11 best community software online platform solutions

You are looking for the best online community platform for hosting your brand's community?

Selecting the best online community software can feel overwhelming, as elements like user-friendliness, the ability to support customers, flexibility of platforms as well as many other aspects are on the line. To alleviate the stress of making this important choice, we've examined the top 11 online community software solution companies that are available.

Check out the article to learn the full details, including the good, the bad and the ugly -- of the top solutions on the market. We've shared tons of insights regarding what to be looking for in 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?

Platforms for online community are software solutions that let you create an electronic space for users to learn, connect, and engage with you and 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 communities on the internet and their capabilities. Let's dive in!

What to look at in a platform that is a part of a community

Community software has a fundamental community component, as well as other options that are beneficial and help achieve specific objectives. When choosing a solution, you should look for an option that is suitable to benefit your company now and into the future.

Focus on the whole package, not just on particular features. Instead, think about the total package and how well the software is integrated into the overall vision of your company.

What to be looking for in a quality community-based software product:

Simple and simple to learn. You're going to spend much of your time developing or managing your group. You want to enjoy the experience. Be sure that the platform has a user-friendly interface that lets you work effectively. Also, of course, you would like it to be user-friendly and enjoyable for your members to use as well!

Simple to access. Your members must be able quickly login when you're hosting an event or they want to engage. If there's less hurdles to getting into the platform that the less likely it are to join.

integrates with other aspects of your organization. The majority of communities form part of an overall ecosystem of services that include online classes or coaching materials. Everything needs to have the same branded appearance and design, and it should be easy to move from one area to the next.

Includes marketing and sales features. There is no way to grow the community of a person that no one has any idea about. The ideal platform would have tools to help you promote your group as well as selling memberships and selling other items.

Informative analytics. To provide a excellent experience for your members that draws them in and keeps them engaged you must know the things that are working and not. Analytics tools give you the information you need regarding your member's habits and preferences, so that you can focus your efforts in the best ways.

11 of the top community software online solution providers

Now, let's review the top online community softwares currently available.

1.

Key benefits of include:

Simple. makes it super simple to set up and manage your community online. Your community can be as a stand-alone product or employ it as a value-add to your courses or coaching program.

Multiple tiers. You can create community groups that are free or paid to design an "membership funnel" to promote your company. Your free membership can attract potential customers by giving them an opportunity to connect with your company and other peers. Use's extensive marketing toolset to upsell your community that is paid for, so members have access to premium content or benefits.

Deep integration with your marketing and sales tech platform. One of the features that distinguish it 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:

• Website builder
• Build a landing page
• Marketing software for email
• Funnel builder
• Pages for ordering and processing payments
• Podcast host

With , all your tools are built to be integrated so you never have problems with building tech integrations or diagnosing breakdowns. Sign in and you're set to roll.

As an all-in-one solution, will also save you cash. By investing in single-use products or developing your own technology stack, you could quickly spend hundreds of dollars every month. By paying only one monthly cost that includes everything you need for running a successful online business.

The Basic plan costs $119 per month. It comes with 3 digital items (a community, and two other) as well as the possibility of 10,000 contacts. If you are unable to use the Basic plan, you can move to the Grow plan at $159 a month. This gives you 15 items and up to 25,000 contact.

Try it for free for 14 days

is everything your online business requires for your online business. Everything you need in one location.        Yes! Let's go

2. Facebook groups

If you're an avid Facebook user likely have a connection to at the very least at least one Facebook group. Facebook allows you to create private groups where you can interact with people either for business or personal reasons.

Facebook's groups are for free, however, there are hidden charges in terms of trust and reputation. Public trust in the company has declined by 66% in recent years.

As an example, when she set up the Facebook group to host the members of her community, Kathryn Aragon discovered that many of her members weren't longer engaging on Facebook. To boost engagement her community, she decided to shift the group to a different platform.

The most significant advantages for Facebook as a platform for community arethe following:

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

Discussion. Posts and comments permit members to debate issues in real-time. Any group updates are sent directly to members, which can help streamline communications.

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

Some of the negatives are lack of ownership (that's a biggie) and there is no member directory and website management. Members aren't really the site'scustomers. They're Facebook's customers. We should not forget about the huge Facebook downtime that occurred in the month of October in 2021 that led small companies across all over the globe to lose access to their communities as well as their customers.

Another big complaint from community owners is the lack of support that is direct, as there are only support forums offered for troubleshooting.

3. Discord

After gaining popularity in the gaming world, Discord has become a popular community platform for all types of players. The aim of the platform is to build areas where people can come together with each other over common interests.

Discord is an online software for community solution provider, Discord offers real-time video and audio conversations. It also includes custom roles for distinguishing members from administrators.
 Given its gamer and techno-related roots, its style is dark and may not match your business's design. Discord does not offer numerous options to brand your membership space.

It provides the following benefits:

AI-Powered Bots. The bots can be programmed to welcome new members and customize the experience. The members will be aware that it's an automated system that interacts with them, but you can create fun experiences with it , while also offering useful facts.

Reliable, secure private channels. Discord isn't tied to time which makes it feel like being in the same room. Discord is renowned for its safety and security. All channels are secure, which allows members to feel safe during their conversations.

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

However, setting up your Discord community can be complicated. That means a learning curve, and you might not be able to get maximum benefit from the service. The Discord server you use Discord server will be alongside all of the other communities you have members participating in, meaning you'll be competing for their interest.

Discord is available for free. 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 get access to more emojis larger uploads, higher-quality video and other upgrades.

4. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks offers an online platform for courses with an integrated community feature. The platform is robust and can be customized to fit your needs and functions that foster community involvement.

It is the key to Mighty Networks features include:
 

Mobile access. The online community platform has an app for mobile devices that makes it easy for users to connect with members in the field. In fact, it's more convenient to connect with your mobile device than via the web.

Email alerts. Members receive email notifications for any new activity on the site. It gives them a short signal to login and see what they might have missed.

Branding. Mighty Network allows you to build a brand-named space that has a similar look and feel to your web site. Simply apply your branded colors to 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 looking to develop various other kinds of products in order to expand your business You may have to purchase other applications as well as software for hosting them.

5. Hivebrite

Hivebrite Hivebrite HTML0 is an all-in-one platform for community management specifically designed for educational and non-profit organisations. It serves over 500 organisations such as Vanderbilt University, WWF, and Sabin Vaccine Institute.

The company doesn't list their pricing on their site. To evaluate Hivebrite for yourself, you'll have to sign up to Demos, which is an indication they are only offering price plans for corporations.

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

One of Hivebrite's most distinctive features:

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

Rights of access. With Hivebrite, you can assign different access rights to distinct users, such as students or alumni. It is also possible to create levels of membership with more access to paying members.

Modular features. As your community evolves, you can activate different functions. Options include events, forums and networking groups. messaging center, media center and even a job board or directory.

One challenge with this platform is the integration with your database and other tech. In most cases, you'll need engage an IT expert to set up the APIs that sync it to other software.

6. Tribe.so

Tribe is a community-building platform with an app ecosystem, direct third-party integrations and instruments to incorporate the community within other products and sites. The use cases for Tribe include education of customers, customer success, customer support, customer relationship branding, leadership in brand, and customer feedback on products.

With Tribe the main features take care of the essential community components. Apps extend your capabilities. Examples:

• Slack gives admins and moderators notifications of various activities.
• Zapier is a way to connect your group with the other technology tools within your stack.
• Google Analytics helps you measure activity in your community.

Tribe includes the following features:

Social sharing. Tribe includes Open Graph tags which enable social sharing. This makes it easy to share content within the community, and to draw attention from prospective members.

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

Moderation panel. Tribe gives you the possibility to accept, alter, or deny posts by users. You can also archive old content to keep your feed free of clutter.

Tribe is completely free the first 100 members. The Plus Plan, at $59 a month, lets you use additional apps as well as up to 2,500 members. Though to get the most from the app, you'll have to change to the Premium Plan for $299 per month. This will allow you to get rid of the Tribe branding, use its webhooks and API, and expand to 25,000 members.

7. Circle.so

Circle can help you create a community around your courses, coaching, or customer support. It's goal is to streamline the community-building process by equipping users with the ability to build content, create private areas, facilitate discussion, and even monetize your membership. It is loaded with capabilities and lets you build a brand-named space that matches your website.

A few of the most memorable features offered by Circle include:

Integrations that are easy. Circle works well with other tools from third parties, such as tools for marketing via email, Slack, Wordpress, and  other tools, allowing you to promote your community , or even integrate the two with other software.

Private and secret spaces. You can create separate spaces for different categories within your membership. In this case, for instance, you could create a space specifically that is for core members, while another is reserved for premium members.

Searchable member directory. Members can connect with one another through profiles that are customized and also search filters.

Circle costs $35 per month plus the 4% transaction cost per user. The basic plan provides only the essentials of your community, including discussion forums and private messages. Make the upgrade to the Premium Plan ($89 monthly with a transaction fee per user) to access Live streaming courses, online classes and more advanced analytics.

It is possible that you will have to cover the cost of additions like additional space for administrators, additional spaces, email white-labeling, and custom Single Sign-On (SSO).

8. Vanilla Forums

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

Vanilla provides a good user experience, a seamless integration with your current tech stack and flexible , customizable customization that fits your brand.

The most important characteristics of Vanilla Forums are:

Knowledge base. You can create an online Help Center that is self-service in your community. It houses your user guides and Help documents.

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

Open source community. You can download Vanilla's open source code at no cost and host your community yourself. Are you tech-savvy? Contribute to the source code.

This platform is less ideal for creators who are independent and solopreneurs, and pricing is not displayed on the website. But if you're interested, it's possible to schedule an appointment with a sales rep.

9. WildApricot

WildApricot is an all-in-one application initially designed to serve associations and nonprofits. Its users now include clubs, associations and state and local chapter organizations.

Wild Apricot has a self-serve layout that allows you to customize every aspect of your community. The gamification system and reputation system helps you promote good content, make member-friendly features available and even automate moderation.

It contains these important attributes:

Event management. Plan events such as online auctions, virtual conference, or webinars. Get sponsors to support your occasion. Also, you can create your own event calendar and organize event registration.

Donations. With WildApricot, you can accept donations and share progress towards your goals for donations. Additionally, you can export the records of your donations so that you can keep track of and manage donations.

CRM. Like , WildApricot has an CRM (customer relationship management) software that comes with the most comprehensive member directory, which can be accessed from anywhere.

Third-party tools are required to help you market and run your company. Most will integrate with WildApricot which includes WordPress, Mailchimp, and Zapier. Also, payment processing is only available for U.S. and Canada residents.

You are able to test WildApricot free 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
• $110 a month for 500 contacts
• A month of $190 for 2 000 contacts

10. Disciple Media

Disciple Media is a platform for community interaction that consists of three parts that include a console to manage 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.

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

Disciple Media includes the following features:

Multiple layouts. You can store and distribute content from a central area. Use folders, groups, and lists to design an individual structure to your group.

Mobile app. Disciple Media is an equivalent to a social network by the fact that its mobile application experience is prioritized for users. It also has a web-based app that is however, it lacks features compared to the mobile app.

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

The price 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 users
• Mobile only: $458 per month for 500 users
• Mobile and Web: $504 for 500 members

Add-ons include API whitelabeling, API additional administrative users. Additionally, you'll pay for community coaching as well as member support and mastermind features.

11. Vibely.io

Vibely.io was created by two former Asana employees, Teri Yu and Theresa Lee who wanted to disrupt the creator communities with a positive approach. Their slogan "Built exclusively by females, and not gamer guys," will give you an idea of what they're looking for.

Vibely.io is an online community platform, which allows creators to interact with their fans, and also collect user-generated content.

Vibely.io's best features are:

The commitment to positiveness. Vibely guarantees no spam, trolls, or any kind of violence. They aim to create a space where everyone belongs.

Tools for accountability and challenges. This app offers leadersboards, challenges, and trackers to keep everyone motivated.

Ambassadors. Vibely allows you to designate leaders in your community to aid in the welcoming of and management of members.

Create an Vibely community for free, with no limit on the number of people who are members, ambassadors, or super administrators. On the basic plan there is no way to take recurring payments. The Mastermind program allows payments to be accepted and also takes a 10% cut of revenue.

The best online community software solutions firm

There's a lot to consider when selecting the most suitable online community-building platform. You need tools to build markets, sell, and build your group, as well as the platform should be suitable to both the members.
 
 As you can see from our reviews, there are numerous options to choose from However, one stands out as a complete business platform.

Only empowers you to create and monetize a vibrant community along with other digital products such as classes online and coaching courses. Furthermore, it provides all the resources you require to promote and sell these items, so you can expand and grow a profitable knowledge business.

If all you want is to set up a forum you might choose any of the community platforms we've reviewed. According to the size of your community the option may be reasonable (or even completely free).

However, free software will subject you to outside rules and algorithms, while also limiting the potential for growth. They don't offer the features that you require and typically limit the number of participants you can be able to accept.

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

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

Start your free 14-day trial from now!