Best Online Community Platforms in 2023

March 19, 2023

Whether you run a membership site, sell online courses, or are thinking of setting up a coaching site, chances are you can benefit from setting up an online community.

Building an online community is a great way to grow your subscriber base, increase customer loyalty, and boost user engagement with your brand. Done right, this can lead to direct growth in revenue.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what online community platforms are. We’ll also round up some of the best online community platforms in 2023.

What is an online community platform?

An online community platform is software that helps site owners set up and build an online community.

If you sell online courses or run a membership site, you can benefit from setting up an online community.

First of all, an online community can help you grow your membership site organically. People are more likely to discover your membership site through your online community and eventually become paying members.

In addition to this, an online community website also helps increase user engagement with your brand. Online community platforms come with all sorts of user engagement features like online events, polls, surveys, discussion boards, and leaderboards.

Generally speaking, it comes with features like discussion boards, forums, commenting, private chats, user profiles, and an upvoting/downvoting system. Broadly, these features can be categorized as community management features and member engagement features.

Here are some of the features you should look for in an online community platform:

  • Community management and organization tools
  • Member directory and user profile features
  • Personalized activity feeds
  • Member notification and activity alerts
  • SEO compatibility

Best online community platforms in 2023

Here are the top 10 best online community platforms for membership site owners and online course creators in 2023.

#1: BuddyBoss

 BuddyBoss

BuddyBoss is the best WordPress-based online community platform. If you already have a WordPress site (or are thinking of using WordPress) then BuddyBoss is the best option for you. It’s an incredibly flexible community builder that comes with gamification features out of the box.

BuddyBoss lets you create as many courses, groups, events, admins, and members as you’d like. It comes with a community dashboard, direct messaging, job board, social search, friends and followers, and comments and like features built-in.

Key features:

  • Create custom profile types.
  • Private messaging.
  • Social groups with custom activity feeds.
  • Lets you create events and host live events via its native Zoom integration.
  • Integrates seamlessly with LifterLMS and LearnDash.

Price: Starting from $228 (billed annually).

#2: Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is an all-in-one hosted community-building platform. You can use it to build an online community on your existing website. The platform comes with essential community engagement features out of the box.

With Mighty Networks, you have the option to build your online community around chat or around a feed. The platform also lets you create a cohort-based course, content-only course, or community-based course. The Spaces you create with Mighty Networks have profile pages for members, top members section, members near you, member categories, and ambassadors.

Key features:

  • Organize one-time or recurring events.
  • Build a cohort-based course or content-only course.
  • Live streaming capabilities for your entire network or specific Spaces.
  • Sell access to Spaces or bundles of Spaces.

Price: Starting from $33 per month (billed annually).

#3: Kajabi

Kajabi lets you create and sell online courses, set up membership programs, and build online communities on a single website. You can use it to build your online community and monetize it in different ways. In terms of community member engagement, Kajabi lets you accept live calls, set up challenges, create leaderboards, and offer real-time chat to members.

In addition to this, you can offer live video sessions and use its built-in accountability tools to deliver an enhanced user experience. The best part is that the community platform is connected to the courses, membership programs, podcasts, or coaching sessions you sell. This helps you deliver a streamlined learning experience to members.

Key features:

  • Set up a recurring subscription revenue stream.
  • Create events and add an RSVP system.
  • Set up challenges and progress tracking.
  • Add a newsfeed, chats, and direct messaging to your community site.

Price: Starting from $119 per month (billed annually).

#4: Thinkific

Thinkific

Thinkific is best known as an online course platform, though it also packs a wide range of community features that help you deliver a collaborative learning experience. Since Thinkific is a hosted platform, the community section is a dedicated page on your Thinkific site where instructors and learners can collaborate through written posts and comments.

Thinkific lets you create and sell communities with or without an online course. So, if you want to start out by just creating an online community and building your online course after then Thinkific might be worth considering.

Key features:

  • Lets you create a community as a standalone product or as an add-on to your online course.
  • Learners can access communities through the dashboard.
  • Multiple pricing options for communities including free, one-time payment, subscription or membership, and monthly payment plan.

Price: Starting from $36 per month (billed annually). Free plan available.

#5: Facebook Groups

Facebook currently has over 2.9 billion, monthly active users. This is why creating an online community on a popular social media site is definitely worth considering, especially if your goal is to build a thriving online community.

Unlike the other community platforms in this list, Facebook Groups is pretty limited in terms of customization and the community experience you deliver. Since the platform is free, you can expect the communities built using Facebook Groups to run into occasional data privacy issues and challenges with monetization.

Key features:

  • Let members create posts.
  • Create and enforce forum rules.
  • Moderate forum activity.
  • Users with a Facebook account can join your online community right away.

Price: Free

#6: Tribe

Tribe

The tribe is a customizable community platform that’s aimed at SaaS businesses and startups. And because of this, you can use it to create a white-label experience for your members by adding your own logo and setting your brand colors on your domain.

The platform is perfect for anyone that wants to set up an online community for customer education, customer success, customer support, customer relationship, brand leadership, and product feedback. The tribe has native community moderation features (and a keyword blacklist) that help businesses keep members safe.

Key features:

  • Built-in gamification features.
  • Makes it easy for members to create posts.
  • Integrates with many apps including Zapier, Mailchimp, Hubspot, and Discord.

Price: Starting from $599 per month.

#7: Circle

Circle

Circle is an all-in-one community platform for digital creators. The platform lets you make the most of essential community-building features such as setting up organized discussions, private spaces, group chat rooms, live streams, events, and a member directory.

The platform also lets you create and sell paid memberships and set up a recurring subscription revenue stream for your business.

Key features:

  • Offer personalized and group coaching sessions.
  • Create cohort-based communities.
  • Create private and secret spaces for groups.
  • Single sign-on (SSO) functionality.

Price: Starting from $39 per month (billed annually).

#8: PeerBoard

PeerBoard

PeerBoard is a fully customizable plug-and-play community builder that you can use either as a standalone platform or as part of your existing site. You can use it to create a space for your members or learners to network, share knowledge, and collaborate with one another.

Additionally, PeerBoard makes it easy for users to manage community subscriptions, organize events, and create custom paywalls. You can grant different access permissions to different users and moderate user discussions and comments.

Key features:

  • Lets members create long-form articles and posts and leave comments.
  • Native gamification features include leaderboards and virtual badges.
  • Integrates with third-party apps including Zapier and Integrately.

Price: Starting from $23 per month (billed annually). Free plan available.

#9: Hivebrite

Hivebrite is an online community platform that’s designed with private communities in mind such as alumni, professional networks, and non-profits. It offers powerful community engagement and management features as well as detailed analytics and integrations.

The Hivebrite platform makes it easy for site owners to manage member data with search and targeting filters, mass updates, and profile update tracker. It lets members confirm and update profile information without having to login to the platform.

Key features:

  • Integrated content management system (CMS).
  • Create private and public content.
  • Event management capabilities including ticketing features.

Price: Request a demo.

#10: Disciple

Disciple

Disciple lets you create a fully branded, private community for your business. You can use the platform to build an online community, sell courses, charge for subscriptions, and organize live streams.

With Disciple, you can use multiple layouts – like folders, groups, and lists – to create your community structure. It also lets you host events, create polls, and set up direct messaging to encourage members to engage with your brand.

Key features:

  • Store and share content from a centralized platform.
  • Integrates with Google Suite, Mailchimp, YouTube, and more.
  • Comes with analytics and reporting features.

Price: Starting from $46 per month (billed annually).

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the importance of a community platform software?

A: A community platform software is essential for building and managing an online community. It provides a space for members to connect, share ideas, and engage in discussions. It also helps maintain a sense of community, sharing relevant news, and updates, and providing a cohesive social space that members look forward to visiting regularly.

Q: What are the 10 best online community platforms for 2023?

A: The top 10 community platforms often cited for 2023 include Mighty Networks, Tribe, Higher Logic, inSided, Vanilla Forums, VanillaSoft, VanillaSoft Pro, Forumbee, Hivebrite, and Khoros Community. These platforms can help you build an engaged community and grow your brand.

Q: Why is Mighty Networks considered the best community platform?

A: Mighty Networks is considered the best community platform by many due to its comprehensive set of features and sophisticated design. It allows community builders to provide mobile app experiences, online courses, and memberships, drive in-person gatherings and events, and more. The platform also has exceptional engagement features that allow creators to personalize the platform to their brand in a way that no other platform can compete with.

Q: Is there any community platform that offers a free trial?

A: Yes, many community platforms offer a free trial, typically lasting for 14-days. Examples include Forumbee, Circle.so, Vanilla Forums, and Mighty Networks. The free trial offers the opportunity to explore the features of the platform and determine if it meets your needs before making a purchase decision.

Q: Can you build a community without a community platform?

A: Yes, you can build a community without a community platform, but it makes the process much more complicated. A platform provides access to a specific set of tools, features, and integrations that simplify the management of your community. Without a platform, you would have to set everything up manually, such as the website, social media account, email list, and more.

Q: What is a brand community?

A: A brand community refers to a group of people passionate about the same brand or product. These communities often come together in an online space to discuss their favorite products or services, offer feedback and suggestions, share experiences, and communicate with brand representatives. Building a brand community is an effective way of establishing a loyal customer base and promoting products through authentic word-of-mouth marketing.

Q: What is the difference between a dedicated community and a standalone community platform?

A: A dedicated community refers to a platform built to cater to a specific industry or niche. For example, a software company might create a dedicated community platform to connect with developers. In contrast, a standalone community platform is a more general platform that supports a wide range of industries and allows customization to match your specific brand.

Q: What are some community platforms that offer a mobile app experience?

A: Several community platforms, including Mighty Networks, Tribe, and Circle.so, offer customizable mobile app experiences for their users. Having a mobile app provides better accessibility for community members and allows notifications to keep users engaged even when they’re away from their desktop.

Q: Can I set up a community platform for free?

A: Some community platforms offer free basic plans, while others may offer a limited-time free trial with no upfront cost. Some popular community platforms that are free to use include Vanilla Forums, Circle.so, and Flarum.

Q: What are some top community platforms that allow members to create their own profiles?

A: Many community platforms allow members to create their own profiles to interact with others. Examples include forums like phpBB and Discourse, as well as specialized community platforms like Mighty Networks, Khoros Communities, and many others.

Conclusion

Choosing the right online community platform for your business in 2023 doesn’t have to be difficult. We shared some of the best online community platforms and highlighted their key features. Hopefully, you’re in a good position now to take the next steps.

What are some of the features you look for in an online community platform? Which platform are you thinking of trying and why? Let us know in the comments section below.

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