For visitors comparing useful options, Discourse provides open-source community forum software for brands, publishers, support teams, and online groups. Site owners can compare hosting, moderation tools, integrations, customization, and engagement features.
Discourse offers hosting plans as well as open-source self-hosting solution and free plans. It rarely provides promotional codes. However, if there is any special deal going on, it will probably appear on the official site of the company.
Yes, visitors of the site can use the self-hosting solution for free. Free hosted Discourse plan has some limitations but it is possible to set up and use it without paying extra fees on software licensing. In this case, the user will need to take care of the server himself, email service, maintenance, and regular backups.
From the technical perspective, it is possible to use open source software for free but the process may require some efforts. If a team prefers to avoid regular maintenance, then official plans could be the better choice, even if they are more expensive.
Practically, the company offers the free plan path for open-source projects along with Pro-level hosting at no cost if the project meets certain conditions. Note that the eligibility for free plan should be checked directly on the official free plans page.
Visitors of the site should keep in mind that Discourse offers hosted community plans. There are different tiers for communities of different sizes and plan prices, number of staff seats, plugins, and level of support can change. Therefore, the best option would be to compare the official pricing page.
Billing options may vary by plan and by the current settings on the checkout page. Business should compare monthly and annual billing terms if they are sure that the community will run for a longer period.
Officially, the platform can be used both for big communities and for small groups. However, the right plan depends on members number, staff, needs in private categories, plugins, analytics, and support. Small group may start with the free or starter plan and then move to bigger hosted plan.