After a few years of reading about Mosets Tree Directory software component for Joomla, I finally paid $119 and gave it a try. Money well spent. Mosets is easy to set up and use, for the developer AND the client.

As you probably know, the Sobi2 directory software is a direct competitor of Mosets Tree, AND IT’S  FREE! As a result, I needed several compeling reasons to use Mosets instead of Sobi2. Both components fulfill the Directory / Business listing requirements quite well:

• Users can add their own listings
• Users can add images and photo galleries
• Listing approval is configurable
• You can add custom fields to the listing form
• Both integrate with Google maps
• Both offer powerful search tools (you don’t get the full search function with Sobi2; you have to buy that)
• Both have fully customizeable CSS-based templates
• Both offer “Featured” listings; free with Mosets, paid plugin with Sobi2
• Ability to Collect Fees for Listing
  Note: With both components, you have to install 3rd party software to connect with a Payment gateway like Authorize.net. Sobi2 includes a Paypal plugin, but you have to buy a 3rd party extension to use any other gateway. Mosets does not come with ANY payment component. I think this is a MAJOR weakness with Mosets Tree AND Sobi2: Both should come with the ability to connect to the major gateways. A Directory is like an information shopping cart and as such, is incomplete without payment gateway software. The reason I chose Mosets, however, is because my client does not intend to charge for listings,

As you can see, both products offer similar features, and when you add up all the features, they are about the same price.

There are several reasons I chose Mosets:

• Good documentation
• Easy to use for developer and client
• Clean template design on out-of-the-box template
• Direct Forum Support (I received a response to a question within 12 hours)
• Client WILL NOT charge for listings

Bottom Line: Mosets is a very good Directory component for Joomla, but because it lacks a built in payment listing function, I can only give it 3 out of 5 stars. Hope your listening at Mosets Tree!

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 10:13 am and is filed under Joomla, Joomla Extensions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.