As a Community Manager, creating a community experience that is both engaging and practical for your users is your top priority. But finding a community platform that does everything you need, and is simultaneously easy to use can be quite a challenging task. For that reason, many Community Managers gravitate towards the first or best-known platforms they find online. Mighty Networks is one such example.

Why Mighty Networks is a great community platform

Mighty Networks really is a great platform, and because it’s been around for a while, it’s tried and trusted by countless users around the world. The platform has a particular focus on helping businesses create and develop online courses. The platform also assists in building branded mobile apps as well as establishing and growing communities. It can when used correctly, empower businesses, Community Managers, and creators to capitalize on the collective community rather well. And with an added focus on data security, it appears to be an all-rounder. So, why might it not be the best fit for you?

Why you might want to explore alternatives

If you have one particular focus, let’s say creating professional connections for collaboration and mentoring, for instance, Mighty Networks can oftentimes feel overwhelming. Simply put, the platform does a lot all at once, so it’s not always the most user-friendly experience. Searching for particular functions or chats for instance can be difficult, and so on a practical level, it can quickly disrupt enthusiasm and engagement within the community.

The top 5 Mighty Networks alternatives

Teachable: Easy to set up and navigate, Teachable is a wonderful platform for communities that prioritize courses. And unlike Mighty Networks, Teachable allows authors of courses to create certificates for completion. While Teachable does not have a strong community element, it does allow further monetization, with the added ability to recruit affiliates to sell courses on your behalf.

Panion: If you’re looking to create a platform that is not only user-friendly but optimized for engagement, Panion is the best option for you. With discussion groups, events, match-making, detailed user profiles, as well as search and filtering functions, community members are empowered to meet, engage and connect with new people. It’s a powerful platform to ensure you’re getting people together in a meaningful and long-lasting way.

Hivebrite: With its long list of features and user-friendly interface, many communities have praised Hivebrite for how quickly the platform helped them achieve their professional goals (in both the corporate and education sectors). Moreover, with the ability to integrate easily with other management applications, it can simplify a Community Managers work considerably.

Tribe: Aimed at bigger corporations, Tribe is the ideal solution for creating discussions, sharing content, and positing polls to really get in the minds of customers. And with powerful white-labeling capabilities, Tribe allows large companies to enjoy the benefits of a community while operating under their own look. One drawback unfortunately is that Tribe doesn’t allow members to access a mobile app version.

Circle: If you’ve already got your courses sorted, and have an existing tech stack, Circle is the ideal platform to use as a complementary tool to add a community layer. With discussion group and live stream capabilities, with some basic events features, Circle is a good option for communities looking to create engagement. However, it must also be noted that Circle charges more money as you grow your community, so the costs can increase significantly over time.

Last thoughts

As a Community Manager, you might have a long list of goals and actions for our community. But it is also important to remember that one community platform might not necessarily do everything you need. Or at the very least, do everything you need very well. Keep this in mind as you shop around by identifying the top non-negotiable criteria, and the ones you might be able to live without. If you find that every single item on your list of criteria is important, you might have to sacrifice functionality quality by choosing a single platform; or alternatively, if you want a high-quality experience for your members, you might need to investigate using more than one platform. If you need more information and still feel undecided, have a look at this blog that rounds up the top community platforms for 2022. In this article, you’ll find all the information on why these platforms work as well as they do, and how they can meet your needs for the year ahead.