Best group chat for professional communities (2026)

Updated October 30, 2026 and November 5, 2026. Run by the Best Group Chat team.

It depends on whether members pay. Choose Circle or Mighty Networks for paid communities, Slack for groups already in Slack, Discord for large always-on groups, or Tribe for interest-based groups that want applications.

Best Group Chat is a project of Tribe, the company behind the Tribe group chat app, so Tribe is one of the options below. We list options alphabetically and take competitor facts from their own pages. Facts were read on November 5, 2026.

How do the options compare?

Platforms for professional communities compared
Platform	Best for	Cost	Largest group
Circle	Paid communities that sell courses, events and memberships	Plans start at $89 per month on annual billing (Professional). Business is $199 and Scale is $419. Circle Plus is custom. 14-day free trial, no credit card required.	Unlimited members on every plan
Discord	Large, always-on communities with live text, voice and video	Discord sells paid Nitro memberships. In the US, Nitro Basic is $2.99 per month and Nitro is $9.99 per month. Prices vary by country. Check Discord for current options.	25 million members per server
Mighty Networks	Paid communities and courses with live streaming	Launch is $79 per month or $950 per year. Scale is $179 per month and Growth is $354 per month. Mighty Pro is custom.	Unlimited members on every plan
Slack	Professional groups that already work in Slack	Free plan. Pro is $7.25 per user per month billed annually, or $8.75 billed monthly.	Not stated on Slack's pricing page
Tribe	Interest-based communities that want discovery, member profiles and applications	Free for all users, with every core feature on the free plan. The optional paid Tribe Insider unlocks premium features and costs $14.99 per month or $119.99 per year.	Set by each chat's host. Tribe recommends 50 to 100 members to keep chats close.

What should you know about each?

Circle

Transaction fees are 2% on Professional and 1% on Business and Scale. Business adds workflows, APIs, a white-labeled community and the option to remove Circle branding. Scale adds AI agents, webhooks and custom SSO.

Discord

Server Discovery needs 1,000+ members and a server at least 8 weeks old.

Mighty Networks

Transaction fees are 2% on Launch, 1% on Scale and 0.5% on Growth. Plans differ in live streaming hours (20 to 50 a month), viewers per stream and storage (200 GB to 4 TB). Growth adds priority support and branded apps.

Slack

The Free plan shows the last 90 days of messages and allows 10 apps. Admins on every plan can require approval for new invitations.

Tribe

Hosts get host tools and analytics, and can easily remove members who cause problems. Hosts review applications before people join and always control who enters and leaves. Apps for Mac, iOS, Android and the web.

How do you pick?

Decide first whether members pay. Paid communities fit Circle or Mighty Networks.
If your members already work in Slack, a Slack group needs no new app.
Check cost per member on Slack and the flat monthly price on Circle and Mighty Networks.
Decide how people join: open invite, application or purchase.

FAQ

What is the best group chat for a professional community?

Slack suits groups already in Slack. Circle suits paid communities that sell courses, events and memberships. Mighty Networks suits paid communities and courses with live streaming. Discord suits large always-on groups. Tribe suits interest-based groups that want applications.

Which options let me charge for membership?

Circle and Mighty Networks both list transaction fees on payments, which means they handle paid memberships. Check each pricing page for the fee on your plan.

Which options have unlimited members?

Circle and Mighty Networks both list unlimited members on every plan. Discord lists 25 million members per server.

Who runs this site?

The Best Group Chat team. A project of Tribe, the company behind the Tribe group chat app.