Best Forum Script for $? I can't afford Vbulletin.

Im looking for a script to buy and I cant afford Vbulletin. Any ideas on what a lower cost alternative with same features would be ?

 

i do phpbb3 for mine you can check it out and see. i like its free and not difficult to use been kinda funn. then once i get more members i plan to buy vb heard the new vb has a lot of bugs though.

 

im a fan of myBB, there are alot of mods you can use and the backend is very easy to use.

 

ok 2 good suggestions so far. If its no bother when suggesting one could you mention if its Adsense friendly and the cost of the software? If you provide reasonably priced installs for the software feel free to say so also.

 

Well i know phpBB and myBB are free open source software. Both have mods that support adsense. Installing myBB is very easy if you have installed any type of script that involves a sql database.

 

Just wordpress with Fantastico.. I should learn soon though.

 

@webcabbie

I think fantastico has also PHPbb and SMF forums, 3 clicks install, so try both of them.

SMF is similar to vBulettin in a way

 

I would not recommend using fantastico to install phpBB. However I do think phpBB is your best option alongside myBB. phpBB has more mods and styles, however myBB is easier to install mods and has more ajax features and is vbulletin-alike which is not a good thing, but if you like vB then I guess it is.

Anyway good luck with whatever choice you do pick.

 

It sounds like you actually want to use vbulitin and the only reason you're not is because you can't afford it at the moment.

If I were you, I would save my money and find out which free open source software vbulitin has simple converters for. That way when I did have enough money to get what I really wanted, I could just buy it and convert real quick.

 

I would suggest either SMF or myBB as those are my favorites, also it is best without fantastico as it is not always up-to-date.

On my last site, I had a lot of luck with myBB, however I would suggest you check out both suggestions, just create a free account somewhere and upload some script and play with them till you find something you like that can do what you want.

 

I'd stay away from the free forum hosting sites and free hosting where you put your own software on there. If you plan on keeping the site you might as well get the hosting and domain going the right way right from the beginning.

I don't think I've ever seen an honest claim to fame coming from free hosting, I've met plenty of people with horror stories about free hosting hijacking their site/domain/etc though when things started to pick up a little.

 

Vbulletin is the best

 

invision has a forum script

 

phpbb3 is a good script that i have used, they have a stack of free quality mods on their website.

 

I'd stick with a well-known free script like MyBB, phpBB, or SMF and then if you feel like they're not powerful enough and have the $ for VB or IPB, upgrade using a converter. The other paid scripts haven't really impressed me although they do seem to be quite efficient for large forums but unless you're going to have over a million posts anytime soon, not really a good idea yet IMO.

 

I use PhPbb3 and I love it, although some time I might switch over to VB but at this stage I am happy with it

 

If you can't afford IPB or Vbulletin then I recommend you check out ZetaBoards. It's a forum software service. It's pretty nice too.

 

phpb is good for money.

 

this is another question that has been asked a number of times if you want to search

try
phpbb
mybb
smf

 

mybb by far