Phorum vs. phpBB vs. SMF

General Phorum phpBB SMF
Version
5.2.9a
3.0.8
2.0.6
Release Date
2008-10-12 (15 years ago)
2010-11-19 (13 years ago)
2013-10-21 (10 years ago)
Last Update here
2008-10-16 (15 years ago)
2011-06-22 (12 years ago)
2013-10-25 (10 years ago)
Author
Phorum Dev Team
The phpBB Group
Simple Machines
URL
Free and Open Source
Yes
Yes
Yes
License
The Phorum License (BSD)
General Public License
BSD
License cost
0
0.00
0
Main View
Thread-Type
Threaded or Flat
Flat
Flat
Setup Phorum phpBB SMF
Installation method
wizard
wizard
wizard
Upgrade method
wizard
wizard with manual interactions
wizard
Hosting available
No
No
No
Technology Phorum phpBB SMF
Programming Language
PHP
PHP
PHP
UTF-8 Support
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
Other Storage
Source Code Repo
Issue Tracker
Posts Phorum phpBB SMF
BBCode
Optional
Yes
Yes
HTML
Optional
No
Yes
Emoticons
Optional
Yes
Yes
Formatting Toolbar
Optional
Yes
Yes
WYSIWYG Editor
Plugin
No
Yes
Quoting
Nested
Nested
Nested
Syntax Highlighting
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Attachments
Multiple files
Multiple files
Multiple files
Tags
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Mark as solved
Forums Phorum phpBB SMF
Categories
Yes
Yes
Yes
Subforums
multiple levels
unlimited
unlimited
Last Post
Yes
Yes
Yes
Redirect Forums
No
Yes
Yes
Trashcan Forum
No
No
Yes
Anti-Spam and Security Phorum phpBB SMF
CAPTCHA
Optional
Yes
Yes
Groups
Multiple groups
Multiple groups
Multiple groups
Flood Control
Yes
Yes
Yes
ACLs
Yes
Yes
Yes
Blacklist
Yes
Yes
Yes
Warnings
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Suspension
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Bans
Yes
Yes
Yes
IP-Block
Yes
Yes
Yes
Audit Logging
Optional
Yes
Yes
User Reports
Yes
Yes
Yes
Other
Aksimet Plugin
Plugin-based CAPTCHA system, Newly Registered Users permissions
An Akismet mod is available
Notification Phorum phpBB SMF
RSS/ATOM
Yes
Yes
Yes
E-Mail
Yes
Yes
Yes
Instant Messaging
0
Jabber
Bookmarks
Yes
Yes
Plugin
Community Phorum phpBB SMF
Avatars
Plugin
Yes
Yes
User Ranks
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Rating/Karma System
Plugin
Patch
Yes
Signatures
Yes
Yes
Yes
Users Online List
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Private Messaging
Yes
Yes
Yes
Custom profile fields
Yes
Yes
Yes
Moderation Phorum phpBB SMF
Moderators
global and forums
global and forums
global, forums and threads
Move Threads
Yes
Yes
Yes
Split Threads
Yes
Yes
Yes
Close Threads
Yes
Yes
Yes
Shadow Topics
Yes
Yes
Yes
Sticky Threads
Yes
Yes
Yes
Important Threads
Yes
Yes
Plugin
Search Phorum phpBB SMF
Full-text search
Yes
Yes
Yes
Author search
Yes
Yes
Yes
Advanced search
Yes
Yes
Yes
Unread Topics
Database tracked
Database tracked
Database tracked
Customization Phorum phpBB SMF
Languages
0
0
0
Mobile View
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Templates
global and forum specific
global and forum specific
global and forum specific
Custom BBCodes
Plugin
Yes
Plugin
Skin-Editor
No
Yes
Yes
Smiley Packs
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Plugins
Yes
Yes
Yes
Special Features Phorum phpBB SMF
Statistics
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Polls
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Calendar
No
No
Yes
Friendly URLs
Plugin
Plugin
Plugin
Data Management Phorum phpBB SMF
Available Importers
Pruning
Yes
Yes
Yes
Archiving
No
No
Plugin
Export Formats
SQL Dumps in .sql, sql.gz, and .sql.bz2
WAP(2), IMode
Export private messages
No
Yes
Plugin
Lo-Fi View
Optional
Yes
Yes
remove Phorum remove phpBB remove SMF