August 17, 2023 11:41 pm

Amit

What’s The Best Platform to Build a Community

Looking to build your own online community? Well, you're in luck because I've got a list of the top online community platforms just for you.

These bad boys are all about connecting people, fostering engagement, and creating a safe space for everyone involved. So whether you're a business owner, a hobby enthusiast, or just someone who loves bringing people together, these platforms have got your back.

Let's dive in and explore the wonderful world of online communities!

TLDR;

  • Facebook Groups, Mighty Networks, Circle, and Disciple are popular online community platforms that offer various features and benefits for creating and managing communities.
  • Zapnito's All-In-One Engagement Platform, Discord, and Uscreen are also notable platforms that provide unique capabilities for connecting and communicating with audiences in real-time.
  • Heights Platform, Skool, Slack, and Social Glow are community platforms that offer specific functionalities such as building safe learning environments, monetizing communities, streamlining workflow, and integrating gaming, business, learning, and socializing.
  • Platforms like Discourse and Zenler prioritize safety and moderation by providing powerful moderation tools, control over access, and addressing inappropriate content or behavior to foster positive and respectful atmospheres.

List of platforms for building your online community

When it comes to building an online community, there are several platforms that can help you connect with like-minded individuals.

Facebook Groups is a popular option, allowing you to create a community within the larger Facebook platform.

Mighty Networks offers a more customizable experience, giving you the ability to create your own branded website and mobile app for your community.

Circle, Disciple, and Heartbeat are other platforms worth considering, each offering unique features and tools to help you foster engagement and interaction among your community members.

Facebook Groups

Pricing: Starts at $0/Month. You just have to give up your privacy! 

Grow with Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups is a popular platform for creating and managing online communities. It provides an easy way to connect with like-minded people and build a community around shared interests or goals. To get started, it is important to add a clear description that states the purpose of the community, helping new members understand how they can contribute and engage.

Adding a cover photo can also help shape the identity of your group. Consider using an image that represents the topic or location your community focuses on. As you add members to your group, choose trusted friends who can provide initial feedback and find others who share similar interests. Making new members feel welcome and valued is crucial for building a strong community.

Finally, make your first post engaging by welcoming people or sharing relevant content. By following these steps, you can create a vibrant online community on Facebook Groups that fosters meaningful connections.

Moving on to another platform for building online communities.

Mighty Networks

Pricing: Starts at $39/Month. Click here to check pricing. 

Might Networks Community

If you're looking to level up your business and create branded apps without custom development, Mighty Networks is a platform worth considering.

With their Community Plans, you can build a community on your own branded website with features like livestreaming, chat, memberships, and events. For $33/month when paid annually, you get access to native livestreaming & video capabilities, chat & messaging tools, as well as events & Zoom integration.

The Business Plans offer even more value for $99/month when paid annually. You'll have the ability to grow your business with online courses, live cohort course creation, featured pages & events, analytics & member data tracking, and Zapier APIs & workflows.

But if you want to take it a step further and level up your thriving business with branded apps available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, Mighty Pro Plans are the way to go. Contact them directly for pricing details!

With Mighty Networks' white-labeled web and app experience along with strategy and migration services & support included in their Pro Plans, you can ensure a safe and seamless transition for your community members.

Now let's explore another top online community platform called 'Circle'.

Circle.so

Pricing: Starts at $99/Month. Click here to check pricing. 

CircleSO Communities

Circle's all-in-one community platform offers a range of features and support for creators and brands. With Circle, you can launch your own branded community app in just six weeks or fewer, without the need for any coding skills. The platform provides a secure and safe environment for members to connect, collaborate, and engage with each other.

Here are two key benefits of using Circle:

Private Community: Circle allows you to create a private community where you can control who has access. This ensures that your members feel safe and comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas.

Live Workshops & Coaching: Circle provides access to live workshops, coaching calls, office hours, Q&A sessions, and expert interviews. These resources help you learn valuable insights on community building from experienced professionals.

By utilizing these features on Circle's platform, creators and brands can foster an engaging online community that promotes collaboration and growth.

 Now let's transition into the next section about 'Disciple'.

Disciple Media

Pricing: Starts at $46/Month (paid annually). Click here to check pricing. 

Desciple Media Community

With Disciple, you can easily create your own branded community app and connect with your audience in a secure and personalized environment. This platform allows you to unlock the potential of your business by providing an independent and fully-branded app that requires no coding skills.

By bringing your community together on this platform, you can streamline your business operations and save time by accessing all of your content, groups, and tools from one central place. Additionally, Disciple offers various features to motivate your members, such as livestreams, broadcasts, direct messaging, push notifications, polls, and more.

The intuitive interface of the app ensures a first-class experience for both you and your members. With Disciple's monetization options like subscriptions, in-app purchases, premium groups, etc., you can turn your passion into profit.

Available on Android, iOS, and web platforms with millions of potential users worldwide. 

Heartbeat

Pricing: Starts at $49/Month. Click here to check pricing. 

Heartbeat

Get ready to transform your community into a profitable business with Heartbeat. With Heartbeat, you can combine chats, threads, courses, events, and more on your own domain. Here's why Heartbeat is the top choice for building a thriving community:

  • Foster engaging conversations with your members through Threads & Chats.
  • Replaces Slack, Discord, Facebook Groups
  • Design evergreen learning experiences & cohort-based courses with Courses.
  • Replaces Kajabi, Thinkific, Podia

Heartbeat also offers cutting-edge payment tools to maximize revenue:

  • Manage subscriptions, multiple tiers, and paid events with Payments.
  • Replaces MemberPress, WooCommerce

With its effortless setup and intuitive features like documents hosting and member match-ups automation, Heartbeat provides everything you need under one roof. So start transforming your community today!

Memberium

Pricing: Starts at $37/Month. Click here to check pricing. 

Memberium

Transform your membership site into a fully automated platform with Memberium, and experience the ease of managing your courses, onboarding new clients, and providing internal training all in one place.

With Memberium, you can create online courses to share your expertise with others and integrate seamlessly with popular LMS plugins. As an author selling eBooks, you can securely deliver your books through Memberium and prevent unauthorized sharing of download links.

Service businesses can utilize Memberium to streamline the onboarding process for new clients by collecting information directly into their CRM and guiding them through the membership site. Additionally, Memberium allows for internal training within your organization, ensuring that your team is well-informed on company policies and procedures.

With its security features and integration capabilities, Memberium provides a comprehensive solution for growing your membership site.

Discourse

Pricing: Starts at $50/Month. Click here to check pricing. 

Discourse

Discourse offers a range of features to facilitate meaningful discussions and connections within your community. With its integrated experience for chat and long form discussions, members can build relationships while your community builds knowledge.

But that's not all - Discourse also provides powerful moderation tools to keep the discussion healthy and on-track. You can rest assured that your community will be safe with their best-in-class moderation tools and AI support, ensuring that inappropriate content is kept out.

And because the entire Discourse codebase is open source, you have full ownership of your data without any lock-ins or hidden fees. Plus, you'll always have access to unlimited conversation history, giving you complete transparency.

Zapnito

Pricing: Not listed on their pricing page. You have to fill a contact form to get pricing. 

Zapnito

Maximize the potential of your business by utilizing Zapnito's all-in-one engagement platform and human expertise to power community-led growth. With Zapnito, you can consolidate legacy tools and create an outstanding customer community experience.

The platform offers a range of features that enable learning, collaboration, and networking in one powerful space.

One key benefit of using Zapnito is the ability to quickly build trust with customers. By providing a single space for recommended content, discussions, courses, events, and networking, you can educate members towards conversion. Bringing potential and existing customers together increases conversion rates as they share knowledge and showcase the value of your product or service.

Zapnito also provides an unrivaled onboarding experience by leveraging the expertise of your community to solve challenges and provide timely knowledge. This helps decrease churn by creating habit-forming educational experiences that help members get more value out of your offering.

With fully customizable options such as white labeling, SSO authentication, custom sign-in/registration, and permissions/moderation tools, you can tailor the look and feel of your community to meet your specific needs. Additionally, features like advertising/sponsorship opportunities and a mobile app enhance user engagement further.

Transitioning into the subsequent section about 'discord,' consider exploring another dynamic online community platform that focuses on real-time communication among users.

Discord

Pricing: Starts at $0/Month. Click here to check pricing. 

Discord

Users can easily connect and communicate with friends through the real-time chat and voice channels offered by Discord. With Discord, you can create a space where you belong, whether it's for a school club, gaming group, or art community.

Here are some key features that make Discord stand out:

Topic-based channels: Organize discussions into different channels based on specific topics, making it easy to collaborate and share without cluttering up a group chat.

Low-latency voice and video: Experience high-quality voice and video calls that feel like you're in the same room with your friends.

Custom member access: Set up private channels and give members special powers for better moderation control.

Discord provides a safe environment where users can freely interact while having the necessary tools to ensure privacy and security.

Uscreen

Pricing: Starts at $199/Month. Click here to check pricing. 

Uscreen

Join the vibrant community of creators on Uscreen and engage with your audience through exclusive video content and interactive features. Uscreen offers a range of native features that allow you to build a strong bond with your audience.

One such feature is the native commenting system, which enables you to fuel discussions, respond to comments, and manage conversations right from your dashboard. Additionally, Uscreen provides customized user profiles and avatars, allowing your users to optimize their profiles and showcase their personalities.

Another exciting feature is the advanced live chat, which lets you include your audience in real-time conversations during live streams. With Uscreen's comprehensive membership plans, including the Pro plan starting at $599/month, you can access Netflix-style video catalogs, live streaming capabilities up to 10 hours, and a dedicated success manager.

Heights Platform

Pricing: Starts at $29/Month. Click here to check pricing. 

Heights Platform

Heights Platform offers a range of tools to help you build and engage with your online community. With our course creation platform, you can create free or paid community channels where students can interact, share thoughts, ask questions, and provide feedback. By fostering a sense of community, your learners will be more likely to complete your course and find value in your teachings.

Here are two key features that set Heights Platform apart:

Built-in Discussion Boards: Our platform provides built-in community channels where students can connect with each other and with you as the creator. This allows for meaningful discussions, collaboration, and support within a safe learning environment.

Unlimited Community Channels: You have the flexibility to create unlimited free or paid community channels. This means you can tailor your online community to meet the specific needs of your learners.

Creating an engaged and supportive community is crucial for the success of your online courses.

Skool

Pricing: Starts at $99/Month. Click here to check pricing. 

Skool

As I continue to explore the top online community platforms, I came across Skool. Skool is a versatile platform that offers a combination of features to create an engaging and interactive community experience. It allows creators to bring their students together in one place, enabling them to interact and collaborate on their courses.

Additionally, Skool provides the opportunity for creators to monetize their communities by offering subscription memberships, allowing them to charge a monthly or annual fee. This feature is akin to joining a country club where members can access exclusive content and benefits.

Moreover, Skool enables creators to convert their audience into customers through group funnels that engage and convert effectively. With its comprehensive set of tools and functionalities, Skool empowers creators in building thriving communities while fostering meaningful connections.

Speaking of fostering connections, let's now explore how Slack can further enhance communication within online communities without skipping a beat.

Slack

Pricing: Starts at $0/Month. Click here to check pricing. 

Slack

You can maximize your productivity and streamline communication within your online community by utilizing Slack, the ultimate platform for collaboration and organization. With Slack, you can connect the right people, find anything you need, and automate routine tasks with generative AI.

This platform simplifies your workflow by integrating all your favorite apps in one place, making it easier to move faster and get work done efficiently.

Here are two key features of Slack that make it stand out:

Channels: These organized spaces bring order and clarity to your work. You can create channels for every project, topic, or team, making it easier to connect across departments and offices.

Integrations: Slack seamlessly integrates with other popular apps like Google Drive and Office 365. This allows you to access all your tools within Slack itself, eliminating the need to switch between different platforms.

By leveraging these features, you can enhance collaboration, improve communication efficiency, and ensure a safe environment for your online community.

Social Glow

Pricing: Starts at $49.95/Month. Click here to check pricing. 

Social Glow

After exploring the benefits of using Slack as an online community platform, let's now dive into another option called Social Glow.

Social Glow is a unique community platform that combines elements of gaming, business, learning, and socializing. It provides creators with the opportunity to bring people together to collaborate on shared goals and interests while also earning a living.

With just a few clicks, you can set up your own community on Social Glow and easily integrate your top apps for a seamless experience. By sharing your link on social media or through email, you can invite clients to join and give them instant access to your content.

The platform also offers chat capabilities, video hosting, and exciting gamification features that will skyrocket engagement within your community.

Zenler

Pricing: Starts at $67/Month (includes 3 schools). Click here to check pricing. 

Zenler

Zenler offers a wide range of features and tools for creators to build and engage with their online communities. With Zenler's Community feature, you can easily set up a social network-style community on your site. This helps create a strong community for your courses and membership sites, triggering network effects that drive student engagement.

Additionally, Zenler offers a Live Chat Room where members can communicate in real-time, further enhancing engagement.

Here are two reasons why Zenler is ideal for creators who desire safety in their online communities:

Control over access: You have the option to decide who gets to see the community and live chat rooms. This allows you to maintain a safe and secure environment by only granting access to trusted individuals.

Moderation tools: Zenler provides moderation tools that enable you to monitor and manage interactions within your community effectively. This ensures that inappropriate content or behavior is promptly addressed, promoting a positive and respectful atmosphere.

With Zenler, you can confidently build an online community that prioritizes safety while fostering meaningful engagement among your members.

Conclusion

Featured Image for Best Community Platforms

In conclusion, exploring the world of online community platforms is like embarking on a grand adventure.

Each platform holds its own unique treasures, waiting to be discovered by eager explorers seeking connection and collaboration.

So gather your fellow adventurers, set sail into cyberspace, and let these platforms guide you towards building a thriving online community that will stand the test of time.

Happy exploring!

About the Author

First off, thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you've seen the video and got to know me a little by now.

I started my course creation journey in 2015 when we had our 1st baby boy.

My wife was home on maternity leave and we came up with the idea to create an online course while she had the time off from work.

Four years later.....

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