ChatGPT answers, unedited

For a beginner with zero development skills, I’d shortlist three, with Circle as my top pick.

🥇 Best overall: Circle

Circle is probably the closest match to what you described: paid membership + discussion + events, without needing to stitch several services together.

• Discussion: organized spaces, chat, member profiles, messaging
• Events: free or paid events, recurring events, live streams/rooms
• Membership: subscriptions, paywalls, trials, discounts
• Website: build your community landing pages without code
• Payments: handled through Stripe
• Beginner-friendly: drag-and-drop customization and built-in automations
• Cost: Professional is currently $89/month, with a 14-day trial. circle.so

Why I'd choose it: It feels more like a polished membership business than a collection of tools. You can have, for example:

Members → Discussion → Events → Resources → Member Directory

and charge something like $29/month or $290/year.

🥈 Best if community engagement is the main thing: Mighty Networks

Mighty is excellent if you want the community itself to feel like the product. It supports discussions, groups, events, courses, gamification, messaging and paid memberships. www.mightynetworks.com

Its current Launch plan is $79/month, with unlimited members, events, courses and spaces, plus a 2% transaction fee. www.mightynetworks.com

I'd pick Mighty over Circle if you're imagining something more like "a club people belong to" rather than primarily a content/membership website.

🥉 Worth considering: Heartbeat

Heartbeat is particularly interesting if your community will revolve around cohorts, live events, workshops, coaching, or a very active discussion environment. It has strong payment and event functionality. www.heartbeat.chat

My recommendation for you

I'd start with Circle. You don't need to know how to code, and you can launch with just a few things: a landing page, paid membership, 3–5 discussion spaces, and an events calendar. Circle specifically supports memberships, discussions, events, payments and automations in one platform. circle.so

If you tell me what kind of community you're planning (e.g. fitness, professional networking, hobby, local club, coaching, parents, creators, etc.) and roughly how much you want to charge per month, I can recommend the best platform and a simple setup for it.

For a beginner with no development skills, I’d shortlist three platforms—but my first choice would be Mighty Networks.

🥇 Best overall: Mighty Networks

mightynetworks.com

It’s particularly well suited to what you described: paid memberships + discussion + events, without needing to piece together several services.

• Paid memberships: recurring monthly/annual payments and paid access. Mighty Networks
• Discussion: activity feeds, posts, comments, chat spaces, member profiles, etc. Mighty Networks
• Events: built-in event calendar, RSVPs, reminders, virtual/in-person events, and even paid events. Mighty Networks
• Beginner-friendly: it provides an AI assistant and a framework for designing your community, rather than expecting you to figure everything out yourself. Mighty Networks
• Mobile apps: members can participate through native iOS/Android apps. Mighty Networks
• Trial: 14 days, with no credit card required. Mighty Networks

Why I'd pick it for you: it feels more like you're setting up a club than building a website. You can create something like:

Your Community
💬 General Discussion
🎯 Monthly Challenges
📅 Events Calendar
🎥 Workshops
👋 Introductions
🔒 Members Only

Then charge, for example, $15/month or $150/year for access.

🥈 Best if you want a more polished/professional website: Circle

circle.so

Circle is probably the strongest alternative. Its Professional plan currently includes discussions, events, paid memberships, website builder, live streams, custom branding, member directory, and analytics for $89/month. Circle Circle

I'd choose Circle over Mighty if your community is going to feel more like a professional membership organization, education business, or industry network.

🥉 If keeping costs very low is the priority

I'd still start by comparing Mighty's entry-level offering against Circle rather than choosing solely on price. Mighty currently advertises an Explore plan at $35/month when billed annually, with discussions, chat, events, and branding. Mighty Networks

My recommendation for you

Start with Mighty Networks.

You don't need to learn WordPress, coding, databases, payment integrations, or build an event system. I'd keep your first version extremely simple:

1. Create your community.
2. Set one monthly membership price.
3. Create 4–6 discussion spaces.
4. Add a recurring weekly or monthly event.
5. Invite your first 10–20 members.
6. See what they actually use before adding more features.

If you tell me what the community is about (e.g. fitness, local networking, professional group, hobby, coaching, parents, creators), I can recommend the best platform + exact membership setup + pricing for your particular idea.

🥈 Best if you want a more polished/professional website: Circle

circle.so

Circle is probably the strongest alternative. Its Professional plan currently includes discussions, events, paid memberships, website builder, live streams, custom branding, member directory, and analytics for $89/month. circle.so circle.so

I'd choose Circle over Mighty if your community is going to feel more like a professional membership organization, education business, or industry network.

🥉 If keeping costs very low is the priority

I'd still start by comparing Mighty's entry-level offering against Circle rather than choosing solely on price. Mighty currently advertises an Explore plan at $35/month when billed annually, with discussions, chat, events, and branding.

My recommendation for you

Start with Mighty Networks.

For a beginner with no development skills, I’d shortlist three platforms—but my top recommendation is Circle.

🥇 My pick: Circle

circle.so

Circle is probably the best fit if you want your community to feel like a professional paid membership business, rather than just a chat group.

It gives you, in one place:

• Paid memberships — recurring subscriptions and access control
• Discussion spaces — organize conversations by topic
• Events — create and manage events
• Live streams and live rooms
• Member profiles and directory
• Website/landing-page builder
• Custom branding and your own domain
• Courses, if you eventually want educational content
• No coding required Circle Circle

The Professional plan is currently $89/month, with a 14-day free trial. Circle

Why I'd choose it for you: it's relatively easy to start with, but you won't quickly outgrow it if your community becomes a serious business.

🥈 Mighty Networks — best if events are central

mightynetworks.com

I'd choose Mighty if your vision is more like:

"Members join us for an ongoing experience with regular events, activities, conversations and connections."

It has discussion/activity feeds, chat spaces, recurring events, RSVPs, paid events, memberships, courses, and particularly strong mobile experiences. Mighty Networks Mighty Networks

It's also explicitly designed around paid communities and subscriptions. Mighty Networks

Best for: a community where the community experience itself is the product.

🥉 Skool — easiest/simple option

skool.com

Skool is worth considering if you want something extremely straightforward. It's particularly popular for paid communities built around courses, coaching, accountability, and gamification. UniLink | Link in Bio Website

The tradeoff is that it's less flexible and polished for building a highly customized membership experience.

My recommendation for your situation

I'd start with Circle. You can create something as simple as:

Home → Discussions → Events → Member Directory → Resources

Then charge, for example, $19/month, $39/month, or $99/year for membership. You don't need to build a website separately or know how to code.

One important beginner tip: don't spend weeks building the community before you have members. Set up the basic spaces, create 2–3 recurring events, define what members get each month, and start selling/validating it.

If you tell me what the community is about and roughly how much you want to charge, I can recommend the exact platform + plan and show you what I'd build inside it.

For a beginner with zero development skills, I’d recommend Circle as the best overall fit.

🥇 My pick: Circle

It gives you essentially everything you described in one place:

• Paid memberships — recurring subscriptions and access control
• Discussion/community — posts, comments, chat, member profiles
• Events — event calendar, RSVPs, recurring events, reminders, and paid events
• Website/landing pages — so you don't need to build a separate website
• Payments — built into the platform
• No-code customization — drag-and-drop rather than programming
• Mobile experience — members can use it on web and mobile circle.so

Circle's Professional plan is currently $89/month and includes unlimited members, discussions, events, paid memberships, live streams/rooms, custom branding, and a 14-day trial. circle.so

See Circle's plans

Two alternatives worth considering

Mighty Networks is particularly strong for member-driven communities: it combines discussions, chat, events, livestreaming, courses, memberships, and engagement features such as polls and gamification. www.mightynetworks.com

See Mighty Networks

What I'd build in your situation

Keep the first version very simple:

Your community
→ Welcome / Start Here
→ General Discussion
→ Member Introductions
→ Events Calendar
→ Monthly Members-Only Event
→ Resources

Then sell one membership, e.g. $29/month, rather than launching with multiple tiers.

Circle is especially attractive because you can start with that simple setup and later add courses, additional membership tiers, automated onboarding, newsletters, and more without migrating to another system. circle.so

Bottom line: If your goal is “I don't know how to code and I want to get a paid community with discussions and events online without stitching together five different tools,” I'd start with Circle.

For a beginner with no development skills, I’d recommend Circle.

🥇 My pick: Circle

It’s particularly well suited to what you described because it puts paid memberships, discussions, events, payments, and your community website in one place. Its Professional plan currently includes unlimited members, discussions, events, paid memberships, a website builder, custom domain, live rooms/streams, and member profiles. It’s $89/month with a 14-day trial. circle.so

The big advantage for a non-technical person is that you don't have to stitch together something like:

WordPress + membership plugin + Stripe + Eventbrite + Discord + email software

Instead, you can build something more like:

Your website → Join → Pay → Member dashboard → Discussions → Events → Member directory

Two alternatives I'd consider

Mighty Networks is probably Circle's strongest competitor. It has discussions, chat, events, courses, livestreaming and membership monetization, and is designed specifically around paid communities. www.mightynetworks.com

I'd choose Mighty Networks over Circle if your vision is more like a social club where members interact constantly, attend events, and use the community almost like a social network.

I'd choose Circle if you want something that feels more like a premium membership organization/business with organized discussion spaces, events, content and a polished website.

What I'd do in your shoes

Start with Circle's 14-day trial and build only these five things:

1. Home — explain what members get.
2. Membership — $X/month or $X/year.
3. Discussion areas — e.g. General, Introductions, Questions.
4. Events — upcoming events + recordings/replays.
5. Member directory — let members discover each other.

Don't worry about advanced automation, courses, AI, or custom integrations initially.

If you tell me what the community is about, roughly how many members you expect (e.g. 50, 500, 5,000), and what you want to charge, I can recommend the best platform and a simple setup for your specific situation.

For a beginner with no development skills, I’d shortlist these three:

🥇 My pick: Circle

Circle

I think Circle is the best fit for what you described. It's specifically designed to combine discussions, events, memberships, payments, and content without requiring you to code. Its current Professional plan is $89/month and includes unlimited members, discussions, events, paid memberships, a website builder, live streams, custom branding, and a member directory. circle.so

You could set it up roughly like:

Your Community

• 🏠 Welcome / Start Here
• 💬 General Discussion
• 🎯 Member Questions
• 📅 Events Calendar
• 🎥 Monthly Workshops
• 👥 Member Directory
• 🔒 Premium Members area

You can then sell monthly or annual memberships and use paywalls to control which areas members can access. Circle also supports paid events if you eventually want to charge separately for workshops or special events. help.circle.so

🥈 Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks

I'd choose Mighty Networks if you want the community itself to feel more like a social network. It has discussions, chat, events, polls, livestreaming, paid events, courses, and native mobile apps. circle.sohelp.circle.sowww.mightynetworks.comwww.kajabi.com

It's particularly attractive if your business depends on members coming back frequently and interacting with one another, rather than simply consuming your content.

🥉 Kajabi

Kajabi

Choose Kajabi if your membership is really going to be courses/content + community + marketing. It's stronger than Circle for funnels, email marketing, and selling educational products, but I'd consider it more platform than you need if discussion and events are the heart of your business. www.kajabi.com

What I'd do in your shoes

Start with Circle if your vision is something like:

"People pay $20–$50/month to join a community, participate in discussions, attend regular live events, and get access to members-only resources."

You don't need a developer, separate forum software, a payment system, or a custom website to get started. Circle's drag-and-drop setup and built-in memberships/payments are specifically intended for this kind of launch. circle.so

One important beginner tip: don't build 30 different sections before launching. Start with one membership, 3–5 discussion spaces, and a recurring weekly/biweekly event. Get your first members using it, then expand based on what they actually want.

If you tell me what your community is about and roughly how much you want to charge per month, I can recommend the exact platform and a simple setup for your first 30 members.

For a beginner with no development skills, I’d shortlist three platforms—but Mighty Networks would be my first choice for your specific use case.

🥇 My pick: Mighty Networks

It’s particularly well suited to a paid membership where the main experience is people + conversations + recurring events, rather than primarily selling courses.

You can have:

• Paid monthly/annual memberships
• Discussion/feed posts and comments
• Real-time chat
• Event calendar + RSVPs + reminders
• Livestreams
• Member profiles and directories
• Multiple spaces/groups
• Built-in payments
• A website/community experience without coding

Mighty explicitly supports recurring paid memberships and paid events, and its current plans include community, events, and membership features. www.mightynetworks.comcircle.so

Mighty Networks

Why I'd choose it for you: you can start relatively simply—essentially “join → pay → enter community → see discussions and upcoming events”—without having to stitch together a website, membership system, event software, and discussion forum.

🥈 Circle — best if you want a more polished/professional feel

Circle is probably my second choice.

It combines discussions, events, paid memberships, courses, live streams, website building, member profiles, and payments in one system. Its Professional plan is currently listed at $89/month, with a 14-day trial. circle.so

Circle

I'd pick Circle if you're thinking:

“I want this to feel like a premium membership business, with a beautiful branded website/community.”

🥉 Skool — best if simplicity is everything

Skool is worth considering if you want the least complicated setup possible, particularly if your community will have a course/learning component.

It's known for a very straightforward community + membership model and gamification. The tradeoff is that it's less flexible than Circle or Mighty for building a richer events/community experience.

Skool

My recommendation

For what you described, I'd start with Mighty Networks. It gives you the pieces you actually need without forcing you to become a web developer. It currently offers a 14-day trial with no credit card required, so you can build a prototype before committing. www.mightynetworks.com

One important beginner tip: don't overbuild it. Start with just:

1. A landing/welcome page
2. One paid membership
3. One main discussion space
4. An events calendar
5. A recurring weekly/monthly event
6. A simple member directory

Then add courses, multiple membership tiers, automations, etc. only once members actually need them.

For a beginner with no development skills, I’d shortlist three platforms—but my first choice would be Mighty Networks.

🥇 My pick: Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is probably the best fit if your core product is “people pay to belong to a community, attend events, and interact with each other.”

It gives you, in one place:

• Paid memberships with recurring or one-time payments
• Discussion/feed areas and real-time chat
• Event calendars, RSVPs, reminders, and paid events
• Livestreaming
• Member profiles and directories
• Mobile apps
• Optional courses/content
• No coding required www.mightynetworks.com

Its current Explore plan is advertised at $350/year when billed annually (equivalent to about $29/month), with a 14-day trial; the Launch plan is $950/year. www.mightynetworks.com

Mighty Networks

🥈 Circle — best if you want a polished, premium feel

Circle is excellent if you want your community to feel more like a professional membership business.

It combines discussions, events, courses, live rooms, a website, paid memberships, member profiles, and analytics. Its Professional plan is currently $89/month, with a 14-day trial. circle.so

I'd choose Circle over Mighty if branding, website presentation, and a polished customer experience matter more to you than keeping costs down.

Circle

🥉 Skool — easiest/most stripped-down

Skool is worth considering if you want something extremely simple: community + memberships + content + gamification.

The tradeoff is that it's less flexible for an event-heavy community than Mighty or Circle. Recent comparisons consistently position Skool as the simpler, more gamified option. aitechstack.io

Skool

What I'd choose in your situation

My recommendation: start with Mighty Networks. You can create something like:

$29/month membership → private community → monthly member meetup → weekly discussion → member directory → occasional paid workshops

And you don't need to stitch together five different services to make it work.

One important beginner tip: don't build a giant community before getting members. Start with one clear paid membership, one recurring event, and a handful of discussion topics. Once people are actually using it, add complexity. Mighty itself recommends a simple recurring rhythm of themes, events, and conversations rather than overwhelming members with content. www.mightynetworks.com

If you tell me what the community is about and roughly how much you want to charge per month, I can recommend the exact platform/setup I'd use and estimate your monthly costs.

For a beginner with no technical skills, I’d shortlist these three:

🥇 My pick: Mighty Networks

I'd start with Mighty Networks if your vision is something like:

“People pay $20–$50/month to join my community, participate in discussions, attend regular events, and meet other members.”

It puts membership payments, discussion feeds, chat, member profiles, events, RSVPs, livestreaming, and courses in one place, so you don't have to stitch together several services. www.mightynetworks.com

It's also unusually beginner-friendly: Mighty currently offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card, and its lower-tier plans are specifically positioned for launching your first community. www.mightynetworks.com

One caveat: its pricing has changed and varies by plan/billing period, so I'd check the current pricing before committing. The current site shows an Explore plan at $350/year when billed annually and a Launch plan at $950/year. www.mightynetworks.com

🥈 Circle — best if you want a more polished business

Circle would be my second choice. It's particularly good if you want your community to eventually become a more sophisticated membership business.

It has paid subscriptions, paywalls, discussions, events, courses, live streams, a website builder, member directory, analytics, and custom branding. Its current Professional plan is listed at $89/month. circle.so

I'd choose Circle over Mighty if you care a lot about branding, organization, and eventually adding more sophisticated marketing/automation.

What I wouldn't do

Since you're a beginner, I wouldn't build this from separate tools like:

• WordPress + membership plugin
• Discord + Stripe
• Zoom + Facebook Groups + payment software
• Custom website + event software

They can work, but you're signing yourself up to maintain multiple systems.

My recommendation

Start with Mighty Networks.

You could launch something very simple:

Membership: $29/month
↓
Private community: introductions + general discussion
↓
Weekly event: live workshop/Q&A
↓
Monthly event: guest speaker/networking
↓
Member directory: people can find and connect with each other

You don't need to build a complicated "platform." Your first goal should be to get 10–20 paying members and see what they actually want.

If you tell me what the community is about (e.g. fitness, entrepreneurs, local networking, hobby, professional group, parents, creators, etc.) and roughly how much you want to charge per month, I can recommend the best platform and a simple setup for it.

For a beginner with zero development skills, I’d start with Circle.

Circle is particularly well suited to what you described because it combines paid memberships, discussion spaces, events, member profiles, payments, and a website builder in one place. Its current Professional plan is $89/month and includes unlimited members, discussions, events, paid memberships, custom branding, and a custom domain. circle.so

My recommendation

1. Circle — best overall for your use case

Think of it as your own private combination of:

• Facebook Groups → discussions/community
• Eventbrite → events & RSVPs
• Patreon → recurring paid memberships
• Simple website → landing page and signup
• Zoom-style live rooms → live community sessions

You can create different membership tiers, restrict access to particular spaces, collect recurring payments, and run both free and paid events without coding. circle.so

2. Mighty Networks — best if community engagement is the priority

Mighty Networks is probably the strongest alternative. It has discussions, chat, events, RSVPs, livestreaming, paid events, memberships, and customizable "Spaces." It is also explicitly designed to let nontechnical people build membership communities without writing code. www.mightynetworks.com

I'd lean toward Mighty if you want the community to feel more like a social network, with lots of member interaction and activity.

Circle vs. Mighty for you

My pick: Circle. It has a particularly clean, organized interface, so I'd choose it if you're starting from scratch and don't have technical help.

One important consideration: $89/month is a meaningful expense before you have members. If you tell me roughly how much you want to charge members (e.g. $10, $25, $50/month), how many members you expect initially, and whether events will be online or in-person, I can recommend the most economical setup and tell you exactly what I'd use.

For a beginner with zero development skills, I’d shortlist Mighty Networks and Circle. Both are genuinely no-code and combine paid memberships, discussions, and events rather than forcing you to stitch several tools together.

🥇 My pick: Mighty Networks

I’d choose Mighty Networks if your main product is the community itself.

It gives you:

• Paid memberships & subscriptions built in
• Discussion/feed + real-time chat
• Events, RSVPs and reminders
• Livestreaming
• Member profiles/directories
• Courses, if you eventually want educational content
• Mobile apps
• Automated onboarding and engagement features www.mightynetworks.com

The particularly nice thing for a non-technical beginner is that you don't need to assemble a stack of WordPress + Stripe + Zoom + forum software. Mighty is designed around putting the community, events, content and payments together. www.mightynetworks.comcircle.socircle.so

Its current Explore plan is advertised at $350/year when billed annually, with a 14-day free trial; higher plans add more capabilities. www.mightynetworks.com

🥈 Best alternative: Circle

I'd pick Circle if you want a more polished, professional-looking membership business and expect to eventually sell courses, coaching, or other digital products alongside the community.

Circle includes:

• Paid memberships/subscriptions
• Discussion spaces
• Events
• Live streams and live rooms
• Courses
• Website/landing-page builder
• Custom domain and branding
• Member directory
• Analytics circle.so

The current Professional plan is $89/month, with a 14-day free trial. circle.so

Quick decision

For your situation, I'd start with Mighty Networks. You can create something as simple as:

$29/month membership → private community → weekly discussion → monthly live event → member directory → occasional workshops

You don't need to build everything at once. In fact, I'd launch with one membership tier, one discussion area, and one recurring event and see whether people actually pay.

If you tell me what the community is about (e.g. fitness, business networking, hobby, professional association, local community, coaching), I can recommend the best platform and a simple $/month membership structure for it.

If you're starting from zero and want a paid membership community with discussions and events, I'd narrow it to these three:

1. Circle — Best overall for beginners who want to grow

Best if: You want a polished, professional community without needing to piece together different tools.

What you get:

• ✅ Paid memberships (monthly or annual)
• ✅ Discussion forums
• ✅ Live events and event calendar
• ✅ Member profiles
• ✅ Email notifications
• ✅ Private spaces for different membership tiers
• ✅ Courses (if you ever want to add them later)

Pros

• Very beginner-friendly
• Looks professional out of the box
• Everything is in one place
• Scales well as your community grows

Cons

• More expensive than some alternatives
• More features than you may need on day one

Circle is consistently one of the strongest all-in-one platforms for paid communities because it combines memberships, discussions, events, and content without requiring technical setup. circle.sowww.learningrevolution.netdupple.com

2. Mighty Networks — Best if community is your business

Best if: You expect lots of interaction, regular events, and eventually a mobile app experience.

Pros

• Excellent event management
• Strong member engagement features
• Built-in courses and challenges
• Native mobile apps

Cons

• Slightly steeper learning curve
• Interface can feel busy initially

Many creators use Mighty Networks when they want a vibrant community with recurring events and multiple membership offerings. circle.sowww.learningrevolution.netdupple.com

3. Skool — Simplest to launch

Best if: You want the easiest possible setup.

Pros

• Extremely easy to learn
• Built-in gamification encourages participation
• Includes discussions, calendar, and memberships
• Great for coaching and mastermind groups

Cons

• Limited customization
• Fewer branding options
• Less flexible if your community grows into something more complex

Skool is often recommended for first-time community builders who value simplicity over extensive customization. www.learningrevolution.netdupple.com

My recommendation for a complete beginner

If you're planning to charge $20–100/month for membership, I'd choose Circle. It strikes a strong balance between ease of use today and flexibility as your community grows, so you're less likely to need to migrate later.

Typical setup (no coding)

1. Create your community.
2. Connect a payment processor (such as Stripe).
3. Set your monthly membership price.
4. Create discussion spaces (e.g., General, Q&A, Wins, Resources).
5. Schedule recurring events (weekly calls, workshops, office hours).
6. Invite members with a shareable link.

You can usually have a basic community up and running in a day without writing code.

If you tell me what your community is about (for example, fitness, investing, coaching, parenting, AI, or a professional association) and roughly how many members you expect in the first year, I can recommend the platform that best fits that use case and budget.

For a beginner with no development skills, I’d shortlist three platforms—but Circle would be my first choice for your use case.

🥇 My pick: Circle

Circle is particularly well suited to a paid membership community centered around discussion + events. Its Professional plan currently includes:

• Paid memberships and payments
• Discussion spaces
• Events
• Live streams and live rooms
• Member directory and profiles
• Custom branding and domain
• Website builder
• Courses, if you add educational content later
• No coding required

The Professional plan is currently $89/month, with a 14-day trial. circle.so

Why I'd choose it for you: it feels more like a polished membership website than a Facebook Group/Discord server, while still being relatively straightforward to set up.

🥈 Mighty Networks

I'd choose Mighty if you want the community to feel more like a social network of its own, particularly if mobile experience and different sub-groups are important.

It supports paid memberships, events, courses, discussions, and customizable "Spaces." Its current entry-level paid offering is around $79/month when billed annually. www.mightynetworks.com

Best for: a larger, more community-centric organization with multiple groups, programs, or types of members.

🥉 Skool

Skool is probably the easiest to understand, especially if you're going to combine a membership with courses, coaching, or accountability.

It has a very simple structure: community discussion + classroom + events, with gamification such as points and leaderboards. The tradeoff is that it's less customizable than Circle. www.mightynetworks.com

Best for: "Pay $X/month and join my community/coaching group."

My recommendation for your situation

If I were starting from zero, I'd use Circle. You could launch with just three things: a members area, discussion spaces, and an events calendar. Don't overbuild it initially.

If you tell me roughly how many members you expect (e.g. 50, 500, 5,000), what you'd charge per month, and whether events are online or in-person, I can recommend the specific plan and show you what your simplest setup would look like.

If you're a complete beginner with no development skills, I'd shortlist these three:

🥇 My pick: Mighty Networks

I'd start with Mighty Networks.

It is specifically designed to let non-developers create a community with member profiles, discussion feeds, chat, events, livestreams, payments, and memberships without stitching together multiple services. www.mightynetworks.comwww.mightynetworks.comcircle.so

You can, for example, create:

• Free public area — announcements and a few sample discussions
• Paid membership — $19/month or $29/month
• Members-only discussions
• Weekly live event
• Monthly workshop
• Member directory
• Welcome/onboarding experience

It also supports recurring, one-time, and other payment options, so you aren't limited to a single subscription model. www.mightynetworks.com

The current Explore plan is advertised at $350/year when paid annually, with a 14-day trial; higher plans add more capabilities. www.mightynetworks.com

🥈 Heartbeat

I'd choose Heartbeat if your community is more about conversation + live meetings than building a large social network.

It combines channels, discussions, DMs, member directory, events, RSVPs, paid tickets, memberships and payments in one platform. www.heartbeat.chat

Its interface looks particularly well suited to something like:

"A paid membership for 50–500 people who meet online every week."

You can create paid membership tiers without needing to build your own payment system. help.heartbeat.chat

🥉 Circle

Circle is my pick if you care a lot about having a slick, professional-looking branded experience.

It has discussions, events, live rooms, courses, paid memberships, a website builder, member directory and custom domain all in the same platform. Its Professional plan is currently $89/month, with a 14-day trial. circle.so

The downside for a beginner is that it gives you more configuration and business features, which can make the initial setup feel less straightforward than Mighty or Heartbeat.

What I'd do in your shoes

Start with Mighty Networks unless you have a specific reason not to.

Don't try to build a huge community immediately. Set up just:

Landing page → Payment → Member area → Discussion → Events

Then launch with perhaps one membership tier and one recurring weekly event. You can add courses, additional tiers, automations, etc. later.

If you tell me what the community is about, roughly how many members you expect, and what you'd like to charge per month, I can recommend the specific platform and plan—and give you a simple beginner setup that doesn't require any technical knowledge.