6 Discourse Alternatives (Tested in 2026)

With a rating of 4.0 on G2, Discourse is pretty famous for community needs. But, a lot of users are finding some issues with it, including an old interface and being hard to set up.

So, if you are one of them who are looking for better Discourse alternatives, then this guide might help.

Here, I’ll share six amazing platforms that you can use to build a community and explain everything you need to know to find the right one.

Let’s get into it!

My top 3 picks

Best Overall	Second Best	Tertiary Choice
Discord	EzyCourse	Mighty Networks
1.2 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot	4.6 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot	3.5 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot
⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐

TL;DR

The Discourse alternatives in this guide are Discord, EzyCourse, Mighty Networks, EzyCommunity, Bettermode, and Circle. To find the right one, look into the features, pricing, pros, and cons.


Why are users looking for Discourse alternatives?

• Sometimes the platform shows some glitches and bugs in the system.

• Pretty hard to set up and needs solid servers to function well.

• Most features are on the Business and Enterprise plans.

• The pricing looks expensive compared to other platforms.

• The migration option is available on the Business plan, which costs $500/month.

• The layout of the platform is slightly outdated.

What to look for in Discourse alternatives?

Before I share the list of Discourse alternatives, it’s better to give you an idea of what to look for. Here are a few aspects that you should notice:

• Community with site creation.

• Email features to market your content or reach your audience.

• Analytics & reports to track your community or content progress.

• Customization with content and chat features.

• AI features with free credits.

• Customer support that is present all the time.

• Plugins or add-ons to connect with tools & features.

• Access to API and Webhooks.

• Migration options to switch to a new platform.

• Gamification and other useful features.

Quick summary of Discourse alternatives

1. Discord: Best for building group communities and hosting voice chats

2. EzyCourse: Best for building online learning communities

3. Mighty Networks: Best for building a Facebook-like community

4. EzyCommunity: Best for building a white-label community

5. Bettermode: Best for building a private community

6. Circle: Best for building a paid community

Comparison of Discourse alternatives

To help you get a brief idea of each Discourse alternative, here’s the comparison table:

Top 6 Discourse alternatives

In this section, I’ll show all the alternatives to the Discourse platform that you can try. Well, I have looked into Reddit, YouTube, and other discussions to select the right alternatives.

Here’s the list:

1. Discord

Discord is a Discourse free alternative that you can use for communication. Basically, users try it for building a community in a small group.

In terms of features, you’ll get all the basic community tools like chats, emojis, servers, and badges.

It also lets you host live chats in video and audio forms to communicate in bulk. Plus, you can do one-on-one live sessions with it.

Moreover, this platform gives options to make spaces inside a community to make separate channels inside one.

Top features of this platform

• 50 to 500 MB file uploads based on the plan.

• Custom profiles and 2 server boosts on the Nitro plan.

• Emoji with customization options.

• Unlimited super reactions.

• Unlimited spaces and live/voice chat.

What’s the pricing?

Discord pricing starts at $2.99 per month for the Nitro Basic plan. However, you’ll find the Nitro plan that costs $9.99 per month.

What I disliked about this platform?

• It sometimes counts jokes as an excuse to suspend the account or delete information.

• The client support is pretty bad compared to others.

2. EzyCourse

EzyCourse is an all-in-one platform that lets you build a community and manage memberships.

It also lets you get an AI builder to make courses and build 2 to 5 communities based on the plan. In fact, this platform gives unlimited facilities on its Unlimited plan.

Like, you can get members, private chat, motivation pop-ups, and coin systems with no limits.

Plus, it offers gamification and leaderboard benefits. Besides, this platform has all the community options like feed, courses, library, events, chat, members, leaderboard, and live.

Moreover, it has features to make images, videos, music, polls, forms, GIFs, and embeds. Overall, it is a great alternative to Discourse.

Top features of this platform

• 0% transaction fees.

• Free migration on the Pro plan.

• Unlimited communities on the Unlimited plan.

• 24/7 customer support to fix issues.

• 10K/month for email marketing.

What’s the pricing?

EzyCourse pricing starts at $79/month for the Essential plan. Besides, it has a free trial for 14 days for each plan.

What I disliked about this platform?

• No free plan available.

• Fewer features on the lower-tiered plans.

3. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is another Discourse alternative that lets you make a Facebook-like community.

Plus, it allows you to add posts, polls, questions, and events in the feed. You can also manage all aspects similar to the Discourse community platform.

Not to mention that it allows you to have real-time conversations with emojis, file attachments, and other chat facilities.

Besides, you can find an AI question generator to get some suggestions on queries.

On top of that, it has a livestream option to chat, react, add guests, and host streams in HD quality.

Top features of this platform

• Add private groups & Cohorts.

• Activity feeds, questions & polls, and pages in spaces.

• Upload photos, GIFs, & files + online & in-person events.

• Optional AI for writing assistance and conversation starters.

• 20 to 50 hours streaming per month based on plan.

What’s the pricing?

Mighty Networks pricing starts at $95 per month for the Launch plan. However, it has a 30-day free trial for each plan.

What I disliked about this platform?

• The branded mobile app is only on the Mighty Pro plan.

• 0.5% to 2% transaction fees included.

4. EzyCommunity

EzyCommunity is a community platform similar to Skool for building a group. Plus, it has unlimited members, courses, and published products.

Besides, you can store 30TB of storage, while you can get additional space ($15/TB per month).

It also lets you get gamification with group and private chat benefits. Plus, you’ll find 2 admin seats to collaborate with your team.

In fact, this platform has an email white-labeling option to do marketing. It also has no transaction fees and no hidden costs.

Besides, it has a free white-label app for Android and iOS devices. This platform also contains landing pages with libraries and resources.

Top features of this platform

• Custom domain + Landing pages.

• 24/7 priority support.

• Live streaming + group & private chat.

• Includes membership, library, and resources.

• Integrate with the Zoom app.

What’s the pricing?

EzyCommunity pricing starts at $3290 for a lifetime for the Elite plan. However, there are other plans coming soon.

What I disliked about this platform?

• Only the lifetime plan is available.

• Some features aren’t unlocked yet.

5. Bettermode

Bettermode is a good alternative to Discourse, as it provides basic tools for branded community use.

In general, this platform allows you to add 10k+ members with 5 collaborators to work with your team.

Besides, it offers a custom domain with community tools to manage your group. This platform also gives you basic analytics to monitor and measure your progress.

Not to mention that it has special community options like Q&As, discussions, events, and polls.

With that, you’ll find private messaging and chat features to interact with your audience. Overall, it is a gem of a platform for making a strong community.

Top features of this platform

• Integrate with Google Analytics, Slack, and Discord.

• Include dashboard and design studio.

• Get onboarding and migration support on the Growth plan.

• 5 to 20 collaborators based on the plans.

• Contains theme customization.

What’s the pricing?

Bettermode pricing starts at $499 per month for the Starter. However, it has a 14-day free trial for each plan.

What I disliked about this platform?

• The pricing is pretty high compared to others.

• Poor client support.

6. Circle

Circle is an awesome community platform that lets you get unlimited members and courses.

It also gives you all the community tools like live streaming, basic gamification, and a custom domain.

Plus, you can get a searchable member directory along with reporting and analytics to track your performance.

On top of that, it has live rooms, discussions, and events. And, you can add a weekly community digest to your community with the Professional plan.

Moreover, it lets you get a migration service too. Plus, you can turn the community into a passive income stream with paid memberships.

Top features of this platform

• Paid memberships + gamification.

• Site builder + custom branding.

• Free branded mobile app on the Circle Plus plan.

• Courses, discussions, and events.

• Live streams and live rooms.

What’s the pricing?

Circle pricing starts at $89 per month for the Professional plan. But then, it has a free 14-day trial.

What I disliked about this platform?

• Contains 0.5% to 2% transaction fees.

• No automations & AI features on the Professional plan.

Find your best Discourse alternatives

In the end, those are the 6 Discourse alternatives that I would suggest trying. Keep in mind that these aren’t similar types of community platforms.

Some platforms have all-in-one features, while others are only for interaction or communication aspects.

So, based on your needs, select one platform that suits your interests and goals.

Hope you find this guide helpful in learning about the alternatives out there to use instead of Discourse.

Start with a free trial of EzyCourse!