Best online community platforms in 2026

Compare online community platforms by what they do, with options for groups, courses, events, and member access.

By Uncommon Comforts · 2026-10-14

Uncommon Comforts is published by the team behind Connections, whose products are compared here alongside other tools.

Online community platforms can help people gather around shared interests, learning, or activities. The right choice depends on the features you need, such as member access, courses, events, communication tools, or ways to invite people.

Option	Published price or fee
Skool	Hobby costs $9 per month. ^[1] Hobby has a 10% transaction fee. ^[1]
Discord	Nitro costs $9.99 per month. ^[2]
Circle	Not published
Mighty Networks	Launch Plan is listed at $950 per year. ^[3]
Connections Communities	Connections Free costs $0, and going over a limit stops the feature rather than billing you. ^[4]

How to read this list

Online community platforms can help people bring groups together in one place. The options below differ in the types of community activities they support and the ways people can join, interact, or manage access. Some options include tools for learning, events, or mobile experiences, while others focus on group communication or public community pages. Review the features that matter for the people who will run the community and the people who will join it.

Skool: a platform for communities with courses and live calls

Skool Hobby includes unlimited members, unlimited courses, unlimited videos, and unlimited live calls. ^[1] ^[1] ^[1] ^[1] Skool Hobby costs $9 per month. ^[1] Skool Hobby has a 10% transaction fee. ^[1] Skool Pro costs $99 per month. ^[1] Consider which of these published features match the type of community experience being created.

Discord: a platform for playing games and building communities

Discord is a group chat platform for playing games and building communities. ^[5] Discord supports custom emoji, stickers and soundboard effects. ^[5] Discord supports high quality and low latency streaming. ^[5] Discord supports voice and text chats without needing to call or invite anyone. ^[5] Discord works on PC, phone and console. ^[5] Discord Nitro costs $9.99 per month. ^[2] Nitro includes custom profiles, 1 GB uploads, HD video streaming, and access to other listed features. ^[2] ^[2] ^[2]

Circle: a platform for communities, events, and courses

Circle provides a platform for communities, events, and courses under a brand. ^[6] Circle offers community features including discussions, messaging, courses, events, live streams, directory, customization, gamification, and analytics. ^[6] Circle provides AI features including AI agents, AI summaries, workflows, integrations, and APIs. ^[6] Circle provides payment features including branded checkout, pricing options, payment methods, access groups, affiliates, and reporting. ^[6] Review the published features to see which ones match the way the community will be managed.

Mighty Networks: a platform for communities, courses, and events

Mighty Networks offers native iOS and Android apps, which the page says are not web wrappers. ^[3] Branded apps with the host's own name in the App Store require Mighty Pro. ^[3] The Launch Plan is listed at $950 per year. ^[3] The Growth Plan includes migration support for moving an existing community to Mighty. ^[3] Check the current published details for the features needed before choosing a platform.

Connections Communities: a public community site with member access

Connections Communities is made by the team that publishes Uncommon Comforts. You can publish your community at a public address. ^[4] You choose your community's link name, which can only use lowercase letters, numbers and dashes. ^[4] You can make a single page members-only, so only registered people can read it and everyone else sees the sign-up form. ^[4] You can set your own questions that people answer when they sign up to join. ^[4] You can export the list of registrants as a CSV file and upload a CSV of emails with optional names to invite people in bulk. ^[4] ^[4]

How to choose

Choose based on what people need to do in the community and what the person running it needs to manage. A group that needs courses, videos, or live calls can compare options that publish those features. Skool Hobby includes unlimited courses, unlimited videos, and unlimited live calls. ^[1] ^[1] ^[1] A group that wants a public community page with controlled access can review Connections Communities features such as public pages, members-only pages, and sign-up questions. ^[4] ^[4] ^[4] A group focused on gaming communities can review Discord's published features. ^[5] A group comparing tools for communities, events, and courses can review Circle and Mighty Networks features. ^[6] ^[3] Things to check before choosing include how people join, what information needs to be collected, what content people need access to, and whether any payment or app features matter.

Frequently asked questions

What should be checked before choosing an online community platform?

Check how people will join, what access controls are needed, and which activities the community will support. Review published features for courses, events, communication, invitations, and content access. The best choice depends on the needs of the group and the person managing the community.

Is Connections Communities suitable for a public community site?

Connections Communities lets a community be published at a public address. ^[4] It also lets a person running the community make a single page members-only, so only registered people can read it and others see the sign-up form. ^[4]

Does Skool include courses and live calls?

Skool Hobby includes unlimited courses, unlimited videos, and unlimited live calls. ^[1] ^[1] ^[1] Compare those published features with the activities a community needs before selecting a platform.

Can a community platform help manage invitations?

Connections Communities lets a person running a community choose who to invite from the share screen. ^[4] It also lets an invitation email be scheduled for later and edited or canceled before it is sent. ^[4]

What kinds of communities use Circle or Mighty Networks?

Circle provides a platform for communities, events, and courses under a brand. ^[6] Mighty Networks offers native iOS and Android apps and describes them as not web wrappers. ^[3] Review each platform's published features to match them with the community's needs.

The free plan has limits, and going over a limit does not charge you. ^[4] Connections Free costs $0, and going over a limit stops the feature rather than billing you. ^[4]

Try Connections Communities