HelloBox review
A low-cost community platform for small public or private groups.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
HelloBox is a fully hosted community and forum platform for creators, course communities, startups, newsletters, podcasters, businesses and internal groups. It supports public or private communities, member approval, roles and permissions, post approval, themes, newsletters, analytics and content workflows. Its feature set suits small groups that want a branded community without managing infrastructure, while the 100-member limit makes it less suitable for larger audiences.
Pricing is structured as a freemium monthly model. The Free plan costs $0 per month and includes a .hellobox.co subdomain with limited features. Starter costs $5 per month and adds a custom domain with SSL alongside all features included. Growth is $10 per month, Pro is $20 per month, Business is $50 per month and Scale is $100 per month; each paid tier includes a custom domain with SSL and all features included. The simple tier structure makes the paid plans easy to compare, although member capacity is the key consideration for growing communities.
HelloBox also covers publishing, moderation and distribution in one web-based service. Its block editor supports drafts and multiple editor modes, while the AI writing assistant, built-in newsletters, Google Analytics and SEO sitemap support extend beyond a basic forum. Auto-posting connects communities with Slack, Discord and social channels, and integrations include Twitter/X, Google Search Console, Intercom, HubSpot, Drift, Crisp, Jivo and Tawk. Choose HelloBox for a small branded community with broad content and integration needs; consider an alternative if you need more than 100 members, a non-web platform or a free plan with a wider feature set.
HelloBox pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Free plan plus monthly tiers starting at $5
- Public or private communities with member approval
- Custom domains, newsletters, AI writing and integrations
- Where it doesn't
- Member capacity is limited to 100
- The platform is web-only
- The free plan has limited features
HelloBox fact sheet, pricing and score →
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