| General | Phorum | phpBB | SMF | YaBB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Version |
5.2.9a
|
3.0.8
|
2.0.6
|
2.5 AE
|
| Release Date |
2008-10-13 (17 years ago)
|
2010-11-20 (15 years ago)
|
2013-10-22 (12 years ago)
|
2010-07-05 (15 years ago)
|
| Last Update here |
2008-10-16 (17 years ago)
|
2011-06-22 (14 years ago)
|
2013-10-25 (12 years ago)
|
2010-07-06 (15 years ago)
|
| Author |
Phorum Dev Team
|
The phpBB Group
|
Simple Machines
|
YaBB Development Team
|
| URL | ||||
| Free and Open Source |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| License |
The Phorum License (BSD)
|
General Public License
|
BSD
|
YPL (Modified GNU GPL)
|
| License cost |
0
|
0.00
|
0
|
Free
|
| Main View | ||||
| Thread-Type |
Threaded or Flat
|
Flat
|
Flat
|
Flat
|
| Setup | Phorum | phpBB | SMF | YaBB |
| Installation method |
wizard
|
wizard
|
wizard
|
wizard
|
| Upgrade method |
wizard
|
wizard with manual interactions
|
wizard
|
wizard with manual interactions
|
| Hosting available |
No
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
| Technology | Phorum | phpBB | SMF | YaBB |
| Programming Language |
PHP
|
PHP
|
PHP
|
Perl
|
| UTF-8 Support |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Data Storage |
2
MySQL Database, PostgreSQL Database |
6
Firebird Database, Microsoft SQL Database, MySQL Database, Oracle Database, PostgreSQL Database, SQLite File Database |
3
MySQL Database, PostgreSQL Database, SQLite File Database |
0
|
| Other Storage | ||||
| Source Code Repo | ||||
| Issue Tracker | ||||
| Posts | Phorum | phpBB | SMF | YaBB |
| BBCode |
Optional
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| HTML |
Optional
|
No
|
Yes
|
Optional
|
| Emoticons |
Optional
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Formatting Toolbar |
Optional
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| WYSIWYG Editor |
Plugin
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Quoting |
Nested
|
Nested
|
Nested
|
Nested
|
| Syntax Highlighting |
Plugin
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Attachments |
Multiple files
|
Multiple files
|
Multiple files
|
Multiple files
|
| Tags |
Unknown
|
Unknown
|
Unknown
|
Unknown
|
| Mark as solved | ||||
| Forums | Phorum | phpBB | SMF | YaBB |
| Categories |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Subforums |
multiple levels
|
unlimited
|
unlimited
|
one level
|
| Last Post |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Redirect Forums |
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Patch
|
| Trashcan Forum |
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Optional
|
| Anti-Spam and Security | Phorum | phpBB | SMF | YaBB |
| CAPTCHA |
Optional
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Optional
|
| Groups |
Multiple groups
|
Multiple groups
|
Multiple groups
|
Multiple groups
|
| Flood Control |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| ACLs |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Blacklist |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Warnings |
Plugin
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Optional
|
| Suspension |
Plugin
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Bans |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| IP-Block |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Audit Logging |
Optional
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Optional
|
| User Reports |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Optional
|
| Other |
Aksimet Plugin
|
Plugin-based CAPTCHA system, Newly Registered Users permissions
|
An Akismet mod is available
|
trademark "the Guardian" system
|
| Notification | Phorum | phpBB | SMF | YaBB |
| RSS/ATOM |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
| Instant Messaging |
0
|
Jabber
|
Private message notifications and broadcast messages
|
|
| Bookmarks |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Plugin
|
Yes
|
| Community | Phorum | phpBB | SMF | YaBB |
| Avatars |
Plugin
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| User Ranks |
Plugin
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Rating/Karma System |
Plugin
|
Patch
|
Yes
|
Patch
|
| Signatures |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Users Online List |
Plugin
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Private Messaging |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Custom profile fields |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Moderation | Phorum | phpBB | SMF | YaBB |
| Moderators |
global and forums
|
global and forums
|
global, forums and threads
|
global and forums
|
| Move Threads |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Split Threads |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Close Threads |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Shadow Topics |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Sticky Threads |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Important Threads |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Plugin
|
Yes
|
| Search | Phorum | phpBB | SMF | YaBB |
| Full-text search |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Author search |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Advanced search |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Unread Topics |
Database tracked
|
Database tracked
|
Database tracked
|
Database tracked
|
| Customization | Phorum | phpBB | SMF | YaBB |
| Languages |
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
| Mobile View |
Unknown
|
Unknown
|
Unknown
|
Unknown
|
| Templates |
global and forum specific
|
global and forum specific
|
global and forum specific
|
global
|
| Custom BBCodes |
Plugin
|
Yes
|
Plugin
|
Plugin
|
| Skin-Editor |
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Smiley Packs |
Plugin
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Plugins |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Special Features | Phorum | phpBB | SMF | YaBB |
| Statistics |
Plugin
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Polls |
Plugin
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Calendar |
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Patch
|
| Friendly URLs |
Plugin
|
Plugin
|
Plugin
|
Optional
|
| Data Management | Phorum | phpBB | SMF | YaBB |
| Available Importers | ||||
| Pruning |
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Archiving |
No
|
No
|
Plugin
|
No
|
| Export Formats |
SQL Dumps in .sql, sql.gz, and .sql.bz2
|
WAP(2), IMode
|
print layout; storage folders
|
|
| Export private messages |
No
|
Yes
|
Plugin
|
No
|
| Lo-Fi View |
Optional
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| remove Phorum | remove phpBB | remove SMF | remove YaBB |