Jelsoft

What Jelsoft does

Jelsoft, operating commercially as vBulletin, is a privately held software company founded in 2000 that develops and sells community forum software. The company's core product is the vBulletin platform, offered in two deployment modes: a self-hosted perpetual license (vBulletin 6 at US$179) and a fully managed cloud subscription (vBulletin Cloud, from US$18.75/month). The technology is built on PHP and MySQL/MariaDB and ships with a Site Builder front-end tool, built-in SEO-friendly URL structure, responsive mobile design, a vB Messenger chat application, and an AI-based user engagement layer leveraging machine learning and natural language processing (currently live on vBulletin Cloud). Over 100,000 sites have been built on the platform across use cases including gaming communities, brand communities, membership sites, and social networking sites; EA (Electronic Arts) is a named enterprise customer.

The revenue model blends one-time license fees with recurring subscriptions and professional services. Beyond the core platform, Jelsoft sells Maintenance Service ($79/year), Premium Phone and Ticket Support ($329/year or $49/month), Professional Installation/Upgrade (from $149), Branding-Free licensing ($289), and an enterprise LDAP Integration add-on ($199). The cloud offering is hosted in data centers certified to HIPAA, ISO 27001, NIST 800-53/FISMA, PCI DSS, SOC 1, and SOC 2 Type II. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via the vbulletin.com storefront with self-serve checkout, a toll-free phone sales line for enterprise inquiries, multi-language sites (English, German, French, Spanish), and multi-currency pricing (USD, EUR, GBP). Legal entity is MH Sub I, LLC (US), with operations rooted in Pangbourne, UK; Internet Brands appears linked via privacy/terms infrastructure. Leadership comprises CEO Thomas Scales and founder James Limm.

Name

Jelsoft

Legal name

MH Sub I, LLC

Website

https://vbulletin.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Jelsoft, operating as vBulletin, develops and sells community forum software — vBulletin 6 (self-hosted) and vBulletin Cloud (subscription) — to organizations and individuals building online communities, with over 100,000 sites deployed globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Forum Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Gaming Community, Chat & LFG Platforms (BPAMAKAK)

Keywords

• Community forum software
• Online community platform
• Forum software
• Cloud community hosting
• Discussion board software

Headquarters

HQ city

Pangbourne

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. vBulletin 6 Self-Hosted License: One-time perpetual license purchase for self-hosted installation. Includes 1 year of free maintenance service. License required for each individual installation.
2. vBulletin Cloud Subscription: Monthly or annual subscription for fully managed cloud hosting. Includes license, hosting, site maintenance, and automatic upgrades. Starting at $18.75/month.
3. Maintenance Service: Annual subscription for continued access to software updates. $79/year for self-hosted license.
4. Professional Installation/Upgrade Service: One-time remote installation or upgrade service by technical support team. Starting at $149.
5. Premium Phone and Ticket Support: Additional phone and ticket support purchased in monthly or annual increments. $329/year or $49/month.
6. Branding-Free License: One-time purchase to remove vBulletin attribution and branding from visible pages. $289 for self-hosted, available for cloud as add-on.
7. LDAP Integration Add-on: One-time purchase for enterprise LDAP authentication integration. $199.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Jelsoft develops and sells vBulletin, a PHP/MySQL-based community forum platform available in two deployment models: a self-hosted perpetual license (vBulletin 6) and a fully managed cloud subscription (vBulletin Cloud). The product enables organizations and individuals to launch discussion forums, social networking sites, and membership communities with built-in features such as a Site Builder tool, AI-based user engagement via machine learning and NLP, the vB Messenger chat app, SEO-friendly URLs, responsive mobile design, and enterprise-grade security compliance.

Product overview

Jelsoft offers vBulletin as a unified community software platform with two deployment options: self-hosted vBulletin 6 (license from US$179) and cloud-hosted vBulletin Cloud (from US$18.75/month). The core platform includes Site Builder, AI-based user engagement via machine learning and NLP, built-in SEO and security, responsive mobile design, and vB Messenger chat. The product portfolio extends through optional add-ons including Maintenance Service (USD79/year), Branding Free removal (USD289), Premium Customer Support (USD329/year), Professional Installation/Upgrade (starting USD149), and LDAP Integration (USD199) for enterprise single sign-on.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• vBulletin 6 Self-hosted PHP/MySQL community software enabling users to build forums and social sites on their own infrastructure. Includes Site Builder, AI-based engagement features, machine learning, NLP, built-in SEO and security, responsive design, and vB Messenger chat application. Priced at US$179 as a one-time perpetual license including one year of maintenance.
• vBulletin Cloud Cloud-hosted community platform where vBulletin handles hosting, site maintenance, and automatic upgrades. Includes all key vBulletin functionality with non-technical administration. Pricing starts at US$18.75/month.
• Maintenance Service Annual subscription enabling download and installation of the latest vBulletin 6 software updates. Cost: US$79/year. If expired, customers can still download updates previously released up to the expiration date.
• Branding-Free License One-time purchase that removes vBulletin attribution and branding from the global footer and visible templates. Priced at US$289. Available for both self-hosted and cloud licenses.
• Premium Customer Support Additional phone and ticket support packages purchased in one-month or one-year increments for licensed customers seeking higher-touch service beyond standard support. Priced at US$329/year or US$49/month.
• Professional Installation/Upgrade Remote installation of vBulletin 6 or upgrade from a previous version performed by the vBulletin technical support team. One-time cost starting at US$149.
• LDAP Integration Enterprise integration allowing users to access vBulletin using their LDAP server login credentials, with automatic vBulletin user account creation and centralized user management. One-time cost US$199.

Quantifiable outcome

• Launch community site in as little as 15 minutes
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability3 records

Feature7 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NodeBB: Node.js-based modern forum software offered as self-hosted or cloud. Competes with vBulletin in the same community-platform category with a more current stack and built-in real-time features.
• Discourse: Modern open-source forum/discussion platform built on Ruby on Rails. Direct competitor to vBulletin targeting the same community-software use case but with a contemporary tech stack and strong open-source developer mindshare.
• Flarum: Modern lightweight open-source forum software built with PHP. Targets the same community/forum use case as vBulletin with a more contemporary UX and extension ecosystem.
• phpBB: Free, open-source PHP/MySQL bulletin board package. Directly comparable technology and target audience to vBulletin's self-hosted license and pressures the bottom of the market with no license fee.
• Vanilla Forums (Hivebrite): Community platform now part of Hivebrite, offering forums alongside member directories and engagement tools. Competes with vBulletin in the branded/enterprise online community segment.
• Invision Community: Premium community platform offering forums, member directories, and commerce. Competes head-to-head with vBulletin in the self-hosted premium forum category with similar feature breadth and pricing model.
• XenForo: Commercial forum software founded by former vBulletin lead developers. Closest direct competitor with overlapping PHP/MySQL architecture, similar self-hosted license + add-on monetization, and an active community marketplace.
• MyBB: Free open-source forum software written in PHP/MySQL. Directly comparable to vBulletin's self-hosted offering and frequently chosen by budget-conscious community operators.

Broad incumbents

• Discord: Massive real-time chat and community platform. Not a software competitor but absorbs end-user behavior away from threaded forum products like vBulletin, making it the most consequential indirect threat to category demand.

Emerging players

• Circle: Modern SaaS community platform with discussion, courses, and events. Targets creators and brands seeking community functionality, directly overlapping vBulletin's branded community use case with a newer product experience.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/vbulletin
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/vbulletin
• Facebookfacebook.com/vbulletin
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vbulletin-solutions-inc.

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Jelsoft