What it does
Discourse gives organisations a place for lasting discussions, informal chat and replies by email. Member groups, trust levels and moderation tools help run a customer or support community. Hosted access includes a free plan with two staff seats and 5 GB of uploads, and the GPLv2 application can also run on your own server.
Use topics for conversations that should remain discoverable, and chat for shorter exchanges. Discourse can quote a chat message into a topic so a useful discussion does not stay buried in the faster channel. Replies retain expandable context, and members can participate through email when away from the website. Flags feed a moderation review queue, while trust levels gradually give regular participants more ability to maintain the community.
Hosting choices
| Plan | Monthly price, USD | Staff seats | Categories | Upload storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 0 | 2 | 10 | 5 GB |
| Pro | 100 | 5 | Unlimited | 20 GB |
| Business | 500 | 15 | Unlimited | 100 GB |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited | Unlimited | 200 GB or more |
All four allow unlimited members. Free includes 20,000 emails each month, compared with 100,000 on Pro and 300,000 on Business. Pro adds custom domains and API access for connecting other systems; Business adds automation and further plugins. Migration services require a year of hosting paid in advance.
To launch a free site, choose Get Started on the Free plan, create or use a Discourse ID, and select a name and discourse.group address. Add a welcome topic and initial discussions before sharing the invite link. Discourse may contact owners about closing a free site that stays inactive for a long time. Paid-plan trials usually need no card, although Discourse can request one to deter spam; it says trial expiry does not trigger an automatic charge.
For a self-hosted forum, register an administrator account at your forum address and complete its setup wizard. The configured administrator email identifies the account that receives admin access; this is distinct from creating a hosted community through Discourse ID.
Strengths
- Topics, chat and email replies support different ways to participate
- Trust and moderation tools distribute community-maintenance work
Watch out for
- The hosted free plan limits staff seats, categories and upload storage
- Standard migration services require a year of hosting paid in advance
Best for
- Organisations building a lasting discussion and support community
Sources
- Discourse | One platform. Any community. (Oct 25, 2026)
- discourse/LICENSE.txt at main · discourse/discourse · GitHub (Oct 25, 2026)
- Discourse Features (Oct 27, 2026)
- Discourse Hosting Pricing (Oct 27, 2026)
- Discourse Free Plan (Oct 27, 2026)
- Install Discourse on a Cloud Server (Oct 28, 2026)