Discourse vs Discord
Comparison of Discourse and Discord community platforms, and how they fit different communities.
Alena Esakova
- Tools
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.