What is the best free alternative to Mighty Networks?

Kazokus is the strongest free alternative. Its Launch plan is genuinely free, supports your own custom domain and SSO, and includes community, courses, and events with $0 platform fees. Mighty has no free plan — only a 14-day trial. Discord is free but built for chat, not courses or monetization.

Why do people leave Mighty Networks?

The most common reasons are cost and missing features. Mighty raised Launch to $79/month and takes 2% of what you earn on top of Stripe. Operators who want a marketplace, appointment booking, or a built-in CRM often switch, since Mighty does not offer them.

Which Mighty Networks alternative has no platform fees?

Kazokus charges $0 platform fees on every plan, including the free Launch tier — you keep everything except Stripe’s own processing fee. Mighty takes 2% on Launch and 1% on Scale, Circle 2% on Professional, Skool 10% on Hobby and 2.9% on Pro, and Heartbeat 5% on Build.

Is Kazokus a good alternative to Mighty Networks?

Yes — Kazokus is our top pick because it consolidates community, courses, events, a marketplace, native booking, and a CRM into one platform with a free plan and zero platform fees. The main trade-off versus Mighty is that Kazokus does not yet offer a standalone branded mobile app.

What is the cheapest Mighty Networks alternative?

Kazokus is the cheapest hosted option because it has a free plan and $0 platform fees. Self-hosted BuddyBoss can be cheaper over time but requires paid WordPress hosting and setup. Discord is free for chat-first communities.

Best Mighty Networks Alternatives in 2026

Last updated: May 2026

The best Mighty Networks alternatives in 2026 are Kazokus, Circle, Skool, Heartbeat, BuddyBoss, and Discord. Kazokus is our top pick — it is the only one with a free plan, zero platform fees, and a built-in marketplace, booking, courses, events, and CRM in a single platform. The right choice depends on your budget and whether you need a branded mobile app.

Mighty Networks raised Launch to $79/month and takes a 2% cut of what you earn on top of Stripe, with Scale at $179/month. We compared the leading alternatives on real cost at scale, feature depth, and who each one actually serves, so you can decide whether to switch.

At a glance

Feature	Kazokus	Circle	Skool	Heartbeat	BuddyBoss	Discord
Free plan	Yes	No	No	No	Self-hosted	Yes
Starting price	Free	$89/mo	$9/mo (Hobby)	$49/mo	~$19/mo + hosting	Free
Platform / transaction fees	$0	2% → 0.5%	10% → 2.9%	5% → 1.25%	$0 (self-host)	$0
Courses / LMS	Yes	Yes	Basic	Yes	Add-on	No
Events	Yes	Yes	Basic	Yes	Yes	Voice/Stage
Marketplace	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Appointment booking	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Built-in CRM	Yes	No	No	No	Partial	No
Email marketing	Included	Add-on	Basic	Basic	Plugin	No
Custom domain	Free plan	Paid	Paid	Paid	Yes	No

The best Mighty Networks alternatives

Kazokus

Our pick

The all-in-one community OS with a genuinely free plan and zero platform fees.

Best for: Operators who want community, courses, events, a marketplace, and booking in one place — without per-feature add-ons.
Pricing: Free plan; paid plans with $0 platform fees and email marketing included.

Free Launch plan that supports your own custom domain and SSO.
Zero platform/transaction fees on paid plans; email marketing is built in, not a separate add-on.
Built-in marketplace and native booking — features most competitors do not offer at all.
Multi-language platform with LINE integration for APAC audiences.

Newer platform with a smaller third-party integration library than the most established competitors.
No standalone branded mobile app yet (web + iOS app, branded app on the roadmap).

Compare Kazokus in detail

Circle

Polished, creator-focused community platform with strong courses and AI writing tools.

Best for: Solo creators and coaches who want a mature, all-in-one branded community with extensive features.
Pricing: No free plan; from $89/mo (Professional). Email marketing is a separate $99/mo add-on.

Mature, polished product with a large, well-rounded feature set.
Strong courses, live streaming, and AI writing tools.
Established ecosystem with many third-party integrations.

No free plan, and email marketing is a separate $99/mo add-on.
No built-in marketplace or appointment booking.
Per-community pricing gets expensive if you run more than one community.

Compare Circle in detail

Skool

The simplest gamified community + classroom, with a built-in discovery marketplace.

Best for: Coaches and creators who want the fastest possible setup and gamified engagement.
Pricing: No free plan; Hobby from $9/mo, Pro $99/mo. Transaction fees are 10% on Hobby and 2.9% on Pro.

Dead-simple setup — a community feed, a classroom, and a calendar.
Gamification (points and levels) is baked in and effective.
Discovery marketplace can send you members.

Deliberately minimal — no events suite, marketplace, or booking.
The cheap $9/mo Hobby tier carries a 10% transaction fee; dropping it to 2.9% means paying $99/mo.

Compare Skool in detail

Heartbeat

Course-first communities with native mobile apps.

Best for: Solo creators building a single community around cohort-based courses.
Pricing: No free plan; from $49/mo with a 350-member cap and up to 5% transaction fees on the starter tier.

Polished LMS and course tooling out of the box.
Native mobile apps and AI-assisted setup.

Starter plan caps members at 350 and charges up to 5% transaction fees.
Less suited to multi-community or marketplace use cases.

Compare Heartbeat in detail

BuddyBoss

Self-hosted, WordPress-based community with full data ownership.

Best for: Teams that want to own their data and infrastructure and are comfortable with WordPress.
Pricing: From ~$19/mo (billed annually) for the platform, plus your own WordPress hosting.

You own everything — content, members, and data — on your own hosting.
No transaction fees and deep WordPress plugin ecosystem.

Requires WordPress setup, hosting, and ongoing maintenance.
More technical to run than a hosted SaaS platform.

Discord

Free, real-time chat for informal and high-energy communities.

Best for: Free, chat-first communities that do not need courses or monetization.
Pricing: Free; optional paid boosts and subscriptions.

Free, fast, and excellent for live voice, video, and chat.
Huge familiarity, especially with younger audiences.

Not built for courses, structured content, or selling memberships.
Limited SEO, branding, and member-data ownership.

Start free on Kazokus

See full pricing

How to choose a Mighty Networks alternative

Decide how much the branded mobile app matters. Mighty’s native branded apps are its strongest selling point. If a native branded app is essential, Heartbeat is the closest alternative; if a polished web experience plus an iOS app is enough, Kazokus, Circle, and Skool are all solid options.

Then look at total cost at the revenue you actually expect, not the sticker price. Mighty’s 2% cut on Launch lands on top of Stripe’s own fee, so the more you sell the more the platform takes. Platforms with $0 platform fees, like Kazokus, keep that line flat as you grow.

Finally, weigh how much you need beyond community + courses. If you also need events, a marketplace, booking, or a CRM, an all-in-one platform like Kazokus avoids stitching together — and paying for — separate tools.

Frequently asked questions

Start your community free

Compare Kazokus vs Mighty Networks in detail

Detailed comparisons:

Kazokus vs Circle Kazokus vs Skool Kazokus vs Heartbeat

Pricing and features reflect publicly available information as of May 2026 and may change. Always check each provider’s current plans. Kazokus publishes this comparison and includes itself; we have aimed to represent competitors fairly.