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Discourse
discourse.org
What it is
Discourse is community software for hosting discussions, with options to self-host or use managed hosting. It supports private spaces, event hosting, custom domains and moderation tools, and its codebase is freely available on GitHub. The free plan costs nothing and includes unlimited members, 2 staff seats, 500k monthly page views, 20k monthly emails, 10 categories and 5GB storage. Pro costs $100 a month and includes 5 staff seats, 500k monthly page views, 100k monthly emails, unlimited categories and 20GB storage. Business costs $500 a month, with 15 staff seats, priority support, standard migration services and 100GB storage. Enterprise pricing is custom; it includes unlimited staff seats, 1M+ monthly page views, 1.5M+ monthly emails and 200GB+ storage. Enterprise also includes SSO, SAML, enterprise authentication and a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Paid plans have a 14-day trial, and hosting plans require no credit card up front. Integrations include GitHub, chat providers, Zendesk and authentication providers. Support options range from community help to email support and professional services.
Spec sheet
- Free plan
- YesRead 21 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Starting price
- Paid hosting starts at $100 per month for Pro.Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Available integrations
- Integrations include GitHub, chat providers, Zendesk, and authentication providers.Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Mobile apps
- bothRead 21 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Founded
- 2013Read 23 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Community scale
- Discourse powers more than 22,000 communities.Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Custom domain
- YesRead 21 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Data ownership
- Discourse says users own their community and data and can export everything anytime.Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Event hosting
- YesRead 21 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Free page views
- The free plan includes 500k monthly page views.Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Free staff seats
- The free plan includes 2 staff seats for admins and moderators.Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Free storage
- The free plan includes 5GB of storage for uploads.Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Moderation tools
- Discourse provides built-in moderation tools and AI-assisted community management.Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Moderation tools
- YesRead 21 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Open source
- The entire Discourse codebase is freely available on GitHub.Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Payment requirement
- No credit card is required up front for hosting plans.Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Private spaces
- YesRead 21 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Security options
- Enterprise includes SSO, SAML, and enterprise authentication.Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Self hosting
- Users can self-host Discourse or use managed hosting.Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Staff seat limits
- Pro has 5 staff seats, Business has 15, and Enterprise has unlimited staff seats.Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Support options
- Support includes community help, dedicated email support, priority email support, and professional services.Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Trial period
- Paid plans can be tried free for 14 days.Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
- Uptime guarantee
- Enterprise includes a 99.9% uptime guarantee.Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
Plans and prices
Free Free Unlimited members · 2 staff seats · 500k monthly page views · 20k monthly emails · 10 categories · 5GB storage Read 21 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
Pro $100 a month billed monthly Unlimited members · 5 staff seats · 500k monthly page views · 100k monthly emails · Unlimited categories · 20GB storage Includes 5 staff seats for admins and moderators. Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
Business $500 a month billed monthly Unlimited members · 15 staff seats · 500k monthly page views · 300k monthly emails · Unlimited categories · 100GB storage Includes 15 staff seats, priority support, and standard migration services. Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
Enterprise Priced on request Custom pricing Unlimited members · Unlimited staff seats · 1M+ monthly page views · 1.5M+ monthly emails · Unlimited categories · 200GB+ storage For mission-critical communities needing deep customization, integrations, and hands-on support. Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
Free plan Free No cost to get started A hosted community plan with 2 staff seats, 500k monthly page views, and 5GB storage. Read 27 Sep 2026 · discourse.org
Strong points and limits
Strong points
- Supports private spaces, events and custom domains
- Free plan includes unlimited members
- Paid hosting plans offer a 14-day trial
- Users can export community data at any time
Limits
- Free plan has 2 staff seats
- Free plan includes 5GB storage
- Pro costs $100 a month
- Business costs $500 a month
Who it suits
Discourse suits organizations that want to host a discussion community and choose between self-hosting and managed hosting. The free plan offers defined seat, page-view, email, category and storage allowances; larger plans add capacity and support options.
Verdict
Discourse offers community hosting choices, a free plan and paid tiers with specified limits and support options. Compare the listed allowances with expected community needs before choosing a plan.
Where Specifiction places it
- Community Platforms#8 of 1269.0
- Social Networking Software#2 of 248.8
- Online Community Platforms#5 of 548.8
- Forum Software#2 of 208.9
- Customer Community Software#4 of 378.9
- Community Building Platforms#3 of 278.8
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