The ability to create categories and groups - the structure of how you can create them is very versatile which will meet many different use cases. It is also easy for the end user to understand how the structure is set up and find what they are looking for and how to participate. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There is not a built in digest functionality - where you can send a recap of the posts from the prior day. This would be helpful in getting users to come back to community and engage them in discussions - I hope this is something they add in the future as it impacts community engagement greatly! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like that there is a lot of flexibility in design and setup so we can really make the platform work for us now and into the future. We reviewed a lot of competitors before settling on Vanilla/Higher Logic and we ultimately ended up going with this platform because it met all of our needs including excellent content distribution and moderation features, detailed reporting and much more. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It can be a little tricky to completely personalise the product without technical knowledge/assistance and sometimes it can be a little slow to hear back from someone in the team if there is a challenge (particularly with billing) Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There are a lot of amazing things about Vanilla by Higher Logic. I used to work for a competitor for nearly seven years, so I have first-hand knowledge of not just what I expect in the mechanics of a platform and how it's deployed, but the kind of programmatic support needed as well. When I was looking for a community platform for my company, I looked at the above, plus the value for the price, as well as the kind of culture they have that would turn this into a partnership. Across the board, Vanilla has been the most outstanding community partnerI could have asked for. For an incredibly reasonable price, we obtained a platform that allowed us complete flexibility on look and feel, what gaming mechanics we wanted to offer to our users, as well as a ton of Moderation controls that takes some of the taxing work off of those that do the moderation. In addition, the number of plug-ins it's compatible with is astounding. As for programmatic, the amount of training materials, the initial support from my assigned CSM, as well as ongoing continuing education and networking opportunities have been numerous. If you're a first-time Community Manager, there's no better partner than Vanilla to hold your hand every step of the way. Finally, their culture is geared towards supporting humans. Since beginning my work with them in 2019, I've made numerous friendships within both Vanilla and Higher Logic, which is testament to the amazing people they employ. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There's really not much to dislike. If you are looking for a vendor that offers a great platform, program guidance, and an in-depth education on communities, then they are the vendor for you. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Vanilla makes managing our community online simple and easy. Everything we need is available in an instance and our passionate community of travel professionals can support each other more efficiently online. On the rare occasion I can't sort or resolve something myself, their support team is on-hand to help and it's always thorough and friendly. The platform connects our global community in a way they've never had before which is fantastic. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There are some instances where I feel I should be able to do myself, like allowing additional file types for attachments in posts, I can't and have to reach out to the support team for help. I can understand to a certain degree why this is the case but it's long-winded and slows things down. There could also be better communication; my CSM left their role and told me the day they were leaving, I'm still waiting for a new CSM to be appointed to our account. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I enjoy working with Adrian Speyer- CommuniTea hour events help me feel that someone can provide immediate suggestions/support to what is happening. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The platform needs digests. I find that we can't keep users engaged if notifications don't deploy to them outside of the Community. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like how how it is simple to use but also offers extensive options under the hood for nearly unlimited customization. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I think the largest pill to swallow is cost, but you really do get what you pay for. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Vanilla is a fully-featured forum platform with virtually all the customization options you want in a forum with the ability to customize the Forum look and feel, categories, member settings, moderation options, email settings, multiple forum instances, APIs, badging, and more. And Vanilla offers these options at a reasonable cost. Virtually anything you want to do terms of customization is probably possible with Vanilla. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

While we're happy with Vanilla overall, we have run into three areas where we'd love to see improvement:

- The lack of an email digest option (we'd love it if the system could generate a once a day email listing top and new discussions).

- The moderation options are a little bit buggy (sometimes we'd like to take action behind the scenes which isn't always possible).

- Now that Higher Logic has bought Vanilla, we'd love to see Vanilla integrate with Higher Logic's best in class ability to segment users and create unique experiences for them. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

the CS rep who worked with us from design to implementation was spectacular. she was very organized and receptive to our needs. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I wish the Vanilla platform had some more features Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Support community for the customers, where every person can connect and find the solutions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

More help features should be provided for the users. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The people and the approachability! You always get a response from Vanilla nd they are truly approachable and not a company that moves away from a relationship with their clients once they're settled in. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Vanilla struggled to deliver in a professional and high quality manner in a project that was key for us this year. There was a lack of project ownership, of guidance and of delivery and that hindered our Community goals for 2021. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.