2026 pricing guide
What does a community platform really cost?
There are three ways to pay for the software you run on: a separate app for each job, one all-in-one plan, or a platform built just for you. Here is what each costs, from published prices, and what to watch for.
14-day free trial, no card needed · First 25 organizations get 30% off
$440–$1,290/mo
Separate apps · our worked examples at 750 active people
$0–$599/mo
All-in-one · Socio Connect plans, Enterprise priced to fit
$28,000–$110,000
Custom build · by scope, plus hosting and support
Three ways to pay
Separate apps, one plan, or a custom build.
1
Separate apps
About $440–$1,290 a month in our examples
One app for your people, another for groups, giving, check-in, events and volunteers. Each is good at its job, and many have a free tier. The cost is in the total, the fees some add on top of card processing, and the time your team spends keeping them in step.
- Planning Center Groups$0–$239/mo
- Planning Center Check-Ins$0–$239/mo
- Planning Center Giving$0–$239/mo
- Bloomerang CRMFrom $125/mo
- WildApricotFrom $66/mo
- Donorbox Pro$150/mo
Published prices, checked September 2026.
2
An all-in-one plan
$0–$599
a month, priced by active people
One platform does the jobs, on one record per person. With Socio Connect that means people and households, groups, giving, events and ticketing, check-in with kids safety, volunteers, courses and messages, with the Assistant built in. No cut of your giving.
- Free$0
Up to 50 active people · For getting started
- Foundation$99/mo
Up to 300 active people · The essentials, on your own domain
- Community$299/mo
Up to 750 active people · Everything to run your organization
- Complete$599/mo
Up to 2,000 active people · For larger and multi-site organizations
- EnterprisePriced to fit
Custom terms for large organizations
Paying yearly costs ten months. The first 25 organizations get 30% off for as long as they stay.
3
A custom build
$28,000–$110,000 by scope
A platform designed and built for one organization. Worth it when you need something no plan does: your own app in the stores, a program nobody else runs, or a system shaped around how you work.
- A web platform$28,000–$38,000
- With giving, check-in and volunteers$45,000–$65,000
- With your own apps$75,000–$110,000
Plus hosting of $200–$800 a month at cost, and a support plan from $400 a month. Changes beyond plan hours are $125 an hour.
Worked examples
Separate apps vs one plan.
Four organizations, each with about 750 active people, on the most common app for each job at its published price for that size. Only the jobs a Socio Connect plan does are counted, so email, texting and forms are left out of both sides. Staff time is shown on its own: 8 hours a week at $30 an hour, an estimate you can change in the calculator.
| Example | Separate apps a year | Socio Connect a year | Difference | Staff time a year | Calculator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Church | $5,244 | $3,588 (Community) | $1,700 less a year | $12,480 | Try yours |
| Nonprofit | $15,468 | $3,588 (Community) | $11,900 less a year | $12,480 | Try yours |
| Association | $12,012 | $3,588 (Community) | $8,400 less a year | $12,480 | Try yours |
| Alumni network | $12,648 | $3,588 (Community) | $9,100 less a year | $12,480 | Try yours |
An estimate, not a quote. App prices are each vendor’s published price for about 750 people, checked September 2026; where a vendor doesn’t publish (Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge, for one), nothing is counted. The plan is billed monthly; yearly costs ten months. Card processing isn’t counted, because it’s paid on any platform. Smaller organizations pay less on both sides: Foundation is $99 a month for up to 300 active people.
Open the calculatorFor reference
Community platforms’ published plans.
If what you need is mainly an online community space, these are what the best-known platforms publish. They are strong at community, courses and member engagement; check each one’s plans for giving, check-in and volunteers.
| Platform | Published monthly plans | Fee on paid memberships |
|---|---|---|
| Circle.so | $89–$419/month | Up to 2% |
| Mighty Networks | $79–$354/month | Up to 2% |
| Hivebrite | $895–$1,995/month | — |
Each vendor’s published plans and transaction fees; a dash means we hold no published fee for it. Higher tiers some vendors quote privately are not stated.
Competitor pricing as published by each vendor, checked September 2026. Plans and prices change; figures for tiers a vendor quotes privately are not stated here.
Watch for
What changes the real cost.
With separate apps
Prices that climb with size
Most apps price by people, contacts or check-ins, so the bill grows as you do. Each app grows on its own measure.
Fees on top of processing
Eventbrite charges 3.7% + $1.79 per paid ticket. Circle publishes a transaction fee of up to 2% on paid memberships.
The same person, five times
Each app keeps its own copy of every person. Someone on your team keeps them in step by hand.
Staff time between tools
Exporting, re-entering and reconciling lists. It rarely shows up on an invoice, so count it separately.
With any all-in-one plan
Who counts
Some plans count every contact you hold. Socio Connect counts active people: anyone who signed in, gave, checked in or RSVP’d in the last 90 days.
Your next size
Look at the price one step up, not just today’s. A plan that’s cheap at 200 people can be expensive at 2,000.
What’s on a higher plan
Giving, check-in or multi-site features often sit a plan or two up. Price the plan that does the jobs you need.
Leaving
Check that you can export your people and records any time, in a format you can use elsewhere.
When a custom build is worth it.
Scope sets the price: more features, your own iPhone and Android apps, and integrations with systems you keep all add time. A web platform is $28,000–$38,000; one with your own apps is $75,000–$110,000. You get a range on the first call and a fixed price before the build starts. We build it and run it for you, or hand over the code and accounts if you’d rather.
Run your whole organization from one place.
Plans from $99 a month, and we never take a cut of your giving. 14-day free trial, no card needed · First 25 organizations get 30% off.
Everything in one place.