Paying for forum software?

Don't see how commercial forum software always gives better support than free forum software. Based on what? Because I've never had a problem with support questions posted on phpBB3 and MyBB in the past, they was always prompt with replies. No complaints here... and I've used both paid and free.

 

I use both paid and free forum software. The cost is largely irrelevant to me and where there is a cost it's pretty insignificant in the scheme of things. I use the software that fits my needs. If SMF cost $1000 I'd still use it on couple of sites, if XenForo was free I'd still use it. If vBulletin 5 Connect was free I'd... oh wait

The fact that a lot of people are prepared to develop software for nothing should be seen as a welcome privilege for which we should be eternally grateful. However it's not a birthright and developers have just as much right to charge for their work and we should be prepared to pay for it if we want to use it.

 

One of my staff members paid for our Xenforo license and one of my friends brought our vBulletin license two years ago. I actually like Xenforo better than vBulletin because its faster and the site urls are much better as well. Not to mention, the core features are also a lot better than what vBulletin offers.

Paid software is the way to go if you really want to build a successful forum, but free software is okay as well and you can become successful using that type of software too. It all depends on what type of community you're trying to build and what audience you're catering to.

 

For the same reason because millions of users are paying for Windows or iOS while they can use Linux. I know people who paid for forum just because the addon that they wanted to use does not exists for the free forums. Some others are paying for the support that comes with the commercial forums.

The end point: If you plan to operate a simple forum, go with free ones. Really you don't need to pay anything. But if you're operating a commercial community (I mean if you expect to have real profits from it), is wise to go with a commercial forum. Not because they have (if) more features, but because they have support.