# Alternatives to Disciple Disciple is a platform for building independent, branded community apps for iOS, Android, and web, with content, chat, and monetization. Disciple ranks #3 of 7 in Community platforms, with an Alt Score of 86. It is proprietary, sold by subscription from $399/mo billed annually ($469/mo quarterly) and available on Web, iOS and Android. 12 of 13 checklist rows are verified against a public source. Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/disciple/ Category: Community platforms ## Overview - **Who it's for**: Brands, creators, membership organizations, and associations that want an independent, white-label community app rather than a page inside someone else's platform. Disciple's own positioning targets organizations for whom a native branded mobile app is core (not a nice-to-have) and who value hands-on human support through onboarding. - **What you get**: Your own branded iOS, Android, and web app listed under your name in the app stores, with discussion feeds, groups, direct/group messaging, courses, built-in livestreaming, push notifications, member analytics, and monetization tools (subscriptions, in-app purchases, paid downloads). Higher tiers add a custom domain, REST API, SSO/SAML, Zapier and Salesforce integrations, and multi-host livestreams. - **How it works**: You design and configure your app through the Disciple Console with no coding required, then launch it to the Apple App Store and Google Play under your own branding; ongoing community activity, monetization, and performance are then managed and tracked from that same Console, with a human success manager guiding setup and app-store submission. ## Profile - **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-17) - **Pricing model**: Subscription (verified 2026-07-17) - **Starts at**: $399/mo billed annually ($469/mo quarterly) (verified 2026-07-17) - **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android - **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-17) ## Ranked alternatives | # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms | |---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------| | 1 | [Circle](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/circle.md) | 93 | Proprietary | Web, Windows, macOS, iOS | | 2 | [Mighty Networks](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/mighty-networks.md) | 89 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android | | 3 | [Discourse](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/discourse.md) | 83 | GPL-2.0 | Web, iOS, Android | | 4 | [Hivebrite](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/hivebrite.md) | 83 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android | | 5 | [Skool](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/skool.md) | 76 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android | | 6 | [Bettermode](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/bettermode.md) | 72 | Proprietary | Web | Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/ ## Feature comparison Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified). | Community platforms checklist | Disciple | Circle | Mighty Networks | Discourse | Hivebrite | Skool | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Pricing model | Subscription | Subscription | Subscription | OSS + paid hosting | Subscription (enterprise, contact sales for full pricing) | Subscription | | Starts at | $399/mo billed annually ($469/mo quarterly) | $89/month | $79/month | $100/month | $895/mo (billed annually) | $9/month | | License | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | GPL-2.0 | Proprietary | Proprietary | | Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | | Discussion forums / feed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Courses / content hosting | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Partial | Yes | | Live events / video | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | | Group chat / messaging | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Paid memberships / subscriptions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Gamification (points/levels) | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | | Branded mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | | Custom domain & branding | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | | Member analytics | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | SSO / integrations | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | | Moderation tools | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | API / webhooks | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial | | Free tier | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | ## Sources Sources for Disciple. Each alternative is sourced on its own page. - **License**: Proprietary — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: Closed-source SaaS platform; disciplemedia.com redirects to disciple.community, both operated by Lobaso Ltd (legalName in site schema.org data). - Quote: “9.2. The Services and Disciple Materials are licensed (not sold) to you, meaning that we (or the Disciple Partners) continue to own all copies of the Services and Disciple Materials” - **Pricing model**: Subscription — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: All three named tiers plus custom Organisation tier are paid subscriptions billed monthly/quarterly/annually; only a time-limited trial is free, no permanent free plan. - Quote: “Yes, we offer a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. You get full platform access to configure branding and test features.” - **Starts at**: $399/mo billed annually ($469/mo quarterly) — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: Page shows regional pricing; the pricing page meta description states "Starting from £299/mo with 0% transaction fees" for GBP visitors, and the FAQ confirms "Branded App starts at $399/month annually - Quote: “Branded App $399 /mo* $469 /mo Your own app in the app stores with you listed as the developer.” - **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: operatingSystem":"iOS, Android, Web"" — Every plan includes a branded native iOS/Android app plus a web version, per pricing page compare table. - **Status**: active — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: Platform updates log shows shipped features dated Jun 2, 2026, May 21, 2026, and Apr 24, 2026, indicating ongoing active development as of this research date (2026-07-17). - Quote: “Jun 2, 2026 Draft Posts You can now save posts as drafts, giving you more flexibility when creating content.” - **Discussion forums / feed**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Quote: “We have groups, discussion feeds, direct messaging, member directory, events calendar, live streaming, native video hosting, a content library, push notifications, analytics, courses, custom profile f” - **Courses / content hosting**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Quote: “Yes. You can create courses, build resource libraries, drip-release content over time, and combine learning with community discussions.” - **Live events / video**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Quote: “Yes, you have three options. You can use our built-in livestreaming to stream directly in the app with screen sharing, Q&A, and recordings - no third party needed.” - **Group chat / messaging**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Quote: “Yes. Direct messages work one-on-one or in group chats. You decide whether DMs are open to everyone or restricted.” - **Paid memberships / subscriptions**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Quote: “If you choose to monetise your app, there are many ways to do this with the Disciple platform: Subscriptions, in-App purchases, paid app download, Apple/Google Pay, sponsorship and advertising, affili” - **Branded mobile app**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Quote: “Every Disciple plan includes your own branded app in the app stores. Compare plans and find the right fit for your community.” - **Custom domain & branding**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: Custom domain is listed as an included feature from the Branded App Plus tier upward on the plan comparison table; branding customization (layout, home screen) is confirmed on every plan per the why-d - Quote: “Standard analytics Zapier integration Custom domain Open web pages in app” - **Member analytics**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Quote: “You can track monthly and daily active members, content views and post interactions, your most engaged members, growth and retention rates, which posts and resources get the most engagement, notificat” - **SSO / integrations**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Quote: “For authentication, we support SSO/SAML and OAuth. We also offer enterprise integrations including Salesforce and Shopify” - **Moderation tools**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Quote: “We provide the secure infrastructure, GDPR-compliant hosting, data encryption, privacy controls, and moderation tools.” - **API / webhooks**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: Webhooks are also listed as an included feature row on the Pro tier of the plan comparison table on the pricing page. Gated to Pro/Enterprise plans, which per policy still counts as yes. - Quote: “Yes, on Pro and Enterprise plans. Our REST API lets you auto add or remove members, push content from external systems, pull engagement data, sync member profiles, trigger notifications, and integrate” - **Free tier**: No — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: Only a 30-day free trial exists; the pricing page lists no free/permanent plan, only three paid tiers (Branded App, Branded App Plus, Branded App Pro) plus a custom-priced Organisation tier. - Quote: “Yes, we offer a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. You get full platform access to configure branding and test features.” --- Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/