Discourse vs Meetup

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.

Meetup helps people discover local groups and events built around shared interests, while giving organizers tools to create and manage communities. Membership is free, and the service runs on Android, iOS, web, and an API. Organizers can create groups and events, communicate with members, and appoint a leadership team. The mobile app supports event discovery, group discovery, post-event contact, group management, and event planning. Meetup provides private spaces and moderation tools. Listed organizer plans range from Starter, with one group, unlimited members, two in-person events per month, and 10 attendees per event, to Standard with three groups and unlimited events and attendees, and Pro with unlimited groups, events, and attendees. Standard Organizer subscription is $29.99 a month, while PRO Organizer subscription is $47 a month billed every six months per group. Prices can vary by location and offers. Meetup Pro adds attendee email access, custom registration forms, exports, Mailchimp integration, and community insights.