- Joined
- Mar 10, 2004
- Messages
- 368
I have used both, but currently favor vBulletin mainly because I use it on my most active forum, and it's easier to support one forum package rather than two (or three, or four, etc.).
I agree with the others on all the points you raised. It's a highly subjective decision and the best thing to do is try them out and pick what works best for you.
My subjective impressions of IPB is that they have a more polished, professional image for their business and product line. I like that they have announced products like the content management and email system, and wish vBulletin were a little more forthcoming with their own plans.
The actual IPB product looks a little better (especially the ACP) than vBulletin, but that just my opinion. I also believe that the "look" of the ACP isn't critical; functionality is, and vBulletin works great. And as for the look of the forums, I think it's important to customize your site so that it has it's own identity. I don't want anyone to look at my forums and say "obviously vBulletin..." or "obviously IPB...".
The one other issue that I would consider when choosing between is performance and scalability. I know that you can find large sites running either forum, so you should be pretty safe with either. Based on the stuff I've read here and elsewhere, it seems like vBulletin may have an edge on IPB in this area.
I agree with the others on all the points you raised. It's a highly subjective decision and the best thing to do is try them out and pick what works best for you.
My subjective impressions of IPB is that they have a more polished, professional image for their business and product line. I like that they have announced products like the content management and email system, and wish vBulletin were a little more forthcoming with their own plans.
The actual IPB product looks a little better (especially the ACP) than vBulletin, but that just my opinion. I also believe that the "look" of the ACP isn't critical; functionality is, and vBulletin works great. And as for the look of the forums, I think it's important to customize your site so that it has it's own identity. I don't want anyone to look at my forums and say "obviously vBulletin..." or "obviously IPB...".
The one other issue that I would consider when choosing between is performance and scalability. I know that you can find large sites running either forum, so you should be pretty safe with either. Based on the stuff I've read here and elsewhere, it seems like vBulletin may have an edge on IPB in this area.