Best Online Community Management Software in 2025
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Featured Online Community Management Software At A Glance
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Buyer's Guide: Online Community Management
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users value the ease of use of Mighty Networks, appreciating its intuitive interface and helpful community support.
Users value the responsive and proactive customer support from Mighty Networks, enhancing their overall experience and satisfaction.
Users value the rich feature set of Mighty Networks, enhancing engagement and providing essential support for creators.
Users find the missing features in Mighty Networks frustrating, particularly for payments, live meetings, and communication options.
Users find the difficult setup of Mighty Networks time-consuming, impacting their ability to use the platform effectively.
Users find the pricing of Mighty Networks to be expensive, especially after initial offers expire and limited features remain.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users appreciate the ease of use of Circle, finding it intuitive and visually appealing for seamless interaction.
Users appreciate the robust functionality of Circle, making it a reliable platform for community management and engagement.
Users love the engaging community interaction that Circle fosters, promoting collaboration and enthusiasm among members.
Users find Circle lacking in missing key features, which hampers functionality and increases operational costs significantly.
Users note the high cost of Circle, making it challenging for smaller business owners to afford.
Users find the limited customization options in Circle restrict their experience and hinder tailored feature use.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users praise Hivebrite's responsive customer support that ensures quick resolutions and ongoing assistance.
Users appreciate the ease of use of Hivebrite, enabling effortless navigation and engagement for community building.
Users appreciate the smooth implementation of Hivebrite, praising its standard features and excellent customer support.
Users note limited customization options in Hivebrite, with certain features tailored to specific use cases and lacking flexibility.
Users experience bugs in functionality that can disrupt important events and limit usability, impacting overall satisfaction.
Users find Hivebrite expensive, especially with additional costs for features like email protection and analytics burdening smaller communities.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users find the ease of use of Webex Events & Webinars essential for seamless meetings and collaboration.
Users commend the seamless scalability of Webex Events, efficiently hosting large events without technical issues.
Users appreciate the customizable features of Webex Events, enjoying seamless management and engagement for large-scale events.
Users express a desire for increased customization options in Webex Events & Webinars to enhance usability and functionality.
Users find the learning curve steep due to complex features and unintuitive backend menus for new organizers.
Users find the limited features of Webex Events & Webinars can be confusing and hinder event management efficiency.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users find Gainsight Customer Communities to be user-friendly, making it easy for beginners to engage and navigate effectively.
Users value the meaningful engagement enabled by Gainsight Customer Communities, fostering connections and collaborative learning.
Users appreciate the customization options that align community experience with branding, simplifying user interaction and feedback collection.
Users feel that limited customization hinders their ability to tailor Gainsight CC to their specific needs and preferences.
Users find the poor interface design of Gainsight Customer Communities makes navigation and suggestions difficult.
Users note that the difficult learning process can hinder experience as the platform evolves and content quality varies.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users highlight the ease of use of Bevy, facilitating quick event setup and community management effortlessly.
Users value Bevy for its effective event management capabilities, enabling seamless connectivity and creativity in community engagement.
Users commend Bevy for its effective community engagement, enabling seamless management and connection through various event types.
Users find the missing features in Bevy limiting, especially the lack of email extraction and communication options.
Users express frustration with limited customization options in Bevy, restricting control over community management and event setup.
Users find Bevy's limited features restrict community management and hinder direct member communication and document sharing.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users find Bettermode's ease of use exceptional, enabling quick setup and smooth integration for diverse groups.
Users love the customization options of Bettermode, allowing for tailored experiences and ease of use.
Users find easy setup with Bettermode, enabling quick community building and customization without technical skills required.
Users express frustration over the missing features in Bettermode, as needed functionalities can only be requested for future updates.
Users find limited functionality with Bettermode, as essential features like surveys and private assignments are missing.
Users face access limitations with Bettermode, requiring browser use and encountering customization restrictions that hinder optimal usage.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users appreciate the ease of use of Glue Up, enjoying smooth integration and user-friendly features that streamline operations.
Users appreciate the user-friendly event management features of Glue Up, enhancing organization and member engagement effectively.
Users commend the excellent customer support of Glue Up for being quick, professional, and always available to help.
Users find the missing features of Glue Up, like lack of search tools, limit its overall effectiveness and usability.
Users experience a significant learning curve during initial setup, requiring adequate training and onboarding time for effective use.
Users report issues with duplicate contacts and companies during events, affecting the overall event management experience.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users value Viafoura's excellent customer support, highlighting quick responses and proactive help for enhanced user experience.
Users find Viafoura's ease of use remarkable, enhancing seamless integration and quick customer support throughout their experience.
Users value the dedicated support and community features from Viafoura, enhancing engagement and fostering loyal readership.
Users face bureaucratic delays that hinder progress, impacting the efficiency of managing content across multiple properties.
Users find the analytics inadequate, struggling with usability and access to essential reporting features in Viafoura.
Users find that Viafoura has limited features which can complicate integration and analysis capabilities.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users praise the ease of use of Nas.io, allowing seamless management and community building without complications.
Users appreciate the exceptional client service and ease of use that Nas.io offers for managing digital products.
Users value the effective organization management of Nas.io, which simplifies community building and member engagement.
Users find the poor interface design distracting, especially with the branding and subscription prompts in emails.
Users face frequent connectivity issues with Nas.io, requiring restarts and preferring the website over the app.
Users find the branding in emails unattractive on the free plan, detracting from the overall email appearance.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users love Commune for its ease of use, allowing quick navigation and immediate engagement in the community.
Users find Commune's intuitive interface easy to navigate, enhancing engagement and allowing for extensive customization.
Users value the accessible community support of Commune, enhancing engagement and making it easy to stay updated.
Users find the booking process outdated, suggesting a need for a more customer-centric approach to pricing.
Users feel the app is lacking features and require additional functionalities to enhance their experience.
Users feel there is a lack of essential features in the Commune web app, hindering overall functionality.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users commend the exceptional customer support of Higher Logic Thrive, appreciating their prompt and comprehensive assistance.
Users appreciate the intuitive design of Higher Logic Thrive, enhancing member engagement and interaction.
Users appreciate the amazing capabilities of Higher Logic Thrive, enjoying tailored communities and comprehensive support.
Users find the poor interface design of Higher Logic Thrive limiting and not intuitive, hindering usability.
Users experience integration issues with Higher Logic Thrive, complicating the use of third-party software and configurations.
Users face a challenging learning curve with Higher Logic Thrive, making it difficult to utilize advanced features effectively.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users appreciate the ease of use of Café, simplifying hybrid work coordination and fostering team connectivity effortlessly.
Users appreciate the ease of hybrid work coordination with Café, making team engagement effortless and efficient.
Users value the ease of hybrid work coordination with Café, making office organization simple and effective.
Users report interface friction and lag in the mobile app, affecting overall usability and experience.
Users find the interface complexity challenging, particularly for larger teams and advanced bulk management tasks.
Users find the interface confusing, especially with monthly schedules and bulk management for larger teams.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users commend the ease of use of Heartbeat, enjoying effortless navigation and abundant resources for support.
Users love the user-friendly interface and extensive features of Heartbeat, enhancing their community management experience effortlessly.
Users highlight the exceptional customer support of Heartbeat, praising their responsiveness and commitment to user satisfaction.
Users experience glitches and bugs with Heartbeat, causing frustration during usage and requiring multiple attempts for functionality.
Users find the difficult setup of Heartbeat requires extensive study, often recommending third-party configurations for ease.
Users find Heartbeat to be expensive, facing challenges with integration and trial options before commitment.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users rave about the responsive and caring customer support from Swarm, enhancing their overall experience and satisfaction.
Users highlight the intuitive interface and flexible communication options of Swarm, enhancing their business-building experience.
Users value the customization options of Swarm, enabling tailored interactions and enhancing client engagement effectively.
Users express a desire for missing features in Swarm, hoping for improvements in various functionalities.
Users face a difficult learning process with Swarm, as the web-based setup confuses less tech-savvy clients.
Users find the difficult setup challenging, especially older clients unfamiliar with web-based applications.
Learn More About Online Community Management Software
What is Online Community Management Software?
The omnipresence of social media has forever changed the way we interact—with each other and with the world. For better and for worse, online communities are overflowing with activity from people of all ages. Brands are following the lead of major social networks, creating and moderating community platforms for their customers, in addition to the interactions on social profiles. These communities allow members to find, provide, and discuss information related to the products and services at hand, with access from mobile devices or personal computers.
Brands can communicate directly with their most important customers using this technology. This can mean assigning employees as community managers, offering exclusive content to members, and linking directly to support channels on discussion forums. Users can also connect with like-minded people and form genuine bonds from within these digital communities. A custom community platform can elevate your existing website or be deployed separately, and in some cases can integrate directly with your company’s social media pages or users’ social accounts. Whether serving as resources for complex product knowledge or friendly communities where customers can meet and chat on related topics, the tools in this category can add value for users and improve your brand’s reputation and bottom line.
Community engagement is a virtue among the world’s most successful companies. Thanks to modern social tools, you can foster an online meeting place that matches your aesthetic, voice, and values and turn it into a successful community in its own right. Everyone from your core members to brand-new customers can unite with help from these software platforms, allowing for around-the-clock engagement and access to information. Your in-house team can assume roles as online community managers and moderators, with the marketing or social media team contributing content and interacting where needed. Additionally, your customers themselves can become unofficial brand ambassadors by answering product questions and sharing personal experiences within your hosted communities. Over time, users can collectively contribute to a vibrant, self-sustaining social hub, with simultaneous discussion threads and a strong sense of community.
Picking up where social media platforms leave off, your company can create a beloved customer community that serves as an interactive extension of your brand. By registering as community members, users can solve problems, share solutions, and become friends, regardless of where they are in the world. In the short term, online community engagement can improve the customer experience with your products and reduce the demand for in-house support staff. Over the long term, these communities can become indispensable features of your brand, with users feeling more connected with your product and each other than ever before.
Key Benefits of Online Community Management Software
- Designing and hosting a community platform where customers and others in your network can interact and contribute
- Improving product awareness and mastery through active discussion and privileged content
- Forming a direct line of communication between company administrators and loyal users of your product or service
- Collecting valuable data by observing community platform interactions, fostering conversations on specific topics, or sending polls and other questionnaires to community members
Who Uses Online Community Management Software?
A thriving community platform can benefit your business from all angles, from the sales pipeline to product development. With that said, below are a few specific departments most likely to use this technology firsthand and be involved with your community management strategy.
Community managers — This may seem self-explanatory. The role of community manager is becoming more common and vital to business strategy in tandem with online customer communities. These roles may involve a degree of social media management, but they can extend to other avenues such as in-person group facilitation and direct oversight of exclusive online communities. Community managers are hired for their communication and moderation skills, as well as their ability to keep a company’s best interests in mind while providing a platform to users.
Once your brand’s unique social hub is up and running, designated community managers can ensure they remain on topic and provide the most useful information while welcoming a steady stream of new users. Depending on the product and the community strategy, community managers may be responsible for the initial creation of communities, or they will work alongside members of the product and development team to get things up and running.
Customer support — Your customer support team is the first point of contact for resolving most customer issues. If you open up an online space for your users, it is likely to become a hotbed for product feedback and conflict resolution. Your support team should be administrators of these communities at the very least, able to intervene with comments or direct messages to members when complaints or negative experiences arise. Community managers and moderators can filter discussions and send notifications to the support staff when they observe relevant discussions. In other situations, customer support members may prefer to be active and engaged members of the community, chiming in as an official voice of the company within certain threads or groups. Online communities can not only help resolve issues in a timely manner, but they can generate in-house awareness of customer issues and general feedback that otherwise may have flown under the radar.
Marketing — Social media specialists are a modern breed of marketers that came about in the last decade or so. If you have a designated social media team, their expertise surrounding social channels can make them natural contributors or moderators of your unique social community. Even without a designated social team, your marketing department could benefit from getting involved with your community platform. Active online communities are an ideal location to measure a brand’s reputation among users and transmit brand messaging to the most valued customers. Your marketing team can choose to leverage these platforms for a number of reasons, from testing out different ad strategies to shaping campaigns based on specific conversations or feedback. By closely following these discussions (and in some cases, directing the conversation), marketing experts can keep their fingers on the pulse of an organization and understand the target audience inside and out.
What are the Common Features of Online Community Management Software?
The products in this category offer diverse sets of tools for creating and moderating online forums and other social communities. Below are some of the common features you will encounter in these solutions and descriptions of their functionality.
Discussion forums — Another way to think of online communities is to picture them as large rooms where your customers can discuss your brand. Organized online forums are the centerpiece of online community management. With forum software, you can create a structured system for online conversation. If your customers are interested in joining the community, they can register new accounts to receive access to forums and post queries or comments. Conversations on these forums can be organized by subject matter, and members can sort themselves into different groups that focus on specific topics.
A moderated forum can quickly become a wealth of information with a personalized touch. As customers help one another with troubleshooting or discuss different use cases and personal experiences, conversation threads can become walkthroughs and guides of their own. This content can not only be useful for members but can provide invaluable data to community managers and companies as a whole. A hosted forum can provide businesses with an exclusive form of market research as they observe their real customers talk about the product, the industry, and their own relationships with the company.
Access to content — When discussing your product or service in the discussion forums, your customers may potentially resolve issues or improve their experience based on the input of others. With a number of products in this category, you can go the extra mile with members-only content repositories. You can offer exclusive guides, tutorials, blogs, podcasts, and videos to community members, sending them alerts when new content is available. This community can also be the ideal audience for the initial run of company news and product updates. Because of the lengths that users go through to register and contribute to an online community, they may be the most enthusiastic audience for new content or other updates.
Collecting feedback — You can leverage your brand’s community to solicit feedback on marketing campaigns, new features, or the product in general. Community managers or forum administrators can ask questions to specific forum groups or the community as a whole and quickly receive trustworthy input from your base. Depending on the product, you may be able to collect reviews and ratings of products that can be made visible on product pages or e-commerce sites.
Products in this category may also offer features of or integrate with audience response software or survey software and allow you to distribute polls or other questionnaires to select groups or the community as a whole. In this way, your online community can be a reliable market research panel and offer a diverse set of opinions that can benefit your organization. Any data that is collected through these platforms can be immediately communicated to the most relevant people in your organization or uploaded into an analytics software platform or other storage platform.
User-generated content — One of the many byproducts of social media is the resharing of customer posts as marketing materials. This process, known as user-generated content (UGC), is a way for brands to showcase their products during organic use cases, with the added value of relatability thanks to the personal touches of users. Online community management applications may offer features of or integrate with user-generated content software. These features may allow admins to group member media uploads or social mentions by keywords, hashtags, location, or other details and request permission from the respective members to reshare as UGC. Depending on your product or audience, your online communities may be swarming with quality content thanks to the unique contributions of your members.
Gamification — It never hurts to reward your users. Gamification features of certain tools in this category allow you to enhance forums with badges, points, or other bonuses for active discussion and popular responses. As users receive more accolades, you can choose to offer them increased permissions or privileges within the forums. Certain products may allow you to create contests and integrate them into your online discussion forums. These features can be an effective way to engage your audience and build excitement for your brand while inspiring a slew of new content on your forums.
