Choose Discourse if...
You want your readers' conversations on a platform you control: comments under your articles today, a full community on your own domain whenever you want one, transparent pricing, and no third party running ads against your audience.
Choose OpenWeb if...
You want a hosted comment layer built around advertising, you're comfortable with a vendor running ads and building audience products from your readers' conversations, and the platform meets your needs as-is.
Bottom line
OpenWeb runs an engagement and advertising business that publishers embed on their sites. Discourse is a platform you control. Whether you self-host or use our managed hosting, you own your data, you own the relationship with your readers, and you decide whether to run ads at all.
TL;DR Comparison Table
| Your Priority |
Choose Discourse if…
|
Choose OpenWeb if…
|
|---|---|---|
| Business Model | You want to pay a transparent price and keep your audience and ad decisions in-house. | An ad-funded model fits your revenue strategy. |
| Platform Stability | You need a platform with a 10+ year track record and open-source continuity. | The vendor's current direction aligns with your roadmap. |
| Pricing | You want transparent pricing that scales with your actual needs. | The commercial terms OpenWeb offers work for you. Ask OpenWeb for details. |
| Data Ownership | You require full control of your community's data, including comments, reader accounts, and first-party data, with on-demand backups. | OpenWeb's data terms work for your organization. Ask how your reader data feeds its advertiser audience products, and about export. |
| SEO & Discoverability | You want to decide which discussions search engines index (all, some, or none) on a domain you control, and keep them in your own backups if you ever change providers. | OpenWeb's forums meet your indexing needs. Ask whether article comments are indexed too, and what happens to those pages if you leave. |
| Beyond Comments | You want to start with comments alone and switch on forums and chat later, on one platform with one login. | Article comments and engagement widgets cover your needs. |
| Global Readers | You want every comment translated into your readers' languages, so readers from any country can join the same conversation. | Your readers comment in one language. Ask OpenWeb whether it translates comments between languages. |
| Customization | You need full control over how your community looks and behaves, with hundreds of settings to switch each feature on or off. | The available customization options meet your needs. |
| Moderation | You want built-in moderation on every plan, plus AI spam detection that hides spam before your readers see it. | OpenWeb's moderation tools fit your workflow. |
We built Discourse so publishers can keep their readers' conversations for the long term. We maintain it as open source, and you keep every comment, account, and thread in a database you control. Your readers build a permanent, searchable archive on your site, and you keep it whatever happens to any vendor relationship.
When you evaluate a commenting or community vendor, ask how the vendor makes money, who owns the audience data, and what happens to your comment history if you leave or the vendor changes direction. Those answers matter more than a feature checklist.
The Key Difference
Discourse is a community platform you own. Whether you self-host or use our managed hosting, you own your data, the code is open source, and no vendor's ad business decides your community's future.
OpenWeb is a hosted engagement and advertising platform: you embed its comment layer on your pages, and OpenWeb earns revenue from the ads and audience products that run alongside the conversation.
AI Features, Built for Comments
AI Spam Detection
Spammers target your biggest stories - and they usually beat your human moderators to the punch.
Stop spam before your readers ever see it. We use advanced LLMs to scan every comment and instantly hide the junk. The best part: you define what counts as spam in plain English. A food blog can automatically block sketchy supplement pitches, while a politics desk can let heated debates flow without interference.
Your moderators stay in control. They can review hidden posts in a centralized queue, check the AI's reasoning, and instantly restore any false positives. It's plug-and-play on our managed hosting, or you can connect your preferred model if you self-host.
Free your team to handle the nuance. Give your readers a pristine comment section.
AI Translation
Your stories reach a global audience, but language barriers keep your community divided.
We've integrated state-of-the-art AI translation to break down those barriers. Readers simply select their preferred language to translate the entire conversation instantly, then reply in their own words. Now, a reader in São Paulo and a reader in Berlin can debate the same story seamlessly, each reading and writing in the language they know best.
You retain full control: choose which languages and categories to translate, and even apply it retroactively to older threads.
Publish one article, and let the whole world join in.
Core Philosophies
|
Discourse's Approach
|
OpenWeb's Approach
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Platform Model | Owner-operated platform (self-hosted or managed hosting). | Hosted vendor platform embedded on your site. |
| Business Model | Software and hosting fees. We don't sell ads. | Advertising and audience products for advertisers. |
| Primary Goal | Organized, searchable, lasting discussion. | Reader engagement, registrations, and ad revenue on publisher pages. |
| Development Pace | Regular releases and on-demand fixes throughout the year. | Check with OpenWeb for their current release schedule. |
| Value Creation | You build a community asset you own. | OpenWeb builds advertising products on your readers' conversations. |
Feature-by-Feature Breakdown
| Feature |
Discourse
|
OpenWeb
|
|---|---|---|
| Data Ownership | You own 100% of your data. We never charge for data access, ever. | Hosted by OpenWeb, which also builds advertiser audience segments from reader activity across its publisher network. Ask how your readers' data is used. |
| Advertising | We don't run ads on your community, and we process your members' data only on your instructions. If you want ads, you run them yourself and keep the revenue. | OpenWeb runs in-conversation ads and sells audience products to advertisers. Ask how revenue and audience data are shared. |
| Hosting | Self-host or use our managed hosting; data ownership is the same either way. Self-hosting includes every feature; managed plans include features by tier. | OpenWeb infrastructure. |
| Open Source | 100% open source (GNU GPL v2.0 License). | Proprietary. |
| Data Export | Pull a full backup at any time. For exports that include all attachments and uploads, just ask. We enable it within minutes and never say no. | Check with OpenWeb about export options and timelines. |
| Feature |
Discourse
|
OpenWeb
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Comments | Embed Discourse discussions as comments under any article. Discourse creates a topic for each article automatically. | Core product. |
| Translation | AI translation of every post into the languages you choose, with a language switcher for readers and manual editing for your team. | Ask OpenWeb whether it translates comments between languages. |
| Forums | Discourse has had a full community forum since 2013, with categories, subcategories, and tags. | Forum pages available. |
| Reactions & Polls | Built-in reactions and polls. | Reactions available. |
| Real-Time Conversation | Integrated chat channels and live-updating topics. | Live blogs and real-time comments. |
| Sign-In & Registration | Single sign-on through DiscourseConnect, OAuth2, or OpenID Connect on any self-hosted site, or on Business plans and above. Readers keep one account across comments, forums, and chat. | Registration and sign-in tools. |
| Feature |
Discourse
|
OpenWeb
|
|---|---|---|
| Search | Powerful, fast, full-text search across all content. | Check with OpenWeb for current capabilities. |
| SEO | Public discussions indexed on your community's domain (custom domains on Pro plans and above). Embedded comments are indexed on their community topic pages. You can also keep the whole site, or any category, out of search engines. | Forum threads built to be indexed on your domain. Ask whether article comments are indexed too. |
| Topic Organization | Advanced categories, subcategories, and tags. | Article-based conversations and forum topics. |
| Long-Form Content | Wiki-style posts and long-form content are a core use case. | Check with OpenWeb. |
| Feature |
Discourse
|
OpenWeb
|
|---|---|---|
| Moderation Tools | Built-in moderation suite available on all plans. | AI moderation available. Check which features your agreement includes. |
| Trust System | Behavior-based trust levels that give members autonomy as they earn it. | Staff badges. Ask OpenWeb about member reputation features. |
| Spam Prevention | AI spam detection that hides spam before readers see it, with rules your moderators write in plain English and a review queue for every hidden post. | AI-based detection available. |
| API Access | Full API access on self-hosted sites and on Pro plans and above. Use it to show comments in your own apps and let readers post from them. | Developer APIs available. Check your agreement for details. |
| Feature |
Discourse
|
OpenWeb
|
|---|---|---|
| Configuration | Hundreds of settings out of the box. Start with comments only, then switch on forums, chat, events, and other features when you're ready, with no migration. | Settings within the embedded product. Check which your agreement includes. |
| Branding | Complete theme control, with custom themes and custom domains on Pro plans and above. | Customization options available. |
| Layout | Customizable layouts and homepage designs. | Layout options within the embedded experience. |
| Integrations | Open API, plugin system, and active developer community. | Publisher integrations available. |
| Mobile Experience | Fully responsive mobile web plus native iOS/Android apps. If you have your own app, you can use the API to show comments and let readers post in it. | Mobile support available. |
Pricing comparison
Discourse
Self-Hosted:
- Free, open-source software.
- You pay for your own hosting (typically $10–$100/month).
- Every feature, complete control.
Managed Hosting:
- Free: $0
- Pro: $100/month
- Business: $500/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Unlimited members on every plan, with staff seats included by tier and more available as add-ons. Chat is included on all plans.
OpenWeb
Hosted, ad-supported:
OpenWeb doesn't publish pricing, and its business centers on advertising revenue earned on publisher sites.
When evaluating, ask about revenue-share terms, who controls your ad inventory and audience data, and what happens to your comment history and reader accounts when the contract ends.
Cost reality
When a vendor earns revenue from ads on your pages, you pay part of the cost in ad inventory and audience data, not as a line item. We publish Discourse pricing, and what you pay for is yours: a stable platform, actively maintained, that you control outright. You keep the audience, the data, and any ad revenue you choose to earn.
When Discourse is the Better Choice
When you want to own the reader relationship
Publishers move conversation onto their own sites to win back readers from social platforms. With Discourse, you keep those readers, their accounts, and their first-party data. No third party builds ad products from them.
When platform stability matters more than vendor brand
We have run the same open-source codebase for over 10 years, with regular updates. Because the code is open source, no single company controls your community's future. That track record matters.
When you want to start with comments and grow from there
Launch Discourse as a comment system and leave everything else switched off. When you're ready, turn on forums, chat, or events in your settings. Readers who start in the comments move into them on the same account, and you build a community around your journalism, not just a thread under each story.
When your readers speak more than one language
We translate every comment into the languages you choose, so readers in every market you serve can read and join the same conversation.
When your content needs to last
Reader discussions, expert Q&As, and community knowledge depend on searchable, organized history. We built Discourse for that, and you keep that history regardless of your vendor relationship.
When your search traffic needs to survive a vendor change
When you leave a hosted vendor, your indexed discussion pages can go with it. With Discourse, you keep a full backup and can run the same community on your own servers or with another host, so your indexed pages stay live.
It was a pleasure to work with the team. We knew that we were being guided by experts who deeply know what communities need in order to thrive.
More Than a Comment Section
Discourse includes everything you need to run a rich, multi-channel reader community in a single platform.
Embedded article comments
Readers discuss each story right under the article, and every discussion lives on in your community.
Comments in your own apps
Use the API to show discussions in your iOS and Android apps and let readers post from them.
AI spam detection
We hide spam before your readers see it, and your moderators set the rules.
AI translation
Readers read and reply in their own language, and everyone joins the same conversation.
Organized, asynchronous discussions
The core of Discourse, built for knowledge-building and member-driven conversation.
Real-time chat
Integrated chat channels for breaking news, live events, and everyday conversation.
Community events
Schedule and manage events directly within your community (Business plans and above on managed hosting).
Powerful group messaging
Private, threaded messages for teams and members.
One platform, one login
A single profile and notification system for everything your readers do.
This matters most when you're moving off an embedded comment vendor. You don't have to rebuild in pieces or stitch together separate tools for comments, forums, and member management. You get all of it, whether you self-host or use our managed hosting.
You don't have to switch it all on at once. Launch with comments alone, then turn on forums, chat, and events in your settings when your readers are ready.
Migration From OpenWeb
We've run migrations for some of the largest communities on the web, including sites with 8M+ users, 2M+ topics, and 1TB+ of data. Our team moves reader accounts, discussion history, and content structure with minimal disruption to your audience.
Publishers can start small: switch on Discourse comments for one site or section, with every other feature off, then expand across your properties and features at your own pace. We'll work with you on bringing over reader accounts and comment history from whatever export your current platform provides, in formats including SQL databases, JSON, CSV, and XML, and on connecting Discourse to your existing sign-in.
If you're evaluating a move, start with a conversation about your setup. Number of sites, comment volume, sign-in and registration flows, custom integrations: we've seen it all.
Ready to move forward?
Moving to Discourse puts your readers' conversations on a platform you control, with no vendor lock-in, no data fees, and no third-party ads monetizing your community. Discourse gives you a fully featured, spam-free commenting system with built-in AI translation, ships with regular updates, and keeps you in control.
Built for world-leading tech organizations
