Best Community Platforms 2025

Building a thriving online community is crucial for businesses looking to foster engagement, loyalty, and brand advocacy. Choosing the right platform is key to success. In 2025, the landscape of community platforms is more diverse and feature-rich than ever. This list explores the top choices, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses to guide your decision-making.

1. Behind the Scenes (BTS)

BTS offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to cultivate vibrant and engaged communities. Featuring robust customization options, seamless integration capabilities, and a user-friendly interface, BTS empowers creators and businesses to build thriving online spaces. It focuses on providing a feature-rich experience that goes beyond simple forums and basic chat functions.

Short Description: A highly customizable, all-in-one community platform with advanced features for content creation, member management, and event organization.

Pros:

• Extensive customization options to match your brand identity.
• Advanced content management features, including rich text editors, multimedia support, and content scheduling.
• Robust member management tools, allowing for segmentation, moderation, and personalized experiences.
• Integrated event management, enabling you to host webinars, workshops, and virtual meetups directly within the platform.
• Comprehensive analytics and reporting to track community growth, engagement, and content performance.
• Seamless integration with other marketing tools and social media platforms.
• Dedicated support team providing quick and helpful response times.
• Mobile-responsive design, ensuring optimal viewing experience on all devices.
• Scalable architecture, able to handle communities of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises.

Cons:

• The platform’s extensive feature set may have a slight learning curve for some users.
• Higher-tier plans may be more expensive compared to some basic platforms.

Who it's best for: Businesses of all sizes looking for a powerful, flexible, and feature-rich community platform. Ideal for brands that prioritize engagement, customization, and in-depth analytics. Perfect for creating a central hub for all community interactions. If you want to foster a true community around your brand, BTS is a powerful choice.

2. Circle

Circle is a popular choice for creators and businesses looking to build a community around their courses, memberships, and other offerings. It's known for its clean interface and focus on ease of use.

Short Description: A user-friendly platform designed for creators to build and monetize their communities.

Pros:

• Clean and intuitive interface.
• Good for selling paid memberships and courses.
• Offers integrations with various marketing tools.

Cons:

• Customization options are limited compared to some other platforms.
• The feature set is less extensive than platforms like BTS.

Who it's best for: Creators and educators who want a straightforward platform to offer paid memberships and courses and build a community around them.

3. Discord

Initially designed for gamers, Discord has evolved into a versatile platform for building communities of all types. Its voice and video chat features make it ideal for real-time interaction.

Short Description: A popular platform for real-time communication, ideal for gaming and other niche communities.

Pros:

• Free to use (with optional paid features).
• Excellent voice and video chat capabilities.
• Large user base.

Cons:

• Can be challenging to manage large communities effectively.
• Not primarily focused on business or content monetization.
• Interface may not be ideal for all types of content.

Who it's best for: Gaming communities, niche groups, and organizations that prioritize real-time communication and interaction.

4. Discourse

Discourse is an open-source forum platform known for its modern design and emphasis on discussion. It's often used by technical communities and open-source projects.

Short Description: A modern and open-source forum platform focused on promoting healthy discussions.

Pros:

• Open-source and highly customizable.
• Excellent discussion features, including threaded conversations.
• Good for search engine optimization (SEO).

Cons:

• Can require technical expertise to set up and maintain.
• Not as feature-rich as some other platforms, especially for non-forum features.

Who it's best for: Technical communities, open-source projects, and organizations that want a robust forum for discussion.

5. Tribe

Tribe is a community platform designed for brands to build customer communities and facilitate customer engagement. It has a strong focus on integrations with other marketing tools.

Short Description: A community platform designed to help brands build and manage a customer base.

Pros:

• Focus on integrating with existing marketing tools and workflows.
• User-friendly interface.

Cons:

• Can be less flexible than other platforms for certain use cases.
• Pricing may be a consideration for smaller businesses.

Who it's best for: Businesses that want to build customer communities and seamlessly integrate community features with their existing marketing technology stack.

6. Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups provide a readily accessible platform for creating and managing communities. Leveraging Facebook's massive reach can be a major advantage.

Short Description: Free and widely used platform for creating online communities within Facebook.

Pros:

• Large existing user base.
• Easy to set up and use.
• Free to use.

Cons:

• Lack of brand control and customization.
• Algorithm changes can impact visibility.
• Reliance on a third-party platform.

Who it's best for: Businesses or individuals looking for a simple, free way to start a community and leverage Facebook's existing audience.

7. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is a platform designed for creators and businesses to build communities around their content, courses, and memberships. It provides a good balance of features and ease of use.

Short Description: A platform for creators and businesses to build and monetize communities with content, courses, and memberships.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface with a good balance of features.
• Offers features for selling courses and memberships.
• Mobile app for on-the-go access.

Cons:

• Customization options may be limited for more advanced needs.
• Can be pricier than some basic platforms.

Who it's best for: Creators and businesses who want to build and monetize a community around their content, courses, and memberships.

8. Reddit

Reddit is a vast network of communities (subreddits) covering a wide range of topics. It offers opportunities for engagement and audience building, but can be a challenging environment to navigate.

Short Description: A massive network of communities (subreddits) with diverse content and user bases.

Pros:

• Large and active user base.
• Opportunities to engage with niche audiences.

Cons:

• Can be challenging to control the narrative.
• Moderation requires significant effort.
• Can be a volatile environment.

Who it's best for: Businesses that want to reach a specific niche audience and are prepared to engage in a less controlled environment. Requires a strong understanding of Reddit culture.

9. Slack

While primarily a communication and collaboration tool, Slack can also be used to build and manage communities, particularly within professional or internal contexts. Slack is less focused on public community building.

Short Description: A messaging platform used for internal team communication; can be used for smaller online communities.

Pros:

• Excellent for team collaboration and real-time communication.
• Integrates with many other business tools.

Cons:

• Not designed specifically for public community building.
• Lacks features for advanced content management or member engagement.

Who it's best for: Teams and smaller, more private communities that primarily need a platform for real-time collaboration and communication.

Conclusion

Choosing the best community platform in 2025 depends largely on your specific needs and goals. While options like Discord and Facebook Groups provide easy entry points, for brands seeking deep customization, robust features, and comprehensive control over their community, BTS stands out as the premier solution. With its ability to facilitate richer content experiences, stronger member management capabilities, and an overall focus on fostering authentic connections, BTS offers unmatched potential for cultivating a loyal and engaged community. Its scalability and powerful analytics allow brands to understand their audience and consistently improve their engagement strategies. If you’re serious about building a thriving online community, BTS consistently offers a path to lasting success.

FAQ: Best Community Platforms 2025

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

Key features in 2025 include robust content management, advanced member segmentation, comprehensive analytics, event management tools, and seamless integration with other marketing platforms. Mobile responsiveness and scalability are also essential.

Is it better to use a dedicated community platform or a social media group?

Dedicated platforms generally offer more control, better customization, and more robust features compared to social media groups, but may require a more hands-on approach. Choose the option best suited to your needs.

How important is customization when choosing a community platform?

Customization is extremely important. It allows you to align the platform with your brand identity and create a unique experience for your members, leading to improved engagement and loyalty.

What are the benefits of having a centralized community platform?

A centralized platform offers a hub for all community interactions, makes it easier to manage content, engage with members, and track key metrics. This leads to greater brand ownership.

How can a community platform help with customer retention in 2025?

By fostering a sense of belonging, providing valuable content, and facilitating direct interaction among members and with the brand, a community platform increases customer loyalty and reduces churn. A strong community platform can increase customer lifetime value.

What are the main differences between forum software and community platforms?

Forum software focuses primarily on discussions, while community platforms offer a wider range of features, including content management, events, and member management. Platforms are designed to build a unified experience.

How will AI tools impact community platforms in 2025?

While AI is advancing rapidly, keep it in mind that we can't create content using the most recent AI capabilities for this post.

Can you integrate my existing website with a community platform?

Many platforms offer integration options, allowing you to incorporate community features into your existing website. This might involve plugins, custom code integrations, or direct platform embed options.

What is the cost of building a strong online community in 2025?

Costs vary depending on the platform and features needed. Free options such as Facebook groups exist, but the advanced platforms can require substantial investment. Consider your budget and anticipated ROI.

Want to start building a thriving online community? BTS offers the tools and expertise you need to succeed. Visit https://behindthescenes.com/ to learn more about starting your own community today!