bbPress vs Discourse (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Discourse grades higher than bbPress: 2.6 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Discourse grades higher on value for money, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Discourse
Open-source discussion forum software with hosted plans
Which one is for you
Pick bbPress if
- Fits if you already run WordPress and want a simple board on your own domain
- Works for people who prefer small open-source software to a hosted platform
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't run WordPress, as it works nowhere else
- Not for you if you want a hosted forum, because updates, backups and spam handling are yours
- Too light for member profiles or attachments out of the box, which need other plugins
- Watch out: hosting and any add-on plugins are costs the free price leaves out
Pick Discourse if
- Fits if you want a discussion forum where members ask and answer questions
- Works for small communities that can stay inside 2 staff seats and 10 categories
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you grow: the free plan stops at 2 staff seats and 10 categories
- Pricey if you need SSO or events, which start at $500 a month
- Skip it if you want to sell courses, because it has no course checkout
- Watch out: plans are sold by staff seat, not by member count
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAbbPressFair | 2.6GPADiscourseGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CThe plugin is $0, but it only runs on a WordPress site you host yourself, so the real cost is that hosting. Software you must host sits at a C. | BA free hosted plan exists, and Pro is $100 a month, above the $49 middle of courses and communities tools. SSO and events need Business at $500. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe whole plugin is free under the GPL with no caps. You still need your own WordPress hosting. | BThe free plan gives 2 staff seats, 10 categories, 5GB of storage and unlimited members, which a small forum can live on. |
| Features | CForums, topics, replies, RSS and Akismet are built in. The listing says it is deliberately minimal and extra features come from other plugins. | CTopic forum, trust levels, chat, AI and translation, plugins and an API. The listing's gap: SSO, workflows, events and gamification need Business, and there is no course checkout. |
| Ease of use | DIt needs a WordPress install, your own hosting, and you handle updates and backups. | CNo store rating on record. A hosted forum needs categories, settings and moderation set up before it feels like yours. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, inside WordPress. Akismet is the one named integration. | BWeb, iOS and Android apps, with plugins and an API. No desktop app. |
| Best for | a plain forum inside a WordPress site | a discussion forum, hosted or self-run |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: bbPress and Discourse. How we grade
Price against what you get
bbPress has no paid plan and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Discourse starts at $100 a month and scores 2.3.
Discourse scores higher, and starts $100 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other course and community platforms on the chart, none scores higher than bbPress for less, and 19 score higher than Discourse for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- bbPress also covers rSS reader.
- Discourse also covers team chat.
At a glance
| bbPress | Discourse | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $100 per month |
| Free plan | The whole plugin is free under the GPL; you pay only for your own WordPress hosting and any add-on plugins you choose. | Free hosting plan: 2 staff seats, 10 categories, 5GB of storage, 20k emails a month and 500k page views a month. |
| Free trial | None listed | Free trial on Pro and Business, no credit card required up front |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | bbPress project (WordPress community) | Discourse |
| Price read from | bbpress.org | discourse.org |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
bbPress
- It runs only inside WordPress, so you need a WordPress site and your own hosting.
- It is deliberately minimal: many features come from separate plugins you choose and maintain.
- It has no hosted version, so updates, backups and spam handling are up to you.
Discourse
- The free plan caps staff seats at 2 and categories at 10.
- SSO, workflows, events and gamification are on Business ($500 a month) and above.
- Plans are sold by staff seats, not by members; members are unlimited.
- It is a discussion forum, not a course platform, so it has no built-in course checkout.
Key features
bbPress
- Forums inside WordPress
- Runs on the same user accounts and admin area as the rest of a WordPress site, with a one-click install.
- Multisite forums
- Can divide a site into sections and let users create content in them.
- Spam protection
- Supports Akismet for filtering spam posts.
- RSS feeds
- Provides feeds for forums, topics and replies.
- Customizable templates
- Forum templates can be restyled and overridden in a WordPress theme.
- Plugin extensions
- Extra features such as profiles or attachments come from WordPress's plugin system rather than the core plugin.
Discourse
- Topic-based forum
- Organizes discussion into categories and tags with unlimited members on every hosted plan.
- Trust levels and badges
- Members earn abilities as they participate, and badges reward chosen behaviors.
- Built-in chat
- Adds channels for short-form conversation alongside long-form topics.
- AI and translation
- Uses daily AI credits and translates content into a plan-dependent number of languages: 2 on Free up to 10 on Enterprise.
- Plugins and API
- Official plugins plus an API that covers what the interface does; API and webhook access starts at Pro.
- Mobile apps
- Free iOS and Android apps with push notifications for hosted communities.
Plans
bbPress
bbPress$0
Free GPL plugin that you host yourself on your own WordPress site.
Discourse
Free$0
2 staff seats, 10 categories, 5GB storage, 20k monthly emails and 100k AI daily credits.
Pro$100
per month
5 staff seats, unlimited categories, 20GB storage, 100k monthly emails, API and webhook access, 15+ plugins.
Business$500
per month
15 staff seats, 100GB storage, SSO, workflows, events, gamification and priority support.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited staff seats, 99.9% uptime guarantee, custom migration and design services; sold through sales.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, bbPress or Discourse?
As of Nov 13, 2026, bbPress is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $100 a month for Discourse. bbPress is free, and Discourse starts at $100 per month.
Which has a free plan, bbPress or Discourse?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both bbPress and Discourse have a free plan.
Which platforms do bbPress and Discourse run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Discourse lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.