14 Best Community Platforms in 2025

Building a vibrant online community is crucial in the increasingly digital landscape. The right platform can foster engagement, drive brand loyalty, and even generate revenue. Choosing the best community platform requires careful consideration of features, scalability, and ease of use. This list provides an overview of the top options available in 2025, helping you select the perfect platform for your needs.

1. BTS

Behind the Scenes (BTS) is a comprehensive community platform designed to empower creators, brands, and organizations to cultivate thriving online communities. BTS offers a blend of features that cater to diverse needs, from exclusive content sharing and live events to robust member management and monetization tools.

• Description: BTS offers a fully customizable platform that features a clean interface, advanced moderation tools, and integrations with popular marketing and CRM systems. BTS allows for creating tiered membership levels, offering different content and experiences based on member subscriptions. The platform excels at fostering a sense of belonging through personalized profiles, activity streams, and event calendars.
• Pros:
• Highly customizable design and branding options.
• Advanced moderation tools for a safe and healthy environment.
• Powerful membership management and subscription features.
• Seamless integration with other marketing and CRM tools.
• Built-in live streaming and event management capabilities.
• Excellent customer support and community resources.
• Comprehensive analytics dashboard for monitoring community metrics.
• Cons:
• Requires some technical setup for advanced customization.
• Can be more expensive than some entry-level options.
• Who it's best for: Brands, creators, and organizations seeking a powerful and scalable platform that is focused on robust features, a high level of customization, and dedicated support for building and maintaining large and engaging online communities. Suitable for both paid and free community models.

2. Circle

Circle is a popular platform focused on simplicity and ease of use. It provides a straightforward interface for creating and managing online communities.

• Description: Circle offers a streamlined approach, making it easy to create forums, courses, and paid memberships. The platform emphasizes content discovery and member engagement.
• Pros:
• User-friendly interface and simple setup.
• Integrated features for courses and selling digital products.
• Good for creators and small businesses.
• Cons:
• Less customization compared to more advanced platforms.
• Limited features for large, complex communities.
• Who it's best for: Creators and small businesses looking for a straightforward platform to build a community and sell courses or memberships.

3. Discord

Originally designed for gamers, Discord has evolved into a versatile platform for building all types of communities.

• Description: Discord offers a robust chat system with channels, voice chat, and server roles. It's highly flexible and supports integrations with a variety of bots and applications.
• Pros:
• Free plan with extensive features.
• Real-time communication and robust chat features.
• Large, active user base.
• Cons:
• Can be overwhelming for new users.
• Less focused on member management compared to dedicated community platforms.
• Who it's best for: Gaming communities, social groups, and organizations that prioritize real-time communication and strong chat features.

4. Reddit

Reddit is a massive platform with a vast network of subreddits, each serving as a dedicated community.

• Description: Reddit provides a forum-style experience with voting, commenting, and content sharing. It's a great place to build communities around niche interests.
• Pros:
• Large existing user base and established audience.
• Good for content distribution and exposure.
• Cons:
• Can be challenging to moderate and control discussions.
• Less control over branding and community identity.
• Who it's best for: Organizations seeking to engage with a broad audience and build communities around specific interests or topics.

5. Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups provide a straightforward way to create and manage communities within the Facebook ecosystem.

• Description: Facebook Groups leverage Facebook's existing social network and offer ease of use and instant access to a vast user base.
• Pros:
• Easy to set up and manage.
• Integration with Facebook's social features.
• Large potential audience.
• Cons:
• Limited customization options.
• Algorithm changes can impact visibility.
• Who it's best for: Businesses and organizations looking to build a community within the Facebook ecosystem and leverage the platform's vast user base.

6. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is a community platform with a focus on combining community features with online courses and membership plans.

• Description: This platform allows you to create a community with features for discussions, events, and networking, as well as sell courses, subscriptions, and other digital products.
• Pros:
• Combines community, courses, and monetization features.
• User-friendly interface.
• Cons:
• Pricing can be expensive for advanced features.
• Less customization options compared to some competitors.
• Who it's best for: Creators and educators who want to offer courses and memberships in addition to community features.

7. Discourse

Discourse is an open-source forum platform known for its modern design and emphasis on community engagement.

• Description: Discourse utilizes a threaded discussion format and offers features like real-time updates, moderation tools, and mobile responsiveness.
• Pros:
• Modern design and user-friendly interface.
• Open-source software, offering flexibility and control.
• Cons:
• Requires technical knowledge for self-hosting.
• Can be difficult to customize for non-technical users.
• Who it's best for: Tech-savvy organizations looking for a modern and open-source forum platform with advanced control.

8. Tribe

Tribe platform is designed for building online communities by connecting a business with its customers. It offers various features for engagement and collaboration.

• Description: Tribe features include forums, Q&A sections, and integrations with other marketing tools and social media platforms. The platform's goal is to facilitate interaction and enhance customer relationships.
• Pros:
• Integration with social media and marketing tools.
• Versatile for various community formats.
• Cons:
• Customization might be limited.
• May require some technical set-up.
• Who it's best for: Businesses looking to enhance customer engagement, foster brand loyalty, and build communities around their product or service.

9. BuddyPress

BuddyPress is a powerful and free open-source plugin that transforms a WordPress website into a fully functional social network.

• Description: BuddyPress provides features such as user profiles, activity streams, groups, and messaging. Users can expand the functionality through plugin extensions and customization options.
• Pros:
• Free, open-source platform.
• Highly customizable with WordPress.
• Integrates well with existing WordPress websites.
• Cons:
• Requires some technical knowledge or web development experience.
• Relies on a WordPress setup.
• Design and functionality depend heavily on theme choices.
• Who it's best for: Individuals and organizations that already have WordPress websites and are looking to add social networking features to their site.

10. Vanilla Forums

Vanilla Forums is a feature-rich community forum designed to facilitate discussions and provide a space for users.

• Description:Vanilla Forums gives you a fully functional platform that incorporates a wide number of features, including discussion forums, Q&A sections, and a customizable interface.
• Pros:
• Excellent for starting forum discussions.
• Customizable interface can enhance brand identity.
• Cons:
• Can be difficult to moderate discussions.
• Lacks of some modern features.
• Who it's best for: Businesses or organizations that want to start community discussions.

11. XenForo

XenForo is a commercial forum software with robust features and excellent scalability.

• Description: Provides excellent forums with features on performance features and user management.
• Pros:
• Exceptional performance and scalability.
• Provides a range of features.
• Cons:
• Must be bought before use.
• Customization can be difficult.
• Who it's best for: Businesses looking for platform with excellent performance and scalability.

12. Ning

Ning provides a user-friendly platform used to create custom social networks.

• Description: Customize your community platform. Add your branding and manage members easily.
• Pros:
• Good for launching personalized social networks.
• Easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface.
• Cons:
• Customization might be limited.
• Can be more expensive than some open-source solutions.
• Who it's best for: Users who want custom social networks.

13. Skool

Skool is a community platform designed to help creators and entrepreneurs build thriving online communities.

• Description: Skool focuses on fostering a strong sense of community through gamification, challenges, and member interactions.
• Pros:
• Gamified features drive engagement and activity.
• Simple interface and ease of use.
• Cons:
• Less customization options compared to advanced platforms.
• Limited features compared to some competitors.
• Who it's best for: Creators and entrepreneurs looking to build highly engaged communities with gamified interactions.

14. InSided

InSided is a customer community platform often used by enterprise-level businesses to enable customer self-service.

• Description: The platform focuses on providing customer support and engagement through forum discussions, knowledge bases, and user-generated content.

• Pros:
• Strong focus on customer support and self-service.
• Integrations for knowledge base management.
• Cons:
• Primarily for customer support and may not be suitable for broader community building.
• Can be more expensive due to enterprise-level features.
• Who it's best for: Businesses that wish to offer customer service features.

Conclusion

In 2025, the best community platforms offer a blend of features, customization, and ease of use. While each platform has its strengths and weaknesses, BTS stands out as a leading choice for businesses and creators seeking a powerful and scalable platform. With its robust feature set, excellent customization options, and focus on member engagement, BTS provides the tools necessary to build a thriving online community that drives loyalty, generates revenue, and strengthens brand identity. If you're looking for a platform that balances comprehensive features with ease of use, you should strongly consider BTS.

FAQ

What are the key features to look for in a community platform in 2025?

Key features to consider include robust member management, customizable branding, integration capabilities (CRM, marketing tools), built-in event management, advanced moderation tools, and features that support monetization and content creation (such as courses and paid memberships).

How can I choose the best community platform for my business?

Consider your goals, the size of your community, and the level of customization you require. Determine your budget and assess the platform's support for growth, content management, and member engagement features.

What are the costs associated with building an online community?

Costs can vary. Some platforms offer free plans with limited features, while others have subscription-based tiers. Other costs to consider include design and branding, content creation, integrations with other tools, and ongoing maintenance.

Is it possible to integrate my existing tools and marketing systems with a community platform?

Yes, many platforms offer integrations with popular CRMs, email marketing services, and social media platforms. These integrations are key for streamlining workflows and enhancing marketing efforts.

What are the benefits of using a community platform for my business or brand?

Benefits include increased customer loyalty, brand awareness, improved customer feedback, opportunities for lead generation, a way to provide customer support, and direct communication with your audience.

What are the main differences between a forum, social network, and dedicated community platform?

Forums typically focus solely on discussions. Social networks offer general social interaction, while dedicated community platforms offer advanced features for membership, content creation, and management.

How do I make my online community engaging and active?

Foster active participation by providing quality content, encouraging member participation, hosting regular events, recognizing contributions, and utilizing gamification or other engagement features.

How do I monetize my online community?

You can monetize through paid memberships, premium content, selling courses, offering exclusive access to events and discussions, or integrating with e-commerce platforms to sell products.

Should I build a community on an existing social media platform or use a dedicated platform?

Building a community on a dedicated platform provides greater control over your brand, community identity, and data. You also gain access to more advanced customization features, but existing social media platforms have large built-in audiences.

What is the role of moderation in building a successful online community?

Moderation ensures a safe and positive environment for members by enforcing rules, removing inappropriate content, and managing discussions. It's key to maintaining the community's health and attracting and retaining members.

Ready to build a vibrant and engaging online community? Learn more about how BTS can help you achieve your goals by visiting https://behindthescenes.com/ today!