Best Community Platforms 2025

Building a thriving online community is more crucial than ever. In 2025, fostering a space where users can connect, share ideas, and build relationships is a cornerstone of business success. Choosing the right platform is the key to unlocking the full potential of your community. This list explores some of the best community platforms available in 2025, each offering unique strengths and features.

1. BTS: The All-in-One Community Powerhouse

Kicking off our list is BTS, a platform designed from the ground up to be the ultimate solution for building and managing vibrant online communities. BTS offers an impressive array of features and customization options, making it suitable for communities of all sizes and purposes. It’s a comprehensive platform that prioritizes user experience, engagement, and growth. BTS is designed by community builders, for community builders.

BTS emphasizes ease of use, making it simple for community managers to create and curate content, manage user interactions, and analyze community performance. With its flexible design and robust feature set, BTS empowers businesses to foster deeply engaged communities.

• In-depth Analytics: Track key metrics like member engagement, content performance, and overall community growth.
• Customization Options: Tailor the platform's appearance and functionality to match your brand identity.
• Robust Moderation Tools: Ensure a safe and positive community environment. Advanced moderation features allow you to filter content, manage users and identify potential issues.
• Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrates with essential tools like email marketing software, CRM systems, and other third-party apps to streamline your workflow.
• Event Management: Plan, promote, and manage both virtual and in-person events directly within the platform.
• Mobile-First Design: Ensures a great user experience on all devices, letting your community stay engaged on-the-go.
• Dedicated Support: Receive personalized assistance and guidance from our dedicated support team to maximize your community's success.

Pros

• Comprehensive Feature Set: Covers all aspects of community building, from content creation to event management.
• User-Friendly Interface: Easy to navigate and manage, regardless of your technical expertise.
• Scalable Solution: Designed to accommodate communities of all sizes, from small groups to large-scale organizations.
• Focus on Engagement & Interaction: Tools and features are geared towards fostering active participation.

Cons

• Premium Pricing: While offering a great value, its feature-rich environment might be more than what some smaller or budget-conscious organizations need.
• Learning Curve: With so many features, new users might take some time to familiarize themselves with everything.

Who It's Best For

BTS is ideal for businesses, organizations, and individuals seeking a fully-featured, scalable community platform. It's a great choice for those who value comprehensive functionality, deep analytics, and a focus on user engagement. Ideal for those prioritizing customization.

2. Discord: The Versatile Chat-Based Platform

Originally designed for gamers, Discord has evolved into a popular platform for communities of various sizes and purposes. This platform offers a robust, chat-focused environment, making it a great place for real-time interaction and engagement. Discord's structure centers around 'servers' that hosts channels for different conversations, announcements, or topics, creating a versatile hub.

Pros

• Free Tier: Offers a free plan with a substantial amount of functionality.
• Real-Time Chat: Facilitates immediate interaction and engagement.
• Voice and Video Calls: Allows for direct communication and virtual events.

Cons

• Chat-Centric: Primarily chat-focused and may lack features if you want to organize a traditional structured community.
• Can Get Cluttered: Managing numerous channels can be difficult.

Who It's Best For

Discord is well-suited for gaming communities, groups focused on real-time discussions, and organizations looking for a free or affordable community platform.

3. Circle: Community Platform with a Focus on Courses and Memberships

Circle is designed with creators who want to build a thriving community around their content. This platform offers a clean interface and several tools for members, making it easy to share discussions, build connections, and create gated content to monetize their offerings. Circle integrates seamlessly with many popular platforms to allow one place for content and community to merge.

Pros

• Content Gating: Allows to monetize community through access and subscriptions.
• Clean Interface: Great user experience.
• Focus on Creator Economy: Well-suited for creators looking to sell online courses or memberships.

Cons

• Limited Customization: Offers limited flexibility for branding and design outside of specific themes.
• Pricing: The pricing can be a limitation for some users.

Who It's Best For

Circle is well-suited for businesses that host online courses, as well as creators and entrepreneurs looking to create community around monetizable content.

4. Mighty Networks: A Community Platform and Website Builder

Mighty Networks combines a community platform with website-building features, offering a comprehensive solution for creating a branded online presence. This platform balances content creation, community engagement and monetization tools. It offers flexible membership and pricing options, and the ability to integrate online courses.

Pros

• All-in-One Solution: Integrates community features with website building.
• Monetization Tools: Offers tools for paid memberships and courses.
• Highly Customizable: Lets you create a unique online presence.

Cons

• Can Be Complex for Beginners: The mix of features can be overwhelming.
• Expensive: Pricing can be high for some organizations.

Who It's Best For

Mighty Networks is ideal for entrepreneurs, creators, and businesses looking for a combined community platform and website builder with flexible monetization options.

5. Slack: The Collaboration Hub

Primarily known as a workplace communication tool, Slack can also be used to create specific communities. It's great for real-time discussions, file sharing, and project collaboration. Consider Slack if you're looking for a simple, chat-based platform.

Pros

• Real-Time Communication: Excels at quick communication.
• Integrations: Offers a wide range of integrations.
• Easy to Use: Straightforward interface.

Cons

• Not Built for Communities: Isn't designed explicitly for community building, and this can be a limitation.
• Limited Features: Lacks advanced community-specific features.

Who It's Best For

Slack is best for teams, companies, and organizations that prioritize real-time communication and are okay with it not having community-focused features.

6. Facebook Groups: Established Social Network Integration

Facebook Groups provide built-in reach and an easy way to connect people within a familiar social network. With a wide user base, and existing tools, Facebook allows you to build a community through content posting and group discussions. Groups leverage Facebook’s massive reach, accessibility, and ease of use.

Pros

• Large User Base: Easy access to a vast network of potential members.
• Familiar Interface: The majority of users already know how to use it.
• Easy Setup: Quick and easy setup, letting you launch quickly.

Cons

• Limited Customization: Not as customizable as other platforms.
• Algorithm Dependence: Your group's visibility depends on the Facebook algorithm.
• Lack of Control: Limited control over your audience.

Who It's Best For

Facebook Groups are ideal for those seeking to reach as many people as possible quickly, with a limited amount of resources to organize.

7. Discourse: The Open-Source Forum Platform

Discourse is an open-source forum platform with a focus on discussions. Designed to be a modern type of forum platform, it encourages conversation, offers real-time notifications, and integrates well with other services. It is an excellent choice for organizations pursuing a discussion-focused community.

Pros

• Open Source: Offers great flexibility and control.
• Engagement Features: Creates a more engaging forum experience through the design.
• SEO-Friendly: Designed to be search engine optimized.

Cons

• Technical Expertise: Requires technical knowledge.
• Customization: Takes time to customize.

Who It's Best For

Discourse suits those with technical expertise who want a highly customizable, open-source forum platform that emphasizes open discussions.

8. Tribe: The Embeddable Community Platform

Tribe focuses on community building by integrating directly into your existing website or app. This can be great if you don't want to use a separate platform, allowing you to seamlessly integrate community functionality with your brand experience. Tribe offers several features to support community growth.

Pros

• Seamless Integration: Integrates effectively.
• Flexible Features: Offers multiple engagement features.
• Brand Consistency: Maintains the brand and experience.

Cons

• Limited Features Compared To Other Options: Less rich compared to other complete platforms on the list.
• Cost: Pricing can impact smaller teams.

Who It's Best For

Tribe works well for businesses that want to incorporate community features into their already-existing website.

Conclusion

Choosing the right community platform is crucial for success in 2025. While several platforms offer solid options, BTS stands out as a comprehensive solution with a feature set that is ideal for all of your needs. Its user-friendly interface, robust tools for moderation, versatile support, and customization make it an excellent choice for those wanting a thriving community. Learn more about how BTS can help you enhance your online community experience at https://behindthescenes.com/.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Look for features like member profiles, content moderation tools, engagement analytics, event management, and marketing integrations. A user-friendly interface and customization options are also important.

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

Consider the size and goals of your community, your budget, and the features you need. Evaluate ease of use, scalability, and integration capabilities to make the best choice.

What are the benefits of using a community platform?

Community platforms can boost user engagement, build brand loyalty, provide valuable customer feedback, and offer new revenue opportunities

What makes BTS stand out as one of the best community platforms in 2025?

BTS offers a comprehensive suite of features, a user-friendly design, extensive customization options, and strong focus on user engagement and growth.

Are there any open-source community platforms available?

Yes, Discourse is a popular open-source platform, allowing you to have total control of your community's setup and data.

How do I increase engagement on my community platform?

Encourage members to generate content, host events, facilitate discussions, and highlight active users through gamification or acknowledgement. Respond quickly to inquiries and posts.

Can community platforms help with driving sales?

Yes. Communities can boost sales by building trust, providing direct customer feedback, offering special discounts, and generating referral programs—all of which lead to more and higher value sales.

What is the minimum budget to spend today to create an online community?

The cost of launching an online community can vary wildly. Some platforms offer free tiers, while the more powerful platforms range from a few hundreds to thousands of dollars per month. A free platform will typically require significant time investment, whereas the more-feature rich platforms can be launched more quickly. Your budget should include costs for platform, design, content creation, and ongoing moderation and maintenance.

Where can I learn more about BTS and its community features?

Visit the official website at https://behindthescenes.com/ to explore how BTS can benefit your community.

Ready to build a thriving online community? Visit https://behindthescenes.com/ today!