Hello Good people im looking to start a forum and and im not sure which way to go vbulletin or invision. i was also looking at free forum like smf and phpbb any suggestion.
If you're looking for a paid software, you can't go wrong with vBulletin. I've been using it for 5 years now and never looked back. For free, I have always had a soft-spot for MYBB.
IPB is cheaper and has more features than vBulletin, the choice should be obvious there. (vB has more mods at vb.org, but IP has more built-in features, eliminating the need for as many mods, so that one's arguable). MyBB is by far the best free software, though.
I chose IPB as the 3.x.x series is truly a vast improvement to the 2.x.x series, whereas the 4.x.x series of vB is a huge downfall from the 3.x.x series. As for a free platform, I recommend phpBB as it's a great piece of software, however MyBB is also a great choice. Good luck with whatever platform you chose.
If I was going to start a new forum, it would have to be with invision power board (IPB). Over the past few years vbulletin has fallen further and further behind the times. I made a post over on V7n about forum softeware falling behind the times, and used vbulletin as an example. If you want to read it, here is the link - http://www.v7n.com/forums/forum-management/195636-why-stock-vbulletin-forum-does-not-work.html From what I am seeing with vbulletin right now, its probably 3 - 5 years behind some of the current internet trends. And I do not think there is a quick fix.
Invision Power Board has a bit smaller modding community but overall is a much better product. Nice official add ons, user friendly, and pleasing to use as a member.
i think since the lead programmer left vbulletin has went down. I have been a vb user for 7 years, and i might be making the switch to IPB on a large communty because i know IPB next release will top the charts.
I am going to use IPB on my SEO forum. Already purchased the license a week or two ago. As a free option I would choose MyBB. I find it powerful and very easy to use.
vBulletin is the industry standard, plus it has a very active user base with tons of plugins, so I'd go with that.
Neither, forums are too difficult to maintain because of spammers, too much effort to market and generally, reap little ad revenue (unless you have several thousand members !)
When vBulletin is only beginning to implement things like Facebook Connect, IPB is already improving their current FBC function, implementing Twitter Connect, OpenID, Windows Live Login, and even has their own spam service which has been proven to work. vBulletin had its glory days during the Darby days, but those days are unfortunately over.