vBulletin vs phpBB
Posted by David | Filed under Web Software
Before I get started on this, I must stress that when it comes to things like this it is completely a matter of personal opinion, there will be people out there who love and loathe phpBB and there will be people out there who think vBulletin is the best.
I have used both in the past both as a user and administrator.
Definition: “Mod” this is the process of editing the PHP code of your website, to add features, it is often a very risky process and can result in your site no longer functioning if done badly.
Users
For the average user there perhaps isn’t much difference in vBulletin and phpBB, since both can be styled differently with various themes and templates so in theory you could have an identical looking board for the user, even the fancy WYSIWYG in vBulletin can be modded into phpBB. The main thing here is that vBulletin comes cram packed with tonnes of useful features so you are less likely to need to “mod” your forum to your specific needs. On the other hand phpBB has all the basics, and if the basics are all you want why pay?
phpBB is also still being improved as is vBulletin so features that once a user had to “mod” in phpBB now come as standard such as Attachments to posts.
In the default theme, for users of both forums vBulletin definitely wins for its aesthetically please look making the software seem easier to use the phpBB.
Administrator
For the administrator life can be as difficult as you chose the make it! If you want a basic forum phpBB can supply that basic forum and it won’t be a hassle to run, but if you want lots of extra features added to improve your website then it may take you many hours and days to “mod” those features in. There may also be conflicts between “mods”, but this could also happen in vBulletin if you were to mod it.
The administration is significantly easier in vBulletin mainly due to the use of AJAX which means that you do not have to refresh the page to edit stuff, and you then don’t forget what you were doing. Moderation is also done in this way which is much nicer for yourself and any moderators you have.
Support wise you are likely to get just as good community support from either vBulletin or phpBB, though you can pay for phone in support with vBulletin which you cannot with phpBB.
Key Similarties
- Both have an Administartive, Moderator and User Control Panel.
- Both are created in PHP and require a MYSQL database.
- Both allow for multiple attachments
- Both have a private message system, both also allowing for customizable private message folders.
- Both have COPPA registration and CAPTCHA on registration
- Both have custom profile fields, and allow users to add and modify details about themselves.
- Both allow for email notification.
- Both have permission systems.
- Both have adequate security and anti-spam measures.
- Both have unread thread tracking.
- Both allow users to create polls.
- Both have support for private forums.
- Both have user ranks and avatars.
Key Differences
| vBulletin (3.7.2) | phpBB(3) |
| £100 for license | Free (GPL) |
| Subscription required to upgrades | Upgrades Free |
| Allow for Paid Subscription with multiple credit card handlers out of the box | Requires modding for this to occur. |
| User Reputation System | Requires modding for this to occur. |
| Easily Editable FAQ | Less easily editable FAQ |
| (Multiple) Calendar | Requires modding for this to occur. |
| WYSIWYG Editor | Requires modding for this to occur. |
There are defiantly more similarities and differences but I feel that I’ve covered the main ones here, they can be quite difficult to work out as often both have different names for the same thing!
If I had to chose just one I would chose vBulletin, despite the price tag I think overall it wins and is a worthy investment. Neither are likely to stop being updated/improved though as both have a strong following, it will be interesting to see who is producing the better software in a couple years time!
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