Feature Comparison: phpBB2 vs phpBB3
As of 2009, phpBB™ is in its third major version. Version 3.0 incorporates a professional-quality modular design, featuring high security, multiple-language interface, support for a multitude of database servers and complete layout customisation, all with a low execution overhead.
| Feature | phpBB2 | phpBB3 |
|---|---|---|
General | ||
| License: | GPL | GPL |
| License Price: | Free | Free |
| Programming Language: | PHP | PHP |
| Latest Version: | 2.0.23 | 3.0.4 |
| Release Date: | 17 Feb, 2008 | 12 Dec, 2008 |
Basic Features | ||
| UTF-8 Support: |  No |  Yes |
| User Preferences: | Yes [?] | Yes [?] |
| Moderation: | Yes [?] | Yes [?] |
| Administration: | Yes [?] | Yes [?] |
| Search Engine spider Handling: | No | Yes [?] |
| Unread message tracking: | Yes [?] | Yes [?] |
| Private Message System: | Yes | Yes |
| Statistics: | Yes | Yes |
Security | ||
| Permanent Bans: | Yes | Yes [?] |
| Temporary Bans (Suspension): | No | Yes [?] |
| Permissions: | Yes | Yes [?] |
| Paid Security Code Audit: | No | Yes |
| Form Handling: | Yes [?] | Yes [?] |
| Type Aware Parameter Handling: | No | Yes |
| Type Aware Database Layer: | No | Yes |
| Password Hashing: | Yes [?] | Yes [?] |
Anti-Spam | ||
| CAPTCHA Visual Confirmation: | Yes | Yes [?] |
| Flood Control: | Yes | Yes |
| Groups: | Yes | Yes |
| ACLs: | Yes | Yes |
| Blacklist: | Yes | Yes |
| Banning: | Yes | Yes |
| Suspensions: | No | Yes |
| Warnings: | No | Yes |
| User Logging: | No | Yes |
| User Post IP Logging: | Yes | Yes |
| Report Posts: | No | Yes |
| Post Moderation: | Yes | Yes |
Data Management | ||
| MySQL: | Yes | Yes [?] |
| MSSQL Server: | Yes | Yes |
| MSSQL ODBC: | Yes | Yes |
| PostgreSQL: | Yes | Yes |
| MS Access: | Yes | No |
| Oracle: | No | Yes |
| Firebird: | No | Yes |
| SQLite: | No | Yes |
| Database (DBMS) Backups: | Yes (MySQL Only) | Yes |
| Database (DBMS) Restore: | Yes (MySQL Only) | Yes |
| Post/Topic Pruning: | Yes | Yes |
Registration | ||
| COPPA Registrations: | Yes | Yes [?] |
| Limit Registration Attempts: | Yes | Yes |
| Set min/max Username Length: | No | Yes |
| Set min/max Password Length: | No | Yes |
| Limit username Chars: | No | Yes |
| Set Password Complexity Requirements: | No | Yes |
| Force Password Change: | No | Yes |
| Allow/Disallow e-mail Address Re-usage: | No [?] | Yes [?] |
Posting | ||
| Topic Display Method: | Flat | Flat |
| BBCode: | Yes | Yes |
| Custom BBCode Buttons: | No | Yes |
| HTML in posts: | Yes | No |
| Smilies/Emoticons: | Yes | Yes |
| Quoting: | Yes [?] | Yes [?] |
| Quote Multiple Posts: | No | Yes [?] |
| Formatting Toolbar: | Yes | Yes |
| Word Censors: | Yes | Yes |
| Syntax Highlighting: | No | Yes |
| Attachments: | No | Yes (Multiple) |
| Post Drafts: | No | Yes |
| Polls: | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple Poll Option Voting: | No | Yes |
| User based Poll Tracking: | No | Yes |
| Allow/Disallow Vote Change: | No | Yes |
| Beaten-to-Posting Review: | No | Yes |
| Posting Preview: | Yes | Yes |
| Flood Control: | Yes | yes |
Attachments | ||
| Automatic Image Thumbnails: | No | Yes |
| Attachment Types: | No | Yes [?] |
| Multiple Attachments: | No | Yes |
| Attachment Placement: | No | Yes [?] |
Caching | ||
| Database Query Caching: | No | Yes |
| Template Caching: | No | Yes |
| Arbitrary Data: | No | Yes |
| Manual Cache Refreshing: | No | Yes |
Profiles / Memberlist | ||
| Custom Profile Fields: | No | Yes |
| User Posting Stats: | Yes | Yes |
| User Instant Messengers: | Yes | Yes |
| User Profile details: | Yes | Yes |
| Memberlist Searching: | No | Yes |
| Disallow Non-Registered User Memberlist Viewing: | No | Yes |
Search System | ||
| Fulltext Native: | Yes | Yes [?] |
| Customised Topic Search: | No | Yes |
| Customised Forum Search: | Yes | Yes |
| MySQL fulltext: | No | Yes [?] |
| Author Search: | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced Search: | Yes | Yes |
| View unanswered posts: | Yes | Yes |
| Active/New Topics: | No | Yes |
| Posts Since Last Visit: | Yes | Yes |
| Search Flood Control: | Yes | Yes |
Forums | ||
| Categories: | Yes | Yes |
| Password Protected Forums: | No | Yes |
| Forum Specific Styles: | No | Yes |
| URL Link Redirect Forums: | No | Yes [?] |
| Forum Rules: | No | Yes |
| Subforums: | No | Yes [?] |
| Last Post: | Yes | Yes |
| Forum Pruning: | Yes | Yes |
| Display Active Topics: | Yes | Yes |
| Subscribe to Forums: | No | Yes [?] |
| Subscribe to Topics: | Yes | Yes [?] |
| Bookmark Topics: | No | Yes |
| Topic Sorting: | No | Yes [?] |
| Post Sorting: | No | Yes [?] |
| Topic Participation Tracking: | No | Yes |
| Print Topics: | No | Yes |
| E-mail Topics: | No | Yes [?] |
User Control Panel | ||
| User Signatures: | Yes | Yes |
| User Avatars: | Yes | Yes |
| User Ranks: | Yes | Yes |
| Users Online List: | Yes | Yes |
| User Preferences: | Yes | Yes |
| User Profile Settings: | Yes | Yes |
| Manage Saved PM/Post Drafts: | No | Yes |
| Manage Bookmarks: | No | Yes |
| Manage Attachments: | No | Yes |
| Manage Subscribed Topics: | No | Yes |
| Custom Profile Fields: | No | Yes |
| Friends/Foe List: | No | Yes |
Private Messaging | ||
| Additional PM Folders: | No | Yes |
| Customisable PM Filter Rules: | No | Yes |
| Send to Multiple Recipients: | No | Yes [?] |
| Send Blind Carbon Copies: | No | Yes |
| Send to Groups: | No | Yes |
| Forward Messages: | No | Yes |
| Address Book: | No | Yes [?] |
| Message Drafts: | No | Yes |
| Export Messages: | No | Yes |
| Attachments for Messages: | No | Yes |
| Conversation View: | No | Yes |
| Custom Message Handling Rules: | No | Yes |
Usergroups | ||
| Group Types: | Yes [?] | Yes [?] |
| UCP Group Management: | Yes | Yes |
| UCP Manage Group Memberships: | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple Group Leaders: | No [?] | Yes [?] |
| Custom Group Colours: | No | Yes |
| Group Ranks: | No | Yes |
| Group Avatars: | No | Yes |
| Group-based Memberlist Display: | No | Yes |
Moderation Control Panel | ||
| Global Moderators: | No | Yes |
| Forum Moderators: | Yes | Yes |
| Topics/Posts Moderation Queue: | No | Yes |
| Manage Reported Topics/Posts: | No | Yes |
| Topic History: | No | Yes |
| Forum/Topic Logs: | No | Yes |
| Localised Moderator Logs: | No | Yes |
| Post Editing: | Yes | Yes |
| Post Locking: | No | Yes [?] |
| Post Details: | Yes | Yes |
| Change Post Author: | No | Yes |
| Quick-Mod Tools: | Yes | Yes [?] |
| Moving Topics: | Yes | Yes |
| Move Multiple Topics: | Yes | Yes |
| Merging Topics: | No | Yes |
| Merging Posts: | No | Yes |
| Merging Multiple Topics: | No | Yes |
| Split Topics: | Yes | Yes |
| Locking Topics: | Yes | Yes |
| Deleting Topics: | Yes | Yes |
| Copying Topics: | No | Yes |
| Global Topics: | No | Yes |
| Announcement Topics: | Yes | Yes |
| Sticky Topics: | Yes | Yes |
| Manage Bans: | No | Yes [?] |
| Manage User Warnings: | No | Yes |
| Banning by Username: | No | Yes |
| Banning by E-mail Address: | No | Yes |
| Banning by IP Address: | No | Yes |
| User Notes: | No | Yes |
Administration Control Panel | ||
| Founder Status/Board Creator: | No | Yes |
| Load Settings: | Yes | Yes |
| Prune Inactive Users: | No | Yes |
| Manage Ranks: | Yes | Yes |
| Manage Groups: | Yes | Yes |
| Manage Group Memberships: | Yes | Yes |
| Manage Attachments and Settings: | No | Yes |
| Manage User Attachments: | No | Yes |
| User Editing: | Yes | Yes [?] |
| List Groups on Index: | No | Yes |
| Topic Icons: | No | Yes |
| Mass e-mail: | Yes | Yes |
| Manage report/denial Reasons: | No | Yes |
| Module Management: | No | Yes |
| Custom BBCodes: | No | Yes |
| Custom Profile Fields: | No | Yes |
| Custom Profile Fields Placement Options: | No | Yes [?] |
| Custom Profile Fields Data Types: | No | Yes [?] |
| Manage Bans: | Yes | Yes [?] |
| Banning by Username: | Yes | Yes |
| Banning by E-mail Address: | Yes | Yes |
| Banning by IP Address: | Yes | Yes |
Styles | ||
| User Selectable Styles: | Yes | Yes |
| Install/Manage Custom Styles: | Yes | Yes |
| Customise/Edit Templates: | No | Yes |
| Customise/Edit Themes: | No | Yes |
| Customise/Edit Imagesets: | No | Yes |
Permissions | ||
| Group Based Global Permissions: | Yes | Yes |
| Group Based Moderator Permissions: | Yes | Yes |
| Group Based Administration Permissions: | Yes | Yes |
| Group Based Forum Permissions: | Yes | Yes |
| User Based Global Permissions: | Yes | Yes |
| User Based Moderator Permissions: | Yes | Yes |
| User Based Administration Permissions: | Yes | Yes |
| User Based Forum Permissions: | Yes | Yes |
| Admin Permission Roles: | No | Yes |
| User Permission Roles: | No | Yes |
| Moderator Permission Roles: | No | Yes |
| Forum Permission Roles: | No | Yes |
| Multi-level Permission Masks: | No | Yes |
Notifications | ||
| E-mail: | Yes | Yes |
| Instant Messaging: | No | Yes [?] |
| Bookmarks: | No | Yes |
Localisation | ||
| Support for Multiple Language Packs: | Yes | Yes |
| Languages: | 50+ | 61+ |
| Right to Left Support: | No | Yes |
| Language Pack Web-Editor: | No | Yes |
Installation / Upgrade | ||
| Installation Wizard: | Yes | Yes |
| Update Wizard: | No | Yes |
| Converter Wizard: | No | Yes |
| File Merge Diff Update Engine: | No | Yes |
Technical Features | ||
| CMS Software Integration: | No | Yes [?] |
| XHTML Compliant: | No [?] | Yes [?] |
Plug-ins | ||
| Auth Plug-ins: | No | Yes [?] |
| Search Plug-ins: | No | Yes [?] |
| Cache Plug-ins: | No | Yes [?] |
| Hooks System: | No | Yes |
| Expandable Modules: | Yes [?] | Yes [?] |
Boardoo Free Forum Features
phpBB Version 3 Forums!
phpBB v3 brings a wealth of new features and enhancements over prior releases. File attachment have been added,
you can now have unlimited subforums, user profile fields, and much more. phpBB is now faster,
more flexible, and more powerful than ever before!
Compare Features
File Attachments!
Allow your users to attach small files to their posts or even private messages. While other hosts discourage
or even disable the use of file attachments we embrace it! At Boardoo every forum gets an initial 250MB to use for
file storage. If that is not enough space for your needs, upgrades are available.
Pre-Installed Styles!
One of the best ways to express yourself and the individuality of your forum is through a style that
reflects your own taste. At Boardoo we have over 50 styles installed and ready for use. Changing
the look of your forum is only a few mouse-clicks away!
Available Styles
Pre-Installed Mods!
The one thing that can add both excitement and usability at the same time are 3rd party enhancements,
also known as MOD's. We have taken a close look at all of the officially available modifications and have
installed those which we think will enhance the forum experience.
Available MODs
Database Backup Manager!
The exclusive Forum Database Backup Manager ensures that you will you never worry about
losing your forum data again. Create, delete, and dowload backups; even automatically restore your forum too!
Every night we'll generate a backup of your forum and place it in the backup manager.
Multilingual Support!
You're not limited to speaking English at Boardoo; we offer the choice of all 31 languages that are currently
supported in phpBB version 3. Plus, we will add new languages upon request when they are certified by the phpBB group.
Supported Languages
Full Forum Logging!
Full Forum Logging allows you to keep tabs on all changes anywhere within your forum, including changes initiated by
assistant admins, moderators, users, and of course, system errors.
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