The Best Community Building Platforms in 2026
We researched community building platforms using information from official vendor websites, including pricing pages, plan tables, and product documentation. Rankings focus on each platform’s core community-building job, value for money, and verified features, helping teams compare options for creating and managing an online community.
Our top picks
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Top ranked
Discourse#1 of 299.3/10A searchable discussion and chat platform with hosted plans or self-hosting.
Free plan · 14-day trial
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Runner-up
Circle#2 of 298.9/10A paid community platform that brings discussions, events, courses, and memberships together.
14-day trial
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Top-ranked free plan
BuddyPress#4 of 298.7/10A free, extensible WordPress community plugin for owners comfortable with self-hosting.
Free plan
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
The full ranking 29 tools, best first
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Best forSearchable communities needing broad control
A searchable discussion and chat platform with hosted plans or self-hosting.
- Custom domain
Free plan · 14-day trial Our Discourse verdict → Visit DiscourseFor vendors Sponsor this spot · #1 · $149/mo →9.3/10★★★★★Visit Discourse -
Best forCreators building paid, multimedia communities
A paid community platform that brings discussions, events, courses, and memberships together.
- Custom domain
8.9/10★★★★☆Visit Circle -
Best forCommunities combining forums, courses and commerce
A broad community suite for teams combining discussion, events, learning and paid memberships.
- Custom domain
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit site -
Best forWordPress owners wanting a free social community
A free, extensible WordPress community plugin for owners comfortable with self-hosting.
8.7/10★★★★☆Visit BuddyPress -
Best forSalesforce teams building customer self-service portals
A Salesforce-connected portal platform for customer self-service and support.
- Custom domain
8.6/10★★★★☆Visit Salesforce -
Best forLarge organizations needing configurable communities
A configurable community suite for organizations that need public or private spaces.
- Custom domain
8.5/10★★★★☆Visit Verint -
Best forCost-conscious groups seeking a mature forum base
A free, customizable forum base with detailed permissions and moderation tools.
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit phpBB -
Best forForum operators adding groups and paid access
A forum-focused platform with groups, moderation, messaging, and paid access.
- Custom domain
8.3/10★★★★☆Visit vBulletin -
Best forOperators who want a customizable, self-hosted forum
A forum platform with managed cloud and self-hosted options, plus tools for moderation and discovery.
- Custom domain
8.2/10★★★★☆Visit XenForo -
Best forSmall groups wanting an inexpensive social network
NING gives groups a hosted social network with publishing, events, messaging and paid access.
- Custom domain
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit NING -
Best forCreators bundling courses, events, and memberships
A broad community platform for creators who need courses, events, memberships, and apps together.
- Custom domain
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit Mighty -
Best forAlumni groups needing events and career programs
A broad alumni platform for events and career programs, starting at €350/month billed annually.
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit AlumnForce -
Best forCustomer communities centered on feedback and roadmaps
A community platform that connects customer feedback, roadmaps, self-service, and engagement.
7.8/10★★★★☆Visit Gainsight -
Best forMid-market and enterprise membership networks
A broad, paid toolkit for organizations managing member communities across web and mobile.
- Custom domain
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit Hivebrite -
Best forAssociations building discussions and member engagement
A community platform pairing member discussions and events with association-focused tools.
7.6/10★★★★☆Visit Higher Logic -
Best forBranded customer communities needing moderation controls
A feature-rich hosted community platform, with a high annual-billing entry price.
- Custom domain
7.5/10★★★★☆Visit Bettermode -
Best forForum communities needing federation and self-hosting
A customizable forum for communities that want federation or self-hosting.
- Custom domain
7.4/10★★★★☆Visit NodeBB -
Best forTeams wanting free, self-hosted collaboration spaces
Flexible community software with a free self-hosted edition and paid hosting options.
7.3/10★★★★☆Visit HumHub -
Best forMembership organizations combining community and operations
Combines member operations and community tools, with annual pricing starting at $3,000.
- Custom domain
7.2/10★★★★☆Visit Glue Up -
Best forEducation networks focused on mentoring and alumni
A higher-education hub for mentoring, alumni networks, events, and engagement reporting.
7.1/10★★★★☆Visit PeopleGrove -
Best forBrands building referral and advocacy programs
A referral and advocacy platform that can extend into customer community features.
7.0/10★★★★☆Visit Influitive -
Best forBrands requiring dedicated iOS and Android apps
A branded community platform with mobile apps, content tools and paid memberships.
- Custom domain
6.8/10★★★☆☆Visit Disciple -
Best forOperators wanting a customizable social-network platform
A customizable community platform with cloud and self-hosted options, but a five-active-user entry cap.
6.7/10★★★☆☆Visit SocialEngine -
Best forAssociations combining community, learning, and events
A combined community and learning platform with configurable groups, events, and moderation.
- Custom domain
6.6/10★★★☆☆Visit Forj -
Best forTeams seeking a customizable open-source platform
A configurable community platform with self-hosting, cloud, and optional native mobile apps.
6.5/10★★★☆☆Visit Open Social -
Best forWordPress sites adding social features on a budget
A flexible WordPress community layer, with core features free and paid bundles from $149 per site yearly.
- Custom domain
6.4/10★★★☆☆Visit PeepSo -
Best forDevelopers building self-hosted social networks
A self-hosted foundation for communities that need configurable tools and extensibility.
6.3/10★★★☆☆Visit Elgg -
Best forSmall groups wanting a free, self-hosted forum
A free, self-hosted forum for groups that want control over discussions and moderation.
6.2/10★★★☆☆Visit Flarum -
Best forEnterprises prioritizing peer support and idea forums
An enterprise community suite spanning support, content, events and ideas.
- Events tools
6.1/10★★★☆☆Visit Khoros
No tools match those filters.
Compare at a glance
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Custom domain | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Discourse | Yes | $100/mo | Yes | 9.3 |
| 2 | Circle | No | $89/mo | Yes | 8.9 |
| 3 | Invision Community | No | Yes | 8.8 | |
| 4 | BuddyPress | Yes | Free | 8.7 | |
| 5 | Salesforce Experience Cloud | No | $2/unit/mo | Yes | 8.6 |
| 6 | Verint Community | No | Yes | 8.5 | |
| 7 | phpBB | Yes | Free | 8.4 | |
| 8 | vBulletin | No | Yes | 8.3 | |
| 9 | XenForo | No | Yes | 8.2 | |
| 10 | NING | No | $12.50/mo | Yes | 8.1 |
| 11 | Mighty Networks | No | $79/mo | Yes | 8.0 |
| 12 | AlumnForce | No | €350/mo | 7.9 | |
| 13 | Gainsight Customer Communities | No | 7.8 | ||
| 14 | Hivebrite | No | Yes | 7.7 | |
| 15 | Higher Logic Thrive | 7.6 | |||
| 16 | Bettermode | No | $4,788/yr | Yes | 7.5 |
| 17 | NodeBB | Yes | $20/mo | Yes | 7.4 |
| 18 | HumHub | Yes | €144/mo | 7.3 | |
| 19 | Glue Up | No | Yes | 7.2 | |
| 20 | PeopleGrove Engagement Hub | 7.1 | |||
| 21 | AdvocateHub | No | 7.0 | ||
| 22 | Disciple | No | $599/mo | Yes | 6.8 |
| 23 | SocialEngine | No | $29/mo | 6.7 | |
| 24 | Journey by Forj | No | Yes | 6.6 | |
| 25 | Open Social | 6.5 | |||
| 26 | PeepSo | Yes | $149/site/yr | Yes | 6.4 |
| 27 | Elgg | Yes | Free | 6.3 | |
| 28 | Flarum | Yes | Free | 6.2 | |
| 29 | Khoros Communities | No | 6.1 |
Head-to-head All 24 comparisons →
- Discourse vs Circle
- Discourse vs Invision Community
- Discourse vs BuddyPress
- Discourse vs Salesforce Experience Cloud
- Discourse vs Verint Community
- Circle vs Invision Community
- Circle vs BuddyPress
- Circle vs Salesforce Experience Cloud
- Circle vs Verint Community
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How we rank community building platforms
Every tool on this page was researched by iTechGuides Editors from its official website — pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. We rank on how well each one does this category's core job, what the free or entry plan includes, and where it falls short. Where we have enough verified facts, the score out of 10 is a rubric — job fit, value and how much we could verify — shown with its breakdown on every tool's page; a tool we have not verified enough to score yet shows its rank without a number. Scores are re-checked when a product changes its plans. Read the full editorial policy, or submit a tool we missed.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update