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Comparison of phpBB to other forum solutions

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This article provides a comparison of phpBB to other forum solutions

Here you can find a list of different points comparing phpbb3 to other forum software.

Comparison of phpBB3 to other Popular Forum Solutions

Feature phpBB3 Invision Power Board (IPB) vBulletin (vB) Simple Machines Forum (SMF)

General
License: GPL Proprietary Proprietary Proprietary
License Price: Free US$149.99 License PriceIncludes support and updates for six months; US$25 renewal[?] US$160 License PriceIncludes one year of updates and lifetime support; US$30 renewal[?] Free
Programming Language: PHP PHP PHP PHP
Latest Version: 3.0.0 2.3.3 3.6.8-pl2 1.1.4
Release Date: 13, Dec 2007 05, Nov 2007 05, Nov 2007 27, Sep 2007

Security
Permanent Bans: Yes Permanent BansIncluding reason shown to user and Moderator comment[?] Yes Yes Yes
Temporary Bans (Suspension): Yes Temporary Bans (Suspension)Including Reason shown to user and Moderator comment[?] Yes Yes Yes
Permissions: Yes PermissionsAdvanced and Customisable Permissions System — See below Permissions Section for additional details[?] Yes Yes Yes
Paid Security Code Audit: Yes Yes No No
Form Handling: Yes Form HandlingUser based forms[?] – – Yes
Type Aware Parameter Handling: Yes – Yes No
Type Aware Database Layer: Yes – – No
Password Hashing: Yes Password HashingMethod: Multiple Runs, Salted, and/or MD5[?] Yes Yes Yes

Anti-Spam
CAPTCHA Visual Confirmation: Yes CAPTCHA Visual ConfirmationCustomise Difficulty and CAPTCHA Noise[?] Yes Yes Yes
Flood Control: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Groups: Yes Yes Yes Yes
ACLs: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Word Censor: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Banning: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Suspensions: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Warnings: Yes Yes Yes No
User Logging: Yes No Yes Yes
User Post IP Logging: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Report Posts: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Post Moderation: Yes Yes Yes No

Data Management
MySQL: Yes MySQLMySQL 3.23+, MySQLi[?] Yes MySQLMySQL 4.0+[?] Yes Yes
MSSQL Server: Yes Yes MSSQL ServerWith an additional driver, US$60[?] No No
MSSQL ODBC: Yes Yes MSSQL ODBCWith an additional driver, US$60[?] No No
PostgreSQL: Yes No No No
Oracle: Yes Yes OracleWith an additional driver, US$60[?] No No
Firebird: Yes No No No
SQLite: Yes No No No
Database (DBMS) Backups: Yes Yes Yes –
Database (DBMS) Restore: Yes – – –
Post/Topic Pruning: Yes Yes Yes Yes

Registration
COPPA Registrations: Yes COPPA RegistrationsToggle On/Off[?] Yes Yes Yes
Limit Registration Attempts: Yes – – No
Set min/max Username Length: Yes Yes Yes No
Set min/max Password Length: Yes – – Yes
Limit username Chars: Yes Yes Yes No
Set Password Complexity Requirements: Yes – – Yes
Force Password Change: Yes – – –
Allow/Disallow e-mail Address Re-usage: Yes Allow/Disallow e-mail Address Re-usageAllow or Disallow Duplicate E-Mail Addresses[?] – Yes No

Posting
Topic Display Method: Flat Flat or Threaded Flat or Threaded Flat
BBCode: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Custom BBCode Buttons: Yes Yes Yes No
WYSIWYG Editor: No Yes Yes No
HTML in posts: No Yes Yes Yes
Smilies/Emoticons: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Quoting: Yes QuotingNested, Configurable maximum nested depth[?] Yes Yes QuotingLimited to one level[?] Yes
Quote Multiple Posts: Yes Quote Multiple PostsMultiple post quoting through Topic Review[?] Yes Yes Yes
Formatting Toolbar: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Syntax Highlighting: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Attachments: Yes (Multiple) Yes Yes Yes
Post Drafts: Yes No Yes No
Polls: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Multiple Poll Option Voting: Yes Yes Yes Yes
User based Poll Tracking: Yes – Yes Yes
Allow/Disallow Vote Change: Yes – – Yes
Beaten-to-Posting Review: Yes – Yes Yes
Posting Preview: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Flood Control: Yes Yes Yes Yes

Attachments
Automatic Image Thumbnails: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Attachment Types: Yes Attachment TypesImages, Documents, Audio Streams, Video Streams, Archives[?] Yes Yes Yes
Multiple Attachments: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Customisable Attachment Placement: Yes Customisable Attachment PlacementInline and/or standard[?] Yes No Yes

Profiles / Memberlist
Custom Profile Fields: Yes Yes Yes No
User Posting Stats: Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Instant Messengers: Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Profile details: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Memberlist Searching: Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Rating: No Yes Yes No

Search System
Fulltext Search: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Customised Topic Search: Yes Yes Yes No
Customised Forum Search: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Author Search: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Advanced Search: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Unread Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Active Topics: Yes Yes No Yes
Posts Since Last Visit: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Search Flood Control: Yes Yes – No

Forums
Categories: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Password Protected Forums: Yes Yes Yes No
Forum Specific Styles: Yes Yes Yes Yes
URL Link Redirect Forums: Yes URL Link Redirect ForumsToggle on/off Redirect Count[?] Yes Yes No
Forum Rules: Yes Yes No No
Subforums: Yes SubforumsUnlimited Nested Levels[?] Yes Yes Yes
Last Post: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Forum Pruning: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Display Active Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Subscribe to Forums: Yes Subscribe to ForumsE-mail, Jabber/XMPP Notifications[?] Yes Yes No
Subscribe to Topics: Yes Subscribe to TopicsE-mail, Jabber/XMPP Notifications[?] Yes Yes Yes
Bookmark Topics: Yes Yes Yes No
Topic Sorting: Yes Topic SortingSort by Author, Selectable Post Time, Replies, Subject and Views in descending or ascending order[?] Yes Yes Yes
Post Sorting: Yes Post SortingSort by Author, Selectable Post Time, and Subject in descending or ascending order[?] No No No
Topic Participation Tracking: Yes No Yes Yes
Print Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
E-mail Topics: Yes E-mail TopicsE-mail Topic to friend with Language choice[?] Yes Yes Yes

User Control Panel
User Signatures: Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Avatars: Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Ranks: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Users Online List: Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Preferences: Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Profile Settings: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Manage Saved PM/Post Drafts: Yes Yes No No
Manage Bookmarks: Yes Yes Yes No
Manage Attachments: Yes Yes Yes No
Manage Subscribed Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Custom Profile Fields: Yes Yes Yes No
Friends/Foe List: Yes Yes Yes Yes

Private Messaging
Additional PM Folders: Yes Yes Yes Yes Additional PM FoldersLabels[?]
Customisable PM Filter Rules: Yes No No No
Send to Multiple Recipients: Yes Send to Multiple RecipientsGroups and/or Users[?] Yes Yes Yes
Send Blind Carbon Copies: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Send to Groups: Yes No No No
Forward Messages: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Address Book: Yes Address BookUsing Friends list[?] Yes No No
Message Drafts: Yes Yes No No
Export Messages: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Attachments for Messages: Yes Yes No No
Conversation View: Yes – No No
Custom Message Handling Rules: Yes No No No

Usergroups
Group Types: Yes Group TypesHidden, Closed, Open, Request[?] Yes – Yes
UCP Group Management: Yes – Yes No
UCP Manage Group Memberships: Yes – No No
Multiple Group Leaders: Yes Multiple Group LeadersMultiple Group Leaders[?] – Yes No
Custom Group Colours: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Group Ranks: Yes Yes Yes –
Group Avatars: Yes Yes – –
Group-based Memberlist Display: Yes Yes Yes No

Moderation Control Panel
Global Moderators: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Forum Moderators: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Post Moderation Queue: Yes Yes Yes No
Manage Reported Topics/Posts: Yes Yes Yes No
Topic History: Yes Yes – –
Forum/Topic Logs: Yes – – No
Localised Moderator Logs: Yes – Yes No
Post Editing: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Post Locking: Yes Post LockingPost Locking prevents user from editing post[?] Yes – No
Post Details: Yes – – No
Change Post Author: Yes – – No
Quick-Mod Tools: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Moving Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Move Multiple Topics: Yes Yes Yes No
Merging Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Merging Posts: Yes Yes – –
Merging Multiple Topics: Yes Yes Yes No
Split Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Locking Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Deleting Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Copying Topics: Yes No – No
Global Topics: Yes Yes Yes No
Announcement Topics: Yes Yes Yes No
Sticky Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Manage Bans: Yes Manage BansManage Suspensions (Temporary Bans), Permanent Bans, plus reason for ban[?] Yes – No
Manage User Warnings: Yes Yes – No
Banning by Username: Yes Yes Yes No
Banning by E-mail Address: Yes No No No
Banning by IP Address: Yes Yes Yes No
User Notes: Yes No – No

Administration Control Panel
Founder Status/Board Creator: Yes Yes No No
Load Settings: Yes – – Yes
Automatic MOD Installer: No Yes Yes Yes
Prune Inactive Users: Yes Yes Yes No
Manage Ranks: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Manage Groups: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Manage Group Memberships: Yes – No Yes
Manage Attachments and Settings: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Manage User Attachments: Yes Yes Yes –
User Editing: Yes User EditingAdvanced Interface — Complete User Administration: Overview, profile, preferences, permissions, groups, avatar, signature, and settings[?] Yes Yes Yes
Topic Icons: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Mass e-mail: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Manage report/denial Reasons: Yes Yes – No
Module Management: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Custom BBCodes: Yes Yes Yes –
Custom Profile Fields: Yes Yes Yes No
Manage Bans: Yes Manage BansManage Suspensions (Temporary Bans), Permanent Bans, plus reason for ban[?] Yes Yes Yes
Banning by Username: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Banning by E-mail Address: Yes Yes No Yes
Banning by IP Address: Yes Yes Yes Yes

Styles
User Selectable Styles: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Install/Manage Custom Styles: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Customise/Edit Templates: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Customise/Edit Themes: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Customise/Edit Imagesets: Yes Yes No No

Notifications
E-mail: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Instant Messaging: Yes Instant MessagingJabber Support[?] No – No
Bookmarks: Yes Yes Yes No
RSS/Syndication: No Yes Yes Yes

Localisation
Support for Multiple Language Packs: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Number of Translations: 61 – 4 (officially) 37
Right to Left Support: Yes – – –
Language Pack Web-Editor: Yes Yes Yes No

Installation / Upgrade
Installation Wizard: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Update Wizard: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Convertor Wizard: Yes Yes Convertor WizardConvertors from some boards are at additional charge[?] Yes –
File Merge Diff Update Engine: Yes No – Yes

Technical Features
CMS Software Integration: Yes CMS Software IntegrationThird Party Bridge with Joomla! auth plug-in[?] Yes CMS Software IntegrationTo at-extra-charge IPS products[?] Yes CMS Software IntegrationWith at-extra-charge Jelsoft products.[?] Yes CMS Software IntegrationMambo[?]
XHTML Compliant: Yes XHTML CompliantXHTML 1.0 Strict Compliant[?] No Yes XHTML CompliantXHTML 1.0 Transitional Compliant[?] Yes XHTML CompliantXHTML 1.0 Transitional Compliant[?]

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