Best community platforms in 2026

For a paid community that's simple to run and keeps members engaged, Skool is our top pick — flat pricing, unlimited members, and gamification that genuinely drives activity. If you want a more polished, customizable space with deep branding, Circle.so is the premium choice, and Mighty Networks is best if you need native mobile apps plus courses.

If you just want a free place to chat, Discord is unbeatable — but you'll need a third-party tool to charge for access. Here's how they compare on cost, fees, and fit.

19 tools compared · pricing verified 2026 · updated for TryToolFit

Affiliate disclosure

Some links below are affiliate links — if you sign up, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes our rankings or what we recommend. How this works →

Our top pick: Skool

Best overall fit for a typical communities buyer. Here's why — and when something else wins.

★ Top pick

Skool

Dead-simple paid communities with courses, live calls, and gamification.

Recurring

Why it fits: For a paid community that's simple to run and keeps members engaged, Skool is our top pick — flat pricing, unlimited members, and gamification that genuinely drives activity.

From $9/mo

Score

Txn fee 10% + $0.30

Extremely simple all-in-one (community, courses, payments)
Strong gamification drives engagement

Limited design and white-label customization

Coaches selling paid communitiesEngagement-first course + community creators

Visit Skool Read review

Quick pick by situation

You want simple + high engagement Skool (flat price, gamified)
You want polish and customization Circle.so (premium feel)
You need native mobile apps + courses Mighty Networks
You're monetizing a fan base Patreon (trusted, no monthly fee)
You want a free chat community Discord (free, add tools to charge)

All 19 communities compared

Tool	From	Free	Txn fee	Best for	Visit
Skool ★ Top pick Dead-simple paid communities with courses, live calls, and gamification.	$9	—	10% + $0.30 (Hobby); ~2.9% processing only (Pro)	Coaches selling paid communities	Visit Skool (affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
Discord Free real-time chat and voice for communities — monetize with add-on tools.	Free Lowest	✓	N/A (use 3rd-party)	Free communities and engaged real-time chat	Visit
Circle.so Polished, customizable community platform with courses and built-in monetization.	$89	—	2% (Pro) / 1% (Business)	Established creators and brands wanting a premium feel	Visit
Kajabi All-in-one platform to build, market, and sell courses, coaching, and communities.	$71	—	0% platform fee	Established creators and coaches	Visit
Whop All-in-one platform to sell digital products, memberships, and gated communities	Free Lowest	✓	2.7% + $0.30 card processing	Creators selling gated Discord/Telegram communities	Visit
Nas.io All-in-one platform to build, manage and monetize paid communities and courses	$6.58	—	4.9% (Basic), 2.9% (Pro), 1% (Platinum) + processing	Creators monetizing WhatsApp/Telegram communities	Visit
Thinkific Polished course and community builder with zero platform transaction fees.	$36	—	0%	Serious course creators	Visit
Patreon Membership and recurring-payment platform with a trusted creator brand.	Free Lowest	✓	~10% + processing (new creators)	Content creators monetizing a fan base	Visit
Uscreen All-in-one video membership platform with a branded site and OTT/TV apps.	$49	—	10% (Starter); 5% higher tiers	Creators building paid video memberships	Visit
Mighty Networks All-in-one community, courses, and memberships with native mobile apps.	$79	—	0.5–2% + processor	Creators wanting courses + community in one	Visit
Graphy All-in-one platform to create, market, and sell online courses and communities	$37	—	0% platform fee (processor fees apply)	Creators selling premium courses with a community	Visit
BuddyBoss WordPress-based platform to build communities, membership sites, and LMS courses	$24.92	—	None (you keep your own payment processor)	Course creators wanting community + LMS on WordPress	Visit
Heartbeat All-in-one platform to build, manage, and monetize online communities and courses	$49	—	5% (Build), 2.5% (Grow), 1.25% (Scale) + processor	Creators and coaches monetizing memberships and courses	Visit
Honeycommb White-label, all-in-one community platform with branded web and mobile apps	$89	—	5% on paid memberships	Brands and creators wanting a fully branded community	Visit
Disciple Build your own fully branded community app for web, iOS and Android, no code	$505	—	0% Disciple fee (Stripe ~3% on web; app-store fees apply)	Established creators and brands wanting a native app	Visit
Memberful Membership and subscription platform for creators, publishers, and podcasters	$49	—	4.9% + Stripe processor fees	Creators and publishers selling gated content	Visit
Bettermode All-in-one customer community platform for branded, no-code online communities	$399	—	None	SaaS and B2B companies launching branded communities	Visit
Hivebrite All-in-one platform to build, manage, and monetize alumni and member communities	$895	—	~1.5% on paid memberships (verify current plans)	Universities and alumni networks	Visit
Mastermind.com All-in-one platform to build courses, communities, and masterminds with AI tools	$35	—	Not publicly disclosed	Coaches building masterminds and communities	Visit

Score is our composite of independent user ratings, value, and feature breadth — how we score. Prices are entry-tier estimates; verify current pricing on each site.

What you'll actually pay

Most plans here are flat-rate, so the monthly price stays the same as you scale. Here's the comparison:

Community platforms — monthly cost

These plans are flat-rate, but sales fees aren't — drag your monthly sales to see the real cost, cheapest first.

Your monthly sales

Exact $/mo:

The rest, ranked & reviewed

Discord

Free real-time chat and voice for communities — monetize with add-on tools.

Free plan

From Free

Score

Txn fee N/A

Completely free to run a community
Best-in-class real-time chat and voice

No native paid memberships or courses

Free communities and engaged real-time chatBolting on a free member perk

Visit Discord Read review

Circle.so

Polished, customizable community platform with courses and built-in monetization.

From $89/mo

Score

Txn fee 2%

Highly polished, customizable interface
Strong all-in-one feature set with monetization

No free plan; entry floor now $89/mo

Established creators and brands wanting a premium feelCourses + events + community

Visit Circle.so Read review

Kajabi

All-in-one platform to build, market, and sell courses, coaching, and communities.

From $71/mo

Score

Txn fee 0% platform fee

Genuinely all-in-one — no separate email or funnel tools needed
Strong marketing automation and funnels

Expensive entry point ($89/mo billed monthly)

Established creators and coachesCreators wanting courses + email + funnels in one

Visit Kajabi Read review

Whop

All-in-one platform to sell digital products, memberships, and gated communities

Free plan

From Free

Score

Txn fee 2.7% + $0.30 card processing

No monthly fee — free to start, pay per transaction
Strong for gated Discord/Telegram communities

Effective rate climbs once automation/FX/payout fees stack

Creators selling gated Discord/Telegram communitiesDigital product sellers wanting zero upfront cost

Visit Whop Read review

Nas.io

All-in-one platform to build, manage and monetize paid communities and courses

From $6.58/mo

Score

Txn fee 4.9%

Low monthly cost to start, fee scales as you grow
Strong WhatsApp/Telegram community integration

Per-sale fees on top of payment processing

Creators monetizing WhatsApp/Telegram communitiesSolo creators selling courses, events, memberships

Visit Nas.io Read review

Thinkific

Polished course and community builder with zero platform transaction fees.

Recurring

From $36/mo

Score

Txn fee 0%

0% platform transaction fees across all plans
Strong, polished course-building experience

No permanent free plan (30-day trial only)

Serious course creatorsCoaches building a course + community

Visit Thinkific Read review

Patreon

Membership and recurring-payment platform with a trusted creator brand.

Free plan

From Free

Score

Txn fee ~10% + processing

No upfront cost; pay only when you earn
Trusted, recognized brand for fan support

High effective take rate (platform + processing)

Content creators monetizing a fan basePodcasters, artists, and YouTubers

Visit Patreon Read review

Uscreen

All-in-one video membership platform with a branded site and OTT/TV apps.

Recurring

From $49/mo

Score

Txn fee 10%

Purpose-built for paid video memberships and OTT
Native iOS, Android and TV apps for your brand

Real video-business pricing starts at $149–199/mo plus per-subscriber fees

Creators building paid video membershipsBrands wanting their own streaming apps

Visit Uscreen Read review

Mighty Networks

All-in-one community, courses, and memberships with native mobile apps.

Recurring

From $79/mo

Score

Txn fee 0.5–2% + processor

True all-in-one: community, courses, events, payments
Branded native mobile apps available

Transaction fees on most plans plus processor fees

Creators wanting courses + community in oneBrands needing native mobile apps

Visit Mighty Networks Read review

Graphy

All-in-one platform to create, market, and sell online courses and communities

From $37/mo

Score

Txn fee 0% platform fee

0% platform transaction fees on all plans
Backed by Unacademy with strong feature set

No permanently free plan

Creators selling premium courses with a communityEducators wanting branded web and mobile apps

Visit Graphy Read review

BuddyBoss

WordPress-based platform to build communities, membership sites, and LMS courses

From $24.92/mo

Score

Txn fee None

Self-hosted on WordPress — you own your data and revenue
Deep LMS and membership integrations

Requires WordPress hosting and technical setup

Course creators wanting community + LMS on WordPressBrands wanting a self-hosted community with native apps

Visit BuddyBoss Read review

Heartbeat

All-in-one platform to build, manage, and monetize online communities and courses

From $49/mo

Score

Txn fee 5%

All-in-one: community, courses, events, and payments
Custom domain and white-label branding included

No permanent free plan

Creators and coaches monetizing memberships and coursesConsultants running branded client communities

Visit Heartbeat Read review

Honeycommb

White-label, all-in-one community platform with branded web and mobile apps

From $89/mo

Score

Txn fee 5% on paid memberships

True white-label across web and native apps
Proven at large scale (brands, celebrities)

Branded apps and white-label raise the price

Brands and creators wanting a fully branded communityOrganizations needing native iOS/Android apps

Visit Honeycommb Read review

Disciple

Build your own fully branded community app for web, iOS and Android, no code

From $505/mo

Score

Txn fee 0% Disciple fee

Truly white-label apps under your own brand
No Disciple cut of revenue (0% platform fees)

Expensive relative to web-only platforms

Established creators and brands wanting a native appMembership businesses monetizing courses at scale

Visit Disciple Read review

Memberful

Membership and subscription platform for creators, publishers, and podcasters

From $49/mo

Score

Txn fee 4.9% + Stripe processor fees

Simple flat monthly fee with unlimited members
Owned by Patreon with deep integrations

4.9% fee stacks on top of Stripe fees

Creators and publishers selling gated contentPodcasters and newsletter publishers

Visit Memberful Read review

Bettermode

All-in-one customer community platform for branded, no-code online communities

From $399/mo

Score

Txn fee None

Highly customizable, developer-friendly with robust API
Strong feature set for SaaS/B2B customer communities

Expensive entry point with no free tier

SaaS and B2B companies launching branded communitiesTeams needing API/SSO and deep customization

Visit Bettermode Read review

Hivebrite

All-in-one platform to build, manage, and monetize alumni and member communities

From $895/mo

Score

Txn fee ~1.5% on paid memberships

Highly customizable with white-label branding
Strong fit for alumni, associations, and nonprofits

Expensive with a high entry price and no free tier

Universities and alumni networksProfessional associations and large nonprofits

Visit Hivebrite Read review

Mastermind.com

All-in-one platform to build courses, communities, and masterminds with AI tools

From $35/mo

Score

Txn fee Not publicly disclosed

Built-in community plus marketplace for discovery
Low $47 entry with a $1 trial

Community partly relies on Facebook group + live check-ins

Coaches building masterminds and communitiesCreators wanting an AI-assisted all-in-one

Visit Mastermind.com Read review

Head-to-head comparisons

Skool Circle.so Skool Mighty Networks Circle.so Mighty Networks

Get our current communities pick

We email when pricing changes or a better option appears. One useful email, no spam.

Frequently asked questions

Is Skool worth $99/month?

If you're charging for your community, yes — Skool Pro has no platform fee and unlimited members, so it pays for itself past a handful of paying members. If you're testing an idea, the $9 Hobby plan works but takes 10% + $0.30 of each sale.

Skool vs Circle — which should I choose?

Skool is simpler and more engagement-focused (gamification, leaderboards); Circle is more customizable and polished but pricier with paid add-ons. Pick Skool for a coaching/course community, Circle for a branded membership. See Skool vs Circle.

Can I run a paid community on Discord?

Not natively — Discord is free and has no built-in payments. You can bolt on Whop, Memberful, or Patreon to charge for access, but you'll pay their fees (often ~10%) and lose the structured course/classroom experience that Skool or Circle give you.