Market Share of Forums

A Pie Chart of The Most Common Forums

Which Forum Application has the Largest Market Share?

Today there are many different types of forum applications, and many more content management applications that offer similar real time content creation options. If you are just about to start a forum, it's hard to know which of these applications is right for you

The pie chart below shows the percentage of forum types indexed between 2009 and 2010 A breakdown of the percentage of forums / content management systems used for this pie chart is tabulated below.

Since it's quite likely you will choose one of the forum bulletin boards that have the largest market share, I'll briefly discuss the top five forums which account for approximately 99 percent of all common indexed forums.

A Comparison of The Top 5 Most Common Forum Types

phpBB (percentage market share of phpBB ~ 77%)

As revealed by the pie chart above, phpBB forums are by far the most dominant forum type on the internet in comparison to other forum applications. phpBB is an open-source bulletin board package that is both scalable and customizable. phpBB offers a user-friendly interface, with a fairly simple admin panel and helpful FAQ. However, the forum permissions system is more complex than necessary and could definitely be improved for the needs of a basic forum admin. This being said, phpBB is a top quality free forum application, and many other paid forums are struggling just to match it!

Available From:

phpBB Forum Downloads

First Released:

December 9, 2000

Price:

Free

Database support:

MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQLite, Firebird, OpenLink Virtuoso, and other ODBC-accessible DBMS

Additionally:

The Control Panel acts as a modular design for the Admin Control Panel, Moderator Control Panel, and User Control Panel. A support function is available for unlimited levels of subforums, as well as the ability to create custom-defined BBCode, and the ability to create custom profile fields and custom permissions levels.

vBulletin (percentage market share of vBulletin ~ 19%)

Originally designed in PERL for the forum vbforums.com, and later redesigned in PHP, vBulletin is now the most popular paid solution among all Forum Applications, as well as the most advanced forum application available. Almost everything any other forum has thought of, vBulletin has already implemented! The customer support is also fantastic. The Plug-in support makes it user-friendly, and the online community offers a wide variety of developed plug-ins from the sister site vBulletin.org. The main drawbacks are the price and the lack of support for a wide range of databases, as vBulletin only supports mySQL!

Available From:

vBulletin Forum Downloads

First Released:

2000

Price:

vBulletin is a licensed forum application - the Publishing Suite costs $285 for the 4.0 development lifecycle while the vBulletin Classic Forum costs $195 for the 4.0 development lifecycle (ticket support is not included).

Database support:

MySQL

Additionally:

There are options to turn any part of your forum into a paid subscriptions area. Multiple view options are also available. Threads can be viewed as: linear (flat system), threaded (displaying an entire thread tree), or as a combination of both. A plug-in system was introduced to allow modifications of the software without the need to edit the program scripts. Other benefits include: multi-quote system, infractions system, ability to automatically post threads and announcements from RSS feeds, podcasting support, and much more!

SMF (percentage market share of SMF ~ 2%)

SMF (Simple Machines Forum) was created as a replacement for the forum software YaBB. The forum software YaBB was originally designed in PERL, but gained significant support once converted to PHP and re-branded as Simple Machines Forum. SMF is now available in over 47 different languages!

Available From:

SMF Forum Downloads

First Released:

30 September 2003

Price:

Free

Database support:

PostgreSQL, SQLite, MySQL

Additionally:

The Package Manager included allows an administrator to install modifications and updates without having to modify the code of the script, usually with only a few mouse clicks

MyBB (percentage market share of MyBB ~ 1%)

MyBB is a fairly new forum application which has received a lot of positive feedback from online users. This forum application is not only free, but it also offers imprt options from various popular forum applications.

Available From:

MyBB Forum Downloads

First Released:

09 December 2005

Price:

Free

Database support:

PostgreSQL, SQLite, MySQL

Additionally:

MyBB allows merging with other forum databases. Using MyBB Merge System, you are able to merge existing forums ( MyBB or other forum software) into a MyBB forum.

IPB

IPB (Invision Power Board). The creators of Invision Power Board originally worked on the PERL-based forum Ikonboard. The first versions of Invision Power Board were free, but are now no longer supported. In 2004, IPB ended its free releases for non-commercial uses. When version 2.0 went live, Invision Power Board became a paid licensed forum application.

Available From:

Invision Power Board Products

First Released:

2002

Price:

$149.99 Self Hosted License, or $9.99 Hosted Community.

Database support:

MySQL, (and MSSQL for an extra $60)

Additionally :

Users can create private topics. The private topics are accessible only to themselves and people they invite.

List of Forum Types

PHP Forum Software

aterr, bbPress, Beehive Forum, blazeboard, Burning Boards, FUDForum, FusionBB, IceBB, Invision Power Board, k4BB, MercuryBoard, miniBB, Monkey Boards, MyBB, MyTopix, OvBB, Phorum, phpBB, punBB, Quezza, Quicksilver Forums, Shiichan, SMF, Sylphagora, tForum, UBB.threads, UNB, UseBB, Vanilla, vBulletin, W-Agora, WSN Forum, XMB

ASP Forum Software

bttlxeForum, Ideal BB, MegaBBS, E-Blah, Ikonboard, ikonForums, Kareha, mwForum, PasForum, YaBB, Beast caboo

.Net Forum Software

Community Server, Discussion Board, FuseTalk

Perl Forum Software

E-Blah, Ikonboard, ikonForums, Kareha, mwForum, UBB.classic, YaBB

Java Forum Software

Groupee Forums, Jive Forums

Ruby Forum Software

Beast Caboo, RForum

Pascal Forum Software

PasForum

A Break Down Market Share Data

Forum Name	Approximated Market Share
phpBB	< 77.3 %
vBulletin	< 19 %
SMF	< 2.3 %
Invision Power Board	< 0.6%
MyBB	< 0.15 %
UBB.threads	< 0.15 %
PunBB	< 0.1 %
Extreme Message Board	< 0.1 %
XMB	< 0.1 %
Oscommerce	< 0.1 %
Elgg	< 0.1 %
Phorum	< 0.1 %
YaBB	< 0.1 %
FUDforum	< 0.1 %
OvBB	< 0.1 %
NextBBS	< 0.1 %
bbPress	< 0.1 %
Moodle	< 0.1 %
FluxBB	< 0.1 %
Magento	< 0.01 %
Vanilla	< 0.01 %
UseBB	< 0.01 %
FruitShow	< 0.01 %
miniBB	< 0.01 %
Quicksilver Forums	< 0.01 %
MercuryBoard	< 0.01 %
SEO-Board	< 0.01 %
Beehive	< 0.01 %

* This data is approximate data taken from indexed search results between 2009-2010.