11 best community software online solution platforms
Looking for the right online community platform for hosting your business's branded community?
The process of selecting the ideal online community software can feel overwhelming, as elements like ease of use, the ability to support customers, flexibility of platforms as well as many other aspects are at stake. To alleviate the stress of this big decision, we've reviewed the top 11 online community software solution companies on the market.
Read on to get all the information--the good, the bad, and the ugly--of the most popular solutions out there. There are plenty of tips on what you should consider when choosing an online community platform so you'll be able to make the ideal option for your needs.
What is the online community software solution companies?
Online community platforms are computer-based solutions which allow you to build a digital space for members to connect, learn and engage with you and other members.
Different platforms have different strengths. Knowing your priorities can help narrow your options when we look at the top online communities as well as their features. Let's get to it!
What to look at in a platform that is a part of a community
Community software solutions have a basic community function, along with additional options that are beneficial and help achieve specific objectives. To choose, look for a solution that will work to benefit your company today and in the near future.
Don't focus exclusively on individual features. Instead, look at the total package and the way it integrates into the longer-term goals of your company.
This is what you should look for in a good community software solution:
Simple and simple to learn. It's likely that you'll spend many hours building as well as managing the community. You want to enjoy the experience. Make sure the platform has a user-friendly interface that allows you to work efficiently. Of course, you would like it to be simple to use and enjoyable for your customers to use as well!
Simple to access. Members will be able to swiftly login when you're organizing an event or want to engage. The fewer hurdles there are for logging in to the platform, the more likely members will be to participate.
Integrates with the rest of your company. A majority of communities belong to an entire ecosystem of goods: online courses, coaching, and training tools. Every product should be branded with the same style and look, as well as it should be easy to get from one place to the next.
Includes marketing and sales capabilities. It is impossible to build a community that no one is aware of. The ideal platform would provide tools to promote your community by selling memberships, as well as upselling your other products.
Insightful analytics. To provide a fantastic experience that is appealing to members and keeps them engaged, it is important to know the things that are working and not. Analytics tools provide you with all you need to know regarding your member's behaviour and preferences so you can target your efforts to provide the most effective service.
11 of the top community software online solution firms
Now, let's review the top online community softwares that are currently in use.
1.
Key benefits of include:
Simple. makes it super simple to set up and manage your online community. It is possible to make your community a standalone product or use it as an added value to your coaching or courses.
Multiple levels. You can create community groups that are free or paid to design a "membership funnel" to promote your company. The free membership you offer can draw new customers, by providing them with an opportunity to connect with you and fellow peers. Utilize's powerful marketing toolsets to promote your paid community, where members will have access to the best content or benefit.
Deep integration with your marketing and sales tech system. One of the features that distinguish it is its complete suite of business-building tools. When you sign up as a user, have access to all the toolset, including:
- Builder for websites
- Build a landing page
- Email marketing software
- Funnel builder
- Pages for ordering and processing payments
- Podcast host
With , all your tools have been designed to integrate which means you don't have to deal with the headache of developing tech integrations, or diagnosing issues. Simply sign up, and you're set to roll.
It is a complete solution that will also save you cash. By investing in single-use products or developing your own technology stack, you will easily pay hundreds of dollars every month. With , you have just one cost per month that will cover everything you need to run an online company that is successful.
The Basic plan is $119 per month. It includes 3 digital products (a community and two others) with up to 10,000 contacts. When you outgrow the Basic plan, you may move to the Grow plan for $159 per month. You get 15 different products and up to 25,000 contacts.
Try free for 14 days
is everything your online business needs. All you need to know. Yes! Let's go!
2. Facebook groups
If you're an avid Facebook user, you probably have a connection to at the very least at least one Facebook group. Facebook lets you create private groups that allow you to interact with people for personal or business reasons.
Facebook groups are free, but there are hidden costs with regard to trust and reputation. Trust in the company has dropped 66% in the last few years.
As an example, when she set up the Facebook group for hosting the community Kathryn Aragon discovered that many of the members no actively engaging on Facebook. To boost engagement the group, she needed to transfer her community over to another site.
The key benefits of Facebook as a community platform include:
Security. The content within the group is only seen by members of the group.
Discussion. Posts and comments enable members to talk about subjects in real-time. Updates from the group are sent directly to members, which can help streamline communications.
Member management. Administrators of groups can manage group members as well as permissions.
Downsides include lack of ownership (that's the biggest problem) as well as no directory for members and website management. They aren't yourcustomers. They're Facebook's customers. We should not forget about the massive Facebook outage that occurred in the month of October in 2021, which caused small businesses around all over the globe to lose access to their communities and their clients.
Another big complaint from community members is the absence of direct support, with only support forums offered for troubleshooting.
3. Discord
Since it gained traction in the world of gaming, Discord has grown into a very popular social network that is accessible to all kinds of users. Its goal: to create areas where people can come together around the same passions.
As an online community software solution provider, Discord offers real-time video and audio conversations. Also, the platform offers customized roles for distinguishing members from administrators.
Because of its gamer and techno-related roots, its aesthetics have a dark theme, which may or may not match your business's style. Discord does not offer numerous options to brand your members' area.
It offers the following features:
AI-Powered Bots. The bots can be programmed to greet new users and personalize the experience. Members will know it's an actual bot that is interacting with them. You can create fun experiences with it , while also offering useful facts.
Reliable, secure private channels. Discord does not have a time-lag which makes it feel like being in the same room. It's a popular choice for security and all channels are completely private, which allows participants to feel comfortable in their discussions.
Moderator Academy. This is a comprehensive guide for both veteran and first-time moderators who want to improve their management of their communities.
On the downside, creating your Discord community isn't easy. It's a steep learning curve which means you may not have the ability to make maximum benefit from the service. Your Discord server will also be with the other communities your members are involved in, which means it will be competing for focus.
Discord is available free of charge. Simply download the app and then set it up. It is also possible to upgrade up to Discord Nitro ($99.99 per year) for access to more emoticons and uploads with more capacity, as well as high-resolution video, and a few other improvements.
4. Mighty Networks
Mighty Networks offers an online platform for courses with built-in community features. It's a robust platform that allows for personalized branding and functions that foster community involvement.
The Key Mighty Networks features include:
Mobile access. This online community platform features an app for mobile devices which makes it simple for members to engage when they're at the move. In fact, it's easier to engage with your mobile device than via the web.
Email alerts. Members receive email notifications whenever there's a new activity in the community. This gives them a quick nudge to log in and see what they might have missed.
Branding. Mighty Network allows you to create a branded area that shares the same look and feel to your site. Simply apply your branded colors to buttons, tabs, actions, and text icons.
It is important to remember the fact that Might Networks is a community-focused platform. If you want to create various other kinds of products in order to expand your business, you may need to purchase other applications as well as software for hosting them.
5. Hivebrite
Hivebrite is an all-in-one community management platform specifically designed for educational and non-profit groups. It is used by more than 500 institutions such as Vanderbilt University, WWF, and Sabin Vaccine Institute.
The company doesn't list their pricing on their site. For a chance to test Hivebrite it is necessary to sign up to an initial demo. This is a clear indication that they are only offering prices for corporate customers.
They do come with attractive functions. Your community is able to be branded. And, it lets you control your community's content, members and tools for marketing in one place.
Some of Hivebrite's standout features:
Live feed. It's possible to livestream live to members of the community and host real-time meetings.
Rights of access. With Hivebrite, it is possible to grant different access rights to various users, such as students or alumni. It is also possible to create levels of membership that offer greater access to paying members.
Modular features. As your community evolves, you can switch on various features. The options include forums, events and networking groups. messaging center, media center as well as a job board, or directory.
One challenge with this platform is integrating it with your existing database as well as other technologies. In most cases, you'll need engage an IT expert to complete the APIs to sync the platform with various tools.
6. Tribe.so
Tribe is a community-building platform, with an app ecosystem that allows direct third-party integrations, and instruments to incorporate the community within other products and websites. Examples of use cases are customer education and customer satisfaction, as well as service support for customers branding, leadership in brand, and product feedback.
With Tribe The core features take care of the vital community elements. The apps can help you expand your options. For example:
- Slack allows moderators and administrators to receive alerts of different activities.
- Zapier is a way to connect your group to the other technology tools within your stack.
- Google Analytics helps you measure activities in your local community.
Tribe comes with the following features:
Social Sharing. Tribe includes Open Graph tags which facilitate social sharing. This makes it easy to share content outside the community and generate interest in potential members.
Integration. Third-party integrations with over 30 different apps let you to integrate your community with the tools you already use.
Moderation panel. Tribe gives you the option to let users modify, or even reject content made by users. You can also archive old content in order to keep your feed free of clutter.
Tribe is free for as many as 100 members. The Plus Plan costs $59 per month, lets you use Plus apps and up to 2,500 members. Though to get the most from the app, you'll be required to upgrade to the Premium Plan for $299 per month. It will let you eliminate the Tribe branding, use the Tribe API as well as webhooks as well as increase membership to 25,000.
7. Circle.so
Circle lets you build a community around your courses, coaching, or customer support. It aims to simplify the process of building communities by allowing members with content creation tools and private spaces, manage discussions, and monetize your membership. It is loaded with capabilities and lets you build a brand-named space to match your website.
A few of the most memorable features offered by Circle include:
Simple integrations. Circle works well with other the third-party software, like email marketing software, Slack, Wordpress, and it allows you to market your group or integrate the two with other software.
Spaces that are secret and private. You can create separate areas for different members in your membership. As an example, you may create a space specifically for core members while another is reserved for premium members.
Searchable member directory. Members can connect by establishing custom profile fields and search filters.
Circle starts at $35 a month and includes the 4% transaction cost per user. The Basic plan offers all the basic features for your group, such as conversations and private messaging. Upgrade to the Professional Plan ($89 monthly and 1% transaction fee per user) to unlock courses, live streaming, and more advanced analytics.
There may be a need to cover the cost of additional features like extra administrator spaces, more space, white-labeling of email, and custom single sign-on (SSO).
8. Vanilla Forums
Vanilla Forums has been developed to allow mid-sized as well as enterprise organizations to offer exceptional customer experiences. It's often used for customer support, customer experience along with product marketing, as well as the promotion of brands.
Vanilla offers a great user experience, integration with the existing technology stack and flexible customization to fit the style of your business.
Principal aspects of Vanilla Forums are:
Knowledge base. You can create Self-Service Help Centers within your community that includes user guides and help documents.
Survey customization. With Vanilla Forums you are able to distribute personalized surveys to your customers to get directly comments.
Open source community. You can download Vanilla's open source code for free and host your community yourself. Do you have a passion for technology? It is possible to contribute the source code.
This website is not suitable for independent creators or solopreneurs. Pricing is not displayed on the website. But if you're interested, you may schedule an appointment to talk to a sales rep.
9. WildApricot
WildApricot offers a complete platform that was originally created for nonprofits and associations. Its users now include clubs, associations and state and local chapter organizations.
Wild Apricot has a self-serve design that lets you customize the entire experience of your group. Its gamification and reputation system lets you create good content, make member-friendly features available as well as enable moderation automation.
It contains these important characteristics:
Event management. Plan events such as auctions online, virtual conference, or webinars. Get sponsors to support your event. You can also publish your event calendar and create registrations for your event.
Donations. With WildApricot, you are able to accept donations as well as communicate progress toward your fundraising goals. Additionally, you can export your donation records so that you can monitor and track donations.
CRM. Like , WildApricot offers an CRM (customer relationship management) tool that includes a robust member directory that can be used from anywhere.
You'll need third-party tools to help you market and run your business. The majority of them will work with WildApricot such as WordPress, Mailchimp, and Zapier. Payment processing, however, is only available for U.S. and Canada residents.
You are able to test WildApricot no cost up to 50 contacts. The cost will increase in the event that your audience grows
- A month of $48 for 100 contacts
- A month's rent of $60 for 250 contacts
- A month's rent of $110 for 500 contacts
- A month of $190 for 2,000 contacts
10. Disciple Media
Disciple Media is a community platform comprised of three components consisting of a console that manages the content that you create on mobile and desktopdevices, a mobile application that allows members to engage with each other in a web-based community, which gives people the opportunity to interact on their desktops.
It's designed specifically for entrepreneurs, creators, and influential personalities who wish to develop their own brand social platform.
Disciple Media includes the following attributes:
Multiple layouts. You can store and distribute content from a central area. Use folders, groups, and lists to build a custom structure for your community.
Mobile application. Disciple Media is similar to a social network because the mobile experience is prioritized for users. There is a web app, but it has limited features compared to the mobile app.
In-app purchase. Disciple lets you drive in-app purchases and sponsorships which allows you to turn your members into customers.
Cost of Disciple is dependent on the number of participants and the choice of web, mobile, or both:
- Web-only: $46 per month for 100 users
- For mobile only, $458 a month for 500 subscribers
- Mobile and Web: $504 for 500 members
The add-ons are API white labeling, API additional administrative users. There is also a cost for coaching in the community as well as member support as well as mastermind-related features.
11. Vibely.io
Vibely.io was created by two ex- Asana employees, Teri Yu and Theresa Lee and they wanted to disrupt the creator communities with a positive approach. Their slogan "Built by women, not gamer dudes," gives you an idea of what they're looking for.
Vibely.io is a creator-controlled online community platform, which lets creators interact with users and gather the content that users create.
Vibely.io's top features include:
Commitment to positivity. Vibely guarantees no spammers, trolls or even violence. Their goal is to build an environment that is inclusive of everyone.
Accountability tools and challenges. It includes the leaderboards, challenges and trackers to keep everyone engaged.
Ambassadors. Vibely allows you to appoint leaders in your community to assist you in welcoming and managing members.
You can create your own Vibely community at no cost without a limit on the number of people who are members, ambassadors, or super administrators. However, on the plan that is free it is not possible to accept recurring payments. The Mastermind plan unlocks payments and takes a 10% cut of your revenue.
The best online community software business
There's a lot to consider when choosing the best online community platform. It is essential to have the right tools for building markets, sell, and build your group, as well as the platform must be user-friendly to both your members.
As you can see from our review, there are many good choices however one stand out as an all-in-one business platform.
Only empowers you to create and market a vibrant and lively community as well as other digital offerings like online coaching and courses. Furthermore, it provides all the tools you need to promote and sell these items, so you can expand and grow a profitable knowledge business.
If you're looking to set up a forum you could consider any of the community platforms we've reviewed. According to the size of your group it could be affordable (or even free).
Free software options will subject you to outside algorithms and rules while limiting the potential for growth. The software doesn't have the features you need and often cap the number of members they will accept.
The community you create is yours. Your guidelines, terms and conditions as well as the cost of membership, either paid or free.
If you're trying to establish an online presence, is the perfect solution for you. Through video tutorials and walkthroughs that will help you get online fast. Through University, you have access to training on the basics of running an online community that is for free to everyone who wants it.
Begin your no-cost 14-day trial from right now!