Which is best free forum software? PHPBB3,SMF,AEF,XMB,Mybb

[vishal]

I have used PHPBB and MyBB for around some time . I used a lot of mods to achieve what I wanted and the upgrades were pain every time. But the mods were needed to get all the things I needed as the core doesn't have them.
I decided to switch, so I started to read reviews and that was them I first met with SMF. I gave it a try and I like it. It contains all the things I need, but if that is not enough easy to make new mods. So, I like SMF and I suggest to everyone who are looking for a great and free forum engine.

Users can also post any other forums that they feel good. And i know vbulletin will be the first in the competetor ,so only post free ones.

 

[dj0wns]

SMF was the first forum i ever made. I liked it. It was fast, easily customizable, does what i needed it to, and free!

 

[whinis]

I too agree, I am pretty sure that I have tried any and all free forum software. Phpbb3 lasted for awhile as it had several mods that I wanted/needed however there were several parts of it that were bland and personally hard to handle. I then found SMF and it seemed todo the job and had all the mods that I needed. Persoanlly I started to use SMF because one of the sites that I frequent had a forum that looked plain awesome and the owner told me it was SMF.

 

[dontbeajew]

I got to say that PHPBB3 was my favorite. It's easy to get installed and setup in just a couple of minutes.
It's also got some pretty good themes, if you ask me.:nuts:

 

[Mind-Designers]

phpbb3 is the best free forum software because it is easy to work with and also every popular.
But AEF is a new forum software and i have try it and that one is also easy to work with but so phpbb3 wins of the AEF and the rest for my.

I yust love phpbb:biggrin:

 

[rb2tfm]

I have used alot of forum software... for free I must say I like phpbb best.

phpbb got my vote.

 

[joejv4]

I chose phpBB because, as a forum participant on a lot of different forums, I settled on phpBB3 for my own forum because of the mods. The 'vanilla' phpBb is nice as-is, however, with a few tweaks and the addition of a few select mods, it can be whatever you want it to be.

I may at some point take a look at the other free forum solutions, as a comparison, but for now, I am very happy with phpBB3.

Actually, if anybody has a link to a comprehensive comparison of features, I'd love to check it out and see how they stack up without having to go through all the work of setting up forums to see if I like them.

 

[Smith6612]

I've been a happy user of SMF for a while now. I'm using SMF 2.0's RC at the moment on my site.

 

[techairlines]

I have to go with SMF. I switched to phpBB for a while but went back to SMF because for me, SMF was much easier to manage and mods are so much easier to install.

SMF is easy to use and feature rich. I'm currently using the latest RC of 2.0.

 

[Tails07]

I moved to SMF from YABBSE and although I've used PHPbb in the past, SMF is still my favourite.

 

[DeadBattery]

phpBB3- most powerful forum software I've used.
If you know the backbone of it, it isn't hard to customize.
Plus it has a ton of user contributed modifications.

 

[vishal]

I tried using AEF.But i was not satisfied.It gives a feel of Vbulletin but some major features r missing.When i googled its overall rating is 5.5/10.AEF team has to work a lot.Some of my friends love this forum.

 

[Zubair]

Well I will vote for mybb..

Because I like it most.. It is easy to handle and a lot of features.

However I am using phpbb on my main website. But still I like Mybb

 

[stealthy92]

I for one love the AEF electric forums maker. They got my vote. Its almost the same thing as VB (same many and good options) yet they also have like the mac start bar thing at the bottem with roll over stuff and stuff like that . They by far have my vote

 

[ShadowmasterX]

SMF is like firefox, and Phpbb3 is like IE. Because SMF is really clean and has a lot of user made addons and hundreds of templates, its really easy to find what you like and it is really user friendly. Ive used SMF before. Sexiest. Thing. I. Ever. Made

 

[deathlyrage]

PHPBB3 is very good because its easy to use, download it, upload to site, run install, setup theme and away you go.

 

[coffeelovesyoux3]

Well, if you really wanted to, you could get a copy of vBulletin. Anyway, I like phpbb.

 

[stevenazari]

I use joomla as my core so I like agora - easy implimentation to the site and easy to make custom themes too.

 

[Gouri]

I too like the smf, I am having a site with smf it is good and easy to use.

 

[xserve]

Love phpBB3 to be honest. Customisable, sleek, easy to use! 100% recommend.