Discourse alternative for WordPress
Discourse-style trust levels, inside WordPress
Trust levels, voting and a moderation queue run as a plugin on your site. Members sign in with the WordPress account they already have.
Two routes
Discourse runs beside your site. Jetonomy runs inside it.
Both give you trust levels and a moderation queue. The difference is how many systems you keep running, and where your members' accounts live.
- Your WordPress site Pages, posts, members
- DiscourseConnect SSO Links WordPress logins to Discourse accounts
- Discourse application Its own member accounts and data
- Hosting Your own server, or official hosting from $100 a month on the Pro plan
- Your WordPress site Pages, posts and the community, on one domain
- Jetonomy plugin Spaces, trust levels, voting, moderation queue
- One MySQL database Members are WordPress users. Discussions live in 22 jt_ tables.
- Hosting The WordPress hosting you already pay for
Discourse details from discourse.org, meta.discourse.org and discourse.org/pricing, read 2026-09-17.
Concept map
Each Discourse idea you like, and where it lives in Jetonomy
Discourse details from discourse.org and meta.discourse.org, read 2026-09-17. Items marked Pro need Jetonomy Pro. Everything else ships in the free plugin.
| In Discourse | In Jetonomy | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Trust levels | ||
| Trust levels 0 to 4: levels 0 to 3 automatic, Leader (4) by staff promotion |
| The same earn-your-way-in model, with one extra manual level for moderators. |
| New users start at trust level 0 |
| Brand-new accounts post less until they earn level 1. |
| Staff promote members by hand |
| Promote or audit levels from wp-admin or the terminal. |
| Categories and tags | ||
| Categories |
| Each space picks a behaviour, so Q&A and idea voting sit beside open discussion. |
| Tags |
| Every tag gets its own page of topics. |
| Likes and reactions | ||
| Likes |
| Votes rank content in the free plugin; Pro adds reaction sets you choose. |
| Badges | ||
| Included badges plus custom badges |
| Free covers trust badges and reputation; Pro lets you write badge rules. |
| Email digests |
| Digests need Pro; instant notification emails are free. |
| Reply via email |
| Members answer a notification email and the reply posts to the thread. |
| Mailing list mode |
| Jetonomy has no mailing list mode; digests and per-user preferences come closest. |
| Notifications | ||
| Notifications on site, by email and on desktop |
| Browser push arrives with Pro; the bell and email are free. |
| Moderation | ||
| Community flagging and a moderator flag queue |
| Free covers flags, the queue and sanctions; Pro adds automatic rules. |
| API and login | ||
| API for anything on screen |
| Build apps and integrations over REST, plus actions and filters inside WordPress. |
| DiscourseConnect SSO to link WordPress accounts |
| No SSO bridge to set up, because the forum is part of WordPress. |
Three-year cost
Three years of Discourse hosting next to one Jetonomy Pro licence
Discourse Pro plan at $100 a month, as listed on discourse.org/pricing on 2026-09-17. Jetonomy lifetime prices from this store. Your WordPress hosting is not counted.
- Discourse official hosting (Pro plan) $3,600
$100 a month list price. Includes hosting, 5 staff seats and 500k monthly pageviews.
- Jetonomy Pro Developer (lifetime, 5 sites) $299
One payment for five sites, every Pro extension included.
- Jetonomy Pro Personal (lifetime, 1 site) $199
One payment for one site, every Pro extension included.
Over three years, Jetonomy Pro Personal costs $3,401 less than the Discourse Pro hosting plan at list price. This assumes you already host WordPress. Discourse also offers a limited Free plan.
Before you switch
-
There is no Discourse importer
Jetonomy imports from bbPress, wpForo and Asgaros. Moving an existing Discourse forum means custom work, for example through the REST API. It fits new communities best.
-
No mailing list mode
Members get immediate email notifications in the free plugin, and daily or weekly digests with Pro. Nothing replaces mailing list mode.
-
Hosting is on your side
Jetonomy runs on the WordPress hosting you already manage. If you want a team to host the forum for you, Discourse official hosting is the simpler route.
Free plugin. Pro when you want digests and reactions.
Pay once and own it forever, or pick the annual plan. All features included in every plan, no hidden add-ons.
- Unlimited sites, no licence key
- Forum, Q&A, Ideas and Feed spaces
- Six trust levels and a moderation queue
- Voting, reputation and a leaderboard
- Search across posts, spaces and tags
- REST API, WP-CLI, 8 blocks and 8 shortcodes
- bbPress, wpForo and Asgaros importers
- MemberPress and Paid Memberships Pro gating
- Everything in Free, plus all 17 Pro extensions
- 1 site
- Private messaging, 1:1 and group
- Emoji reactions and polls
- Community analytics
- Email digest, web push and reply by email
- AI spam detection and advanced moderation
- Webhooks for Slack, Zapier or a CRM
- Updates and support, annual or lifetime
- Everything in Pro Personal
- 5 sites
- Priority support
- Updates and priority support, annual or lifetime
- Everything in Pro Developer
- Unlimited sites
- Priority email support
- Updates and priority support, annual or lifetime
The plugin keeps working. Updates and support stop until you renew.
Free forever. Annual licenses include a year of updates and support and renew at 30% off. Lifetime licenses are a one-time payment and never expire.
Questions from people who like Discourse
Do members need a separate account or single sign-on?
Can I move my Discourse forum to Jetonomy?
Will it stay fast for a busy community?
How does it work on phones?
Which email features are free and which are Pro?
Are Jetonomy trust levels the same as Discourse's?
When is Discourse the better choice?
What do I need to run Jetonomy?
Run the Discourse playbook on the site you already host
Install the free plugin, set your trust thresholds, and open your first spaces.