Community/Forum owners, What forum software do you use?

I Use MyBB Currently i want to use Xenforo but i really don't want to pay.. But on the free side of things i might switch to flarum they just got a beta build released today.

I use paid forum softwares mostly (such as IPB, XenForo or VBulletin)
but sometimes i use for Beta Phases (free softwares such as phpBB,SMF)

I Mean unless you are getting the software "nulled" its a hard call to say its "worth" it, Personally i use to always use Xenforo but since i started renting a dedicated server and using that for all my hosting i've stopped and started using free software.

Umm ALot of people using MyBB/SMF they are so easy to controle

MyBB all the way!

simple forums

I used MyBB, as I consier that the other open source software are outdated. Personaly, I prefer IP Boards, as paid version, due to its flexibility and design.

Xeonon or XenForo because they look really cool, IPB is good too

Could be wrong here (haven't really looked at IP Boards) but isn't that a hosted and not self hosted forum software?

There is a self-hosted license as well. Visit this for more details. It's quite expensive though.

As someone who was heavily active in MyBB's community in the past years, I would have to VERY strongly disagree. MyBB is VERY quick to release security patches to any known vulnerabilities, and have a great community to back them for modifications, themes, and general support. If your forum was compromised I would put money on the line that it wasn't at the fault of MyBB's software. You either had a vulnerable plugin, insecure hosting, an old version of the software, or something of that nature. There are many high-profile sites that run MyBB with millions of posts that have run MyBB for years with little issues.

No software is completely secure, however, MyBB does a great job at supporting their software from the security perspective.


On topic - SMF, MyBB, and phpBB are all fine choices. Go with what you know, or do some research and testing to see what you like. SMF is about as simple as it gets. My one recommendation would be to NOT pirate forum software. You're not going to get security upgrades, and if you do, it's going to be very late, you're not going to get support from the company, etc. On top of that, for the most part, you don't need it! There are plenty of great open source alternatives.

I am not talking about my forum specifically, but the MyBB software itself. I've been told that the backend code is very unorganised and messy, and there was a bug not long ago where a certain forum search would allow you to see posts (or, some of the post) which are beyond your permissions.

SMF is best( in free ) and Vbulletin is best ( with payment)

In reality that's your preference. For me Xenforo is the best paid since its the most modern.

Free for me is down to MyBB and Flarum bother are pretty nice Flarum is easy good looking and quick to use and MyBB is like a lite version of vBulletin but free.

vBulletin 4.

SMF from my side.
Reason: http://forum.sa-mp.com/showpost.php?...1&postcount=12

SMF Is actually good. I'd suggest SMF or VBulletin.

That's expensive, IPB look better

A free mobile skin, seems like a good deal

I used SMF and phpBB for years and got so sick of them. I use IPB now and it's not amazing, but is definitely a lot better than any free forum software around. You get what you pay for. The free ones are perfectly fine for people who only need basic forum features.

I always use phpBB. The simple design is nice.

In my opinion, if a forum has a well-made design, then the software behind it shouldn't matter.