Why are you paying for vBulletin?

Why are you paying for vBulletin?

That`s my question. There is SMF, a very good forum software that is for free. Convince me to buy vBulletin.

 

vBulletin Is better supported, Has a much better list of Mod/Plugins available and just generally works a lot better than any of the free alternatives. I have also found that people are more likely to sign up to a forum that runs on vBulletin rather than the free forum software alternatives.

 

stick to SMF no need to switch

 

its not free thats main reason

 

I am missing the "because" part. Why do you think that SMF is better? Let`s go a little further then the money issue.

 

The best forums online use vBulletin. Anyone who is really serious about making a good income will use vBulletin IMO. SMF is a good temporary solution, but it simply doesn't have all the features that vBulletin does such as a good itrader system.

 

I was going to use phpBB and I decided to switch to vBulletin because it is much more supported, has many more plugins, and it faster. The admin section kicks the butt of phpBB also. Besides phpBB and vBulletin, I don't have much experience with any other forum software.

 

we use phpbb3 and i have been very happy. used SMF before and the support was lacking. I suggest you check out the phpbb website and forums, I was going to go with VBulletin, but have no regrets.

 

Convince meaning show me the advantages of using it. I never used it and I am wondering if there is an option to test it for free before purchasing. I am not looking to steal it, I just want to see how it looks and works in the admin section.

 

Thank you wisdomtool! That helped me a lot.

 

because it has many mods that are easy to install without soinning your head on editing templates and great support..

 

I use MyBB, free and easy.

 

Because vBulletin has the largest community of coders, designers, and more over at vBulletin.org

 

since vBulletin is very good in quality and support (if not the best), and is not free, lot's of users pay.

 

i use PHPBB3. my forums aren't too active which is why i need a free solution. but if it suddenly burst into huge activity, then i'd likely go with vbulletin.

 

I'd go with Vbulletin for it's security. Well, okay, nobody's perfect

 

Purchasing a paid forum solution or using an open source script really depends on the individual users needs. If you are new or not familiar with script programming and development, then it is a wise choice to go with VBulletin.

Remember, it will only be a wise choice if you are not adept with Php Development...

I totally disagree with this individual. VBulletin is not better supported than any other major free alternatives. Phpbb has a excellent community that provides support on any aspects of phpbb. Also there is no evidence of vBulletin working better than any other forum boards or people signing up with a community which uses vBulletin rather than an alternative. Let me explain.

Some of the World's largest forums utilize phpbb as their choice for the forum, either out-of-the-box or heavily customized to their specific needs. Just visit this site and see how many v Bulletins fall into the top twenty five forums on the net.
http://www.big-boards.com/

The world's largest warez forum also uses phpbb

As you will see in the list, most of the boards use the free alternatives, but customized to their needs. it really depends on who uses the forum. If the admin is well adept to php programming, I suggest to opt for phpbb. You can customize phpbb to be highly secured and extremely fast. You can also design your own modifications and plugins....the list is endless.

However, if you are quite new to programming but still need a professional board solution, then I suggest pay for vBulletin. Reasons are easy modification and more enhancements available for it....

 

vbulletin is very good but why paying for it when you could do almost the same for free using phpbb.