Mighty Networks Review: Is It Right for Your Online Community?

Building an engaged online community around your brand or business is more important than ever in our increasingly digital world. But where and how should you build it? Facebook groups are popular but have significant limitations. Newer community platforms aim to solve these issues, with Mighty Networks being one of the most popular options. 

In this comprehensive Mighty Networks review, I'll cover everything you need to know about the platform and whether it's the right choice for your community.

Let's start by quickly summarizing the pros and cons of Mighty Networks:

Pros

• Powerful community engagement features
• Built-in monetization options
• Robust analytics
  
• Free mobile apps

Cons

• Expensive compared to some competitors
• Limited custom branding 
• No native video hosting
• Possibly steep learning curve

Overall, Mighty Networks is one of the best options for building an online community. It simplifies community management and gives you many ways to engage your members.

However, for things like marketing and course creation, it does have some limitations compared to all-in-one platforms.

Keep reading this Mighty Networks review to learn more and determine if it's the right platform for your needs.

What is Mighty Networks? 

Mighty Networks is an online community software that gives you tools to build, manage, and monetize an engaged community under your own brand. 

It aims to provide an alternative to building communities on social platforms like Facebook Groups, where you don't own the audience.

The platform offers features like:

• Spaces for organizing community content
• Posts, articles and questions 
• Live streaming
• Messaging and notifications
• Online courses
• Paid memberships
• Native mobile apps

With these features, you can use Mighty Networks to:

• Create a members-only online community
• Host free or paid webinars and events
• Run cohort-based courses  
• Offer paid access to certain spaces or content
• And more...

It's a highly flexible platform that can accommodate different community business models.

Mighty Networks positions itself as an alternative to Facebook Groups for community building. And it does live up to that promise.

Compared to Facebook, it gives you ownership over your audience, flexibility in monetization, and tons of features to increase engagement.

However, Mighty Networks isn't a direct alternative to membership sites like Kajabi or Teachable. It lacks powerful marketing and course creation tools offered by those platforms.

So, who is Mighty Networks best suited for? Here are some ideal use cases:

• Moving an existing Facebook Group to a self-hosted community
• Building a community-first membership site
• Creating online courses for your community
• Hosting free or paid events to engage your audience
• Providing a self-serve community platform for clients

If your goal is to create a thriving community around your brand, Mighty Networks has all the right features. Let's look at them in more detail.

Key Features and Benefits

Mighty Networks has an intuitive interface and offers a robust set of features specifically focused on community building and engagement.

Let's look at some of the key features that enable you to build an engaging online community:

Spaces for Organizing Community Content

The foundation of a Mighty Network community is Spaces. You can think of Spaces like different rooms in your community.

Here are a few things you can do with Spaces:

• Dedicate Spaces for different topics like food, fitness etc.
• Have a Space for free content and another for paid members
• Use Spaces for organizing courses or member cohorts
• Create a Space for your private mastermind group

Spaces create structure in your community and help members navigate content easily.

You can customize Spaces with:

• A feed for discussions
• A chat section for group messaging
• An events section
• Member directory
• And more...

Overall, Spaces provide the flexibility to organize your community in a meaningful way for members.

Powerful Member Engagement Features

The ultimate goal of any online community is to drive active engagement. Mighty Networks offers some powerful features to make this happen:

• Personalized activity feeds show members relevant content based on their interests and activity.
• Live streaming lets you easily broadcast video to your members and have real-time interactions.
• Question posts and polls drive participation with Q&As and voting.
• Notifications drive engagement by alerting members of new content.
• Direct messaging facilitates private chats between members.

And that's not all...

You also get member profiles, categories, badges, and more to boost engagement. Mighty Networks basically gives you your own social network tailored to your community.

Built-in Monetization Options

Monetizing your online community is a breeze with Mighty Networks. There are a few ways you can generate revenue: 

• Paid community access using flexible subscription plans
• Paid courses with one-time or recurring payments
• Paid events with RSVPs and ticketing
• Paid spaces and content to offer premium experiences
• And more...

Mighty Networks handles all the payments, subscriptions, and access controls so you can instantly monetize your community.

You can use coupons and affiliates to drive sales. The only limitation is a lack of native email marketing and sales funnels. But you can integrate those using Zapier.

Robust Analytics for Data-Driven Decisions

The Mighty Insights analytics dashboard offers a detailed look into your community's growth and engagement. 

You get reports on members, spaces, posts, courses, events, and more. The metrics are visualized using charts and graphs for easy interpretation.

For example, you can see:

• Most popular types of content  
• Member retention rates
• Engagement levels across spaces
• Content contribution from members vs hosts

These insights help you identify what's working well and double down on those areas. You can also pinpoint and fix engagement issues.

Overall, Mighty Networks provides excellent analytics to inform community-building decisions.

Easy-to-Use Interface

Despite its extensive features, Mighty Networks has an intuitive interface that's easy to navigate.

As a host, the platform is divided into a few clear sections like Spaces, Members, Posts and Events. 

You can access all settings and tools from the left sidebar. Adding content or features is straightforward with modular blocks and configurations.

For members, the personalized feed surfaces relevant community content. All engagement areas, like posts, chats, and events, are accessible from dedicated tabs.

With a gentle learning curve and logical layout, even beginners can comfortably manage an online community on Mighty Networks.

Free Mobile Apps

Mighty Networks offers free iOS and Android apps so your members can access the community from anywhere. 

The apps provide a seamless experience, supporting key features like:

• Participating in discussions
• Attending events and livestreams
• Direct messaging members
• Posting updates and consuming content

So your members stay engaged with your community on the go. For an even better experience, you can build custom branded apps through Mighty Pro plans.

Here is a detailed section covering Mighty Networks pricing plans:

Mighty Networks Pricing

Pricing is among the most important factors in selecting an online community software. Mighty Networks offers flexible and scalable plans to accommodate different needs and budgets.

Let's take a look at the pricing options:

Community Plan 

The Community plan starts at $33/month when billed annually. 

It includes:

• Activity Feed and Featured Content
• Native Questions & Polls
• Rich Member Profiles
• Native Livestreaming & Video
• Chat & Messaging
• Events & Zoom Integration
• The Ability to Charge or Token-Gate
• Mighty Co-Host™

This plan unlocks all the core community features covered earlier in this Mighty Networks review. You can build a substantial community and engage members through content, messaging, and events.

The main limitations are no online courses, cohorts, or native video hosting. But otherwise, it's an affordable starting point for monetizing a community. There is a free 14-day trial available to test the platform.

Business Plan

Stepping up to the Business plan at $99/month unlocks additional revenue-generating features.

You gain access to all community plan features, plus:  

• Courses and Resource Libraries
• Charge for a Featured Event
• Additional Landing Pages 
• Additional Analytics and Member Data Download
• Native ConvertKit integration
• Zapier APIs & Workflows

With the Business plan you can create premium online courses and paid cohorts tailored to your community. Additional integration options also open up.

It's the ideal plan if you intend to sell access to online training or expertise. The plan cost will easily pay for itself from the revenue generated. There is a free 14-day trail available to test the platform.

Mighty Pro

Custom Mighty Pro plans are available for enterprise-level needs starting at thousands per month. These add features like:

• Your Own iOS & Android Apps
• White-Labeling & Branded Notifications
• Migration Services
• Launch Team
• Dedicated Community Strategist
• Additional Mighty Co-Host™ Features
• Access to the Mighty Pro Membership Network

Mighty Pro caters to large organizations and community professionals managing multiple communities for clients.

The branding and support advantages may appeal to you once your community scales up and becomes a core business focus requiring delegation.

Additional Pricing Considerations

When evaluating Mighty Networks pricing, keep these additional factors in mind:

• Monthly and annual pricing options are available for the paid plans, with cheaper costs for yearly billing.
• You can remove Mighty Networks branding on the Pro plan.
• Transaction fees apply to all sales on your Mighty Network. This includes community access fees, course sales etc. The fee is 3% on the Community plan and 2% on other plans.
• For the highest plans, multi-year custom contracts are available that can bring down effective costs.

While not the cheapest platform, you get tremendous value from Mighty Networks' community-building capabilities. The Business plan cost will likely pay for itself quickly through monetization.

Evaluate the features you need when choosing a plan tier to maximize return on investment.

Mighty Networks Benefits for Common Use Cases

I've covered the key features of Mighty Networks. Now, let's see how those translate into benefits for some common community use cases.

Building a Paid Community

Mighty Networks makes it simple to build a paid community. You can gate access to your entire network or specific spaces using flexible membership plans.

Members that join your paid community can benefit from:

• A sense of exclusivity from private access
• Deeper connections with a niche group
• Valuable content and expertise to achieve their goals
• Ongoing support through messaging and interactions
• Live events that bring the community together

Overall, Mighty Networks provides the tools to build a thriving paid community with a high perceived value.

Hosting Cohort-Based Courses

Cohort courses with structured start and end dates are a popular way to deliver premium training experiences. 

Mighty Networks is great for running live cohort courses thanks to features like:

• Organizing courses in dedicated Spaces
• Live streaming lectures
• Conducting polls and Q&As
• Facilitating discussions via posts
• Allowing members to learn together and interact

You can charge for cohort course access while members also pay for the broader community. Mighty Networks smoothly facilitates the logistics behind cohort learning.

Selling Digital Products

While Mighty Networks doesn't have the extensive e-commerce tools some other platforms offer, you can use it to sell digital products.

You can create premium courses or spaces and sell one-time access to them. Things like: 

• Online courses
• Downloadable guides/templates
• Private workshops
• Expert interviews

Overall, if you plan to sell more complex product packages or physical products, you'll need a separate e-commerce platform. But for simpler digital products, Mighty Networks gets the job done.

Mighty Networks Limitations to Consider

While Mighty Networks offers an impressive roster of community features, it does have some limitations worth noting:

Steep Learning Curve

Mighty Networks is extremely flexible, which comes at the cost of complexity. There are spaces, sections, roles, permissions, and many custom settings.

It takes time to wrap your head around how everything works and fits together. The lack of structure can be overwhelming for beginners.

Creating an intuitive community that makes sense to members requires careful planning. Be ready to invest time in thoroughly learning Mighty Networks. 

Limited Design Customization

You have limited control over the design and aesthetics of your community. Mighty Networks provides themes to choose from but minimal ability to customize colors, fonts, etc.

If you want to implement heavy branding and visual customization, it's not the best option. Your community will always have a "Mighty Networks" look and feel.

No Native Video Hosting

Mighty Networks relies on third-party integrations for video hosting. You must use an external service like Vimeo or YouTube to embed videos.

This takes control away from you. It also creates a disjointed experience for members as they have to watch videos outside the platform.

For an online course, poor video integration translates to a subpar learning experience for students.

Expensive Plans

While Mighty Networks offers a robust set of features, it comes at a relatively high cost. The mid-tier Business plan will set you back $99 per month.

Compared to competitors like Circle, which charges a one-time fee for its Pro plan, the recurring charges of Mighty Networks add up.

For community professionals and agencies building communities at scale for clients, the costs can cut into profit margins quite a bit.

No Sales Funnels or Landing Pages

Mighty Networks focuses on community management rather than marketing. So, you don't get sales funnels or advanced landing pages to convert visitors into members.

You'll need to direct interested visitors to a separate lead capture form or website before inviting them to your community.

This makes it tougher to grow your community through cold outreach and advertising. For a truly all-in-one experience, additional tools are required.

How Does Mighty Networks Compare to Alternatives? 

Mighty Networks focuses squarely on building online communities. So, how does it compare to other community software platforms? And how does it stack up against all-in-one sites like Kajabi?

Let's compare it against some leading alternatives:

Mighty Networks vs. Circle

Circle is the closest direct competitor to Mighty Networks when it comes to features and approach. It's also extremely flexible and easy to use.

Here are some key differences:

• Circle has more custom branding options for your community's design and interface.
• It offers native video hosting, while Mighty Networks relies on third-party integration.
• Circle has an onboarding framework to guide you in setting up your community. Mighty Networks throws you in the deep end.
• Mighty Networks supports live events and cohorts, while Circle focuses solely on community.
• Circle has a forever-free plan, while Mighty Networks requires a paid plan to access key features.

Overall, Circle has the edge for usability, while Mighty Networks offers more built-in monetization options.

Mighty Networks vs. Kajabi

Kajabi is a popular all-in-one platform for online courses, membership sites, and email marketing.

Here is how it differs from Mighty Networks:

• Kajabi is a full-fledged online course builder with robust video hosting, assessments, and student tracking.
• It offers drag-and-drop sales funnels, advanced email marketing, and other tools.
• But Kajabi lacks the deep community focus and engagement tools Mighty Networks provides.
• Kajabi has a steeper learning curve for setting up your site and courses.

Mighty Networks is better for the community, while Kajabi excels at course creation and marketing. Together, they can provide an end-to-end solution.

Mighty Networks vs. Facebook Groups

Many community creators start out using Facebook Groups. How does Mighty Networks improve upon it?

• You own your audience on Mighty Networks rather than rely on Facebook.
• It's ad-free and explicitly designed for community interactions rather than general social networking.
• You have control over your community data rather than Facebook owning it.
• Flexible monetization options like paid memberships and events are available.
• Members are shielded from noise and irrelevant distractions, allowing them to focus.

For professional communities, Mighty Networks easily beats Facebook Groups regarding features, customization, and monetization.

Should You Use Mighty Networks? My Verdict 

So, should you use Mighty Networks for your online community? Here is a quick summary of my verdict:

👍 Ideal for building a thriving community thanks to robust features like spaces, content feeds, events, profiles, and 1-on-1 messaging.

👍 Monetization options allow you to generate revenue directly from your community members.

👍 Analytics help you understand member behavior and fine-tune your community approach.

👎 Expensive compared to some competing platforms that offer similar community features.

👎 Steep learning curve to customize the flexible platform to your needs. 

👎 Lack of native video hosting and sales funnel features require third-party tools.

Overall, Mighty Networks is an excellent choice for building an engaged community rather than simply offering static content. 

The interactive features encourage members to actively participate rather than just passively consume the content you post.

Start with the free plan to experience Mighty Networks firsthand. The premium plans are worthwhile investments for established personal brands or companies seeking to nurture an owned audience.

For creators focused solely on content and online courses, other platforms can be more cost-effective while still providing core community features.

I hope this comprehensive Mighty Networks review has given you clarity in making the right software choice for your community!