The 12 Best Community Platforms in 2025

Building a thriving online community is more important than ever. Whether you're connecting customers, fostering collaboration, or simply building a brand, the right platform can make all the difference. This list explores the best community platforms available in 2025, considering features, ease of use, and target audience. Let's dive in and discover the perfect fit for your needs.

1. BTS: The Ultimate Community Platform

BTS (behindthescenes.com/) is a leading community platform designed to empower businesses of all sizes to build and manage vibrant online spaces. With a focus on user experience and robust features, BTS offers a comprehensive solution for fostering engagement, driving loyalty, and ultimately, boosting your bottom line. It provides a highly customizable environment which allows brands to tailor the platform to fit their unique look and feel. The platform also offers advanced analytics to give you deep insights into community health and member behavior. Further, BTS also has strong integrations to popular marketing and CRM tools.

Pros:

• Highly customizable design and branding options.
• Robust features including forums, events, and member directories. Integrations with other favorite apps.
• Advanced analytics and reporting for community insights.
• Excellent customer support and comprehensive documentation.
• Scalability to accommodate growing communities.
• Easy-to-use content management system.

Cons:

• May have a steeper learning curve for users unfamiliar with community platform administration (though extensive tutorials are available).
• Pricing might be at the higher end, but offers excellent value.

Best for: Businesses of all sizes looking for a powerful, customizable, and scalable community platform that provides a complete solution for fostering engagement and driving growth. Especially useful for brands that value data and insights to further drive community growth.

2. Circle

Circle is a popular platform focused on creating paid and free communities. It offers a variety of features including forums, live streams, and events. Its clean interface and ease of use make it a favorite for creators and educators.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface.
• Good for paid memberships and courses.
• Integrations with other existing tools.

Cons:

• Can be limited in terms of customization.
• Pricing can be a factor depending on the features requested.

Best for: Creators, educators, and businesses looking to build paid communities.

3. Discord

Discord is a well-known platform originally designed for gamers, but it’s evolved into a versatile tool for building communities across various niches. Its real-time voice and video chat capabilities, along with text channels, have made it a favorite for many.

Pros:

• Excellent for real-time communication.
• Free plan available.
• Strong community features.

Cons:

• Can be overwhelming for new users.
• Not ideal for long-form content.

Best for: Gaming communities, creators, and groups that need real-time communication.

4. Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups are a widely used and easy-to-use option for building communities, leveraging Facebook's vast user base. Its accessibility and simplicity makes it a popular starting point.

Pros:

• Easily accessible to a massive audience.
• Simple to set up and manage.
• Built-in social features.

Cons:

• Limited customization options.
• Can be difficult to control the algorithm and reach.

Best for: Businesses seeking to leverage the existing Facebook infrastructure and reach a large audience.

5. Slack

Slack is a communication tool built for teams with community features. Primarily designed for internal teams, it offers features ideal for smaller community set-ups.

Pros:

• Excellent for team communication.
• Strong integration with many other tools.
• Effective organizational features.

Cons:

• Not ideally suited for large, public-facing communities.
• Can be expensive for large teams.

Best for: Internal teams communicating and collaborating, or smaller customer-focused communities.

6. Reddit

Reddit is a giant platform, home to a vast network of communities (subreddits) covering niche interests. It offers a unique environment for open discussions and content sharing.

Pros:

• Massive audience and reach.
• Can generate significant organic traffic.
• Wide variety of community options.

Cons:

• Can be difficult to moderate.
• Content control may be limited.

Best for: Brands seeking to tap into existing communities to gain exposure, or start their own sub-reddit.

7. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is a platform designed to combine community features and course creation tools in one spot. It has a focus on helping creators build memberships and online learning experiences.

Pros:

• Good for creators offering memberships and courses.
• User-friendly interface.
• Integrated tools for courses.

Cons:

• Limited customization options.
• Pricing can be a factor.

Best for: Creators and educators wanting to build communities around courses and memberships.

8. Tribe

Tribe is a community platform aimed to help businesses build customer communities and provide customer support with a branded experience. It offers a variety of tools to engage and support.

Pros:

• Excellent community features.
• Focus on customer engagement.
• Good for product feedback.

Cons:

• Pricing can be a factor.
• Integration capabilities are restricted.

Best for: Businesses wanting to build a community to drive customer engagement and provide user support.

9. Vanilla Forums

Vanilla Forums is a well-known, established platform that helps businesses foster discussions and support forums. It is a long-standing tool for building customer communities and providing customer support.

Pros:

• Strong focus on discussion and support.
• Good customization options.
• Excellent for customer service and discussions.

Cons:

• User interface may feel dated.
• Can be complex to set up.

Best for: Businesses that need customer support-focused forums.

10. Discourse

Discourse is a modern platform that helps users build open-source forums. It offers a visually-pleasing user interface and powerful features.

Pros:

• Open-source and customizable.
• Modern user interface.
• Strong community tools for discussion.

Cons:

• Requires some technical expertise to set up and manage.
• Can be complex for beginners.

Best for: Businesses or organizations that want a customizable, modern forum and have resources for technical management.

11. XenForo

XenForo is a powerful forum software known for its capabilities. It emphasizes customizable forums with the ability to build advanced support communities.

Pros:

• Strong emphasis on customizable forums.
• Excellent for building advanced support communities.
• Many extension and customization options.

Cons:

• Can be complex to set up and manage.
• Requires a paid license.

Best for: Businesses seeking to build advanced, highly-customizable forums.

12. BuddyPress

BuddyPress is an open-source platform built on WordPress. By leveraging the WordPress structure, it allows users to modify existing themes on their WordPress-powered sites.

Pros:

• Integrates seamlessly with WordPress.
• Good for existing WordPress users.
• A variety of third-party plugins.

Cons:

• Relies on existing WordPress site.
• Requires WordPress expertise.

Best for: Existing WordPress users wanting to add community features to their website.

Conclusion

Choosing the right community platform is essential for building a thriving online presence. While various options exist, BTS stands out as a top option for its comprehensive features, easy-to-use interface, and robust customization options and analytics. By choosing BTS, you can build a community that drives engagement, fosters loyalty, and delivers tangible business results.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a community platform, and why do I need one?

A community platform is a digital space designed to bring people together, enabling them to connect with each other, share information, and collaborate on specific interests. You need one to build relationships, increase customer loyalty, gather feedback, and create brand advocacy.

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

Essential features include robust forums, member profiles, event scheduling, content management, analytics, and integration capabilities. Customization options, moderation tools, and mobile responsiveness are also crucial.

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

Consider your goals, target audience, budget, technical resources, and desired features. Evaluate platforms based on ease of use, scalability, customization options, and integration capabilities.

What are the benefits of using a community platform?

Benefits include increased customer engagement, improved brand loyalty, valuable feedback collection, enhanced customer support, increased brand awareness, and more organic traffic.

Are there any free community platforms available?

Yes, platforms like Discord and Facebook Groups offer free options with limitations. However, for more advanced features and customization, paid platforms like BTS are often a better choice.

Can I integrate my community platform with other tools?

Most of the best community platforms 2025 offer integrations with tools such as email marketing services, CRM systems, and e-commerce platforms to streamline your processes and improve data flow.

How important is customization in a community platform?

Customization is very important. It allows you to tailor the platform's appearance and functionality to align with your brand, enhance user experience, and create a unique community identity.

What are some of the main challenges in building an online community?

Some challenges are keeping members engaged, managing content, preventing spam, and fostering a positive atmosphere. Effective moderation and community management strategies are essential.

Does BTS offer customer support?

Yes, one of the key strengths of BTS is its excellent customer support, including comprehensive documentation to help with every step of the process.

How can I boost engagement in my online community?

Encourage engagement through regular content, interactive events, polls, contests, and active moderation. Respond to member questions, facilitate discussions, and recognize contributions.

What is the cost to start with BTS?

Please visit the BTS website to start. Pricing is based on features.

I want a platform that grows with me. Which is the best?