Instead of fighting algorithms and the social treadmill, a lot of top creators are turning to online communities for better experiences AND to launch thriving businesses.

Mighty Networks and Disciple are two of the top names in community-building. And in this article, we're breaking down the difference.

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Disciple is a white-label community app based in the UK. It gives its users branded apps with push notifications and app store presence. It has a lot of customization and member-management options for business and brand communities.

Mighty is an all-in-one white label community platform where Hosts can build powerful communities of engaged members. It packs a punch with a ton of customization features, monetization options, the ability to live stream from mobile or desktop, teach courses rooted in community, and more.

We'll compare these platforms on:

• Community features: What core tools does it offer for launching and growing a community?

• Courses & Content: Can you create ANY content and teach ANY way?

• Livestreaming: Does the platform offer it as a native feature?

• Member Engagement: Is it designed for member growth with smart AI, gamification, and activity feeds?

• Branding: Can you build with your colors, domains, custom fields, and even branded apps?

• Pricing: How do plans compare, and are there hidden costs?

• Web & Mobile Access: We're looking for seamless experiences between web and mobile, plus total admin control on both.

• Admin Tools: Can you manage the community easily, use AI to simplify, and get the analytics to understand your business?

Disciple gives you lots of options to build a community, and you can create the type of solid content that brings your users together.

• Multimedia posts, activity feed (up to 5 groups), & content library.

• Member directory and filtering.

• Direct Messaging (1:1 and Group).

• Courses that offer drip or open learning (requires premium plan).

Note that Disciple is a branded app-first product. This means there are several features only available on the app.

• Livestreaming is only app-based, but offers 500 minutes/mo, multi-host livestreams, handraising, and Q&As.

Mighty Networks offers an incredible suite of community-building features:

• Flexible Spaces that can hold 1 or multi-features, things like courses, events, chat, and content.

• Native livestreaming on all platforms with multi-speaker view, high-velocity chat, and hand raising.

• Software built for engagement with AI profile boosts, member matching, auto-intros and discussion question generators, plus customizable new member journeys.

• Collaborative gamification designed by a top expert, with streaks, points, recognitions, unlocks, and leaderboards.

• Built-in events with RSVPs.

• Built in live and/or asynchronous courses with an LMS, quizzes, or live teaching function.

Disciple has some great, app-first functionality. But at the end of the day, it's missing the advanced community features Mighty has. Disciple's app and web app offer different experiences. And a vital feature—livestreaming—is only available on app.

Mighty does everything Disciple does on both app and web, and adds native livestreaming, AI engagement tools, and gamification. These mean higher engagement (gamification alone can boost engagement 200+%). Mighty's software surfaces friends and makes introductions instantly. There's nothing else like it!

There's a reason it's ranked G2's #1 community platform.

Mighty is the better choice for community building.

Disciple Media lets you add your colors and logos to your community, both on the web and mobile. It also gives you the option to customize your domain name and completely remove the Disciple logo for a monthly fee.

This means:

• Custom colors, logos, elements, icon, and splash screen.

• No-code app builder to design and customize your layout.

• Add a custom domain.

• Full, branded apps available in the App Store and Google Play Store.

And Disciple can launch your app within weeks.

Every Mighty Networks plan comes with a ton of branding and customization power.

• Brand your whole network with colors light/dark mode, custom fields, and logos.

• Multi-language support for: English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, and Brazilian Portuguese.

• Space-level branding to create multiple branded experiences in-community (if you want).

• Badge and Space logo generation.

Mighty Pro also offers premium branded apps for a branded community app. These come with:

• Branded iOS and Android apps.

• Custom app icons, splash screens, and design support.

• Unlimited capacity for Spaces, hosts, mods, and profile fields.

• Community strategy support from a team that's launched 500+ branded apps.

• Proactive updates, app store submissions, and constant feature releases (roadmap here).

And Mighty Pro comes with migration support--find more info here!

It's actually pretty simple. Disciple sits somewhere in between Mighty's two main offers.

• Mighty Networks - G2's #1 platform, low cost, self-serve.

• Disciple - DIY branded community apps with some support.

• Mighty Pro - Premium, done-for-you branded apps.

We'll break down the cost below.

Mighty is a better community platform. But Disciple offers a simple community platform with DIY building and Disciple support.

Mighty Pro offers G2's #1 community platform on completely branded apps, launched by our team in as little as 4 weeks. And Mighty Pro is trusted by institutions, brands, and creators like Tony Robbins, Mel Robbins, Marie Forleo, Jim Kwik, TED, and Cambridge University.

Let's look at how these platforms compare on pricing, based on annual billing.

Disciple starts from $399/mo.

• $399/mo for a basic app with 5 groups and 1 un-monetized course.

• $599/mo to remove Disciple branding, build up to 10 groups, and add 1 monetized course.

• $999/mo for unlimited admin, groups, and courses plus multi-host livestreams.

• They have one more enterprise-level plan, but pricing is not publicly available.

Mighty Networks starts from $79/mo.

• $79/mo for community with courses, events, and basic automations (Mighty Networks' app).

• $179/mo for multi-feature spaces, APIs and integrations, and more automations.

• $354/mo to add advanced automations, promotions, growth.

Mighty Networks plans come with Mighty's app available in the App Store and Google Play Store. And people love them!

If you're looking for a premium, done-for-you branded app with Mighty Pro, book a call here to learn more!

It depends what you want. Mighty Networks is a great place to start. It's affordable, with incredible features across web and mobile. And you can grow into Mighty Pro as you're ready.

Disciple is a branded app, but it's still DIY. It might be a good option for a budget branded app for those with some time to spend building and managing the process.

Mighty Pro is the most expensive. But it's premium branded apps completely done for you. Most established brands and creators prefer this process for the higher quality result and the done-for-you process.

As we explored above, Disciple is an app-first platform. This is great for those wanting a branded app. The web experience isn't as good, with limitations and feature differences (ie. no livestreaming).

Mighty has an awesome app for every device. It's well-rated, and much cheaper than Disciple apps. While it's not "branded", it has a lot of customization power. And as you grow, you can easily jump to Mighty Pro's branded app without switching platforms.

While it seems that Mighty Networks and Disciple have a lot of the same features, the main differences are in the pricing and the ease of access between the web and apps.

But if you’re trying to make up your mind which is right for you and your business, why not give us a try? Mighty Networks is totally free to try for two weeks–no credit card required.