Discourse vs Discord

Introduction

When you're looking to build an online community, you want to pick the best spot for everyone to get together. There are lots of community platforms where people can meet up, but in this article let’s talk about Discourse and Discord. At first, they might seem pretty similar since they both let folks talk to each other and have ways to keep the conversation friendly and fun. But when you take a closer look, you'll see they're actually quite different.

Discourse is like a town hall or a library where conversations are organized and you can always find what you're looking for later on. It's great for groups that want to have detailed talks and keep track of all their ideas and questions. On the other hand, Discord is like a coffee shop or a party where everyone chats at the moment. It's awesome for friends who want to hang out, play games together, or just share a quick word.

In this article, we delve into the intricacies of Discourse and Discord, comparing their features, usability, and suitability for different community dynamics. From the gamer seeking a virtual hangout to the professional association aiming to document in-depth discussions, we explore why and how each platform might be the right—or wrong—fit for your specific community needs.

Which types of communities are a better fit?

Comparing Discourse and Discord as community platforms can be quite interesting, as they cater to slightly different types of communities and use cases.

Discord is better suited for communities that require real-time communication and are focused on social interaction, gaming, live events, and any group that benefits from instant messaging, voice, and video chat features. It's ideal for:

• Gaming communities where players want to chat, share tips, and coordinate in real-time.
• Online groups that organize live events, such as webinars, workshops, or virtual meetups.
• Social clubs or informal groups looking for a casual space to connect and share multimedia content.
• Study groups or teams that need a collaborative space for quick communication and file sharing.
• Fan clubs where members engage in lively discussions about their shared interests.

Discourse, on the other hand, is more appropriate for communities that require structured discussions, knowledge sharing, and content that remains accessible and searchable over time. It's particularly well-suited for:

• Professional associations or industry groups that engage in detailed discussions and resource sharing.
• Customer support forums where users can search for previously answered questions and solutions.
• Interest-based forums that value in-depth discussion and the development of a knowledge base.
• Educational platforms where students and instructors need a space for organized discussion and course material.
• Non-profit or advocacy groups that aim to foster long-term engagement and maintain a repository of important discussions and documents.

Feature comparison

Let’s deep into a comparison based on the different criteria.

	Discourse	Discord
User Experience (UX) & Design	Highly customizable interface, designed for forum-style discussions and is web-based with a strong mobile web version	Modern interface that is primarily app-based, designed for real-time chat, voice, and video communications
Features & Functionality	A robust set of features for discussion forums, including topics, replies, categories, tags, multimedia integration, and built-in moderation tools.	Focuses on real-time communication with text, voice, and video chat. It includes features like channels, direct messaging, and the ability to share multimedia.
Events	It is not the platform of choice for hosting the live event itself but works well for coordination and follow-up.	Ideal for communities that want to host live audio or video events directly within the platform.
Engagement & Gamification	Badges, trust levels, and likes	Roles and permissions that can be used to reward active members
Scalability	Scale well with proper hosting and is suitable for both small and large communities	Highly scalable and can support large numbers of users simultaneously without any issue
Customization and Extensibility	Highly customizable with themes, plugins, and a robust API for further extension	Some customization through bots and integrations, but it's more limited in terms of changing the core user interface.
Data Ownership & Portability	An open-source platform, it provides full data ownership and the ability to export your data.	Data portability is more limited, and while you own your data, extracting it fully is not as straightforward.
Security & Compliance	Comprehensive security features and complies with standard regulations	Robust security measures but has faced scrutiny over privacy and data handling. Complies with standard regulations.
Support & Community	✓	✓
Pricing & Cost	Offers both self-hosted (free, if you manage your own hosting) and hosted plans with different pricing tiers (from $50 / mo).	Free for the basic version, with a paid Nitro subscription (from $3 / per user / mo) that offers additional features like higher quality voice chat and larger upload limits.
Analytics & Reporting	Built-in analytics for tracking engagement and can be integrated with other analytics platforms	Some analytics for community managers, particularly around user presence and engagement
SEO & Content Discovery	Strong SEO capabilities as content is text-based and web-accessible	Limited SEO potential as the content is not typically indexed by search engines due to its real-time nature
Monetization options	Can be monetized indirectly through sponsorships, advertisements, or premium memberships managed by the community owner	Offers some monetization through Nitro subscriptions and could potentially be monetized with sponsored channels or partnerships.
Content Management	Powerful content management tools and a structured approach to discussions.	Less focused on content management and more on real-time communication; however, it does have pinned messages and can have bots to help manage content.

Conclusion

In essence, Discord excels in dynamic, fast-paced communication environments, while Discourse is tailored for more deliberate, long-form communication and content organization. Your choice should be guided by the communication style and engagement needs of your community.