Most effective Free Community Management Software (2023)

The management of your online community does not have to be a nightmare.

In fact, there's a wide range of free software for managing your community that which you can utilize to build or expand your community. All you need to do is must know where to go.

If you have the best community software, platform for scheduling, and tools for communication You can transform the community management process a well-oiled machine that keeps your members engaged and happy all-hours of the day.

Here's our pick of the top 7 best free community management software in 2023 - including key attributes and features you can get from free and premium plans.

Skip ahead:

•         Best tools for managing communities
•         7 best free software for community administration      
•             Software comparison table
•             Buffer
•             Then
•             Discourse
•             Common Room
•             Discord
•             Slack

Best tools to manage community

If you're trying to build an online community that is centered around your company, it's beneficial to have a range of tools that can help to manage, build the community, and expand it.

The ideal community management software will create a community that runs effortlessly and effectively versus one that feels like a baby bird constantly asking for food.

Here are a few of the top tools to keep in your toolkit

• Tools for social media social media tools: Social media is the fastest way to grow your audience and convert followers into paid subscribers. That means effective community management needs to include tools to automate your social media management - so you're engaging your community, even when you're off the grid.
• Chat and discussion software keep your audience coming back by providing chat and discussion software that makes it easy for users to talk about with each other, exchange ideas, and start conversations around your business. These tools remove digital friction for community members which makes chatting simple and easy.

These community management tools all add up to a simpler and more enjoyable life for both you and your team. The best part? The software is available at no cost.

Best 7 community management software that is free

If you're in search of a free community management software - take a look. Here's our pick of the top 7 best community management tools for free to build your network, connect with your audience, and keep the things going smoothly.

Community management software comparability table

Attract attention from your target audience and keep it by creating an interactive online community that allows members to engage in conversation, participate, and reply immediately to feedback - all via the gadgets they are most likely to use.

Community builders can benefit from an all-in-one community management system that's been designed with the idea of monetization in mind. Set up your community create your membership and convert your community into paying customers with digital items, subscription tiers online courses, and so on. Sell them as standalone products or bundle them into packages to increase your credibility and increase your revenue.

With , you can create an authentic community space that is personalized with member profiles, so users can connect with each other and connect with one another. You can also keep your space clean of advertisements and other distractions, by hosting the entire thing under your brand, with customizable templates, including the colors, fonts, and much more. puts the control in your own hands so that you can build your community your way.

Principal attributes

• Drag and drop course creator
• Template library of template and theme
• Fully integrated e-commerce
• A dedicated app store
• 100% Content Ownership

Pricing

"'s Free program includes:

• 1 Community
• 2 spaces per community
• 1 Administrator
• Unlimited members
• 1 online course
• zero transaction fees

Paid plans start from $36 per month for annual plans that include additional community management features, including numerous spaces for each community as well as unlimited courses.

Buffer

Social media is among the easiest ways to grow your following organically and increase the number of people who visit your online community and membership site. Buffer provides free software for managing your community to assist you in managing all your social media channels, including recommended hashtags, individual recommendations for what and when to publish, and easy team collaboration tools.

With Buffer, you can improve community management to the next step with simple scheduling and tools to manage social media such as automating the posting of Instagram Reels, Stories, as well as Carousels. It also supports Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube and more. Begin with a trial plan or sign up for an upgrade to a premium plan that gives you access to in-depth analytics and extra engagement tools that give you even more control and automation choices.

Principal features

• Schedule social posts to several platforms
• Landing page builder
• In-depth analytics and report
• AI Assistant
• is compatible with every social network

Pricing

Buffer's free service comprises:

• 3 social media channels
• 30 scheduled posts
• 1 User
• 50 credits to Buffer AI assistant
• Instagram Reels as well as Carousels
• Instagram Stories scheduling

Paid plans begin at $6 per channel per month with monthly plans. You can add additional channels at $6 per month.

later

If you're satisfied to pay for a premium plan to schedule more posts each month, and to add additional social sets and users. The paid plans of Later also offer users their very own exclusive time to publish on Instagram for engaging your audience You can also plan your first comments on Instagram also. Get a 14-day free trial of any plan that is paid to see the if Later is the right choice for you.

Principal attributes

• Automated publishing of postings on social media
• Visual Planner for Instagram
• Instagram Reels auto publishing
• Hashtag suggestion
• Built-in insights and analytics

Pricing

Later's plan for free includes:

• 5 posts per month per social platform
• 1 social profile per platform
• 1 person
• 1 Access Group
• 1 Linkin.bio page
• Unlimited media storage
• Video, Photo and Reel schedule
• Visual Instagram Planner

Paid plans start from $40 per month, for monthly plans offering more posts, users and team as well as brands management tools.

Discourse

The most successful communities are founded on conversations - and that's exactly what Discourse really is about. This free community management software will help you cut down the complexity of many social media platforms and put discussions at the center of your group.

Discourse includes all the features you need to spark quality discussion with your group online such as @ mentions, simple quoting and linking to topics and replies interactive notifications, as well as live chat. Community members can also tailor their experience using a custom sidebar that lets them access the conversations and content they're interested in. forums are accessible for tablets and smartphones too.

One of the main benefits of using Discourse to manage your community is the fact that it's designed to defend itself from trolls and scammers as well as reporting harmful actors is easy. Additionally, you can increase the positive involvement in your community through badges and likes so it's easier to create a secure environment for all.

Discourse is free and open source - however, you'll require a method to host it and some technical knowledge to get it set up. You can join official Discourse hosting which starts from $50 per month, with the option of testing Discourse for free using a 14-day trial.

Principal attributes

• Open source discussion and chat platform
• Simple reporting for safer communities
• Dynamic notifications and mentions
• Chat in real-time
• Custom sidebar for members

Pricing

Discourse is a completely open-source forum software that is free to use So you can begin using it immediately for free. If you're interested in the official Discourse hosting, pricing starts at $50/month.

Common room

Designed to help you track the interactions of your customers Common Room offers free community management software which gives you precise information about what's going on in your community. Make use of the platform to determine your most influential customers and clients - as well as those who are most susceptible to losing customers.

Aimed at established brands and companies looking to create a powerful customer community, Common Room is all about harnessing the power of digital engagement to drive growth. Smaller businesses, however, can profit from the broad range of features available through Common Room's free plan, that includes unlimited members of the community and 3 custom reports.

Key attributes

• A community-led platform for growth
• Tools for engagement and reportage
• Real-time community insights
• provides context for marketing and sales teams
• Integrates into popular CRM solutions

Pricing

Common Room's no-cost plan includes:

• Unlimited community members
• 3 custom reports
• 3 Team alerts
• 3 workflows
• Community support
• 3 segments

The paid plans start at $20k for larger teams with unlimited custom reports and alerts for teams of any size as well as unlimited workflows. Try it for 30 days with a free trial.

Discord

For an additional layer to your online community, use community management software that's tailored to live chats and events that bring excitement to your community. It can be used for live streaming, phone calls and many more. Discord allows your members to talk in real-time using audio, video, and text. Designed to make conversation easy and fun, it allows you to begin real conversations and have chat that feels natural, seamless, and, most important of all, fun!

Depending on your aims in your community, decide to create public or private spaces that are accessible to members of Discord. This software also allows the sharing of files in a simple and straightforward manner with your community, so it is possible to send targeted content to members and keep them engaged. This software is specifically designed for large communities, but has a host of benefits for smaller businesses too. What's more? The service is completely free.

Principal features

• Software for discussion and forums
• Mention the members directly
• Direct Chat and Messaging Tools
• Customized alerts and notifications
• Collaboration tools

Pricing

Discord is completely free however their paid Nitro plan grants you access to even more features including custom emojis, custom profiles, the option to share bigger files, and HD video streaming. Nitro starts at $9.85 per month.

Slack

It was initially designed to be a productive platform, Slack offers an alternative way to connect with your group. While it lacks the range of functions offered by dedicated online community platforms, Slack is an easy-to-use channel for chatting with members of your community online. Easily start conversations, send videos and audio messages, share files from Google Drive as well as jump on a live call to chat one-on-one.

On Slack, conversations are organized in threads. This means that discussions can be easily followed and understand. Create separate threads to cover different classes, topics and groups - that way you are able to tailor the service for your specific needs, and even communicate your latest news and expertise. Because the community you create is completely private and secure, you'll be able to rest easy knowing that it's safe and free of distractions for your users.

Key features

• Chats are separated into channels
• 1:1 audio and video conversations
• Works with various apps, like Google Drive
• Access message history
• Advanced roles for users

Pricing

Slack's plan for free includes:

• Unlimited public and private channels
• Connect 10 apps
• 90-days of searchable message content
• 1:1 voice and video calls

Pay-per-month plans begin at $7.25 per month and give you unlimited integrations with apps and unlimited history of messages, and screen sharing with up to 50 people.

manage your community, without a financial burden

The following list of top free software for managing your community proves that you can access the most effective tools that don't break the bank. These platforms offer a wide array of features that can help you jump-start, engage with your members, and even monetize their community. If you're looking to grow, just upgrade to a paid plan for access to even more functions.

Ready to start scaling your local community? Take a free trial today.