The 11 cheapest community & membership · saas

The cheapest provider in the Top 11 Circle vs Discourse vs Bettermode: 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 Circle vs Discourse vs Bettermode: 11 Best Community Management Software 2026)

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    Best open-source, self-hostable forum platform.

    Full Discourse review · Compare: Discourse vs Discord · Alternatives

  2. #2Discord(rank #8 in Circle vs Discourse vs Bettermode: 11 Best Community Management Software 2026)

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    Best free real-time chat community.

    Full Discord review · Alternatives

  3. #3Guild(rank #11 in Circle vs Discourse vs Bettermode: 11 Best Community Management Software 2026)

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    Best private, mobile-first professional community.

    Full Guild review · Alternatives

  4. #4Bettermode(rank #3 in Circle vs Discourse vs Bettermode: 11 Best Community Management Software 2026)

    $49/mo+

    Best embeddable, customizable community for SaaS.

    Full Bettermode review · Alternatives

  5. #5Mighty Networks(rank #4 in Circle vs Discourse vs Bettermode: 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 Circle vs Discourse vs Bettermode: 11 Best Community Management Software 2026)

    $89/mo+

    Best all-in-one branded community platform.

    Full Circle review · Alternatives

  7. #7Skool(rank #5 in Circle vs Discourse vs Bettermode: 11 Best Community Management Software 2026)

    $99/mo+

    Best simple, gamified community-plus-courses tool.

    Full Skool review · Alternatives

  8. #8Khoros(rank #6 in Circle vs Discourse vs Bettermode: 11 Best Community Management Software 2026)

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    Best enterprise community for support deflection.

    Full Khoros review · Alternatives

  9. #9Higher Logic(rank #7 in Circle vs Discourse vs Bettermode: 11 Best Community Management Software 2026)

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    Best community platform for associations.

    Full Higher Logic review · Alternatives

  10. #10Hivebrite(rank #9 in Circle vs Discourse vs Bettermode: 11 Best Community Management Software 2026)

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    Best branded platform for alumni networks.

    Full Hivebrite review · Alternatives

  11. #11Vanilla (Higher Logic Vanilla)(rank #10 in Circle vs Discourse vs Bettermode: 11 Best Community Management Software 2026)

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    Best customizable community for support and Q&A.

    Full Vanilla (Higher Logic Vanilla) review · Alternatives

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