Discourse vs Mighty Networks (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Discourse grades higher than Mighty Networks: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Discourse grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Mighty Networks grades higher on features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
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
Mighty Networks
Community platform with courses, livestreams and paid memberships
Which one is for you
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
Pick Mighty Networks if
- Fits if your members mostly show up on their phones
- Works for hosts who livestream inside the community, with 20 hours a month on Launch
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to see a monthly price up front, as the page shows only yearly ones
- Tight if you rely on Zapier or Kit, which need Scale at $179 a month billed yearly
- Skip it if you want your own branded app, which is only in custom-priced Mighty Pro
- Watch out: Mighty takes 2% of each sale on Launch and 1% on Scale
- Watch out: the trial runs on Growth, so you try features Launch doesn't have
How we grade them
| 2.6GPADiscourseGood | 2.4GPAMighty NetworksFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CGraded against its alternatives, community platforms. Launch is $79 a month billed yearly ($950 a year) plus Mighty's 2%, $40 on $2,000 of sales: $119 a month. Cheaper than Circle ($129) and Heartbeat ($140), dearer than Skool Pro ($82.50). |
| Free plan and trial | BThe free plan gives 2 staff seats, 10 categories, 5GB of storage and unlimited members, which a small forum can live on. | CNo free plan. The 14-day trial runs on the Growth plan with no card needed, so you try features Launch doesn't have. |
| Features | 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. | BSpaces, feeds and chat, cohort and self-paced courses with quizzes, certificates and SCORM, native livestreams, member matching, gamification and payments in hundreds of currencies. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. A hosted forum needs categories, settings and moderation set up before it feels like yours. | CNo App Store rating on record. The AI Cohost drafts a landing page, branding and a starter template, but there's still a community to shape before members arrive. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iOS and Android apps, with plugins and an API. No desktop app. | BWeb, iPhone and Android. Zapier, Kit, Google Analytics, MCP and the API (5,000 requests a month) start on Scale. No desktop app, which an A needs. |
| Best for | a discussion forum, hosted or self-run | memberships with livestreams and cohort courses |
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: Discourse and Mighty Networks. How we grade
Price against what you get
Discourse starts at $100 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Mighty Networks starts at $79 a month and scores 2.7.
Mighty Networks scores higher and starts $21 a month lower. Of the other course and community platforms on the chart, 12 score higher than Discourse for less, and 2 score higher than Mighty Networks 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
- Discourse is open source, according to its own site.
- Discourse also covers team chat.
- Mighty Networks also covers workflow automation and online courses.
At a glance
| Discourse | Mighty Networks | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $100 per month | $79 per month, billed annually ($950 a year) |
| Free plan | Free hosting plan: 2 staff seats, 10 categories, 5GB of storage, 20k emails a month and 500k page views a month. | None |
| Free trial | Free trial on Pro and Business, no credit card required up front | 14-day free trial on the Growth plan, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Discourse | Mighty Networks |
| Price read from | discourse.org | mightynetworks.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Mighty Networks
- Mighty takes 2% of each sale on Launch, 1% on Scale and 0.5% on Growth and Mighty Pro.
- The pricing page gives annual-billing prices and says annual billing gives 2 months free; monthly-billing figures are not shown.
- Zapier, Kit, Google Analytics, affiliate integrations and API access need Scale or higher.
- Apps under your own brand are only in Mighty Pro, which is priced through sales.
Key features
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.
Mighty Networks
- Spaces, feeds and chat
- Private groups and cohorts, activity feeds, questions and polls, chat spaces with threads, and online or in-person events.
- Courses
- On-demand, cohort-based and live courses and challenges, with quizzes, drip schedules, badges and certificates, and SCORM content.
- Livestreams
- Native livestreaming: 20 hours a month and 100 viewers per stream on Launch, up to 50 hours and 3,000 viewers on Mighty Pro.
- Member profiles and gamification
- A People Explorer that matches members, private messages and voice notes, a referral program, streaks, points and leaderboards.
- Payments
- Subscriptions, one-time prices, installments, tiers, free trials and promo codes, charged in hundreds of currencies.
- AI Cohost
- Starts each network from one question, drafting marketing copy, a landing page, a logo, brand imagery and a community template.
Plans
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.
Mighty Networks
Launch$79
per month, billed annually ($950 a year)
Unlimited members and spaces, courses, events, 3 hosts, 10 moderators, 20 streaming hours a month. Mighty takes a 2% transaction fee.
Scale$179
per month, billed annually ($2,150 a year)
Adds Zapier, Kit and Google Analytics, 5,000 API requests a month and MCP, more automations, 5 hosts. 1% transaction fee.
Growth$354
per month, billed annually ($4,250 a year)
Advanced automations, SSO, email white-labeling, growth expert sessions, priority support, migration help, 10 hosts. 0.5% fee.
Mighty ProCustom
Your own branded iOS and Android apps, full community management services, advanced data reports and custom storage. 0.5% fee.
Ways to pay less
Discourse
No public discounts listed.
Mighty Networks
- Annual discount
2 months free with annual billing
Mighty Networks' pricing page says annual billing gives 2 months free: Launch is $950 a year, Scale $2,150 and Growth $4,250.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Discourse or Mighty Networks?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Mighty Networks is cheaper to start with: $79 a month, against $100 a month for Discourse. Discourse starts at $100 per month, and Mighty Networks starts at $79 per month, billed annually ($950 a year).
Which has a free plan, Discourse or Mighty Networks?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Discourse has a free plan. Mighty Networks does not, though it has a free trial.
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.