Are you looking for a new community platform?
Swarm might not be the best fit for everyone.
It can be challenging to find the right platform with so many options.
You want a place where your community can thrive, but features and pricing vary wildly.
It’s frustrating to spend time & energy on a platform only to discover it.
This article explores 9 top Swarm alternatives for 2025.
We’ll break down the pros and cons of each, helping you find the perfect community platform to connect with your audience.
Let’s dive in!
What are the Best Swarm Alternatives?
Finding the right community platform can be a game-changer.
You need a place that is easy to use, has the desired features, and is within your budget.
Swarm is one option, but it’s not the only one. Ready to explore some top-notch alternatives?
Let’s check out nine of the best platforms available in 2025.
1. Skool
Skool is a platform designed to help creators build thriving communities.
It combines courses, community features, and gamification to keep members engaged.
Think of it as a central hub for your audience. It’s user-friendly and focuses on fostering interaction.
Our Take
It excels at building engaged communities and offers excellent value for its price. However, it loses a few points due to its slightly limited course customization and fewer marketing integrations than other platforms. If community is your top priority, Skool is worth checking out.
Key Benefits
- Integrated Community: Courses and discussions are seamlessly connected.
- Gamification: Built-in features to reward engagement.
- Easy Course Creation: Simple tools to build and deliver your courses.
- Direct Messaging: Connect with members one-on-one.
Pricing
- 1-month plan: $99/month
Pros
Cons
2. Thinkific
Thinkific is a popular platform for creating & selling online courses.
It’s designed to simplify course creation, even if you’re not a tech whiz.
Think of it as your all-in-one shop for building, marketing, and selling your courses.
Though less robust than some dedicated community platforms, it also has community features.
Our Take
It excels at helping you create and sell online courses. It’s easy to use and has great features. It loses a few points for its limited community options and the fact that pricing can increase as your business grows. If your primary focus is creating and selling courses, Thinkific is a great choice.
Key Benefits
- Thinkific excels at helping you build and sell online courses.
- Course Creation: Easy-to-use course builder with advanced features.
- Sales & Marketing: Tools to promote your courses and generate leads.
- Student Management: Track student progress and engagement.
- Integrations: Connect with other marketing & sales tools.
Pricing
- Basic: $36/month – Unlimited Courses, 1 Community, 5 Digital Downloads.
- Start: $74/month – Unlimited Courses, 1 Community, Unlimited Digital Downloads.
- Grow: $149/month – Unlimited Courses, 3 Communities, Live Lessons, Membership.
Pros
Cons
3. Circle
Circle is a dedicated community platform designed for creators and businesses.
It’s built to foster meaningful connections and discussions among members.
Think of it as a modern forum with a clean and intuitive interface.
It’s all about community engagement.
Our Take
It provides a premium community experience with a wide range of features. It loses some points due to its higher price point and slightly steeper learning curve.
Key Benefits
Circle prides itself on fostering deeper connections and providing a distraction-free environment.
They have a proven track record, powering communities for big names like Adobe, ConvertKit, and Teachable.
- Modern Design: Clean and user-friendly interface.
- Robust Features: Discussions, events, and member management.
- Integration Options: Connect with other tools that you use.
- Customization: Tailor the look and feel of your community.
Pricing
Circle offers a 14-day free trial and three main pricing plans:
- Professional: $89 monthly – Rich member profiles, Searchable member directory.
- Business: $199 monthly – Workflows, Custom profile fields, Admin API.
- Enterprise: $360 per month – Unlimited Workflows, Custom single sign-on (SSD.)
- Plus Branded App: Custom Pricing
Pros
Cons
4. GoHighLevel
GoHighLevel is an all-in-one marketing & automation platform.
It’s designed for agencies and marketers who want to streamline their processes.
While it’s not solely a community platform, it offers features that can be used to build and manage communities.
Our Take
It’s a powerful platform for agencies and marketers but can be overwhelming for beginners. It loses points for its complexity and steep learning curve.
Key Benefits
GoHighLevel aims to provide all the tools you need to run your online business in one place.
- Marketing Automation: Automate your marketing campaigns.
- Sales Funnels: Build and manage sales funnels.
- Course Creation: Create and sell online courses.
- Community Features: Build and manage your community.
Pricing
- Starter: $97 monthly – All the tools to capture more leads, Nurture & close leads into customers.
- Unlimited: $297 monthly – Everything in the starter plan.
Pros
Cons
5. Teachable
Teachable is another popular platform for creating & selling online courses.
Similar to Thinkific, it focuses on making course creation accessible.
It also offers community features, though they are less extensive than dedicated community platforms.
Our Take
It’s a fantastic platform for creating and selling online courses. However, it loses points for its limited community features and pricing, which can increase as you grow.
Key Benefits
Teachable excels at helping you build and sell online courses.
- Course Creation: Easy-to-use course builder.
- Sales & Marketing: Tools to promote your courses.
- Payment Processing: Seamless integration with payment gateways.
- Student Management: Track student progress and engagement.
Pricing
- Basic: $39 monthly – 5% transaction fee, 5 published products of each type (course, coaching, downloads).
- Pro: $119 monthly – 0% transaction fees, Unlimited membership tiers, Affiliate marketing.
- Pro+: $199/month – 0% transaction fees, 200 Courses, 200 Coaching products.
Pros
Cons
6. Mighty Networks
Mighty Networks allows you to build a community around your brand or interests.
It combines courses, community features, and membership options.
It’s designed to help you create a thriving online space.
Our Take
It’s an excellent platform for building online communities, especially with its mobile app. It loses points for its basic course features and pricing, which can add up.
Key Benefits
- Community Focus: Tools for fostering discussions and engagement.
- Course Creation: Build and sell online courses.
- Membership Features: Offer different membership tiers.
- Mobile Apps: Engage your community on the go.
Pricing
Mighty Networks has a few different pricing tiers:
- The Community Plan starts at $41/month: This gives you the basics.
- The Courses Plan starts at $99 per month: This unlocks more features like online courses and live streaming.
- The Business Plan starts at $179 per month: This unlocks more features SSo & Auto generated Polls.
- The Path-to-Pro starts at $360 per month: This is for larger communities with more advanced needs.
Pros
Cons
7. Bettermode
Bettermode is a community platform focused on helping businesses build and manage online communities.
It provides tools for engagement, moderation, and community growth.
Our Take
It’s a strong platform for those who prioritize customization and community engagement. It loses points for its complexity and limited course-building capabilities.
Key Benefits
Bettermode focuses on providing a customizable and engaging community experience.
- Customization: Tailor the look and feel of your community.
- Engagement Tools: Features for fostering discussions and interaction.
- Integration Options: Connect with other platforms.
- Analytics: Track community activity and growth.
Pricing
Bettermode offers a free plan and three paid plans:
- Starter: Free – Bettermode.io Domain, Bettermode Badge, 100 Members.
- Pro: $49/month – Unlimited Members, Custom Domain, Priority support, Advanced Analytics.
- Enterprise: Custom Pricing
Pros
Cons
8. Disco
Disco is a platform designed to create and host online events and communities.
It combines event management with community features.
Our Take
It’s a strong platform for those focused on live events and interactive courses. It loses points for its higher price, and its event-centric approach might not be ideal for all creators.
Key Benefits
Disco aims to make online events and courses more interactive and engaging.
- Live Events: Tools for hosting webinars and workshops.
- Course Platform: Create and sell online courses.
- Community Features: Discussions, groups, and member profiles.
- Engagement Tools: Polls, Q&As, and gamification.
Pricing
- Organization: $359 monthly – 1 community, 1,000 members, 10 admins.
- Enterprise: Custom Pricing.
Pros
Cons
9. Kajabi
Kajabi is another all-in-one platform for creating and selling online courses, memberships, and communities.
It focuses on course creation, similar to Thinkific and Teachable, and strongly emphasizes marketing and sales.
Our Take
It’s great for online businesses. The price and basic community features are drawbacks. But it’s a strong contender.
Key Benefits
Kajabi simplifies online business management.
They offer a 14-day free trial. Key features include:
- Course creation and hosting.
- Marketing and sales tools.
- Community features.
- Website and landing page builder.
- Payment processing.
Pricing
Kajabi offers different pricing tiers.
These are based on features and usage.
- Kickstarter: $71/mo – 1 Website, 1 Product + 1 Community, 250 Contacts.
- Basic: $119/mo – 1 Website, 3 Product, 10,000 Contacts.
- Growth: $159/mo – 1 Website, 15 Product, 25,000 Contacts.
- Pro: $319/mo – 3 Website, 100 Product, 100,000 Contacts.
Pros
Cons
Buyer’s Guide
We aim to provide you with the best recommendations for alternatives to Swarm.
We conducted extensive research, considering several key factors.
Here’s a glimpse into our process:
- Keyword Research: We started by identifying relevant keywords, including azure, best alternatives, aws, integrate, deployment, competitor, foursquare swarm, “we’ve listed the top,” remember everywhere, “best foursquare,” “foursquare city guide,” “best foursquare swarm alternatives,” product hunt, “alternatives to foursquare,” compute, “alternatives to swarm,” orchestration, workflow, cloud service, and docker. This ensured we captured the most relevant search terms.
- Product Discovery: We explored various platforms, including Product Hunt, to identify potential alternatives to Swarm. We also investigated the best Foursquare Swarm alternatives, considering both direct competitors and platforms that could integrate with similar services.
- Feature Analysis: We meticulously evaluated each platform’s features, focusing on compute, orchestration, workflow, cloud service, and docker support. We looked at how they compared to Swarm and other best alternatives.
- Pricing Evaluation: We carefully examined each platform’s pricing structure, comparing costs and identifying hidden fees or limitations.
- User Experience: We considered user reviews and feedback to gauge each platform’s ease of use and overall user experience.
- Key Factors: When doing our research to find the perfect product, we determined using these factors:
- Pricing: How much did a product cost?
- Features: What were the best features of a product?
- Negatives: What was missing from a product?
- Support or refund: Do they offer a community, support, or refund policy?
Wrapping Up
We’ve covered a lot of ground, haven’t we?
We explored nine excellent alternatives to Swarm. Each platform brings something unique to the table.
Whether you’re focused on courses, community, or marketing, there’s a good fit out there.
Finding the right platform can boost your online presence.
I’ve personally used many of these platforms, and I’ve seen firsthand what works and what doesn’t.
My goal is to give you honest, helpful advice so you can make the best choice for your needs.
So, take what you’ve learned here, explore these options, and find the perfect home for your online community.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Swarm used for?
Swarm was a location-sharing app that allowed users to check in at places they visited. It spun off Foursquare and focused on tracking personal location history and competing with friends. However, it’s no longer a standalone app; its features have been integrated into the Foursquare City Guide app.
Why look for Swarm alternatives?
Since Swarm’s features are now part of Foursquare, some users may prefer different location-sharing or social networking platforms. They might be looking for more privacy controls, different community features, or integration with other apps.
Are there apps similar to Swarm that track locations?
Yes, several apps offer location tracking and check-in features. Some focus on personal location history, while others emphasize social sharing and competition. Many social media platforms also include location tagging features.
What are the best Swarm alternatives for social networking?
The best Swarm alternatives for social networking depend on your specific needs. Some platforms build communities around shared interests, while others emphasize connecting with friends and family. Consider what kind of social interaction you’re looking for.
How do I choose the right Swarm alternative?
Think about what you valued most in Swarm. Was it the location tracking? The social competition? The ability to remember places you visited? Then, look for platforms that offer similar features or address your specific needs. Reading reviews & trying out free trials can also help.
