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Best Online Community Platforms 2026
Causes is a social advocacy app for following issues and supporting community campaigns.
Discourse is a self-hosted online discussion platform with a free plan, private spaces and event hosting.
DownToMeet runs on the web for group events, with RSVP questions, waitlists, attendance and privacy controls.
Daisie suits learners interested in creative subjects who want scheduled workshops, recorded lessons, or a community for feedback.
Elgg is a free, self-hosted social networking engine with plugins, custom themes and granular access controls.
MyBB is free, open-source forum software that runs on a web host and supports plugins, templates and themes.
Belong is an iOS app for finding local group plans, joining communities and chatting.
Question2Answer is free, open-source self-hosted Q&A software with search, voting, comments and account roles.
Rooster is a free web community for city residents to help, borrow, share rides and meet.
Archive of Our Own is a free, web-based nonprofit hosting site for transformative fanworks, including fanfiction.
phpBB is free, open-source bulletin board software for self-hosted forums, with extensions and styles.
Flarum suits communities ranging from small hobby groups to large enterprise forums.
Higher Logic Thrive is an online community platform with web and mobile access, private spaces and event hosting.
Khoros Communities is a paid web and mobile service with member-only spaces, events and custom domains.
Reddit is a free and paid online community platform for web, iOS and Android, with private spaces and events.
It suits companies that want customer communities, feedback collection, learning access, and configurable engagement spaces.