Looking for a space to build a thriving community online for your most valuable audience members? Facebook Groups might be an easy starting point, but they often fall short as your community grows and evolves.
Once the initial excitement fades, you’ll likely notice the platform lacks advanced community features needed for building a community-centric business, such as custom branding, advanced analytics, and event management tools.
That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the best alternatives to Facebook Groups. From free messaging apps to powerful video streaming software, these simple free community platforms are packed with features designed to connect, engage, and scale your community the way you want.
15 Best Alternatives to Facebook Groups in 2025
⏰ 60-Second Summary
15 Best Alternatives to Facebook Groups:
- : Best for group collaboration with project management and workflow tools
- Slack: Best for professionals and corporate teams
- Discord: Best for streamers and gamers
- Mighty Networks: Best for creating a white-label online community
- LinkedIn: Best for professional networking and industry-specific groups
- Discourse: Best for creating structured, open-source community forums
- Circle: Best for community platforms with built-in course creation tools
- Kajabi Communities: Best for hosting and selling online courses
- Patreon: Best for creating a community to monetize content
- BuddyBoss: Best for building customizable online communities
- Reddit: Best for connecting with like-minded individuals in niche communities
- Bettermode: Best for managing professional, white-label customer communities on your website
- Telegram: Best for hosting large groups with monetized broadcasts and channels
- WhatsApp: Best for building both personal and professional communities
- Hivebrite: Best for building alumni networks and professional communities
Why Go for Facebook Group Alternatives?
Facebook Groups are an easy and popular way to connect with people and build online communities, thanks to their wide reach and accessibility. But, they do have a few limitations:
1. Inefficient file sharing
Files and attachments are scattered across posts and comments in any Facebook group, making them hard to locate or organize. You have to scroll endlessly to locate specific posts or documents.
2. Lack of customization
Sure, Facebook groups are easy to set up, but they’re not exactly customizable. Want to change the layout, font, or user experience to reflect your brand better? Nope. You’re stuck with Facebook’s one-size-fits-all approach.
3. Disorganized discussions
Running a Facebook group can feel like a part-time job. Between spam accounts, trolls, and limited admin controls, it’s hard to keep things running smoothly. And because Facebook’s tools are pretty rigid, you can’t customize how you manage posts, approvals, or moderation.
Here’s the good news: Facebook is not the only community-building platform. There are several platforms that give you way more control, helping you create a space that feels exactly like your brand.
Some of the Facebook group alternatives even offer tools for community monetization and engagement.
The 15 Best Alternatives to Facebook Groups: At a Glance
| Tool Name | Best Features | Suitable For | Pricing |
| Task and project management, customizable workspaces, real-time collaboration tools, and built-in community management templates | Group collaboration | Free | |
| Slack | Organized Conversations, DMs, Work-Share | Workplace | Free |
| Discord | Free Forums, Game Streaming | Gaming Forums | Free |
| Mighty Networks | Gated Memberships, People Explorer, AI-Boosted Member Engagement | Free & Paid Communities + Courses, Live Streams, & Events | $41/mo |
| Professional networking, targeted group discussions | Industry-focused communities | Free | |
| Discourse | Open Source Forums, Moderation Tools | Open-Source Software (GitHub) | $50/mo |
| Circle | Community Platform, DMs, & Courses | Communities | $89/mo |
| Kajabi Community | Async Courses, Email Marketing, & Funnels | Async Courses & Simple Memberships | $55/mo |
| Patreon | Subscription-based memberships | Creators and artists | 5% of earnings |
| BuddyBoss | Customizable community platform and online courses integration options | Building branded communities | $299/year |
| Discussion Forums, Answer Ratings | Open Convo Forums | Free | |
| Bettermode | White-Label Forums for Websites | Customer Communities on a Website | $19/mo |
| Telegram | Monetized Broadcasts, Channels & Chat | Livestream Broadcasts + Messaging | Free |
| Encrypted Chat (1:1 + Groups), WiFi Calling, Works w/ Mobile | 1:1 & Group Calling | Free | |
| Hivebrite | Forums, Event Management, & Job Boards | Alumni Communities | Custom |
The 15 Best Alternatives to Facebook Groups
We’ve tested a wide range of community platforms to find the best alternatives to Facebook groups, and we’re excited to share our findings. Here are the top options that allow you to create your own online community with enhanced user experiences.
1. (Best for group collaboration with project management and workflow tools)
If you’re searching for a Facebook group alternative that helps you connect and build meaningful connections with your community members, is just what you need.
is the everything app for work that combines project management, documents, and team communication, all in one platform—accelerated by next-generation AI automation and search. You can use it to invite members as guests or add them to your workspace for smooth collaboration across community-building projects.
With Chat, you can send personal DMs for one-on-one interactions. If you’re collaborating with or mentoring a team member, you can easily turn your conversations into actionable tasks.
Unlike Facebook groups, you don’t have to add multiple attachments repeatedly. Chat lets you link tasks and messages to ensure everyone knows the context. You can also organize Chat into Spaces by creating separate public and private channels for different ideas or projects.
Need to share community-wide updates? Use Posts to make announcements, spark discussions, or share exciting ideas.
The best part? You can find any message by using the Search feature in Chat. No more scrolling through hundreds of messages to find relevant information.
Getting started is super easy with the Community Management Template. It’s a ready-to-go setup that helps you organize your workspace, plan communication strategies, streamline workflows, and start building your community without wasting time figuring things out.
best features
- Record and share videos or on-screen walkthroughs effortlessly to communicate ideas or instructions visually with Clips
- Collaborate with community members in real time with Docs. It offers secure access controls to ensure privacy and security
- Automatically get project summaries and track task progress with Brain
- Easily streamline team strategies and align goals with pre-built, customizable communication plan templates
- Simplify your content planning with ready-to-use social media templates, designed to save time
- Integrate with over 1,000 apps like Slack, Google Drive, and Zoom with Integrations to manage everything in one place
limitations
- The wide range of features may overwhelm new users and require time to master
pricing
- Free Forever
- Unlimited: $7/month per user
- Business: $12/month per user
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
- Brain: Add to any paid plan for $7 per member per month
ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (9,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (4,000+ reviews)
What do real-life users say about ?
2. Slack (Best for workplace and corporate collaboration)
Slack is a popular enterprise communication tool for team collaboration and managing online communities. Unlike Facebook Groups, Slack keeps things organized and professional. You can create private spaces or channels for specific topics, attach files for easy collaboration, and create subgroups for specific discussions.
Want to connect with a member in real time for elaborate conversations? Use Huddle. Slack also lets you save important messages separately for easy access later.
Slack best features
- Pin important messages and resources within channels for easy access
- Customize notification preferences to reduce distractions
- Set reminders within conversations to stay on top of important tasks
Slack limitations
- Conversations are automatically deleted after 90 days in the free plan
Slack pricing
- Free
- Pro: $8.75/month
- Business+: $15/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Slack ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.5/5 (33,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (27,000+ reviews)
What do real-life users say about Slack?
3. Discord (Best for gaming and live streaming)
Discord offers a fresh way to connect and grow your community, especially for those who value real-time interactions. It works great for live streaming, gaming, or casual discussions. Team members can even add emojis and stickers, create custom avatars, and use soundboard effects to improve community engagement.
Looking to optimize your server? Try out some Discord hacks, like creating topic-specific channels to keep conversations focused and organized. You can also set custom permissions for each channel, ensuring access to relevant content and preventing overcrowded chats.
Discord best features
- Integrate platforms like Twitch and YouTube to centralize community interactions
- Automate tasks such as welcoming new members and managing roles with AI bots
- Communicate seamlessly with both voice and text options
- Add up to 250,000 members in a Discord servers
Discord limitations
- While voice chat is available, it lacks built-in video capabilities
Discord pricing
- Free
- Discord Nitro Basic: $2.99/month
- Discord Nitro: $9.99/month
Discord ratings and reviews
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (450+ reviews)
- G2: Not enough reviews
What do real-life users say about Discord?
4. Mighty Networks (Best for creating a white-label online community)
Mighty Networks lets you create a fully branded and profitable community. You can add your courses, memberships, and offers in one place. It offers flexible building blocks called Spaces to add custom features for your community.
MightNetworks also allows live streaming and real-time chat options. Community members can easily join from the web, Android, or iOS and connect with each other through private messages or small group chats.
Mighty Networks best features
- Integrate third-party apps to host events
- Scale effortlessly with no limits on hosts, members, or moderators
- Develop a branded mobile app to personalize your community experience
- Create resource libraries and schedule content for your courses
Mighty Networks limitations
- It does not offer a free plan
- New users familiar with Facebook Groups might find it challenging to adapt at first
Mighty Networks pricing
- Community: $49/month
- Courses Plan: $119/month
- Business: $219/month
- The Path-to-Pro Plan: $430/month
Mighty Networks ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.6/5 (350+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (80+ reviews)
What do real-life users say about Might Networks?
💡Pro Tip: Create a completely branded mobile app for your community using Mighty Pro by adding your business logo and color theme.
5. LinkedIn (Best for professional networking and industry-specific groups)
LinkedIn Groups offer a fantastic way to build a community within a social media platform. This is much like Facebook Groups but with a more professional edge. These groups create a community space where like-minded individuals can connect, exchange ideas, and grow together.
You can set group rules, invite your connections to join groups, and add the group link to your LinkedIn profile. It helps stay updated on industry trends while building a community that adds real value. LinkedIn also lets you run paid ads to promote your group.
LinkedIn best features
- Access global networking opportunities beyond geographic limits
- Share blogs, whitepapers, infographics, videos, and more with a focused audience
- Use groups to conduct market research and stay updated on trends
LinkedIn limitations
- It does not offer built-in options to monetize your group
- Live streaming is overly complex, requiring approval and external software to set up
LinkedIn pricing
- Free
- Premium: $29.99/month
- Business: $59.99/month
LinkedIn ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.3/5 (350+ reviews)
- Capterra: Not enough reviews
What do real-life users say about LinkedIn?
✨ Fun Fact: LinkedIn Groups date back to 2005, making them one of the oldest online community tools still in use today!
6. Discourse (Best for creating structured, open-source community forums)
Discourse is an open-source platform, hosted on GitHub. It’s like a modern twist on classic discussion forums. Discourse lets you add community moderators and has a handy notification feature to keep you updated when someone responds to your posts.
That said, Discourse is very basic compared to some of the more advanced community platforms out there. It’s best suited for developer communities with some coding knowledge, as setting it up on your own can be tricky.
Discourse best features
- Track and manage content efficiently with a simple queue system for moderators
- Customize notifications by setting granular alerts to watch specific categories
- Maintain oversight and resolve issues effectively with essential log tracking
- Monitor user interactions seamlessly by using helpful staff notes for multi-member engagements
Discourse limitations
- Discourse is designed with developers in mind and requires sysadmin skills for hosting and setup
- Moving from another personal community platform to Discourse can be difficult and time-consuming
Discourse pricing
- Starter: $20/month
- Standard: $100/month
- Business: $500/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Discourse ratings and reviews
- Capterra: Not enough reviews
- G2: 4.0/5 (60+ reviews)
What do real-life users say about Discourse?
💡Pro Tip: If you’re not tech-savvy, Discourse does offer a service to build the community for you, but it comes with a steep price tag—around $100/month.
7. Circle (Best for community platforms with built-in course creation tools)
Circle is a community platform for creators, coaches, and entrepreneurs who want to earn passive income through their courses and events. Within the platform, you can create cohort-based groups and drip lessons, send bulk DMs, and conduct personal or group coaching sessions.
It even lets you create a personal home feed for all community members and send automated weekly digests to improve engagement. Circle’s best feature is the live video experience. You can set office hours, conduct live AMA sessions, and do livestreaming to interact with your community.
Circle best features
- Customize the platform to reflect your unique brand identity
- Facilitate private and direct messaging and group discussions to foster deeper connections
- Create custom landing pages for live events
Circle limitations
- Spaces aren’t versatile; you can’t combine discussions with course spaces
- The Android app is limited, and there’s no option for a white-label app
Circle pricing
- Professional: $89/ month
- Business: $199/month
- Enterprise: $360/month
- Plus Branded App: Custom pricing
Circle ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.8/5 (60+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.8/5 (20+ reviews)
What do real-life users say about Circle?
✨ Fun Fact: Circle’s watercooler-style spaces allow for casual discussions, making it great for fostering off-topic connections in professional groups.
8. Kajabi Communities (Best for hosting and selling online courses)
Kajabi is widely recognized as a platform for building and managing online businesses. It allows you to create your own branded website, design course curriculums or coaching programs, process payments, run marketing campaigns, and set up sales funnels—all from one place.
What sets Kajabi apart as an alternative to Facebook Groups is its Community Product feature. This tool enables you to build a community space directly on your website, functioning much like a forum.
Kajabi Communities best features
- Build a membership website with a robust website builder
- Access a wide range of customizable landing page templates
- Utilize built-in email marketing tools for seamless group communication
- Use sales funnel software to engage leads at every stage of their journey
- Create gamified learning experiences with progress tracking, quizzes, and certificates
Kajabi Communities limitations
- Limited tools for student and community engagement
- Pricing can be expensive for community-building purposes
Kajabi Communities pricing
- Kickstarter: $69/month
- Basic: $149/month
- Growth: $199/month
- Pro: $399/month
Kajabi Communities ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.3/5 (80+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (200+ reviews)
What do real-life users say about Kajabi Communities?
9. Patreon (Best for creating a community to monetize content)
Patreon makes it easier for content creators to grow and monetize their communities. It is a membership platform that lets you easily earn income through subscription services. The setup is simple: sign up, create your subscription tiers, and start offering exclusive perks to your fans. These perks can include access to your Patreon feed, members-only group chats, forums, and other special bonuses.
Patreon offers a way to connect with your audience on a deeper level. You give your fans the VIP treatment while building a sustainable community structure around your work. Who wouldn’t love that?
Patreon best features
- Create exclusive forums for specific membership tiers with Discourse integration
- Assign tier-based roles on Discord to recognize loyal supporters
- Earn ongoing income through recurring subscriptions
Patreon limitations
- It offers not as much control compared to managing groups on your own website
- Patreon deducts a percentage of your earnings gained through the platform
Patreon pricing
- Free
- Pro: 8% of earnings
- Premium: 12% of earnings
Patreon ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.1/5 (60+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.9/5 (100+ reviews)
What do real-life users say about Patreon?
🧠 Did you know? Creators on Patreon collectively earned over $8 billion since its launch—making it a top platform for monetized communities.
10. BuddyBoss (Best for building customizable online communities)
BuddyBoss started out as open-source software, giving users the freedom to tweak and customize it however they wanted. Over time, it evolved into an online community platform.
With BuddyBoss, you can create a Facebook-like community experience directly on your WordPress site. It lets you add custom community-building and management features, such as online stores, translations, activity dashboards, and mentions. However, it has limited design options, so you’ll need a good theme to make your site visually appealing.
BuddyBoss best features
- Create user profiles, news feeds, private messaging, forums, and social groups with built-in features
- Integrate seamlessly with LearnDash and WooCommerce to sell content through subscriptions or one-time payments
- Enhance member engagement by adding gamification, job boards, events, and more with compatible WordPress plugins
BuddyBoss limitations
- While user-friendly, it may take time to master if you’re new to WordPress or community platforms
- Additional plugins may be required for specific functionalities
BuddyBoss pricing
- Single Site Plan: $299/year
- Five Site Plan: $349/year
- Ten Site Plan: $449/year
- Standard Plan: $179/month, billed annually
- Done For You Service: For an additional one-time fee of $1,999, this service offers enhanced branding and marketing design services, added to the Standard plan
- Developer Add-on: A one-time fee of $299
BuddyBoss ratings and reviews
11. Reddit (Best for connecting with like-minded individuals in niche communities)
Reddit works a lot like Facebook Groups but gives you more control over your community and doesn’t mess with user data. You can set up a subreddit to bring people with shared interests together to discuss topics in a well-organized way. It also allows users to subscribe to specific communities or topics, which helps build a sense of connection and belonging.
Brands can create subreddits to respond to user questions and feedback and engage in discussions with their target audience. Reddit communities also help businesses understand their customers’ pain points, preferences, and trends by observing conversations.
Reddit best features
- Choose from four types of communities on Reddit: public, restricted, private, or premium-only
- Add unique rules and guidelines tailored to each subreddit
- Upvote or downvote content based on its relevance, interest, and helpfulness to the community
Reddit limitations
- No built-in option to monetize your group or generate revenue directly
- Lacks a video-chat feature, limiting real-time interaction options
Reddit pricing
- Free for users and businesses to create a subreddit. Ads are paid
Reddit ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.2/5 (50+ reviews)
- Capterra: Not enough reviews
What do real-life users say about Reddit?
💡Pro Tip: Use Reddit’s Award System to give ‘awards’ to members with exceptional posts or comments, boosting community engagement.
12. Bettermode (Best for managing professional, white-label customer communities on your website)
Looking for a way to build a branded customer community right on your company’s website? Bettermode (formerly Tribe) could be just what you need. This white-label platform integrates directly into your corporate site, giving you a professional forum space where your audience can connect and engage.
With Bettermode, you can lead discussions, share content, and create a mobile app with your branding. Your customers can participate by posting images and videos, joining polls, and engaging in discussions organized by specific community spaces freely.
Bettermode best features
- Set up automation rules to reduce spam and ensure community privacy and safety
- Enable forum-based discussions under your company’s brand
- Organize conversations efficiently using spaces
Bettermode limitations
- Lacks chat features compared to other workplace communication tools
- Does not support event hosting
Bettermode pricing
- Free
- Lite: $24/month
- Pro: $59/month
- Business: $119/month
Bettermode ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.6/5 (100+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.8/5 (90+ reviews)
What do real-life users say about Bettermode?
💡Pro Tip: You can use Bettermode’s customizable analytics dashboard to monitor trends and engagement within your community.
13. Telegram (Best for hosting large groups with monetized broadcasts and channels)
Telegram started as a community chat app, but it’s much more than that now. Think of it as a mix of email, live streaming, and messaging. You can send messages, share videos, and upload files in a group.
It lets you set up different channels and create communities focused on specific topics. You can also pin group rules and important messages. What makes Telegram a great alternative to Facebook Groups is its broadcast option to go live and connect with your target audience members in real time.
Telegram best features
- Create groups of up to 200,000 members
- Reply to specific messages in group chats by swiping left and typing your response
- Mention members in a group chat to grab their attention and involve them instantly in the conversation
Telegram limitations
- Primarily one-directional, lacking true community interaction
- No support for live events or online courses
Telegram pricing
Telegram ratings and reviews
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (6,000+ reviews)
- G2: Not enough reviews
What do real-life users say about Telegram?
💡Pro Tip: Try Telegram’s polls and quizzes to make your channels more interactive and keep members engaged.
14. WhatsApp (Best for building both personal and professional communities)
While WhatsApp is widely used as a personal messaging app, it also allows users to create a private (free or paid) community space to connect with like-minded individuals, current customers, or potential clients. WhatsApp supports group chats, business messaging, and even voice and video calls for seamless real-time communication.
You can send community announcements in the general chat, create community events, and use AI to get quick answers to any questions. Plus, WhatsApp’s large group size lets you connect with tons of members all in one place.
WhatsApp best features
- Create subgroups within the community for specific topics
- Approve or remove members and control who can send messages to the group
- Add members via links or directly from contacts
WhatsApp limitations
- Anyone with your phone number can access your personal information and status unless you adjust the privacy settings
- WhatsApp restricts the number of images you can send at once
WhatsApp pricing
WhatsApp ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (80+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (15,000+ reviews)
What do real-life users say about WhatsApp?
15. Hivebrite (Best for building alumni networks and professional communities)
Hivebrite is a dedicated private community platform, built with alumni networks in mind. It offers features like discussion forums, groups, and subgroups, a branded mobile app, and even a job board to share opportunities. You can link it with your CRM to manage live events, ticketing, and attendee lists without breaking a sweat.
It also lets you create custom profile options to limit members’ visibility and searchability so community members can’t send spam messages to others. That said, Hivebrite leans more toward networking than building an active, super-engaged community.
Hivebrite best features
- Establish regional chapters to cater to local communities and expand your reach
- Access valuable data and analytics tools to track engagement and improve performance
- Organize and manage live events seamlessly with built-in scheduling features
- Create branded mobile apps to offer a personalized experience for your community members
Hivebrite limitations
- The platform design and interface can feel a bit outdated
Hivebrite pricing
- Connect: $799/month
- Scale: Custom pricing
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Hivebrite ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (100+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (60+ reviews)
What do real-life users say about Hivebrite?
Upgrade From Facebook Groups With
Sure, Facebook Groups are a convenient way to connect with people, expand your network, and promote your products. However, to build and scale a truly thriving online community, you need a dedicated community platform that allows easy customization and organized interaction.
For a simple professional community, LinkedIn Groups is the best Facebook alternative. If you’re looking to create a niche community for your brand, Mighty Networks might be the right fit. But if you want a platform that makes collaboration effortless, is the best Facebook group alternative.
With , you can effortlessly build and manage your online community, collaborate with group members, track task progress, automate repetitive tasks, and so much more.
Sign up for today and elevate your community-building efforts!
Everything you need to stay organized and get work done.
