Recommend me a forum software

[abubin]

I am trying to setup a new forum website. However, reading all these forum software is really confusing me.

Appreciate if can get advice from users here.

- cost is main concern
- prefer paid software as it is easier to manage and more features and more stable
- does all of these forum software have this policy of 1 time transfer only?
- which one is no longer in development? (I read Xenforo is no longer being developed)
- what's with all the different version being sold? Should I get the latest or old will do as well?
- the forum need to work on mobile too as my target audience is mobile phone users
- what's with all the ownership transfer fee? Does all the forum software have this transfer fee?
- I saw Xenforo being sold at $140 but someone selling at $120 with transfer fee included. Doesn't make sense? Or because it has add-on? No branding and so on. Really confusing.
- which should I get?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Maddox]

A lot of questions - why not take advantage of the free demos that the paid softwares offer and decide which you like best and offers what you want; other than that you will get a lot of conflicting answers from those who prefer one over the other of the paid options. By trying the demos you can also see which renders the best on mobile, which is your targeted audience.

Xenforo is very much still being developed and an update is imminent. IPS is also a worthy contender, though it is the most expensive of them all in the short term. Woltlab is also worth a look at. These are your three main paid contenders (forget vBulletin, it's horrendous - just my opinion).

Try Xenforo here >> https://xenforo.com/demo/

Try IPS here >> https://invisioncommunity.com/demo (they also do a community in the cloud offering look here for pricing >> https://invisioncommunity.com/buy )

Try Woltlab here >> https://www.woltlab.com/demo/

 

[doubt]

I saw Xenforo being sold at $140 but someone selling at $120 with transfer fee included. Doesn't make sense?

It makes sense to the seller only.
Buyers are not lining up.

 

[abubin]

It makes sense to the seller only.
Buyers are not lining up.

They just insist on selling at that price and rather not sell if they cannot get this price.

 

[abubin]

A lot of questions - why not take advantage of the free demos that the paid softwares offer and decide which you like best and offers what you want; other than that you will get a lot of conflicting answers from those who prefer one over the other of the paid options. By trying the demos you can also see which renders the best on mobile, which is your targeted audience.

Xenforo is very much still being developed and an update is imminent. IPS is also a worthy contender, though it is the most expensive of them all in the short term. Woltlab is also worth a look at. These are your three main paid contenders (forget vBulletin, it's horrendous - just my opinion).

Try Xenforo here >> https://xenforo.com/demo/

Try IPS here >> https://invisioncommunity.com/demo (they also do a community in the cloud offering look here for pricing >> https://invisioncommunity.com/buy )

Try Woltlab here >> https://www.woltlab.com/demo/

Thanks for introducing me woltlab. Seems like a good contender. My requirement for forum software is not that high. As long as price is right. If I cannot get one at low price, I would rather go with phpBB or SMF. I know these free ones are horrible but I am not generating any money yet from the forum so I am not sure if I want to spend so much into a forum. Plus, forums are dying by the days with traffic going to facebook and reddit.

 

[doubt]

They just insist on selling at that price

Well, it's their right to set any price.

 

[Maddox]

Thanks for introducing me woltlab. Seems like a good contender. My requirement for forum software is not that high. As long as price is right. If I cannot get one at low price, I would rather go with phpBB or SMF. I know these free ones are horrible but I am not generating any money yet from the forum so I am not sure if I want to spend so much into a forum. Plus, forums are dying by the days with traffic going to facebook and reddit.

Understandably there is an investment cost to building a website (any website) and this is generally decided by an individual's budget. If you need more time to gather enough funds you can spend that time in waiting on deciding your layout and do research to see who else is doing something similar and pick up some pointers. It's best not to rush into something, rather wait a while and do the groundwork; it can save you in the long term.

Woltlab is the cheapest option for a paid software, but it's worth noting that the core includes a free CMS which others either do not supply or charge extra for. So the forum, including the core with CMS, would hit you for $90 - but best to try all of them out first and see which ticks all of your boxes.

There may be a resurgence in forums on the horizon as SM is taking quite a hit in the press and it has been stated that more millenials are dumping the facebook app in greater numbers than any other age group. That may be a sign that the wheels are turning the screws on SM; time will tell.

 

[BrandonSheley]

Don't get to narrow sighted with your choices OP.
I'd suggest checking out Discourse as an option, if money is an issue you'll be happy to hear it's free.
https://www.discourse.org/

 

[LeadCrow]

I saw Xenforo being sold at $140 but someone selling at $120 with transfer fee included. Doesn't make sense? Or because it has add-on? No branding and so on. Really confusing.

If you buy xenforo directly from its company, you can resell it and thus recover the majority of your initial investment (around 100$ for a licence with expired support/updates). If you buy a licence from an individual, you're prevented from selling it back.

If cost is important, you need official support and you're already on the fence for XF, I presume that only leaves Woltlab. You get ticket support for as long as your software version is supported at no extra cost (+3 years), access to minor updates like fixes and security updates and its arguably easier to manage.

I'd suggest checking out Discourse as an option, if money is an issue you'll be happy to hear it's free.

A hidden cost of Discourse is the necessity to run it on at least a VPS or better hosting, which can cost quite a bit. The inability of running on shared hosting is most likely contributing to its low mindshare among hobbyists.

 

[Shimei]

IPS is also a worthy contender, though it is the most expensive of them all in the short term.

That's for sure. Though the mods for IPS are a fraction of what they were for Vbulletin 5. Migrating from Vbulletin 5 to IPS4 after customization has proven itself more cost efficient in my case. The more customization desired and applied to Vbulletin 5 offsets the initial cost of IPS4 software with future mods.

 

[Alpha1]

Also free/freemium:
https://vanillaforums.com/
https://nodebb.org/

 

[BrandonSheley]

A hidden cost of Discourse is the necessity to run it on at least a VPS or better hosting, which can cost quite a bit. The inability of running on shared hosting is most likely contributing to its low mindshare among hobbyists.

$5 a month isn't much of a cost, you'll need hosting for all frameworks unless you go cloud which you'll still end up paying.
https://www.digitalocean.com/products/one-click-apps/discourse/

 

[Dan18]

https://www.digitalocean.com/products/one-click-apps/discourse/

This isn't supported install.

This is the only guide to follow: https://github.com/discourse/discourse/blob/master/docs/INSTALL-cloud.md

I'm using Discourse on OVH VPS $3 per month.
Running very well and awesome Forum Software.

 

[abubin]

I do not like flat based forum software like vanilla or nodebb. Seems like discourse is also very flat based. I need something that can categorize groups in a better way like traditional forum.

BTW, is there any reason to go for older version of forum software? Cause I see people actually selling older version of them.

 

[zappaDPJ]

BTW, is there any reason to go for older version of forum software? Cause I see people actually selling older version of them.

Old versions may well be better supported by in a number of ways. More themes, more add-ons and a better support infrastructure from admins and coders who have gained years of experience with the product. Some older versions may arguably be a better product than the current version i.e. vBulletin 4.

Providing the software is still secure and runs on modern server technology, there's often good reasons to want to use it which is why it is still sold.

 

[LeadCrow]

is there any reason to go for older version of forum software? Cause I see people actually selling older version of them.

If your audience mostly browses from computers, it only has to be a supported version so you can stretch your use longer. Do note different considerations apply in that case (your visitors will mostly use either a desktop when available or a laptop if theyre online-connected).

However, there's no point sticking for old and insecure versions. If cost is a concern, you can get roughly the same experience from scripts like MyBB (high drop-in replacement value for vBulletin.

 

[abubin]

If your audience mostly browses from computers, it only has to be a supported version so you can stretch your use longer. Do note different considerations apply in that case (your visitors will mostly use either a desktop when available or a laptop if theyre online-connected).

However, there's no point sticking for old and insecure versions. If cost is a concern, you can get roughly the same experience from scripts like MyBB (high drop-in replacement value for vBulletin.

Oh wow, how come I forgot about MyBB. That's exactly the kind of forum I like! This will be my first choice now. Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[radu81]

As free alternative have a look at www.elkarte.net

 

[highlander29]

I wouldn't care so much about the cost of the forum software itself. Think about the availability of add-ons because that's what you're going to implement to customize your site. VBulletin is out because there is no future there (I have that). I'd look for something that will be around for a while where there is a growing market for plugins to provide additional functionality. I'd probably go with Xenforo if I had to start over.

 

[Joel R]

Even though I'm an IPS client myself, I would actually and ethically recommend that you 'cut your teeth' on some of the free choices like SMF or MyBB or phpBB. They're all fine to get started, and all of the paid ones offer converters for when you're ready to step up.

Good luck with your forum!