Comparison: PhpBB 3 vs Simple Machines 1.1 vs vBulletin 3.8

Select Forum to Compare (4 max.)

PHP:

AEF
bbPress
Beehive
Drupal
esoTalk
XMB
FluxBB
Fruit Show
FUDForum
IceBB
IPB
Joomla Forum
MesDiscussions
MiniBB
MyBB
MyProBB
Phorum
PhpBB 2
PhpBB 3
PunBB
Quicksilver
SEO-Board
SMF 1.1
SMF 2
UBB
UltraBB
UNB
UseBB
Vanilla
vBulletin 3.8
vBulletin 4
Viscacha
Woltlab BB
WowBB
XennoBB

Java / JEE:

JavaBB
JForum
jGossip
JsForum
MVN Forum
Nemesis
SKForum
Yazd

Hosted:

BulletinBoards
Forumotion
FreeForums
Google Groups
Lefora
Nabble
Tal.ki
Website Toolbox
ZetaBoards
Zoho

Microsoft .Net:

NearForums
YAF.NET

Perl:

E-Blah
YaBB
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Comparison
Results
PhpBB 3 Logo
PhpBB 3
Simple Machines 1.1 Logo
Simple Machines 1.1
vBulletin 3.8 Logo
vBulletin 3.8
Version 3.0.7-pl1 1.1.1 3.8.1
Last Release March 5th, 2010 December 01, 2009 January 27, 2009
License GPL License Custom License Proprietary License
Price Free Free $ 180
Resources
Installation PositivePositivePositive Very Good PositivePositive Good PositivePositivePositive Very Good
Administration PositivePositive Good PositivePositive Good PositivePositive Good
Ergonomy PositivePositivePositive Very Good PositivePositive Good PositivePositivePositive Very Good
Community Size Huge Community Huge Community Huge Community
Our Opinion
9/10
*********
8/10
********o
10/10
**********
Users Opinion
7/10 (266 votes)
*******o
8/10 (207 votes)
********o
5/10 (94 votes)
*****oo
Live Demonstrations
Server Requirements PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 1.1 vBulletin 3.8
Operating System
  • Linux
  • Windows Server 2003
  • Windows XP
  • Solaris
  • FreeBSD
  • OpenBSD
  • NetBSD
  • Windows Server 2008
  • Mac OS
  • Linux
  • Windows Server 2003
  • Windows XP
  • Solaris
  • FreeBSD
  • OpenBSD
  • NetBSD
  • Windows Server 2008
  • Mac OS
  • Linux
  • Windows Server 2003
  • Windows XP
  • Solaris
  • FreeBSD
  • OpenBSD
  • NetBSD
  • Windows Server 2008
  • Mac OS
Web Server
  • Apache 1.3
  • Apache 2.0/2.2
  • Microsoft IIS
  • Lighttpd
  • Nginx
  • 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 4
  • PHP 5
  • PHP 4
  • PHP 5
  • PHP 5
Databases
  • MySQL
  • Postgresql
  • SQLite
  • Microsoft SQL Server
  • Oracle
  • MySQL
  • MySQL
Browsers & Clients
Requirements
Compatible Browsers
  • Mozilla Firefox
  • Internet Explorer
  • Google Chrome
  • Opera
  • Apple Safari
  • Konqueror
  • Mozilla SeaMonkey
  • Mozilla Firefox
  • Internet Explorer
  • Google Chrome
  • Opera
  • Apple Safari
  • Konqueror
  • Mozilla SeaMonkey
  • Mozilla Firefox
  • Internet Explorer
  • Google Chrome
  • Opera
  • Apple Safari
  • Konqueror
  • Mozilla SeaMonkey
Plugins/Technologies
  • AJAX
  • Javascript
  • Javascript
  • AJAX
Localization Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Languages
Supported Languages:
Albanian Albanian
Arabic Arabic
Basque Basque
Belarusian Belarusian
Bulgarian Bulgarian
Catalan Catalan
Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)
Croatian Croatian
Czech Czech
Danish Danish
Dutch Dutch
English (American) English (American)
English (British) English (British)
Estonian Estonian
Finnish Finnish
French French
Galician Galician
German German
Greek Greek
Hebrew Hebrew
Hungarian Hungarian
Indonesian Indonesian
Italian Italian
Japanese Japanese
Kurdish Kurdish
Lithuanian Lithuanian
Norwegian Norwegian
Persian Persian
Polish Polish
Portuguese Portuguese
Portuguese (Brazilian) Portuguese (Brazilian)
Romanian Romanian
Russian Russian
Serbian Serbian
Sindhi Sindhi
Slovak Slovak
Slovene Slovene
Spanish Spanish
Swedish Swedish
Thai Thai
Turkish Turkish
Ukrainian Ukrainian
Vietnamese Vietnamese
Supported Languages:
Albanian Albanian
Arabic Arabic
Bangali Bangali
Bulgarian Bulgarian
Catalan Catalan
Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)
Croatian Croatian
Czech Czech
Danish Danish
Dutch Dutch
English (American) English (American)
English (British) English (British)
Finnish Finnish
French French
Galician Galician
German German
Greek Greek
Hebrew Hebrew
Hindi Hindi
Hungarian Hungarian
Indonesian Indonesian
Italian Italian
Japanese Japanese
Kurdish Kurdish
Macedonian Macedonian
Norwegian Norwegian
Persian Persian
Polish Polish
Portuguese Portuguese
Portuguese (Brazilian) Portuguese (Brazilian)
Romanian Romanian
Russian Russian
Serbian Serbian
Slovak Slovak
Spanish Spanish
Swedish Swedish
Thai Thai
Turkish Turkish
Ukrainian Ukrainian
Urdu Urdu
Uzbek Uzbek
Vietnamese Vietnamese
Supported Languages:
Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)
Danish Danish
Dutch Dutch
English (American) English (American)
English (British) English (British)
French French
German German
Greek Greek
Italian Italian
Portuguese Portuguese
Portuguese (Brazilian) Portuguese (Brazilian)
Romanian Romanian
Swedish Swedish
Forum Threads & Posts PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 1.1 vBulletin 3.8
Forum Style Flat Flat Flat/Threaded
Emoticons Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Attachments Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Image Attachment
  • Upload via Classic Attachments
  • Use BBCode or HTML
No. No.
Syntax Highlighting Plugin Plugin Plugin Plugin Plugin Plugin
Thread Icons Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Message Editing Form
  • Rich Text Editor
  • Preview Button
  • Formatting Buttons
  • Preview Button
  • WYSIWYG Editor
  • Preview Button
Post Editing Format
  • HTML
  • BBCode
  • HTML
  • BBCode
  • Plain
  • BBCode
Forum Organization
  • Forum Categories
  • URL Redirection Forum
  • Sub Sections
  • Forum Categories
  • URL Redirection Forum
  • Sub Sections
  • Forum Categories
  • URL Redirection Forum
  • Sub Sections
  • Trashcan Forum
Topic Tags No No - - - -
Sticky Threads Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Spell Checking Plugin Plugin No No No No
Detect Duplicate Threads No No No No Yes Yes
Hidden Topics No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Message Quoting Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Message Rating No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Post By Email No No No No - -
Announcements Yes Yes - - - -
Key Features &
Additional Tools
PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 1.1 vBulletin 3.8
Bundled Softwares No.
  • Portal
  • Website Home Page
  • Blog
  • Bug Tracker
  • Projet Manager
  • Pictures Album Manager
Private Messages Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Instant Messaging Yes Yes No No Yes Yes
Calendar No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Poll Creation Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Users List Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Online Users List Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
RSS/Atom Syndication ATOM 1.0 RSS 2.0 RSS 2.0
Remote Control No. No. No.
Friendly URLs Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
User Profiles &
Options
PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 1.1 vBulletin 3.8
User Profile Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Avatars Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Signatures Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Ranks Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Unread Topics Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Bookmark Threads Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Quick Reply Box Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
User selectable themes Yes Yes - - - -
Email Notifications Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Export private messages Yes Yes Plugin Plugin Yes Yes
Payment Subscriptions No No Plugin Plugin Yes Yes
Security & Spam
Protection
CAPTCHA Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Abnormal Behavior Detection No No - - - -
Words Filtering Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Blacklist Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
IP Blocking Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Customization PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 1.1 vBulletin 3.8
Plugins Yes Yes
~380 Available Plugins.
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Themes Yes Yes
~140 Available Themes.
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Custom BBCodes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Custom Emoticons Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Custom Thread Icons Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Custom User Profile Fields Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Third Applications &
Websites
Social Networks No.
No.
CMS / Blog Bridges No.
  • Drupal
  • Joomla
  • Mambo
  • WordPress
  • e107
  • XOOPs
  • iGaming CMS
  • Drupal
  • Joomla
User Accounts Integration
No.
Moderation &
Threads Management
PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 1.1 vBulletin 3.8
Moderation
  • Pre-Moderation
  • Post-Moderation
  • Reactive Moderation
  • Distributed Moderation
No.
  • Post-Moderation
Moderator per Section Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Global Moderator Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Move Threads Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Shadow Topics Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Close/Lock Threads Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Users
Management
User Groups Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Registration
  • Free Registration
  • Registration needs Approval
  • Invitation Only
  • User Account created by Administrator
  • Confirmation sent by email for validation
No. No.
New Users Limitation Yes Yes - - - -
Guest Posting Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Several Administrators Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Send Warnings to Users Yes Yes No No Yes Yes
Access Control List Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Banishment Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Mass Mailing Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Installation &
Upgrading
PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 1.1 vBulletin 3.8
Installation Method Installation Wizard Installation Wizard Installation Wizard
Upgrade Method Upgrade Wizard Upgrade Wizard Upgrade Wizard
Updates Notifications Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Forum Migration Yes Yes Yes Yes - -
Supported Forum Migration
  • PhpBB 2.0.x
  • TikiWiki
  • UBB.threads
  • IPB
  • vBulletin
  • Php-Nuke
  • Wordpress
  • Proboards
  • SMF 1.1
  • Invision Power Board
  • PhpBB
  • vBulletin
  • YaBB / YaBB SE
Many additional converters are available on the SMF Official Converter Topic.
Database
Management
Backup Database Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Prune Database Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Restore Database Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Administration
Tools
Statistics Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Cache System Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Error/Notice Log Viewer Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Tasks Scheduler Yes Yes No No Yes Yes
Template Engine
  • Custom Template Engine
  • Custom Template Engine
  • Custom Template Engine
W3C Norms &
Accessibility
HTML / XHTML
  • XHTML 1.0 Strict
  • XHTML 1.0 Transitional
  • XHTML 1.0 Transitional
Stylesheets (CSS)
  • CSS 2
  • CSS 2
  • CSS 2
Accessibility (WAI)
  • AA
  • AA
  • AA
UTF-8 Support Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
W3C Norms Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes