Is this Circle courses too?

No. Discourse is the forum. Courses, drip, and a member paywall are a different product — Ghost memberships cover a paid publication (/replace/medium), not a Circle classroom.

/replace/discord is Stoat/Revolt — chat. Circle is a hosted community with spaces and threads. Discourse is that job.

Stacks / Support

Medium

Discourse

A community you host. Discourse is GPLv2 — Circle without the community seat.

The problem

Circle (circle.so) sells a community OS: spaces, courses, paywalls, a member directory. You wanted a forum with topics, trust levels, and email. Discourse is GPLv2 and self-hostable. This is a forum — not Circle's course player, native app, or member billing. Chat-shaped communities stay on /replace/discord.

Replaces

Circle

Replace Circle

Estimated SaaS saved

$2,400

per year, small team, before lock-in

Start on Railway

Stoat if this is a chat community, not a forum

Sponsor this stack Tip jar

Placeholder: Discourse (Postgres + Redis + Sidekiq) plus a volume for uploads. SMTP via Resend. No one-click template in this repo yet — Start on Railway. Chat rooms stay on /stacks/stoat-chat or /stacks/rocket-chat.

The stack

Discourse
GPLv2 forum and community platform

Cost table

You stop paying	Typical / year	Self-host instead
Circle paid community (small team)	$2,400	Discourse + Postgres + Redis

Agent setup prompt

Replace Circle with self-hosted Discourse.

- Official Discourse install: Postgres, Redis, Sidekiq, uploads on a volume. Bind HTTP to 0.0.0.0:$PORT. SMTP via Resend on send.
- Import one category of threads if Circle gives you an export. Lock signups or enable SSO.
- Write AGENT_PROMPT.md. Do not claim Circle courses, native apps, or member billing you have not rebuilt.

Also as markdown: /stacks/discourse-community.md

FAQ

Is this Circle courses too?: No. Discourse is the forum. Courses, drip, and a member paywall are a different product — Ghost memberships cover a paid publication (/replace/medium), not a Circle classroom.
Why not Discord?: /replace/discord is Stoat/Revolt — chat. Circle is a hosted community with spaces and threads. Discourse is that job.