11 best community software online solution platforms

Looking for the right online community platform to host your company's community?

Choosing the right community software online can be difficult, considering that aspects like ease of use, customer support, platform flexibility, and more are on the line. To ease the pressure of making this important choice, we've examined the top 11 online community software solution companies offering their services.

Read on to get the full details, including the good, the bad, and the ugly of the top-rated solutions available there. We've shared tons of insights regarding what to consider when choosing an online community platform so you'll be able to make the ideal option for your needs.

What exactly are these companies?

Platforms for online community are solutions for software that allow you to create an online space for your members to learn, connect, and interact with each others.

Each platform has its own strengths. Knowing your priorities will help you narrow down the choices as we go through the best online communities as well as their features. We'll get started!

What should you look for in a community platform

Community software products have basic community function, along with additional functions that enhance the experience and help achieve specific objectives. If you are looking for a solution, make sure to choose a solution that will work with your organization today and in the near future.

Focus on the whole package, not just on particular features. Instead, think about the entire package, and see the way it fits into the long-term vision of your company.

What to seek out in a great community software program:

Intuitive and easy to use. You'll be spending many hours creating or managing your group. You'll want to be able to appreciate the interaction. You must ensure that the platform you choose to use is intuitive and lets you work effectively. Of course, you would like it to be user-friendly to use and enjoyable for your customers to utilize!

Easy to use. Your members should be able to quickly sign in when organizing an event, or when they would like to join in. There are fewer obstacles to getting into the system and the easier it is for members are to join.

Connects to the rest of your company. Most communities are part of an overall ecosystem of services such as online courses, coaching, and training materials. Everything needs to be branded with the same style and look, as well as it should be easy to navigate from one space to the next.

includes sales and marketing functions. It is impossible to build a community that no one is aware of. Ideally, the platform will have tools to help you promote your group as well as selling memberships and selling other items.

Insightful analytics. To provide a excellent experience for your members that draws them in and keeps them engaged, you must know what's working and what isn't. Analytics tools give you all the data you require about your members behavior and preferences so you can target your efforts on the most efficient ways.

11 best online community software solution firms

Let's take a look at the most popular online community software currently available.

1.

Key benefits of include:

Simplicity. makes it super simple to build and run your online community. You can make your community as a stand-alone product or employ it as an added value to your coaching or courses.

Multiple tiers. You can create community groups that are free or paid for creating an "membership funnel" for your business. The free membership you offer can draw new customers, by providing them with the opportunity to communicate with you and fellow peers. Use's extensive marketing tools to sell your community that is paid for, so members can access premium content or benefits.

Deep integration into the sales and marketing tech system. One of the aspects that differentiates it from the rest the HTML0 suite is its comprehensive set of business-building tools. As a user, you have access to all the range of tools, which include:

• Web Builder
• Builder of landing pages
• Email marketing software
• Funnel builder
• Pages for ordering and processing payments
• Host of the podcast

With , all your tools have been designed to integrate to eliminate problems with creating tech integrations or diagnosing breakdowns. Just sign in, and then you're all set to roll.

It is a complete solution that also saves you cash. By investing in single-use products or building your own tech stack, you can easily spend hundreds of dollars every month. With , you have one monthly fee that covers everything you need for running a successful online business.

The Basic plan is $119 per month. It includes 3 digital products (a community, and two other) as well as more than 10,000 contacts. If you are unable to use the Basic plan, you can upgrade to the Growth plan at $159 a month. That gives you 15 products and up to 25,000 contacts.

Try it for free for 14 days

is everything your online business will require. All in one place.        Yes! Let's go

2. Facebook groups

If you're an avid Facebook user most likely, you belong to at least some Facebook group. Facebook allows users to set up private groups that allow you to connect with your audience to discuss business or personal issues.

Facebook groups are free, however, there are hidden charges with regard to credibility and trust. Public trust in the company has dropped 66% in recent years.

As an example, when she set up the Facebook group that would host her community, Kathryn Aragon discovered that many of the members no anymore using Facebook. To increase the number of members who joined her community, she decided to shift her community over to another site.

The most significant benefits of Facebook as a social media platform arethe following:

Privacy. The content within the group may only be viewed by other members.

Discussion. Posts and comments allow members to discuss topics in real time. Updates from the group are sent directly to members, which helps to streamline communication.

Member management. Group administrators can easily manage the group members and permissions.

Downsides include lack of ownership (that's a biggie) and no member directory or website management. The members aren't the site'scustomers. They're Facebook's customers. Let's not forget the huge Facebook downtime that occurred in the month of October in 2021. This led small companies across the world to immediately be denied access to their communities and customers.

A major complaint of owners of community groups is the absence of support in person, and just support forums available to help troubleshoot.

3. Discord

After gaining popularity in the world of gaming, Discord has grown into a very popular social network for all types of users. Its goal: to create places where users can meet to share the same interests.

A community-based online software solution provider, Discord offers real-time video and audio conversations. It also includes custom roles to distinguish members and administrators.
 Given its gamer and techie origins, the style is dark, which may or may not match your business's aesthetics. Discord doesn't give you the option of branding your membership space.

It offers the following features:

AI-Powered Bots. The bots can be programmed to greet new users and personalize the experience. The members will be aware that it's an actual bot that is interacting with them. However, you can create fun experiences with it while providing useful details.

Reliable, secure private channels. Discord does not have a time-lag, so it can feel like you're in the same room. It's known for its privacy and the channels are secure, which allows users to feel secure in their discussions.

Moderator Academy. This is a comprehensive guide for both veteran and first-time moderators who want to improve their skills in community management.

The downside is that setting up your Discord community isn't easy. This means that you'll have to learn which means you may not have the ability to make maximum benefit from the service. It's possible that your Discord server will be with the other communities you have members participating in, meaning you'll have to compete for their interest.

Discord is free to download. Just download the software and set it up. You can also upgrade the version to Discord Nitro ($99.99 per year) to get access to more emojis, bigger uploads, high-resolution video and other improvements.

4. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks offers an online learning platform that has an integrated community feature. It's a robust platform that lets you customize branding as well as functions that foster community involvement.

It is the key to Mighty Networks features include:
 

Mobile access. This online community platform features an app for mobile devices that allows participants to interact with each other at the move. In fact, it's more convenient to connect via your smartphone than on the internet.

Email alerts. Members get email alerts whenever there's a new activity in the community. They get a brief nudge to log in to see what else they may be missing.

Branding. Mighty Network allows you to create a branded area that shares the same appearance and feel as your site. Just apply your logo's color on tabs, buttons text links, and action icons.

It's important to note the fact that Might Networks is a community-focused platform. If you're planning to build different kinds of products to expand your business, you may need to invest in other apps and software that host them.

5. Hivebrite

Hivebrite is a community management system that is all-in-one specifically designed for educational and non-profit organisations. It supports more than 500 organizations including Vanderbilt University, WWF, and Sabin Vaccine Institute.

They don't display their prices on their site. For a chance to test Hivebrite for yourself, you'll have to register for an initial demo. This is a clear indication that they only offer corporate pricing plans.

However, they have attractive features. Your community is able to be branded. Additionally, it allows you to manage your community's content, and marketing tools from one location.

Some of Hivebrite's standout features:

Live feed. It's possible to livestream to community members and host real-time meetings.

Access rights. With Hivebrite, it is possible to grant different access rights to distinct user groups, like students and alumni. You can also create tiers of membership, with greater access for members who pay.

Modular capabilities. As your community grows, you are able to turn on different features. The options include forums, events and networking groups. messages, media center and a job board or directory.

One of the challenges with this platform is connecting it to your database , and with other technology. In most cases, you'll need engage an IT expert to complete the APIs for synchronizing the platform with various tools.

6. Tribe.so

Tribe is a customizable community platform that has an app ecosystem, direct third-party integrations, and tools to embed the community in other applications and websites. Examples of use cases are customer education, customer success, service support for customers, brand leadership, and product feedback.

With Tribe the main functions take care of essential community components. The apps can help you expand your options. Examples:

• Slack allows moderators and administrators to receive alerts of different activities.
• Zapier connects your community with the other technology tools within your stack.
• Google Analytics helps you measure the activity of your community.

Tribe includes the following features:

Social sharing. Tribe includes Open Graph tags that enable social sharing. This allows you to share content within the community to generate interest from prospective members.

Integration. Third-party integrations with nearly 30 apps allow you to integrate your community using the tools you're using already.

Moderation panel. Tribe gives you the ability to allow, edit, or reject posts from users. You can also archive old content in order to keep your feed clean.

Tribe is free for the first 100 members. The Plus Plan is $59 per month, includes users to use Plus applications and more than 2,500 members. However, to benefit the most benefit from the app, users will be required to change to the Premium Plan at $299 a month. It will let you remove the Tribe branding, access its webhooks and API, as well as increase membership to 25,000.

7. Circle.so

Circle allows you to build a community around your courses as well as coaching or assistance for customers. It is designed to ease the community building process, allowing members with content creation tools and private spaces, manage discussion, and even monetize your membership. It is loaded with capabilities and lets you make a space with a logo to match your website.

Some of Circle's standout features are:

Simple integrations. Circle plays nicely with the third-party software, like email marketing software, Slack, Wordpress, and , so you can market your group or integrate it with other products.

Private and secret spaces. You can create distinct areas for various members in your membership. For instance, you might have one space to accommodate core members and another for premium members.

Searchable member directory. You can help members network with one another through profiles that are customized and also search filters.

Circle costs $35 per month, plus a 4% transaction fee per user. The Basic plan offers only the essentials of your group, such as discussion forums and private messages. Upgrade to the Professional Plan ($89 a month and 1% fee for transactions per user) to unlock Live streaming courses, online classes and more advanced analytics.

You may need to pay extra for add-ons such as extra administrators, extra spaces, email white-labeling, and a custom single sign-on (SSO).

8. Vanilla Forums

Vanilla Forums has been designed to empower mid-sized and enterprise organizations to offer outstanding customer service. The platform is often utilized for customer support, customer experience as well as product marketing and the promotion of brands.

Vanilla delivers a pleasant user experience, a seamless integration with your current tech stack as well as flexible customizations to suit your brand.

Key aspects of Vanilla Forums are:

Knowledge Base. You can create a self-service Help Center within your community that houses your user guides and Help documents.

Surveys can be customized. With Vanilla Forums you are able to distribute personalized surveys to your customers to receive directly feedback.

Open source community. You can download Vanilla's open source code for free and manage your own community. Do you have a passion for technology? You can even contribute to the code.

The platform may not be suitable for independent creators or entrepreneurs on their own, as pricing cannot be available on the site. But if you're interested, it's possible to schedule an appointment to talk to one of the sales representatives.

9. WildApricot

WildApricot can be described as an integrated platform initially designed for nonprofits and associations. Today, it is used by clubs, associations, and chapters of local and state level.

Wild Apricot has a self-serve design that lets you customize each aspect of your community. The gamification system and reputation system lets you create good content, make member-friendly features available, and make moderation easier.

It includes these key attributes:

Event managing. Plan events such as auctions online, virtual conferences, and webinars--and get sponsors for your event. Also, you can publish your event calendar and create registrations for your event.

Donations. With WildApricot, you can accept donations and share progress towards your fundraising goals. It is also possible to export the records of your donations for easier track and manage donations.

CRM. Like , WildApricot offers a CRM (customer relationship management) tool that includes an extensive member directory which is accessible from any location.

Third-party tools are required for marketing and running your business. The majority of them will work with WildApricot, including WordPress, Mailchimp, and Zapier. Additionally, the payment processing option can only be used by U.S. and Canada residents.

You are able to test WildApricot at no cost for with up to 50 contacts. Your price will then increase in the event that your audience grows

• A month of $48 for 100 contacts
• $60 a month for 250 contacts
• $500 contacts for $110 per month. contacts
• $190 a month for 2,000 contacts

10. Disciple Media

Disciple Media is a community-based platform comprised of three components: a console for managing the content that you create on mobile and desktopdevices, a mobile application that allows members to engage with each other, and the web community, which gives people an opportunity to connect on desktop.

The platform is designed to be used by creators, founders and influencers who want to develop their own brand social media platform.

Disciple Media includes the following features:

Multi-layouts. You can store and distribute content from a central location. Use folders, groups, and lists to design custom structures to your group.

Mobile app. Disciple Media is like a social networking site by the fact that its mobile application user experience is geared towards the users. There is a web app however it is limited in capabilities compared to the mobile app.

In-app purchases. Disciple lets you create sponsorships and in-app purchases and turn your members into customers.

The cost of Disciple depends on the number of participants as well as your preference of mobile, web or both:

• Only on the web: $46 a month for 100 people
• For mobile only, $458 a month for 500 users
• Mobile and web Mobile: $504 per 500 members

Additional features include API, whitelabeling, and extra administrative users. Additionally, you'll pay for coaching in the community members' 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 in a positive way. Their tagline "Built by women, not gamer guys," gives you an idea of the vibe they're going for.

Vibely.io is a creator-controlled online community platform that allows creators to communicate with users and gather the content that users create.

Vibely.io's best features are:

Commitment to positivity. Vibely is committed to not allowing spam, trolls, or even violence. The goal is to provide an environment that is inclusive of everyone.

Accountability tools and challenges. This app offers leadersboards, challenges, and trackers to keep everyone motivated.

Ambassadors. Vibely lets you appoint members of your community as ambassadors to help you welcome and manage the members.

Create a Vibely community at no cost, with no limit on the number of members, ambassadors, or super administrators. However, on the plan that is free it is not possible to accept the recurring payment. The Mastermind plans allows for payments, and takes 10 percent of revenue.

The top online community software firm

There's a lot to consider in deciding on the ideal online community-building platform. There are tools needed to create the foundation, promote and market your community. The platform must be user-friendly for both you and the members.
 
 Based on our evaluations, there's numerous options to choose from - but one stands out as an all-in-one business platform.

Only empowers you to create and monetize a vibrant community along with other digital products such as online coaching and courses. Furthermore, it provides all the resources you require to sell and market these items, so you can grow and scale an effective knowledge-based enterprise.

If you're looking to start a forum, you could consider among the various forums we've examined. Depending on how big your community it may be reasonable (or even free).

Free software options can make you subject to other algorithmic and governing rules, while restricting the potential for growth. They lack the capabilities you'll need, and they often limit the amount of users you can accept.

The community you create is yours. You set the terms, conditions, and cost of membership, you pay or not.

If you're looking to build an online community, is the perfect solution for you. Through video tutorials and walkthroughs to get you started fast. Through the University, you have access to training in the basics of running an online community, for free to everyone who wants it.

Get your complimentary 14-day trial of right now!