11 best community software online solutions platforms

Are you looking for the perfect online community platform for hosting your brand's community?

Selecting the best community software online can be daunting, given that factors like ease of use, customer support, platform flexibility, and more are on the line. To alleviate the stress of this big decision, we've reviewed the top 11 online community software solutions on the market.

Read on to get all the information--the good, the bad and the ugly -- of the top solutions on the market. There are plenty of tips on what you should look for in an online community platform so you'll be able to make the ideal decision for your company.

What exactly are these companies?

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

The different platforms offer strengths and weaknesses. Knowing your priorities can assist you in narrowing down the options as we review the best communities on the internet as well as their features. Let's dive in!

What are the key features to be looking for in a community-based platform

Community software has a fundamental community component, as well as other features that add value 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.

Do not focus solely on specific functions. Instead, consider the entire package, and see the way it fits into the long-term vision of your business.

What to seek out in a great community-based software product:

Simple and simple to operate. It's likely that you'll spend many hours developing and managing your community. It is important to have a pleasant interaction. You must ensure that the platform you choose to use can be intuitive and allows you to work efficiently. And of course, you would like it to be easy to use and enjoyable for your customers to use as well!

Easy to use. Your guests will be able to swiftly log in when you're hosting an event or they are looking to participate. There are fewer obstacles for logging in to the system and the easier it is for members are to join.

integrates with other aspects of your business. Most communities are part of an overall ecosystem of services that include online classes, coaching, and training products. Everything needs to have the same branded appearance and design, and it should be easy to navigate from one space to the next.

Includes marketing and sales capabilities. You can't grow an online community that nobody knows about. Ideally, the platform will have tools to help you promote your group, selling memberships, and increasing sales for other products.

Insightful analytics. To provide a fantastic experience that is appealing to members and keeps them engaged, you have to understand what's working and what isn't. Analytics tools provide you with the information you need on your customers' behaviour and preferences so you can direct your attention to provide the most effective service.

11 of the top community software online solution companies

Now, let's review the top online community softwares that are currently in use.

1.

The main benefits are:

Simple. makes it super easy to create and manage your online community. You can make your community a standalone product or use it to enhance your courses or coaching program.

Multiple levels. You can create both paid and free communities in order to design a "membership funnel" to promote your company. Your free membership can attract prospective customers with the help of providing them a space to interact with other members of your community and with you. Use's extensive marketing tools to sell the paid-for community where members will have access to premium content or benefits.

Deep integration with your sales and marketing technology stack. One of the aspects that differentiates it from the rest is the complete set of tools for building businesses. As a user, you get access to the entire toolset, including:

• Builder for websites
• Build a landing page
• Email marketing software
• Funnel builder
• Payment processing and order pages
• Host of the podcast

With , all your tools are designed to work together so you never have the headache of developing tech integrations, or identifying breakdowns. Simply sign up, and you're set to rock and roll.

As an all-in-one solution, also saves you costs. If you invest in one-off items and developing your own technology stack, you can easily invest hundreds of dollars each month. By paying just one cost per month that will cover all the things you require to run an effective online business.

The Basic plan costs one hundred dollars per month, and it includes 3 digital products (a community and two others) and the possibility of 10,000 contacts. If you are unable to use the Basic plan, you may move to the Grow plan for $159 per month. This gives you 15 items and up to 25,000 contact.

Try for 14 days for no cost.

It has everything your online business requires for your online business. All in one place.        Yes! Let's go!

2. Facebook groups

If you're a Facebook user likely have a connection to at the very least at least one Facebook group. Facebook lets you create private groups that allow you to communicate with your followers for personal or business reasons.

Facebook's groups are for free, but there are costs hidden regarding credibility and trust. The trust of the public in the business has declined by 66% in the last few years.

For example, after building a Facebook group that would host the community Kathryn Aragon discovered that many of her members weren't longer using Facebook. In order to increase engagement the group, she needed to transfer the community to another platform.

The key advantages for Facebook as a social media platform arethe following:

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

Discussion. Posts and comments allow members to discuss issues in real-time. Any group updates are sent directly to members. This can help streamline communications.

Members management. Group administrators can easily manage group members as well as access rights.

The downsides are that there is no ownership (that's an issue) as well as no directory for members or website management. They aren't Facebook'scustomers. They're Facebook's customers. Don't forget the massive Facebook outage of October, 2021, which caused small businesses around the world to instantly be denied access to their communities and customers.

Another major issue cited by community members is the absence of support in person, and only support forums offered for troubleshooting.

3. Discord

Since it gained traction in the gaming world, Discord has been a thriving community platform that is accessible to all kinds of players. The aim of the platform is to build spaces where people can connect with each other over similar interest.

Discord is an online software for community solution firm, Discord offers real-time video and audio calls. It also includes custom roles for distinguishing members from administrators.
 Due to its gaming and techie origins, the design has a dark tone, which may or may not align with your brand's style. Discord doesn't give you the option of branding your member area.

It provides the following benefits:

AI-Powered Bots. Bots can be programmed to welcome new members and customize the experience. The members will be aware that it's a bot interacting with them. You are able to create enjoyable experiences using the bot while also providing valuable facts.

Reliable, secure private channels. Discord does not have a time-lag, so it can feel as if you're part of the same room. Discord is renowned for its privacy and the channels are secure, which allows members to feel safe during their conversations.

Moderator Academy. This is a complete guide for both veteran and first-time moderators to level up their management of their communities.

On the downside, setting up your Discord community isn't easy. It's a steep learning curve which means you may not achieve maximum benefit from the service. Your Discord server will be with the other communities you have members participating in, meaning you'll have to compete for their attention.

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

4. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks offers an online course platform with built-in community features. The system is robust, and can be customized to fit your needs and tools that promote community involvement.

It is the key to Mighty Networks features include:
 

Mobile access. This online community platform features a mobile app which makes it simple for participants to interact with each other at the move. In fact, it's easier to engage via your smartphone than on the internet.

Email alerts. Members receive email notifications when there's new community activity. This gives them a quick signal to login and see what they might not have noticed.

Branding. Mighty Network allows you to make a brandable space that has a similar style and appearance to your web site. Apply your brand's colors to buttons, tabs, actions, and text icons.

It is important to remember that Might Networks is a community-focused platform. If you want to create different kinds of products to grow your business, you may need to buy other software and software that host them.

5. Hivebrite

Hivebrite is a community management system that is all-in-one that is specifically designed for education and nonprofit organisations. 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 website. For a chance to test Hivebrite, you'll need to register for a demo--a strong signal that they only offer prices for corporate customers.

That said, they do come with attractive functions. Your community can be fully branded. Additionally, it allows you to control your community's content, members as well as marketing tools all all in one spot.

One of Hivebrite's most distinctive features:

Live feed. It's possible to livestream to community members and hold real-time events.

Rights of access. With Hivebrite, you can assign different access rights to different users, such as graduates and students. Additionally, you can create different levels of membership with more access to paying members.

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

The biggest challenge is integrating it with your database and other tech. It is likely that you'll have engage an IT expert to set up the APIs that sync the platform with various tools.

6. Tribe.so

Tribe is a customizable community platform that has an app ecosystem, directly third-party integrations and instruments to incorporate the community into other products and websites. Use cases include customer education the customer's experience, success for customers, service support for customers, brand leadership, and customer feedback on products.

With Tribe The core functions take care of essential community components. Apps extend your capabilities. For example:

• Slack provides moderators and admins notifications of various activities.
• Zapier connects your community with other tools in your tech stack.
• Google Analytics helps you measure the activity of your community.

Tribe includes the following features:

Social Sharing. Tribe includes Open Graph tags to enable social sharing. It is easy to share content outside the community to generate interest in potential members.

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

Moderation panel. Tribe gives you the possibility to accept, edit, or reject posts by users. Additionally, you can archive old content to keep your feed free of clutter.

Tribe is available for free to the first 100 members. The Plus Plan is $59 per month, allows Plus apps and up to 2,500 members. Though to get the most out of the app, you'll have move to the Premium Plan with a monthly cost of $299. This allows you to get rid of the Tribe branding, access its API and webhooks, and increase the number of members to 25,000.

7. Circle.so

Circle allows you to build an online community for your courses as well as coaching or customer support. It is designed to ease the community-building process by equipping you to create content and private spaces, manage discussionsand make money from your membership. It comes with a variety of capabilities and lets you create a branded space to match your website.

Some of Circle's standout features are:

Easy integrations. Circle is compatible with tools from third parties, such as the email marketing software Slack, Wordpress, and  it allows you to market your community or merge it with other products.

Spaces that are secret and private. You can create separate spaces for different categories in your membership. For instance, you might create a space specifically to accommodate core members and another for premium members.

Searchable member directory. It allows members to connect with one another through profiles that are customized and also search filters.

Circle starts at $35 a month, plus an 4% transaction fee per user. The Basic plan offers only the essentials of the community you have created, which includes discussions and private messaging. You can upgrade to the Pro Plan ($89 a month with a transaction cost 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 space, white-labeling of email, as well as custom single sign-on (SSO).

8. Vanilla Forums

Vanilla Forums was designed to empower mid-sized and enterprises to provide exceptional customer experiences. It is frequently used to provide customer support, customer experience along with product marketing, as well as branding awareness.

Vanilla offers a great user experience, integration into your current tech stack as well as flexible customizations to suit your branding.

The most important aspects of Vanilla Forums are:

Knowledge base. You can create a self-service Help Center in your community. It includes user guides and Help documents.

Survey customization. With Vanilla Forums it is possible to send customized surveys to your audience for immediate responses.

Open source community. You can download Vanilla's open source code at no cost and create your own community. Do you have a passion for technology? It is possible to contribute the code.

This website is not ideal for creators who are independent and solopreneurs, and pricing is not available on the site. But if you're interested, you may schedule an appointment to talk to an agent for sales.

9. WildApricot

WildApricot offers a complete platform initially designed to serve associations and nonprofits. Its users now include associations, clubs, as well as state and local chapter organizations.

Wild Apricot has a self-serve style that lets you personalize every aspect of your community. Its reputation and gamification systems allows you to promote quality content, make member-friendly features available as well as make moderation easier.

It includes these key characteristics:

Event management. Plan events such as online auctions, virtual conferences, and webinars--and get sponsors to support your event. Also, you can create your own event calendar and organize event registration.

Donations. With WildApricot, it is possible to accept donations and share progress towards your goals for donations. Additionally, you can export your donations records to make it easier to track and manage the donations.

CRM. Like , WildApricot offers a CRM (customer relationship management) tool with the most comprehensive member directory, which can be accessed from anywhere.

Third-party tools are required to manage your marketing company. They will most likely integrate with WildApricot which includes WordPress, Mailchimp, and Zapier. Also, payment processing is available only to U.S. and Canada residents.

You are able to test WildApricot at no cost for as long as you have 50 contacts. Your price will then increase when your network grows

• $48 a month for 100 contacts
• 60 dollars a month for 250 contacts
• A month's rent of $110 for 500 contacts
• A month of $190 for 2000 contacts

10. Disciple Media

Disciple Media is a community platform comprised of three components consisting of a console that manages the content you publish on your mobile device or desktop, the mobile app which allows users to interact, and the web community offering users an opportunity to connect on desktop.

It's designed for creators, founders, and influencers who want to create their own brand-name social platform.

Disciple Media includes the following characteristics:

Multi-layouts. You can store and share content from one central location. Utilize groups, folders, and lists to design custom structures for your users.

Mobile application. Disciple Media is like a social networking site because the mobile experience is prioritized for users. The web application is available, but it has limited options compared with the mobile app.

In-app purchases. Disciple lets you make in-app purchases as well as sponsorships and make your users subscribers.

The price of Disciple is dependent on the number of participants and the choice of mobile or web or both.

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

The add-ons are API whitelabeling, API extra administrative users. Additionally, you'll pay for community coaching, member support, and mastermind functions.

11. Vibely.io

Vibely.io was created by two former Asana employees, Teri Yu and Theresa Lee who wanted to challenge the communities of creators positively. Their tagline "Built exclusively by females, and not gamer guys," gives you an idea of the vibe they're going for.

Vibely.io is a creator-controlled online community platform that lets creators interact with their fans, and also collect the content that users create.

Vibely.io's top features include:

The commitment to positiveness. Vibely is committed to not allowing trolls, spam, or any kind of violence. Their goal is to build a space where everyone belongs.

Tools for accountability and challenges. The app includes challenges, leaderboards, and trackers that keep everybody engaged.

Ambassadors. Vibely lets you appoint individuals in your community who will aid in the welcoming of and management of the members.

You can create your own Vibely community for free without a limit on the number of people who are members, ambassadors, or super administrators. However, on the plan that is free there is no way to take recurring payments. The Mastermind plans allows for payments, and takes 10% of your revenue.

The best online community software company

There's a lot to consider when choosing the best online community-building platform. There are tools needed to create the foundation, promote and market your community, and the platform needs to be user-friendly for both you and the members.
 
 As you can see from our evaluations, there's numerous options to choose from however one stand out as a complete business platform.

Only allows you to develop and monetize a lively community as well as other digital goods like online coaching and courses. It also gives you all the resources you require to market and sell the products so that you can grow and scale a profitable knowledge business.

If you're looking to set up a forum you might choose one of the other forums we've examined. Depending on how big your community the option could be affordable (or even completely free).

However, free software will subject you to outside rules and algorithms, while also limiting the growth possibilities. They don't offer the features you need and often cap the number of participants that you are able to accept.

The community you create is yours. You decide the guidelines, terms and conditions as well as the price, whether free or paid.

If you're planning to create an online social network, this is the perfect solution for you. With video walkthroughs and tutorials, you can get started in a short time. Through the University, you have access to fundamentals of running and an online community. It is available for free to everyone who wants it.

Get your complimentary 14-day trial as of now!