Side by side
Phorum vs vBulletin
Both stand on discussion forum software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan
Visit Phorum Paid Self-hostedWeb
vBulletin offers community channels, moderation and page customization in hosted and self-hosted forms. Choose between the recurring Cloud plan and the one-time self-hosted license based on deployment needs.
Visit vBulletinThe facts
| Phorum | vBulletin | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Not published | Self-hosted, Web |
| Lowest paid plan | Not published | vBulletin Cloud: $14.99 a month |
| Plans published | None | 2 |
| Maker | Phorum.org | Not published |
| Website | phorum.org | vbulletin.com |
| On discussion forum software | #9 of 16 | #13 of 16 |
Phorum: what it does well
vBulletin: what it does well
- Includes forums, blogs and social groups.
- Inline moderation manages threads and posts.
- Site Builder includes drag-and-drop page tools.
- Cloud plan includes hosting and maintenance.
What to know first
- There is no free plan.
- Cloud costs $14.99 a month.
- Self-hosted license costs $179, paid once.
- Self-hosting recommends PHP 7.3 and MySQL 8 or greater.
Alternatives to Phorum Alternatives to vBulletin The whole list