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Compare Forumotion vs PhpBB 3 vs Simple Machines 2

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Forumotion Logo
Forumotion
PhpBB 3 Logo
PhpBB 3
Simple Machines 2 Logo
Simple Machines 2
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Version Hosted. 3.0.11 2.0 -
Last Release April 24, 2009 August 25, 2012 June 11th, 2011 -
License Proprietary License GPL License BSD License -
Price Free Free Free -
Resources Official Website »
Download » 		Official Website »
Download » 		Official Website »
Download » 		-
Ergonomy Easy to Use Perfection Easy to Use -
Installation Fast & Simple Fast & Simple Easy to Do -
Administration Efficient & Fast Efficient & Fast Efficient & Fast -
Community Size Huge Community Huge Community Huge Community -
Our Opinion -
User Reviews
6.8/10 (120 votes)
8.4/10 (777 votes)
3.9/10 (1155 votes)
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Demonstration Forumotion Demo
Open Demo » 		PhpBB 3 Demo
Open Demo » 		Simple Machines 2 Demo
Open Demo » 		-
Server Requirements Forumotion PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 2
Operating System
  • GNU/LinuxGNU/Linux
  • GNU/LinuxGNU/Linux
  • BSD UnixBSD Unix
  • Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows
  • Apple Mac OSApple Mac OS
  • GNU/LinuxGNU/Linux
  • BSD UnixBSD Unix
  • Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows
  • Apple Mac OSApple Mac OS
 -
Web Server
  • Apache 2.0/2.2
  • Apache 1.3
  • Apache 2.0/2.2
  • Microsoft IIS
  • Lighttpd
  • Nginx
  • Apache 1.3
  • Apache 2.0/2.2
  • Microsoft IIS
  • Lighttpd
  • Nginx
 -
Languages
  • PHP 5
  • PHP 4
  • PHP 5
  • PHP 4
  • PHP 5
 -
Databases
  • MySQL
  • MySQL
  • Postgresql
  • SQLite
  • Microsoft SQL Server
  • Oracle
  • MySQL
  • Postgresql
 -
Browsers & Clients
Requirements
Compatible
Browsers
Mozilla FirefoxMozilla Firefox
Internet ExplorerInternet Explorer
Google ChromeGoogle Chrome
OperaOpera
Apple SafariApple Safari
KonquerorKonqueror
Mozilla SeaMonkeyMozilla SeaMonkey
Mozilla FirefoxMozilla Firefox
Internet ExplorerInternet Explorer
Google ChromeGoogle Chrome
OperaOpera
Apple SafariApple Safari
KonquerorKonqueror
Mozilla SeaMonkeyMozilla SeaMonkey
Mozilla FirefoxMozilla Firefox
Internet ExplorerInternet Explorer
Google ChromeGoogle Chrome
OperaOpera
Apple SafariApple Safari
KonquerorKonqueror
Mozilla SeaMonkeyMozilla SeaMonkey
-
Plugins/
Technologies
  • HTML
  • Javascript
  • AJAX
  • CSS
  • AJAX
  • HTML
  • Javascript
  • AJAX
  • CSS
 -
Localization Yes Yes Yes -
Languages
Supported Languages:
Albanian
Armenian
Bosnian
Bangali
Bulgarian
Belarusian
Catalan
Chinese (Simplified)
Czech
German
Danish
Estonian
Spanish
Finnish
French
Galician
Georgian
Greek
Croatian
Hungarian
Indonesian
Irish
Hebrew
Persian
Icelandic
Italian
Japanese
Kannada
Korean (South)
Kurdish
Tamil
Lithuanian
Latvian
Malayalam
Marathi
Moldavian
Macedonian
Mongolian
Dutch
Norwegian
Nepali
Urdu
Polish
Portuguese
Punjabi
Romanian
Serbian
Russian
Arabic
Swedish
Slovene
Sinhalese
Slovak
Swahili
Telugu
Thai
Tibetan
Turkish
Ukrainian
English (British)
English (American)
Uzbek
Vietnamese
Afrikaans
Chinese (Traditional)
Zulu
Supported Languages:
Albanian
Basque
Bulgarian
Portuguese (Brazilian)
Belarusian
Catalan
Chinese (Simplified)
Czech
German
Danish
Estonian
Spanish
Finnish
French
Galician
Greek
Croatian
Hungarian
Indonesian
Hebrew
Persian
Italian
Japanese
Kurdish
Lithuanian
Dutch
Norwegian
Polish
Portuguese
Romanian
Serbian
Russian
Arabic
Swedish
Slovene
Sindhi
Slovak
Thai
Turkish
Ukrainian
English (British)
English (American)
Vietnamese
Chinese (Traditional)
Supported Languages:
Albanian
Bangali
Bulgarian
Portuguese (Brazilian)
Catalan
Chinese (Simplified)
Czech
German
Danish
Spanish
Finnish
French
Galician
Greek
Croatian
Hungarian
Indonesian
Hebrew
Hindi
Persian
Italian
Japanese
Kurdish
Macedonian
Dutch
Norwegian
Urdu
Polish
Portuguese
Romanian
Serbian
Russian
Arabic
Swedish
Slovak
Thai
Turkish
Ukrainian
English (British)
English (American)
Uzbek
Vietnamese
Chinese (Traditional)
-
Compatibility with
Smartphones
Compatible
SmartPhones
  • AndroidAndroid
  • iPhoneiPhone
  • BlackBerryBlackBerry
  • AndroidAndroid
  • iPhoneiPhone
  • BlackBerryBlackBerry
  • Windows Phone 7Windows Phone 7
  • Symbian Phones <em>(Nokia)</em>Symbian Phones (Nokia)
  • HP WebOS <em>(ex-Palm)</em>HP WebOS (ex-Palm)
  • AndroidAndroid
  • iPhoneiPhone
  • BlackBerryBlackBerry
  • Windows Phone 7Windows Phone 7
  • Symbian Phones <em>(Nokia)</em>Symbian Phones (Nokia)
  • HP WebOS <em>(ex-Palm)</em>HP WebOS (ex-Palm)
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Distribution
  • Web Application
  • Android Market
  • Apple Store
  • Nokia Ovi Store
  • BlackBerry App World
  • Android Market
  • Apple Store
  • Nokia Ovi Store
  • BlackBerry App World
 -
Threads / Topics Forumotion PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 2
Forum Style Flat/Threaded Flat Flat -
Forum Organization
  • Forum Categories
  • URL Redirection Forum
  • Sub Sections
  • Trashcan Forum
  • Forum Categories
  • URL Redirection Forum
  • Sub Sections
  • Forum Categories
  • URL Redirection Forum
  • Sub Sections
  • Trashcan Forum
 -
Topic Tags No Plugin Plugin -
Sticky Threads Yes Yes Yes -
Thread Icons Yes Yes Yes -
Hot Topics Yes - Yes -
Detect
Duplicate Threads 		No Plugin No -
Hidden Topics Yes No Yes -
Unread Topics Yes Yes Yes -
Announcements Yes Yes Yes -
Forum Posts Forumotion PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 2
Message
Editing Form
  • Plain Text
  • WYSIWYG Editor
  • Formatting Buttons
  • Preview Button
  • Rich Text Editor
  • Preview Button
  • WYSIWYG Editor
  • Formatting Buttons
  • Preview Button
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Post Editing Format
  • Plain
  • HTML
  • BBCode
  • HTML
  • BBCode
  • HTML
  • BBCode
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Spell Checker Yes Plugin Yes -
Emoticons Yes Yes Yes -
Quick Reply Box Yes Yes Yes -
Syntax Highlighting Yes Plugin Plugin -
Message Quoting Yes Yes Yes -
Message Rating Yes Plugin Plugin -
Attachments Yes Yes Yes -
Image Attachment
  • Upload via Classic Attachments
  • Use BBCode or HTML
  • Upload via Classic Attachments
  • Use BBCode or HTML
  • Upload via Classic Attachments
  • Use BBCode or HTML
 -
Embedded Videos No. No. No. -
Forum Features Forumotion PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 2
Poll Creation Yes Yes Yes -
Private Messages Yes Yes Yes -
Instant Messaging Yes Yes No -
Calendar Yes No Yes -
Members List Yes Yes Yes -
Online Users List Yes Yes Yes -
Technical Features Forumotion PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 2
Bundled Software
  • Portal
  • Website Home Page
  • Blog
 No.
  • Portal
 -
RSS/Atom
Syndication
  • RSS 2.0
  • ATOM 1.0
  • RSS 2.0
 -
Friendly URLs Yes Yes Yes -
Remote Control No. No. No. -
Cache System Yes Yes Yes -
Template Engine No.
  • Custom Template Engine
  • Custom Template Engine
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Post By Email No No Plugin -
User Profiles &
Options		 Forumotion PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 2
User Profile Yes Yes Yes -
Avatars Yes Yes Yes -
Signatures Yes Yes Yes -
Ranks Yes Yes Yes -
Bookmark Threads Yes Yes Plugin -
User Selectable
Themes		 No Yes Yes -
Email Notifications Yes Yes Yes -
Export
Private Messages		 Yes Yes Plugin -
Payment
Subscriptions		 Yes No Yes -
Security & Spam
Protection
CAPTCHA Yes Yes Yes -
CAPTCHA Complexity [++[ Normal [++[ Normal -
Abnormal Behavior
Detection		 No No Yes -
Words Filtering Yes Yes Yes -
User Blacklist Yes Yes Yes -
IP Blocking Yes Yes Yes -
Customization Forumotion PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 2
Plugins Yes Yes
~433 Available Plugins.
Yes
~430 Available Plugins.
-
Plugin Installation [++[ Normal [++[ Very Easy -
Themes Yes Yes
~525 Available Themes.
 Yes
~130 Available Themes.
 -
Custom BBCodes Yes Yes Yes -
Custom Emoticons Yes Yes Yes -
Custom
Thread Icons		 Yes Yes Yes -
Custom
Profile Fields		 Yes Yes Yes -
Third Applications &
Websites
Social Networks -
CMS / Blog Bridges No.
  • Drupal
  • Joomla
  • Drupal
  • Joomla
  • Mambo
  • WordPress
  • e107
  • XOOPs
  • iGaming CMS
 -
User Accounts
Integration
-
Content Aggregation No. No. No. -
Moderation &
Threads Management		 Forumotion PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 2
Moderation
  • Post-Moderation
  • Reactive Moderation
  • Distributed Moderation
  • Pre-Moderation
  • Post-Moderation
  • Reactive Moderation
  • Distributed Moderation
  • Pre-Moderation
  • Post-Moderation
  • Reactive Moderation
  • Distributed Moderation
 -
Moderator
per Section		 Yes Yes Yes -
Global Moderator No Yes Yes -
Move Threads Yes Yes Yes -
Shadow Topics Yes Yes Yes -
Close/Lock Threads Yes Yes Yes -
Users
Management
User Groups Yes Yes Yes -
User Registration
  • Free Registration
  • Registration needs Approval
  • Invitation Only
  • Confirmation sent by email for validation
  • Free Registration
  • Registration needs Approval
  • Invitation Only
  • Confirmation sent by email for validation
  • Free Registration
  • Registration needs Approval
  • User Account created by Administrator
  • Confirmation sent by email for validation
 -
New Users
Limitation 		Yes Yes Yes -
Guest Posting Yes Yes Yes -
Multiple
Administrators		 Yes Yes Yes -
Send Warnings
to Users		 Yes Yes Yes -
Access Control List Yes Yes Yes -
User Banishment Yes Yes Yes -
Mass Mailing Yes Yes Yes -
Installation &
Upgrading		 Forumotion PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 2
Installation Method Installation Wizard Installation Wizard Installation Wizard -
Upgrade Method Upgrade Wizard Upgrade Wizard Upgrade Wizard -
Update
Notifications		 Yes Yes Yes -
Forum Migration No Yes Yes -
Database
Management
Backup Database Yes Yes Yes -
Prune Database Yes Yes Yes -
Restore Database Yes Yes Yes -
Administration
Tools
Statistics Yes Yes Yes -
Error/Notice
Log Viewer		 Yes Yes Yes -
Tasks Scheduler Yes Yes Yes -
W3C Norms &
Accessibility
HTML / XHTML
  • XHTML 1.1 Transitional
  • XHTML 1.0 Strict
  • XHTML 1.0 Transitional
 -
Stylesheets (CSS)
  • CSS 2
  • CSS 2
  • CSS 2
 -
Accessibility (WAI)
  • A
  • AA
  • AA
 -
UTF-8 Support Yes Yes Yes -
W3C Norms Yes Yes Yes -
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