What is the big difference between phpbb and vbulletin?
 

What makes one any better than the other? Why should I pay x dollars for a vbulletin license when I can use phpbb for free?

I just want to understand this. I have a surfer forum that uses phpbb. So tell me.....why pay for vbulletin?

Security. there are alot of holes in PHPbb it seems, even with the newest versions. I think overall Vbulletin is a more secure. I could be wrong though, just what I've heard.

This board doesn't run on PHPBB, even though its free. Does that tell you something?

I personally really like phpBB. I use it in 2 of our sologirl member sections and never had any problems with security or anything else for that matter. :2 cents:

Dumb answer

I am glad to hear that! I haven't had any problems YET with phpbb

phpBB is a great forum, but you get what you pay for. In th epast they seem to be slow releasing updates and patches for their script.

vB is probley the most popular forum script. Have you thought about IBP ? http://www.invisionboard.com

Check out this site to see what everyone else is using http://www.big-boards.com/

PHPBB sucks arse, way less user friendly then vbulletin.

phpBB2 is a good board (as is vbulletin and IPB). The differences are mostly going to be slight feature differences, overall design layout, and mostly the amount of hacks (modifications) available for each platform.

Personally I think all the board packages out there are pretty bloated and not very user friendly.

phpBB has a lot more add-ons that most. yes it's had it's exploits. Mainly because anyone can cruise through the source code and find them. Even commerical software is prone to exploits. Look at MS.

For a dumb question.

It's not a dumb question if I've never used vbulletin and want to know from webmasters who have experience with both

phpBB is fine. The biggest message board, Gaia Online uses phpBB. They have 2.9 million members and 462 Million posts.

Now that's interesting to know! I guess if a board that big trusts it, I should too. Thanks KRL

yeah you should its fine.. :pimp

Maybe someone in this thread would know how I can get my hands on an AI mod for phpBB...

get vbulletin

PHPBB has more security holes in it, and it's up to you to keep it up to date. vBulletin you pay for, and they keep you informed of updates and patches.

I got hacked with PHPBB, I haven't got hacked with vBulletin.

go w/ vbulletin all the way...

phpBB is excellent software with a huge user community that I'm certain puts far more development into it than any modestly priced commercial product is going to see. Not only is it easy to get just about any plug-in or mod you are likely to want, but other scripts are likely to ensure compatibility with phpBB before they get around to worrying about other board software.

It's a myth that phpBB is any more vulnerable than vBulletin. It's easy enough to confirm in Google that only a few serious vulnerabilities have been reported for either script and that the numbers are very similar. I guess the reason for the distorted perception is that so many more people use phpBB that it is both a popular target for hackers and depending on the form their attacks take, many sites can be affected.

vbulletin is more secure and costs money!

We use a mix of PHPBB & VBulletin on our sites, no problems with either (yet)

here's another we're playing with now (just for fun and testing out features)
http://getvanilla.com/ by http://lussumo.com/

.

The Price.

I've used both and found both about as easy to use. They're just different. I suspect vBulletin has better support, but have no real strong opinion on that. Didn't really have to use much support on either board. BTW, that vBulletin license fee is yearly. For the players that is no big deal. For those trying to scratch out a living on a shoe string, big difference.

KRL - the above means NOTHING considering they have coders on call to have plugged all holes and are not running phpbb as it is after an install..

that post is very misleading.

thats like saying msn.com is just a css file and an html file. its much more than that.

they are not running phpbb out of the box, heavily modified and altered.

True, pricing was a major factor. I needed to launch 50+ boards and didn't feel like paying for VB. All those licensing fees could go towards buying more domains... and that's all that matters. :winkwink:

good point. I need to mention that all my boards based on phpbb are modified & plugged.

.

I've installed both phpBB and IPB, I haven't experienced any hacks but I've heard of them.
I like phpBB more, easier to mod and plenty of mods/skins to choose from.

BTW: if anyone wants badass SEO for a phpBB forum let me know ;)

php sucks ass.

Why else is it free lol.

When you want togo free, go with http://www.simplemachines.org/ I use it, and I love it...

Reading GFY is better than going to computer programing school... :)

:1orglaugh

you're clueless