The 5 Best Community Platforms of 2026: Mighty Networks vs Kajabi vs Circle vs Skool vs Heartbeat

Mighty Networks vs Kajabi vs Circle vs Skool vs Heartbeat

Trying to figure out which community platform is actually worth your money this year? I compared the top 5 on price, transaction fees, AI, engagement tools, live calls, courses, and who each one is really built for.

Picking a community platform feels like a small decision until you are six months in, paying for a bunch of features you never touch, or losing a chunk of every single sale to fees you did not know existed. 🥲

Two platforms can look nearly identical on the monthly price and then cost you wildly different amounts once you actually start selling.

So I put together a full comparison (after building in & testing each one) of the 5 top community platforms of 2026. Below you will find the complete breakdown of every factor that matters, plus my honest take on who each one fits. Every platform links straight to a free trial, so you can go test the ones that sound like you.

Please note this blog post contains affiliate links. I may make a percentage of the sale if you use my link, at no extra cost to you. These are all platforms I have looked at closely and vouch for.

Start Here: Which One Is Actually For You?

If you only read one section, make it this one. Find yourself below.

The Full 2026 Community Platform Comparison Chart

Here is every factor side by side. Scroll inside the chart to see all five platforms. The company names stay pinned at the top and the factor names stay pinned on the left, so you never lose your place.

Fee estimates assume Stripe's standard 2.9% plus 30 cents. Pricing changes often, so always confirm on the platform's own pricing page before you buy.

The 5 Platforms, Broken Down

1. Mighty Networks

Best for: Creators whose whole value is members connecting with each other, not just watching your videos.

What I like: Smart Member Matching. It automatically connects members based on interests and location, which does the hardest part of community building for you. The engagement tools are strong too, with badges, advanced polls, challenges, and a leaderboard. Courses are included from the entry plan now, which was not always the case.

The catch: Mighty never drops the transaction fee to zero. Even their top standard plan still takes half a percent of every sale, and the entry plan takes 2%. The course builder is also basic compared to Kajabi or Circle, so if teaching is your main event this is not the one.

Start Your 30-Day Mighty Networks Trial

2. Kajabi

Best for: Entrepreneurs who want a true all-in-one system and do not want to bleed money on fees as they scale.

What I like: There is no platform fee stacked on top of Stripe. That 2.9% is just card processing, which makes Kajabi the only platform here that does not take a cut of your revenue. The course builder is also the most professional of the five, and live calls save replays automatically.

The catch: There is a real learning curve, simply because there is so much in the platform. My advice is to start with your community and one product, then expand. The contact limits on the lower plans are worth watching too.

Start Your 30-Day Kajabi Trial

3. Circle

Best for: Creators who want the most polished, customizable community experience and are already selling enough for the lower fees to pay for themselves.

What I like: Circle is the cleanest and most modern of the five, and the gamification is genuinely strong with points, badges, workflows, and leaderboards. The course builder holds its own with video, audio, drip, and quizzes.

The catch: The AI everyone gets excited about lives on the $419 Enterprise plan. That is not accessible for most people reading this, so judge Circle on the $89 plan, not the demo videos.

Start Your Circle Trial

4. Skool

Best for: Coaches who want plug-and-play simplicity, or anyone who needs to get something live this week without a real budget.

What I like: It just works. Extremely simple, minimal, with a Facebook group feel your members already know how to use. Gamification is baked right in with levels and a leaderboard, and the flat $99 covers unlimited members and courses.

The catch: That 10% fee on the Hobby plan. Here is the math that matters. If you sell $2,000 in a month on Hobby, you hand over about $200 to Skool plus another $58 to Stripe. On the $99 Pro plan, that same $2,000 costs you $99 plus $58. Pro is already cheaper. Build on Hobby, but move the moment sales get consistent. The AI is also limited here, so do not pick Skool expecting it to do heavy lifting for you.

Start Your Skool Trial

5. Heartbeat

Best for: New coaches and community builders who want something fun, approachable, and quick to launch.

What I like: Member Matchups. It is a unique way to foster one-on-one connections between members, and it is a real highlight of the platform for me. The whole thing feels colorful and Notion-like rather than corporate, and the built-in voice rooms hold up to 256 people on every single plan.

The catch: The fees. Build charges 5% on top of Stripe, which puts your real cost close to 7.9% per sale, the steepest here outside of Skool's Hobby plan. The 350 member cap sneaks up on you too, and getting to unlimited members means jumping all the way to the $849 Scale plan. The AI is limited enough that I would not factor it into your decision.

Start Your Heartbeat Trial

Eeek...We Gotta Talk Transaction Fees! 

Almost everyone shopping for a community platform compares monthly prices and stops there. The monthly price is the small number. The transaction fee is the one that scales with you.

Most of these platforms charge their own percentage on top of what Stripe already takes. Stripe is roughly 2.9% plus 30 cents. So when a platform advertises a 5% fee, your actual cost per sale is closer to 8%.

Here is what that looks like at $50,000 in annual sales:

• Kajabi at 2.9% total: about $1,450 in fees for the year
• Mighty Networks Launch at ~4.9%: about $2,450
• Circle Professional at ~4.9%: about $2,450
• Heartbeat Build at ~7.9%: about $3,950
• Skool Hobby at ~12.9%: about $6,450

That is a $5,000 spread on the exact same revenue, driven entirely by a number most people skim past on the pricing page. Before you commit, take your realistic revenue for the next twelve months and run it against each platform's fee. Sometimes the more expensive monthly plan is the cheaper decision.

My Honest Take

You really cannot go wrong with any of these five. They are all solid, and the right answer depends on what you are actually building.

If you want one platform to run your entire business, go with Kajabi. If community connection is the product, go with Mighty Networks. If you want the most premium experience, go with Circle. If you want dead-simple and cheap to start, go with Skool. And if you want something fun and approachable while you are finding your feet, go with Heartbeat.

The best platform is the one you will actually show up in. Pick one, start the trial, and go build the thing.

This post was all about the best community platforms of 2026.