Everything you loved about vBulletin — threads, usergroups, infractions, reputation, private messages — on a modern Next.js + Node + PostgreSQL stack. And everything they charge extra for? Included.
Legacy forum vendors run on PHP, charge for the basics, and shut down their mod sites. We took the opposite bet on every one of those choices.
Next.js frontend, Node.js API, PostgreSQL 16. Fast pages, sane queries, trigger-driven counters that never drift.
Import users, forums, threads, posts and PMs from vBulletin 3/4/5, phpBB, MyBB, SMF and XenForo — passwords keep working and upgrade themselves to bcrypt on first login.
Reactions, credits economy, XP levels, solved answers, mod macros, signup shield and more — install, configure and uninstall from the ACP. Scaffold your own with one command.
12 shipped themes — Anime ✦ Sakura Burst, Modern Aurora, MMO Legendary Raid, Boardroom and more. Clone any theme, edit the CSS with live preview, and it's instantly in every member's picker.
CSRF everywhere, login-strike lockouts, registration captcha, honeypot signup shield, Akismet + built-in anti-spam, IP & email-domain bans, full moderation queue.
Branding removal, unlimited database size, every update, every theme, every plugin — in the base price. The add-on price list is gone.
One toggle in the ACP removes our footer attribution. Elsewhere that exact checkbox costs $289.
No SFTP, no “professional installation” invoice. Paste your license key, enter database credentials, click install.
Reactions feed credits, credits buy avatar frames, sparkle name styles and fancy titles. Your community keeps showing up.
Their own price list, next to ours. Same capability, one bill.
| What you're buying | vBulletin 6* | vB·Next |
|---|---|---|
| Forum license | $179 one-time | $12/mo or $99/yr — all-inclusive |
| Updates / maintenance | $79 / year — and you go looking for them | Included — we publish, a one-click update notification appears in your ACP with release notes and a guided updater |
| Phone & ticket support | $49/mo · $169/6mo · $329/yr | Email + community included · priority on Yearly |
| Remove vendor branding | $289 | Included — one ACP toggle |
| Professional install / upgrade | $149 – $549 (priced by DB size!) | $0 — 5-minute web installer, any DB size |
| LDAP / single sign-on | $199 | On the roadmap — free for every license when it ships |
| Plugin ecosystem | vBulletin.org closed in 2024 | Built-in Plugin Store — 30 first-party plugins, one click to enable + scaffolder + hook API |
| Theme engine | Template edits | Theme Store: 24 themes with live visual previews, Light / Dark / System (auto) member modes, clone & ship your own |
| Migration from your old forum | — | Included importer: vB 3/4/5, phpBB, MyBB, SMF, XenForo |
| Stack | PHP + MySQL | Next.js + Node + PostgreSQL 16 |
| Realistic year one license + branding-free + install (3 GB) |
$617+ then $408+/yr with support | $99 everything, every year |
* vBulletin 6 pricing as listed on vbulletin.com (June 2026): license $179, Maintenance $79/yr, support $49/mo–$329/yr, Branding-Free $289, LDAP $199, Professional Install $149–$549 by database size, vB Cloud from $18.74/mo. Verify current pricing on their site.
A fine product — with a license fee, paid yearly renewals for updates, paid branding removal, and the big add-ons (credits, security suites) sold separately by third parties. Ours ship in the box.
Great if you want managed hosting at managed-hosting prices. Self-hosting it means wrangling a heavy Ruby/Docker stack. vB·Next self-hosts happily on a $6 VPS — and keeps the classic forum layout your members already know.
Subreddits, Facebook Groups and Discord servers are free because you're the product. vB·Next is your domain, your database, your rules. No ads, no algorithm, no rug-pulls.
Both plans include every feature, theme, plugin and update. One production domain per license — localhost, .local and .test never count.
Cancel anytime. Your board keeps its data forever.
Agencies, multi-site networks, white-label and managed installs.
A live board with the Anime theme on, plugins enabled, and sample discussions seeded. Log in as demo / demo1234 — it resets every hour.
Hosting it yourself? One command spins up the exact same seeded demo:
Secure Stripe checkout. Your license key appears on the confirmation page and in your email.
Grab vb-next-latest.zip with your key, drop it on any Node 18 + PostgreSQL host.
Paste the key, enter database credentials, create your admin — posting in 5 minutes.
Your forum keeps running with all its data — it's on your server. The license simply stops validating for new installs and you stop receiving updates. Re-subscribe any time to pick updates back up.
One key per production domain, validated at install with an Ed25519-signed verdict — no secrets ship in the product, and dev domains (localhost, *.local, *.test) are always free and unlimited.
Yes — upload a SQL dump in the ACP Import wizard. It detects vBulletin 3/4/5, phpBB, MyBB, SMF or XenForo, maps users/forums/threads/posts/PMs, and members keep their old passwords (transparently upgraded to bcrypt on first login).
No ads, no tracking, no revenue share, ever. You pay the license; that's the entire business model.
Email and community-forum support on every plan; Yearly licenses get priority queue. No $329/year phone-support upsell — if something's broken we just fix it.
14 days, no questions. If vB·Next isn't for you, you keep the demo data and we part friends.