Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

phpBB VS MyBB

Compare phpBB VS MyBB and see what are their differences

phpBB logo phpBB

Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi is a cheap, credit-card sized computer. The official website uses phpBB for their discussion forums. phpBB is not affiliated with nor responsible for any of the sites listed on the showcase.

MyBB logo MyBB

MyBB is a discussion board software that runs on PHP and MySQL
  • phpBB Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-23
  • MyBB Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-10

phpBB features and specs

  • Open Source
    phpBB is an open-source software, which means it is free to use, modify, and distribute. This can drastically reduce the cost of setting up a forum.
  • Customizability
    phpBB offers extensive customization options, including a wide array of plugins and themes to tailor the forum to specific needs.
  • Extensive Documentation
    The platform has comprehensive documentation, tutorials, and a supportive community, making it easier for users to navigate and solve issues.
  • Strong Security Features
    phpBB comes with built-in security features such as anti-spam measures and CAPTCHA validation to protect against unauthorized access and spam.
  • Scalability
    It is highly scalable, capable of handling small communities and large, high-traffic forums effectively.
  • Active Community
    There is a large, active user community which contributes to ongoing development and provides support.

Possible disadvantages of phpBB

  • Complex Setup and Maintenance
    Setting up and maintaining phpBB can be complex and may require a certain level of technical expertise, especially for beginners.
  • Frequent Updates
    The need for frequent updates can be considered a downside as managing updates and compatibility with plugins and themes can be time-consuming.
  • Performance Issues
    Large forums with high traffic can experience performance issues if not properly optimized.
  • Limited Built-in Features
    Some advanced features are not available out-of-the-box and require additional plugins or custom development.
  • Potential Security Vulnerabilities
    As with any popular platform, phpBB can be a target for hackers if not properly maintained with timely updates and security best practices.

MyBB features and specs

  • Free and Open-Source
    MyBB is free to download and use. Its open-source nature allows for complete customization and transparency.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The software offers a clean and intuitive interface, making it easy for both administrators and users to navigate.
  • Community Support
    A large, active community provides extensive documentation, plugins, themes, and support.
  • Extensible
    MyBB supports a wide range of plugins and themes, allowing users to extend its functionality and appearance easily.
  • Built-In Features
    It offers a variety of built-in features like private messaging, multi-quote, user tagging, and more.
  • SEO Friendly
    MyBB includes SEO-friendly URLs and settings that help improve the forum's visibility on search engines.
  • Security
    Regular security updates and a dedicated security team help ensure that the platform is secure.

Possible disadvantages of MyBB

  • Outdated Design
    Some users may find the default themes and design elements outdated compared to modern forum software.
  • Limited Built-In Modern Features
    While MyBB has a lot of basic features, it lacks some modern functionalities out of the box, requiring additional plugins.
  • Learning Curve for Customization
    While it is highly customizable, new users may find it challenging to modify the software to fit their needs without digging into the documentation or community forums.
  • Performance
    The performance may degrade with a large number of users and posts, requiring additional optimizations or server resources.
  • Plugin Dependence
    To add advanced features, users often need to rely on third-party plugins, which may not always be up to date or secure.
  • Less Frequent Updates
    Compared to some other forum software, updates and new releases are less frequent, which can lead to delays in receiving new features or bug fixes.

Analysis of phpBB

Overall verdict

  • phpBB is a good choice for those looking for a free and feature-rich forum platform. Its flexibility and customizability make it suitable for a variety of online communities. However, it may require a bit of a learning curve for users unfamiliar with forum software.

Why this product is good

  • phpBB is a popular open-source forum software known for its robust set of features, strong community support, and extensive customization options. It offers users the ability to create and manage forums with ease, supports a wide range of extensions, and provides a high level of security. Its comprehensive documentation and active support community make it an appealing choice for both beginners and experienced users.

Recommended for

    phpBB is recommended for individuals or organizations looking to build and manage an online community. It is well-suited for those who want a customizable and secure forum solution, especially if they have the technical skills to take advantage of its extensive features and customization options.

Analysis of MyBB

Overall verdict

  • MyBB is generally considered a good choice for those looking for reliable and flexible forum software without the need for extensive technical expertise. Its active community support and regular updates contribute to its reputation as a dependable platform.

Why this product is good

  • MyBB is a popular open-source forum software known for its ease of use, robust plugin system, and a supportive community. It offers a range of features such as customizable themes, user management, and a straightforward admin panel, making it an appealing choice for many forum administrators.

Recommended for

    MyBB is recommended for small to medium-sized communities, organizations looking to create a support forum, hobbyists who want to engage with like-minded individuals, and anyone prioritizing ease of use and extensibility in their forum solution.

phpBB videos

PHPbb for Beginners - Creating a Community Forum

More videos:

  • Review - A SQL injection example using phpBB | Ars Technica

MyBB videos

How to Build a Forum Website Free! MYBB review: Demo + Quick Setup Tutorial

More videos:

  • Review - Host your Own Forums with MyBB
  • Tutorial - How To Create / Set Up Your Own MyBB Forum 2019

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to phpBB and MyBB)
Forums And Forum Software
Forums
61 61%
39% 39
Community Platform
61 61%
39% 39
Social & Communications
49 49%
51% 51

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare phpBB and MyBB

phpBB Reviews

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MyBB Reviews

Top 10 Best Free Open Source Forum Software to Setup own Discussion Forum
MyBB is a free application for discussion forums which is scripted in PHP language and uses MySQL database. The application includes almost everything which is required to run an effective and fascinating community smoothly. It uses an instructive discussion board set up so which allows viewers to begin and respond to interactions and tag their posts. In order to keep the...
Source: technofizi.net

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, MyBB should be more popular than phpBB. It has been mentiond 8 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

phpBB mentions (2)

  • Best way to host a small forum?
    Excellent! Glad we could get you sorted! Hosting can be scary and it's okay to be afraid to touch things or not understand certain settings or terms. Especially if you're new. The key is to read the documentation. For your forum needs, this can be found at https://mybb.com and https://phpbb.com. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Looking for resources to learn authentication and security in-depth
    You may find a current, object-oriented version of phpBB to be just the ticket. It will teach you how to structure the database, authenticate users, manage sessions and selectively display content according to user level, group membership, and other policies. Source: about 4 years ago

MyBB mentions (8)

  • Best way to host a small forum?
    Excellent! Glad we could get you sorted! Hosting can be scary and it's okay to be afraid to touch things or not understand certain settings or terms. Especially if you're new. The key is to read the documentation. For your forum needs, this can be found at https://mybb.com and https://phpbb.com. Source: over 1 year ago
  • PhpBB
    I actually recommend myBB [0] over phpBB for anyone looking to set up a LAMP forum. It's cleaner, better written, and possibly better maintained and with a much less scary vulnerability history. I believe it started off as an attempt to create an OSS version of IPB (or was it vB?). [0]: https://github.com/mybb/mybb. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • How can I create a forum using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript?
    As u/Marble_Wraith mentioned. You will find more help and information at r/webdev. That being said, building a Forum is somewhat complex, if you're planning to do so from scratch without any prior knowledge this could be a challenging first task. If it's also an option to use a pre-build app, then https://mybb.com/ is a good starting point. You can also find some information on YouTube about how to get it running. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • What happened to the new offsite backup project?
    If you want something done and nobody is doing it, it is best to do it yourself. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Got Me Kicked Off Nanny Job Fb group!!
    She probably intimidated the group moderator, I can't see how any of that would have gotten you kicked out of a group. I suppose you could start your own group or even start one of those free forums like https://mybb.com/ and you decide how members will be vetted and of course everyone use a pseudonym. She probably has an alternate account that isn't her real name., hence why you can't block her. I suppose you... Source: over 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing phpBB and MyBB, you can also consider the following products

Discourse - Discourse is an open source discussion platform built for the next decade of the Internet.

XenForo - Intuitive. Social. Engaging. Fast. XenForo brings a fresh outlook to forum software.

Flarum - Flarum is the next-generation forum software that makes online discussion fun. It's simple, fast, and free.

Vanilla Forums - Build an engaging community forum using Vanilla's modern cloud forum software.

NodeBB - NodeBB Forum Software - A better community platform for the modern web. NodeBB is a next generation forum software that's free and easy to use.

Forumbee - Forumbee offers community forums for discussions, feedback and Q&A.