# Discourse vs Vanilla Forums

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Discourse

| Attribute | Discourse | Vanilla Forums |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 59.7 (55% (medium)) | 46 (9% (low)) |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"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. It is indexed under Community Platforms.","source":"https://www.discourse.org","question":"What is Discourse?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Discourse offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at $100 per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.discourse.org/pricing","question":"Is Discourse free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Discourse supports the web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://www.discourse.org","question":"What platforms does Discourse support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Discourse can be deployed cloud / SaaS and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://www.discourse.org","question":"Can Discourse be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 22 integrations for Discourse, including Slack, Telegram, Discord, Mattermost, Matrix, Zulip, Rocket.Chat and Gitter, plus 14 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.discourse.org/pricing","question":"What does Discourse integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed GDPR for Discourse. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Discourse not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.discourse.org/privacy","question":"What security certifications does Discourse have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"Discourse is available worldwide. The vendor is headquartered in the United States.","source":"https://www.discourse.org/pricing","question":"Where is Discourse available?","confidence":0.75}]` | - |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | 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. | Web-based community software that enables businesses to build branded community spaces where customers access documentation, ask questions, and engage. Includes member management, gamification, content moderation, analytics, and integrations with CRM, helpdesk, and other business systems. |
| features.capabilities | `{"pricing_model":"monthly_subscription_tiered","custom_css_and_html_theme_editing":true,"mobile_app_ios_android_deployment":true,"event_calendar_and_rsvp_management":true,"gamification_badges_and_leaderboards":true,"custom_domain_cname_and_white_labeling":true,"native_paywalls_and_paid_subscriptions":true,"member_directory_and_direct_messaging_dm":true}` | `{"gamification_badges_and_leaderboards":true}` |
| integrations.count | 12 | 21 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"Telegram"},{"name":"Discord"},{"name":"Mattermost"},{"name":"Matrix"},{"name":"Zulip"},{"name":"Rocket.Chat"},{"name":"Gitter"},{"name":"Stride"},{"name":"Microsoft Teams"},{"name":"Basecamp"},{"name":"IRC Cloud"},{"name":"Flock"},{"name":"Webex"},{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"Google Adsense"},{"name":"Google Ad Manager"},{"name":"Amazon Affiliates"},{"name":"Patreon"},{"name":"Google"},{"name":"Facebook"},{"name":"X"},{"name":"Apple"},{"name":"Mastodon"},{"name":"Amazon","native":true,"category":"auth","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"LinkedIn","native":true,"category":"auth","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Microsoft","native":true,"category":"auth","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"OAuth2 and OpenID Connect","native":true,"category":"auth","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"SAML","native":true,"category":"auth","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Learning Management Systems (LTI 1.3)","native":true,"category":"education","direction":"inbound"}]` | `[{"name":"Slack","native":false,"category":"chat","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Salesforce","category":"crm","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Hubspot","native":true,"category":"crm","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Cleanspeak","native":true,"category":"content_moderation","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Fivetran","category":"data_warehouse","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Google Analytics","category":"analytics","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Zendesk","native":true,"category":"support","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Freshdesk","category":"support"},{"name":"Zapier","category":"automation","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Github","category":"product_development","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Aha!","category":"product_feedback"},{"name":"Churnzero","native":true,"category":"customer_success"},{"name":"DeepL","category":"translation","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Google Translate","category":"translation"},{"name":"Google Tag Manager","category":"analytics","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Zoom","category":"events","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"WordPress","category":"website","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"SlapFive","category":"advocacy","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"BHN Rewards","category":"rewards","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Catalyst","category":"crm","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Federated Search","native":true}]` |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free tier, 2 staff seats","features":["Unlimited members and chat","2 staff seats","Public and private categories","Community support"],"minSeats":2,"description":"Basic tier for exploring community features","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"storage":"5GB","max_categories":"10","monthly_emails":"20k","ai_daily_credits":"100k","monthly_page_views":"500k","translation_languages":"2"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"$100/month, 5 staff seats","features":["Unlimited members and chat","Unlimited public and private categories","Unlimited tags","Custom groups","5 staff seats","Email support","Custom and community themes","Custom domain","API and Webhook access","15+ plugins"],"minSeats":5,"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For growing communities needing scaling and brand customization","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"storage":"20GB","monthly_emails":"100k","ai_daily_credits":"500k","monthly_page_views":"1000000+","translation_languages":"4"}},{"free":false,"name":"Business","summary":"$500/month, 15 staff seats","features":["All Pro features plus:","Advanced reporting and analytics","Automation","Events","Gamification","15 staff seats","SSO (OpenID & OAuth2)","20+ additional plugins","Priority support","Migration services"],"minSeats":15,"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":500,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For established communities requiring advanced features and integrations","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"storage":"100GB","monthly_emails":"300k","ai_daily_credits":"1000000","monthly_page_views":"1000000+","translation_languages":"5"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing, unlimited staff seats, enterprise SLA","features":["All Business features plus:","Unlimited staff seats","Expert design and development services","99.9% uptime SLA","50+ plugins","GDPR and CCPA compliant hosting","Dedicated infrastructure","Custom development and integrations","SAML and enterprise authentication","White-glove onboarding"],"description":"Custom infrastructure for mission-critical communities with dedicated support and deep customization","contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"storage":"200GB+","staff_seats":"Unlimited","monthly_emails":"1500000+","ai_daily_credits":"5000000","translation_languages":"10"}}],"summary":"From $100/month. Free tier available.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.discourse.org/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-18T12:53:42.083Z","startingPrice":{"amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | - |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | - |
| pricing.model | freemium | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | high | - |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":100,"currency":"USD"}` | - |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| reliability.sla_pct | 99.9 | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.trust_center | https://www.discourse.org/privacy | - |

## Capabilities (Community Platforms)

| Capability | Discourse | Vanilla Forums |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Gamification badges and leaderboards | ✓ | ✓ |
| Native live video streaming | - | - |
| Native paywalls and paid subscriptions | ✓ | - |
| Event calendar and rsvp management | ✓ | - |
| Member directory and direct messaging dm | ✓ | - |
| Custom domain cname and white labeling | ✓ | - |
| Custom css and html theme editing | ✓ | - |
| Salesforce hubspot CRM contact sync | - | - |
| Mobile app ios android deployment | ✓ | - |
| SOC2 type ii | - | - |
| ISO 27001 | - | - |
| Pricing model | Monthly subscription tiered | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-07T01:10:42.558Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*