Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover community platforms. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Mighty Networks | NodeBB | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $79 | From $20 |
| Pricing model | Free trial, then paid | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | 2% of what you earn | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web, iOS, Android | Web |
| Covers | Community Platforms, Courses & Coaching, Memberships & Subscriptions | Community Platforms |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
Community, courses and memberships
Mighty Networks puts the community first and hangs courses, events and paid memberships off it, which is the opposite order from a course platform that added a forum later. Members get a branded app rather than another tab. The transaction fee on the entry plan is small but real, and it disappears as the plans get dearer.
Our note
Against Circle and Skool this is the one that ships an app under your own name, and it is priced accordingly. If the app is not the point, the other two do the community half for less.
Only on this side
Forum software you can host yourself
NodeBB is forum software in the old sense, with categories and threads, built on Node.js and released under the GPL. You can run it on your own server for nothing, or pay NodeBB to host it and keep the plugins and backups somebody else's problem. Hosted plans are sized by pageviews rather than by seats, so a busy community with three moderators costs the same as a quiet one with thirty.
Our note
Take the self-hosted route only if somebody on your side is comfortable keeping a Node application patched. Otherwise the $20 plan is cheaper than the hours, and it is the same software either way.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.