--- title: "Best Community Software - 2026 Reviews & Pricing" description: "Find the best Community Software for your organization. Compare top Community Software systems with customer reviews, pricing, and free demos." source_url: "https://www.softwareadvice.com/community/" page_type: "category" language: "en" --- [Home](https://www.softwareadvice.com/) / Community Software Software Advice offers objective insights based on verified user reviews and independent product and market research. When our advisors match you to a software provider, we may earn a referral fee. # Best Community Software of 2026 Updated November 3, 2026 On this page 1. FrontRunners 2. Popular Comparisons 3. Buyers Guide 4. Related Software Filter products 258 results ### Compare Products Showing 1 - 25 of 258 products #### Company Size - Self-Employed - 2-10 - 11-50 - 51-200 - 201-500 - 501-1000 - 1000+ #### Pricing Options - $$$$$ - $$$$$ - $$$$$ - $$$$$ - $$$$$ ### Compare Products Sort by **Sponsored**: Sorts listings by software vendors running active bidding campaigns, from the highest to lowest bid. Vendors who have paid for placement have a ‘Visit Website’ button, whereas unpaid vendors have a ‘Learn More’ button. **Reviews**: Sorts listings by the number of user reviews we have published, greatest to least. **Average Rating**: Sorts listings by overall star rating based on user reviews, highest to lowest. **Alphabetically (A-Z)**: Sorts listings by product name from A to Z. ### [GrowthZone Community Platform](/product/352198-Community-Platform/) - Overall rating: 4.5/5 - Reviews: 2 - Free trial: Not available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview GrowthZone Community Platform, for associations, empowers you to create a modern, fresh, and vibrant space where connections are meaningful, ideas flourish and collaboration [Read more](/product/352198-Community-Platform/) --- ### [Mighty Networks](/lms/mighty-networks-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.5/5 - Reviews: 94 - Starting price: $41.00/month - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Available #### Overview Mighty Networks is a community management platform. With a Mighty Network, you can bring your courses, memberships, and offers together in a powerful community under your own [Read more](/lms/mighty-networks-profile/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Electronic Payments: 5/5 - Landing Pages/Web Forms: 5/5 - Built-in Course Authoring: 5/5 - Member Types: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - Social Promotion: 2.5/5 - Customizable Templates: 3.1/5 - Payment Processing: 3.2/5 - Moderation: 3.5/5 [See all features](/lms/mighty-networks-profile/#key-features) #### Pricing ##### Community - Price: $41.00/month - This plan is also available for $41 per month on an annual subscription. ##### Courses Plan - Price: $99.00/month - This plan is also available for $99 per month when billed annually. ##### Business - Price: $179.00/month - This plan is also available for $179 per month on an annual subscription. [See full pricing details](/lms/mighty-networks-profile/#pricing-and-plans) --- ### [MobileUp](/community/mobileup-profile/) - Overall rating: 4/5 - Reviews: 1 - Starting price: $100.00/year - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview MobileUp is a cloud-based solution that provides businesses with tools to design and deploy applications for streamlining event management processes. Professionals can view [Read more](/community/mobileup-profile/) #### Pricing ##### Basic - Price: $100.00/year [See full pricing details](/community/mobileup-profile/#pricing-and-plans) --- ### [BigMarker](/marketing/bigmarker-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.8/5 - Reviews: 379 - Best for: Small businesses - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview BigMarker is cloud-based webinar-hosting and marketing tool for organizations looking to produce and publish meaningful events, engage audiences and collect actionable data & [Read more](/marketing/bigmarker-profile/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Activity Dashboard: 5/5 - On-Demand Recording: 5/5 - Call Recording: 5/5 - Template Management: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - Website Publishing Options: 3/5 - Reporting & Statistics: 4/5 [See all features](/marketing/bigmarker-profile/#key-features) #### Pricing ##### Basic - Price: Custom - Pricing available upon request - 1 Host License ##### Enterprise - Price: Custom - Pricing available upon request - 4 Host Licenses ##### Enterprise+ - Price: Custom - Pricing available upon request - 6 Host Licenses [See full pricing details](/marketing/bigmarker-profile/#pricing-and-plans) --- ### [Brilliant Directories](/membership-management/brilliant-directories-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.8/5 - Reviews: 805 - Starting price: $145.00/month - Best for: Value for money - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview ✨ TRY 7-DAY FREE TRIAL ✨ — www.BrilliantDirectories.com/Trial —— 🚀 EASY 15-MINUTE SETUP —— With Brilliant Directories, you'll get the basic configuration of your site online [Read more](/membership-management/brilliant-directories-profile/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - User Management: 5/5 - Member Accounts: 5/5 - Event Calendar: 5/5 - Moderation: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - Mobile App: 4/5 [See all features](/membership-management/brilliant-directories-profile/#key-features) #### Pricing ##### Lifetime Plan - Best Value - Price: $1,450.00one time ##### Monthly Plan - Upgrade to Lifetime Anytimg - Price: $145.00/month [See full pricing details](/membership-management/brilliant-directories-profile/#pricing-and-plans) --- ### [QuestionPro](/product/153082-QuestionPro/) - Overall rating: 4.8/5 - Reviews: 548 - Starting price: $83.00/month - Best for: Ease of use - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview QuestionPro is a cloud-based survey and research platform that enables users to create, distribute and analyze surveys, polls, forms and quizzes. It helps organizations gather [Read more](/product/153082-QuestionPro/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Real-Time Data: 5/5 - Search/Filter: 5/5 - Employee Onboarding: 5/5 - Anonymous Feedback: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - Commenting/Notes: 3/5 - Reminders: 4/5 [See all features](/product/153082-QuestionPro/#key-features) #### Pricing ##### Surveys & Research- Essentials - Price: Custom - Pricing available upon request - Limited to 1 user ##### Surveys & Research- Team Edition - Price: $83.00/month - From 5+ users, billed annually. ##### Surveys & Research- Advanced - Price: $99.00/month - Upto 1 user, billed annually. [See full pricing details](/product/153082-QuestionPro/#pricing-and-plans) --- ### [ToucanTech](/nonprofit/toucantech-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.9/5 - Reviews: 151 - Starting price: $8,000.00/year - Best for: Customer support - Free trial: Not available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview ToucanTech is a community management platform that combines database management, website hosting, communication tools, and engagement features in one system. It is designed for [Read more](/nonprofit/toucantech-profile/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Gift Matching Management: 5/5 - Member Types: 5/5 - Dues Management: 5/5 - Committee Management: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - Ideation: 2.5/5 [See all features](/nonprofit/toucantech-profile/#key-features) --- ### [NiceJob](/review-management/nicejob-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.9/5 - Reviews: 203 - Starting price: $75.00/month - Best for: Features - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview NiceJob is an AI growth platform and reputation marketing software for service businesses. Most owners know that reviews, referrals, and repeat customers drive growth, but few have [Read more](/review-management/nicejob-profile/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Communication Management: 5/5 - Social Media Monitoring: 5/5 - Complaint Monitoring: 5/5 - Loyalty Program: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - Reporting & Statistics: 3/5 - Alerts/Notifications: 3/5 - Activity Dashboard: 4/5 [See all features](/review-management/nicejob-profile/#key-features) #### Pricing ##### Starter - Price: $75.00/month - Everything a service business needs to build a strong online reputation: automated text and email ##### Pro - Price: $125.00/month - All Starter features, plus the tools that turn a great reputation into repeat revenue: rebooking [See full pricing details](/review-management/nicejob-profile/#pricing-and-plans) --- ### [Preferred Patron Loyalty](/customer-reference-management/preferred-patron-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.9/5 - Reviews: 109 - Starting price: $29.00/month - Best for: Value for money - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview Preferred Patron helps businesses turn one-time customers into repeat customers with loyalty, rewards, messaging, automation, and analytics in one scalable customer retention [Read more](/customer-reference-management/preferred-patron-profile/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Point of Sale (POS): 5/5 - Activity Tracking: 5/5 - Customer Activity Tracking: 5/5 - CRM: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - Customer Surveys: 3/5 - Contact Management: 4/5 [See all features](/customer-reference-management/preferred-patron-profile/#key-features) #### Pricing ##### Small Business - Price: $29.00/month - Small Businesses & Independents 1-5 Locations No member limit SMS & Email Marketing ##### Growth - Price: $199.00/month - Mid-Market | Multi-location Businesses Advanced Features Unlimited Members SMS & Email Marketing ##### Enterprise - Price: $10,000.00/month - Large and High-volume Businesses Multi-Location & Multi-Region 75 - 300 Location Allowance 250,000 - [See full pricing details](/customer-reference-management/preferred-patron-profile/#pricing-and-plans) --- ### [Instagram](/marketing/instagram-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.7/5 - Reviews: 5,226 - Best for: Photos/Images - Free trial: Not available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview Instagram is a social media application that enables businesses to manage content, create and edit posts and monitor customer engagement. It lets users share photos and videos, [Read more](/marketing/instagram-profile/) ##### What users love - Creative and easy photo sharing - Intuitive and user-friendly interface - Versatile visual content sharing ##### To take in mind - Security, spam, and support problems - Algorithm and content quality issues - Addiction and mental health concerns #### Features ##### Best rated features - Social Advertising: 4.9/5 - Photos/Images: 4.8/5 - Mobile Access: 4.8/5 - Media Management: 4.7/5 ##### Worst rated features - Moderation: 3.7/5 - Automated Scheduling: 3.8/5 - Discussions/Forums: 3.8/5 [See all features](/marketing/instagram-profile/#key-features) --- ### [ThoughtFarmer](/portal/thoughtfarmer-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.8/5 - Reviews: 122 - Starting price: $6.00/month - Best for: Features - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview ThoughtFarmer is a best-in-class intranet platform that helps organizations connect employees, streamline internal communication, and build a vibrant workplace culture. Designed [Read more](/portal/thoughtfarmer-profile/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Discussions/Forums: 5/5 - Blogs: 5/5 - SSL Security: 5/5 - Configurable Workflow: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - Customizable Templates: 3/5 [See all features](/portal/thoughtfarmer-profile/#key-features) #### Pricing ##### Business - Price: $6.00/month - As low as $6 per user per month (500+ employees). All features included, backed by our [See full pricing details](/portal/thoughtfarmer-profile/#pricing-and-plans) --- ### [Slack](/remote-support/slack-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.7/5 - Reviews: 24,239 - Starting price: $8.75/month - Best for: Group Messaging - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Available #### Overview Slack is a cloud-based project collaboration and team interaction tool designed to facilitate communication across organizations. The solution caters to various industries, [Read more](/remote-support/slack-profile/) ##### What users love - Organized and flexible messaging - Intuitive interface and integrations - Streamlined project collaboration hub ##### To take in mind - Message overload and history limits - Overwhelming notification volume - Restrictive free plan and costs #### Features ##### Best rated features - Natural Language Processing: 5/5 - Chatbot: 5/5 - Archiving & Retention: 5/5 - Recording: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - Call Recording: 3/5 - Transcripts/Chat History: 3.8/5 - To-Do List: 3.8/5 [See all features](/remote-support/slack-profile/#key-features) #### Pricing ##### Free - Price: Custom - Pricing available upon request ##### Pro - Price: $8.75/month ##### Business+ - Price: $15.00/month [See full pricing details](/remote-support/slack-profile/#pricing-and-plans) --- ### [AlumnForce](/nonprofit/alumnforce-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.8/5 - Reviews: 99 - Starting price: $4,990.00 - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview AlumnForce is a cloud-based alumni success platform, designed to help build online alumni communities and engage students, alumni, teachers and recruiters within one central [Read more](/nonprofit/alumnforce-profile/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Document Storage: 5/5 - Real-Time Chat: 5/5 - Search/Filter: 5/5 - Tagging: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - API: 4/5 - Mobile Access: 4/5 [See all features](/nonprofit/alumnforce-profile/#key-features) #### Pricing ##### Basic - Price: $4,990.00 [See full pricing details](/nonprofit/alumnforce-profile/#pricing-and-plans) --- ### [Heights Platform](/lms/heights-platform-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.9/5 - Reviews: 71 - Starting price: $29.00/month - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview The Heights Platform provides all of the tools you need to create and sell your own online courses, challenges, memberships, private communities, coaching, digital downloads and [Read more](/lms/heights-platform-profile/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Discussions/Forums: 5/5 - Billing & Invoicing: 5/5 - Membership Management: 5/5 - Reporting & Statistics: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - Engagement Tracking: 3/5 - Course Authoring: 3/5 - Mobile Access: 3.5/5 - Course Tracking: 4/5 [See all features](/lms/heights-platform-profile/#key-features) #### Pricing ##### Challenge - Price: $29.00/month - The Challenge plan is also available for $19 per month with annual billing and comes with 30 days ##### Basic - Price: $49.00/month - The Basic plan is available at $39/month when billed annually (20% discount). ##### Pro - Price: $99.00/month - The Pro plan comes at $79 per month when billed annually. Additionally, free 30 days trial is also [See full pricing details](/lms/heights-platform-profile/#pricing-and-plans) --- ### [Eventcombo](/hybrid-event/eventcombo-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.9/5 - Reviews: 60 - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview Eventcombo is an ISACA award-winning omnichannel event technology, event management and attendee registration management platform for in-person, hybrid, and virtual events. It has [Read more](/hybrid-event/eventcombo-profile/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Barcode/Ticket Scanning: 5/5 - Ticket Reservations: 5/5 - Survey/Poll Management: 5/5 - Alerts/Notifications: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - Social Promotion: 3.7/5 - Marketing Automation: 4/5 [See all features](/hybrid-event/eventcombo-profile/#key-features) #### Pricing ##### Basic - Price: Custom - Pricing available upon request [See full pricing details](/hybrid-event/eventcombo-profile/#pricing-and-plans) --- ### [Uscreen](/video-management/uscreen-video-platform-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.8/5 - Reviews: 128 - Starting price: $199.00/month - Best for: Electronic Payments - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview Uscreen is an all-in-one membership platform built for video creators to launch paid memberships that include an on-demand video library, live streaming capabilities, and their own [Read more](/video-management/uscreen-video-platform-profile/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Closed Captions: 5/5 - Membership Management: 5/5 - Multi-Channel Distribution: 5/5 - Reminders: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - Metadata Management: 3.5/5 - Social Media Integration: 3.5/5 - Reporting & Statistics: 4/5 [See all features](/video-management/uscreen-video-platform-profile/#key-features) #### Pricing ##### Growth Plan - Price: $199.00/month - Start earning recurring revenue with seamless video streaming. Receive a 20% discount to $149/month ##### App Essentials Plan - Price: $499.00/month - Build your brand & boost retention with mobile apps. Optimize your plan with Add-Ons for enhanced ##### Uscreen Plus - Price: Custom - Pricing available upon request - Contact Uscreen for pricing details. [See full pricing details](/video-management/uscreen-video-platform-profile/#pricing-and-plans) --- ### [Selldone](/ecommerce/selldone-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.9/5 - Reviews: 47 - Starting price: $0.00/month - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview Selldone is a cloud-based business operating system that is revolutionizing the way that companies manage their online stores and eCommerce operations. With a focus on automating [Read more](/ecommerce/selldone-profile/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Social Media Integration: 5/5 - Multi-Currency: 5/5 - Loyalty Program: 5/5 - eCommerce Management: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - Sales Order Management: 4/5 [See all features](/ecommerce/selldone-profile/#key-features) #### Pricing ##### Personal - Price: $0.00/month - $0/Month + 2% Fee ##### Startup - Price: $14.90/month - $14.9/Month + 1.5% Fee ##### Company - Price: $99.00/month - $99/Month + 1% Fee [See full pricing details](/ecommerce/selldone-profile/#pricing-and-plans) --- ### [Influitive](/marketing/advocatehub-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.7/5 - Reviews: 247 - Starting price: $1,499.00/month - Best for: Value for money - Free trial: Not available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview Influitive is an engagement and advocacy software that helps organizations manage a group of "on-demand" advocates. Influitive AdvocateHub’s features include engagement of [Read more](/marketing/advocatehub-profile/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Event Triggered Actions: 5/5 - Reporting & Statistics: 5/5 - Campaign Management: 5/5 - Event Management: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - Single Sign On: 3/5 [See all features](/marketing/advocatehub-profile/#key-features) --- ### [Almashines](/product/449944-Almashines/) - Overall rating: 4.7/5 - Reviews: 172 - Starting price: $1,199.00/year - Best for: On the rise - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview AlmaShines is an alumni management software designed to help educational institutions manage and engage their alumni communities. It is used by colleges, universities, secondary [Read more](/product/449944-Almashines/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Access Controls/Permissions: 5/5 - Surveys & Feedback: 5/5 - Member Types: 5/5 - CRM: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - Polls/Voting: 3/5 - Mobile App: 3.7/5 [See all features](/product/449944-Almashines/#key-features) #### Pricing ##### Booster - Price: $1,199.00/year - A complete solution to grow your alumni community and facilitate professional networking among young ##### Pro - Price: $2,499.00/year - A complete solution to cater sizable alumni communities with advanced facilities for all alumni ##### Advanced - Price: $4,999.00/year - A complete solution for large alumni communities to meet the diverse requirements of engaging and [See full pricing details](/product/449944-Almashines/#pricing-and-plans) --- ### [TrueLoyal](/customer-loyalty/zinrelo-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.8/5 - Reviews: 58 - Free trial: Not available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview TrueLoyal is an AI-powered loyalty and rewards platform designed to help businesses enhance customer retention and encourage repeat purchases. It supports multi-channel consumer [Read more](/customer-loyalty/zinrelo-profile/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Campaign Management: 5/5 - Gamification: 5/5 - CRM: 5/5 - Segmentation: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - Point of Sale (POS): 3/5 - Email Marketing: 3.5/5 [See all features](/customer-loyalty/zinrelo-profile/#key-features) --- ### [Connecteam](/hr/connecteam-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.6/5 - Reviews: 5,322 - Starting price: $29.00/month - Best for: Mid-size businesses - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview Connecteam was designed and built as a true all-in-one solution. Easily engage and manage non-desk employees with a true all-in-one mobile app. Connecteam offers a powerful, [Read more](/hr/connecteam-profile/) ##### What users love - Intuitive and user-friendly interface - Streamlined scheduling and tracking - Centralized team coordination tools ##### To take in mind - Limited forms and reporting flexibility - Complex and costly pricing structure - Inconsistent mobile and desktop experience #### Features ##### Best rated features - Orientation Workflow Management: 5/5 - Multi-Location: 5/5 - Geolocation: 5/5 - Blogs: 5/5 [See all features](/hr/connecteam-profile/#key-features) #### Pricing ##### Basic - Price: $29.00/month - This package is available for $29/month billed annually or $35/month billed monthly. The price is ##### Advanced - Price: $49.00/month - Price is for the first 30 users, $1.5/month for each additional user. ##### Expert - Price: $99.00/month - Price is for the first 30 users, $3/month for each additional user. [See full pricing details](/hr/connecteam-profile/#pricing-and-plans) --- ### [Re:amaze](/service-desk/reamaze-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.8/5 - Reviews: 53 - Starting price: $29.00/month - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview Reamaze is a cloud-based help desk and customer messaging solution that helps businesses support, engage and convert customers using a single app. It’s suitable for businesses [Read more](/service-desk/reamaze-profile/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Automated Routing: 5/5 - Real-Time Monitoring: 5/5 - Autoresponders: 5/5 - Interaction Tracking: 5/5 [See all features](/service-desk/reamaze-profile/#key-features) #### Pricing ##### Basic - Price: $29.00/month - All features in basic for $59 flat rate per month for unlimited team members. 14-Day free trial is ##### Pro - Price: $49.00/month - 14-Day free trial is also available. ##### Plus - Price: $69.00/month - 14-Day free trial is also available. [See full pricing details](/service-desk/reamaze-profile/#pricing-and-plans) --- ### [VeryConnect](/crm/veryconnect-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.9/5 - Reviews: 39 - Starting price: £3,000.00/year - Free trial: Not available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview VeryConnect is a connected membership platform that unifies your CRM, events, communications, payments and website. Because everything lives in one place, you stop losing data at [Read more](/crm/veryconnect-profile/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Segmentation: 5/5 - Member Directory: 5/5 - Activity/News Feed: 5/5 - Real-Time Chat: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - Access Controls/Permissions: 2/5 - Internal Chat Integration: 3/5 [See all features](/crm/veryconnect-profile/#key-features) --- ### [Invent App](/hybrid-event/invent-app-profile/) - Overall rating: 4.9/5 - Reviews: 42 - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview Invent App solutions help companies and event organizers promote, plan and hold digitalized events. It provides web and mobile applications (available on Android and iOS) to [Read more](/hybrid-event/invent-app-profile/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Email Templates: 5/5 - Reporting & Statistics: 5/5 - Sponsorship Management: 5/5 - Social Promotion: 5/5 [See all features](/hybrid-event/invent-app-profile/#key-features) #### Pricing ##### Plan - Price: Custom - Pricing available upon request [See full pricing details](/hybrid-event/invent-app-profile/#pricing-and-plans) --- ### [Mygate](/product/489522-MyGate/) - Overall rating: 4.8/5 - Reviews: 64 - Free trial: Available - Free demo: Not available #### Overview Mygate is an all-in-one community ERP built to simplify and automate every aspect of apartment management for owners, tenants and management committees. Mygate’s expertise lies in [Read more](/product/489522-MyGate/) #### Features ##### Best rated features - Overdue Payments: 5/5 - Lease Management: 5/5 - Biometric Recognition: 5/5 - Accounting: 5/5 ##### Worst rated features - ID Scanning: 3.5/5 - Emergency Notification: 4/5 - General Ledger: 4/5 [See all features](/product/489522-MyGate/#key-features) #### Pricing ##### Basic - Price: Custom - Pricing available upon request [See full pricing details](/product/489522-MyGate/#pricing-and-plans) --- 1 [2](https://www.softwareadvice.com/community/?__ai_markdown=true&page=2)[3](https://www.softwareadvice.com/community/?__ai_markdown=true&page=3)[4](https://www.softwareadvice.com/community/?__ai_markdown=true&page=4)[5](https://www.softwareadvice.com/community/?__ai_markdown=true&page=5) ... [11](https://www.softwareadvice.com/community/?__ai_markdown=true&page=11) ## Popular Comparisons [ Connecteam vs Slack ](https://www.softwareadvice.com/hr/connecteam-profile/vs/slack/)[ Microsoft Viva Engage vs Instagram ](https://www.softwareadvice.com/marketing/instagram-profile/vs/yammer/)[ Webex Suite vs BigMarker ](https://www.softwareadvice.com/marketing/bigmarker-profile/vs/webex/)[ NiceJob vs Yotpo ](https://www.softwareadvice.com/review-management/nicejob-profile/vs/yotpo/)[ Squarespace vs Kajabi ](https://www.softwareadvice.com/lms/kajabi-profile/vs/squarespace/) ## Your Guide to Top Community Software, March 2025 Software Advice uses reviews from real software users to highlight the top-rated Community products in North America. [Learn how products are chosen](https://www.softwareadvice.com/legal-page/frontrunners-methodology/) #### Explore FrontRunners - [Almabase](https://www.softwareadvice.com/nonprofit/almabase-profile/) - [Brilliant Directories](https://www.softwareadvice.com/membership-management/brilliant-directories-profile/) - [Circle](https://www.softwareadvice.com/community/circle-profile/) - [Discord](https://www.softwareadvice.com/community/discord-profile/) - [ExpertVoice](https://www.softwareadvice.com/community/readypulse-profile/) - [Flock](https://www.softwareadvice.com/product/165028-Flock/) - [Glue Up](https://www.softwareadvice.com/crm/glue-up-profile/) - [Influitive](https://www.softwareadvice.com/marketing/advocatehub-profile/) - [MeltingSpot](https://www.softwareadvice.com/crm/meltingspot-profile/) - [Microsoft Viva Engage](https://www.softwareadvice.com/community/yammer-profile/) - [Raklet](https://www.softwareadvice.com/nonprofit/raklet-profile/) - [Slack](https://www.softwareadvice.com/remote-support/slack-profile/) - [ThoughtFarmer](https://www.softwareadvice.com/portal/thoughtfarmer-profile/) - [ToucanTech](https://www.softwareadvice.com/nonprofit/toucantech-profile/) - [Uscreen](https://www.softwareadvice.com/video-management/uscreen-video-platform-profile/) - [uuki](https://www.softwareadvice.com/community/uuki-profile/) - [Vaave](https://www.softwareadvice.com/nonprofit/vaave-profile/) - [Webex Suite](https://www.softwareadvice.com/voip/webex-profile/) - [Workplace from Meta](https://www.softwareadvice.com/product/165817-Workplace/) - [Zelos Team Management](https://www.softwareadvice.com/gamification/zelos-profile/) - [Zendesk Suite](https://www.softwareadvice.com/product/26892-Zendesk/) “Usability” includes user ratings for Functionality and Ease of Use. “Customer Satisfaction” includes user ratings for Customer Support, Likelihood to Recommend and Value for Money. Reviews analysis period: The reviews analysis period spans two years and ends the 15th of the month prior to publication. Online communities provide a platform for individuals to connect around a shared interest, goal or activity. Users form a network, develop relationships and collaborate by sharing information and engaging with content. Community software helps businesses build and develop these forums, cultivate followers and maintain memberships. These tools automate administrative processes and provide businesses with actionable data on metrics and trends such as site activity and user engagement. There are a variety of solutions on the market designed to serve every type of business need, including brand building, customer support and many more. We’ve created this guide to help you better understand the community software market so you can select the right tool for your organization. Whether you’re looking to invest in community software for the first time or looking to replace your current system, this guide can help you make a more informed purchase decision. Here's what we'll cover: [What Is Community Software?](#WhatIsCommunitySoftware) [Key Features of Community Software](#KeyFeaturesofCommunitySoftware) [Types of Community Software](#TypesofCommunitySoftware) [Key Considerations for Community Software Buyers](#KeyConsiderationsforCommunitySoftwareBuyers) ## What Is Community Software? Businesses and associations build online communities to achieve several goals: - Increase brand awareness - Grow their customer base - Support customers throughout the entire customer life cycle (i.e., considering, purchasing, using, maintaining and/or replacing a product or service) - Provide a forum for discussion/feedback regarding products and/or services Of course, first and foremost, communities should provide value to the end user. Community software solutions help businesses build, launch, manage and measure the effectiveness of their online communities so as to strive for continuous improvement, i.e., provide the most value to the customer. Example forum report using Socious ## Key Features of Community Software Look for the following community software capabilities as you compare solutions: | Feature | Description | | --- | --- | | Member management | Enable users to create profiles, join groups and/or chapters. Often includes search functionality or a directory. Can include membership dues management (works with merchant account platforms) to manage paid memberships. | | Content management | Create web content and track how users interact with different types of content. Can include process documentation, wikis, articles and more. Set up online and emailed content alerts for when content is added or updated. | | Forums and discussion boards | Facilitate communication and collaboration among users, allowing them to follow threads, share ideas, post questions and respond to inquires. Includes features such as @ mentions, the ability to like and/or share posts, insert emojis, add tags and other classifications to posts and archive discussions. Often includes the ability to send private messages as well. | | Blog creation and management | Set up blogs for your business, employees or individual members. Allow users to create and share content, organize content using tags and other classifications and subscribe to blogs. Includes security settings, user permissions and the ability to turn commenting on or off. | | Gamification/crowdsourcing | Increase user engagement in your community with tools such as gamification, contests, surveys and/or polls. Invite users to post scores on their profile or share to their social networks. | | Media libraries | Upload and store files in a centralized, searchable location. Features often include customizable user permissions, share settings and the ability to turn on/off commenting. Enlist users in library maintenance by allowing them to tag out of date files, broken links etc. | | Event management | Showcase events and conferences and work with your partners to cultivate sponsorships and your customers to build out your attendees. Features include online registration, agenda/calendar building and payment management. | | Reporting and analytics | Includes dashboards and reports for several metrics, including member activity, site interactions, content shares and many more. Schedule one-off or recurring reports, view data in various graphical displays and export data to Excel. Create custom reports to track trends unique to your business or industry. | --- ## Types of Community Software: Community software can create and manage several types of communities. These can generally be grouped as follows: **Internal business tools.** This includes communities designed to facilitate collaboration among employees and crowdsource ideas to solve internal business issues. They can also act as an internal knowledge center where employees can access reference material, join relevant groups and search for important business documentation and processes. Can also include professional development and training. Capabilities might include: - Employee directory - Wikis - Talent referral - Opinion surveys and polls **Business-to-consumer (B2C).** This includes a variety of communities designed to help businesses engage with current and prospective clients, most often centered around business development/sales, customer relationship management, support and training. Can also host reviews of products and services. Non-profit and professional development associations can also use this software to engage with members or users rather than customers. Capabilities likely include: - Branded blog, news, and/or social network - Forums and discussion boards - Content and media library - Group/chapter management - Event management **Business-to-business (B2B).** B2B communities enable businesses to interact with other organizations in their industry, most often through partner programs and industry and awareness brand marketing. This resource can be helpful when highlighting new programs, product releases and updates as well as when creating and/or responding to RFPs. Capabilities often include: - Business profiles - Product/service videos - Document sharing - Event management/sponsorship tools **Consumer-to-consumer.** This category includes communities built by consumers to serve and engage with other consumers, such as interest-based communities (e.g., sports, video games, city/geographical involvement etc.), professional development associations and product/service reviews forums. Capabilities might include: - Member profiles - Group/chapter management - Forums and discussion boards - Private messaging - Content management Additionally, it’s possible (and likely) for a hybrid community to exist within any of these categories. An example of this is when customers interact with each other and the business joins in on the discussion. Each community will require member management and offer some degree of reporting/analytics for administrative members. As the primary goal for these systems is to provide value to end users, it’s important to chose a solution with reporting functionality that supports your business and industry requirements. ## Key Considerations for Community Software Buyers Keep the following purchase considerations in mind as you compare solutions: **Open-source community software.** There are several open-source solutions on the market that can help you get an online community set up with lower upfront costs than you’d have with a paid solution. However, you will require an IT staff to host and maintain the system, which means, as one vendor states on their website “you break it, you fix it.” You also have limited support, training and customer service options with open source tools, so consider the needs of both your administrative and end users before choosing this option. **Integration with existing business software.** Integration allows for seamless data transfer between applications, which is a chief concern when using disparate systems. Look for tools that integrate with your existing business applications (e.g., your CRM, marketing, help desk and social media accounts) to save time and reduce duplicate data entry. **Actionable insights/reporting.** The key with reporting is to gain actionable insights. Your community software should help you strive for continuous improvement so as to provide the most value to your end user, so you should supplement your reporting strategy with feedback loops. Additionally, look for trends that allow you to enhance and tailor the user experience to each member group, which can lead to increased and prolonged membership. ### Related Community Software - [Collaboration Software](https://www.softwareadvice.com/collaboration/) - [Directory Software](https://www.softwareadvice.com/category/4765-directory/) - [Knowledge Management Software](https://www.softwareadvice.com/help-desk/knowledge-management-comparison/) - [Social Networking Software](https://www.softwareadvice.com/social-networking/)