vBulletin vs phpbb

hi guys, i dont know if there are already threads about this. i tried searching but i didnt find any..


anyway, what are the advantage and disadvantage between using vbulletin and phpbb in the users and admins point of view??


i am planing to build a phpbb forum and save some money until i can get a vbulletin. but im not sure what the pros and cons of the both.. can anybody share?
pros and cons for both admins and users poin of views...

 

VB is expensive and phpbb is free
VB has many many many addons and features that can be coded on phpbb doesn't have as much
VB i fell is more well known phpbb is about the same
VB you have to pay for support phpbb support is free

http://www.ispeakwebstuff.co.uk/2008/12/vbulletin-pros-and-cons/
http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=87934

 

phpBB:
It's free, simpler then vBulletin, easy to use - if you have no previsious experience with forum engines then I woul recommend it to you, however if you are planning on using vBulletin then moving your content there could get a little tricky but it's not as secure as vBulletin

vBulletin: it's more complex, it offers more features, more tools in Admin Panel, more secure but you have to pay for it

 

Here is a short little post on why I use vBulletin, vs phpbb
and yes, dp has a few threads with this question already

 

Professional PHPBB is about the same as VBulletin as far as quality goes.

 

There is a reason one is free and the other is 300...security and community mainly.

 

It's like comparing water with juice.....

Price:

- vBulletin: $180 for owned license with 1 year free upgrades. $60 to renew the upgrades after that. Free Support.
- phpBB: Free. Free support. Lifetime upgrades.

Features:

- vBulletin: Some Addons include blogs, downloads, thanks, reputation, etc. More complex and higher quality.
- phpBB: Community made addons. Mostly the same as vBulletin with slightly less features.

Styles:

- vBulletin: Better customization. Templates and style features easier to manage.
- phpBB: Less styles. More " simple " styles. Less customization

Community board settings:

- vBulletin: Most optimizations and settings for posting and user features. Notices for new members, guests, etc are highly customizable. Can post HTML.
- phpBB: Many customizations as well, however many require edits to source files. Many great features from vBulletin do not come with the phpBB package but can be added on through many modifications. No HTML posting.

Security:

- vBulletin: CAPTCHA, as well as cookies are better arranged. Anti-double post on board. Less holes in the system.
- phpBB: Easier to hack. Cookies and anti-spam are a mess. Some features can be added on through modifications.

SEO:

- Both: Both can have FURL, archives, sitemaps, etc. through modifications

Overall:

- vBulletin: Great for instantaneous features and the best features at a price.
- phpBB: If you think you can handle all of those edits. phpBB can be almost as good as some older editions of vBulletin. But, phpBB is best for low budget projects.

You Decide.

This was quickly compiled....

 

thanks for this, im still deciding between vbulletin and phpbb.
im leaning towards vbulletin though.

 

First off, I don't think you should be deiciding between vbulletin and phpbb. If you are going to be deciding between a paid forum software (vbulletin) and a free forum software, then SMF is better than phpbb.

 

Comparing vBulletin to phpBB is like comparing apples to oranges in a sense.

vBulletin doesn't leave much to chance from the Admin side in my opinion. They have thought of almost anyone would ever need to run a successful forum or community. In fact at times I think there is too much stuff to keep track of...lol

vBulletin is well worth the money if it fits into your budget. If not then you will have to settle for a script that doesn't have all of the bells and whistles that vbulletin has on both the Admin side and user side.

Another reason I like vBulletin is the support that the vBulletin member forums offer as well as their support ticket system. I have never went more than an hour without an answer to my questions. To me, that is worth the price of the script alone.

There is also the issue of the MODS that you will want to put on your forums eventually. There is a complete vBulletin forum dedicated to MODS in which most of them are free to registered vBulletin license holders.

Hope this helps and good luck with your forums!

 

well since i havent used vbulletin before, how about the features like uhmmm, lets say itrader and adsense revenue sharing.. i heard its not included in the basic package of vbulletin? so i guess it must be modded into the script in order to use that feature...

how difficult is it to mod a vbulletin compared to a phpbb?

 

You will need to install plugins for those. visit vbulletin.org for Vbulletin plugins.

Installing a VB plugins is very easy, just upload from admin panel and do the required settings.

Installing Mods on a phpbb board is difficult.