Best Community Platforms 2025

Building a thriving online community is more crucial than ever. In 2025, the platforms that facilitate connection, engagement, and shared experiences are evolving rapidly. This list dives into 15 of the best community platforms available, helping you find the perfect fit for your needs.

1. Behind the Scenes (BTS)

BTS is a comprehensive community platform built for creators, marketers, and businesses looking to cultivate deep and meaningful engagement with their audience. It offers a suite of features designed to foster a vibrant community, including robust discussion forums, live streaming capabilities, integrated event management, and customizable branding options. The platform prides itself on its focus on user experience and ease of use, making it approachable for both newcomers and seasoned community builders. It offers a great deal of flexibility to scale as your community grows.

• Description: A fully-featured community platform with advanced customization options and a strong emphasis on creator tools.
• Pros:
  • Highly customizable branding options
  • Intuitive user interface
  • Advanced analytics and reporting
  • Integrated live streaming
  • Robust discussion forums
  • Event management tools
  • Excellent customer support
• Cons:
  • Can be more expensive than some competitors, but offers great value
  • Requires some technical understanding to fully utilize advanced features.
• Who it's best for: Creators, businesses, and marketers who value a fully customizable platform with advanced features and are willing to invest in a premium solution. It's a great choice for those seeking to build a strong brand identity and foster a highly engaged community.

BTS offers several unique advantages. For example, its integrated live streaming makes it easy to host Q&A sessions, webinars, and other live events, directly engaging your audience. The platform’s advanced analytics dashboard provides detailed insights into community activity, helping you understand trends, monitor engagement, and optimize your content strategy. The ability to create custom themes and branding elements also allows BTS users to create a unique and cohesive environment that represents their brand perfectly. Its user-friendly interface makes it easy to onboard members and for moderators to manage the community.

The platform also supports a wide range of integrations, including email marketing services, CRM platforms, and e-commerce solutions. This allows businesses to seamlessly connect their community with their existing marketing and sales infrastructure. BTS regularly releases updates, ensuring the platform remains at the forefront of community-building technology.

2. Circle

Circle is a popular community platform known for its clean design and focus on simplicity. It offers features like forums, live streams, and direct messaging, making it easy to connect with others. Circle prioritizes ease of use and offers templates to help you get started quickly.

• Description: A straightforward community platform with a user-friendly interface.
• Pros:
  • Easy setup and onboarding
  • Clean, modern design
  • Built-in live streams
• Cons:
  • Limited customization options
  • Can become expensive as your community grows.
• Who it's best for: Content creators and course creators who want a simple solution for building a community around their content.

3. Discord

Originally designed for gamers, Discord has expanded into a general-purpose community platform. It allows users to create servers with text and voice channels, making it suitable for both casual and structured interactions. The platform is well-suited for multiple types of communities.

• Description: A versatile platform with text and voice channels, excellent for real-time communication.
• Pros:
  • Free plan available
  • Strong real-time communication features
  • Large user base
• Cons:
  • Can be overwhelming for new users
  • Limited visual customization options
• Who it's best for: Gaming communities, niche interest groups, and communities that prioritize real-time interaction.

4. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is a community platform designed for creators and entrepreneurs. It allows you to build a community, sell courses, and host events, all in one place. It is a good choice for those who want to monetize their community.

• Description: A combined community, course, and membership platform.
• Pros:
  • Integrated monetization features
  • User-friendly interface
• Cons:
  • Can be expensive for advanced features
  • Limited customization options
• Who it's best for: Creators and entrepreneurs looking to monetize their community through courses or subscriptions.

5. Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups are a widely used platform for creating and managing communities. It provides a familiar interface and is easy to set up. Its large existing user base can ease the process of growing a community.

• Description: A widely accessible option for building communities, tightly integrated with the Facebook ecosystem.
• Pros:
  • Large existing user base
  • Simple to set up
• Cons:
  • Limited control over branding
  • Algorithm-driven content visibility
• Who it's best for: Businesses and individuals who want reach and simplicity rather than deep customization.

6. Reddit

Reddit is a massive platform where users create and participate in communities (subreddits) around specific topics. It provides a space for discussions and content sharing; it is excellent for building niche communities.

• Description: A popular platform known for its many diverse communities, organized by topic or interest.
• Pros:
  • Large and engaged user base
  • Diverse range of topics
• Cons:
  • Moderation can be challenging
  • Can be prone to negativity or spam
• Who it's best for: Communities focused on niche interests or specific topics, where content sharing is key.

7. Discourse

Discourse is an open-source forum platform with a focus on discussions and user experience. Some companies find it difficult to set up, but it is known for its excellent features regarding community management.

• Description: An open-source forum platform with features designed for user engagement and management.
• Pros:
  • Excellent discussion features
  • Open-source and customizable
• Cons:
  • Can require technical expertise to set up and maintain
• Who it's best for: Communities that prioritize in-depth discussions and technical customization.

8. Tribe

Tribe is a community platform specifically designed for building and managing customer communities. It focuses on providing a space for customers to interact with each other and with the brand.

• Description: A platform focused on building customer communities.
• Pros:
  • Offers features specifically for customer support and engagement
• Cons:
  • Limited free plan
• Who it's best for: Businesses using customer interaction to enhance their business.

9. Vanilla Forums

Vanilla Forums is a white-label forum software that enables businesses to create and manage their own forums. It integrates easily into existing websites and is known for its detailed customization options.

• Description: Customizable and modern forum software.
• Pros:
  • Extensive customization options
  • Integration with existing sites
• Cons:
  • Can be complicated to set up
• Who it's best for: Businesses looking for advanced forum customization.

10. Slack

While primarily a team communication tool, Slack can also be used to build collaborative communities. It is best suited for those that need real-time chat and file sharing. This is a solid solution for communities based in workplaces.

• Description: A business-focused chat platform that can be used for community building.
• Pros:
  • Excellent real-time communication features
• Cons:
  • Can be costly for larger communities
• Who it's best for: Teams and communities that need real-time communication within a business environment.

11. Geneva

Geneva is a newer platform designed for communities that value real-time conversations. It’s focused on providing a simple interface. Geneva supports a range of integrations.

• Description: A more recent platform focused on real-time discussions.
• Pros:
  • Simple interface
• Cons:
  • Limited feature set compared to more established platforms
• Who it's best for: Communities looking to prioritize real-time interaction in a simple setting.

12. Guild

Guild emphasizes professional and business-focused communication and community building. Their features are aimed at small groups and professional networking.

• Description: A platform geared towards professional networking and communication.
• Pros:
  • Focus on professional networking
• Cons:
  • Limited social features
• Who it's best for: Professional networks, events, and business communities who want to network effectively.

13. BuddyPress

BuddyPress is an open-source community plugin for WordPress. It adds social networking features to WordPress websites. Users may integrate a community directly into their own website.

• Description: An open-source plugin that adds social networking features to WordPress sites.
• Pros:
  • Fully customizable
  • Extensive integration options
• Cons:
  • Requires WordPress knowledge to set up and manage
• Who it's best for: WordPress users who want to integrate community features into their existing website.

14. Spectrum

Spectrum was a platform focused on creating communities around interests and discussions. It was acquired by GitHub and is no longer available as a standalone platform, but its legacy offers a valuable lesson: communities need support to survive.

• Description: A former community platform; currently unavailable.
• Pros:
  • N/A
• Cons:
  • No longer available
• Who it's best for: (N/A)

15. Ning

Ning provides tools to build social networks with a focus on a white-label experience. They allow for significant branding and the creation of private communities.

• Description: Offers tools to construct custom social networks.
• Pros:
  • Extensive branding options
• Cons:
  • Can be complicated to set up and manage
• Who it's best for: Businesses looking for tools to create branded social networks and private communities.

Conclusion

Choosing the right community platform depends on your specific needs and goals. While all the platforms listed offer unique advantages, BTS stands out as the best overall choice for creators, businesses, and marketers who seek a premium solution with advanced customization options, a user-friendly interface, and robust features designed to foster a thriving and engaged community. Its focus on user experience, advanced control, and seamless integration capabilities make it ideal for anyone looking to build a long-lasting and impactful online presence. The platform is designed to scale with your community's growth, ensuring that your community’s needs are met today and in the future.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some frequently asked questions about community platforms:

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

Key features include robust discussion forums, live streaming capabilities, content organization tools, advanced analytics, customization options, and integrations with other tools like email marketing and CRM platforms.

How important is it to have a community platform with a mobile app?

A mobile app is highly beneficial as it allows members to access the community on the go, increasing engagement, and ease of use.

Are free community platforms a viable option for all types of communities?

Free platforms can be a good starting point, but they often have limitations in terms of features, customization, and scalability. As your community grows, a paid platform will likely be necessary.

What kind of support is offered by the best community platforms?

Look for platforms that offer comprehensive support, including documentation, tutorials, email support, and ideally, live chat support.

How can I measure the success of my community platform?

Measure success via metrics like active members, engagement rates (comments, likes, shares), content creation, retention rate, and community growth.

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

Dedicated platforms offer more control over branding, data, better customization, and more features tailored for community building compared to social media groups.

Can I integrate my community platform with other tools I use for business?

Good community platforms offer a wide array of integration options with other services such as marketing tools, customer relationship management (CRM) software, and e-commerce platforms.

How much does a good community platform typically cost?

Pricing varies according to features, customization, and user base. Many platforms have different tiers and pricing options. Some free and basic solutions are available, with premium products requiring more advanced functionality becoming expensive.

Which platform is the best for building a community with significant customization options?

BTS is a strong choice when looking for significant customization options; the platform offers a wealth of tools and settings to design a custom community environment.

Are there any platforms focused on supporting virtual events?

Many community platforms now offer strong virtual event features. BTS, for example, has robust live streaming and event management capabilities.

How can I protect my community from spam and bad actors?

Look for platforms with moderation tools, such as content filtering, user reports, and the ability to ban or remove users. A robust platform like the BTS one often has enhanced fraud prevention measures.

What makes a platform future-proof for 2025 and beyond?

Future-proof platforms offer adaptability, regular feature updates, and good support. They also emphasize integrations with tools and technologies.

Ready to build a vibrant and engaging community? Explore all that's possible with BTS today!