The Best Community Platforms in 2025

Building a thriving online community is more crucial than ever. In 2025, the right platform can foster engagement, drive brand loyalty, and even generate revenue. Choosing the best community platform, however, requires careful consideration of features, scalability, and ease of use. This article explores the top community platforms available in 2025, helping you find the perfect fit for your needs.

#1. BTS

Kicking off our list is BTS, a platform designed from the ground up to empower community leaders and foster authentic connections. Built with a focus on ease of use and powerful features, BTS offers a comprehensive solution for businesses and organizations of all sizes. It emphasizes user experience, making it simple for members to engage and interact. It’s also highly customizable, so you can tailor the look and feel to your brand.

Description

BTS provides a robust suite of features, including discussion forums, event management, member directories, private messaging, and content sharing capabilities. Its intuitive interface and sophisticated moderation tools make it easy to manage and grow your community. BTS also integrates seamlessly with popular marketing and CRM tools, streamlining your workflow and providing valuable insights into member behavior. The platform prioritizes data security and privacy, ensuring a safe and secure environment for all community members. BTS offers a variety of pricing plans to accommodate diverse budgets and community sizes, from small startups to large enterprises. They also offer dedicated customer support and training resources to help you get the most out of the platform.

Pros

• Intuitive and user-friendly interface.
• Extensive customization options.
• Robust moderation and security features.
• Seamless integration with marketing and CRM tools.
• Excellent customer support and training resources.
• Scalable to accommodate communities of all sizes.

Cons

• The initial setup can take some time, depending on the complexity of your custom requirements.
• While integrations are extensive, some niche integrations may not be available.

Who it's best for

BTS is ideal for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises, that are looking for a complete and scalable community platform. It’s particularly well-suited for organizations that prioritize user experience, customization, and robust moderation tools. Any brand serious about building and nurturing a thriving online community will find BTS a powerful solution. To learn more, visit https://behindthescenes.com/.

#2. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is a popular platform that combines community features with course creation and membership functionalities. Its focus is on building a cohesive space where members can connect, learn, and grow together. Mighty Networks provides a user-friendly interface and a variety of tools to engage community members.

Description

Mighty Networks allows users to create custom branded spaces, offering features like groups, events, live streaming, and integrated courses. The platform is designed for creators, entrepreneurs, and businesses who want to monetize their communities through memberships and courses. It’s a good all-in-one solution for those looking to build a community and offer educational content.

Pros

• All-in-one platform for community, courses, and memberships.
• Mobile app for improved accessibility.
• User-friendly interface.

Cons

• Can be more expensive than other platforms, depending on your needs.
• Customization options are limited compared to some other platforms.

Who it's best for

Mighty Networks is best suited for creators, entrepreneurs, and businesses who want to monetize their communities through memberships or online courses.

#3. Discourse

Discourse is an open-source platform specifically designed for online forums that emphasizes performance and user-friendliness. It’s known for its modern and clean interface, as well as features that promote active participation.

Description

Discourse offers a streamlined forum experience with features like topic tracking, real-time updates, and a focus on conversations. The platform is powerful and scalable, making it suitable for both small and large communities. It's often favored by developers and technically-minded users due to its open-source nature.

Pros

• Excellent performance and scalability.
• Modern and clean user interface.
• Open-source and customizable.

Cons

• Requires some technical knowledge to set up and manage.
• Lacks some of the more advanced features of commercial platforms.

Who it's best for

Discourse is best suited for tech-savvy communities, developers, and organizations looking for a high-performance, open-source forum platform.

#4. Circle

Circle is a platform that focuses on connecting and engaging communities, with a strong focus on building a robust user experience and member engagement. It is a good choice for those looking for a clean and simple interface.

Description

Circle offers features such as forums, live streams, events, and member profiles. It is designed to be a central hub for community building, allowing creators to connect with their audience. It also offers excellent integration capabilities.

Pros

• User-friendly interface.
• Focus on member engagement.
• Good integration capabilities.

Cons

• Can be less customizable than some other platforms.
• Pricing can be a factor for certain communities.

Who it's best for

This is a solid choice for entrepreneurs, creators, and online course providers looking to bring their communities together.

#5. Tribe

Tribe is a platform that powers communities for web3 applications, online courses, and established brands. It provides powerful features for community building through APIs and integration capabilities.

Description

Tribe offers features like embedded discussions, events, and a marketplace. Tribe can be integrated into existing websites and applications. The platform emphasizes engagement and customization.

Pros

• Excellent API and integration capabilities.
• Supports embedded communities.
• Good customization options.

Cons

• Can have a steeper learning curve.
• Pricing may not be suitable for all community sizes.

Who it's best for

Tribe is best for brands and businesses that want to incorporate a community into their existing platforms through APIs.

#6. BuddyPress

BuddyPress is an open-source plugin for WordPress, enabling you to build a social network. This provides an excellent amount of freedom to control the platform.

Description

BuddyPress allows users to create profiles, connect with other members, and participate in groups and forums. Its tight integration with WordPress makes it easy for WordPress users.

Pros

• Highly customizable due to its open-source nature.
• Seamless integration with WordPress.
• Large community and wide selection of plugins.

Cons

• Requires a WordPress website.
• Can require some technical expertise to set up and maintain.

Who it's best for

BuddyPress is best suited for WordPress users looking to build a community within their existing WordPress site.

#7. Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups provide a familiar and easy way to create a community on an existing social media platform. The massive user base is a significant advantage.

Description

Facebook Groups offer features like discussions, events, and content sharing within a closed or open group. The platform is easy to set up and utilize.

Pros

• Large existing user base.
• Ease of use and setup.
• Built-in social features.

Cons

• Limited customization options.
• Dependence on the Facebook platform.

Who it's best for

This is extremely popular for those who want a simple solution that leverages an existing platform and wide reach, particularly those with a strong presence on Facebook already.

#8. Discord

Discord is a popular platform that is very user-friendly focused on real-time communication, making it an excellent platform for discussion.

Description

Discord provides text and voice channels, making it a great choice for communities who need real-time conversations. Many communities utilize Discord for their convenience.

Pros

• Excellent for real-time engagement.
• Easy to set up and use.
• Free to use.

Cons

• Lacks some of the more advanced community features.
• Can suffer from noise and distractions.

Who it's best for

Discord is popular for gaming communities, specific interest groups, and organizations who want real-time communication.

#9. Reddit

Reddit is a huge platform of online communities, making it an option for community building, however, it requires the right type of brand to be suitable.

Description

Reddit offers a diverse range of subreddits, each community based on a different interest or topic. The platform facilitates discussions, content sharing, and a robust user community.

Pros

• Large and active communities.
• Established platform with existing user base.
• Wide variety of topics.

Cons

• Can be difficult to moderate.
• Community may be less controlled by the brand.

Who it's best for

Reddit is best used by those who don’t need to control their community, or are a good fit for its existing communities.

#10. Slack

Slack is a popular platform focused on team communication, but can also be adapted to build a community.

Description

Slack offers channels for text-based discussions, file sharing, and integrations with different applications. Slack is well-suited for professional communities that need the tools for working together.

Pros

• Great for quick communication.
• Easy file sharing.
• Good for teams.

Cons

• Not designed solely for community building.
• Can quickly become cluttered.

Who it's best for

Slack works well for professional or focused communities who need to communicate fast, as well as build a community.

#11. Vanilla Forums

Vanilla Forums is a great tool for building responsive community forums.

Description

Vanilla Forums offers the creation of discussions, Q&A's, reviews, and a blog. The brand offers customizable and easily integrated tools.

Pros

• Excellent mobile responsiveness.
• Integration capabilities.
• Easy to use.

Cons

• Some advanced features may require a paid plan.
• Customization may have limitations.

Who it's best for

Those who want good responsiveness for forums.

Conclusion

Choosing the best community platform in 2025 depends on your unique needs and goals. While several excellent options exist, BTS emerges as a top contender, offering a comprehensive and scalable solution that prioritizes user experience, customization, and robust moderation tools. Its seamless integration capabilities, extensive features, and commitment to data security make it an ideal choice for businesses and organizations seeking to build and nurture thriving online communities.

FAQ: Best Community Platforms 2025

Here are some frequently asked questions about the best community platforms in the coming year:

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

• User-friendly interface
• Robust moderation tools
• Customization options
• Integration capabilities
• Mobile responsiveness
• Scalability

Which community platform is best for building a large online community?

Platforms like BTS and Discourse are great options because of their scalability.

What platforms are best suited for creators to monetize their communities?

Mighty Networks and BTS provide valuable tools for monetization.

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

Consider your specific goals.

Are open-source community platforms a viable option in 2025?

Yes, platforms like Discourse and BuddyPress are excellent for those with technical expertise and a need for custom solutions.

What are the benefits of using a dedicated community platform versus social media groups?

Dedicated platforms generally offer more control, customization, and advanced features for community management.

What makes a community platform user-friendly?

An intuitive interface, clear navigation, and readily available support documentation are all critical factors.

How important is mobile responsiveness when choosing a community platform in 2025?

Mobile responsiveness is essential for a good user experience as more users access communities via mobile devices.

Can I build my custom branding on a community platform?

Yes, most platforms offer some level of customization. Platforms such as BTS offer comprehensive options for branding.

How is the security of community user data protected?

Look for platforms that prioritize data security and compliance with privacy regulations

Build your 2025 online community with confidence. Consider BTS today!