12 Best Online Community Platforms in 2024 (Pros and Cons)

Constructing a web based neighborhood is a robust method to interact along with your viewers, foster significant interactions, and drive long-term loyalty.

Whether or not you’re seeking to create a social area on your prospects, a discussion board for like-minded people, or a assist community on your merchandise and companies, selecting the best neighborhood platform is essential.

On intelfindr, now we have used Fb for a very long time for our intelfindr Have interaction group, which has 98,000+ members. We've additionally extra not too long ago been experimenting with platforms like BuddyBoss for creating social networks and utilizing MemberPress to energy our video tutorial web site.

This has helped us acquire priceless insights into which neighborhood platforms work greatest for various wants. That’s why we now have a deeper understanding of neighborhood administration and the strengths and weaknesses of various instruments.

On this article, we are going to share our record of the very best on-line neighborhood platforms, highlighting their professionals and cons. We've gone out of our method to check plenty of completely different choices for all form of wants so as to discover the very best one on your on-line mission.

If you're in a rush, then simply take a fast have a look at our prime professional picks to decide.

How We Check and Evaluation Online Community Platforms

To provide the greatest suggestions, we examined and reviewed fashionable neighborhood platforms.

We wished to present you an inventory of well-rounded and dependable instruments, so we paid particular consideration to the next standards:

Ease of Use: We've prioritized user-friendly neighborhood platforms that include a straightforward navigation system and help you customise your platform in response to your neighborhood’s wants.

Options: An excellent neighborhood platform ought to embody dialogue boards, boards, gamification, polls, surveys, and different interactive components. It also needs to permit for the simple creation, group, and sharing of content material.

Reliability: We've solely advisable instruments that now we have examined ourselves on actual web sites. We additionally examined every platform’s loading pace, uptime, and scalability for rising companies.

Integration Capabilities: For this showcase, now we have explored every platform’s capabilities to combine with electronic mail advertising companies, CRMs, social media platforms, and analytics companies.

Help: We've investigated the standard of buyer assist for every neighborhood platform. We additionally checked the tutorials, guides, boards, and data bases provided by every device.

Having mentioned that, let’s check out our record of the very best on-line neighborhood platforms with their professionals and cons.

1. BuddyBoss

BuddyBoss is the very best on-line neighborhood platform on the web. It permits you to rework your web site right into a social media platform, construct boards, create social teams, introduce new actions for customers, and extra.

The plugin comes with a complete suite of options that will help you create an interactive area on your members.

As an illustration, customers can observe one another in the neighborhood, ship personal messages, and view exercise feeds of various members.

You may even create personal or hidden teams for centered discussions and collaboration.

As well as, you may create completely different membership ranges in your neighborhood, combine with studying administration methods to promote programs, and even promote your merchandise alongside neighborhood memberships.

For extra particulars, see our tutorial on the way to create your individual personal neighborhood with WordPress.

In our opinion, BuddyBoss stands out as the very best platform for constructing a social media community. We actually have a full BuddyBoss evaluate that outlines the entire explanation why.

We significantly like that it permits you to create a custom-branded cellular app for Android and iOS gadgets, which generally is a game-changer for rising your neighborhood.

This, paired with its seamless integration with WordPress, makes BuddyBoss the best alternative for constructing thriving on-line communities.

Professionals

• BuddyBoss exhibits actual time notifications to maintain members engaged and knowledgeable about exercise inside the neighborhood.
• It permits customers to share photographs, movies, and different media content material.
• We significantly preferred the device’s gamification components, akin to factors, badges, and leaderboards.
• It permits customers to create profiles with their particulars and pictures.
• BuddyBoss helps varied membership fashions, together with free, paid, and tiered memberships.
• The plugin can combine with instruments like WooCommerce for eCommerce capabilities, Zoom for broadcasting and conferences, and web page builders like Elementor for personalisation.

Cons

• The plugin has a free plan. Nevertheless, to unlock a number of the options, you will want the professional model.

Why we suggest BuddyBoss: General, BuddyBoss is the very best on-line neighborhood platform as a result of it’s user-friendly, scalable, and comes with numerous social options. Plus, the plugin works proper in your WordPress dashboard, so that you gained’t have to arrange any integrations.

2. MemberPress

MemberPress is the very best WordPress membership plugin available on the market. It additionally affords quite a few options to construct a thriving on-line neighborhood round your membership web site.

The plugin helps you to create completely different membership tiers with various entry ranges and advantages for members. After you have performed that, you may construct an unique discussion board to debate matters, share data, and construct relationships.

You can even permit customers to create their very own teams inside the neighborhood to foster engagement. Moreover, customers can view one another’s profiles and stay up to date about latest exercise, posts, and discussions.

Over the previous few years, now we have been utilizing MemberPress on our video membership web site. It has performed an necessary half in managing our subscription-based mannequin and creating a way of exclusivity for our members.

We significantly respect the benefit of establishing completely different membership tiers with various entry ranges to our video content material library.

Plus, we imagine that MemberPress generally is a nice possibility for creating a robust neighborhood amongst subscribers by means of options like personal boards and member directories.

Professionals

• MemberPress can combine with BuddyBoss to spice up the performance of your neighborhood.
• If you wish to earn some cash whereas constructing a neighborhood, then you may limit neighborhood options to paid members solely.
• When working with the plugin, we have been impressed by its drip content material characteristic. It helps you to launch content material step by step to members primarily based on their membership degree.
• The device additionally comes with completely different moderation options and helps you to create pointers for neighborhood conduct.

Cons

• MemberPress has a free plan, however many of the options are locked in it.
• It isn't a traditional neighborhood platform, so it could lack a number of the options provided by different instruments in the record.

Why we suggest MemberPress: If you have already got a membership web site and need to enhance conversions, then we imagine MemberPress is the selection for you. It permits you to create membership ranges and an unique neighborhood for customers who be part of your group. This will encourage free customers to turn into full-time members.

For extra particulars, you may see our full MemberPress evaluate.

3. Circle

Circle is one other wonderful device for creating on-line communities in only a few minutes. It helps you to construct an enormous neighborhood and then manage it utilizing ‘Spaces’ for broad matters and ‘Groups’ for extra centered discussions inside these areas.

Customers also can personalize their profiles with bios, avatars, and social media hyperlinks, fostering a way of connection. Utilizing the built-in instruments, they'll create textual content, pictures, and video content material to share with the neighborhood.

Aside from that, Circle permits direct messaging and even helps you to host dwell video periods for bulletins, Q&A periods, or interactive workshops.

Professionals

• We love that Circle helps you to create and handle occasions, each in-person and digital, to carry your neighborhood collectively. This can be a distinctive characteristic not obtainable in many different instruments.
• You may add interactive polls and surveys inside your neighborhood.
• Circle creates a centralized exercise feed for every consumer showcasing latest posts, discussions, and occasions.
• It helps you to create completely different membership ranges to generate income. You can even cost charges for particular occasions or supply unique occasions to paid members.
• The device helps you to add, take away, or edit member profiles and handle their entry ranges inside the neighborhood. You can even handle discussions, feedback, and content material with built-in moderation instruments.

Cons

• In comparison with platforms like BuddyBoss, Circle affords much less flexibility for customizing the look and really feel of your neighborhood.
• In our opinion, Circle can be higher if it had a extra highly effective chat performance.
• We discovered it a bit annoying that it doesn't combine with many LMS and membership instruments.

Why we suggest Circle: In case you prioritize options like dwell streaming, monetization, and cellular entry for a smaller or medium-sized neighborhood, then Circle generally is a nice possibility.

4. Thinkific

Thinkific is a self-hosted platform that allows you to construct and promote on-line programs. Nevertheless, you may also construct, host, and monetize your neighborhood with it.

It comes with a drag-and-drop builder that permits you to create custom-branded communities and dialogue teams on your college students.

As an illustration, you may arrange a selected group the place customers can work together, ask questions, and share insights.

Our favourite characteristic is the dwell chat immediate, which permits instructors and college students to speak seamlessly. This makes it a terrific possibility for on-line studying web sites.

Professionals

• Thinkific has built-in functionalities like consumer profiles, exercise feeds, and personal messaging.
• We have been pleasantly stunned to study that the device mechanically creates dialogue boards for every course to facilitate pupil engagement.
• The platform helps you to create completely different tiers of neighborhood entry primarily based heading in the right direction enrollment or membership degree.
• It tracks and experiences neighborhood engagement and efficiency with detailed analytics.

Cons

• Thinkific’s core power lies in course creation. Whereas it affords neighborhood options, they may not be as feature-rich as different neighborhood platforms.
• It isn't a terrific possibility for giant communities, which generally is a dealbreaker for enterprises and enormous companies seeking to construct a discussion board.

Why we suggest Thinkific: We'd suggest Thinkific for course creators due to its concentrate on training. It should permit instructors to construct a neighborhood round their programs.

5. BuddyPress

BuddyPress is a free WordPress plugin that may convert your WordPress web site right into a functioning social community or neighborhood.

It lets customers create their very own profiles and observe one another by means of buddy connections. Customers can then share updates, photographs, and hyperlinks, making a newsfeed-like expertise.

BuddyPress permits you to construct teams, ship personal messages, and create boards. It additionally sends real-time notifications about exercise, mentions, and messages.

For particulars, see our tutorial on the way to flip your WordPress web site right into a social community.

Professionals

• You may prolong BuddyPress’ performance utilizing completely different plugins and themes particularly created for it.
• It affords a responsive design for optimum consumer expertise on cellular gadgets.
• One factor we actually like about BuddyPress is that it doesn’t price something to make use of. This allows you to lower your expenses and concentrate on constructing a neighborhood with out worrying about further charges.
• It may be used for varied neighborhood sorts, akin to inside firm networks, fan communities, or on-line boards.

Cons

• BuddyPress can generally battle with different plugins, resulting in compatibility points. In our opinion, this may be irritating for novices who have no idea the way to troubleshoot errors.
• Upon testing, we realized that the device can generally damage web site efficiency, relying on the variety of members and exercise.

Why we suggest BuddyPress: If you're on the lookout for a free plugin that allows you to construct large-scale communities in your WordPress web site, then you must choose BuddyPress.

6. MemberMouse

MemberMouse is a well known membership plugin for WordPress websites, however it may also be used to construct a non-public neighborhood on your members.

The plugin has core options like a member listing, personal messaging, and the flexibility to create fundamental teams the place members can work together with one another.

We have been significantly impressed by its content material restriction characteristic primarily based on membership ranges, which creates a way of exclusivity.

Professionals

• MemberMouse helps you to create drip content material that's launched step by step over time.
• It handles recurring subscription funds simply.
• We preferred that it helps you to ship push notifications to customers primarily based on actions like including new members, canceling memberships, receiving funds, and extra.

Cons

• It doesn't have a free plan.
• We discovered that it doesn’t have intensive moderation instruments, which generally is a dealbreaker for some customers.

Why we suggest MemberMouse: Whereas MemberMouse is primarily a membership administration plugin, it affords a strong basis for constructing a neighborhood round your paid content material.

For extra info, see our MemberMouse evaluate.

7. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is a brilliant fashionable on-line neighborhood platform. It helps you to create dialogue teams for devoted matters, host dwell streaming movies, and permit real-time messaging.

The device additionally helps you to create and promote digital occasions, supply completely different membership ranges, create polls and surveys, and rather more.

You may even promote on-line programs and merchandise to your neighborhood members utilizing Mighty Networks.

Professionals

• We discovered that Mighty Networks creates a selected part with highlighted tags. This allows you to get an concept of matters at the moment trending inside your neighborhood.
• It helps you to ship push notifications to carry again inactive members. You can even use its AI characteristic for dialog starter concepts.
• The platform affords premade themes on your neighborhood.
• You may simply set up neighborhood pointers and reasonable the content material.

Cons

• Mighty Networks is costlier than different neighborhood platforms, particularly for bigger communities.
• Over time, some customers have reported inconsistencies in buyer assist high quality and response instances.

Why we suggest Mighty Networks: If you wish to create a medium-sized neighborhood, then Mighty Networks generally is a good selection. It’s a robust platform that makes use of AI-powered options to construct a neighborhood.

8. Podia

Podia helps you to design on-line communities round on-line programs or digital merchandise.

You may create neighborhood hubs for various dialogue matters and permit members to take part by means of posts and feedback. Aside from that, it affords options like consumer profile customization, direct messaging, and a centralized neighborhood feed.

General, Podia is an all-in-one platform that may additionally act as an internet site builder, electronic mail advertising service, course builder, web page builder, and extra.

Professionals

• Podia helps you to supply neighborhood membership as an add-on or unique profit for course or product purchasers. You may even promote the membership as a standalone product.
• It has a user-friendly interface, supreme for novices.
• The platform has a tremendous analytics characteristic.

Cons

• Podia’s major focus is on creating and promoting on-line programs and digital merchandise. Which means that its neighborhood options are constructed round this core performance.
• In our opinion, its administration instruments are fundamental in comparison with devoted neighborhood platforms.

Why we suggest Podia: In case you promote digital merchandise and need to construct a neighborhood round them to create some hype, then Podia is a superb alternative. You may construct a neighborhood, create touchdown pages, and promote the product by means of electronic mail advertising options utilizing only one device.

9. Bettermode

Bettermode is a flexible platform that empowers you to create participating and interactive on-line communities. It affords a complete suite of options designed to construct connection, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing amongst your members.

You may create areas, construct detailed member profiles, ship direct messages, add teams, and facilitate open conversations by means of threaded discussions.

The device additionally affords a dwell chat possibility for members and can join with different platforms to spice up performance.

Professionals

• With Bettermode, you may manage and promote digital or in-person occasions.
• We preferred that the device helps you to award badges and factors and hold scores on the leaderboard to enhance engagement inside your neighborhood.
• It makes use of AI to recommend content material concepts to members.
• You may have a completely branded neighborhood expertise with out seen Bettermode branding.

Cons

• Bettermode is dear, and its free plan has restricted options.
• Whereas Bettermode can deal with rising communities to a sure extent, it'd face challenges when scaling for terribly massive communities.

Why we suggest Bettermode: If you're on the lookout for a neighborhood platform that's tremendous versatile and affords many customization choices, then Bettermode is a superb alternative.

10. Hivebrite

Hivebrite is a formidable platform designed for constructing and managing on-line communities, significantly for enterprises, associations, and alumni networks.

It comes with all of the options anticipated from a neighborhood platform, akin to discussions, boards, member profiles, teams, and occasion organizations.

Nevertheless, you may also host dwell streaming periods inside your neighborhood to have interaction members in actual time.

Hiverbrite can combine with current enterprise methods, complies with strict information coverage, and affords {custom} branding, making it a terrific alternative for giant and rising on-line communities.

Professionals

• The platform retains all neighborhood members knowledgeable by exhibiting personalised exercise feeds.
• It comes with gamification components, superior reporting, and integration with different third-party instruments.
• You may create and handle varied content material sorts, together with articles, paperwork, and multimedia, straight from Hivebrite.

Cons

• It has a steep studying curve and is probably not a perfect alternative for novices.
• Hivebrite’s primary focus is on enterprise purchasers, which signifies that some options extra suited to smaller communities are much less developed.
• When researching, we concluded that the device’s buyer assist isn’t nearly as good as a few of its rivals.

Why we suggest Hivebrite: Hivebrite is a wonderful alternative for organizations seeking to construct participating on-line communities. It's particularly supreme for customers with particular wants like enterprise-level safety, scalability, and customization.

11. Discord

Discord is a well-liked communication platform largely recognized for its gaming neighborhood, however it has advanced into a flexible device for varied teams and pursuits.

You may simply create a free account and construct a Discord neighborhood in only a few minutes. When you do this, you may embed the widget in your WordPress web site in order that customers can view the whole members of your Discord server and be part of the group utilizing the offered invite hyperlink.

For particulars, see our tutorial on the way to embed a Discord widget in WordPress.

Professionals

• It affords each personal and group chat choices with varied formatting options.
• You can even ship voice messages and join along with your neighborhood members over video calls.
• Discord helps you to create devoted channels for particular matters. You can even create a separate voice chat channel for various actions.
• We have been significantly impressed to study that Discord helps varied bots for automated duties, moderation, and leisure.

Cons

• Discord’s channel-based construction can turn into overwhelming for bigger communities, making it tough to arrange and discover particular info.
• Discord focuses on real-time communication. This implies content material can disappear rapidly, and you gained’t be capable of archive or reference info later.
• Managing a big Discord server will be time-consuming and difficult as a result of quantity of messages and the potential for spam content material.

Why we suggest Discord: It may be a perfect alternative if you wish to construct a gaming neighborhood or promote real-time communication amongst your members.

12. Patreon

Patreon is a neighborhood platform designed to assist creators construct an earnings by providing unique content material and experiences to their supporters, often called patrons.

It permits you to create a number of membership tiers with various advantages and pricing to cater to completely different patron assist ranges. You may then schedule posts in advance to constantly present new content material to your neighborhood members.

Patreon additionally comes with options like direct messaging, dwell streaming, dialogue teams, and Discord integration.

Professionals

• When testing, we preferred the Creator Dashboard characteristic the place you may simply handle membership ranges, posts, patron communications, and earnings.
• Patreon helps you to promote bodily and digital merch to neighborhood members.
• It additionally offers insights into patron conduct, demographics, and income.

Cons

• The platform’s emphasis on monetary assist may create an atmosphere the place neighborhood members really feel pressured to contribute financially to entry your content material and take part in discussions.
• Whereas Patreon generally is a nice platform for established YouTubers and influencers, constructing a following from scratch on the platform will be difficult.
• It affords restricted customization choices.

Why we suggest Patreon: It's a good selection if you have already got a following and need to construct a neighborhood to earn extra cash by sharing unique content material with patrons.

Which Is the Best Online Community Platform?

In our professional opinion, BuddyBoss is the very best on-line neighborhood platform available on the market. It permits you to construct a social media web site in WordPress, create a discussion board, arrange exercise feeds, and a lot extra.

Alternatively, if you wish to create a neighborhood with unique content material primarily based on membership ranges, then you may go for MemberPress. It's the greatest membership plugin that allows you to construct a thriving on-line neighborhood round your membership web site.

Then again, for those who promote programs and need to construct a neighborhood on your college students, then we suggest Thinkific.

Equally, to construct a large-scale neighborhood with no platform prices, you may go for BuddyPress.

Regularly Requested Questions About Community Platforms

Listed here are some questions incessantly requested by our readers about neighborhood platforms.

What's a web based neighborhood platform and its key options?

An internet neighborhood platform is a software program software that lets folks with shared pursuits, objectives, or experiences join and work together with one another.

Key options for a perfect neighborhood platform embody consumer profiles, boards, teams, personal messaging, dwell chat, occasions, and analytics.

What's the greatest on-line neighborhood platform for companies?

You probably have a small enterprise web site, then you must contemplate platforms like Circle, Mighty Networks, or Hivebrite.

These instruments supply options akin to membership administration, analytics, and integration capabilities that may assist you to develop your neighborhood.

How do I select the appropriate on-line neighborhood platform for my wants?

When selecting a web based neighborhood platform, you must prioritize components akin to neighborhood measurement, desired options, price range, and technical experience.

It will assist you to make an knowledgeable resolution in response to your enterprise wants.

Associated Guides for Community Platforms

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