Private community
Build a private WordPress members-only community
A private members-only community: profiles, feeds, groups, and messages, gated to people who signed in. BuddyNext runs all of it free, Reign styles it, and nothing else has to be bought before your first member arrives.
The Reign theme is the only thing you have to buy. See every plugin that installs free, or have us install the whole stack for $699.
Stack recipe
What you need to assemble.
Buy the theme. Install our plugins free. The third-party engine and its Reign add-on are here for people already running that stack, not a second bill everyone pays.
Theme
Reign Theme
Free plugin · ours
BuddyNext
Free plugin · ours
Jetonomy
Pro pack
BuddyPress Community Bundle
Third-party
Membership or private-mode plugin
Build it in 5 steps
From zero to live community.
Install Reign, the one purchase
Reign is $99 a year or $249 once for a single site. For a private community that is genuinely the whole software bill to start.
Add the community engine, free
BuddyNext gives members profiles, an activity feed, groups, messages, and notifications at no cost, and Reign styles all of it out of the box. BuddyNext Pro adds advanced moderation and deeper analytics from $149 a year, once there is enough activity to moderate.
Gate the whole site
A membership plugin such as MemberPress or Paid Memberships Pro, or a private-mode plugin, redirects logged-out visitors to a sign-in or sales page. Turn off open registration and invite by email: in a private community, who joins matters more than how many.
Already on BuddyPress or BuddyBoss? Keep it
Reign has styled those stacks for years and still does. Keep your engine and add the BuddyPress Community Bundle, which collects our Pro community plugins, polls, hashtags, moderation, reactions and more, into one license from $249 a year or $699 lifetime.
Pick one ritual and write the rules
A weekly thread, a monthly call, or a quarterly cohort. Choose one and run it for 90 days, because a ritual is what makes a private community feel alive. Add Jetonomy free for threaded discussion where a feed is too fast, and publish a three-line code of conduct plus an escalation path before the first conflict, not after.
Add these free
More pieces you can add at no cost.
Same team builds the theme and the plugins, so these inherit the Reign design instead of needing custom CSS. The ones marked free install at no cost, and upgrades are sold per plugin, so nothing here needs a bundle.
BuddyNext
Our own community engine: profiles, activity, groups, messages, notifications.
Reign Demo Installer
One-click import of 30+ demo sites. Free with Reign theme.
Wbcom Essential
Free utility plugin bundling small enhancements for BP + Reign.
BuddyPress Check-ins
Daily check-ins build streaks + accountability.
BuddyPress Follow
Follow members + see their activity in a custom feed.
BuddyPress Giphy
GIF integration in posts + comments.
BuddyPress Group Reviews
Members rate + review groups. Helps surface active spaces.
Eventonomy
Events, calendars, and RSVPs for community sites.
See every plugin and what its free version does. Third-party tools such as LearnDash, Dokan, and MemberPress still fit where you already run them, and Reign styles those too.
FAQ
Common questions.
What do I actually have to buy?
The Reign theme, $99 a year or $249 lifetime for one site. BuddyNext and Jetonomy install free. A membership plugin only becomes necessary when you start charging. The BuddyPress Community Bundle at $249 a year is for people staying on BuddyPress or BuddyBoss, not a requirement here.
Should it be free or paid?
Founders with existing audience trust can charge from day one, typically $19-99 a month. New founders should run free for 60-90 days to prove engagement first, which is easier when the software costs nothing beyond the theme.
What is the ideal size?
Around 150 active members is the comfort threshold before a community stops feeling personal. Larger private communities still work, but they shift format: more groups, more cohorts, less single feed.
How do I moderate it?
BuddyNext Pro adds moderation tools from $149 a year. On the BuddyPress or BuddyBoss path, BuddyPress Moderation Pro ships inside the BuddyPress Community Bundle and puts report, block, and mute on every post.
Ship it
Reign is the only thing you have to buy.
BuddyNext and the rest of our plugins install free, and the theme styles them out of the box. Building on BuddyPress or BuddyBoss instead? The BuddyPress Community Bundle kit ships the theme with the matching Reign add-on.