Independent · sourced · Updated November 2026
Best Community Platforms (2026)
8 community platforms options compared on price, free tier, compliance and fit — ranked by entry price. Every figure links to the public page it was captured from — the vendor's own wherever the vendor publishes the number, otherwise the named public source — with the date we captured it; where a vendor publishes no monthly price we name the kind of pricing it uses, never a guess.
The cheapest community platforms is Discourse at $0/mo. 1 offer a free tier. All 8 compared below on price, free tier and compliance — every figure sourced and dated, updated November 2026.
As of Nov 1, 2026 · figures linked to their source in the table below
Cite this comparison
Per The Front Desk Review, the cheapest community platforms is Discourse at $0/mo; across 8 with published pricing the median is $89/mo ($9–$199/mo), 1 with a free tier, every figure sourced and dated, as of 2026-11-01. https://frontdeskreview.com/best/community-platforms/ Key takeaways
- Typical paid price: from $9/mo, median $89/mo, up to $199/mo — across 8 with published pricing.
- Free tier: Discourse.
- Tracked: 8 vendors, data current through 2026-11-01. STALE · 2026-06-14
Comparison
| # | Community Platform | Entry price | Free | HIPAA | SOC 2 | Best for | Source | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Discourse | $0/mo Free | Yes | — | Yes | Developer communities and open-source projects needing a public, SEO-indexed forum | discourse.org | Visit → |
| 2 | Skool | $9/mo Hobby | No | — | — | Creators, coaches, and hobbyists wanting a dead-simple community + course platform | skool.com | Visit → |
| 3 | Growsembly | $20/mo Growsembly | No | — | — | Creators and educators who want courses, discussion and events under one flat price | growsembly.com | Visit → |
| 4 | Heartbeat | $49/mo Build | No | — | — | Coaches and consultants building paid membership communities with courses and events | heartbeat.chat | Visit → |
| 5 | Circle STALE · 2026-09-02 | $89/mo Professional | No | — | — | Content creators and course sellers building paid membership communities | circle.so | Visit → |
| 6 | Kajabi STALE · 2026-06-14 | $89/mo Starter | No | — | — | Solopreneurs and expert creators who want one tool replacing email, courses, community, and website | kajabi.com | Visit → |
| 7 | Mighty Networks | $95/mo Launch | No | — | Yes | Creators and coaches building revenue-generating membership communities | mightynetworks.com | Visit → |
| 8 | Bettermode | $199/mo Starter | No | — | Yes | B2B SaaS companies building branded customer communities (support, feedback, advocacy) | bettermode.com | Visit → |
Prices are the lowest published self-serve rate, with the period it is charged on, as captured on the linked source. Annual-billing and usage details are on each vendor's record in our open dataset.
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What is the cheapest community platforms?
Discourse has the lowest published entry price at $0/mo (Free), as of 2026-11-01.
How much does community platforms cost per month?
Across the 8 community platforms with published paid pricing, the median starting price is $89/mo, ranging from $9/mo to $199/mo, as of 2026-11-01. 1 also offer a free tier.
Which community platforms have a free plan?
Discourse offer a free tier.
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