saasrankedSoftware, ranked on the facts

Customer Service

Best customer community software

Run a forum or member space where customers help each other, ask questions and give feedback. 8 customer community platforms, ranked by points out of 100.

Facts checked 9 Oct 2026 · How we score customer community platforms

Not scored yet: Invision Community, XenForo, vBulletin, Simple Machines Forum.

In short

  1. 1
    DiscourseCompanies that want a moderated, open-source support forum on their own domain
    93/100
    $100/mocheapest paid plan with a custom domain
  2. 2
    NodeBBTeams that want a forum on their own domain with an API and the option to self-host
    64/100
    $20/mocheapest paid plan with a custom domain
  3. 3
    BettermodeCompanies that want a branded customer community with CRM and support-desk integrations
    63/100
    $149/mocheapest paid plan with a custom domain
  4. 4
    Mighty NetworksBrands that want a hosted community with courses and events, with an API on Scale and above
    62/100
    $79.17/mocheapest paid plan with a custom domain
  5. 5
    FlarumTeams with a web host who want a free, lightweight forum they control
    54/100
    $0cheapest paid plan with a custom domain
  6. 6
    CircleBrands and customer teams that want a hosted community with spaces, events and courses
    54/100
    $89/mocheapest paid plan with a custom domain
  7. 7
    MyBBTeams with their own web host who want a free forum with built-in moderation tools
    47/100
    $0cheapest paid plan with a custom domain
  8. 8
    phpBBTeams that want a free, self-run forum with solid moderation tools
    46/100
    $0cheapest paid plan with a custom domain

How the points add up

Points earned out of the points available in each part of the method.

ProductPrice
of 18		Members and access
of 23		Moderation and answers
of 13		Connections
of 19		Your data
of 13		Security
of 14		Total
Discourse13231317131493
NodeBB12231187364
Bettermode41761961163
Mighty Networks72341161162
Flarum12138813054
Circle7234116354
MyBB12136013347
phpBB12138013046

Each customer community platform in brief

1. Discourse

Discourse suits teams that want an open-source support forum with documented moderation, an API and webhooks. Pro at $100 a month covers a custom domain and unlimited members. It also names SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001. The catch: no HubSpot integration is listed, and the written uptime guarantee is Enterprise only.

Best for: Companies that want a moderated, open-source support forum on their own domain. Prices, facts and sources

2. NodeBB

NodeBB suits teams that want a forum on their own domain, with the choice of vendor hosting or running it themselves. The cheapest hosted plan is $20 a month, and the code is GPL-3.0. The catch: hosted plans have no free tier, and NodeBB's pricing and about pages name no SOC 2 or ISO certificate, uptime guarantee or named integrations.

Best for: Teams that want a forum on their own domain with an API and the option to self-host. Prices, facts and sources

3. Bettermode

Bettermode suits companies that want a hosted community on their own domain and can pay for it. Starter costs $149 a month, but webhooks, OAuth2 and the CRM and support-desk integrations start at Growth, at about ten times that price. Member caps apply on every plan, and the vendor pages do not mention two-factor sign-in or marking an accepted answer.

Best for: Companies that want a branded customer community with CRM and support-desk integrations. Prices, facts and sources

4. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks suits teams that want a hosted community with a custom domain and unlimited members from $950 a year (about $79 a month). API access starts on the Scale plan. It can ban members and queue reported posts. The catch: SSO needs the Growth plan, and there is no free plan and no stated uptime guarantee.

Best for: Brands that want a hosted community with courses and events, with an API on Scale and above. Prices, facts and sources

5. Flarum

Flarum suits teams that can run their own PHP server and want a free forum with groups, moderation and an API. There is no hosted plan to buy, so uptime, security and upgrades are yours to handle. Single sign-on, webhooks and compliance certificates are not described in Flarum's published pages.

Best for: Teams with a web host who want a free, lightweight forum they control. Prices, facts and sources

6. Circle

Circle suits teams that want a hosted community with a custom domain and unlimited members at a published $89 a month. The API starts at $199 and SSO and webhooks at $419. The catch: no free plan, no named SOC 2 or ISO 27001 report and no uptime SLA are published.

Best for: Brands and customer teams that want a hosted community with spaces, events and courses. Prices, facts and sources

7. MyBB

MyBB suits teams that can run their own PHP server and want a free forum with group permissions, bans, spam tools and a plugin system. MyBB's published pages describe no hosted plan, so you install and host it yourself. The documentation names no single sign-on, API, integrations or compliance reports.

Best for: Teams with their own web host who want a free forum with built-in moderation tools. Prices, facts and sources

8. phpBB

phpBB suits teams that want a free forum they host themselves, with groups, permissions and moderation tools. The software costs nothing and the documentation names no member cap. The catch: you run the server yourself, and the admin guide describes no API or webhooks and no sign-in beyond LDAP, Apache and social OAuth.

Best for: Teams that want a free, self-run forum with solid moderation tools. Prices, facts and sources

Every fact, side by side

Each row is one rule of the method and the points it is worth. "–" means the vendor does not publish it, which earns nothing.

Rule (points)DiscourseNodeBBBettermodeMighty NetworksFlarumCircleMyBBphpBB
Free plan (6)YesNoNoNo–No––
Cheapest paid plan with a custom domain (12)$100/mo$20/mo$149/mo$79.17/mo$0$89/mo$0$0
Unlimited members (6)YesYesNoYesYesYesYesYes
Custom domain (3)YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Single sign-on (10)YesYesYesYes–Yes–No
Groups with their own permissions (4)YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Moderation tools (8)4 of 43 of 43 of 42 of 44 of 42 of 43 of 44 of 4
Accepted answers (5)YesYes––––––
Named integrations (8)3 of 4–4 of 40 of 4–0 of 4––
Public API (8)YesYesYesYesYesYes––
Webhooks (3)Yes–YesYes–Yes––
Export your community data (6)Yes–YesYesYesYesYesYes
Open source (4)YesYes––Yes–YesYes
Self-hosting (3)YesYes––Yes–YesYes
SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001 (8)Yes–YesYes––––
Written uptime guarantee (3)Yes–Yes–––––
Two-factor sign-in (3)YesYes–Yes–YesYes–

Head to head

We read each vendor's own pages, record every fact with its source and date, and score it by the rules on how we score customer community platforms. A tie goes to the lower price. Forum and member-space platforms a company can run for its customers, users or fans, hosted by the vendor or self-hosted. Course marketplaces, chat servers and quote-only enterprise suites are left out. Plan-based lines count a plan if it is on sale to anyone; quote-only plans are not priced. Vendor claims about speed or quality are shown on product pages but never scored. Prices are in US dollars before tax.