Discourse vs vBulletin

Discourse9.4Visit VvBulletin8.6Visit

Higher score Discourse #1 in Forum Software 9.4/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 1 of 2 features Visit Discourse

vs

V vBulletin #5 in Forum Software 8.6/10 Paid ✓ 1 of 2 features Visit vBulletin

• Discourse fits best

  Organizations building structured online communities

• vBulletin fits best

  Established forums needing subscriptions and groups

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Side by side

Feature	Discourse 9.4/10 Visit ↗	VvBulletin 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	8.6
Ranking	#1 in Forum Software	#5 in Forum Software
Best for	Organizations building structured online communities	Established forums needing subscriptions and groups
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	$100/mo	—
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	14 days	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted, Mobile	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web
Support	Email, Community, Docs	Tickets, Docs
Integrations	11 integrations	5 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Discourse 1/2 · vBulletin 1/2
Single sign-on	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Custom domain	✓	✓
Specs
Hosting model	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Member limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Mobile apps	Both	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Combines searchable discussions, chat, categories, and moderation tools Supports private categories, events, mobile apps, and API access Offers cloud hosting or deployment on your own servers	Supports threaded discussions, private groups, and member messaging Includes moderation workflows, warnings, and channel-level permissions Offers cloud hosting or a locally hosted license, plus an expanded API
Cons	The Free plan includes only 2 staff seats Custom domains and API access start with the $100/month Pro plan Events, automation, and advanced reporting require Business at $500/month	No free plan is offered Locally hosted license includes only one month of ticket support Cloud deployment depends on the vendor's hosted service
Our verdict	Discourse brings structured, searchable discussions and real-time chat together for organizations, companies, teams, and projects. Its categories, tags, moderation tools, authentication options, and mobile apps suit customer communities,… Read the review →	vBulletin is forum and community publishing software for organizations and site owners that need threaded discussions, member profiles, groups, permissions, moderation, private messaging, and paid subscriptions. It suits established… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Discourse — where it wins

  • Combines searchable discussions, chat, categories, and moderation tools
  • Supports private categories, events, mobile apps, and API access
  • Offers cloud hosting or deployment on your own servers

  Where it doesn't

  • The Free plan includes only 2 staff seats
  • Custom domains and API access start with the $100/month Pro plan
  • Events, automation, and advanced reporting require Business at $500/month

• vBulletin — where it wins

  • Supports threaded discussions, private groups, and member messaging
  • Includes moderation workflows, warnings, and channel-level permissions
  • Offers cloud hosting or a locally hosted license, plus an expanded API

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan is offered
  • Locally hosted license includes only one month of ticket support
  • Cloud deployment depends on the vendor's hosted service

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

  A full-featured forum with free access, managed hosting, and self-hosting options.

  Visit DiscourseFull verdict →
• VvBulletin8.6/10 · Paid

  A paid forum platform with groups, moderation, messaging, and subscription access.

  Visit vBulletinFull verdict →