vBulletin versus Invision Power Board: Which is right for me?

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Introduction
Anyone who has been around forum software long enough, whether it'd be a visitor to a site, a member, or even a administrator/site staff, has come across several kinds of forum software that powers a site's community. There are many kinds, such as vBulletin, Simple Machine Forums, phpBB, Invision Power Board, Vanilla, and punBB just to name a few.

While there are many choices to choose from, this guide is going to focus on the next big step sites tend to take when they become large enough: switching from free, simple forum software to a paid, supported one. The two most common (and often debated) ones looked at in this guide are Invision Power Board (hereon referenced as IPB/IP.Board) and vBulletin (referenced as vB). This guide will help outline some important aspects of both software, as well as break down some things that people tend to look for when planing on purchasing either one.

The categories looked at in this guide are as follows, in order of coverage:
Cost/Pricing
License Agreements/Conditions
Features
Front-End Features (User Controls and Options)
Back-End Features (Administration Controls and Options)
Functionality (Ease of Use)
Add-Ons
Support
Documentation

Cost/Pricing
One of the first things people look at when it comes to looking for commercial forum software is the pricing.

vBulletin: The Leased (one-year) vBulletin license comes in at $85.00, while the Owned license comes in at $160.00. More information here. (http://www.vbulletin.com/order/)

Invision Power Board: The Standard license comes in at $149.99, while the Business license comes in at $299.99. More information here. (http://community.ipslink.com/board/purchase.html)


License Agreements/Conditions
Below are the outlines for both vBulletin and Invision Power Board. These are listed and described in their simplicity; more information can be found on their respective sites.

vBulletin (License Agreement (http://www.vbulletin.com/order/license_agreement.php))
Leased License
One-year long use of software
Support for 12 months
Upgrades for 12 months
After expiration, forum software must be renewed or removed
Renewal Fee: Required (if you wish to continue running sofware): $85.00
Owned License
Permanent use of software
Upgrades for 12 months
Support for life
After expiration, software may continue to be used
Renewal Fee: Optional (if you want access to new upgrades for 12 months after purchase); $30.00 Additional Purchase Options:
Branding Free (removal of copyright on footer): $120.00
Professional Installation: $135.00
Telephone Support
One month: $60.00
Six months: $180.00
Twelve months: $300.00

Invision Power Board (License Agreement (http://community.ipslink.com/board/license.html))
Standard License
One-year long use of software
Support for 6 months
Upgrades for 6 months
Phone support for 30 days
After expiration, software may continue to be used
Renewal Fee: Optional (for 6 additional months); $25.00
Business License
Permanent use of software
Upgrades for 6 months
Support for 6 months
Phone support for 6 months
After expiration, software may continue to be used
Renewal Fee: Optional (for 6 additional months); $50.00 Additional Purchase Options:
Branding Free (removal of copyright on footer): $275.00
Conversion Service: $60.00
Alternate Database Drivers (Oracle or MS-SQL): $60.00

Features
Besides price, features really make a difference between making and breaking a purchase and are a key role in determining what would allow for the best room for expansion/growth. Both vB and IPB have a wide array of features, and they have many in common (though few key features do separate them).

In this section, the latest features of each software will be compared (IP.Board 2.2.1 and vB 3.6.4). While both have similar features, it is wise to remember that their implementation of the features also makes a difference in terms of usability and functionality.


Front-End Features
To try and cover both forums' independent would be impossible, as both do not list all documented features, and those listed vary in a number of ways. However, it is important to remember that when looking for forum software, it is good to not only keep in mind your needs and wants for a site, but also what your users may need and want.

Below are links to the latest feature list for each forum. Look through them and decide very carefully what you may need now and for the future. Pay attention to what they both lack, and what they both have; and keep an eye for features one has that the other does not, and how much weight it holds for use on your site (for example, if you don't really need users to be able to change their name on their own accord, but do need an easy easy way to add modifications to your site, the vBulletin would be your choice).

(vBulletin (http://www.vbulletin.com/features.php)) | (Invision Power Board (http://community.ipslink.com/board/features.html))



Back-End Features
How the forum works from the back (or in this case, how you can control the forum) is detrimental. While both vBulletin and Invision Power Board give you extensive control over your forum, how it is done differs greatly between the two.

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vBulletin: vBulletin uses an old frame layout: The right frame contains the information, while the left frame contains the main menu. While a number of users do complain about the look, the accessibility and how quickly you can get from one option to another is very easy, and as the menus are structured as groups in relation to each other, it allows fairly quick point-and-click mentality.

Invision Power Board: Using a more "up to date" look and feel, Invision Power Board uses a tabular system. While this does lead a more organized feel when done properly, the forum IPB uses can be a little overwhelming, especially to new users as well as old. While options and selections are categorized, many features are spread out and sometimes leaves the end user "fishing" around until they find the feature they need. Should you need help, however, the Help & Support tab is conveniently placed for use should you run into any issues.


Again, while undoubtedly the IP.Board Admin Control Panel does indeed look pretty, you also have to factor in usability. If you are comfortable with tabs, then by all means select IP.Board; but if you'd rather use a simple and fast system, then vB would be the way to go.

Functionality (Ease of Use)
Besides having plenty of features, the ability to use those features is also very important. Do I have to click many things in order to get it to work? Do I have to have certain server requirements? What about a specific browser? All of these questions have to be asked when it comes to choosing a forum software for your site--and this should be asked all around, not just in relation to forum software.

For the most part, the features on both boards are accessible no matter what, and with minor modifications. This section, however, is rather short as IPB does not have many positives in this area. This can be easily seen if you disable JavaScript. Though, now in recent times JavaScript is now "required' by most sites, but for commercial software that is to be used in dozens of configurations and settings, it is sad to see that IPB does not support non-JavaScript enabled environments. Posts, comments, and even a simple pop-up can't be used in IPB; and in the Admin Control Panel, very little works as well.

vB excels in this area; disable JavaScript and the forum act as normal, minus some visual differences. Nonetheless, planning of past and future uses and configuration is evident.

Both forums, however, cater to each user's needs. With a powerful ACP, many features can be enabled, disabled, or changed to fit a particular site's needs. This is where it comes to a more personal opinion about what works or what doesn't. Some people may find IPB difficult to use while others may say the same about vB.

To view both of the forum's default installations and form an opinion for yourself, you should visit their online demos:

For vBulletin: http://www.vbulletin.com/admindemo.php

For Invision Power Board: http://community.ipslink.com/board/demo.html

Add-Ons
While this may seem a bit unfair as Invision Power Services (IPS) offers an entire community suite, and Jelsoft only offers vBulletin, both titans do carry enough weight on either side to pull back and forth in terms of what customers have to choose from.

Yes, IPS does offer a blog ($50.00) and gallery ($65.00) as official integrated products with their IP.Board, but Jelsoft isn't out of the race either, especially regarding the posts here (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1168243&postcount=17) and here (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1275881&postcount=21) by two Jelsoft developers.

Both Jelsoft and IPS offer community-based add-ons and integrated products. The official communities for both companies are as follows:

Jelsoft's vBorg (http://www.vbulletin.org/)
IPS's IPS Beyond (http://www.ipsbeyond.com/forums/index.php?)

Both sites cover a wide array of items, from skins and styles to code modifications and plugins. It comes down to preference; however it is most often heard the vBulletin's plugin system is by far the better of the two (IPB does have a similar system, but it is not often used if at all).

Support
Support opinions vary in this area to say the least.

vBulletin mainly does it support either through forums for non-official support (while the staff do reply, the forums are open for customer-to-customer support) or through the official ticket system (where only Jelsoft staff reply).

The average response through the ticket system is usually less than four hours (though many customers find it faster) thanks to Jelsoft having staff from different parts of the world; the forums, as it is not officially by staff only, can see long times. For most of the questions posted on the forums, the answers can be found with a quick search in either the Quick Tips and Customizations forums, or searching in the How Do I? forums.

Even if you don't speak English, support can also be given (and purchasing licenses as well) from other countries. Currently, Jelsoft offers official vBulletin licenses and support in the following languages/countries: Chinese (http://www.vbulletin-china.cn/), Hungary (http://www.vbulletin-hungary.com/), and Germany (http://www.vbulletin-germany.com/).


Invision Power Board, however, is limited it seems. Besides being based in Virginia, they also seem to have all their staff move to the Virginia area as well. This means that support for other countries are blocked off from fast support. On top of that, with their new licenses, it seems that if you get a Standard license, you get guaranteed ticket response of 2 days; a Business license gets 1 day guarantee response to tickets.

Statistics like that aren't exactly good; and granted, IPS has vehemently denied long ticket response times, however, they keep coming up. Now, if it weren't true, I doubt people would continually say the same thing about a company for a long period of time; and lack of a pre-sales forum or any discussion of their products and services seems to lead a new customer to believe that there is really no true customer support care; though the reason is to keep from inaccuracies from being posted by other members of the forums. I will not even get into the user bans they've dished out when someone questioned IPS in general, and about different products.


When it comes to support, Jelsoft seems to be the winner on this one. Yet again, though, you can go to each and ask questions if you wish and find things out on your own.



Documentation
Both companies present proper documentation for their products. vBulletin's documentation is more thorough, however, covering information all the way back to it's 2.3.x series.

vBulletin Documentation (http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/)
Invision Power Board Documentation (http://community.ipslink.com/board/documentation.html)

Both forums have API documentation available as well, however, only vBulletin's is available only to customers.

Looking Good... I've voted for your article. Good luck. ;)

SECOND PLACE WINNER: vBulletin Fans Network Competition 2006

Back-End Features
How the forum works from the back (or in this case, how you can control the forum) is detrimental. "Detrimental," means damaging. Perhaps you meant the word fundamental, rather than detrimental.

~M

"Detrimental," means damaging. Perhaps you meant the word fundamental, rather than detrimental.

~M
I think that's exactly what he mean.