vBulletin vs Discourse

Struggling to choose between vBulletin and Discourse? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

vBulletin is a Social & Communications solution with tags like forum, community, discussion, messaging, moderation, reputation.

It boasts features such as User profiles, Private messaging, Reputation systems, Content moderation tools, Integration options and pros including Robust platform for building online communities, Wide range of features, Active developer community, Customizable and extensible.

On the other hand, Discourse is a Social & Communications product tagged with opensource, discussion, communities, organizations, conversations, teams, categories, tags, private-messages, notifications.

Its standout features include Topic-focused discussions, Real-time notifications, Private messaging, User roles and permissions, Mobile app, Categories and tags, Search, Moderation tools, Custom theming, Plugins and integrations, and it shines with pros like Open source and self-hosted, Active development community, Feature rich out of the box, Good performance at scale, Extensive theming and branding options, Robust moderation and admin tools.

Feature	vBulletin	Discourse
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	Social & Communications	Social & Communications

Product Overview

vBulletin

Description: vBulletin is a popular Internet forum software package that provides a robust platform for building online communities. It includes features like user profiles, private messaging, reputation systems, content moderation tools, and integration options.

Discourse

Description: Discourse is an open-source discussion platform built for modern communities and organizations. It enables fluid conversations across teams with features like categories, tags, private messages, and real-time notifications.

Key Features Comparison

vBulletin Features

• User profiles
• Private messaging
• Reputation systems
• Content moderation tools
• Integration options

Discourse Features

• Topic-focused discussions
• Real-time notifications
• Private messaging
• User roles and permissions
• Mobile app
• Categories and tags
• Search
• Moderation tools
• Custom theming
• Plugins and integrations

Pros & Cons Analysis

vBulletin

Pros

• Robust platform for building online communities
• Wide range of features
• Active developer community
• Customizable and extensible

Cons

• Can be complex for novice users
• Requires technical expertise to fully customize
• Vulnerable to exploits if not updated regularly

Discourse

Pros

• Open source and self-hosted
• Active development community
• Feature rich out of the box
• Good performance at scale
• Extensive theming and branding options
• Robust moderation and admin tools

Cons

• Can be resource intensive to self-host
• Steeper learning curve than some forums
• Limitations with native mobile apps
• Less flexible than custom developed solutions

Pricing Comparison

vBulletin

• Subscription-Based

Discourse

• Open Source