Discourse vs UNA

Discourse9.4Visit UNA9.0Visit

Higher score Discourse #1 in Community Platforms 9.4/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Discourse

vs

UNA #3 in Community Platforms 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 4 features Visit UNA

• Discourse fits best

  Established communities needing deep discussion tools

• UNA fits best

  Highly customizable self-hosted communities

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Side by side

Feature	Discourse 9.4/10 Visit ↗	UNA 9.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	9.0
Ranking	#1 in Community Platforms	#3 in Community Platforms
Best for	Established communities needing deep discussion tools	Highly customizable self-hosted communities
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	$100/mo	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	14 days	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted, Mobile	Cloud, Self-hosted, Mobile
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web, iOS, Android
Support	Email, Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Integrations	11 integrations	6 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Discourse 4/4 · UNA 3/4
Event hosting	✓	✓
Private spaces	✓	✓
Custom domain	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Moderation tools	✓	✓
Specs
Member limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Mobile apps	Both	Both
Our review
Pros	Threaded discussions, chat, messaging, and searchable topics Detailed moderation with flagging, review queues, and trust levels Hosted or self-hosted deployment with APIs and mobile apps	MIT-licensed self-hosting with no member or content limit Configurable apps, permissions, spaces, events, and moderation Web, native mobile, REST API, messaging, video calls, and AI agents
Cons	Free plan includes only 2 staff seats Events and advanced analytics start on the Business plan Enterprise features use custom pricing	Pro Apps require a paid plan Self-hosted deployment requires your own infrastructure The broad feature set may demand more configuration than focused tools
Our verdict	Discourse is an open-source community platform for technology companies, organizations, developer communities, support teams, and other groups. It brings together searchable, long-form discussions, real-time chat, private messaging, member… Read the review →	UNA is an open-source, self-hosted platform for building online communities, social networks, collaboration hubs, educational portals, and organizational platforms. It combines web and native mobile clients with configurable apps for… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Discourse — where it wins

  • Threaded discussions, chat, messaging, and searchable topics
  • Detailed moderation with flagging, review queues, and trust levels
  • Hosted or self-hosted deployment with APIs and mobile apps

  Where it doesn't

  • Free plan includes only 2 staff seats
  • Events and advanced analytics start on the Business plan
  • Enterprise features use custom pricing

• UNA — where it wins

  • MIT-licensed self-hosting with no member or content limit
  • Configurable apps, permissions, spaces, events, and moderation
  • Web, native mobile, REST API, messaging, video calls, and AI agents

  Where it doesn't

  • Pro Apps require a paid plan
  • Self-hosted deployment requires your own infrastructure
  • The broad feature set may demand more configuration than focused tools

• Discourse9.4/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

  A mature choice for communities that need discussion, chat, moderation, and private spaces.

  Visit DiscourseFull verdict →
• UNA9.0/10 · Free plan

  A flexible community stack for organizations that want control over hosting, features, and mobile apps.

  Visit UNAFull verdict →