Discourse vs Google Workspace Pricing (2026)
How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.
| Discourse pricing | Google Workspace pricing | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $100/mo | $7/mo |
| Number of plans | 3 | 4 |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | ||
| Pricing model | flat-rate | per-seat |
Price is one row. To weigh the features too, use our feature comparison template →
Pro
- Unlimited members & chat
- Unlimited public & private categories
- Unlimited tags
- Custom groups
- Email support
- Custom & community themes
- Custom domain
- API and Webhook access
- 15+ plugins
- 5 staff seats
Business
- Advanced reporting & analytics
- Automation
- Events
- Gamification
- SSO (Open ID & OAuth2)
- 20+ additional plugins
- 15 staff seats
- Priority support
- Standard migration services
Enterprise
- Expert design & development services
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Custom migration services
- GDPR & CCPA compliant hosting
- 50+ additional plugins
- Unlimited staff seats
Starter
- 30 GB pooled storage per person*
- Secure custom business email
- Gemini AI assistant in Gmail
- Chat with AI in the Gemini app
- Video meetings, 100 participants
- Google Vids AI-powered video creator and editor
- Security and management controls
Standard
Popular- 2 TB 65x more than Starter*
- Secure custom business email + custom layouts and mail merge
- Gemini AI assistant in Gmail, Docs, Meet, and more
- Gemini Notebook with expanded access to features
- Chat with AI in the Gemini app with expanded access to models and features
- Video meetings with recording, noise cancellation, 150 participants
- Appointment booking pages
- eSignature with Docs and PDFs
- Google Workspace Migrate tool for data migration
Plus
- 5 TB 2.5x more than Standard*
- Secure custom business email + eDiscovery
- Video meetings with attendance tracking, 500 participants
- Vault to retain, archive, and search data
- Secure LDAP
- Advanced endpoint management
- Enhanced security and management controls
Enterprise
- 5 TB or upgrade for more*
- Secure custom business email + S/MIME encryption
- Video meetings with in-domain live streaming, 1000 participants
- Data loss prevention (DLP)
- Context-aware access
- Enterprise data regions
- Cloud Identity Premium
- Enterprise endpoint management
- AI Classification for Google Drive
- Assured Controls & AI Classification available add-on
- Enhanced Support for faster response times for critical issues
Discourse vs Google Workspace FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- Google Workspace is the cheaper option, starting at $7/mo vs $100/mo for Discourse.
- Can I use either one for free?
- Neither has a free plan. But Discourse and Google Workspace offer a free trial.
- How do they charge?
- Different approach here. Discourse uses flat-rate pricing, while Google Workspace goes with per-seat. That changes the math depending on your team size and usage.
- Which one is a better deal?
- Depends on what you need. Discourse: At $100-500/mo flat, Discourse undercuts enterprise community platforms like Khoros or Vanilla that price on usage or seats and can run into five figures monthly, but it's pricier than free/open-source alternatives since you're paying for hosting and support rather than the software itself. They're clearly courting mid-market teams who want a polished, maintained forum without either the DIY hosting hassle or enterprise-tier contracts. Google Workspace: Sits mid-pack against Microsoft 365 — not the cheapest email suite out there, but priced to win on simplicity and collaboration UX rather than competing purely on cost. The 300-seat cap on Starter/Standard/Plus signals they're chasing SMBs hard and pushing anything bigger straight into custom Enterprise deals.
Still deciding? See the best Discourse alternatives or the best Google Workspace alternatives, ranked with verified pricing.
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