Community Platforms

Discourse

Customizable, scalable community platform powering over 22,000 communities for knowledge through conversation.

Overview

Discourse is an open-source community platform designed for tech companies and organizations to build thriving, collaborative communities with real-time chat, AI-powered moderation, and extensive customization.

Updated Oct 17, 2026

15 things

What Discourse has

Apps

For developers

Programmatic access to the product's data and features for developers.
Source code is publicly available for anyone to inspect, modify, or self-host.
Run the software on your own servers instead of the vendor's cloud.
Automatic messages the product sends to another app when something happens.

Hosting and storage

A vendor-operated service that runs and maintains software on its own infrastructure.

Support

Faster answers from the support team than customers get as standard.
Get help from the support team by writing to them via email.
Real people you can contact when you need help with the tool.
Help moving your existing content and data into the tool from another platform.
Guided setup and training to help new users get started with the tool.
Expert services that help organizations plan, implement, or improve their work processes.

Extras

An online space where users can connect, share tips, and help each other.
An educational resource that explains a topic and helps readers build their knowledge.

10 features

Key Features

Community platform
Discourse is the customizable, scalable community platform powering more than 22,000 communities that create knowledge through conversation.
Internal notes
Let staff share internal notes for support context
Community customization
Tailor your community to fit your organization's needs with advanced customization and integration.
Topics
Get the conversation started with topics
Ways to connect
Connect with your community using open discussions, chat, private messages, or straight from email—all in Discourse.
Community management
From a variety of moderation tools to settings for every feature Discourse gives you the flexibility to be as hands on or off as you want to be.
Themes and plugins
Extend your community with official and community-built themes and plugins.
Forum conversations
Discourse is a simple, flat forum, where replies flow down the page in a line. Expand context at the bottom and top of each post, and also in quotes, to reveal the full conversation without losing your place.
Just-in-time loading
Why break conversations into awkward and arbitrary pages, where you have to constantly find the Next Page button? We’ve replaced all that with the power of just-in-time loading. Want to read more? Keep scrolling down.
Community chat
Create channels for community members to chat more informally and build relationships. When things come up that belong in a more discoverable place, chat messages can be quoted in topics where the discussion can continue over time.

Pros and cons

Pros

Highly customizable with extensive theming and plugin support.
Strong AI integration for moderation, translation, and content assistance.
Open-source with full data ownership and no vendor lock-in.
Robust trust and moderation system empowering community self-governance.
Scalable for communities from startups to large enterprises with dedicated support options.

Cons

Requires technical knowledge for self-hosting and advanced customization.
Pricing can be high for larger communities with many staff seats.
Mobile experience relies on browser or separate apps, which may not suit all users.
Some advanced features require paid plans or enterprise-level subscriptions.
Migration from other platforms may require professional services and time investment.

As of October 2026

Pricing

Freemium. Paid plans start at $100 per month.

Self-hosted
$0
Pro
$100
per month
Pro Plan
$100
per month
Business
$500
per month
Business Plan
$500
per month
Enterprise
Custom
on request

Developer features

Open source code
The entire Discourse codebase is freely available on GitHub. No black boxes, no vendor lock-in, no surprises. Audit it, fork it, extend it.

You?

Be the first to rate Discourse

Your review helps others make better decisions. No account needed. Takes about 10 seconds.

0 questions

Frequently Asked Questions

No reviews yet

Community reviews

Sort:Write a review

No written reviews yet. Be the first to share your experience.

Tried this tool? Share your experience.

Write a review

No reviews yet

Community reviews

Sort:Write a review

No written reviews yet. Be the first to share your experience.

Tried this tool? Share your experience.

Write a review

15 things

What Discourse has

Apps

For developers

Programmatic access to the product's data and features for developers.
Source code is publicly available for anyone to inspect, modify, or self-host.
Run the software on your own servers instead of the vendor's cloud.
Automatic messages the product sends to another app when something happens.

Hosting and storage

A vendor-operated service that runs and maintains software on its own infrastructure.

Support

Faster answers from the support team than customers get as standard.
Get help from the support team by writing to them via email.
Real people you can contact when you need help with the tool.
Help moving your existing content and data into the tool from another platform.
Guided setup and training to help new users get started with the tool.
Expert services that help organizations plan, implement, or improve their work processes.

Extras

An online space where users can connect, share tips, and help each other.
An educational resource that explains a topic and helps readers build their knowledge.

10 features

Key Features

Community platform
Discourse is the customizable, scalable community platform powering more than 22,000 communities that create knowledge through conversation.
Internal notes
Let staff share internal notes for support context
Community customization
Tailor your community to fit your organization's needs with advanced customization and integration.
Topics
Get the conversation started with topics
Ways to connect
Connect with your community using open discussions, chat, private messages, or straight from email—all in Discourse.
Community management
From a variety of moderation tools to settings for every feature Discourse gives you the flexibility to be as hands on or off as you want to be.
Themes and plugins
Extend your community with official and community-built themes and plugins.
Forum conversations
Discourse is a simple, flat forum, where replies flow down the page in a line. Expand context at the bottom and top of each post, and also in quotes, to reveal the full conversation without losing your place.
Just-in-time loading
Why break conversations into awkward and arbitrary pages, where you have to constantly find the Next Page button? We’ve replaced all that with the power of just-in-time loading. Want to read more? Keep scrolling down.
Community chat
Create channels for community members to chat more informally and build relationships. When things come up that belong in a more discoverable place, chat messages can be quoted in topics where the discussion can continue over time.

Pros and cons

Pros

Highly customizable with extensive theming and plugin support.
Strong AI integration for moderation, translation, and content assistance.
Open-source with full data ownership and no vendor lock-in.
Robust trust and moderation system empowering community self-governance.
Scalable for communities from startups to large enterprises with dedicated support options.

Cons

Requires technical knowledge for self-hosting and advanced customization.
Pricing can be high for larger communities with many staff seats.
Mobile experience relies on browser or separate apps, which may not suit all users.
Some advanced features require paid plans or enterprise-level subscriptions.
Migration from other platforms may require professional services and time investment.

As of October 2026

Pricing

Freemium. Paid plans start at $100 per month.

Self-hosted
$0
Pro
$100
per month
Pro Plan
$100
per month
Business
$500
per month
Business Plan
$500
per month
Enterprise
Custom
on request

Developer features

Open source code
The entire Discourse codebase is freely available on GitHub. No black boxes, no vendor lock-in, no surprises. Audit it, fork it, extend it.

You?

Be the first to rate Discourse

Your review helps others make better decisions. No account needed. Takes about 10 seconds.

0 questions

Discourse

Overview

What Discourse has

Apps

For developers

Hosting and storage

Support

Extras

Key Features

Community platform

Internal notes

Community customization

Topics

Ways to connect

Community management

Themes and plugins

Forum conversations

Just-in-time loading

Community chat

Pros and cons

Pros

Cons

Pricing

Discourse pricing plans

Self-hosted

Pro

Pro Plan

Business

Business Plan

Enterprise

Developer features

Open source code

Be the first to rate Discourse

Frequently Asked Questions

What Discourse has

Apps

For developers

Hosting and storage

Support

Extras

Key Features

Community platform

Internal notes

Community customization

Topics

Ways to connect

Community management

Themes and plugins

Forum conversations

Just-in-time loading

Community chat

Pros and cons

Pros

Cons

Pricing

Discourse pricing plans

Self-hosted

Pro

Pro Plan

Business

Business Plan

Enterprise

Developer features

Open source code

Be the first to rate Discourse

Frequently Asked Questions

More in Community Platforms

More in Community Platforms