XMB vs. MyBB vs. Phorum vs. SMF vs. phpBB

General XMB MyBB Phorum SMF phpBB
Version
1.9.11
1.6.3
5.2.9a
2.0.6
3.0.8
Release Date
Febuary 28, 2009
2011-04-16 (12 years ago)
2008-10-12 (15 years ago)
2013-10-21 (10 years ago)
2010-11-19 (13 years ago)
Last Update here
2012-03-02 (12 years ago)
2011-06-22 (12 years ago)
2008-10-16 (15 years ago)
2013-10-25 (10 years ago)
2011-06-22 (12 years ago)
Author
The XMB Group
MyBB Group
Phorum Dev Team
Simple Machines
The phpBB Group
URL
Free and Open Source
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
License
General Public License
Custom
The Phorum License (BSD)
BSD
General Public License
License cost
0.00
US$0
0
0
0.00
Main View
Thread-Type
Flat
Threaded or Flat
Threaded or Flat
Flat
Flat
Setup XMB MyBB Phorum SMF phpBB
Installation method
wizard
wizard
wizard
wizard
wizard
Upgrade method
wizard
wizard
wizard
wizard
wizard with manual interactions
Hosting available
No
No
No
No
No
Technology XMB MyBB Phorum SMF phpBB
Programming Language
php
PHP
PHP
PHP
PHP
UTF-8 Support
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Data Storage
1
MySQL Database
3
MySQL Database, PostgreSQL Database, SQLite File Database
2
MySQL Database, PostgreSQL Database
3
MySQL Database, PostgreSQL Database, SQLite File Database
6
Firebird Database, Microsoft SQL Database, MySQL Database, Oracle Database, PostgreSQL Database, SQLite File Database
Other Storage
Source Code Repo
Issue Tracker
Posts XMB MyBB Phorum SMF phpBB
BBCode
Yes
Yes
Optional
Yes
Yes
HTML
Optional
Yes
Optional
Yes
No
Emoticons
Yes
Yes
Optional
Yes
Yes
Formatting Toolbar
Yes
Yes
Optional
Yes
Yes
WYSIWYG Editor
No
Plugin
Plugin
Yes
No
Quoting
Nested
Nested
Nested
Nested
Nested
Syntax Highlighting
No
Yes
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Attachments
Multiple files
Multiple files
Multiple files
Multiple files
Multiple files
Tags
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Mark as solved
Forums XMB MyBB Phorum SMF phpBB
Categories
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Subforums
one level
unlimited
multiple levels
unlimited
unlimited
Last Post
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Redirect Forums
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Trashcan Forum
No
Plugin
No
Yes
No
Anti-Spam and Security XMB MyBB Phorum SMF phpBB
CAPTCHA
Yes
Yes
Optional
Yes
Yes
Groups
Multiple groups
Multiple groups
Multiple groups
Multiple groups
Multiple groups
Flood Control
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
ACLs
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Blacklist
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Warnings
Plugin
Yes
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Suspension
Plugin
Yes
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Bans
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
IP-Block
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Audit Logging
Yes
Yes
Optional
Yes
Yes
User Reports
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Other
Akismet plugin available.
Aksimet Plugin
An Akismet mod is available
Plugin-based CAPTCHA system, Newly Registered Users permissions
Notification XMB MyBB Phorum SMF phpBB
RSS/ATOM
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
E-Mail
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Instant Messaging
0
Jabber
Bookmarks
Yes
Yes
Yes
Plugin
Yes
Community XMB MyBB Phorum SMF phpBB
Avatars
Yes
Yes
Plugin
Yes
Yes
User Ranks
Yes
Yes
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Rating/Karma System
Plugin
Yes
Plugin
Yes
Patch
Signatures
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Users Online List
Yes
Yes
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Private Messaging
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Custom profile fields
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Moderation XMB MyBB Phorum SMF phpBB
Moderators
global and forums
global and forums
global and forums
global, forums and threads
global and forums
Move Threads
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Split Threads
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Close Threads
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Shadow Topics
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Sticky Threads
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Important Threads
Yes
Yes
Yes
Plugin
Yes
Search XMB MyBB Phorum SMF phpBB
Full-text search
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Author search
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Advanced search
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Unread Topics
Session tracked
Database tracked
Database tracked
Database tracked
Database tracked
Customization XMB MyBB Phorum SMF phpBB
Languages
0
0
0
0
0
Mobile View
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Templates
global and forum specific
global and forum specific
global and forum specific
global and forum specific
global and forum specific
Custom BBCodes
Plugin
Yes
Plugin
Plugin
Yes
Skin-Editor
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Smiley Packs
Optional
Yes
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Plugins
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Special Features XMB MyBB Phorum SMF phpBB
Statistics
Yes
Yes
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Polls
Yes
Yes
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Calendar
Plugin
Yes
No
Yes
No
Friendly URLs
Yes
Plugin
Plugin
Plugin
Plugin
Data Management XMB MyBB Phorum SMF phpBB
Available Importers
Pruning
Yes
Plugin
Yes
Yes
Yes
Archiving
No
No
No
Plugin
No
Export Formats
WAP(2), IMode
SQL Dumps in .sql, sql.gz, and .sql.bz2
Export private messages
No
Yes
No
Plugin
Yes
Lo-Fi View
Yes
Yes
Optional
Yes
Yes
remove XMB remove MyBB remove Phorum remove SMF remove phpBB