Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Discourse VS jforum

Compare Discourse VS jforum and see what are their differences

Discourse logo Discourse

Discourse is an open source discussion platform built for the next decade of the Internet.

jforum logo jforum

jforum is a Java-based discussion board software.
  • Discourse Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-13
  • jforum Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-19

Discourse features and specs

  • Modern Interface
    Discourse provides a clean, intuitive, and responsive user interface that works well on both desktops and mobile devices.
  • Open Source
    Discourse is open source software, allowing for customization, self-hosting, and community contributions, which can reduce costs and increase flexibility.
  • Rich Features
    The platform includes a variety of built-in features such as threaded replies, real-time notifications, and community moderation tools.
  • Scalability
    Discourse is designed to handle small communities as well as large, active forums, making it suitable for a variety of use cases.
  • Security
    Regular updates and a dedicated security team help keep the software secure against vulnerabilities.
  • Integration and APIs
    Discourse offers extensive APIs and integrates well with various other services and plugins, facilitating seamless extensions and automation.

Possible disadvantages of Discourse

  • Resource Intensive
    Discourse can be resource-heavy, which may require significant server capacity and maintenance, especially for large communities.
  • Hosting Costs
    While you can self-host Discourse, the server and maintenance costs can be high. Managed hosting plans provided by Discourse can also be expensive.
  • Complex Setup
    Installing and configuring Discourse can be complex, particularly for those without technical expertise in server management and Ruby on Rails.
  • Learning Curve
    Users and administrators might face a steeper learning curve compared to more traditional forum software due to its modern interface and extensive features.
  • Limited Built-in Themes
    The default theme options are somewhat limited, and extensive customization requires knowledge of front-end development.
  • Dependency on PostgreSQL and Redis
    Discourse relies on PostgreSQL for its database and Redis for caching, which might complicate setup and maintenance compared to solutions that use simpler database architectures.

jforum features and specs

  • Open Source
    JForum is open-source, allowing users to modify and customize the forum software according to their needs without licensing fees.
  • Community Support
    The platform benefits from a community of users who contribute to the development and troubleshooting of the software.
  • Java-based
    Built on Java, JForum is platform-independent and can be deployed on various operating systems where Java is supported.
  • Feature-Rich
    Includes many built-in features such as private messaging, polls, and user management, providing a comprehensive forum experience.
  • Database Support
    Supports various relational databases, making it versatile in terms of deployment options.

Possible disadvantages of jforum

  • Outdated Design
    The user interface of JForum might appear outdated compared to modern forum software, potentially impacting user experience.
  • Limited Modern Features
    May lack some of the more modern features present in newer forum solutions, such as real-time notifications and advanced integrations.
  • Smaller Community
    Despite being open source, the community size is smaller compared to more popular forum software, potentially leading to fewer updates and contributions.
  • Complex Setup
    Installation and configuration might be more complex, particularly for users unfamiliar with Java or server setups.
  • Maintenance
    Ongoing maintenance and updates depend largely on community contribution, which can be a risk for long-term reliability.

Discourse videos

Why We Chose The Discourse Platform For Our Forums

More videos:

  • Review - Why Discourse is the Best Forum Software Out There (No, Really) | Location Rebel
  • Review - A Grammar Review for Discourse Analysis

jforum videos

No jforum videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Discourse and jforum)
Forums
89 89%
11% 11
Forums And Forum Software
Community Platform
87 87%
13% 13
Social Networks
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using Discourse and jforum. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Discourse and jforum

Discourse Reviews

20 Telegram Alternatives to Chat With in 2024
Discourse is a basic forum function that could be an alternative to Telegram if you want to stick to text discussions. It's pretty analog, missing both video and livestreaming tools. Instead, Discourse is a basic community that lets you organize discussions--it feels a bit like having your own reddit or Quora.
18 Best Discord Alternatives 2020 | Expert Reviews
Discourse comes in a couple of flavours. You can self-host it yourself in which case the software is free, and you simply need to sign up for server space, or you can pay Discourse for a hosted-for-you option, though self-hosting is a lot cheaper the premium option takes care of the technical side.
IndieHackers: Best forum software
I used Flarum when trying to get a community set up for my product (ended up abandoning it to revisit when we have a larger customer base). It worked fairly well and I enjoyed it but it's definitely beta and unless you're fairly tech savvy it's not quite worth the setup / maintenance. Lots of config changes, crashes, huge issues with plugins, and some features missing. I'd...

jforum Reviews

We have no reviews of jforum yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Discourse seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 23 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Discourse mentions (23)

  • Qilin: A Starter Project Template For Every Open Source Project
    GitHub Discussions can also be a great place for support as long as these are regularly monitored. Another option along the same lines is Discourse and the Open Source Matrix which is used by quite a few Open Source and community-based projects. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Ask HN: How to run an old-school mailing list?
    A lot of communities use [Discourse ](https://discourse.org). [LPSF](https://forum lpsf.org) migrated to it when Yahoo Groups was discontinued. Some of the advantages are that it's open source, self-hostable, and can be configured to work as both a traditional mailing list and modern forum. - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • My Fediverse use – I'm hosting everything myself – PeerTube, Mastodon and Lemmy
    More like https://discourse.org/. You can run it yourself, but I can also just have them ding a credit card every month and not think about it again (I do this for a community). - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Reddit faces content quality concerns after its Great Mod Purge
    Discourse perhaps? I've seen it in use in a few places; it has a modern look and feel to it at least. https://discourse.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • So Long, Twitter and Reddit
    I fully agree with you see my comment here[0] -- I think you may have misread my comment, it says "Discourse" (as in the forum software[1]), not Discord. [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37245220. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
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jforum mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of jforum yet. Tracking of jforum recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Discourse and jforum, you can also consider the following products

Flarum - Flarum is the next-generation forum software that makes online discussion fun. It's simple, fast, and free.

Vanilla Forums - Build an engaging community forum using Vanilla's modern cloud forum software.

Forumbee - Forumbee offers community forums for discussions, feedback and Q&A.

phpBB - Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi is a cheap, credit-card sized computer. The official website uses phpBB for their discussion forums. phpBB is not affiliated with nor responsible for any of the sites listed on the showcase.

PunBB - PunBB is a fast and lightweight PHP-powered discussion board.

XenForo - Intuitive. Social. Engaging. Fast. XenForo brings a fresh outlook to forum software.