100% FREE & OPEN SOURCE
We believe the software that powers online communities should be owned by those communities. Our commitment to open source is a commitment to the transparency, longevity, and integrity of the internet and the people who make it thrive.
Our open source commitment
Discourse has been open source since day one, and it will stay that way. We're not going to pull the rug, change the license, or lock features behind proprietary walls. The GPL v2 license guarantees this permanently.
What open source guarantees
Complete data ownership
Export everything. Your community data belongs to you, stored in PostgreSQL with full schema access. Migrate to different infrastructure, switch hosting providers, move to a competitor, or bring your data in-house at any time. No lock-in, no export fees, no artificial barriers.
Guaranteed by full code ownership. You can verify exactly how your data is stored and handled.
Never hit a vendor wall
You're never waiting on a vendor roadmap or locked into someone else's priorities. If you need something, build it yourself, hire anyone to build it, or propose it to the community. Add features, fix bugs, and make it your own.
Guaranteed by transparent code availability and GPL v2 licensing.
Audit-ready security
Every line of code is peer-reviewed and publicly auditable. Security researchers examine Discourse continuously. Vulnerabilities are documented in public release notes with clear remediation paths.
Guaranteed by twelve years of open source development and a proven security track record.
Build any integration
Connect Discourse to your existing tools and workflows through a fully documented REST API. A modern stack built on Ruby on Rails, Ember.js, and PostgreSQL follows established standards, so your team can extend functionality without learning proprietary systems. Hundreds of existing plugins demonstrate what's possible.
Guaranteed by accessible, standards-based code you can inspect and modify.
Built by a community,for communities
Discourse was created by developers Jeff Atwood, Robin Ward, and Sam Saffron, who believed the internet deserved better discussion software. That vision has grown through the contributions of thousands of developers, customers, and community members over more than a decade.
Every feature request and bug report at meta.discourse.org has made the platform what it is today.
The platform
Discourse combines long-form discussion with real-time chat. Customize your experience with official and community themes. Extend functionality with plugins, from AI-powered moderation to advanced analytics with the Data Explorer.
Requirements
Browser support
Latest stable releases
Get started
Contribute to Discourse
We encourage and support an active community that accepts contributions from the public. Before contributing, read our mission and the contributing guide, then sign the Contribution License Agreement.
Dev quickstart guides
Self-host
Complete control over your data and customization. Run Discourse on your own servers.
Official hosting
We handle servers, updates, security, and backups so you can focus on your community. Plans start at $20/month.
Free hosting for open source projects
We give back to the community that built us. Open source projects and qualifying creators can apply for free hosting.
Security
We take security seriously. All code is open source and peer reviewed. Read our security guide for an overview of security measures, or to report a vulnerability. Security fixes are documented in release notes for each version.
License
Copyright 2014 - 2026 Civilized Discourse Construction Kit, Inc.
Licensed under the GNU General Public License Version 2.0 (or later). You may not use this work except in compliance with the License.
Discourse logo and "Discourse Forum" are registered trademarks of Civilized Discourse Construction Kit, Inc.
Your infrastructure, your sovereignty
Organizations across Europe are building digital infrastructure they control. GDPR established the baseline, and Schrems II raised the bar for cross-border data transfers. National policies in Germany and France now require public sector systems to run on domestic infrastructure. The EU Data Act and NIS2 extend these principles further.
Discourse fits naturally into this landscape. Deploy on servers in Frankfurt, host with a local provider in Paris, operate entirely within your jurisdiction. Your compliance team can audit the complete codebase, and your IT partner can maintain it with full independence.
For organizations that want enterprise support behind a self-hosted deployment, we offer plans that include premium support, early security patches, and a staging environment in your region.
Frequently asked questions
Is Discourse really free?
Yes. GPL v2 license. Download, run, and modify it with no payment required.
How technical do I need to be to self-host?
You'll need familiarity with Linux server administration and Docker. Our install guide walks through the process. If that's more than you want to manage, our hosted plans handle everything.
Can I switch between self-hosted and hosted later?
Yes. Migrating from Discourse to Discourse using a backup is straightforward. If you're moving to our hosting, we handle the migration.
What support do self-hosters get?
Community support at meta.discourse.org. For organizations requiring guaranteed response times and dedicated support, our Enterprise plans include on-premise deployment options with full support coverage.