PeepSo is a popular WordPress social networking plugin that allows users to build fully integrated social communities on their websites. While PeepSo performs efficiently, it’s always worth exploring other options that offer different features, better pricing, or more flexibility based on specific needs.
This topic discusses some of the best PeepSo alternatives, offering features like building a membership site, a community-driven platform, or exploring better customization options.
25% OFF on all plans
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1. FluentCommunity
20% OFF on all plans
No Coupon Req.
FluentCommunity is the ultimate user-friendly WordPress community plugin, combining powerful social networking tools with built-in Learning Management System (LMS). It’s a no-code solution for creating vibrant communities and managing courses all in one seamless platform without slowing down your server. Whether you want to build a private social network, improve teamwork in your organization, or create an engaging learning space, FluentCommunity is the right choice.
Pros:
- Lightning fast performance: Blazing fast, lightweight community and LMS plugin that won’t slow down your website
- All-in-one solution: Combines community features with course management and LMS functionality
- Easy setup: Easy setup and powerful features make it simple for anyone to create an active online community
- Free version available: Download FluentCommunity free from WordPress.org with option to upgrade to pro version anytime
- No-code required: Perfect for beginners with user-friendly interface
Cons:
- Newer plugin: Being relatively new means smaller community compared to established alternatives
- Limited third-party integrations: Fewer addon options compared to more mature plugins
- Learning curve: Despite being user-friendly, may require time to master all features
2. ARMember Pro with Social Community Addon
60% OFF on all plans
No Coupon Req.
ARMember Social Community addon lets you build an on-site social network on your membership site to foster members’ engagement and connections. The Social Community addon from ARMember is perfectly suited if you are looking to build a private or public social community around your brand, membership, or user base. This add-on can replace extra tools like BuddyBoss or PeepSo, giving you more affordable yet truly powerful tools.
Pros:
- Complete membership integration: Seamlessly combines membership management with social community features
- Comprehensive social features: Includes private messaging, reviews, posts, following and unfollowing people
- Flexible community types: Perfect for private alumni networks, member-only social clubs, or creator communities like Patreon Communities
- Page builder compatibility: Easily integrates with page builders like Divi or Elementor
- Cost-effective: More affordable alternative to premium community plugins
Cons:
- Requires base plugin: Need ARMember Pro plugin first, then purchase the Social Community addon separately
- Membership-focused: Primarily designed for membership sites, may be overkill for simple communities
- Setup complexity: Requires configuration of both membership system and community features
- Learning curve: Need to understand both membership management and community features
3. MemberPress
50% OFF on all plans
No Coupon Req.
MemberPress offers a yearly plan starting from Basic at $359 for one site till Pro at $799 for up to 3 sites.
For website owners requiring a stronger focus on membership management with community features, MemberPress stands as the ideal PeepSo alternative. Being a full-fledged membership plugin with highly customizable and flexible perks, users can easily manage memberships, subscriptions, and paywalls.
MemberPress works well with forums, BuddyPress, bbPress, or similar social networking plugins. It creates exclusive, paid-access content for certain members and includes powerful reporting features to give an overview of the membership community’s performance.
Pros:
- Monetization options: Built-in payment gateways and subscription options.
- Access control: Allows to restrict access to certain content easily.
- Integration: Works well with BuddyPress and other community-focused plugins.
- Access Rules: It gives complete control over the content.
Cons:
- Lack of Monthly Billing: This does not offer a monthly subscription option, requiring users to pay the full annual fee upfront.
- Limited Payment Gateway: Primarily integrates with Stripe and PayPal, which may be restricted in certain countries.
- Affiliate Management as a Separate Add-on: Not included in the base subscription and requires the purchase of a separate add-on plugin.
4. BuddyBoss
BuddyBoss offers a three-tiered pricing plan starting from $399/year for one site with a $100 saving to maximum $599/year for 10 sites with a $150 saving.
Built on WordPress, BuddyBoss enables users to create and manage online courses and communities. With extensive features for online learning, including customizable course layouts, student dashboards, and gamification elements etc., educators can engage learners effectively.
BuddyBoss facilitates the development of social networks, provides tools for member interactions, private messaging etc. without the constraints of traditional algorithms. Being an open-source, BuddyBoss offers customization and integration options.
Pros:
- Silicon Valley Design: Sleek Silicon-Valley-inspired design captivates and engages your audience with extremely engaging user experience on website.
- Unlock website’s social features: Transform the WordPress site into a dynamic social network with member profiles, groups, and activity feeds.
- Award-winning learning software: Trusted by thousands of educational institutions worldwide, inspire learners with the award-winning LearnDash LMS.
- Tutor LMS integration: Seamlessly integrate Tutor LMS for a comprehensive and user-friendly learning experience.
- Endless plugins: Unlock endless functionality with access to over 55,000 WordPress plugins.
- Drag-and-drop editor: build and customize your website effortlessly using popular drag-and-drop editors.No coding required.
Cons:
- High Cost: Expensive, particularly for those with limited budgets.
- Dependency on Third-Party LMS: Does not include built-in course creation and management tools.
- Steep Learning Curve: Prior experience needed to avail its features
- Limited Built-In Features: May lack some advanced functionalities forcing users to acquire it separately.
5. BuddyPress
Free
BuddyPress tops the list of the best PeepSo alternatives. It is not just a versatile WordPress plugin but a powerhouse managed by the WordPress team. The plugin enables users to streamline activities, create member profiles, use private messaging, and similar unique features. BuddyPress constantly evolves as a free and open-source plugin, offering access to an extensive plugin library to extend the website’s functionality.
Pros:
- Free to use: Budget-friendly plugin.
- Scalability: Extensive collection of add-ons to scale the platform as needed.
- Community support: Being an open-source plugin, users can get vast support from the community.
Cons:
- Plugin Conflicts: Compatibility issues can arise with other plugins, potentially breaking functionality.
- Slower Page Speed: Additional CSS and JavaScript files may slow the site’s performance.
- Steep Learning Curve: Require professional development skills to customize the plugin which can be time-consuming and costly.
6. Ultimate Member
The plugin offers a free plan, an Extension Pass at $249/year and an Extensions+Theme Pass at 299/year.
The runner-up and one of the most widely used PeepSo alternatives is Ultimate Member. Known for its ease of use and design, Ultimate Member builds membership sites and communities without complexities compared to its rivals.
With Ultimate Member, users can create membership profiles, registration forms, and user directories with simplicity, even for non-techies. Ultimate Member is highly customizable and focuses on creating membership communities, thanks to a vast collection of extensions such as real-time notifications, user reviews and even WooCommerce integrations.
Pros:
- Ease of use: Simple to set up and requires no coding knowledge.
- Customizable: Extensive library of extensions that add various features to increase the plugin’s functionality.
- WooCommerce integration: Integrates with WooCommerce, allowing social networking with e-commerce.
- Registration forms: Create multiple registrations for each user role.
- User Roles: Assign a default user role for all the new users, sign up on the site and much more.
- Login: Enables Log in from the front end of the site.
- Profiles: Adds highly customizable user profiles to the website.
- Directories: Allows to find each other with the advanced member directories.
Cons:
- Complexity in Configuration: The plugin’s extensive features may lead to complicated configurations, making it challenging for users to set up and manage effectively.
- Performance Issues: As with many plugins, adding Ultimate Member can slow down site performance, especially if not optimized properly.
Download Ultimate Member for free from WordPress.org or buy the paid version with full features and support from their official website.
7. bbPress
Free Forever
bbPress ranks fifth in the list of top 6 PeepSo alternatives, which focuses on discussion forums and also integrates into a broader social community. It is a lightweight plugin developed by WordPress creators. Thanks to its user-friendly interface, it’s undoubtedly an ideal choice for beginners or site designers.
Compared to PeepSo, bbPress hosts lesser features, but is more simplistic and easy-to-use WordPress integration. It is ideal for website owners who want to create basic forums without the hassle of dealing with clunky setups or excessive plugin weight.
Pros:
- Lightweight: Doesn’t slow down the website, whether large or small.
- Easy integration: Pairs well with other WordPress plugins, enhancing its functionality and customization options.
- Simple UI: Simple UI assists beginners in availing of its benefits.
- Multisite Forums: Divides the site into sections and allows users to create content.
Cons:
- Limited Customization Options: Despite being lightweight, the plugin restricts customization options compared to other forum plugins.
- Basic Default Styling: The default design and styling of bbPress can appear outdated and basic. Users may need additional time and resources to customize the appearance to meet modern design standards.
8. Youzify
Youzify offers a Regular License for $49/year for one website and an Extended License for $199/year for one website.
Youzify, builds advanced social communities with unique profile layouts, activity streams, and user badges. Youzify is well-suited for utilizing more advanced social features and customization options. Focusing on user engagement, it integrates with BuddyPress and helps build an interactive social community within WordPress.
It offers paid memberships, custom widgets, and gamification elements like points and achievements, making it an engaging community platform.
Pros:
- Advanced customization: Provides full control over design and layout to build your desired community.
- Engagement features: Badges, points, and rewards keep users motivated.
- Third-party integrations: Works with other key plugins like BuddyPress and WooCommerce.
- Social Wall: Allows website users to share posts, images, videos, and more providing an engaging community to socialize.
- Friendships: Users can send, accept, and remove friendships just like Facebook so that users keep coming back.
Cons:
- Dependence on BuddyPress: Youzify is built to work with BuddyPress, forcing users to install and maintain BuddyPress. This complicates setup and increases the potential for plugin conflicts.
- Limited Free Features: While the plugin is free, its advanced features are locked behind a paywall in the pro version.
9. wpForo
Free forever
Next up is wpForo, one of the most renowned PeepSo alternatives that’s less featured-packed plugin but focuses heavily on forums. This plugin creates forums and comes with all the basics expected from a forum plugin—categories, topics, forums, and thread support.
wpForo hosts member badges, a user rating system, reputation management to help boost user interaction and similar perks to keep the community engaged. Being mobile-friendly, users can participate in discussions from anywhere around the world.
Pros:
- Mobile-friendly: Allows users to interact seamlessly from their mobiles.
- Discussion-focused: Best for forum-style communities.
- SEO-friendly: Its built-in SEO features help the community rank well on search engines.
- Performance: Hosts a built-in cache, making it a lightweight, faster plugin with enhanced user experience.
- Layouts: Features numerous modern layouts and styles to create modern-looking and powerful user profiles.
- Moderation tools: The plugin’s powerful moderation tools ensure moderation in topics and posts for a healthy communication environment.
Cons:
- Support Issues: We may need help obtaining timely and effective support from wpForo.
- Frequent Updates Required: Requires regular updates to maintain security and compatibility.
- Low Performance with Large User Bases: When managing many members, we may need more performance.
Get the free version of wpForo at WordPress.org.
Final Thoughts
When creating a social network or community-driven website, PeepSo is undoubtedly a strong contender. However, exploring other PeepSo alternatives, users can open up possibilities that may be a perfect fit for specific needs.
Whether it’s ease of use, scalability, membership management, or customization, many alternatives can help build a healthier, more productive community website. Each of these plugins hosts unique strengths. Reading this topic while focusing on the requirements, the owners will make an informed decision to make a dream social community.
