The Best Discourse AlternativesTop Forum Software and other similar apps like Discourse

Discourse is described as 'Open source discussion platform built for the next decade of the Internet. A modern forum, everything's been redesigned to be easy' and is a very popular Forum Software in the social & communications category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Discourse for a variety of platforms, including Web-based, Self-Hosted, SaaS, Linux and Windows apps. The best Discourse alternative is Flarum, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Discourse are phpBB, NodeBB, Vanilla Forum and XenForo.

More about Discourse
Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard
Discourse alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. Flarum icon

    Flarum

     82 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Flarum is free, open-source forum software with a focus on simplicity. You can use Flarum to easily set up a discussion forum for your website. Flarum is developed openly on GitHub.

    53 Flarum alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Apache HTTP Server
    • PHP
    Flarum screenshot 1
     
    |
    2
    49
    Comments about Flarum as an Alternative to Discourse
    yaoqb
    Positive
    2

    Its fast lite-weight and easy, works with php and mariadb/mysql

    Guest
    Positive
    5

    Works on more shared-hosting environments, and is more cleanly designed / easy to set up.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Discourse Icon
    Flarum icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Flarum is a great Discourse alternative.

    • Flarum is the most popular Self-Hosted alternative to Discourse.

    • Flarum is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Discourse.

    • Flarum is Free and Open SourceDiscourse is Free Personal and Open Source
    • Flarum is LightweightDiscourse is not according to our users
  2. phpBB icon

    phpBB

     90 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Since its creation in 2000, phpBB™ has become the most widely used Open Source forum solution. Like its predecessors, phpBB™ 3.2 “Rhea” has an easy to use administration panel and a user friendly installation process, which allows you to have a forum set up in minutes.

    53 phpBB alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    • PHP
    37 languages
     
    |
    11

    • Some users think phpBB is a great Discourse alternative, some don't.

    • phpBB is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Discourse.

    • phpBB is Free and Open SourceDiscourse is Free Personal and Open Source
  4. NodeBB icon

    NodeBB

     19 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    A community forum allows you to engage and retain customers, keeping them interested and up-to-date with your latest product or service.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Sandstorm
    • MongoDB
    • Redis
    • Cloudron
    • Node.JS
    NodeBB screenshot 1
     
    |
    7

    • Almost everyone thinks NodeBB is a great Discourse alternative.

    • NodeBB is the most popular Web-based alternative to Discourse.

    • NodeBB is Freemium and Open SourceDiscourse is Free Personal and Open Source
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    PlushForums icon
    PlushForums

    Plush is the most polished, user-friendly forum experience ever, featuring real-time discussions, beautiful design, an integrated blog, member directory, private messaging, paid subscriptions and a world-class mobi...

    https://plushforums.com
    Learn More
  6. Vanilla Forum icon

    Vanilla Forum

     22 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Vanilla provides a standards-compliant, multi-lingual, theme-able and pluggablecommunity forum software that powers discussion forums on 800,000 sites.

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    Vanilla Forum screenshot 1
    Vanilla Forum screenshot 2
     
    |
    1
    Comments about Vanilla Forum as an Alternative to Discourse
    Guest
    Negative
    2

    Vanilla only supports open-source for Developers, they discourage use for non-profit or hobbyist purposes over a paid solution.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Discourse Icon
    Vanilla Forum icon
    • Vanilla Forum is Free Personal and Open SourceDiscourse is also Free Personal and Open Source
  7. XenForo icon

    XenForo

     21 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    A compelling community experience. Intuitive. Social. Engaging. Fast. XenForo brings a fresh outlook to forum software.

    44 XenForo alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • MySQL Community Edition
    • Self-Hosted
    • MariaDB
    • PHP
    Overview
     

    • XenForo is the most popular commercial alternative to Discourse.

    • XenForo is Paid and ProprietaryDiscourse is Free Personal and Open Source
  8. Simple Machines Forum icon

    Simple Machines Forum

     36 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Simple Machines Forum — SMF in short — is a free, professional grade software package that allows you to set up your own online community within minutes.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    Simple Machines Forum screenshot 1
     
  11. MyBB icon

    MyBB

     35 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    MyBB is the free and open source, intuitive, extensible, and incredibly powerful forum software you've been looking for.

    47 MyBB alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    MyBB screenshot 1
     
  12. bbPress icon

    bbPress

     21 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    bbPress is forum software with a twist from the creators of WordPress. Its focused on web standards, ease of use, ease of integration, and speed. bbPress will try to keep things as small and light as possible while still allowing great add-on feature possibilities.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    bbPress screenshot 1
     
  13. WoltLab Suite icon

    WoltLab Suite

     9 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    WoltLab Suite (formerly Burning Board) is an enterprise grade CMS built for communities and forums.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • MySQL Community Edition
    • Self-Hosted
    • PHP
    WoltLab Suite screenshot 1
     
  14. vBulletin icon

    vBulletin

     20 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    vBulletin (abbreviated as vB) is a commercial Internet forum software written in PHP using a MySQL database server.

    45 vBulletin alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • PHP
    Home Screen
     

    • vBulletin is the most popular Android & iPhone alternative to Discourse.

    • vBulletin is Paid and ProprietaryDiscourse is Free Personal and Open Source
  15. Open Social icon

    Open Social

     5 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Open Social is a purpose-built community engagement platform. Developed on top of a powerful open-source Drupal technology framework, Open Social allows organizations to create a central online hub for their members.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    Open Social screenshot 1
     

    • Open Social is the most popular SaaS alternative to Discourse.

    • Open Social is Free and Open SourceDiscourse is Free Personal and Open Source
    • Open Social is Privacy focusedDiscourse is not according to our users
12 of 69 Discourse alternatives