A quote from my blog at
Lockergnome (12/27/07):
Invision Power Board and
vBulletin are by far the 2 most popular forum software out on the market at the present time. When asking site owners why they chose one over the other, you are usually faced with a response along the lines of "Because it met my needs at the time of purchase". But just what makes each one stick out? What makes one better than the other? Is there really even a difference?
Lets look at this from several different perspectives.
1) Price. At first glance, it would appear that IPB is the winner in this respect. but after a brief in depth look, the bigger picture becomes apparent.
A standard IPB license will run a bill of $149.99. While this license never expires and will truly last the owner a lifetime, the support for the license does end. Support with IPS (Invision Power Services, the developers of IPB) ends abruptly after the first 6 months of use. You will be allowed to use the software for as long as you want, but if something slips up, you have nowhere to turn. To continue support (as well as the ability to upgrade should a new version be released), IPS requires a small $25 renewal fee every 6 months.
A standard vB license will cost you $160.00 for a lifetime agreement, with special offers for customers purchasing bulk quantities. Unlike IPB, a vB license includes double the amount of provided support time. You will be able to contact vB with any problems for up to a year, at which point you will be required to supply a $30 re-subscription fee.
2) Official Add-ons. This is where Invision Power Board pulls ahead.
IPB, at the time this blog entry is being written, offers 3 official forum Add-ons with a few more in developmental and Beta phases. *
- IP.Blog - A powerful blogging system that will plug straight into your IP.Board. Allow your members to create their own individual blogs. IP.Blog has all the features you'd expect from an advanced Blogging system, yet has a very easy to use interface. All Blogs are presented in an easy to use list. Your community will love the features the Blog has to offer.
- IP.Download - A comprehensive download manager plugin which integrates seamlessly with IP.Board. Share applications, documents, music and more, right from within your forum. Let users share their own files, or use it as a repository for distributing files to your customers - IP.Downloads has been built with the flexibility to work the way you want it to.
- IP.Gallery - A full featured solution for all of your picture-hosting needs, and best of all it integrates seamlessly with your Invision Power Board forums. This means controlling aspects of your gallery is just a few clicks away, conveniently accessible in your IP.Board administration panel. From family vacation photos to corporate office pictures, IP.Gallery has you covered.
- IPS has also released a Beta version of both IP.Nexus and IP.Converge.
* - Information taken directly from IPS Community Site.
vB offers nothing in the direction of Official Add-ons. Any customizations to the software itself need to be done manually, without the support of Jelsoft (Developers of vBulletin).
3) Manual Components / Customizations. I would have to side with IPB as taking the lead on this subject.
Both IPB and vB allow for customizations to be done to the source files themselves, however IPB limits this if you purchase a non-perpetual package. Any skilled programmer / web designer can open up the forum files and add their own twist on the software. IPB nearly encourages this. Many of the actual writers of IPB are active members on third party sites involving what has come to be known as "mods", short for modifications. The source directories and files have been specifically altered over the recent versions of IPB to more easily allow for these customizations. IPS support acknowledges this mods and even offer support for mishaps that might have occurred while installing them (providing you have an active support license). IPS has even opened up
its own site for people to post their own mods.vBulletin chooses to ignore these mods and has made no effort to make writing them any easier. There are quite a few IPB Modding sites, and only a limited number of vB equivalents.
4) Social Networking. IPB pulls ahead yet again.
As of version 2.2.0 of Invision Power Board, the Profile Page assigned to each member has been completely revolutionized. This is, in my personal opinion, the greatest feature of IPB to date. Compared to the noticeably simple vB profile style, IPB stands out. One could say that an IPB profile resembles a Myspace (or other social networking site) profile. Instead of simply displaying the users join date, number of posts, and possibly a few slots of contact information, IPB takes user profiles to its fullest potential. The ability to add friends and comment on other members' profiles is enough in itself. Throw in the AJAX iFrame recent posts / topics tabs, elegant display of detailed contact information, separate Avatar's and Profile Pictures, Personal Statements, Interests, and so much more, and you will literally leave the vB enthusiasts fumbling for words.
5) Admin Control Panel.
The Admin Control Panel of an Invision Power Board forum is much easier to navigate and use than that of a vBulletin. Organization is key to being able to quickly perform important Administrator actions key to running a successful site. As of IPB version 2.3.0, IPB's ACP now includes a default "Home" tab. From this tab you can directly search and view every part of the ACP rather than click on the other tabs individually. It cuts the time it takes to edit a member or a particular forum in half. The fact that IPB even has tabs is, in itself, a great step ahead of vB. The vB ACP is just a large group of links bunched together in an unorganized fashion, each leading its own page of more ugly links. IPB's ACP is extremely easy to navigate and much faster than vB.
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Overall, I would have to choose IPB as the better of the two. It might be slightly more expensive, but I think the features it includes and offers make it worth it. At the time this is being written, I currently own 3 IPB sites, one vB, and one phpBB (another fine choice, great for those on a tight budget due to its $0 price tag). vB seems, for lack of a better word, clunky and unfriendly.
I hope this post aids you in your decision should you ever decide to purchase a forum of your own.
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External Links:
IPS:
http://www.invisionpower.comvBulletin:
http://www.vbulletin.comInvisionize:
http://www.invisionize.comInvisionModding:
http://www.invisionmodding.comIPSBeyond:
http://www.ipsbeyond.comvBModder:
http://www.vbmodder.com/forumsVirtualDump:
http://www.virtualdump.net
