Discourse
Open-source forum software running the community and support hubs of thousands of products.
why this verdict
Keep paying — OpenAI has not replaced it
OpenAI's version overlaps, but does not finish the marketing job, so this one still earns its $20/mo.
- A named launch, not a vibe named, unlinked
- AI assistants answering support questions that used to drive people into community forums. OpenAI, July 2, 2025 — no announcement link recorded yet.
- How much of the job it covers not the job editorial call
- Parts of it. The job still needs the tool to get finished.
- Is there a free way to do it? yes
- 1 of 3 listed replacements have a usable free tier: Bettermode.
- What the call is worth $240/yr
- $20/mo at the entry paid tier — $240 a year per seat.
- Threatened by
- OpenAI
- Since
- July 2, 2025
- List price
- $20/mo
- Per year
- $240
The backstory
Discourse is the default modern forum platform, self-hostable and used for product communities, support and public discussion. Chat assistants absorb some of the simple questions that used to become threads. What they cannot replace is a public archive of real users arguing, sharing workarounds and building reputation with each other. That accumulated human content is also what AI models end up citing.
Escape hatches
Hosted community platform with courses and events
circle.so open_in_newCustomisable community layer for product teams
bettermode.com open_in_newSimple paid community with built-in gamification
skool.com open_in_new1 of 3 replacements have a usable free tier.