Looking for top-tier community management agencies to help you build a thriving online presence or an engaged offline network? We have put together a comprehensive guide that presents a detailed breakdown of each agency’s team structure, pricing, core services, founder philosophies, and proven outcomes.
Regardless of whether you are seeking a trusted community strategy partner, an expert community consultant, or help with community lifecycle management, you will find at least one agency in this list that will be able to cater to your needs.
Here are our top pics:
| Agency | Best for | Pricing | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|
| FeverBee | Full-cycle strategic consulting | $15K–$80K, retainers from $5K/mo | 2008 |
| Clocktower Advisors | Community risk & governance | Not published | 2015 |
| Grazitti | Enterprise platform builds | $10K+ minimum project | 2008 |
| Social Edge Consulting | Intranet & B2B customer communities | Not published | 2012 |
| We For Real | Strategy plus hands-on coaching | Not published | Not published |
| Friendly Nooks | Course creators & coaches | $5K+ audit, $12K+ implementation | Not published |
| People & Company | Historical resource library (not an active agency) | Not published | 2015 |
| The Community Collective | Peer-learning cohorts | $900–$3,300 AUD per cohort | 2021 |
| Confident Communities | Association platform optimization | Not published | 2017 |
| The CMJ Group | Community research & membership design | Not published | Not published |
1. FeverBee
FeverBee was founded by Richard Millington in 2008.[1] With a small, senior consulting team, they’re known for blending behavioral science, data analysis, and community metrics to craft purposeful strategies and measurable outcomes.
FeverBee typically charges $15K–$80K for consultancy support, or a minimum of $5K/month for ongoing retainer-based support.[2] FeverBee positions itself as a consultancy that builds your team's in-house community expertise, not an agency that manages your community for you.
Their core services span community strategy, platform selection and migration support, community intelligence and data analysis, and training programs.
A standout case saw Eventbrite’s EventTribe community increase active participation by 160%, after FeverBee identified the Eventbrite blog as the community’s biggest traffic driver and added community links into their highest-traffic archived posts.[3] Their deep expertise in calculating community ROI makes them a strong option for organizations ready for serious, strategic, full-cycle community growth.
- Website: https://www.feverbee.com/
- Office Location: Southwark, UK
- Year Founded: 2008
- Team Size: Small, senior team (exact headcount not published)
- Key Services: community strategy, platform selection & migration, community intelligence, training
- Industries Served: Tech, nonprofit, healthcare (per named case studies)
- Pricing Tier: Consultancy engagements ($15K–$80K), retainers from $5K/month[2]
- Case studies
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2. Clocktower Advisors
Based in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, Clocktower Advisors is a community risk and governance advisory founded by Todd Nilson in 2015, focused on reducing the risk of community failure for organizations that already run a community program.[4]
Their services include community manager recruitment, platform risk assessment and migration strategy, build-and-launch support for new communities, and weekly coaching for community managers. Named clients include Vimeo, the Kern Family Foundation, and Genpact, spanning organizations from startups to global brands.[5]
Clocktower does not publish pricing or retainer figures; interested organizations request a custom quote. Their risk-focused guidance makes Clocktower a strong option for organizations that want to shore up an existing community program with expert coaching and governance support.
- Website: https://www.clocktoweradvisors.com/
- Office Location: Two Rivers, WI, USA
- Year Founded: 2015
- Team Size: Not published
- Key Services: Community manager recruitment, platform risk assessment & migration, launch support, weekly coaching
- Industries Served: Nonprofits, technology, enterprise (per named clients)
- Pricing Tier: Not published; contact for a custom quote
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3. Grazitti
Grazitti Interactive is one of the larger players in this space, a full-service marketing-tech agency with 1,200+ experts across the company.[6]
Known as online community consultants, they provide full-service community lifecycle support, including audits, platform builds (Salesforce, Khoros), gamification modules, customer loyalty strategy, knowledge systems, and continuity services under their Community Management as a Service offering. Per their Clutch profile, minimum project size is $10,000+ at an average hourly rate of $25–$49, with documented project sizes reaching $50K–$200K depending on scale and integrations.[7]
Case in point: for a U.S. identity and access management company, Grazitti built a gamified community program using active-user scoring, criteria-based idea voting, and a leaderboard.[8]
The team’s tech-integrated solutions, combined with marketing insights, allow clients to boost user experience and product-adoption metrics in measurable ways. They're a fit for enterprise clients wanting robust technical architecture, support workflows, and a consistent content cadence across platforms.
- Website: https://www.grazitti.com/
- Office Locations: Panchkula, India; Mississauga, Canada
- Year Founded: 2008
- Team Size: 1,200+ experts company-wide (community team size not published)
- Key Services: Platform buildouts, Salesforce/Khoros integration, gamification, loyalty programs, Community Management as a Service
- Industries Served: Enterprise IT, SaaS, retail, finance
- Pricing Tier: $10K+ minimum project size, $25–$49/hr (per Clutch)[7]
- Case Studies
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4. Social Edge Consulting
Social Edge Consulting is a specialized player in the intranet and B2B customer community space, with a team of around 25 people spanning North America.[9] Their offerings span platform evaluation and migration for Verint, Khoros, Salesforce Experience Cloud, and Higher Logic.
Social Edge does not publish its own service pricing; their site directs prospects to request a custom quote.[9] Named clients include Analog Devices, NASA, Verizon, Wiley, Pearson, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, across corporate, non-profit, and educational sectors.[9]
Their signature case study with Alfresco’s community involved consolidating disparate platforms onto Jive-x, organized around customers, partners, contributors, and enthusiasts, which streamlined self-service support.[10]
For organizations focused on internal alignment, partner programs, or customer-forum success, Social Edge Consulting offers expert support for platform consolidation and community strategy.
- Website: https://www.socialedgeconsulting.com/
- Office Location: Manahawkin, NJ
- Year Founded: 2012
- Team Size: ~25 team members
- Key Services: Intranet & customer community implementation, platform migration, integration
- Industries Served: Enterprise, non-profit, education (per named clients)
- Pricing Tier: Not published; contact for a custom quote
- Case Studies
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5. We For Real
We For Real is a boutique collective co-founded by Madalina Neagu, a community strategist and architect with over 10 years advising organizations on community building, and Liviu Cadariu, who has advised 30+ tech and entrepreneurial communities.[11] They don’t publish pricing publicly.[11] Their engagements split into two tracks: launching new communities (discovery workshops, gamification, research, platform integrations, launch and optimization, strategy workshops, analysis and reporting, content creation) and supporting existing communities (community strategy, ongoing advisory and coaching, members’ journey design, community redesign and user testing, community management, analysis and reporting, training labs, and content creation).
Clients appreciate their mix of tactical strategy and hands-on mentorship. The team is described on their site as "2 super-organized engineers at heart," and deliverables include a Community Diagnostic Report and applied working sessions. We For Real does not publish pricing or typical project timelines.
We For Real is ideal if you're seeking a close-knit coaching experience, stronger internal community capabilities, and planning support without fully outsourcing operations.
- Website: https://weforreal.com/
- Office Location: Bucharest, Romania
- Year Founded: Not published
- Team Size: 2 co-founders (site describes itself as “2 super-organized engineers at heart”)
- Key Services: Community strategy, members’ journey design, launch & optimization, ongoing advisory & coaching
- Industries Served: Not specified by company size on their site
- Pricing Tier: Not published; contact for a custom quote
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6. Friendly Nooks
Friendly Nooks is a boutique community-building agency based around community-first founders and coaches. Led by Tatiana Figueiredo, its 4-person team specializes in helping course creators, coaches, and intentional brands launch and operate private communities. Packages range from an Audit + Roadmap starting at $5K, to Custom Implementation starting at $12K, to Ongoing Support starting at $3K/month.[12]
They’ve been Circle Experts since 2020. Their blog features founders like Tech Ladies’ Allison Esposito Medina, whose platform grew to 200,000 members before its 2021 acquisition, as a guest speaker sharing lessons from her own community-building journey.[13]
Friendly Nooks thrives on personal attention, working closely with founders on onboarding, communication, and member-experience systems. They’re best suited for solo entrepreneurs and small teams who want boutique, concierge-level community support rooted in mission and member care.
- Website: https://friendlynooks.com/
- Office Location: Not published
- Year Founded: Not published (Circle Experts since 2020)
- Team Size: 4-person team
- Key Services: Community audit & roadmap, custom implementation, ongoing support
- Industries Served: Course creators, coaching businesses, intentional micro-brands
- Pricing Tier: $5K+ audit, $12K+ implementation, $3K+/month ongoing support[12]
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7. People & Company
People & Company was a community strategy consultancy founded in 2015 by Bailey Richardson, Kevin Huynh, and Kai Elmer Sotto, best known for co-authoring the book Get Together. Their client list included Nike, Porsche, Substack, and Surfrider.[14]
People & Company was acquired by Substack in May 2021,[15] and the team’s work has since focused on Substack’s own reader and writer communities. Their site does not present the firm as independently taking on new client work today.
Their public resources, including frameworks, worksheets, and case studies from their consulting years, remain freely available at gettogether.world. Readers should treat this listing as a resource library rather than a bookable engagement.
- Website: https://gettogether.world/
- Office Location: Not published
- Year Founded: 2015
- Status: Acquired by Substack in 2021; not currently taking new client work
- Key Services (historical): Community strategy consulting, the Get Together framework and resources
- Industries Served (historical): Consumer brands, tech, creator platforms (per named clients Nike, Porsche, Substack, Surfrider)
- Pricing Tier: Not published
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8. The Community Collective
The Community Collective is a Melbourne-based peer learning cohort, started in June 2021 with 17 builders[16] and grown to 300+ alumni in their private Slack, with its largest single cohort (Cohort #8) drawing 118 members from 18 countries.[17] They run an 8-week cohort program rather than an annual membership: a Live Cohort costs $2,900 AUD, a Coaching Package costs $3,300 AUD, and an Alumni Pass costs $900 AUD, each including 3 months of post-program access.[17]
Cohorts include twice-weekly workshops with expert speakers, 24/7 async Slack support, a community strategy template, and a newsletter ("The Community Roundup"). They also sell standalone templates, including a Yearly Reflection & Planning guide, an Annual Community & Content Calendar, and an ROI measurement guide. This option is optimal for in-house community teams or consultants looking for structured peer accountability alongside expert support.
- Website: https://thecommunitycollective.co/
- Office Location: Melbourne, Australia
- Year Founded: 2021
- Team Size: 3 core team members, 300+ alumni
- Key Services: Peer-learning cohorts, templates, workshops, newsletter
- Industries Served: Community professionals, tech startups, non-profit teams
- Pricing Tier: $900–$3,300 AUD per 8-week cohort[17]
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9. Confident Communities
Confident Communities Consulting is a fractional community strategy practice founded by Catherine Hackney in 2017, focused specifically on professional associations. Catherine has been a Certified Partner of Higher Logic since 2020 and an MVP member of the Higher Logic User Group since 2016.[18] Their services include launch support, platform optimization, community revitalization, strategic development, and fractional community management.
Their strength lies in helping associations get more value from platforms like Higher Logic, Forj, and Tradewing, built on the belief that members renew because they feel connected to the people, knowledge, and opportunities that matter to their professional lives. No pricing is published; engagements start with a free 30-minute discovery call.[18] This choice is well-suited to associations that already run a community platform but need a fractional expert to drive adoption and renewal.
- Website: https://confidentcommunities.com/
- Office Location: Not published
- Year Founded: 2017
- Team Size: Solo/fractional practice (Catherine Hackney)
- Key Services: Launch support, platform optimization, community revitalization, fractional management
- Industries Served: Professional associations
- Pricing Tier: Not published; starts with a free discovery call
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10. The CMJ Group
Carrie Melissa Jones / The CMJ Group is a community management agency and online community consultant, founded by Carrie Melissa Jones, a recognized expert and co-author (with Charles H. Vogl) of Building Brand Communities: How Organizations Succeed by Creating Belonging.[19]
Her core team of 3 includes Kelly Shetron, Director of Research & Client Experience, and Nicole Quibodeaux, Community Manager, and they specialize in helping enterprise firms, solo founders, and community managers launch, scale, and sustain thriving communities.[19]
Their approach blends rigorous research, social science, and strategic consulting to design environments that foster belonging. Their site lists Airbnb, Google, Microsoft, and Discord among the organizations they’ve worked with, alongside nonprofits and small businesses.
- Website: https://www.carriemelissajones.com/
- Office Location: Petaluma, CA (team members also based in NJ and Southern CA)
- Year Founded: Not published (Carrie co-founded the separate CMX community in 2014)
- Team Size: 3 core team members
- Key Services: strategic consulting & community research, community launches & membership design, online courses & cohort-based training, corporate & team workshops, speaking engagements
- Industries Served: Enterprise tech, creator platforms, nonprofits, professional associations, small business founders
- Pricing Tier: Not published; contact for a custom quote
- Case Studies
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How to Choose the Right Agency for You
Selecting the right community management agency starts with understanding your organization’s specific needs, goals, and internal capabilities.
- Are you looking for a partner to take full control of community building and operations?
- Do you need a strategic coach to guide your team?
- Or are you seeking peer-led frameworks and collaborative support?
Based on your priorities, whether it's full-service management, strategic planning, or joining a peer learning cohort, here’s how to match with the best agency for you:
- Full-service build + manage? → Clocktower Advisors, Grazitti, Social Edge Consulting, Friendly Nooks.
- Strategy design & coaching? → FeverBee, We For Real, Confident Communities.
- Peer-learning cohorts? → The Community Collective.
Community Management Agency FAQs
What’s the difference between community strategy vs. community management?
Strategy frames purpose, goals, audience profiles, platform selection, engagement playbooks: your blueprint. Management is the daily implementation: moderation, content cultivation, events, analytics, and member care. The right agency will align with the scope you want to outsource.
How much should I budget for hiring a community management agency?
Budgeting varies widely, and most boutique consultancies don’t publish rates upfront. Among the agencies above with verifiable public pricing, Grazitti’s Clutch profile lists a $10K+ minimum project size at $25–$49/hour,[7] Friendly Nooks starts at $5K for an audit and $12K for full implementation,[12] and The Community Collective’s cohort programs run $900–$3,300 AUD.[17] Expect to book a discovery call for a custom quote with the rest.
How do I know if I should hire a strategy partner or full-service ops?
If you want ongoing execution (moderation, content, events), full-service agencies are a fit. If you’re building internal capability and only need frameworks and mentorship, look toward strategy partners.
Can these agencies integrate with existing tools like Slack, Tribe, Discourse, etc?
Many offer platform-agnostic integration support. Grazitti specializes in Salesforce and Khoros; Social Edge Consulting works with Verint, Khoros, Salesforce Experience Cloud, and Higher Logic. Friendly Nooks is a Circle Experts partner and says Circle is the platform it uses and recommends most often.
What community KPIs should I focus on measuring?
Track engagement rates, active member percentages, retention, event attendance, NPS scores, and behaviors tied to business outcomes, like support ticket deflection or lead generation via advocates.
When should I hire an agency versus hiring internally?
Hire an agency when you need launched momentum, frameworks, and operational discipline from day one. Transition to internal hiring when you want consistent team presence and sustainable growth.
References
- FeverBee. About FeverBee.
- FeverBee. Contact / Pricing.
- FeverBee. How We Increased Community Engagement By 160% (Case Study).
- Clocktower Advisors. About Clocktower Advisors.
- Clocktower Advisors. Community Risk & Governance Advisory.
- Grazitti Interactive. Grazitti Interactive Homepage.
- Clutch.co. Grazitti Interactive Reviews, Pricing & Services.
- Grazitti Interactive. Customized Community Gamification for an Identity & Access Management Company.
- Social Edge Consulting. About Us.
- Social Edge Consulting. Alfresco Customer Success Story.
- We For Real. We For Real Homepage.
- Friendly Nooks. Consulting Packages.
- Friendly Nooks. Scaling a Million-Dollar Community Business to Acquisition.
- People & Company. Get Together Homepage.
- People & Company. People & Company Is Joining the Substack Team. May 2021.
- The Community Collective. About The Community Collective.
- The Community Collective. Cohort Program & Pricing.
- Confident Communities Consulting. Our Story.
- The CMJ Group. About Us.