Welcome to our ultimate comparison of the best forum software for 2024! Because if you're planning to launch or relaunch with a forum software today, take your time at the end of the year to make sure you're equipped with the perfect forum software for next year. When it comes to running forums, we can proudly say that we are experts. For over two decades, we've been the proud operators of psd-tutorials.de, a platform that connects millions of people in the world of image editing and design. If you've been looking for Photoshop solutions in the past, you might have come across our PSD forum. In that time, we've used and seen numerous forum systems and overall kept an eye on the forum market as technology has evolved. Now, with 2024 just around the corner, we want to share our experiences and insights by comparing the best forum software of the year for with our expertise and experience. Whether you're running an established forum or thinking about starting one, you'll find valuable information here to help you choose the right software for your needs.
In this overview, I would like to introduce you to forum software that we have used or are still using and what experiences we have had with it. At the same time, these are also the most popular forum software , as we have always made sure to use established forum systems over the past 20 years.
XenForo - our recommendation as forum software
XenForo - the proven solution for lively communities. We at psd-tutorials.de (at its peak we had over 800,000 registered members, 90% of whom we have since deleted due to inactivity) have been using XenForo for many years, and for good reasons. This forum software has proven to be the backbone of our lively community. The XenForo forum not only provides a robust and user-friendly platform for discussion, but also a variety of features that encourage engagement and interaction from our members.
With XenForo, we have the ability to constantly expand and customize our forum to meet the changing needs of our users. The intuitive user interface makes it easy for both experienced forum users and newcomers to participate. From smooth media content integration to excellent moderation control, XenForo provides everything we need to keep our community running.
Thanks to XenForo's active developer community, we receive regular updates and can be sure that our platform is always up to date. Overall, XenForo is a proven choice that has kept our community together over the years and will continue to do so. Updates run exactly the same as WordPress: one click and it's done. Also, I have never heard of the XenForo forum software being hacked. Above all, I am always impressed by the loading speed and the few database queries. So even with a small webhosting package you can get by just fine!
Years ago, before we switched from vBulletin to XenForo, I had written to the operators of computerbase.de, who have an extremely large number of visitors and where the pages still load extremely quickly, about which forum software they use: XenForo (also switched from vBulletin). The operator also recommended that we use this software. A small historical note: The best developers of vBulletin had already suggested at the time that the entire system had to be reprogrammed so that it was state of the art. Rumor has it that this was rejected internally and the developers split up in a dispute and created their own forum software: XenForo was born :-)
In the following news in August 2022, my brother Matthias informed our community that almost 380,000 inactive user accounts had been deleted. See here:
https://www.psd-tutorials.de/threads/inaktive-userprofile-wurden-geloescht.189281/
As a forum operator, you always feel honored when you can boast a high number of users. But in our case, this no longer corresponds to reality. Such deletions have often been made in the past because it makes sense to do so for reasons of data maintenance and economy. You can read how we proceeded in the article by my brother Matthias: SEO: 18 | Problems with external links and empty user accounts.
Advantages of XenForo
- Can be updated very easily
- Very fast loading times
- SEO functions included out of the box
- Good spam protection
- Many add-ons and design templates to download (many of which are free)
- Optimized for mobile devices
- Support directly on the manufacturer's website in the forum (by the way, the latest version is always used there and can therefore also be tested well)
- Live demo possible
- only a few bugs that can be viewed directly at the manufacturer and most of them are also fixed before a major update
- Many importers from other forum systems
Disadvantages of XenForo
- Only English-language support available on the manufacturer's website. German-language alternative: https://www.xendach.de (we were once operators ourselves before we gave up the project again)
- Still not completely possible to replace a CMS perfectly ... (but there are corresponding paid extensions for it).
- All external links in the forum are no-follow, which makes sense. If you want to change this, you have to give the user group (e.g. admins) the right to create follow links (but only exclusively; I have not yet found any other way to change a link so that it can be follow or not). It only makes sense if you sell posts, for example, where the advertisers usually want a follow link. If necessary, you have to create an extra group for this.
- Branding can be removed, but costs an extra 300 $ once
Costs of XenForo
- Self-hosting: 160 $ (one year of updates included)
- Cloud version: from 60 $ per month (thus always up to date with the latest technology)
The phpBB forum software
phpBB - The solid foundation for long-standing communities. When we look back at our history at psd-tutorials.de, it is noticeable that we have used phpBB in conjunction with the venerable CMS phpNuke for many years. This combination has played an important role in supporting our community over many years, or rather, in creating it in the first place.
phpBB is an open source forum software system that has proven to be a reliable choice for those looking for a stable and well-documented platform for online discussions. In our early years at psd-tutorials.de, phpBB was the centerpiece of our online forum. It allowed us to moderate discussions, manage users and organize content.
Despite changes in technology and platforms, phpBB remains a popular choice for those looking for a basic yet robust solution. With its open nature and active user community, there are numerous extensions and customization options to tailor it to the specific needs of your community.
While we at psd-tutorials.de have since moved on to other forum software, we can't forget how phpBB helped build and maintain our community in the early days. It's a software that has proven its reliability and consistency over the years.
Advantages of phpBB
- Open Source - therefore free of charge
- Extensibility
- Active community
- Security (constant updates)
Disadvantages of phpBB
- Limited functionality (no SEO support)
- Design customization
- Limited integration of other forum systems
- Limited official support (only via the community)
Costs of phpBB
- Self-hosting: free of charge
- Cloud version: does not exist
Invision Community (formerly known as Invision Power Board or IPB forum software)
Invision Community is a powerful forum software designed to support online communities and discussion forums. We actually used the software as the very first forum software for www.psd-tutorials.de (in 2003). Back then, the software was absolutely free.
Invision Community is much more than just a simple forum system . It offers an all-in-one solution for managing a thriving online community. In addition to the forum, it also offers functions for blogs, calendars, galleries and file uploads. This integration allows users to create and share different types of content in one centralized platform.
The user interface of Invision Community is modern and user-friendly. Navigation is intuitive, and members can easily create posts, upload images and files, and participate in discussions. Managing the community is also simple and efficient for administrators and moderators.
The Invision Community forum software offers a wide range of customization options. The software allows you to create your own themes and styles to fully customize the appearance of the community. There is also a wide range of plugins and extensions that can be used to add additional features and integrations.
The platform places great emphasis on encouraging engagement and interaction between members. Features such as reputation systems, activity notifications, private messaging and social groups encourage participation and networking within the community.
Invision Community has a good reputation for security. Regular updates and security patches are released to protect the platform from threats. In addition, the company behind the software offers professional support and an active user community compared to forums , which provides assistance with questions and problems.
The software is designed to be search engine friendly, which means that the content performs well in search results. This is important to improve the visibility of the community in search engines.
Invision Community offers responsive designs that work well on various devices, including smartphones and tablets. This allows members to use the community on the go.
In summary, Invision Community is a comprehensive and powerful solution for creating and managing online communities and forums. With its ease of use, customizability and wide range of features, it has established itself as a popular choice for community operators.
Advantages of Invision Community:
- All-in-one solution for communities.
- User-friendly interface.
- Strong customization options.
- Promotes engagement and interaction.
- Good reputation for security and support.
Cons Invision Community:
- Paid (and expensive) and not open source.
- Learning curve for complex customizations.
- Requires regular maintenance.
- Potentially high system requirements.
- Dependent on third-party plugins for some features.
Cost Invision Community:
- Self-hosting: $499 one-time and then $199 per year for 12 months of updates
- Cloud version: from $49 per month up to $549 depending on the model
vBulletin - once the first choice as forum software
vBulletin is a well-known forum software that has a firm place in the world of online communities. At psd-tutorials.de, we used vBulletin as our primary forum platform for many years before switching to XenForo (when we switched from phpBB to vBulletin).
This software is characterized by robust functionality and a large user base. It offers a variety of features including discussion forums, user profiles, private messaging, moderator tools and more. It has been a proven tool for managing our community and supporting our members.
One of the strengths of vBulletin is its versatility. It allowed us to customize and adapt our forum according to our needs. From customizing the look and feel to integrating additional features via plugins, vBulletin was a solid choice for those looking for flexible forum software.
However, technology evolved and we decided to move to XenForo to benefit from more modern features and an improved user experience. Nevertheless, vBulletin remains a respectable and reliable option for those who value a long-standing experience in the world of forum software. It undoubtedly has its place in the history of our community and has helped us become what we are today. For most vBulletin forum owners, version 3 or even 4 was the best version. After that, things just went downhill because the design was no longer up to date and so many things were not intuitive or just looked ugly (not much has improved with the brand new version 6 either). Many people then switched to XenForo because the best developers of vBulletin fell out and developed a completely new forum software called XenForo themselves. Because you have to be aware of one thing: there is always a point in software where you should start building from a greenfield site and not constantly renovate the old house, which is already rotten and moldy. Well ... that's not what vBulletin's management wanted ... Now they have to see how they can get new customers.
Advantages of vBulletin:
- Experienced forum software.
- Robust functionality.
- Customizability.
- Large user base.
- Moderator tools.
Disadvantages of vBulletin:
- Costly.
- Learning curve.
- More modern alternatives available.
- Possibly less active development.
- Requires regular maintenance and has been hacked in the past.
Costs of vBulletin:
- Self-hosting: €153.73 one-off
- Cloud version: from €14.60 to €55.28 per month
The WoltLab Suite forum software
The WoltLab Suite is a forum software developed by the German company WoltLab. It offers a comprehensive platform for creating and managing online forums. With WoltLab Suite, users can start discussions, write posts, subscribe to topics and much more.
The software is characterized by its user-friendly interface, which makes it easy for both administrators and users to operate the forum. The WoltLab Suite also offers a variety of features that allow administrators to customize and manage the forum according to their needs. These include the ability to set user roles and permissions, customize the look and feel of the forum and install various extensions and plugins.
In addition, the WoltLab Suite also offers a range of features to encourage user interaction and engagement. These include notifications of new posts, private messaging between users, the ability to leave likes and comments on posts and much more.
Overall, WoltLab Suite is a powerful forum software that allows users to engage in online discussions and build an active community. With its extensive features and user-friendly interface, WoltLab Suite is a popular choice for forum creation and management.
We've actually never used this software before, so I can't really make a personal recommendation. But my research has revealed this:
Advantages of WoltLab Suite:
- Experienced forum software.
- Robust functionality.
- Customizability.
- Large user base.
- Moderator tools.
Disadvantages of WoltLab Suite:
- Costly.
- Learning curve.
- More modern alternatives available.
- Possibly less active development.
- Requires regular maintenance and has been hacked in the past.
Costs of WoltLab Suite:
- Self-hosting: €153.73 one-off
- Cloud version: from €14.60 to €55.28 per month
Conclusion: The five forum systems presented here all have their advantages and disadvantages, and we ourselves are very satisfied with XenForo. In another post, I will present other forum systems that I have never installed myself, but are still worth a look - especially for anyone looking for forum software for WordPress.