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Discourse vs Flarum: catalog facts
DiscourseFlarum
Freemium

Self-hosting is free; hosted plans are paid and start with a free trial.

Free

Free and open source under the MIT licence.

Android, iOS, Web, Self-hosted Self-hosted
  • Can be self-hosted from the public source code
  • Covers forums, voting on ideas and team chat in one place
  • Large ecosystem of community extensions
  • Group permissions and built-in moderation
  • Self-hosting needs a server and ongoing maintenance
  • Hosted plans are paid after the trial
  • Needs a PHP server to host
  • Version 2.0 is still a release candidate
Downloadable app, Self-hosted, Hosted service Self-hosted
Open source Open source
License not stated License: MIT
Not stated if an account is needed No account needed
Needs internet Needs internet

Checked October 1, 2026

Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.