Online community platform
The online community platform you actually own.
Most platforms rent you a community and bill by the member. This one runs on your own WordPress install, so the members, their posts and the bill stay yours. Here is the honest comparison, including where the hosted platforms are the better answer.
The real decision
Rent the community, or own it.
Nearly every other question follows from this one. Both sides have a real argument, so here they are side by side rather than as a sales pitch.
- What you pay
- HostedA monthly bill that grows with your membership, plus a cut of payments on some platforms.
- Self-hostedYour hosting. The community software is free, and Pro is an optional licence from $149 a year, or $399 once if you would rather stop renewing.
- Where members live
- HostedOn the vendor servers, under their terms, exportable to the extent they allow.
- Self-hostedIn your own WordPress database, on hosting you chose.
- When terms change
- HostedPricing, features and policies can change and you adapt, because moving is expensive.
- Self-hostedNothing changes underneath you. The version you run is the version you run.
- What it costs to set up
- HostedAlmost nothing. Sign up and invite people. This is the genuine advantage.
- Self-hostedA WordPress install and an afternoon. More work than a signup form, less than it sounds.
- How far you can bend it
- HostedAs far as the vendor roadmap allows.
- Self-hostedA full REST API ships free, so a custom front end or integration is a first-class path.
The options
The platforms worth considering.
Each entry says what that platform is genuinely good at, because a list where one product wins every row is not a list, it is an advert. Prices are the public tiers as of mid-2026 and change without notice.
-
BuddyNext
Self-hosted, free coreFeed, spaces, profiles, messaging, notifications and moderation in the free core, with free companions for forums, media and gamification from the same team. Self-hosted, so there is no per-member pricing and no platform that can change its terms on you.
Free core. Pro from $149/yr, or $399 lifetime.
See what ships free → -
Circle
Hosted SaaSA polished, all-in-one hosted platform with courses, live events, payments and a branded mobile app, and nothing to install. If you want to be running this afternoon and would rather not touch hosting, it is a genuinely strong product.
Public tiers from roughly $89/mo annually, plus a payment fee on some plans.
BuddyNext vs Circle → -
Mighty Networks
Hosted SaaSBuilt for creators, with courses, events, payments, a branded app and AI-assisted setup. Strong if your community and your paid content are the same business.
Public tiers from roughly $79/mo, rising through larger plans.
BuddyNext vs Mighty Networks → -
Skool
Hosted SaaSDeliberately simple: one feed, built-in courses, and gamification, under a flat price with no transaction fee. The simplicity is the product, and for a lot of creators that is exactly right.
Roughly $99/mo per group on Pro.
BuddyNext vs Skool → -
Discourse
Open source forumThe best open-source discussion forum there is, with famously good moderation tooling and trust levels. If threaded discussion is the whole job and you do not need a social feed, it is hard to beat.
Free to self-host. Managed hosting is paid.
BuddyNext vs Discourse →
Weighing a platform that is not listed? There are twenty comparisons, each written to name where the other tool wins.
Where you are now
Pick the sentence that sounds like you.
The right next step is different depending on what you are running today, so here are four, rather than one button for everybody.
-
I have not started yet
Then the fastest way to judge this is to use it. The sandbox spins up a real community you can post in, and you can throw it away afterwards.
-
I pay for Circle, Mighty Networks or Skool
The bill grows with your membership and the members sit on their servers. Moving is the part people assume is impossible, so it is worth reading what it actually involves before you renew.
-
I already run BuddyPress or BuddyBoss
Your members keep their WordPress logins, so nobody re-registers. The free BuddyNext Importer brings the rest across: members, profile fields, groups, activity, forums, media and private messages.
Migrating from BuddyPress Migrating from BuddyBoss What the importer moves
-
I am building this for someone else
A full REST API ships in the free core, so a custom front end or an integration is a first-class path rather than a retrofit. The plugin source is public, so you can read it before you commit a client to it.
See it for real
What the self-hosted option looks like.
Every screen below is BuddyNext running inside a real WordPress theme. Click any screen to open it full size.
Questions
What people ask before choosing.
What is an online community platform?
Software that gives a group its own place to talk, organised around members rather than around content. In practice that means member profiles, a feed or forum, sub-communities for topics, messaging, notifications and moderation. Some platforms add courses, events and payments on top. The main split is whether you rent it as a hosted service or run it on your own hosting.
What is the best online community platform?
It depends on which problem you would rather have. Hosted platforms like Circle, Mighty Networks and Skool are quicker to start and take the hosting off your hands, and you pay monthly for that with your members on someone else infrastructure. Self-hosted platforms take an afternoon to set up and then cost you only hosting, with the members in your own database. If you already run WordPress, BuddyNext is the self-hosted option that ships complete rather than assembled.
Is there a free online community platform?
Yes. BuddyNext core is free and GPL, and so are its companions for forums, media and gamification. Discourse is free to self-host too if a discussion forum is what you actually need. Hosted platforms generally offer trials rather than a free tier you can run a real community on.
What does an online community platform cost?
Hosted platforms publish tiers in the region of $79 to $99 a month at the entry level as of mid-2026, rising with members and features, and some take a percentage of payments. Self-hosted costs you hosting, which for a small community is a few dollars a month, plus an optional licence if you want the paid tier. The gap widens as you grow, because hosted pricing scales with your success and hosting mostly does not.
Do I need to be technical to self-host?
You need to be comfortable installing a WordPress plugin. That is the bar. BuddyNext runs on standard WordPress accounts, so if you have a WordPress site you already have the hard part. If you are moving from BuddyPress or BuddyBoss, the free BuddyNext Importer brings your members, groups, activity and history across.
Can I move off a hosted platform later?
That is worth checking before you commit, not after. Export options vary, and the practical cost of moving is what keeps people on a platform whose pricing has changed. Our team has migrated communities off hosted platforms through their APIs, so it is possible, but it is easier to own the data from the start than to negotiate it back.
See it in action
Watch it on a real WordPress site
Short video tours of the platform - feed, spaces, profiles, messaging, moderation, and memberships. Follow along on your own site.
Own the community you build.
Start with the free core, keep your members in your own database, and upgrade only when you grow.
Keep reading
- WordPress social network plugin
What a social network plugin has to include before it can replace a stack of add-ons.
- How to create a social network
The build itself: the steps involved and what it actually costs to run.
- Community website builder
Building the site around the community, including the parts that are not the plugin.
- Membership site on WordPress
The two kinds of membership site, and which software each one actually needs.
- WordPress membership plugin
Charging for access to the community itself, and where that differs from gating content.