FREE Forum software.

[lisa wilson]

Hello friends,

I am looking for the forum software for my site. Can someone please tell me that which forum software is best and also tell me some free forum software.

Any Reply will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[JLondon]

I do believe phpbb is the choice of many. Personally, I don't use free forum software, if I want to start a forum I would be going to vBulletin.

 

[siforek]

If you're going to use any free forum software I'd suggest phpBB. VB is by far the best solution though

 

[AbbieRose]

I've never liked VB-my forum of choice was always with IPB, because I always preferred the looks and the adminstrative tools on it.

Freebie wise, I tend to go for SMF as PHPBB seems to have more security problems.

 

[handsonhosting]

phpBB, SMF, and even PunBB (we ran that for almost 2 years) are great free softwares.

Used to run vB years ago, and I actually dumped it to go back to phpBB. Fun Fun.

 

[csn-uk]

Always been a phpBB Fan, still using it today despite not agreeing with the new administrative backend, IPB and VB are definitely the choices if the forum is to be much larger however both could be used later with database conversion tools, but each to their own with each, my particular preference being IPB.

All of those mentioned are reasonably easy to customise to fit the design/style of your site but which is usually down to preference as well as the type of site/visitor/usage expectation

 

[SenseiSteve]

If you're going to use any free forum software I'd suggest phpBB. VB is by far the best solution though

I agree with siforek. Depends on your business plan. phpBB is free which is always good, but VB is a very stable platform.

 

[21Roses]

In my experience, phpBB and SMF both have some security issues. Given the choice between the two, I'd definitely choose phpBB - there's an amazing variety of free modifications out there for it, and it's extremely easy to set up and use.

 

[DHD-Nick]

SMF is a very good choice.

www.simplemachines.org

Not as many modules, but as I've heard from a couple of people, it's more secure. I have not tested the security so don't take my word on the secure part.

 

[MikeTrike]

I'm in for phpBB or SMF here.

 

[Fellow]

I think I finally decided on a SimpleMachines (SMF) forum setup. Their software is free, very customizable and clean. They keep things up to date where some others do not. Their software just seems nicer to me than phpbb for some reason.

 

[rtccroy]

If you are looking for easier forums module setup, configurations and management, choose SMF.
On the other hand, if you are looking for full featured forums, go for phpbb.

 

[Zendevi]

I started with vBulletin and then moved to phpBB when I wanted something for free. Since then though I've started working with bbPress. It's quick and light, can be made very attractive and (I hope) many themes, plugins and general hacks will be on the way soon as it gains in popularity.

 

[HL-Sean]

I agree PHPbb is most likely the closest thing to Vbulletin. If you plan on a professional forum I would spend a little money and get a VB license.