[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).