is XenForo good to buy ?

I think it's telling that the vBulletin site itself still runs 3.8.

If a company won't run its own software for its own site...

I'm not sure where you're getting this information. The vBulletin site is (currently) using vBulletin 5.5.4.

anybody could tell me ? should buy Xen or Vbu ?

I posted a thread over on vBulletin (here) mentioning that vBulletin used to have a track record of releasing new versions every 1-3 years (with the notable exception of vBulletin 4 which took 5 years due to JelSoft being acquired by Internet Brands halfway through that time frame). I inquired if the vBulletin line is over or if there is a vBulletin 6 that's in the works as it's been 7 years since vBulletin 5 was released. This was the response I received from a member of vBulletin staff:

Wayne Luke - vBulletin Technical Support Lead said:
We are constantly improving the vBulletin 5.5.X series and continuing to add new features to it. We have no news on a vBulletin 6 at this time.

To me it's pretty telling that the current release is over half a decade old, and there isn't even chatter about a new release. The first stable release of Xenforo was in March of 2011, and the first stable release of Xenforo 2 was in November of 2017. That was a six-year cycle, so I know it can take longer for new releases to come out because it isn't always necessary to launch a full-blown release. But vBulletin was known for launching full-blown releases fairly quickly (see time table above), and it's now been 7 years since the last version was released, and there still isn't even chatter about vBulletin 6. Combine that with the fact that sales for vBulletin 5 (the only version they're actively supporting now) is abysmal.

You can see here and here how vBulletin 3 and 4 (respectively) compare to vBulletin 5. The number of vBulletin 5 websites that are in the wild is absolutely comical compared to both 3 and 4. I personally don't feel that vBulletin has much life left seeing that their only supported product has a couple of thousand customers on it (and I'm being generous when a say "couple"), and it's been out for the better part of a decade.

Also, I just switched from vBulletin 4.2.5 to Xenforo 2.1.4. I have no regrets.
 
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anybody could tell me ? should buy Xen or Vbu ?

Its a no brainer to go with xF! However, be aware that except for xF Media Gallery and Resource Manager, many major add-ons like blogs, newsletters, portals, classifieds, chatterbox etc are not free in xF... Add-ons you loved in vB are paid in xF but this means professionally made add-ons with great long-time support. So, be prepared to set aside a good dollar money to buy and maintain these add-ons.
 
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There is some add-ons free in XF 2, but most of them you need to paid to use, add-ons made by developers, made by demand of users
But I can say that in forum version, XF is better than most of of platforms, maybe it's the best, but i won't say it is the best because i haven't used all platform, but currently i'm kinda okay with XF
But, there is always a "but", which is in XF 2 version, there's still lack of many devs to create add-ons, for example is credits add-on. Right now there is only one developer created credit add-on, which is dragon byte, honestly i'm still not satisfied with the add-on, i need better, but there is no one develop it. XF 2 is lacking of developers, and the add-on's price of XF 2 when comparing with XF 1 it's more expensive (but XF 1 is no more support from xenforo)
 
anybody could tell me ? should buy Xen or Vbu ?

I've tried both IPB and vBulletin before XenForo and I will never go back. So far, XF has been able to handle whatever my noob hands threw at it - which is good, means it's noob-proof LOL at least where I'm concerned. I've handled small XF communities before myself, and saw large ones move to the platform with great success (IGN, for instance). XenForo is also -very- consistent with their updates, their usual development time being between 2 and 4 weeks. Security-wise, I think they're bit of (and I say this with respect!) performance junkies. ;)

Now, this isn't to say that you won't find some features in vBulletin that you prefer over XenForo's, etc., as the latter may not have the various add-ons and plugins that you would prefer to have right out of the box - but overall, XF would still be my first choice, without hesitation. The XenForo community resources section has multitudes of comparable plugins/styles/addons/etc., available. Some are free while others are paid, so you will have to do your homework to see what your actual costs will be, before you have the full package you want for your community.

Bottom line is, Xenforo is faster and better optimized out of the box, in both desktop and mobile applications. It is also responsive, yay! Sleek, superfast, affordable and versatile - the best forum platform on the planet - for me. Is it the best platform for you? What you need to ask yourself is whether the software fits your needs and those of your community members. Now, I can't answer that for you, outside of sharing a summary of my own experience with XenForo (or other forum software), but this might be a great place for you to start:


Good Luck! (y)
 
In addition to my previous comment explaining why I feel that Xenforo is [far] superior to vBulletin, the below quote is something I ran across on the DragonByte-Tech website. DragonByte-Tech used to be extremely popular with vBulletin due to their amazing shoutbox, ajax threads, shop, and arcade mods. According to Fillip H. at the previously linked DragonByte-Tech website:

Fillip H. with Dragonbyte-Tech said:
Essentially, the vB5 products are as-is and have been for several years, which is why there's a big red notice saying that feature upgrades are impossible due to design decisions made by Internet Brands.

...

Look at the number of vB5 mods. In the SEVEN YEARS since vBulletin 5 has been released, a grand total of 94 mods have been released. There are more than 94 XenForo mods compatible with version 2.1, which isn't even released yet.

That post was from January 13th, 2019. I checked over at vBulletin.org, the official vBulletin mod site, and that number has increased from 94 mods to 101 mods. That's 7 "new" mods released in the last 8 months which is less than one new mod per month (and that's assuming Fillip H. hadn't miscounted when he said there were only 94 mods earlier this year). All vBulletin 5 mods that DragonByte-Tech has (a grand total of 9) are unsupported and haven't received updates for over 5 years due to the reasons referenced in the above quote. In comparison, DragonByte-Tech has 15 mods (16 if you include their Global Branding Free "mod" as a mod, which I don't) that are compatible with Xenforo 2.1.x.
 
I think it's telling that the vBulletin site itself still runs 3.8.

If a company won't run its own software for its own site...

You are wrong. It runs the latest VB 5 version. VB.org which isn't associated with the official site is still running VB 3. But that's their choice. I'm sure they have their reasons.

I've also seen some people comment about paid-add ons.

They me be paid but nothing is guaranteed. You may get an add on your community likes, but then by the next big Xenforo update the developer stops supporting it and may no longer make new add ons.

At that point you'll need to figure out if you want to upgrade the forum to the latest version without the add-on, pay to have someone update the add on if thats possible, or just stay with what you have awhile longer.

And even if Xenforo comes out with something comparable to that add-on in the future there is no guarantee it'll be able to move anything to it.

I'm not against free or paid add-ons, I have used them, but support for them can be fickle and you need to be aware of that.

Some people prefer to just make the most of the existing software so upgrades are pretty painless. It just sucks when you use a popular add on then support by the dev is dropped for it and there are features in a new forum update you'd like, but you can't update to without risking breaking the board, the add on, or having to risk getting rid of it all together.

I wouldn't use VB. It's just crap right now. Maybe one day someone will improve it. But for now you really can't go wrong with the big 2. IPB or Xenforo. It comes down to personal use and opinion.
 
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In Naples, my city, there is a proverb that says "Hi fresh water vendor, how is the water? Fresh?"
You come to the XenForo forum and do you expect someone to talk badly about XenForo or if is it better than vBulletin? 😂 😂 😂
LOL
 
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Its a no brainer to go with xF! However, be aware that except for xF Media Gallery and Resource Manager, many major add-ons like blogs, newsletters, portals, classifieds, chatterbox etc are not free in xF... Add-ons you loved in vB are paid in xF but this means professionally made add-ons with great long-time support. So, be prepared to set aside a good dollar money to buy and maintain these add-ons.
Unless he heads to Andy Bs site and gets a **** load for $35. ✅

Changed from vb4 and never looked back.

Just everything is better. Hardly any major errors and the add-ons, esp from Andy are top notch.
 
Incidentally, the informality and friendliness and skill-level on this forum was a factor in making the switch. As soon as I explained my situation, I got solid offers of assistance, and also professional references also that I could check out.

On a "new buy" level, overall, there really is no difficulty on the choice, Xenforo wins hands-down. If you are really into saving some $ for a small forum, there are some good sort-of-freebie alternatives. Plus, there can always be quirks where a specific forum software is strong in an area that you find most important.
 
Beware of independent add-ons that have extremely poor documentation! This might be fine if you are a programming expert, otherwise, you will run into many brick walls getting them activated. Caveat Emptor! Otherwise, it's like buying a new car without a test drive and getting one-word answers when there is a problem. XenForo is great, 3rd party add-ons, not so much!
 
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