Compare IP.Board vs MyBB vs Nabble vs PhpBB 3

Comparison
Results
IP.Board Logo
IP.Board
MyBB Logo
MyBB
Nabble Logo
Nabble
PhpBB 3 Logo
PhpBB 3
Version 3.4.6 1.6.12 Hosted 3.1.2
Last Release October 29, 2013 December 16, 2013 Daily updates November, 25 2014
Proprietary License GPL License Proprietary License GPL License
Price Standard $175 / Business $299 / Hosting $9.99 per month Free Free Free
Resources
Perfection Easy to Use Easy to Use Perfection
Installation Fast & Simple Easy to Do Fast & Simple Fast & Simple
Administration Really Intuitive Efficient & Fast Efficient & Fast Efficient & Fast
Community Size Huge Community Big Community Big Community Huge Community
Our Opinion
User Reviews
7.4/10 (367 votes)
9.2/10 (1992 votes)
8.6/10 (50 votes)
8.4/10 (832 votes)
Demonstration
Server Requirements IP.Board MyBB Nabble PhpBB 3
  • 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
  • GNU/LinuxGNU/Linux
  • BSD UnixBSD Unix
  • Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows
  • Apple Mac OSApple Mac OS
  • Apache 1.3
  • Apache 2.0/2.2
  • Microsoft IIS
  • Lighttpd
  • Nginx
  • Apache 1.3
  • Apache 2.0/2.2
  • Microsoft IIS
  • Lighttpd
  • Nginx
No.
  • Apache 1.3
  • Apache 2.0/2.2
  • Microsoft IIS
  • Lighttpd
  • Nginx
  • PHP 5
  • PHP 4
  • PHP 5
No.
  • PHP 4
  • PHP 5
  • MySQL
  • MySQL
  • Postgresql
  • SQLite
No.
  • MySQL
  • Postgresql
  • SQLite
  • Microsoft SQL Server
  • Oracle
Browsers & Clients
Requirements
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
Mozilla FirefoxMozilla Firefox
Internet ExplorerInternet Explorer
Google ChromeGoogle Chrome
OperaOpera
Apple SafariApple Safari
KonquerorKonqueror
Mozilla SeaMonkeyMozilla SeaMonkey
  • HTML
  • Javascript
  • AJAX
  • CSS
  • HTML
  • Javascript
  • AJAX
  • CSS
  • HTML
  • Javascript
  • AJAX
  • CSS
  • AJAX
Yes Yes No Yes
Languages
Supported Languages:
Bosnian
Bulgarian
Portuguese (Brazilian)
Catalan
Chinese (Simplified)
German
Danish
Spanish
Finnish
French
Georgian
Greek
Croatian
Hebrew
Persian
Icelandic
Italian
Dutch
Polish
Romanian
Serbian
Russian
Arabic
Thai
Turkish
Ukrainian
Vietnamese
Chinese (Traditional)
Supported Languages:
Portuguese (Brazilian)
Chinese (Simplified)
Czech
German
Estonian
Spanish
French
Greek
Hungarian
Persian
Dutch
Urdu
Polish
Serbian
Russian
Arabic
Turkish
English (British)
English (American)
Chinese (Traditional)
No.
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)
Compatibility with
Smartphones
  • 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)
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)
Distribution
  • Android Market
  • Apple Store
  • Nokia Ovi Store
  • BlackBerry App World
  • Web Application
No.
  • Android Market
  • Apple Store
  • Nokia Ovi Store
  • BlackBerry App World
Threads / Topics IP.Board MyBB Nabble PhpBB 3
Flat/Threaded Flat/Threaded Flat/Threaded Flat
  • Forum Categories
  • URL Redirection Forum
  • Sub Sections
  • Trashcan Forum
  • Forum Categories
  • URL Redirection Forum
  • Sub Sections
  • Forum Categories
  • Sub Sections
  • Forum Categories
  • URL Redirection Forum
  • Sub Sections
Yes Plugin No Plugin
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes No Yes
Yes Yes Yes -
No No No Plugin
Yes Yes Yes No
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes No Yes
Forum Posts IP.Board MyBB Nabble PhpBB 3
  • Rich Text Editor
  • Formatting Buttons
  • Preview Button
  • WYSIWYG Editor
  • Rich Text Editor
  • Formatting Buttons
  • Preview Button
  • Plain Text
  • Rich Text Editor
  • Formatting Buttons
  • Preview Button
  • Rich Text Editor
  • Preview Button
  • Plain
  • BBCode
  • Plain
  • HTML
  • BBCode
  • Plain
  • HTML
  • HTML
  • BBCode
No Plugin No Plugin
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Quick Reply Box Yes Yes No Yes
Plugin Plugin No Plugin
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes Plugin
Yes Yes 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
  • Upload via Advanced Attachments
  • Upload via Classic Attachments
  • Use BBCode or HTML
Embedded Videos
  • YouTube
No. No. No.
Forum Features IP.Board MyBB Nabble PhpBB 3
Yes Yes Plugin Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Plugin Yes No Yes
Yes Yes No No
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Technical Features IP.Board MyBB Nabble PhpBB 3
Bundled Software
  • Portal
  • CMS
  • Pictures Album Manager
  • Downloads Manager
  • Portal
  • Wiki
  • Blog
  • Downloads Manager
  • Website Home Page
  • Blog
  • Pictures Album Manager
No.
  • RSS 2.0
  • RSS 2.0
  • RSS 2.0
  • ATOM 1.0
Yes Yes Yes Yes
  • XML/RPC
No. No. No.
Cache System Yes Yes No Yes
  • Custom Template Engine
  • Custom Template Engine
No.
  • Custom Template Engine
Post By Email Yes Plugin Yes No
User Profiles &
Options
IP.Board MyBB Nabble PhpBB 3
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Signatures Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes No Yes
Bookmark Threads Yes Yes No Yes
User Selectable
Themes
Yes Yes No Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Export
Private Messages
Yes Yes No Yes
Payment
Subscriptions
Plugin Plugin No No
Security & Spam
Protection
Yes Yes Yes Yes
CAPTCHA Complexity [++[ Hard [++[ Normal [++[ Normal
Abnormal Behavior
Detection
No No No No
Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Blacklist Yes Yes Yes Yes
IP Blocking Yes Yes No Yes
Customization IP.Board MyBB Nabble PhpBB 3
Yes Yes
~495 Available Plugins.
No Yes
~433 Available Plugins.
Plugin Installation [++[ Easy [++[ Easy
Yes
~90 Available Themes.
Yes
~270 Available Themes.
Yes Yes
~525 Available Themes.
Custom BBCodes Yes Yes No Yes
Custom Emoticons Yes Yes No Yes
Custom
Thread Icons
Yes Yes No Yes
Custom
Profile Fields
Yes Yes No Yes
Third Applications &
Websites
  • Joomla
  • WordPress
No.
  • Drupal
  • Joomla
  • Mambo
  • Plone
  • Dotclear
  • WordPress
  • eGroupWare
  • Drupal
  • Joomla
No. No.
Content Aggregation No. No. No. No.
Moderation &
Threads Management
IP.Board MyBB Nabble PhpBB 3
Moderation
  • Pre-Moderation
  • Post-Moderation
  • Reactive Moderation
  • Distributed Moderation
  • Pre-Moderation
  • Post-Moderation
  • Reactive Moderation
  • Distributed Moderation
  • Post-Moderation
  • Reactive Moderation
  • Distributed Moderation
  • Pre-Moderation
  • Post-Moderation
  • Reactive Moderation
  • Distributed Moderation
Moderator
per Section
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Global Moderator Yes Yes Yes Yes
Move Threads Yes Yes Yes Yes
Shadow Topics Yes Yes No Yes
Close/Lock Threads Yes Yes Yes Yes
Users
Management
User Groups Yes 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
  • User Account created by Administrator
  • Confirmation sent by email for validation
  • Free Registration
  • Registration needs Approval
  • Confirmation sent by email for validation
  • Free Registration
  • Registration needs Approval
  • Invitation Only
  • Confirmation sent by email for validation
Yes Plugin No Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Multiple
Administrators
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Send Warnings
to Users
Yes Yes No Yes
Access Control List Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Mass Mailing Yes Yes Yes Yes
Installation &
Upgrading
IP.Board MyBB Nabble PhpBB 3
Installation Method Installation Wizard Installation Wizard Installation Wizard Installation Wizard
Upgrade Method Upgrade Wizard Upgrade Wizard Upgrade Wizard
Update
Notifications
Yes Yes No Yes
Forum Migration Yes Yes No Yes
Database
Management
Backup Database Yes Yes Yes Yes
Prune Database Yes Yes No Yes
Restore Database Yes Yes Yes Yes
Administration
Tools
Statistics Yes Yes Plugin Yes
Error/Notice
Log Viewer
Yes Yes No Yes
Tasks Scheduler Yes Yes No Yes
W3C Norms &
Accessibility
  • XHTML 1.0 Strict
  • XHTML 1.0 Transitional
  • HTML 4.01
  • XHTML 1.0 Strict
  • CSS 2
  • CSS 2
  • CSS 2
  • CSS 2
  • AA
  • AA
  • AA
  • AA
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes
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