Discourse vs Ning
No clear leader: Discourse (59.7) and Ning (57.2) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.
Capabilities
Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for community platforms. “-” means undocumented, not absent.
What each one is
The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.
Discourse
A free, open-source platform for building online communities that can be self-hosted on your own infrastructure or run on official Discourse hosting, with built-in real-time chat and customizable themes.
Ning
Ning is a platform for creating branded online communities with drag-and-drop design, member management, discussion forums, events, and monetization features. It serves educators, nonprofits, enthusiasts, and businesses seeking to build engaged communities around shared interests.
Pricing
List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.
Discourse
From $100/month. Free tier available.
- FreeFree
- Unlimited members and chat
- 2 staff seats
- Public and private categories
- Community support
- Pro$100/month, 5 staff seats
- Unlimited members and chat
- Unlimited public and private categories
- Unlimited tags
- Custom groups
- 5 staff seats
- +5 more
- Business$500/month, 15 staff seats
- All Pro features plus:
- Advanced reporting and analytics
- Automation
- Events
- Gamification
- +5 more
- EnterpriseContact sales
- All Business features plus:
- Unlimited staff seats
- Expert design and development services
- 99.9% uptime SLA
- 50+ plugins
- +5 more
Ning
From $12.50/month (annual billing). Free 14-day trial on all plans.
- Starter$12.50/month, billed annually
- Drag & Drop Builder
- Photo & Video
- Events & Posts
- Activity Feed
- Multiple Blogs & Forums
- +9 more
- Basic$27.95/month, billed annually
- Drag & Drop Builder
- Photo & Video
- Events & Posts
- Activity Feed
- Multiple Blogs & Forums
- +10 more
- Performance$54.95/month, billed annually
- Drag & Drop Builder
- Photo & Video
- Events & Posts
- Activity Feed
- Multiple Blogs & Forums
- +14 more
- Ultimate$107.95/month, billed annually
- Drag & Drop Builder
- Photo & Video
- Events & Posts
- Activity Feed
- Multiple Blogs & Forums
- +15 more
Platform & deployment
Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.
Integrations
What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.
Discourse
- Slack
- Telegram
- Discord
- Mattermost
- Matrix
- Zulip
- Rocket.Chat
- Gitter
- Stride
- Microsoft Teams
- Basecamp
- IRC Cloud
- Flock
- Webex
- GitHub
- Google Adsense
- Google Ad Manager
- Amazon Affiliates
- Patreon
- X
- Apple
- Mastodon
- Amazon
- Microsoft
- +3 more
Ning
- YouTube
- Vimeo
- MailChimp
Discourse or Ning: which one depends on you
A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.
Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works
Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.