Comparison: PhpBB 3 vs Simple Machines vs vBulletin 3.8
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PHP / MySQL:
Advanced Electron Forum
bbPress
Beehive Forum
Drupal Forum
Extreme Message Board
FluxBB
Fruit Show
FUDForum
IceBB
MesDiscussions
MiniBB
MyBB
Phorum
PhpBB 2
PhpBB 3
PunBB
Quicksilver Forums
SEO-Board
Simple Machines
UBB.threads
UltraBB
Unclassified NewsBoard
UseBB
Vanilla
vBulletin 3.8
vBulletin 4
Viscacha
WowBB
XennoBB
Java / JEE:
JavaBB
JForum
MVN Forum
Yazd
Hosted Forum:
Forumotion
Lefora
Nabble
Website Toolbox
ZetaBoards
Zoho Discussions
Microsoft .Net:
Yet Another Forum
Perl:
E-Blah
| Comparison Results |
PhpBB 3 |
Simple Machines |
vBulletin 3.8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Version | 3.0.6 | 1.1.1 | 3.8.1 |
| Last Release | Nov 17, 2009 | December 01, 2009 | January 27, 2009 |
| License | GPL License | Custom License | Proprietary License |
| Price | Free | Free | $ 180 |
| Live Demonstrations |
Live Demonstration » |
Live Demonstration » |
Live Demonstration » |
| Resources | Official Website » | Download » | Official Website » | Download » | Official Website » | Download » |
| Installation |
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| Administration |
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| Ergonomy |
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| Our Opinion |
9/10
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8/10
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10/10
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| Users Opinion |
8/10 (214 votes)
|
8/10 (200 votes)
|
5/10 (82 votes)
|
| Server Requirements | PhpBB 3 | Simple Machines | vBulletin 3.8 |
Operating System![]() |
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Web Server![]() |
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Languages![]() |
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Databases![]() |
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| Browsers & Clients Requirements |
PhpBB 3 | Simple Machines | vBulletin 3.8 |
Compatible Browsers![]() |
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Technologies or plugins![]() |
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Localization![]() |
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| Languages |
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vBulletin provides a localization features that could virtually make it work in any languages... if you translate it. Translations packages are of course also available. | |
| Forum Threads & Posts | PhpBB 3 | Simple Machines | vBulletin 3.8 |
| Forum Style | Flat | Flat | Flat/Threaded |
Emoticons![]() |
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Attachments![]() |
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| Thread Icons |
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Post Editing Form![]() |
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Post Editing Format![]() |
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| Forum Organization |
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| Sticky Threads |
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| Spell Checking |
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| Detect Duplicate Threads |
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| Shadow Topics |
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| Post Quoting |
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| Post Rating |
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| Syntax Highlighting |
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| Key Features & Additional Tools |
PhpBB 3 | Simple Machines | vBulletin 3.8 |
| Bundled Softwares | No. |
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Private Messages![]() |
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Instant Messaging![]() |
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Calendar![]() |
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Poll Creation![]() |
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Users List![]() |
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| Online Users List |
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RSS/Atom Syndication![]() |
RSS 2.0 | RSS 2.0 | RSS 2.0 |
Remote Control![]() |
No. | No. | No. |
| Friendly URLs |
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| User Profiles & Options |
PhpBB 3 | Simple Machines | vBulletin 3.8 |
User Profile![]() |
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User Avatars![]() |
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User Signatures![]() |
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User Ranks![]() |
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| Unread Topics |
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| Bookmark Threads |
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| Quick Reply Box |
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Email Notifications![]() |
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| Export private messages |
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| Payment Subscriptions |
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| Security & Spam Protection |
PhpBB 3 | Simple Machines | vBulletin 3.8 |
Captcha Protection![]() |
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Words Filtering![]() |
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Guest Posting![]() |
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| Customization | PhpBB 3 | Simple Machines | vBulletin 3.8 |
Plugins![]() |
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Themes![]() |
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| Cache |
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Custom BBCodes![]() |
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| Custom Emoticons |
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| Custom Thread Icons |
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| Custom User Profile Fields |
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CMS / Blog Bridges![]() |
No. |
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User Accounts integration![]() |
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No. |
Template Engine![]() |
No. |
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| Administration & Support |
PhpBB 3 | Simple Machines | vBulletin 3.8 |
| Installation Method | Installation Wizard | Installation Wizard | Installation Wizard |
| Upgrade Method | Upgrade Wizard | Upgrade Wizard | Upgrade Wizard |
| Updates Notifications | true | true | true |
| Forum Migration |
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| Supported Forum Migration |
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User Management![]() |
User Groups | User Groups | User Groups |
User Banishment![]() |
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| Mass Mailing |
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| Move Threads |
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| Close/Lock Threads |
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| Backup Database |
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| Prune Database |
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| Restore Database |
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| Statistics |
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| Error/Notice Log Viewer |
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| Scheduled Tasks |
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| PhpBB 3 | Simple Machines | vBulletin 3.8 | |
HTML / XHTML![]() |
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Stylesheets (CSS)![]() |
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Accessibility (WAI)![]() |
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UTF-8 Support![]() |
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W3C Norms![]() |
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