Hivebrite vs Discourse Pricing (2026)
Compare / Hivebrite vs Discourse
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Team size
25 seats

Hivebrite vs Discourse

Community Platforms pricing comparison · 2026

Hivebrite costs $8,000/yr, while Discourse has a free plan, then $100–$500/mo. These products use different pricing models ( vs Per-seat subscription), so a direct price comparison isn't meaningful — costs depend on usage volume and mix.

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See pricing on each vendor's site
Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Hivebrite pricing
Discount programs →
Visit Discourse pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Compare
2 products · Community Platforms
Side-by-side · live
Hivebrite
Hivebrite's Focus plan costs $8,000/year, billed annually.
verified 10w ago
View pricing →
Discourse
Discourse is an open-source discussion platform built for communities that value civil con
verified 11d ago
View pricing →
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Custom pricing
Custom
all tiers are quote-only
Business
$6.0K/yr
year 1 license · flat plan price
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
No Vendr data
—
Not in Vendr's deal flow
Median annual
$400/yr
Vendr · n=86
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 12 sourced facts
10 hidden-cost · 1 contract · 1 review platform
Last verified 2mo ago
Confidence Medium confidence
Sources 6 sourced facts
2 hidden-cost · 1 contract · Vendr median · 2 review platforms
Last verified 1w ago
Confidence Medium confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
5 documented
  • Implementation and Onboarding Services
    $5,000 to $25,000
    1 source
  • Transaction Fees
    1 source
  • Add-ons and Upselling
    1 source
  • Hosting Costs
    $300-$800/month
    1 source
  • Ongoing Technical Maintenance
    $500-$1,500/month
    1 source
2 documented
  • Self-Hosting Infrastructure Costs
    $50-$200/month
    1 source
  • Custom Development for Missing Features
    10-20% of license costs
    1 source
REF · 04

Contract terms

The fine print, surfaced. Green = buyer-friendly. Each clause backed by a quoted source.

Hivebrite
Discourse
Auto-renewal
Yes
Yes
Cancellation
ninety (90) days before the end of the relevant subscription term
—
Commitment
annual billing for its Core and Flex plans; annual commitments for Enterprise contracts
—
Price escalation
6% per annum
—
Can downgrade
—
—
Based on 2 verified sources (Vendr · TrustRadius · BBB)
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
TrustRadius
7.5out of 5 (2)
Best for
Enterprises, universities, and associations with complex multi-community or custom development needs
TrustRadius
9out of 5 (3)
Trustpilot
1out of 5 (2)
Best for
Organizations exploring how a Discourse community could work for them
Watch out
Hard to setup for self-hosting
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Hivebrite pricing
Discount programs →
Visit Discourse pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
Community Platforms

Hivebrite

$8,000
/yr
2 plans
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
Community Platforms

Discourse

Free plan; paid $100–$500
/mo
4 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →
⚖

Different Pricing Models

Direct price comparison isn't meaningful here — Hivebrite uses pricing while Discourse uses Per-seat subscription pricing. Your actual cost will depend on usage volume, team size, or both. Here's each product in its native unit.

Hivebrite

$8,000/yr
See full Hivebrite pricing →
vs
Per-seat subscription

Discourse

Free plan; paid $100–$500/mo
See full Discourse pricing →

Hivebrite and Discourse both operate in the community platforms category. This page compares their list pricing.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan Hivebrite Discourse
Focus Custom Free /month
Custom Fit Custom $100 /month
Business — $500 /month
Enterprise — Custom

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

Hivebrite 10 hidden costs

medium
Implementation and Onboarding Services $5,000 to $25,000
medium
Transaction Fees
high
Add-ons and Upselling
high
Hosting Costs $300-$800/month
medium
Ongoing Technical Maintenance $500-$1,500/month
See all Hivebrite hidden costs →

Discourse 2 hidden costs

medium
Self-Hosting Infrastructure Costs $50-$200/month (source dated Apr 2020)
low
Custom Development for Missing Features 10-20% of license costs
See all Discourse hidden costs →

Contract Terms

Term Hivebrite Discourse
Auto-renewal Yes Yes
Cancellation ninety (90) days before the end of the relevant subscription term —
Minimum commitment annual billing for its Core and Flex plans; annual commitments for Enterprise contracts —
Price escalation 6% per annum —

Continue researching

Hivebrite

Discourse

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