Online Community Software: 13 Best Engagement Platforms

 A mobile-first, customizable community is a great way to meet your members where they are. While traditional email updates and website content still serve their purpose for member communication, creating a digital community (especially a mobile-native one) helps members connect with each other as well as with your organization. And the best way to do this is to use online community software. 

In this article, we’ll walk through the basics of online community software and how to pick the right one for your organization, as well as our top picks. We’ll cover the following topics:

• Online Community Software: Frequently Asked Questions
• Our Top Picks for Online Community Software
• Wrapping Up: Additional Resources on Online Community Software

Let’s dive in!

Online Community Software: Frequently Asked Questions 

What is online community software?

Online community software is technology that provides a centralized, private space for members to network and access resources directly from your organization. While many types of communities can benefit from an online hub, they’re especially useful for professional and trade associations, as these platforms bridge the gap between traditional member engagement solutions and the interactive digital experiences that modern members want.

Members’ expectations for personalized, frictionless, and mobile-native digital experiences are rising: according to a 2025 survey, 79% of association members want mobile access to a community platform, and 76% expect a tailored, social media-like experience. At the same time, association executives’ opinions of their value propositions are declining, with only 11% believing their organizations offer “very compelling” value.

To meet members’ digital experience expectations and enhance their value proposition, associations can use online community software to turn standard membership into a highly engaging, connection-oriented experience that encourages retention.

What are the types of online community software?

Online community solutions range from web forums to robust, mobile-first apps tailored for ongoing engagement. The right type depends on your goals, whether you need to host large discussion boards, create targeted learning environments, or launch a custom-branded app.

Here are some basic types of online community software:

• Mobile-native applications: These solutions are built specifically for iOS and Android devices, which allow organizations to take advantage of push notifications and create tailored touchscreen experiences.
• Responsive web communities: These are traditional forum-style platforms accessible via mobile or desktop browsers, best suited for complex, long-form discussion threads.
• Niche engagement tools: These are specialized software options designed for distinct use cases, like alumni networking or course-driven learning.

There are also different types of online community software for different communities:

• For associations: Focus on solutions that offer AMS (association management system) integrations, member directories, and event management tools to streamline professional networking and boost retention.
• For businesses: Emphasize customer support hubs, product feedback loops, and corporate CRM integrations to drive brand loyalty and improve customer success.
• For interest groups: Prioritize social media-style activity feeds, multimedia sharing, and seamless mobile accessibility to connect people around shared hobbies or passions.
  
  

Why use an online community software instead of a social media group or a custom-built platform?

Creating group engagement spaces on public networks like Facebook or LinkedIn is popular because these platforms are free and familiar to users. However, this approach also poses security and control challenges, such as:

• Lack of brand control: Public platforms prevent you from fully white-labeling the digital experience to match your association's identity.
• Data privacy issues: Member information may be exposed to third-party data collection and advertising algorithms, and is subject to changes in public security guidelines.
• Algorithm interference: Your important association updates are forced to compete with distracting personal feeds and outside viral content, plus you can’t choose or earn revenue from the ads on your platform.

Meanwhile, building a platform fully from scratch gives you complete design control, but also has multiple drawbacks, such as:

• Long development timelines: Designing, coding, testing, and launching a custom-built platform may take months or even years.

• High price points: A substantial financial investment is required to cover the upfront costs of development teams, custom infrastructure, and bespoke design elements.

• Required ongoing technical expertise: Your organization will likely need to contract skilled IT professionals to manage system updates, fix bugs, and maintain security over time.

Here is a snapshot comparison of an online community software, social media group, and a custom-built platform:

How do I choose online community software for my association?

To determine the best online community software, consider your community’s specific needs and prioritize the platform that best addresses them. You should look for something that delivers a smooth mobile experience, integrates easily with your existing databases, and facilitates strategic member engagement.

Here are some of the key features that your online community platform should have:

• Mobile delivery: In addition to a website option, the software should be mobile-responsive (or even mobile-first) to meet members where they are.
• Association tech ecosystem: The software needs secure integration capabilities with your existing AMS or CRM, and integrations with your other marketing tools and internal job boards are also useful.
• Member value: The tools should foster year-round peer-to-peer networking and provide members with easy access to leadership updates.

By keeping these three things in mind, you can filter through the hundreds of options in the software market and choose the right online community platform for your organization.

Our Top Picks for Online Community Software

Now that you have an idea of what to look for when choosing online community software, we have compiled a list of the 13 best options on the market today to help you find the right one for your organization.

1. Clowder

Best For: Trade and professional associations, unions, and event-driven communities.

Clowder is a year-round, mobile-first engagement app and platform offering personalized features to strengthen engagement and retention for associations, unions, and other membership communities. It functions as a private social network to keep members connected wherever they are through their mobile devices.

What Clowder Offers

Targeted Communications

• Direct messaging: Let members connect instantly and safely right inside the platform.
• Discussion forums: Create active hubs for collaborative conversations and problem-solving.
• Newsfeed: Keep members updated with a stream of association news and sector updates.
• Push notifications: Ensure that your members never miss an announcement.
• Resource library: Have a dedicated space for all of your documents and multimedia content to help members learn and develop new skills
  
  

Streamlined Event Management

• Schedule and agenda creation: Share session details and let attendees map out personalized schedules.
• Faster check-in: Use QR codes for rapid entry and friction-free digital networking.
• Badge creation: Save your team time by automatically syncing attendee badges with member accounts.
• Gamification and polls: Hook your audience and capture insights using live polling and interactive games
  
  

Increased Revenue and Relationships

• Sponsorship Management: Track partner touchpoints and boost brand exposure through sponsored content and pre-event promotions.
  
  

• In-App Ads: Drive sponsor product awareness using banner campaigns and splash screens.
  
  

• Track & Retain Members: Automate membership renewal reminders and trigger higher engagement based on past user behavior
  
  

The ROI of mobile community

More than 150 professional communities trust Clowder to fuel their mobile engagement strategies and reinforce the value of membership. The platform has helped save $220 million in IT and staffing costs, and organizations see an average return of four times their investment in Clowder.

2. Higher Logic

Best For: Large discussion forums

Higher Logic is an enterprise-grade online community and marketing automation platform built for professional and trade associations, B2B, and B2C companies looking to maximize peer-to-peer engagement, knowledge sharing, and retention.

Top Features:

• Multi-tiered discussion forums
• Gamification tools and badges
• Automated engagement campaigns
• Resource libraries
• Advanced moderation controls
• Native AI-powered content and tag suggestions.

Pricing: Higher Logic provides custom quotes for each of its customers based on overall community size, integration scope, and specific module needs. Contact their team to get your estimate.

3. Tradewing

Best For: Trade association communication

Tradewing is a modern community engagement platform with an engagement infrastructure that integrates community interaction, learning, events, member management, and sponsor management into one centralized ecosystem.

Top Features:

• Real-time community chat and discussion boards
• Integrated virtual events and webinars
• Native mobile apps
• Sponsor activation blocks for non-dues revenue
• Seamless data syncing with over 30 AMS systems.

Pricing: Custom quotes are available upon request after a discovery consultation with the Tradewing team.  

4. WildApricot

Best For: Small association AMS, and community.

WildApricot is tailored for small clubs, nonprofits, and professional associations that want to handle their back-office administration and basic member communications in one place.

Top Features:

• Centralized member database
• Drag-and-drop website builder
• Automated membership renewals
• Event registration with payment processing
• Basic email marketing tools.

Pricing: WildApricot offers three pricing plans for the same online community features: $66/month (monthly billing), $59.40/month (1 year pre-paid), and $56.10/month (2 years pre-paid).

5. Hivebrite

Best For: Complex alumni networks.

Hivebrite is a highly customizable community management platform designed for universities, large alumni networks, and global nonprofits that require independent sub-communities under a master brand.

Top Features:

• Independent chapters (sub-communities)
• Event ticketing
• Email marketing campaigns
• A built-in job board
• AI-driven member matching

Pricing: Hivebrite has three plans: “Connect”, “Scale,” and “Enterprise”. Prospective customers have to contact them directly for pricing, which varies by industry, currency, location, and other platform feature options.

6. Forj

Best For: Association learning communities.

Forj is a specialized community experience and Learning Management System (LMS) platform designed so that associations can combine member collaboration with professional development, training, and continuing education.

Top Features:

• Unified member portal
• Native course creation and tracking
• Resource/knowledge libraries
• Group discussion forum
• Integrations with association technology like Salesforce and MemberSuite

Pricing: Cost is based on each organization's scope, member volume, and selected software modules. Contact Forj for a custom quote. 

7. MobileUp

Best For: Basic alumni apps.

MobileUp is a mobile-first membership and engagement platform designed for higher education, K-12 schools, and local alumni groups wanting to stay connected through a streamlined, branded mobile application.

Top Features:

• Custom native mobile app interface
• Digital member profiles
• Automated event calendars with mobile check-ins
• Instant push notifications
• Basic dues and fundraising payment processing.

Pricing: MobileUp uses a custom quote model. Prices vary based on organization scale, number of users, and specific integrations required.

8. Engagefully 365 

Best For: Year-round event engagement.

Engagefully 365 is a mobile engagement application developed by RD Mobile that acts as a bridge between major annual conferences and day-to-day, year-round association networking.

Top Features:

• 365-day push notifications
• Advanced QR code scanning for events
• Customizable, multi-track event agendas
• Gamified event check-ins
• Integrations with over 100 AMS and CRM systems

Pricing: Pricing is customized based on organization size, required AMS integrations, and custom branding requirements.

9. mosaic apps 

Best For: Custom app development

mosaic apps is an app-oriented event and membership solution specialized for nonprofits and associations needing customized mobile experiences, automated on-site check-ins, and direct integrations with solutions like iMIS.

Top Features:

• Touchless kiosk and QR-code check-ins
• Real-time conference-specific dashboards
• Virtual community hubs
• Automatic badge printing capabilities
• A dedicated event "Store Mode" for on-site sales.

Pricing: Custom pricing is available through mosaic apps team consultations.

10. Circle

Best For: Creator communities

Circle is an intuitive, modern, all-in-one community platform built for creators, coaches, brands, and digital membership operators looking for a sleek, interactive space to host discussions and digital product promotions.

Top Features

• Space-based discussion feeds
• Native online course hosting
• Interactive live streaming
• Automated event spaces
• Customizable profile fields,

Pricing: Circle’s Professional plan costs $89/month, and the Business plan is $199/month. Circle Plus runs on a custom pricing model.

11. Mighty Networks

Best For: Course-driven communities.

Mighty Networks is a business-oriented community platform that combines online learning and digital monetization under a single umbrella.

Top Features

• "Mighty Co-Host" AI assistant
• Native multi-feature spaces
• Structured online course delivery
• Live event scheduling
• Chat/direct messaging

Pricing: Mighty Network offers the “Launch” plan at $95/month, and the “Scale” plan at $215/month when billed monthly. Annual billing is $79/month and $179/month for each plan, respectively. Their premium plan, Mighty Pro, is available with custom pricing.

12. Salesforce Service Cloud

Best For: Enterprise CRM communities

Salesforce Service Cloud is an enterprise-level support and service framework that integrates with Salesforce Experience Cloud, allowing large corporations to transform their core CRM data into highly accessible, branded self-service and community portals.

Top Features

• Native CRM data mapping
• AI-powered Einstein analytics
• Omni-channel case management
• Extensive knowledge-base management
• Highly customizable partner or customer portal layouts.

Pricing: Salesforce Service Cloud offers the following plans and rates per user per month: Starter Suite ($25), Pro Suite($100), Enterprise ($165), and Unlimited ($330).

13. Slack

Best For: Internal team chatting.

Slack is a real-time collaboration hub structured around channels, optimized to replace internal email workflows and keep segmented organizational teams connected instantly.

Top Features

• Public and private channel-based messaging
• Direct threads
• Instant audio/video "Huddles"
• Asynchronous canvas notes
• Robust search database, and thousands of third-party SaaS integrations.

Pricing info: Slack features a limited free tier with a 90-day history limit. Paid plans start with the Pro tier at $7.25/user/month billed annually ($8.75 if billed monthly) and Business+ at $15/user/month billed annually ($18 if billed monthly). Custom pricing applies to Enterprise Grid configurations.

Wrapping Up: Additional Resources on Online Community Software

Launching an online community changes the way you connect with your organization’s members. By adding a modern, custom space to your current outreach (especially a mobile-first one like Clowder), you’ll improve engagement and strengthen retention.

For more strategies on growing your organization and keeping members connected, explore these resources:

• Association Mobile App Engagement: The Basics + 7 Strategies. Learn all about mobile app engagement and discover strategies to get your members excited.
• How to Increase App Adoption in Your Association. Explore tips to encourage your members to download and use your mobile engagement app.
• Mobile Apps for Associations: Everything You Need to Know. Curious about what a mobile engagement app offers? Check out this article to learn how these solutions benefit associations.