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Hatz 2.0 turns its chat into an agent that plans, browses and saves its work as automations.
Alternatives · customer support software
Discourse alternatives
The best Discourse alternatives in customer support software, ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score.
Updated Nov 14, 2026
Looking for the best alternatives to Discourse? Sparkpulse tracks and ranks 12 alternatives in customer support software by shipping velocity — how frequently each ships meaningful updates, verified from official changelogs. For reference, Discourse shipped 0 meaningful updates in the last 30 days and carries a velocity score of 5.0 out of 10 in 2026. The alternatives below are ranked the same way, so you're comparing real release momentum, not marketing claims.
About Discourse
Discourse ships its second out-of-band security release in under three weeks.
On November 10 Discourse issued intermediate releases for critical security fixes across 2026.11 latest, 2026.10, 2026.9 and 2026.7. It comes 18 days after the October 23 security drop and two weeks after the 2026.10 monthly release, which listed 720 changes including a chat channel homepage option and Data Explorer tags.
Velocity 5.0 · Last update 2d ago
Top 12 alternatives to Discourse
Ranked by recent ship velocity. Tap any card for the full editorial breakdown, or pivot to a head-to-head.
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Twilio's voice AI stops cutting callers off mid-sentence, using its own turn-taking model.
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Spiceworks covers the Microsoft 365 outage from the help desk's side.
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DoneDone's editor gets tables, spreadsheet paste and text colors.
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Xurrent's November update blocks unverified email senders from changing records.
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LiveAgent 5.71 starts letting bots work chats over MCP and answer the phones.
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Chatway adds a Ticket Center, moving from live chat toward a full helpdesk.
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HelpCenter.io can now publish a Notion workspace as a synced help center.
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Live Helper Chat 5.00 records who created and changed webhooks, mailboxes and templates.
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Formbricks 6.2 candidate two fixes Helm installs and response filters before stable.
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ServiceDesk Plus brings its Zoho-hosted Zia LLM to the Saudi Arabia data center.
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ServiceDesk Plus adds admin-wide report defaults after spreading Zia AI to more regions
Discourse vs alternatives — shipping velocity at a glance
Velocity score (0–10) and meaningful releases shipped in the last 30 days, from official changelogs. Higher = shipping faster.
| Product | Velocity | Sparks · 30d | Focus areas | Latest release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discourse (baseline) | 5.0 | 0 | monthly-release-trainsecurity-patchesself-hosted | — |
| Hatz AI | 7.5 | 2 | mspai-agentsautomation | Major Platform Upgrades: Auto Mode, Automations, Browser Control, and Vault |
| Twilio | 6.3 | 1 | voice-aimessagingcaller trust | General Availability: Smart Turn Detection for Conversation Relay |
| Spiceworks | 5.0 | 0 | it-newsai-operationscybersecurity | — |
| DoneDone | 5.0 | 0 | help desktask managementtext editor | Custom Fields are live! 🎉 |
| Xurrent | 5.0 | 0 | itsmai-agentsemail security | — |
| LiveAgent | 5.0 | 0 | customer-supportai-agentsvoice | — |
| Chatway | 5.0 | 0 | live chathelpdeskticketing | — |
| HelpCenter.io | 5.0 | 0 | knowledge-basenotionintegrations | — |
| Live Helper Chat | 5.0 | 0 | live-chatcustomer-supportaudit-trail | — |
| Formbricks | 5.0 | 0 | surveysdata retentionself-hosted | — |
| ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus | 5.0 | 0 | itsmenterprise-itzia | — |
| ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus | 5.0 | 0 | itsmzia-aidata-residency | — |
The 12 best Discourse alternatives, in depth
1. Hatz AI · velocity 7.5
Hatz 2.0 turns its chat into an agent that plans, browses and saves its work as automations.
Over the last 30 days Hatz AI shipped 2 meaningful updates vs Discourse's 0, most recently “Major Platform Upgrades: Auto Mode, Automations, Browser Control, and Vault”. Its velocity score of 7.5/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Discourse leans on monthly release train, security patches and self hosted, Hatz AI focuses on msp, ai agents and automation.
Over the last 30 days Hatz AI has been shipping faster than Discourse — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
2. Twilio · velocity 6.3
Twilio's voice AI stops cutting callers off mid-sentence, using its own turn-taking model.
Over the last 30 days Twilio shipped 1 meaningful update vs Discourse's 0, most recently “General Availability: Smart Turn Detection for Conversation Relay”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Discourse leans on monthly release train, security patches and self hosted, Twilio focuses on voice ai, messaging and caller trust.
Over the last 30 days Twilio has been shipping faster than Discourse — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
3. Spiceworks · velocity 5.0
Spiceworks covers the Microsoft 365 outage from the help desk's side.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Discourse leans on monthly release train, security patches and self hosted, Spiceworks focuses on it news, ai operations and cybersecurity.
Spiceworks and Discourse have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full Spiceworks trajectory → · Compare Discourse vs Spiceworks →
4. DoneDone · velocity 5.0
DoneDone's editor gets tables, spreadsheet paste and text colors.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “Custom Fields are live! 🎉”.
Where Discourse leans on monthly release train, security patches and self hosted, DoneDone focuses on help desk, task management and text editor.
DoneDone and Discourse have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full DoneDone trajectory → · Compare Discourse vs DoneDone →
5. Xurrent · velocity 5.0
Xurrent's November update blocks unverified email senders from changing records.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Discourse leans on monthly release train, security patches and self hosted, Xurrent focuses on itsm, ai agents and email security.
Xurrent and Discourse have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
6. LiveAgent · velocity 5.0
LiveAgent 5.71 starts letting bots work chats over MCP and answer the phones.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Discourse leans on monthly release train, security patches and self hosted, LiveAgent focuses on customer support, ai agents and voice.
LiveAgent and Discourse have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full LiveAgent trajectory → · Compare Discourse vs LiveAgent →
7. Chatway · velocity 5.0
Chatway adds a Ticket Center, moving from live chat toward a full helpdesk.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Discourse leans on monthly release train, security patches and self hosted, Chatway focuses on live chat, helpdesk and ticketing.
Chatway and Discourse have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
8. HelpCenter.io · velocity 5.0
HelpCenter.io can now publish a Notion workspace as a synced help center.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Discourse leans on monthly release train, security patches and self hosted, HelpCenter.io focuses on knowledge base, notion and integrations.
HelpCenter.io and Discourse have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full HelpCenter.io trajectory → · Compare Discourse vs HelpCenter.io →
9. Live Helper Chat · velocity 5.0
Live Helper Chat 5.00 records who created and changed webhooks, mailboxes and templates.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Discourse leans on monthly release train, security patches and self hosted, Live Helper Chat focuses on live chat, customer support and audit trail.
Live Helper Chat and Discourse have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full Live Helper Chat trajectory → · Compare Discourse vs Live Helper Chat →
10. Formbricks · velocity 5.0
Formbricks 6.2 candidate two fixes Helm installs and response filters before stable.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Discourse leans on monthly release train, security patches and self hosted, Formbricks focuses on surveys, data retention and self hosted.
Formbricks and Discourse have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full Formbricks trajectory → · Compare Discourse vs Formbricks →
11. ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus · velocity 5.0
ServiceDesk Plus brings its Zoho-hosted Zia LLM to the Saudi Arabia data center.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Discourse leans on monthly release train, security patches and self hosted, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus focuses on itsm, enterprise it and zia.
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus and Discourse have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus trajectory → · Compare Discourse vs ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus →
12. ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus · velocity 5.0
ServiceDesk Plus adds admin-wide report defaults after spreading Zia AI to more regions.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Discourse leans on monthly release train, security patches and self hosted, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus focuses on itsm, zia ai and data residency.
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus and Discourse have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus trajectory → · Compare Discourse vs ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus →
Frequently asked questions
What are the best alternatives to Discourse?
The top Discourse alternatives we currently track in customer support software are Hatz AI, Twilio, Spiceworks, DoneDone, Xurrent, ranked by recent ship velocity.
How is this list of Discourse alternatives ranked?
Alternatives are ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score — release cadence + 30-day spark count + sector-relative ship rate.
Can I compare Discourse directly with one of these alternatives?
Yes — every card has a "Compare with Discourse" link to a side-by-side /compare page.