Teddy M.

Tech Administrator & Support Team

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

5/26/2021

"Discourse - An amazing platform"

5/5

What do you like best about Discourse?

Discourse was very straightforward to install, the Let's Encrypt integration is amazing. Discourse is an amazing platform with even more of an amazing design. My team enjoyed using it a lot. The cost of running is also very small. Overall it is a great experience. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Discourse?

I didn't really like that you can't deploy Discourse without a domain. It was very hard for me to use Discourse with my mail server at first, although I quickly got around that by using the numerous Discoruse tutorials available. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Discourse:

I highly recommend to use a one click installation, it is much more easier than the regular installation (both are supported by Disocurse as far as I am aware, so no need to worry for support). Also, be prepared to wait and retry. You more than likely won't nail it on the first try. I also recommend you get some extra RAM and run a mail server on your VPS/dedicated server (if you already haven't done so), as this quite literally saved my installation from failure, because without a mail server - your installation is broken and if you don't have MailChimp or other popular mail platforms but instead have your own mail server (which is not locally hosted), chances are - you might fail. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Discourse solving and how is that benefiting you?

Recently, communication within my department has went down. And it wasn't only there, it seemed like all platforms we tried were just like the other ones - non-customisable, costy, and way too simple. Discourse was simple, but the "simple" which actually was fine with us. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from André Sousa of Discourse

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Thank you for sharing your feedback on Discourse! We're delighted to hear that you found our platform easy to install and that your team enjoys using it. We're also glad to hear that our Let's Encrypt integration and cost-effective pricing have been helpful to you.

We apologize for any difficulty you experienced in deploying Discourse without a domain. We're constantly working to improve our platform and appreciate your feedback. We're pleased that you found our tutorials useful in resolving the issue.

We're grateful for your business and hope to continue providing you and your team with an exceptional experience. If you have any further feedback or questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

Discourse Reviews & Product Details

Pricing

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$20.00

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Pro

$100.00

Per Month

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Discourse Media

This screen capture showcases a Discourse community, which is highly customizable and open-source. With Discourse, community managers and developers can personalize every aspect of the site, from layout and branding to plugins and themes. This flexibility enables the community to evolve and grow ...

Discourse Demo - Badges System - Gamification

This screen capture showcases Discourse's badge system, which is a powerful tool for rewarding and incentivizing user behavior. With badges, community managers can recognize users for their contributions, encourage engagement, and create a sense of accomplishment and belonging within the communit...

Discourse Reviews (67)

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Leonardo C.

Ceo

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

12/9/2025

"Open Source and Customizable, Challenge the Installation"

4/5

What do you like best about Discourse?

I mainly use Discourse for forums to interact with my Discord server community, and I also find it useful for more official and informal announcements. I like that Discourse is open source and extremely customizable. I also appreciate the SAML SSO, which is very useful for authenticating users with Discord and synchronizing everything. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Discourse?

Perhaps the fact that it is difficult to install on a server without help. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Vishal J.

Software Project Manager

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

6/10/2025

"Discourse makes it easy to collaborate on projects"

3.5/5

What do you like best about Discourse?

The best thing about Discourse is the Channels feature, where members of the project team can collaborate. On channels, users can create new posts, reply to others' posts, and upload attachments. It also has a feature of sending direct messages similar to email messages. The user interface is easy to use and quick to learn for beginners. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Discourse?

Some functionality is duplicated and confusing. Like, when you click on "DMS" and select a group channel, it is the same as selecting the Group Channel directly. Hence, the feature of using DMS for group chats could be removed and retain DMS only for sending direct messages to individual users. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Discourse solving and how is that benefiting you?

Discourse is integral to daily project management activities. I can directly interact with each team member, send announcements to all at once, create a dedicated channel for sharing project resources, and send meeting, webinar invitations. Overall, Discourse increases productivity by solving communication needs of the project. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Marcella D.

Senior Process Executive

Telecommunications

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

12/10/2025

"Comprehensive Platform with a Steep Learning Curve"

3.5/5

What do you like best about Discourse?

I like that Discourse is complete and does not need additional features. I enjoy how I can locate data easily by searching in the main bar and finding topics regarding the information I am looking for. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Discourse?

It is sometimes too chaotic, it takes some time before I find what I need. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Aboelhassan A.

Doctor

Medical Practice

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

11/27/2024

"my experience in using Discourse."

4/5

What do you like best about Discourse?

It is an extensive database filled with valuable information. Discourse is user-friendly and facilitates open discussions in a forum-style format. It offers significant customization options, allowing the creation of various topics and categories, while also monitoring user engagement. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Discourse?

Although tagging and searching typically lead me to the information I need, there often appears to be duplicate content, making it difficult to identify the 'newest' or 'validated' answers. Additionally, the notifications occasionally do not function correctly. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Jerome H.

Photography Instructor

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

1/28/2025

"Friendly user interface"

5/5

What do you like best about Discourse?

a great platform to learn and share ideas about relevant topics Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Discourse?

i enjoy every single bit of using this platform Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Prithvi H.

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

3/8/2024

"One of the best community and forum building app"

4/5

What do you like best about Discourse?

Discourse is very easy to use and very user friendly. One think I like the most about it is the batches and awards that can be assigned to top contributors. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Discourse?

Nothing much to dislike here as I really love the product. Their enterprise plans can be a little pricey. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Sarah L.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

3/14/2023

"Truly a place to build civilized conversations- with lots of customizations!"

4.5/5

What do you like best about Discourse?

We chose Discourse about five years ago because we wanted to create a place for an in-depth conversation about new research that was coming out in occupational therapy. And it has delivered! I am consistently amazed by the quality of conversation that the platform fosters.

The added bonus has been all of the customization options on the platform. This has allowed us to roll out new tools we did not anticipate initially. The best surprise was when they recently updated the layout to prioritze sidebar navigation-it gave the platform a freshness to rival other social platforms! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Discourse?

One thing to be aware of with Discourse is that it gives a lot of flexibility, but we've had to leverage a developer to capitalize on creating our more advanced tools. Overall, we've been pleased with this tradeoff though! And, luckily, Discourse really does provide amazing support for more complex projects. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from André Sousa of Discourse

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Great to hear that Discourse has been delivering on your needs for the past five years, Sarah! We're thrilled that our platform has been able to facilitate meaningful and in-depth conversations among your community of occupational therapists.

We understand that the flexibility and customization options that Discourse provides can be both a blessing and a challenge, especially when it comes to creating more advanced tools. However, we're glad to hear that you've been able to leverage the support of our amazing team to make the most of the platform's capabilities.

Thank you for taking the time to share your positive experience with Discourse on G2. We appreciate your feedback and are committed to continuing to provide a platform that helps businesses like yours build and nurture thriving online communities.

Sara L.

Customer Marketing- Community Leader

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

3/8/2023

"Discourse- the community platform you never knew you would love so much!"

5/5

What do you like best about Discourse?

I have worked with a number of all inclusive, expensive, enterprise level community platforms. I was unaware of Discourse until my last job.

I was really impressed by the flexibility and opensource nature of the product. The pricing is great which makes this a viable option for SMD level businesses.

The leadership and support folks are amazing. They are very responsive and really do care about their customers.

I really liked that support tries to resolve issues if they are simple instead of just pushing me to open a professional services ticket. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Discourse?

The UX is pretty basic. If you want some really unique experience or functionality you need to go custom which can be a big project.

There are limited out of the box plugins but I believe they are adding as they work on customizations so that makes integrations with your other systems more likely. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from André Sousa of Discourse

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Dear Sara,

Thank you for sharing your experience with Discourse. It's great to hear that you have found our platform to be flexible, open-source, and cost-effective for SMD level businesses. We appreciate your positive feedback about our support team and their responsiveness in resolving issues.

Regarding your feedback on the UX and out-of-the-box plugins, we understand that customizing the platform to achieve a unique experience or functionality can be a big project. However, we are continually working on adding more features and integrations to help make it easier to achieve your goals.

Thank you for trusting Discourse as your community platform and for your support. We look forward to working with you to help achieve your self-service support and product awareness objectives.

Michael C.

Talent Acquisition Partner

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

3/3/2023

"Great for community discussions and announcements"

4.5/5

What do you like best about Discourse?

Discourse is really easy to use and allows an open discussion in a forum style platform. It's quite customizable where you can create different topics and categories, and also tracks user engagement. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Discourse?

Discourse is quite a robust platform, and depending on how the company uses and organises it, it can be quite overwhelming. Fortunately, they have a fantastic bot that teaches you the basics and get you up-to-speed. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from André Sousa of Discourse

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Hi Michael. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Discourse. It's great to hear that you find the platform easy to use and customizable. The ability to create different topics and categories, as well as track user engagement, definitely makes it a useful tool for community discussions and announcements.

We understand that the platform can be overwhelming at times, but we're glad to hear that the bot has been helpful in teaching you the basics and getting you up to speed.

It's wonderful to know that Discourse has been a valuable tool for separating your knowledge base and simplifying your workflow. We hope that it continues to serve you well in your community discussions and company/team announcements.

Thank you for your review and for choosing Discourse!

Filippo S.

Multilingual Support Specialist

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

9/25/2022

"Well structured discussion forum"

4.5/5

What do you like best about Discourse?

main resource for internal communication and support outside of live channels Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Discourse?

interface is very minimal and flat, but not necessarily simple and intuitive Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from André Sousa of Discourse

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Thank you for your feedback on Discourse, Filippo! We're glad to hear that it's your primary resource for communication and support. We also wanted to state that understand your concern about the interface and are continually working to improve it.

We'd like to take this opportunity to let you know that Discourse recently launched its 3.0 version, with improved features such as an updated editor with better formatting options, improved image handling, keyboard shortcuts, and better moderation tools. Additionally, we've made it more accessible for visually impaired users and introduced a "Knowledge Explorer" feature to help you search for information more efficiently.

We appreciate your support and hope these new features will make your experience even better. If you have any more feedback or suggestions, please let us know.