11 best community software online solution platforms

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

Selecting the best software for your community can be difficult, considering that aspects like ease of use, customer support, platform flexibility as well as many other aspects are at stake. To alleviate the stress of this big selection, we've reviewed the top 11 online community software companies available offering their services.

Read on to get the full details, including the good, the bad and the ugly -- of the top solutions there. We've provided a wealth of information on what you should be looking for in an online community platform , so you'll be able to make the ideal choice for your business.

What exactly are these companies?

Platforms for online community are computer-based solutions that let you create an electronic space for users to learn, connect, and interact with each other members.

The different platforms offer strengths and weaknesses. Knowing your priorities can assist you in narrowing down the choices as we go through the most popular online community platforms as well as their features. Let's dive in!

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

Community software solutions have a fundamental community component, as well as other features that add value and assist with specific goals. To choose, look for the right solution for your business now and into the future.

Do not focus solely on specific aspects. Instead, look at the whole package and consider how the program is integrated into the overall vision of your business.

Here's what to look for in a good community-based software product:

Easy to operate. You'll be spending many hours developing and managing your community. You'll want to be able to appreciate the user experience. You must ensure that the platform you choose to use is intuitive and helps you efficiently. And of course, you would like it to be user-friendly to use and enjoyable for your customers to utilize!

Easy to use. Your members must be able quickly sign in when hosting an event or they are looking to participate. The fewer hurdles there are to getting into the system that the less likely it are to join.

integrates with other aspects of your company. The majority of communities form part of an overall ecosystem of services: online courses as well as coaching and other training materials. Everything needs to share the same brand style and look, as well as it should be easy to move from one area to another.

It includes sales and marketing functions. There is no way to grow an online community that nobody is aware of. Ideally, the platform should include tools for promoting your membership by selling memberships, as well as selling other items.

Informative analytics. To provide a great experience that attracts members and keeps them engaged you must know what's working and what isn't. Analytics tools give you the information you need about your members behaviour and preferences so you can target your efforts on the most efficient ways.

11 of the top community software online solution firms

Let's take a look at the top online community softwares currently available.

1.

Benefits of this include:

The simplicity. makes it super simple to build and run your online community. Your community can be as a stand-alone product or employ it as an added value to your training or coaching programs.

Multiple levels. You can create both paid and free communities in order for creating an "membership funnel" for 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. Then, use 's robust marketing tools to sell the paid-for community where members can access exclusive content and benefits.

A deep integration with your sales and marketing technology system. One of the features that distinguish it is its complete suite of tools for building businesses. As a user, you have access to all the range of tools, which include:

• Builder for websites
• Landing page builder
• Email marketing software
• Funnel builder
• Order pages and payment processing
• Host of the podcast

All your devices are built to be integrated to eliminate the headache of creating tech integrations or diagnosing breakdowns. Simply sign up, and you're ready to rock and roll.

A complete and integrated solution will also save you costs. Investing in one-off products and creating your own technology stack, you can effortlessly pay hundreds of dollars every month. With , you have just one cost per month that will cover all the things you require to run an effective online business.

The Basic plan costs $119 a month and includes 3 digital products (a community as well as two additional) as well as up to 10,000 contacts. When you outgrow the Basic plan, you are able to upgrade to the Growth plan for $159 a month. You get 15 different products and up to 25,000 contact.

Try it for free for 14 days

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

2. Facebook groups

If you're a Facebook user likely are part of at the very least at least one Facebook group. Facebook allows you to create private groups that allow you to communicate with your followers either for business or personal reasons.

Facebook group memberships are completely free however, there are hidden charges with regard to credibility and trust. Public trust in the company has decreased by 66% over recent years.

As an example, when she set up a Facebook group for hosting the members of her community, Kathryn Aragon discovered that many of the members no actively using Facebook. To increase the number of members who joined the group, she needed to transfer her community over to another site.

The key advantages for Facebook as a platform for community include:

Security. The content within the group may only be accessible to other members.

Discussion. Posts and comments allow members to discuss subjects in real-time. Updates from the group are sent directly to members. This can help streamline communications.

Members management. Group administrators can easily control the members of the group and access rights.

Some of the negatives are lack of ownership (that's the biggest problem) and there is no member directory and website management. The members aren't the site'scustomers. 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 the world to instantly lose access to their communities and customers.

Another big complaint from community owners is the lack of support in person, and just support forums available to help troubleshoot.

3. Discord

In the gaming world, Discord has grown into a very popular social network with all sorts of users. The aim of the platform is to build places where users can meet with each other over similar passions.

Discord is an online software for community solution firm, Discord offers real-time video and audio conversations. Additionally, it offers custom roles that distinguish between members and administrators.
 Because of its gamer and techno-related roots, its aesthetics have a dark theme that may or might not be in line with your company's aesthetics. Discord doesn't give you many options for branding your membership space.

It provides the following benefits:

AI-Powered Bots. The bots can be programmed to greet new members and customize the experience. The members will be aware that it's an actual bot that is interacting with them. You are able to create enjoyable experiences using it while providing useful details.

Reliable, secure private channels. Discord isn't tied to time and therefore it feels like being in the same room. It's known for its privacy and the channels are private, allowing members to feel safe in their discussions.

Moderator Academy. This is a comprehensive source for veteran and novice moderators to level up their community management skills.

On the downside, creating your Discord community isn't easy. That means a learning curve which means you may not achieve maximum benefit from Discord's platform. Your Discord server will be in the same group as communities that your users are in, so it will be competing for interest.

Discord is available for free. You just need to download the app and install it. Upgrade to Discord Nitro ($99.99 a year) for access to more emoticons and uploads with more capacity, as well as high-resolution video, and a few other upgrades.

4. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks offers an online learning platform that has a built-in community feature. The system is robust, and allows for personalized branding and functions that foster community involvement.

It is the key to Mighty Networks features include:
 

Mobile access. This community site online has a mobile app that allows participants to interact with each other on the go. Actually, it's much easier to engage with your mobile device than via the web.

Email alerts. Members receive email notifications when there's new community activity. It gives them a short reminder to sign in and see what they might not have noticed.

Branding. Mighty Network allows you to create a branded space that has a similar style and appearance to your web site. Just apply your logo's color to buttons, tabs, hyperlinks, and icons.

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

5. Hivebrite

Hivebrite is an all-in-one platform for community management that is specifically designed for education and nonprofit organisations. It serves more than 500 institutions like Vanderbilt University, WWF, and Sabin Vaccine Institute.

They don't display their prices on their website. To test Hivebrite for yourself, you'll have to register for Demos, which is an indication they are only offering corporate pricing plans.

They do offer attractive features. Your community is able to be brand-named. And, it lets you control your community's content, members and tools for marketing from one location.

A few of the most notable features offered by Hivebrite:

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

access rights. With Hivebrite, you are able to assign access rights to different users, such as students or alumni. You can also create tiers of membership with more access to paying members.

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

The biggest challenge is the integration with your database , and with other technology. Most likely, you'll need employ an IT specialist to create the APIs for synchronizing it with other tools.

6. Tribe.so

Tribe is a programmable community platform that has an app ecosystem that allows direct third-party integrations, and ways to integrate the community within other products and websites. The use cases for Tribe include education of customers and customer satisfaction, as well as service support for customers with brands, brand management, as well as customer feedback.

With Tribe the main features take care of the crucial community aspects. Apps extend your capabilities. For example:

• Slack gives admins and moderators the ability to receive notifications about various events.
• Zapier connects your community with additional tools that are part of your technology stack.
• Google Analytics helps you measure activities in your local community.

Tribe includes the following features:

Social-sharing. Tribe includes Open Graph tags that facilitate social sharing. This allows you to share content outside the community, and to draw attention from potential members.

Integration. Third-party integrations with over 30 different apps let you to merge your community and the tools that you're using already.

Modification panel. Tribe gives you the ability to allow, modify, or even reject content by users. It also allows you to archive older posts to ensure your feed stays free of clutter.

Tribe is available for free to as many as 100 members. The Plus Plan is $59 per month, allows additional apps as well as more than 2,500 members. To get the best benefit from the app, users will have to upgrade to the Premium Plan at $299 a month. This allows you to remove the Tribe logo, utilize its webhooks and API, as well as increase membership to 25,000.

7. Circle.so

Circle can help you create a community around your courses, coaching, or customer service. It is designed to ease the community-building process by equipping you to create content and private spaces, drive discussionsand make money from your membership. It has rich options and lets you make a space with a logo that matches your website.

Some of Circle's standout features are:

Integrations that are easy. Circle plays nicely with tools from third parties, such as 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 distinct areas for various groups within your membership. As an example, you may create a space specifically for core members as well as a separate space for premium members.

Searchable member directory. It allows members to connect with one another through custom profile fields and search filters.

Circle costs $35 per month and includes a 4% transaction fee per user. The Basic plan gives you the bare essentials for your group, such as discussions and private messaging. Make the upgrade to the Premium Plan ($89 monthly and 1% transaction fee per user) to access courses, live streaming, as well as advanced analytics.

You may need to pay extra for additions like additional space for administrators, additional spaces, email white-labeling, and custom Single Sign-On (SSO).

8. Vanilla Forums

Vanilla Forums was developed to allow mid-sized as well as enterprises to deliver outstanding customer service. It is frequently used to provide support for customers, customer service as well as product marketing and branding awareness.

Vanilla provides a good user experience, integration with your current tech stack and flexible customization to fit the style of your business.

Key features of Vanilla Forums are:

Knowledge Base. You can create Self-Service Help Centers within your community that includes user guides and assistance documents.

Surveys can be customized. With Vanilla Forums, you can send out customizable surveys to your community to receive immediate comments.

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

This website is not suitable for independent creators or entrepreneurs on their own, as pricing isn't available on the site. However, if you're interested it's possible to schedule an appointment with one of the sales representatives.

9. WildApricot

WildApricot can be described as an integrated platform that was originally created to serve associations and nonprofits. Now, its users include associations, clubs, as well as chapters of local and state level.

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

It includes these key attributes:

Event Management. Plan events such as online auctions, virtual conferences, and webinars--and get sponsors to support your events. You can also create your own event calendar and create registrations for your event.

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

CRM. Like , WildApricot offers the CRM (customer relationship management) tool that includes the most comprehensive member directory, which can be used from anywhere.

Third-party tools are required to help you market and run your business. They will most likely integrate with WildApricot, including WordPress, Mailchimp, and Zapier. Payment processing, however, is available only to U.S. and Canada residents.

You are able to test WildApricot free up to 50 contacts. The cost will increase as your community grows:

• $48 a month 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 platform comprised of three components consisting of a console that manages the content you publish on your mobile device or desktopdevices, a mobile application which allows users to interact in a web-based community offering users the opportunity to interact on their desktops.

The platform is designed to be used by creators, founders and other influencers looking to create their own brand-name social platform.

Disciple Media includes the following attributes:

Different layouts. You can store and access content through one central area. Use folders, groups, and lists to design a custom structure for your users.

Mobile app. Disciple Media is similar to a social network because the mobile user experience is geared towards customers. There is a web app that is however, it lacks capabilities compared to the mobile application.

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

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

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

Additional features include API, whitelabeling, and whitelabeling, and. You'll also pay more for coaching in the community, member support, and mastermind features.

11. Vibely.io

Vibely.io was created by two former Asana employees, Teri Yu and Theresa Lee, who looked to disrupt the creator communities with a positive approach. Their tagline "Built exclusively by females, and not gamer dudes," gives you an idea of the vibe they're going to create.

Vibely.io is a creator-controlled internet community platform that lets creators interact with their fans, and also collect user-generated content.

Vibely.io's most popular features include:

The commitment to positiveness. Vibely is committed to not allowing spam, trolls, or even violence. The goal is to provide a space where everyone belongs.

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

Ambassadors. Vibely allows you to appoint leaders in your community to assist you in welcoming and managing your members.

You can create a Vibely community free of charge without a limit on the number of members, ambassadors and super administrators. However, on the basic plan it is not possible to accept the recurring payment. The Mastermind program allows payments to be accepted and takes 10% of the revenue.

The best online community software solution company

There's plenty to think about when choosing the best online community-building platform. You need tools to build the foundation, promote and market your community. The platform must be user-friendly for both you and the members.
 
 As you can see from our reviews, there are many good choices - but one stands out as a complete business platform.

Only allows you to develop and market a vibrant and vibrant community along with other digital products such as online courses and coaching programs. It also gives you all the resources you require to sell and market these products, so you can grow and scale a profitable knowledge business.

If all you want is to create a forum, you could consider one of the other communities we've looked at. Depending on the size of your community the option could be affordable (or even free).

Free software options can make you subject to other rules and algorithms, while also limiting the growth possibilities. They lack the capabilities you need and often cap the amount of users you can be able to accept.

Your community becomes yours. You set the rules, conditions and cost, regardless of whether it is either paid or free.

If you're looking to build an online social network, then this is your all-in-one solution. Through video tutorials and walkthroughs, you can get started quickly. Through the University, you have access to the basics of running an online community. It is available for free to everyone who wants it.

Begin your no-cost 14-day trial as of now!