AK
Aisha Khan
Just shipped our onboarding flow. Huge thanks to everyone who tested it this week.
♥ 24👍 8#launch
Free · Now live
A complete community platform for WordPress. Free.
Activity feed, spaces, profiles, messaging, a member directory, and moderation - a real, modern community that stays fast as it grows. Run it forever for nothing. See every screen below.
No cost · Unlimited members · Read the documentation · Upgrade to Pro when you are ready to grow
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MR
Marco Rossi
Loving how fast the feed loads now, even with thousands of members.
💬 3
20+community features, all free
∞members - no cap, ever
$0forever - not a trial
100%self-hosted - you own it
The Community OS
A complete engine - not a half-built starter.
Most community plugins give you a feed and stop. BuddyNext free is the whole engine: feed, spaces, members, profiles, messaging, and moderation, already wired together. And when you grow, Pro unlocks monetization, AI, real-time, and analytics on the same platform.
- The apps13 Wbcom apps extend it - forums, an LMS, a marketplace, directories, media, ads.
- The engine - freeFeed, spaces, members, profiles, messaging, moderation - the core that runs your community.
- Your WordPressYour server, your data, your members. You own the whole stack.
Everything you get, free · real screenshots
A complete community - see every part of it.
No mockups. These are the actual BuddyNext screens, running inside a real WordPress theme. Every one is in the free plugin.
Activity feed
A feed your members actually open.
A real-time stream of posts, polls, reactions, and threaded comments - with a composer and Home, Trending, and Following tabs. It loads instantly and feels alive.
- Six reactions, hashtags, and threaded comments
- Home, Trending, and Following views
- Bookmarks, sharing, @mentions, and a right rail of people and events
Explore & discovery
A place to find people, posts, and spaces.
An Explore surface that surfaces trending posts, suggested members, and active spaces - so new members always have somewhere to go and something to read.
- Trending posts and popular spaces
- Suggested people to follow
- Topic and hashtag discovery
Spaces
Rooms for every corner of your community.
Organize members into focused groups. Open spaces anyone can join, private spaces by request, and secret invite-only rooms - each with its own feed, members, and roles.
- Open, private, and secret visibility
- Per-space feed, members, and roles
- Categories, search, and recommended spaces
Member profiles
Profiles members are proud of.
Rich profiles with cover art, bio, custom fields, activity, connections, and verified badges - a real identity inside your community, not a bare WordPress user.
- Cover art, bio, and custom profile fields
- Activity, connections, and spaces joined
- Verified badges for trusted members
Member directory
A directory so members actually find each other.
A searchable, filterable directory of every member - by name, role, space, or interest. Discovery is what turns a list of accounts into a community.
- Search and filter the whole membership
- Sort by recent, active, or alphabetical
- Follow or message straight from the card
Messaging
Private conversations, right inside the community.
One-to-one messaging that keeps members talking on your site, not off it - with photo and file sharing, so conversations stay where the community lives. Group chat and real-time delivery arrive with Pro.
- Private one-to-one messages
- Photo and file sharing
- Group messaging + real-time in Pro
Notifications
The right nudge brings members back.
On-site alerts and email digests keep people in the loop on what matters to them - grouped, filterable, and never noisy.
- On-site alerts and email digests
- Grouped and filterable by type
- Per-member preferences
When you are ready to grow
Pro turns your community into a business.
Free runs the community. Pro adds the money, the AI, the real-time, and the analytics, all on the same platform. Move up only when you need it.
Membership tiers, gated spaces, and Stripe checkout - charge for access in minutes.
Broadcast and drip email with open and click stats, no separate tool.
AI feed ranking and moderation, plus WebSocket real-time and web push.
Growth, active members, and retention cohorts in one owner dashboard.
Pricing
Start free. Upgrade only when you grow.
The free plugin is a complete community, forever. Pro adds monetization, AI, real-time, and analytics. Every Pro tier unlocks the same product; you only pay for site count. The ecosystem apps are separate Wbcom products and are not part of a Pro licence.
Free
Unlimited members
$0
Forever, not a trial
A complete community you can run forever.
- ✓Activity feed, spaces, and profiles
- ✓Messaging and member directory
- ✓Moderation tools
- ✓No license key needed
Personal
1 site
$149/ year
or $399 once · lifetime
One community, every Pro feature.
- ✓Every BuddyNext Pro feature
- ✓Monetization, AI, real-time, analytics
- ✓1 site license
- ✓1 year of updates + priority support
Professional
5 sites
$249/ year
or $599 once · lifetime
Run Pro across up to five communities.
- ✓5 site licenses
- ✓Every BuddyNext Pro feature
- ✓Monetization, AI, real-time, analytics
- ✓1 year of updates + priority support
Agency
Unlimited sites
$399/ year
or $999 once · lifetime
Unlimited sites, for client work.
- ✓Unlimited site licenses
- ✓Every BuddyNext Pro feature
- ✓Use on client projects
- ✓1 year of updates + priority support
Every Pro tier unlocks the same product; you only pay for site count. Every Pro plan comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Read the refund policy.
The Community OS
Start free. Extend in any direction.
BuddyNext is the engine. A whole ecosystem of Wbcom apps - forums, an LMS, a job board, a marketplace, gamification, and more - plugs straight in when your community needs it. Each app is its own product, bought separately.
Common questions
Before you start.
Is BuddyNext Free really free?
Yes. BuddyNext Free is a complete community platform you can run forever at no cost - feed, spaces, profiles, messaging, a member directory, and moderation. It is not a time-limited trial.
How do I create a community website with WordPress?
Install BuddyNext and the core surfaces are already there: an activity feed, spaces, member profiles, messaging, a member directory, and moderation. It runs on your own WordPress site, so you own the members and the data from day one.
Can I build a community site for free?
Yes. BuddyNext Free is the complete platform rather than a trial, and there is no per-member fee at any size. Pro adds monetization, broadcast email, real-time messaging, and analytics when you need them.
How is this different from a hosted platform like Mighty Networks?
BuddyNext runs on your own site, so there is no per-member pricing, no platform cut on what you charge members, and your content and member list stay yours. Hosted platforms own the infrastructure and price by member count.
What does Pro add?
Pro adds monetization (memberships, Stripe), broadcast and drip email, real-time and group messaging, AI ranking and moderation, analytics, auto-moderation, and web push.
Do the other Wbcom apps come with BuddyNext?
No. Jetonomy, Learnomy, MediaVerse, WP Career Board and the rest are separate Wbcom products, each with its own licence. They work with BuddyNext, so you can add any of them later. Neither BuddyNext Free nor a BuddyNext Pro licence includes them.
Does it work well on mobile?
Yes. Every screen is built mobile-first, and members can install the community as a PWA on their phone for an app-like experience.
Launch a real community - for free.
BuddyNext is live now. Download the free plugin and launch your community today, or explore the demo first. Full setup and feature documentation is ready when you need it.