Top Ning Alternatives: Build Your Community Your Way

Ning is known as a social platform for interests and passions, allowing millions of people to connect around shared pursuits. However, for various reasons, individuals and organizations often seek out alternatives that offer different features, more control, or a specific focus. Whether you're looking for open-source solutions, enhanced privacy, or specialized community tools, there are many excellent Ning alternatives available.

Top Ning Alternatives

If you're ready to move beyond Ning or are just starting your journey to build an online community, these platforms offer diverse functionalities to help you achieve your goals.

Minds

Minds is a strong Ning alternative, offering a free and open-source platform to launch your digital brand, social network, and mobile app. Available as Freemium for Web, Android, and iPhone, Minds is highly privacy-focused with features like encrypted chat, anti-censorship, and decentralization, appealing to those seeking freedom and security in their online communities.

Discourse

Discourse is an excellent open-source, self-hosted forum solution that can serve as a robust Ning alternative for discussion-centric communities. Written in Ruby and JavaScript with Docker support, it features integrated spam protection, live push notifications, mobile friendliness, and integrations with Slack and WordPress, making it ideal for creating engaging and manageable forums.

Friendica

Friendica is a distributed social network that stands out as a Ning alternative with its focus on decentralization, privacy, and interoperability. This free, open-source platform can be self-hosted on Linux and BSD, utilizing PHP. Its features include federation, Diaspora and Twitter integration, group messaging, and RSVP functionality for community events.

Flarum

Flarum is a next-generation forum software that provides a simple, fast, and free alternative to Ning, especially for those prioritizing discussion. It's an open-source, self-hosted PHP platform known for its lightweight nature, responsive design, and extensibility through plugins and themes, making it visually appealing and customizable.

HumHub

HumHub is a free social network software and framework that serves as an excellent Ning alternative for building internal social networks or collaborative community platforms. Available as Freemium, open-source, and self-hosted on Mac, Windows, Linux, and Web (PHP), it offers features like intranet functionality, real-time collaboration, task management, and team collaboration tools.

phpBB

phpBB has long been a leading open-source forum solution, making it a reliable and free Ning alternative for communities centered around discussions. Self-hostable on Mac, Windows, and Linux, and built with PHP, phpBB provides an easy-to-use administration interface and robust forum features for effective community engagement and customer feedback.

Okuna

Okuna (formerly Openbook) is an appealing open-source Ning alternative, particularly for those concerned with privacy and data tracking. This free platform, available on Web and Android, boasts a zero-tracking, zero-spying, and zero-advertisement policy, focusing purely on providing a secure social network experience.

BuddyPress

BuddyPress is an excellent free and open-source Ning alternative for anyone already using WordPress or looking to build a social network on top of it. Self-hosted and built for WordPress, it allows you to create niche communities for companies, schools, or sports teams with ease, leveraging WordPress's flexibility.

Open Source Social Network (OSSN) is a free, open-source social networking software written in PHP, making it a direct Ning alternative for self-hosting. Available on Linux, OSSN allows users to create their own social networking websites, providing members with tools to build and engage within their online communities.

MeWe

MeWe, formerly Sgrouples, presents itself as "The World's Private Communication Network," making it a compelling free Ning alternative focused on privacy. Available on Web, Android, and iPhone, MeWe offers features like encrypted chat, cloud storage, no filter bubble, and stream ordering control, empowering users with more control over their social experience.

The landscape of online community platforms is diverse, offering many powerful Ning alternatives. Each platform brings its unique strengths, from open-source flexibility and self-hosting options to enhanced privacy and specialized features. Explore these options to find the best fit for your community's specific needs and goals.