Crowdstack

Crowdstack

Crowdstack, Inc.
Simple Machines Forum (SMF)

Simple Machines Forum (SMF)

Simple Machines Forum
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About

Crowdstack Pro is a hosted (SaaS) community and membership platform designed to help engage, retain and grow audiences. Site owners have complete control of their data. Crowdstack includes content feeds, direct messaging, moderation tools, member management/directory, automated rules, gamification, and permissions by role. There is also a turnkey Premium Member ship service where site owners can earn revenue. Everything needed to run an online community. Easily collaborate and communicate with fans, volunteers, constituents, customers, employees, and influencers. Bring everyone together in a public or private (or mixed) space with forums, blogs, photos, videos,

About

SMF is all that in one package, giving you an easy to use forum with many powerful features for you as well as your users. SMF is an open-source project made by volunteers from across the world. SMF features a powerful Package Manager, allowing you to quickly apply any of the hundreds of modifications in our database, as well as a variety of custom themes that change the way your site looks. Should you run into any problem, SMF's experienced Support Team will come to your aid, along with our very helpful community members, ready to assist you and address whatever issue(s) you are encountering. Simple Machines Forum โ€” SMF in short โ€” is a free, professional grade software package that allows you to set up your own online community within minutes. Its powerful custom made template engine puts you in full control of the layout of your message board and with our unique SSI - or Server Side Includes - function you can let your forum and your website interact with each other.

Platforms Supported

Windows Not Supported
Mac Not Supported
Linux Not Supported
Cloud Supported
On-Premises Not Supported
iPhone Not Supported
iPad Not Supported
Android Not Supported
Chromebook Not Supported

Platforms Supported

Windows Not Supported
Mac Not Supported
Linux Not Supported
Cloud Supported
On-Premises Not Supported
iPhone Not Supported
iPad Not Supported
Android Not Supported
Chromebook Not Supported

Audience

Businesses, organizations, creatives, groups and clubs

Audience

Anyone who wants to create a free online discussion forum

Support

Phone Support Supported
24/7 Live Support Not Supported
Online Supported

Support

Phone Support Not Supported
24/7 Live Support Not Supported
Online Supported

API

Offers API Not Supported

API

Offers API Not Supported

Screenshots and Videos

Screenshots and Videos

Pricing

$49
Plans start at $999 monthly.
Free Version Not Supported
Free Trial Supported

Pricing

No information available.
Free Version Supported
Free Trial Not Supported

Reviews/Ratings

Overall 2.3 / 5
ease 3.3 / 5
features 3.3 / 5
design 3.3 / 5
support 2.3 / 5

Reviews/Ratings

Overall 1.0 / 5
ease 1.0 / 5

Pros & Cons from Real Users

Pros

  • See below.
  • We completed their 14 day free trial. We liked many aspects of the offering and felt it offered a lot of customization to meet our needs and it was our intention to sign up for their service.
  • Crowdstack is a very easy to use platform. It provides great support to engage with customers and give you a manageable service to track their needs.

Cons

  • See overall.
  • Their pricing model is way too rigid. The Foundation plan for $399/mo offered nearly everything we were looking for. The only problem was that they use a lot of strange terms on their pages...fortunately, they offer a "custom wording" feature that allows you to change some of those words. Unfortunately, that was the only feature we required from the Complete plan, for which our custom pricing was offered at $999/mo. We didn't require any of the other features included with the Complete plan and couldn't justify $600/mo more for that plan just for the custom wording feature. We gave them several chances to offer a more reasonable pricing solution and win our business. Instead, they remained inflexible. Trust me, when a company that is trying to secure long-term subscriptions is this inflexible at the beginning, you don't want to work with them. Imagine months down the road when you have thousands of users and find out you need something from Crowdstack...how inflexible do you think they're going to be then? My recommendation is to find a more flexible community building solution, like Tribe or the many other community building solutions now available.
  • Overall its an outstanding platform customer engagement tool.

Pros & Cons from Real Users

Pros

  • There is no positive side I can mention. From the team to the overall software, everything is incredibly unprofessional.

Cons

  • The system is burdened by an outdated architecture and a terrible codebase. When it comes to customization, most plugins are outdated or incompatible, and the themes are a chaotic mix of templates filled with intertwined, outdated Javascript and PHP code from a decade or more ago.

Training

Documentation Supported
Webinars Not Supported
Live Online Supported
In Person Supported

Training

Documentation Supported
Webinars Not Supported
Live Online Not Supported
In Person Not Supported

Company Information

Crowdstack, Inc.
Founded: 1998
United States
crowdstack.com

Company Information

Simple Machines Forum
Founded: 2006
www.simplemachines.org

Alternatives

Alternatives

Minds

Minds

Minds.com
Higher Logic Thrive

Higher Logic Thrive

Higher Logic

Categories

Community Supported
Social Networking Supported

Categories

Community Supported

Community Features

Content Management Supported
Content Moderation Supported
Discussions / Forums Supported
Event Management Not Supported
Group Management Supported
Ideation / Crowdsourcing Supported
Member Directory Supported
Membership Management Supported
Social Media Management Supported
Website Management Not Supported
White Label Not Supported

Social Networking Features

Activity / News Feed Supported
Advertising Management Not Supported
Blogs Supported
Data Security Supported
Event Management Not Supported
Group Management Supported
Media Library Not Supported
Privacy Options Supported
Real-time Chat Not Supported
Social Media Integration Supported
Social Media Tagging Supported
User Profiles Supported

Community Features

Content Management Not Supported
Content Moderation Supported
Discussions / Forums Supported
Event Management Not Supported
Group Management Not Supported
Ideation / Crowdsourcing Not Supported
Member Directory Supported
Membership Management Not Supported
Social Media Management Not Supported
Website Management Not Supported
White Label Not Supported

Integrations

Chatwee Not Supported
Flarum Not Supported
Google Analytics Supported
KeyCAPTCHA Not Supported

Integrations

Chatwee Supported
Flarum Supported
Google Analytics Not Supported
KeyCAPTCHA Supported
Claim Crowdstack and update features and information
Claim Crowdstack and update features and information
Claim Simple Machines Forum (SMF) and update features and information
Claim Simple Machines Forum (SMF) and update features and information