Bettermode vs Hylo (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Bettermode if

• Fits if you want a community on your own domain and have a budget above $149 a month
• Works for companies running a support or customer community with Q&A

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you outgrow Starter: it jumps from $149 to $1,500 a month
• Tight if you have a big group: Starter caps members at 10,000 and collaborators at 5
• Watch out: Premium has no published price and is sold through sales
• Skip it if you want to sell courses, as there is no built-in course checkout

Pick Hylo if

• Fits if you run a mutual-aid or place-based group on a zero budget
• Works for groups that want chat, events and decisions in one place

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you need an API or video streaming, as Hylo Pro is not out yet
• Watch out: attachments cap at 50 MB each
• Watch out: stewardship help costs extra, from $300 for a support call
• Skip it if you want branding, as Hylo Whitelabel is listed as coming soon

Bettermode

• The jump from Starter ($149 a month) to Growth ($1,500 a month) is steep, and AI search and webhooks sit behind it.
• Plans cap members and collaborators: 10,000 and 5 on Starter.
• Premium has no published price and is sold through sales.
• There is no built-in course checkout; it is a community platform.

Hylo

• File storage is limited, with a 50 MB maximum per attachment.
• Hylo Pro (an estimated $60 per group per month) and Hylo Whitelabel are listed as coming soon, so API access and video streaming are not yet available.
• Hands-on stewardship support is sold separately: $300 for a support call, $2,500 for onboarding, $100 per month for ongoing support.

Bettermode

Core community apps

Q&A, discussion, events and polls are included on every plan, plus private messaging and chat.

Your own domain

Runs on a custom domain, with the Bettermode credit removed, from the entry plan.

Ask AI and federated search

Growth adds AI-based answers and search across connected sources.

API, webhooks and sandbox

Starter has limited API access; Growth adds full API, webhooks and a sandbox environment.

Single sign-on options

Social login on Starter, OAuth2 and JWT on Growth, SAML on Premium.

Enterprise controls

Premium lists an audit log, a security and legal review and a SOC II claim.

Hylo

Groups and subgroups

Nested and peer groups with unlimited members, plus a public commons for discovering other groups.

Discussion and chat

Threaded conversations with topics and tags, and real-time chat rooms inside any group.

Requests, offers and projects

Mutual-support requests and offers with completion tracking, and projects with tasks, roles and timelines.

Proposals and decisions

Polls, proposals and quorum for structured decisions, with shared agreements and roles.

Events and map

In-person and virtual events with RSVPs and calendar sync, and a member map for place-based groups.

Mobile apps

iOS and Android apps that the vendor describes as full-featured, with email, push, in-app and digest notifications.

Bettermode

• Starter$149

  per month, billed yearly ($199 monthly)

  Up to 10,000 members and 5 collaborators; Q&A, discussion, events and polls, custom domain, limited API access.

• Growth$1,500

  per month, billed yearly ($1,750 monthly)

  Up to 25,000 members and 10 collaborators; adds Ask AI and federated search, webhooks, OAuth2 and JWT.

• PremiumCustom

  100,000+ members and 20+ collaborators; adds a design studio, custom CMS, SAML, a 99.9% uptime SLA and a customer success manager.

Hylo

• Hylo$0

  Free forever: groups and subgroups, chat, events, projects, proposals, map, member directory and mobile apps.

Bettermode

• Annual discount

  Save up to 25% with yearly billing

  The pricing page lists yearly rates below monthly ones, for example $149 against $199 for Starter, and says savings are up to 25%.

Hylo

No public discounts listed.