Reviews
Part of Reviewing community products and providers with an evidence hierarchy and repeatable tests
Reading community platform prices in dollars as a UK buyer
How a UK buyer reads dollar price pages for four community platforms, turns them into dated pound quotes and finds the costs the pages leave out.
What to take away
- Circle, Discourse hosting and Mighty Networks publish prices in US dollars, while Higher Logic Vanilla is quoted in pounds.
- A dollar tier is a starting point. Ask for a dated written quote in pounds for the plan you would buy.
- Confirm whether VAT at 20% is included or added.
- Price pages leave out plan-gated features, payment fees, upkeep and exit terms.
- Test the plan you priced, with a pass or fail for anything that cannot be traded away.
What each price page publishes
Three of the four vendors publish prices in US dollars and the fourth publishes no list price. A UK buyer is therefore comparing different currencies, billing periods and levels of certainty, so a page figure works as a band to test and not as a quote to budget with.
| Product | Published figure | Currency | What the figure leaves out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Circle | About $89, $199 and $399 a month; Enterprise quoted | US dollars | Sign-on, API access and admin roles gated by plan |
| Discourse | Free under GPL; hosted near $100, $300 and $500 a month | US dollars for hosting | A technical owner for upgrades |
| Higher Logic Vanilla | No list price; annual contracts, often tens of thousands of pounds | Pounds, quote only | The edition shown may differ from the edition sold |
| Mighty Networks | About $39 to $41 a month; Business about $179; Pro quoted | US dollars | Transaction fees and member departure terms |
Discourse is free under GPL, so the licence costs nothing. Hosting and upkeep do not come free, which is why the hosted plans carry prices at all.
Turn a dollar tier into a pound budget line
A dollar figure becomes a usable budget line only after the vendor confirms it in pounds. Work through the same sequence for every product, so the lines can sit side by side without hidden differences in currency, period or tax.
- Name the plan you would actually buy, not the cheapest tier on the page.
- Ask for a written quote in pounds for that plan and date it.
- Ask whether VAT is included or added, bearing in mind the standard VAT rate is 20%.
- Record the billing period, since monthly and annual figures cannot be set side by side as they stand.
- Add the lines the page omitspayment fees, administration time, migration and exit.
Do not convert a dollar figure at today's exchange rate and call it a quote. Rates move, and the vendor's own pounds price is the one you would pay. Confirm the currency, billing period and tax position for your own entity. Then read how the pricing models behave as a community grows.
What the price does not cover
Circle's tiers carry the headline figure, but single sign-on and API access sit on higher tiers. If you need either, price the higher plan, then ask which plan allows a complete member and content export before you treat the first figure as the real one.
Self-hosted Discourse puts upgrades, security and backups with you, and hosted plans still need a named owner for upgrades. That owner's time is one of the costs that go missing from a budget built on the sticker price.
Lower Mighty Networks tiers have carried a transaction fee on member payments, and departure terms need checking before launch. Higher Logic Vanilla has no list price, so the exit position rests on the contract terms. Request export formats, retention and migration help in writing.
Full system comparison areas
Accessibility
- Themes
- Custom themes
- Components
- Embedded components
- Security
- Authentication
- Recovery
- Incident contact
Data roles
- Themes
- Profiles and content
- Components
- Messages and analytics
- Security
- Controller roles
- Recovery
- Processor roles
Costs
- Themes
- Implementation
- Components
- Migration and staffing
- Security
- Usage and support
- Recovery
- Exit costs
Exit
- Themes
- Custom fields
- Components
- Permissions
- Security
- Integrations
- Recovery
- Archive effort
Test the plan you priced
A price belongs to a plan, so test that plan and not a trial of another one. Run the same six tasks on each configured product, including a real export from the configured community rather than an empty trial. Set a mandatory pass for anything you cannot trade away.
Common test scenarios
- Eligible person joins with right visibility
- Member finds answer and follows context
- Report reaches moderator and records result
- Incorrect action reviewed and reversed
- Administrator leaves without blocking access
- Representative data exported and opened independently
Mark each task pass or fail and note the evidence, using invented but realistic data. Log the expected result and any unresolved issue against the dated quote, so a later reader can see which plan was tested and what it cost.
A vendor-led demonstration can show that a function appears under its settings. It cannot prove reliability at scale or usability by your own team.
UK checks that sit beside the price
Data protection obligations sit with you as controller for member data. Ask where data and backups are held, which sub-processors are involved, and what happens to member content when you leave.
Moderation duties for user-to-user services come from the Online Safety Act 2023. Ask how each product supports reporting, escalation and record keeping, and test them before you compare feature counts.
Smaller organisations can search the business finance and support finder on GOV.UK for help with licence and implementation costs. Formalise the answers with a vendor due diligence checklist before signing. For each vendor's stated focus, see the platforms compared on vendor claims.
Common questions
Do the dollar prices include VAT?
Ask the vendor. Confirm whether VAT at 20% is included or added, and keep the quote dated so the figure you budget with can be traced to a written source.
Why is Higher Logic Vanilla not priced in dollars?
It has no list price. Annual contracts are quoted in pounds, often tens of thousands of pounds, so the figure comes from a negotiated quote and the edition sold may differ from the edition shown.
Is Discourse really free?
The software is free under GPL, so the licence costs nothing. Hosted plans cost money, and self-hosting needs a technical owner for upgrades, security and backups.
Can a dollar price be used as a budget figure?
Only as a starting point. Ask for a quote in pounds at your plan, confirm the billing period and tax position, then add the costs the price page leaves out.
