How to build a successful online community with a clear financial plan

Why is budget planning so important for an online community?

The true cost of running a successful online community extends beyond platform subscriptions and hosting fees. Without careful budget planning, unexpected expenses can derail momentum and even jeopardize long-term sustainability.

A clear, well-defined budget not only helps you secure the necessary funding upfront but also gives you the ability to plan strategically—allocating resources to growth and engagement rather than scrambling to cover surprise costs.

So, what should you include in your online community budget?

Below, we’ve outlined the key cost categories you should consider when building your community budget, along with benchmark pricing where available.

Please note: The prices listed serve as general guidelines only. Actual costs can vary significantly based on factors such as: community size, geographic location, feature requirements, customization needs, integration complexity, and more.

Platform and technology

• Subscriptions and licenses for software, tools, and technology platforms
  • Community platform pricing can vary massively based on factors such as community size, industry, and feature requirements. When choosing a platform, it’s crucial to think beyond your immediate needs and consider the future growth trajectory of your community. Look for a platform partner that evolves with your community, offering scalable solutions to support your long-term success.

Top tip: Transparent user base pricing models are typically the most favorable option for budget planning, as consumption-based pricing can pose significant financial planning challenges due to unpredictable usage spikes and variable monthly costs.

• Additional integrations including payment processors, CRM systems, and automation tools
  • Payment processor fees: 2.0%–3.2% per transaction
    Stripe, the industry’s leading payment processor, charges 2.7% per transaction and integrates with Hivebrite
  • CRM: $100 per user/ month
• Website development
  • Costs vary massively depending on the type of development approach you choose, from affordable DIY website builders at $10-50/month to custom enterprise solutions that can cost $100,000 or more.

• Website hosting
  • Shared hosting: $2–$10/month 
  • VPS: $10–$100/month 
  • Cloud hosting: $10–$200/month (cloud hosting)
• Technical support for platform, integrations and automations, or other website issues
  • Depends heavily on the service level you require. With enterprise platforms like Hivebrite, dedicated customer success managers are by your side to help with these technical challenges, providing personalized guidance and support.

Top tip: Ensure that assistance is available in a time zone that suits your community’s needs and your team’s working hours.

• Domain registration
  • $10–$45/year
• SSL certificates (included with Hivebrite)
  • $80/year
• Mobile app development or maintenance
  • Custom mobile app development varies greatly depending on complexity of the app, ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 and even reaching $250,000 and beyond.
    

Good to know: Hivebrite offers the option of creating your own mobile app as part of its platform.

• Data storage and backup services (included with Hivebrite)
• • 1TB of storage costs between $30 – $100/ month
    

Staff and personnel:

• Compensation for full- and part-time staff
  • The average US community manager salary is $58,937, but costs can vary widely—skilled professionals who can successfully build and scale engaged communities are in high demand, commanding premium salaries due to their specialized expertise.
• Salaries for staff with partial community responsibilities
  • $15,000-40,000 annually (depending on percentage of time allocated and seniority level)
• Event or temporary staff supporting engagement
  • $20-50 per hour for freelancers, $2,000-10,000 per event for specialized event staff
• Training and personal development for staff
  • $500-3,000 per employee annually for courses, conferences, and certifications
• Recruitment and onboarding costs
  • $3,000-15,000 per hire (including recruiter fees, job postings, training materials, and time investment)

Good to know: As your community grows, you’ll need to budget for additional people to manage it—more members means more conversations to moderate, more content to curate, and more engagement opportunities to create.

Looking for a community manager? Streamline the process with our community manager hiring toolbox. Download the toolbox here.

Content and programming:

• Production costs for blogs, guides, tutorials, and videos
  • Blogs/guides/tutorials: $50–$500+ per piece
  • Videos: $150–$2,000+ per video
• Virtual event expenses such as webinar software and networking tools
  • Webinar software: $50–$300/month for standard plans 
• Honorariums for speakers, facilitators, and special guests at community events or programs
  • Budgets vary widely by experience

Transform and streamline your event planning with our comprehensive template—covering every step from initial planning to post-event success. Get the template here.

Marketing and growth:

• Social media management, scheduling, and analytics tools
  • $50–$500/month for robust, professional-grade tools.
• Email marketing platforms for newsletters, onboarding campaigns, and other targeted communications (included with Hivebrite)
  • $10–$300/month depending on volume/features.
• Digital advertising costs for social media campaigns, referral programs, and content promotion
  • Budgets vary widely by reach and goals

 Depending on how your community is managed and where it fits within the larger business structure, you may also face additional expenses like office rent, utilities, staff training, and other infrastructure costs. Don’t be afraid to tease these expenses out. The more accurately you understand the true costs of launching, managing, and scaling your community, the better prepared you’ll be to sustain it over the long term.

How to build a financial plan for your online community

Online communities have become essential for many businesses and organizations. In fact, nearly 80% of startup founders say community is important to their business, and more than a quarter call it critical to their success. But that raises an important question: how much should you invest in launching and managing one for your organization?

The answer will vary depending on your goals, but a useful way to frame it is similar to how businesses approach marketing budgets. Companies typically dedicate a percentage of their gross revenue to marketing, with the exact amount shaped by their objectives. Your community budget can follow the same logic by aligning investment with the outcomes you want to achieve.

Define your goals and objectives

Every online community serves a different purpose depending on the organization. For some, it may be a way to engage alumni, staff, or other existing networks. For others, it’s about building new relationships with potential customers or audiences. Before you can set a budget, you need to clearly define the goals and objectives of your community.

If your community is designed to generate new business leads, you may want to allocate a larger share of your operating budget, similar to how you approach marketing. If it’s focused more on nurturing existing relationships, a smaller, more targeted investment may be sufficient.

Identify the KPIs and metrics that align with your goals

Your key performance indicators (KPIs) are not only important for shaping your engagement strategy—they’re also critical for managing the overall performance of your community in line with your budget. Clear metrics ensure that the resources you invest are tied directly to measurable outcomes.

If your community is designed to drive new business leads, focus on metrics such as customer acquisition cost (CAC), conversion rates, and overall return on investment (ROI) in addition to traditional engagement KPIs. If the primary goal is to serve an existing audience, lean into engagement-focused metrics like active participation, retention rates, event attendance, and content interaction.

By selecting KPIs that directly reflect your community’s purpose, you’ll have a reliable framework for both demonstrating value to stakeholders and making smarter budget decisions over time. Read more about defining your community analytics here.

 Assess your target audience

Your community’s purpose, goals, and audience all play a major role in how you allocate your budget. Understanding who your community serves—and why they engage—will guide not only how much to invest, but also where to direct those funds.

For example, communities serving professional audiences in specific industries may prioritize budgets for educational resources such as webinars, guides, and training content. Nonprofit communities, on the other hand, may allocate more toward events and campaigns designed to inspire members to take action around a cause.

Aligning your budget with the needs and expectations of your target audience ensures that every dollar spent strengthens engagement and delivers meaningful value.

How paid communities can offset costs and drive revenue

While we’ve been comparing community budgets to marketing spend, there’s a key difference: communities don’t have to be an expense. They can also generate revenue. Many online communities use subscription models, charging monthly or annual fees, while others opt for a one-time payment or tiered pricing based on access levels.

Of course, not every community is suited to charge membership fees. But that doesn’t mean revenue isn’t possible. You might offer paid access to exclusive networking events, workshops, or webinars with high-demand speakers. Another option is to accept voluntary contributions or donations on premium content.

By building in revenue-generating opportunities, you can create a more sustainable budget and reinvest in the long-term growth of your community. Read more about membership options and pricing in this article.

The bottom line on community budgets 

As any engagement manager will tell you, a community doesn’t build itself. By pairing a smart strategy with a clear financial plan, you ensure your community is not only sustainable but also positioned to drive meaningful impact for your organization. If you’d like to explore how to build or strengthen your own online community, our team at Hivebrite is here to help.