When it comes to community platforms, Hivebrite is a well-established name. However, it's important to remember that there's no such thing as a 'one-size-fits-all' solution.

The Hivebrite platform may not be the best fit for your online community. So, let's embark on an exciting exploration to uncover the top-notch Hivebrite alternatives, each boasting unique features to engage and grow your online community effectively.

A Quick Overview: Hivebrite Online Community Platform

Hivebrite is a comprehensive, fully customizable community management and engagement platform. It empowers organizations of all sizes and sectors to launch, manage, and grow fully branded private communities. Packed with powerful features such as member and content management, event organization, and analytics, Hivebrite provides all the tools needed to create a vibrant community.

Its flexibility, building block approach, and multi-use capability allow it to cater to various needs, including alumni and professional networks, nonprofits, and corporate communities. Hivebrite's intuitive interface and advanced features make it a popular choice among community managers worldwide.

Hivebrite: Features and Reviews

Despite the impressive features that Hivebrite brings to the table, it may still fall short when it comes to providing the necessary tools to scale and manage online communities seamlessly. Real users have voiced their concerns about Hivebrite, highlighting some areas that need improvement when it comes to technical support, expensive pricing, limited customizations, and such. Read reviews from real users from Capterra.

In this blog, we will journey through Learning Management Systems (LMS) and explore superior alternatives to Hivebrite. Each alternative brings unique features and capabilities to the table, catering to a variety of community needs.

What we'll explore together:

• Best Overall - For Learning Communities, Accelerators, and Paid Memberships: Disco
• Best for Influencers and Content Creators: Mighty Networks
• Best for Open-Source Discussion Platforms: Discourse
• Best for Professional Communities: Slack
• Best for Casual Chatting: Discord
• Best for Creators and Brands: Circle

Among these, Disco stands out as the leading and comprehensive community software for every community--ranging from learning communities, accelerators, paid membership, non-profits, professional associations, and even corporate learning.

Its revenue generation and business growth model are specifically designed for educational institutions, startups, niche communities, and brands, satisfying the needs of community members effectively. What distinctive features do other platforms have? Let’s examine.

#1 Disco: The Best Overall Hivebrite Alternative for Learning Communities, Accelerators, Paid Memberships, and More!

DISCO stands out as the best overall Hivebrite alternative, especially for learning communities, accelerators, and paid memberships. This platform is a cut above the rest due to its comprehensive analytics, customization options, automation, and integration capabilities.

But what sets it apart is its effective revenue generation and business growth model, catering specifically to the needs of every online community. Its ability to be customized for specific roles, job functions, learning styles, and proficiency levels makes it a versatile and adaptable solution.

Plus, Disco is trusted by well-known companies in the industry including AltMBA, WeAreNoCode, YSpace, Dribbble, HyperIsland, and more! Read our user stories and discover how Disco helps them scale their communities.

5 Biggest Features: Customization, Automation, Engagement, Scalability, and Affordable Pricing

Disco offers a multitude of features that make it a standout alternative to Hivebrite. Here, we'll delve into the 5 biggest features: customization, automation, engagement, scalability, and affordable pricing.

Customization

The Disco app takes customization to a new level. The platform offers custom onboarding, allowing you to create a unique and personalized experience for each new member. It also provides custom profile feeds, ensuring that every member gets content tailored to their interests and needs.

Moreover, Disco allows for customizable learning experiences. You can create courses, host live events, and even customize dashboards to fit the unique needs of your members. This level of customization ensures that your community members have a unique and personalized experience, enhancing their engagement and satisfaction.

Automation

One of the standout features of Disco is its powerful automation. The platform boasts an AI Co-Pilot, which automates responses to member inquiries, saving time and enhancing efficiency. Disco also offers a range of productivity tools, including an AI writing and image generation tool, allowing you to automate content creation and management, freeing up your time to focus on other aspects of community management.

Engagement

At Disco, we understand the importance of member engagement in building a thriving online community. The platform offers a range of features designed to enhance engagement, including event management, member management, social feeds, and a member directory. You can also create channels for different topics or groups, further enhancing engagement. Plus, Disco integrates with Slack, allowing for seamless communication and collaboration.

Scalability

Finally, DISCO is designed to scale with your community. The platform offers learning products, analytics, and a membership feature, all designed to equip your community to grow and thrive. You can also offer discount codes to attract new members and keep existing ones engaged. For larger communities, it offers an enterprise service, providing the support and features you need to manage a large and active community effectively.

Disco offers a 14-day free trial for first-time users. If you are ready, sign up and enjoy our little gift! You could also try first our interactive product tour to experience the platform without signing up!

#2 Mighty Networks: Excellent for Influencers and Content Creators

Mighty Networks is a robust platform for community building that seamlessly integrates community, content, courses, and commerce, proving to be an invaluable resource for content creators. This platform allows you to build your own online community space, offering a wide range of features to enhance member engagement and promote content sharing.

Key Features:

• Community, content, courses, and commerce integration
• Monetization options
• Online course hosting
• Comprehensive center for knowledge sharing and professional development
• Detailed member data and analytics tools

With MN, you can for community membership, sell individual spaces, offer online courses, and organize live events, making it a viable alternative to Facebook groups. However, navigating the platform is challenging for beginners and some features require a paid subscription.

Mighty Network Pricing Plans:

Community - $39/month, Business - $119/month, Mighty Pro - Contact the Team

#3 Discourse: Ideal for Open-Source Discussion Platforms

Discourse is an open-source platform that provides a robust, customizable solution for those seeking a forum-based community. It is designed for building engaging and interactive online discussion platforms. Discourse is ideal for those who appreciate a broad range of customization options and prefer self-hosted solutions. Apart from this, the tool offers comparable features and functionality to engage members.

Key Features:

• Open-source platform
• Wide range of customization options
• Ideal for self-hosted solutions
• Discounts for educational and non-profit organizations
• Comprehensive forum-based community features
• Advanced moderation tools
• Trust system for community members
• Mobile-friendly design
• Seamless integration with other platforms

Discourse is a completely open-source platform, ideal for users who prefer self-hosted solutions and appreciate a broad range of customization options. However, it's not the best choice for non-tech-savvy operators. Navigating the advanced customization options can be super challenging.

Discourse Pricing Plans:

Basic - $50/month. Standard - $100/month. Business - $300/month

#4 Slack: Preferred by Professional Communities

Slack focuses on real-time communication and private messaging among team members, allowing them to share information and engage in meaningful discussions. Slack is ideal for professional communities, businesses, and teams of any size, as it fosters a productive and cooperative environment.

Through these interactions, members build meaningful relationships, fostering a collaborative and supportive environment. It's more than just a chat room - it's a workspace that connects users with the people and resources they need to get work done.

Key Features:

• Real-time messaging for quick and effective communication
• Threaded conversations for organized discussions
• Video and voice calls for seamless collaboration
• File sharing for easy access to important documents
• Powerful search functionality to find the information you need
• Integration with other productivity tools such as Google Drive, Trello, and Dropbox
• Customizable notifications to keep you updated without distractions
• Secure and enterprise-ready, with extensive security measures in place.

Slack <> Disco

Disco's integration with Slack is a key feature that enhances the functionality of both platforms. This integration allows for seamless communication and collaboration between community members, fostering a more connected and engaged online community.

Members can easily share information, engage in discussions, and collaborate on projects, all within the familiar interface of Slack. The integration also simplifies community management by consolidating notifications, updates, and community interactions into one platform.

Slack Pricing Plans:

With Free Forever Plan! Pro - USD 7.25 per person/month. Business - USD 12.50 per person/month.

#5 Discord: Perfect for Casual Chatting and Hanging Out

Discord is a popular platform designed to bring people together around their shared interests. It's a home for communities of any size, offering a space for people to chat, hang out, and create connections. From gaming groups to art communities, Discord provides a versatile and user-friendly environment for casual conversations and interactions.

Key Features:

• Real-time voice, video, and text communication channels
• Customizable server creation for communities of any size
• Direct messaging and group chats for private conversations
• Integrated media sharing for easy sharing of photos, videos, and links
• Robust moderation tools to maintain community standards
• Screen sharing and streaming capabilities for interactive experiences
• Cross-platform compatibility allows you to stay connected from any device

Discord, recognized for its intuitive voice and text chat features, is favored by school clubs, gaming communities, and social groups for informal conversations and interactions. However, for our vibrant online community organization, its limited features were insufficient. Select Disco if you want better features designed to scale your community.

Discord Pricing Plans:

Free Forever! However, you need to pay for Nitro and other customization and swag features.

#6 Circle: A Versatile Platform for Creators and Brands

Circle is a modern platform designed specifically for creators and brands to build independent, vibrant, and engaged communities. It's a good alternative for Mighty Network and Facebook group with digital spaces where your audience can connect, share, and grow together.

Circle combines the familiarity of traditional forums with the ease of modern social networks, offering a user-friendly and customizable interface that can be integrated with your favorite tools.

Key Features:

• User-friendly and intuitive interface
• Highly customizable to match your brand
• Powerful community-building features
• Seamless integration with popular tools like Zapier, Memberstack, and more
• Offers both public and private spaces
• Enables direct messaging and notifications
• Provides in-depth analytics to track community growth

Circle's Pricing Plans:

Professional - $99/month. Business - $219/month. Enterprise - $399/month.

Learn more about Circle Alternatives of 2024!

Our Final Note

While Hivebrite has its strengths, there's a whole universe of alternatives out there, each with its unique offerings and catering to diverse community needs. Standing tall among these choices is Disco, which has carved out a niche for itself as the best overall alternative to Hivebrite.

With its comprehensive and complete community platform, Disco is specifically designed to cater to learning communities, accelerators, and paid memberships. It's not just about features, but about creating a cohesive, engaging, and thriving community. So, why not see it in action?

We invite you to book a live demo with Disco and experience firsthand how it can transform your online community. You could also start with our 14-day free trial to begin building your community and see if it fits your needs before committing to our paid plans.