BuddyBoss Review – The Best Social network Theme

In this Buddyboss review, you'll find more information about its features, pricing, pros and cons and why you should consider using it.
9.5/10 (Expert Score)
Product is rated as #1 in category Social network WordPress Themes
9.5Expert Score
The Best Social Network Theme for WordPress

BuddyBoss is the best theme for BuddyPress to create a social networking site, an online course site or a membership website. Everything is perfectly integrated, the look of the theme is beautiful and its configuration is simple.

Customer support
9
Value for money
9.5
Ease of use
9.5
Features
10
PROS
  • LMS integration
  • Forum / Groups / Messages (Buddypress features)
  • Many integrations
  • Great customer support
  • Notifications system
  • Fully Integrated Social Media Platform
CONS
  • Expensive?

Many people have difficulty understanding how BuddyBoss works and what is offered. So we’re going to clear up BuddyBoss and you’ll understand everything!

Read further to learn more about BuddyBoss, we will detail its features, pros and cons with our rating, and a conclusion about why you should use it.

Click on “open” if you want to see exactly what we will talk about in the rest of this article:

Table of contents open

Quick Overview

What is BuddyBoss?

BuddyBoss Review - WordPress themes #Ciroapp

Buddyboss is a BuddyPress theme. You can create a social network using this theme.

If you are looking for an intuitive and seamless solution to build and manage social network platforms to engage the existing users or create a community, Buddyboss is one of the best plugins that will let you do so.

BuddyPress plugin is specially designed to enable businesses, schools, sports teams, or other communities to create their own social network tool. Buddyboss is a WordPress Plugin which will let you manage online courses, social networks etc. in one place. BuddyPress has all functional WordPress engine elements that include themes, widgets and plugins.

You have to understand that BuddyBoss works on the basis of BuddyPress and offers 2 different things: BuddyBoss theme and BuddyBoss platform. The latter is free and actually includes BuddyPress + BBPress, so 2 plugins in 1, we’ll see that in detail below.

BuddyBoss Platform vs BuddyBoss Theme: What

BuddyBoss specifications

FeaturesElementor compatible / Forum / Gamification integration / Group creation / LMS compatible / Membership integration / Mobile app / Private messaging / Woocommerce compatible / Zoom integration
Best suited forIndividuals, Freelancers, Small businesses
Website languagesEnglish
Website URLVisit official website
Support linkSupport page
Live chatNo
Company addressVancouver, Canada
Year founded2010

Pricing

BuddyBoss pricing: How much does BuddyBoss cost?

Buddyboss starts at $228 per year for one website and up to $348 per year for 10 websites (licenses).

Pricing rangeFrom $228/year to $348/year
Pricing typesAnnual subscription
Free planNo
Free trialNo
Money back guaranteeYes, 30 days
Pricing page linkSee plans

BuddyBoss pricing plans

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Just to make it clear, the BuddyBoss offer includes the BuddyBoss theme with the “BuddyBoss Platform” plugin which is free of charge. There will however be 1 year of included updates plus 1 year of premium support. Getting customer support allows you to avoid big problems if you have a site that generates a lot of money and visitors.

Buddyboss mobile app pricing

Buddyboss mobile app pricing Once your website is live and you already have a big community using your website, or if you only want to launch a mobile app, then you will have to subscribe a different plan to get the mobile app. For one website, the mobile app is $219 per month + a one-time fee for an on-boarding and publishing service.

You can feel that this price is cheap or expensive, it just depends about your point of view, but developing a mobile app from scratch can cost more than $10,000 and you will have to pay monthly maintenance and updates, it can easily be more than $1,000/month. For the other packages, you will only need them if you have multiple websites running with Buddyboss.

BuddyBoss Theme

BuddyBoss, the best BuddyPress Theme

To get to the point, the theme only allows for improving the appearance of the BuddyBoss platform plugin and the performance of the site. This makes it possible to get a site that is up to date, unlike other sites that use BuddyPress.

The theme also allows for integrating various plugins beautifully. We will detail them right after.

LearnDash Support

Transform your site into an LMS with the Learndash plugin. Users will be able to pay for access to online courses, get access to forums that are connected to the courses. They will be able to answer quizzes, send assignments, obtain certificates… In addition, the integration is perfect and allows a “no distraction” mode.

You will be able to offer access to the courses and online communities for free, with a single payment or with a subscription, using Stripe or PayPal.

LearnDash isn’t free, it’s compatible with BuddyBoss mobile app and the pricing/features are more interesting than LifterLMS, so I advise you to use LearnDash.

LearnDash integrated with BuddyBoss :

Learndash with Buddyboss

LifterLMS Support

LifterLMS offers virtually the same as LearnDash and is integrated in the same way. It’s a matter of taste and colors. The only differences are the possibility to offer “private coaching”, it’s affiliate ready with affiliate WP and it’s a lot better for Quiz and statistics. But on the other hand, it’s at least 5 times more expensive than LearnDash to have all the features…

You should also know that LifterLMS offers one plugin per feature. So if you buy their pack at 1000€/year, you will easily find yourself with 50 plugins installed on your site! And the less plugins installed the better!

Lifter LMS integrated with BuddyBoss :

LifterLMS with BubbyBoss

Buddyboss Mobile app

In 2020, having a mobile application is practically essential for a large-scale project. It enhances the user experience and helps to get repeat visitors. Beware, the mobile application offered by BuddyBoss is only compatible with LearnDash!

From what we have seen, they does not specifically advertise prices for mobile app creation. Nevertheless, it will surely be more than $10000. You can see all application demos and even have the opportunity to try them out.

Learn more
Discover their new mobile application system

They changed their pricing and mobile app features

buddyboss mobile apps

The mobile Buddyboss app will keep the same learning management system (only learndash and lifterlms for now) and community features with user profile.

Knowing that the site in mobile format is rather responsive, clear, and easy to use, you can use a Progressive Web APP system, learn more here.

BuddyBoss integrations

It is compatible with hundreds of different plugins and allows to integrate them perfectly with the theme. We have highlighted only the most interesting integrations. You can see all the integrations here.

Classified System

You can transform your social network website into a classified website, same as the Facebook marketplace for example. You just need to install the free plugin: Another WordPress Classifieds

Ecommerce

Hopefully, you can sell products with the plugin Woocommerce, it’s integrated and works really well.

Events system

If you want to add an event system with Calendar, ticket booking and that it is integrated into the news feed, it is possible with one of these 2 free plugins: Modern Events calendar or Events manager.

Forms

You can use plenty of plugin forms like Ninja Forms, WP Fluent Forms and Gravity Forms.

Gamification

With Gamify it’s possible to rewards users with points, ranks, badges, or achievements. Gamify is a free plugin, read more about the Gamify integration.

Gamify BuddyBoss

Job listings

Transform your social network into a free job site with the WP Job Manager plugin. Members can add job offers and apply for the job.

job offer buddyboss

Live Chat

You can give a live chat feature to your users with the iFlychat plugin. There is a free package, you may have to consider switching to a paid offer.

Membership plugins

If you want to set up a membership system to give Premium access to your members or simply charge for access to your site, you will need a membership system. You have the choice to use one of these plugins :

  • Memberpress
  • Restrict Content
  • Paid Membership Pro
  • Ultimate Membership Pro (needs to be set up correctly)

Optimization

We recommend that you use the WPRocket plugin which is adapted to BuddyBoss and is one of the best cache plugins.

Page Builder

BuddyBoss has thought of everything, there are even the most popular page builders formidably integrated. Here is a list of supported page builders:

If you don’t know which one to choose, we recommend using the elementor plugin (free). You will even be able to use elementor for forum discussions or other purposes!

Project Management

With the WP Project Manager plugin, you will be able to set up a project management system. With the premium version you can have all the following features :

  • To-do List
  • Milestone
  • Messages
  • Files
  • Notifications
  • Kanban Board for WordPress
  • Gantt Chart for WordPress
  • Time Tracker
  • Invoice for Charging Clients
  • BuddyPress for WordPress
  • SubTask for more simple task management system
  • WooCommerce Integration
  • Slack Integration
  • Managing projects from frontend

SEO plugins

BuddyBoss has made an effort on the integration of almost all SEO plugins. But no I’m kidding, as BuddyBoss is a fork of BuddyPress, it’s BuddyPress that we have to thank!

Supported WordPress plugins are :

  • All in One SEO pack
  • RankMath
  • SEOPress
  • Yoast SEO

BuddyBoss Platform

BuddyBoss Platform, the BuddyPress and BBPress fork

This plugin is a fork of BuddyPress and BBPress. Buddyboss has somehow brought the 2 plugins together into 1 and improved their functionality. So you can use this extension for free instead of BuddyPress while keeping the same compatibilities and functioning.

The Buddyboss Platform is and always will be 100% free and open-source under the GPLv2 license.

Download BuddyBoss Platform  / Have a look at the changelog

Main features

Main Buddyboss features

Member Profiles

Everything in a community website revolves around its members. Customize your community with fully editable profile fields that allow members to share details about themselves.

  • Custom Profile Types: Every community is unique. You can create as many profile types as you want, name them however you want, and set different rules and settings depending on the profile type.
  • Custom Profile Fields: Depending on the type of user, you can gather and display different information on their profile that allows members to share details about themselves.
  • Profile Permissions & Rules: Assign WordPress roles to different member types. Restrict paying members to the member directory or give them extra profile fields.

Social Groups

The BuddyBoss Platform allows members to organize themselves into public, private or hidden social areas with separate activity feeds and member listing.

  • Group Type: Every community is unique. Create public, private or hidden groups and set different rules and settings depending on the group type.
  • Group Invites: Allow all group members, organizers, and/or moderators to invite other users to the group.
  • Group Organizers, Moderators: Create organizers or moderators within a group to control who can edit the group, post activity, or invite users.
  • Group Activity: Allow all group members, organizers, and/or moderators to post into the group activity feed.

Forum Discussions

Create a discussion forum to allow members of a group to communicate in a structured, bulletin-board style fashion.

  • Group Forums: Each group can create its own discussion forum. Several groups can optionally be attached to the same discussion forum.
  • Smart Embeds: It allows users to automatically embed YouTube videos, Twitter tweets, Facebook posts, and Instagram photos directly into topics and replies.

Member Connections

Allow members to make connections with one another and focus on those they care about most.

Private Messaging

Allow members to send a private message. Messages can be sent to one member or a group of members.

User Invites

Allow members to send email invitations for non-members to join the network.

Notifications

Notify members of relevant activity with a toolbar bubble and/or via email and allow them to customize their notification settings

Network Search

Allow members to search the entire network, along with custom post types of your choice, all in one unified search bar.

  • Activity Feeds: Global, personal, and group activity feeds with threaded commenting, direct posting, @mentions, #hashtags, and email notification support.
  • Global, personal, and group feeds: Turn your groups into a two-way “Wall” for a more interactive experience. Let your members write on each other’s Walls and “Like” each other’s posts.
  • Multimedia Posting: Let your users upload photos and organize them into albums, from their phones, tablets or laptops.
  • @mentions: Users can @mention other registered users on the site. The mentioned user will receive a notification of the post.
  • Email Notifications: Edit and create email notifications just like posts and pages. The BuddyBoss platform features a customizable email API.

Albums & Media

Members can upload photos, organize them into albums, and tag their friends!

Branded & Customized Emails

The BuddyBoss platform features a customizable email API. Customize and rebrand emails to suit the design and copy needs of your company.

Private Community

Create a private community by restricting site access to only logged-in members. Login and Registration pages will remain publicly visible.

Multi-Lingual

Although BuddyBoss Platform displays in U.S. English by default, the theme has the built-in capability to be used in any language.

RTL Support

Set WordPress to a right-to-left language and BuddyBoss Platform automatically changes to a beautiful RTL layout.

GDPR

It gives individuals more access and choice when it comes to how their own personal data is collected, used, and shared with built-in GDPR configurations.

BuddyBoss vs BuddyPress

What are the differences between BuddyBoss vs BuddyPress

BuddyPress is a FREE WordPress plugin giving you some social features such as Private messaging, member profiles, group… And BBPress is a FREE WordPress plugin offering a Forum system, they are both compatible.

As it is Opensource, BuddyBoss has created a fork of these two plugins to bring them together in their BuddyBoss platform plugin. The plugin is free like Buddypress, but BuddyBoss offers a WordPress theme that is the Best current BuddyPress theme, plus also the customer support that is needed when your website has a lot of traffic.

FeaturesBuddyPressBuddyBoss
Member Profiles
Profile Fields
Account Settings
Notifications
Social Groups
Activity Feeds
Member Connections
Private messaging
Multisite support
Forum Discussions❌ (BBPress required)
Photo Attachments
Photo Albums
Emojis
Animated GIFs
Email Invites (invite users to the network)
Network Search (search all social components)
Profile Repeater fields
Profile Gender fields
Profile Social Network fields
Advanced Profile Search
Profile Types Management
Group Types Management
Group Hierarchies
Group Messages
Self-selection of profile type
Private Network
Custom URL Registration
Custom Profile Name Formats
Grid and List View settings
Forum @mentions
Activity likes
Activity Follow
Activity Link Previews
Customizable Activity Post Types
Profile Completion widget
Following/Follower widgets
Restrict Messaging to Connections
Intuitive Threaded Messaging Experience
Advanced LearnDash Integrations
Lazy Loading of content
Admin can “View As” any other member
Beautiful email templates with site logo
Default Data
REST APIComing Soon
Event Based, Cached REST APIComing Soon
Documentation with video tutorials
Github for Open Source
Starter Add-on for developers
Public Product Roadmap
Public list of verified integrations
Dedicated Theme, updated at same time
24/7 support for paying customers
Full time, paid development team
Mobile app solution, built by the same team

Why BuddyBoss?

Why you should use BuddyBoss?

First of all, BuddyBoss has a really great look and doesn’t look like any other theme suitable for BuddyPress. It’s definitely the most user experience friendly and it works similarly to Facebook, making it easier for the user to get used to your site.

Moreover, it’s relatively easy to configure, the performance is amazing, the site loads quickly and everything works very well. There is no way you will be disappointed by BuddyBoss, I guarantee it! It’s even amazing to be able to have such a site with WordPress.

Create an online community / social network

If you want to create a social network, like Facebook for example, with the following features, BuddyBoss is for you!

  • Member profile
  • Add as a friend
  • Sending private messages
  • Create and manage groups
  • Forums and discussions

Be careful to have an adapted web hosting if you have tens of thousands of members connected at the same time!

Create an online courses platform

If you want to create an online course platform, with groups and forums dedicated to training, reward members with a gaming system, and so on, the BuddyBoss theme is the best choice you can make. We advise you to use LearnDash but it is possible to use LifterLMS.

Don’t worry, it is possible to remove the social network features and offer only an online course platform.

Create a membership website

If you want to create a membership website, to give access to paid content for example, or for a specific community (dating sites, niche sites, social networking sites…), BuddyBoss allows you to do this with the help of membership plugins. You have several choices, depending on your needs.

Create an intranet website (for a company)

It is possible to create an intranet for your company. Simply check a button and it only allows your company’s employees to have access to the site. Magic!

Alternatives

BuddyBoss Alternatives

Before subscribing to BuddyBoss, it’s always a good idea to check out the competition and find the best wordpress themes for your needs. You can find the BuddyBoss alternatives here.

Here are some versus to compare BuddyBoss with its competitors:

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

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