Best Community Platforms 2025

5. Slack

Primarily used for internal team communication, Slack can also be used to build a community. Its channels and messaging features aid collaboration, although it may not be suitable for large or public communities.

• Description: Slack is a messaging and collaboration platform for teams. While primarily used for internal communication, it can support community building with its channels and threads.
• Pros:
  • Excellent for real-time communication and collaboration
  • Integrates well with other work tools
  • Organized discussions and threads
• Cons:
  • Not designed specifically for community building, lacking some crucial features
  • Free plan is limited in terms of message history
  • Can be overwhelming in larger communities without effective channel organization
• Who it's best for: Internal team communication. It can serve small to medium-sized communities primarily focused on collaboration and focused discussions.

6. Reddit

Reddit is a massive platform with a large number of communities on every imaginable topic. It supports discussions via upvotes, downvotes, and comments. It can be useful for discovering new communities.

• Description: Reddit is a social news aggregation and discussion website. It allows users to submit content (links, text, images, and videos) and participate in discussions.
• Pros:
  • Massive user base and diverse range of communities
  • Well-established platform with a familiar interface for many users
• Cons:
  • Can be difficult to control branding and community experience
  • Heavy moderation burden, often managed in a decentralized manner
  • Tends to be a more casual, less professionally-oriented environment
• Who it's best for: Finding existing communities on various topics, as well as reaching a broad audience.

7. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is designed for creators and businesses looking to build communities around their brand or expertise. It offers a blend of community features, online courses, and event management.

• Description: Mighty Networks provides a platform that integrates community features with courses and membership options. It allows creators to build both free and paid communities.
• Pros:
  • Combines community, courses, and memberships in one platform
  • Easy to set up and use
  • Good for creators who want to monetize their expertise
• Cons:
  • Can be limited in terms of customization compared to more advanced platforms
  • Pricing can become expensive as you scale.
• Who it's best for: Creators and businesses that want to monetize their expertise through courses and memberships coupled with community features.

8. Discourse

Discourse is an open-source forum platform that is focused on performance and modern community building. It emphasizes threaded discussions and a clean, modern design.

• Description: Discourse is an open-source forum platform with a focus on discussions and user experience. It uses a modern, streamlined interface.
• Pros:
  • Clean and modern user interface
  • Excellent for discussion-focused communities
  • Open-source and customizable
• Cons:
  • Requires some technical knowledge to set up and manage.
  • Can be complex without community management staff.
• Who it's best for: Communities looking for a clean, modern forum platform that prioritizes discussions.

9. Vanilla Forums

Vanilla Forums is a discussion forum platform that is designed to integrate with websites and applications. It emphasizes easy integration and a feature-rich experience.

• Description: Vanilla Forums is a forum platform that offers discussion forums with the ability to embed them on a website or app.
• Pros:
  • Advanced moderation features
  • Good for large communities and customer support
  • Integration with various platforms
• Cons:
  • Can be more expensive than some other forum platforms
  • User interface can feel a bit dated depending on theme
• Who it's best for: Companies looking to provide customer and community support, particularly those who already use forums or discussion boards.

10. Tribe.so

Tribe.so is a platform focused on community-led growth, offering a customizable and flexible platform for different types of communities focusing on customer engagement and thought leadership.

• Description: Tribe.so provides community features to support customer engagement.
• Pros:
  • Focuses on integrations and growth
  • Flexible customization
• Cons:
  • Less emphasis on other content types
• Who it's best for: Businesses focused on customer engagement to foster a community and thought leadership.

11. BuddyPress

BuddyPress is an open-source community platform that you build on your WordPress site. It provides a flexible solution to create social networking features.

• Description: BuddyPress extends WordPress to allow you to build custom social networking features.
• Pros:
  • Free and open-source
  • If you use WordPress, you can customize on your existing site.
• Cons:
  • Requires self-hosting and WordPress knowledge
  • May need to invest in plugins to get desired features
• Who it's best for: Existing WordPress-based sites that want to add social features without using a third-party platform.

12. Khoros

Khoros is a platform meant for enterprise-level communities, with features aimed for customer relationship efforts.

• Description: Khoros delivers experience management for the enterprise, where social and community efforts are a part of a larger customer-focused strategy.
• Pros:
  • Strong enterprise-level support
  • Many features designed for customer care
• Cons:
  • Expensive
  • Designed for large organizations-- probably overkill for smaller user bases
• Who it's best for: Larger businesses for building a community around customer relationships.

13. Ning

Ning provides a user-friendly platform that helps you to create your own social network with a good combination of features. It has flexible branding and is a long-standing option in this market.

• Description: Ning is a straightforward platform for creating social networks that offers discussion forums, blogs, photos, video, and more.
• Pros:
  • Easy to set up and use
  • Customizable branding options
  • Good for various content
• Cons:
  • Can be limiting with advanced features and customization
  • The interface design may feel dated.
• Who it's best for: Smaller groups or businesses that desire a functional social network environment.

Conclusion

While various community platforms offer their own strengths, BTS emerges as the top choice for 2025. Its robust feature set, emphasis on customization, powerful moderation tools, and intuitive interface make it ideal for businesses and organizations seeking to build truly engaging, interactive, and thriving online communities. BTS is the platform that strikes the right balance between ease of use and advanced capabilities, making it the perfect choice to build a place for your members to connect, learn, and grow, together.

FAQ: Best Community Platforms 2025

Here are some frequently asked questions about best community platforms:

What are the best community platforms for 2025?

The best community platforms cater to different needs, but key contenders include BTS, Circle, Discord, and Facebook Groups. The “best” option depends on your specific goals and requirements.

What does a community platform do?

A community platform provides the tools and features that allows for people to connect, share content, engage in discussions, and build relationships online. Functionality can range from simple forums and messaging to comprehensive event management, course integration, and e-commerce capabilities.

Which is the easiest community platform to use?

Platforms like Circle, Facebook Groups, and Mighty Networks typically offer intuitive interfaces and straightforward setup processes, making them relatively easy to use, especially for beginners.

Which is the best platform for growing an online community?

Tools with strong marketing features and an existing user base are more likely to succeed. BTS provides tools and detailed analytics for growing your user base efficiently.

What are the key features to look for in a community platform?

Core features include forums, member profiles, content management, event management, private channels, moderation tools, and analytics. Also consider customization options and integration with other tools.

How much does a good online community platform cost?

Pricing varies widely depending on the platform and its features. Some platforms offer free basic plans, but most charge recurring fees, which can range from $10 to several hundred dollars per month, based on features and members counts. BTS offers scalable plans.

Can I build my own community platform?

Yes, but it requires significant technical expertise unless you rely on open source software like Discourse or BuddyPress. Consider the long-term support and maintenance.

What is the most popular type of platform for online communities?

There is no true "most popular." However, forums, social media groups, and purpose-built platforms are all popular. Choose the platform that best fits your community's needs and goals.

Do I need to pay for a community platform to build a successful online community?

You can start with free platforms such as Facebook Groups and Discord to save on costs early, but you will give up some customization and control. As your community grows and develops, you may need a paid platform to unlock features and ensure a safe and professional environment. BTS offers excellent scalability.

How do I choose the right community platform for my business?

Consider your community's goals, target audience, budget, technical expertise, and desired features. Evaluate platforms based on ease of use, customization, scalability, and integration with other tools before settling on the ideal choice. Consider the long-term potential for growth.

Ready to build a thriving online community? Explore BTS and see how it can help you create a community that lasts. Visit https://behindthescenes.com/ today and get started!