Free community & membership · saas in the Top 11

3 providers in the Top 11 Circle vs Discourse vs Bettermode: 11 Best Community Management Software 2026 offer a free tier; the most credible is Discourse.

Why this answer

Filtered to entries with a published free tier (not just a free trial). When the pricing page is ambiguous we err conservative — paid-only by default.

Showing all 3 matches. Top 11 publishes whatever the data supports — we don’t pad lists. See the full ranked Circle vs Discourse vs Bettermode: 11 Best Community Management Software 2026.

  1. #1Discourse(rank #2 in Circle vs Discourse vs Bettermode: 11 Best Community Management Software 2026)

    Free tier

    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)

    Free tier

    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)

    Free tier

    Best private, mobile-first professional community.

    Full Guild review · Alternatives

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