Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

IntenseDebate VS Discourse

Compare IntenseDebate VS Discourse and see what are their differences

IntenseDebate logo IntenseDebate

IntenseDebate's comment system enhances and encourages conversation on your blog or website.

Discourse logo Discourse

Discourse is an open source discussion platform built for the next decade of the Internet.
  • IntenseDebate Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-05
  • Discourse Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-13

IntenseDebate features and specs

  • Customizability
    IntenseDebate offers a lot of customization options which allow users to tailor the commenting system to their website's design and functionality.
  • Social Media Integration
    It provides integration with various social media platforms, making it easy for users to comment using their social media accounts.
  • Threaded Comments
    Supports threaded/nested comments, which enhances readability and makes conversations easier to follow.
  • Reputation and Comment Voting
    Includes features like reputation scores, comment voting, and user rankings, which can enhance community engagement.
  • Email Notifications
    Offers email notifications to keep both site owners and commenters updated on new comments and replies.

Possible disadvantages of IntenseDebate

  • Performance Issues
    Some users have reported that IntenseDebate can slow down website performance, particularly on sites with high traffic.
  • Limited Support
    Users may experience limited support options, which can be challenging when dealing with technical issues or configuration.
  • Development Stagnation
    There have been reports of infrequent updates and a lack of new features, which may lead to concerns about the future viability of the platform.
  • Spam Control Limitations
    Although it has basic spam controls, some users find them insufficient, requiring additional plugins or services to manage spam effectively.
  • Third-Party Dependency
    Reliance on a third-party service for comments can present risks, such as service outages or changes in terms that might affect usability.

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.

IntenseDebate videos

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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

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to IntenseDebate and Discourse)
Social Networks
100 100%
0% 0
Forums And Forum Software
Commenting Service
100 100%
0% 0
Forums
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

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

IntenseDebate Reviews

We have no reviews of IntenseDebate yet.
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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...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Discourse seems to be a lot more popular than IntenseDebate. While we know about 23 links to Discourse, we've tracked only 2 mentions of IntenseDebate. 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.

IntenseDebate mentions (2)

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 / over 1 year 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 / over 1 year ago
  • My Fediverse use โ€“ I'm hosting everything myself โ€“ 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 / almost 2 years 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 / about 2 years 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 / about 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

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

DISQUS - Disqus is a global comment system that improves discussion on websites and connects conversations across the web.

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

Geist.chat - Add feature-rich responsive comment sections to your website.

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.

Hyvor Talk - The Best Commenting Platform For Your Website

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