Circle vs Discourse
Circle and Discourse are both community platforms tools. Circle is aimed at creators and small businesses, while Discourse is aimed at developers and enterprise. Circle costs less, from $89/mo versus $100/mo for Discourse. Only Discourse has a free plan.
All-in-one community platform for creators and brands
Modern open-source forum software
| Pricing | Paid · $89 | Open source · $100 |
| Starting price | $89/mo | $100/mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Free trial | 14 days | — |
| Built for | Creators, Small businesses | Developers, Enterprise |
| Platforms | web, ios, android | web |
| Country | US · 2020 | US · 2013 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Circle if
Creators and companies who want a premium, branded community with courses and payments.
- Polished, flexible community experience
- Courses, events and payments in one
- Strong for creators and B2B communities alike
Look elsewhere if: Budget communities (Skool, Discord) or knowledge-heavy forums (Discourse).
Choose Discourse if
Companies and projects that want durable, searchable community knowledge.
- Searchable, SEO-friendly knowledge
- Open source and self-hostable
- Mature moderation
Look elsewhere if: Casual real-time chat communities (Discord).
Circle vs Discourse pricing
Circle
- Professional$89/moBilled annually; unlimited members, 3 admins, 2% transaction fee
- Business$199/moBilled annually; 5 admins, 1% transaction fee, workflows, API
- Scale$419/moBilled annually; 10 admins, 1% transaction fee, AI agents
- Circle PlusCustomBranded mobile apps, unlimited admins, 0.5% transaction fee
Discourse
- Self-hosted$0Open source (GPL), run on your own servers
- Free$0Hosted; 2 staff seats, 500k page views, 5 GB storage
- Pro$100/mo5 staff seats, 20 GB storage, 15+ plugins
- Business$500/mo15 staff seats, 100 GB storage, priority support
- EnterpriseCustomUnlimited staff, 1M+ page views, 99.9% uptime
Circle · Key features
- Spaces for posts, chat, events and courses
- Live streams and video rooms
- Paid memberships, tiers and gated spaces
- Workflows for automation and member journeys
- Branded mobile apps (Plus)
- AI agent, analytics and API
Cons
- Price plus transaction fees
- Branded app is a significant add-on
- Search and threading can be weaker than forums
Discourse · Key features
- Threaded discussions with categories and tags
- Trust levels and moderation tools
- Real-time chat channels
- Discourse AI: summaries, search, related topics
- SSO and API
- Plugins and themes
Cons
- Less real-time feel than Discord
- Self-hosting requires maintenance
- Hosted plans pricey at scale
Circle vs Discourse: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Circle or Discourse?
Circle starts at $89/mo and Discourse at $100/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Circle and Discourse have a free plan?
Circle has no free plan, a 14-day free trial. Discourse has a free plan.
Which is better for small businesses, Circle or Discourse?
Circle lists small businesses as a core audience, while Discourse is aimed more at developers and enterprise.