Pricing comparison
Circle vs Discourse
Side-by-side pricing breakdown for Community Platforms decision-makers
Each amount uses its recorded currency; no currency conversion is applied. Confirm billing units, commitments, and current regional terms.
Compare the plan that fits your requirements
Check billing units, included usage and renewal terms. Starting prices alone do not establish an overall winner.
Dataset dated 2026-04-21. Sources: Circle pricing and Discourse pricing.
Affiliate links may earn us a commission. Both vendors remain available for comparison.
Recorded starting rates: Circle $89/mo; Discourse $20/mo. Billing units and commitments can differ. Compare the plans that include your required features, then request quotes for the same quantity and term.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| unlimited members | All plans | All plans including Free |
| courses | All plans | Not recorded |
| discussions | All plans | Not recorded |
| events | All plans | Not recorded |
| live streams | All plans | Not recorded |
| custom branding | All plans | Not recorded |
| workflows | Business+ unlimited | Not recorded |
| headless member api | Business+ | Not recorded |
| admin api | Business+ | Not recorded |
| automated transcriptions | Business+ | Not recorded |
| remove circle branding | Business+ | Not recorded |
| ai agents | Plus only | Not recorded |
| custom sso | Plus only | Not recorded |
| advanced analytics | Plus only | Business+ |
| branded mobile apps | Plus optional | Not recorded |
| 30 day money back | All plans | Not recorded |
| 14 day free trial | All plans | Not recorded |
| forum discussions | Not recorded | All plans - threaded discussions with voting + badges |
| chat | Not recorded | All plans - real-time chat channels |
| categories tags | Not recorded | Starter+ unlimited |
| custom themes | Not recorded | Pro+ |
| api access | Not recorded | Pro+ |
| plugins | Not recorded | 0 Free / 15+ Pro / 20+ Business / 50+ Enterprise |
| monthly page views | Not recorded | 500k Free / 1M+ Business / Enterprise custom |
| ai daily credits | Not recorded | 0 Free/Starter / 500k Pro / 1M Business / 3M Enterprise |
| priority support | Not recorded | Business+ |
| uptime sla | Not recorded | Enterprise only - 99.9% |
| expert services | Not recorded | Enterprise only - design + development |
| self hosted open source | Not recorded | Self-hosted option; confirm licensing, extensions and operational requirements |
| free trials no cc | Not recorded | All plans |
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Dive Deeper
About the community platforms category
Community tools differ in purpose as well as price. Circle, Mighty Networks, Skool and Heartbeat combine member spaces with courses or events. Discourse centers on forums and offers both hosted and self-hosted deployment.
How to choose between community platforms options
Compare members, staff roles, storage, streaming hours and concurrent viewers. For paid memberships, add platform and payment fees using your actual transaction mix. Check whether a branded mobile app is included, optional or separately quoted.
Building Your Business Stack?
Decision-makers comparing tools often need more than one category. Here are related comparisons:
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do Circle and Discourse prices compare?
- Circle: $89/mo. Discourse: $20/mo. These are recorded starting prices; compare billing units, included usage and contract terms before treating them as equivalent costs.
- Which is better for my requirements, Circle or Discourse?
- Compare the recorded features and plan limits against your requirements, then confirm them with each vendor. This page does not establish hands-on testing or an overall winner.
- What happens after the first billing term?
- Use any recorded renewal rate as a dated observation. When a future rate is missing, ask the vendor; do not assume the starting price remains unchanged.