xboxrant]

I've used pretty much every main stream board out there except mybb and in my limited opinion VB just seems much more solid compaired to the rest. Certain parts of the others feel very whimpy and lose.

[Gene Steinberg]

I've used pretty much every main stream board out there except mybb and in my limited opinion VB just seems much more solid compaired to the rest. Certain parts of the others feel very whimpy and lose.
I spent a lot of time -- frustrating in fact -- trying to get MyBB to be fully functional. The previous 1.2.x version proved ragged in far too many places. I held out hope that 1.4 would be a lot better. But again, there were some decisions that were not properly considered, and the initial release was severely flawed. No more.

Peace,
Gene

[RedDevil]

As a newbie to this forum lark, I found that VB was easier to install than one of the phpbb as its does it all for you, ive used the free ones for years i wish i had started with VB would have saved me a lot of time and trouble.

[Shaliza]

vBulletin. No contest. One of the things that makes it great is that it already has features that come with it that other board software require mods for.

[GoTTi]

not sure why people keep saying "mods" and options on here for vbulletin...

the phpbb community is much larger then vbulletin, and can be expanded the same ways, maybe more, because lots of people dont want to pay for licensing. its just the way it is. looking at the phpbb community right now, and i havent been there in a long time, there is more post on that community then on vbulletin.com and .org put together, so that says something. and there is over 100,000 topics dedicated to modifications of the forum for 3.0x and 2.0 there.

now i choose vbulletin ofcourse, been using it for a very long time, and recommend it to all my customers, ya the plugin system is very helpful with instaling mods, but they are smoking us with the amount of mods there are, and phpbb still dominates the amount of installs there are im sure by a huge percentage, just because it is free.

both boards have come a long way, so its hard to compare the 2. phpbb offers a trouble ticket system just like vb's main site does, there are tons of things both boards do the same. i find the admincp of vbulletin easier to use.

as far as security goes, both boards are the same with security. the froum is only as vulnerable as the server admin or the staff lets the forum be. if your running your forum on a old php server, then ya your asking to get exploited, but both boards are safe to use im sure, just really depends on what settings you got going on with the server and your forum software. and even with vb, we are still having problems with exploits and spam bots, so nothing is 100%.

try phpbb and see for yourself. then see if someone you know who has vbulletin will install a testboard for you so you can do some test on it and see for yourself. or goto the demo sign up page and ask vbulletin to make you a forum so you can test it out @ http://www.vbulletin.com/admindemo.php thats really the only way your gunna really know which forum is best, but in the end, they both do the same thing, they let you build a community from scratch, let visitors post things and talk about things, and they let you as a admin run a community, and even possibly make some money off it.

apparently, according to stats @ http://www.big-boards.com/ still holding #1 is Gaia Online, and that site is built off a heavily modified phpBB forum, and its the largest forum in the world online, supposidly. i dont even know how it has those kinds of stats cuz that forum is just BONKERS trying to navigate, but anyways, a big chunk of large boards use phpBB and a chunk use vbulletin. its all preference. good luck.

[Monsta.]

vBulletin for sure.

phpBB restricts you to certain things.

[cedced]

I love vBulletin :D

[cheat-master30]

As said, there's no real competition here , as vBulletin utterly destroys the competition.

[Shaliza]

not sure why people keep saying "mods" and options on here for vbulletin...


I think it's pretty obvious.

And I also want to say that the support for vBulletin is top-notch. I used to be a phpBB user myself & wondered what crack I was snorting when I finally came across vBulletin a few years back.

[Madlike]

vBulletin 4ever !! :D

[Parabellum]

Cant go wrong with vBulletin!