How fast can we be live?
Answer
About five minutes. Sign in, name your portal, and it is online at yourcompany.myforumcat.com. Nothing to install.
vBulletin
vBulletin has been running for years.
So has the maintenance list.
vBulletin is sold as a license you install, and as a cloud plan they host. Either way you are buying a general discussion board. If what you actually run is a support board, this is the smaller shape.
Free for 7 days. No credit card. Live in about five minutes.
5 minfrom sign-up to a live portal
0security patches to apply
$9one time for a working portal
7 daysfree, no card needed
About vBulletin
What vBulletin is, and what it asks of you
vBulletin is one of the oldest commercial forum packages still on sale. It comes as a license for your own server. The vBulletin Cloud pricing plans put the hosting on their side.
Boards stay on it because it works and because everything is already set up. Moderators know the panel, the styles are done, and years of threads sit behind links people have bookmarked.
What to weigh depends on which one you run. A self-hosted license leaves the server, the PHP version, the certificate, the backups, and the spam sweep with you. A cloud plan takes the server away and keeps the per-plan bill.
There is no importer, and that is the point
There is no importer, from vBulletin or from anywhere else.
We would rather say that plainly than sell you a migration that does not exist.
Most teams keep the old board up and start the new archive with the questions that arrive this week.
Side by side
Running vBulletin, and running this
The same jobs, and who does each one. Their column describes the software as it is normally run, not any one plan.
| vBulletin, license or cloud | Forumcat | |
|---|---|---|
| Install | You install the license, or they set up the cloud plan | Nothing to install |
| Server and hosting | Yours on a license, theirs on cloud | None. We run it |
| Updates and patches | You apply them on a license, they do on cloud | We apply them |
| SSL certificate | Yours on a license, check the plan on cloud | Automatic, and renewed for you |
| Backups | Yours on a license, check the plan on cloud | Part of the hosting |
| Spam and moderation | Built-in tools, plus whatever you add | Sign-in needed to post, plus staff tools and bulk actions |
| Price shape | A paid license, or a cloud plan per period | $9 one time, or $99 a month on your own domain |
| Your own domain | Yes, on either one | Yes on Pro, with SSL included |
| REST API and MCP server | Depends on what you add | On every plan |
| Private questions | Permissions you configure yourself | Private questions and private categories |
| Time to live | Days on a license, quicker on cloud | About five minutes |
Vendor pricing moves, so we describe the shape and leave the number to their pricing page.
Inside
It reads well on a phone
Most customers arrive from a link in an email or from a search result, on a phone. The pages are light and rendered on the server, so they open fast.
Nothing to download, and no account needed to read or search.
- Votes on questions and replies, so the shared ones rise
- One accepted solution, pinned under the question
- Search, related questions, and a log of searches that found nothing
Starting over
When a fresh start is the right call
A fresh start suits a board that has drifted. If the busy part is customers asking questions, a Q&A portal is the smaller tool. It is also easier for a first-time visitor to use.
There are no styles to port and no add-on list to check. You name it, and it is live.
The fresh start
Three things, and you are running
No download, no database, no certificate. The whole setup is a name and an address.
- 1
Create the portal
Sign in, give it a name and an address, and it is online. There is no server to point at and nothing to configure first.
- 2
Answer the ten you always answer
Post the questions your team types out every week, and answer them once. That is the archive started, and it is public and searchable straight away.
- 3
Send people to it
Link it from your site, from your old board, and from your support replies. Reading and searching need no account at all.
Pricing
Two plans. Both flat.
The bill does not grow with traffic, questions, or seats. Pick a plan, and that is the price.
| Basic | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9 one time | $99 a month, or $990 a year |
| Portal address | yourcompany.myforumcat.com | Your own domain, SSL included |
| Team seats | 2 | Unlimited |
| Registered members | 1,000 | 10,000 |
| Questions | 10,000 | Unlimited |
| Media storage | 1 GB (≈2,000 images) | 50 GB (≈100,000 images) |
| Page views a month (fair use) | 100,000 | 1,000,000 |
| Search, votes, accepted solutions | ||
| Structured data, sitemap, markdown view | ||
| REST API and MCP server | ||
| Google sign-in under your brand | ||
| Analytics and search log | ||
| Free trial | 7 days, no card | 7 days, no card |
Unlimited seats and questions on Pro carry a quiet fair-use backstop, lifted for any real portal that reaches it. Page views are fair-use limits, not a meter.
Questions people ask before moving
Fair questions.
Can we import our old forum or help docs?
Answer
Not today. There is no importer. Most teams start fresh and let the new questions build the archive, which is live in minutes.
Can we keep our old forum online?
Answer
Yes. Your license or your cloud plan is between you and them, and nothing here changes it. Plenty of teams keep the old vBulletin board read-only and let the new portal take the questions.
What does it cost in month twelve?
Answer
The same as month one. $9 one time for a portal on a Forumcat subdomain, or $99 a month for your own domain. The bill never grows with traffic or questions.
Does it work on our own domain?
Answer
Yes, on Pro. Point a subdomain like help.yourcompany.com at Forumcat and SSL is set up for you. Your Forumcat subdomain redirects to it.
What happens to our answers if we leave?
Answer
They are yours. Every question and answer is readable through the REST API, so you can pull it all out any time.
Where to go next
A support portal, not a whole board
Questions, answers, one accepted solution, and a bill that stays flat.
Create your portalFree for 7 days. No credit card.
