The 11 cheapest community & membership · saas

The cheapest provider in the Top 11 The 11 Best Community Management Software (2026) is Discourse, followed by Discord.

Why this answer

Sorted by published starting price, lowest first. We use each provider's lowest documented price band; where pricing is undisclosed, the entry falls to the bottom of the list.

Showing the top 11 of 11+ screened. Methodology at /methodology.

  1. #1Discourse(rank #2 in The 11 Best Community Management Software (2026))

    Best open-source, self-hostable forum platform.

    Full Discourse review · Compare: Discourse vs Discord · Alternatives

  2. #2Discord(rank #8 in The 11 Best Community Management Software (2026))

    Best free real-time chat community.

    Full Discord review · Alternatives

  3. #3Guild(rank #11 in The 11 Best Community Management Software (2026))

    Best private, mobile-first professional community.

    Full Guild review · Alternatives

  4. #4Bettermode(rank #3 in The 11 Best Community Management Software (2026))

    $49/mo+

    Best embeddable, customizable community for SaaS.

    Full Bettermode review · Alternatives

  5. #5Mighty Networks(rank #4 in The 11 Best Community Management Software (2026))

    $49/mo+

    Best creator bundle of community, courses, and app.

    Full Mighty Networks review · Alternatives

  6. #6Circle(rank #1 in The 11 Best Community Management Software (2026))

    $89/mo+

    Best all-in-one branded community platform.

    Full Circle review · Alternatives

  7. #7Skool(rank #5 in The 11 Best Community Management Software (2026))

    $99/mo+

    Best simple, gamified community-plus-courses tool.

    Full Skool review · Alternatives

  8. #8Khoros(rank #6 in The 11 Best Community Management Software (2026))

    Best enterprise community for support deflection.

    Full Khoros review · Alternatives

  9. #9Higher Logic(rank #7 in The 11 Best Community Management Software (2026))

    Best community platform for associations.

    Full Higher Logic review · Alternatives

  10. #10Hivebrite(rank #9 in The 11 Best Community Management Software (2026))

    Best branded platform for alumni networks.

    Full Hivebrite review · Alternatives

  11. #11Vanilla (Higher Logic Vanilla)(rank #10 in The 11 Best Community Management Software (2026))

    Best customizable community for support and Q&A.

    Full Vanilla (Higher Logic Vanilla) review · Alternatives

Methodology: /methodology · No paid placement ever · Verified .