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Compare Drupal Forum vs PhpBB 3 vs Simple Machines 2

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Results
Drupal Forum Logo
Drupal Forum
PhpBB 3 Logo
PhpBB 3
Simple Machines 2 Logo
Simple Machines 2
+
Select
Version 7.0 3.1.2 2.0.6 -
Last Release January 5, 2011 November, 25 2014 November 12, 2013 -
License GPL 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 Easy to Do Fast & Simple Easy to Do -
Administration Efficient & Fast Efficient & Fast Efficient & Fast -
Community Size Big Community Huge Community Huge Community -
Our Opinion -
User Reviews
6.3/10 (70 votes)
8.4/10 (832 votes)
4.4/10 (1265 votes)
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Demonstration Drupal Forum Demo
Open Demo » 		PhpBB 3 Demo
Open Demo » 		Simple Machines 2 Demo
Open Demo » 		-
Server Requirements Drupal Forum PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 2
Operating System
  • 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
  • GNU/LinuxGNU/Linux
  • BSD UnixBSD Unix
  • Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows
  • Apple Mac OSApple Mac OS
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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 4
  • PHP 5
 -
Databases
  • MySQL
  • Postgresql
  • MySQL
  • Postgresql
  • SQLite
  • Microsoft SQL Server
  • Oracle
  • MySQL
  • Postgresql
  • SQLite
 -
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:
Armenian
Bosnian
Bulgarian
Portuguese (Brazilian)
Catalan
Chinese (Simplified)
Czech
German
Danish
Estonian
Spanish
Amharic
Finnish
French
Galician
Greek
Croatian
Hungarian
Hebrew
Hindi
Persian
Icelandic
Japanese
Kannada
Khmer
Korean (South)
Tamil
Lithuanian
Latvian
Malayalam
Marathi
Mongolian
Dutch
Norwegian
Nepali
Filipino
Polish
Portuguese
Punjabi
Romanian
Serbian
Swedish
Slovak
Swahili
Telugu
Thai
Turkish
Ukrainian
English (British)
English (American)
Afrikaans
Chinese (Traditional)
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)
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Compatibility with
Smartphones
Compatible
SmartPhones 		No.
  • 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 No.
  • Android Market
  • Apple Store
  • Nokia Ovi Store
  • BlackBerry App World
  • Android Market
  • Apple Store
  • Nokia Ovi Store
  • BlackBerry App World
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Threads / Topics Drupal Forum PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 2
Forum Style Flat/Threaded Flat Flat -
Forum Organization
  • Forum Categories
  • Sub Sections
  • Forum Categories
  • URL Redirection Forum
  • Sub Sections
  • Forum Categories
  • URL Redirection Forum
  • Sub Sections
  • Trashcan Forum
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Topic Tags No Plugin Plugin -
Sticky Threads Yes Yes Yes -
Thread Icons Yes Yes Yes -
Hot Topics Yes - Yes -
Detect
Duplicate Threads 		Plugin Plugin No -
Hidden Topics Plugin No Yes -
Unread Topics Yes Yes Yes -
Announcements Plugin Yes Yes -
Forum Posts Drupal Forum PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 2
Message
Editing Form
  • Plain Text
  • WYSIWYG Editor
  • Preview Button
  • Rich Text Editor
  • Preview Button
  • WYSIWYG Editor
  • Formatting Buttons
  • Preview Button
 -
Post Editing Format
  • Plain
  • HTML
  • Wiki
  • BBCode
  • HTML
  • BBCode
  • HTML
  • BBCode
 -
Spell Checker Plugin Plugin Yes -
Emoticons Plugin Yes Yes -
Quick Reply Box Yes Yes Yes -
Syntax Highlighting Plugin Plugin Plugin -
Message Quoting Plugin Yes Yes -
Message Rating Plugin Plugin Plugin -
Attachments Plugin Yes Yes -
Image Attachment
  • Upload via Classic Attachments
  • Upload via Advanced Attachments
  • Use BBCode or HTML
  • Upload via Classic Attachments
  • Use BBCode or HTML
  • Upload via Classic Attachments
  • Use BBCode or HTML
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Embedded Videos No. No.
  • YouTube
  • Dailymotion
  • Vimeo
  • Attachment
  • HTML 5 <video>
 -
Forum Features Drupal Forum PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 2
Poll Creation Yes Yes Yes -
Private Messages Plugin Yes Yes -
Instant Messaging Plugin Yes Yes -
Calendar Yes No Yes -
Members List Yes Yes Yes -
Online Users List Plugin Yes Yes -
Technical Features Drupal Forum PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 2
Bundled Software
  • Website Home Page
  • CMS
  • Blog
  • Pictures Album Manager
 No.
  • Portal
  • Blog
  • Downloads Manager
  • Gallery
 -
RSS/Atom
Syndication
  • RSS 2.0
  • ATOM 1.0
  • RSS 1.0
  • RSS 2.0
  • ATOM 1.0
 -
Friendly URLs Yes Yes Yes -
Remote Control
  • XML/RPC
 No. No. -
Cache System Yes Yes Yes -
Template Engine
  • PHPTemplate
  • Smarty
  • xTemplate
  • Custom Template Engine
  • Custom Template Engine
 -
Post By Email Plugin No Plugin -
User Profiles &
Options		 Drupal Forum PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 2
User Profile Yes Yes Yes -
Avatars Yes Yes Yes -
Signatures Yes Yes Yes -
Ranks Plugin Yes Yes -
Bookmark Threads Plugin Yes Plugin -
User Selectable
Themes		 Yes Yes Yes -
Email Notifications Plugin Yes Yes -
Export
Private Messages		 Plugin Yes Plugin -
Payment
Subscriptions		 Plugin No Yes -
Security & Spam
Protection
CAPTCHA Plugin Yes Yes -
CAPTCHA Complexity [++[ Normal [++[ Normal -
Abnormal Behavior
Detection		 Plugin No Yes -
Words Filtering Plugin Yes Yes -
User Blacklist Yes Yes Yes -
IP Blocking Yes Yes Yes -
Customization Drupal Forum PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 2
Plugins Yes
~3927 Available Plugins.
Yes
~433 Available Plugins.
Yes
~1883 Available Plugins.
-
Plugin Installation [++[ Very Easy [++[ Very Easy -
Themes Yes
~450 Available Themes.
 Yes
~525 Available Themes.
 Yes
~1326 Available Themes.
 -
Custom BBCodes Plugin 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
  • Drupal
  • Drupal
  • Joomla
  • Drupal
  • Joomla
  • Mambo
  • WordPress
  • e107
  • XOOPs
  • iGaming CMS
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User Accounts
Integration
-
Content Aggregation No. No. No. -
Moderation &
Threads Management		 Drupal Forum PhpBB 3 Simple Machines 2
Moderation
  • Post-Moderation
  • Reactive Moderation
  • Pre-Moderation
  • Post-Moderation
  • Reactive Moderation
  • Distributed Moderation
  • Pre-Moderation
  • Post-Moderation
  • Reactive Moderation
  • Distributed Moderation
 -
Moderator
per Section		 Plugin Yes Yes -
Global Moderator Yes 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
  • User Account created by Administrator
  • 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 		Plugin Yes Yes -
Guest Posting Yes Yes Yes -
Multiple
Administrators		 Yes Yes Yes -
Send Warnings
to Users		 Yes Yes Yes -
Access Control List No Yes Yes -
User Banishment Yes Yes Yes -
Mass Mailing Plugin Yes Yes -
Installation &
Upgrading		 Drupal Forum 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 Yes Yes Yes -
Database
Management
Backup Database Plugin Yes Yes -
Prune Database Plugin Yes Yes -
Restore Database Plugin 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 Strict
  • XHTML 1.0 Strict
  • XHTML 1.0 Transitional
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Stylesheets (CSS)
  • CSS 2
  • CSS 2
  • CSS 2
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Accessibility (WAI)
  • AA
  • AA
  • AA
 -
UTF-8 Support Yes Yes Yes -
W3C Norms Yes Yes Yes -
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