By Asaquzzaman Mishu, founder of TrueCommunity
BuddyBoss pricing in 2026 starts at $199 for the Launch plan and $349 for Scale, but those are first-year prices. At renewal, Launch costs $399 a year and Scale costs $699, and the mobile app, hosting and many of the plugins a real community needs cost extra. I worked on BuddyBoss for years, so in this guide I show you what you actually pay, year after year.
Every BuddyBoss figure below comes from the official BuddyBoss pricing page, checked on November 11, 2026.
Quick summary
- Launch: $199 in year one, then $399 a year. Includes the platform, theme or ReadyLaunch, BuddyBoss courses and memberships, and LMS integrations.
- Scale: $349 in year one, then $699 a year. Adds gamification, media offload, CDN and multilingual support.
- Done For You Web: $2,149 in year one, then $2,499 a year, with a setup service on top of Scale.
- More sites: $99 for each extra site, and a sales call once you reach five.
- Mobile app: a separate subscription on top of your web plan.
- The real three-year cost for one site: $997 on Launch and $1,747 on Scale. TrueCommunity Solo costs $357 on yearly billing, or $249 once.
Pay one price that never jumps at renewal
Want your own numbers? Use the free BuddyBoss cost calculator to see what your setup costs over the next few years.
BuddyBoss plans and prices in 2026
| Plan | First year | Renewal | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Not listed | Not listed | Community plan with a 2.9% fee on Stripe sales through BuddyBoss Memberships and Courses |
| Launch | $199 | $399 a year | Platform, theme or ReadyLaunch, courses and memberships with 0% fees, LMS integrations |
| Scale | $349 | $699 a year | Everything in Launch plus gamification, media offload, Cloudflare CDN, multilingual, member blogs |
| Done For You Web | $2,149 | $2,499 a year | Scale plus a custom build, setup, migration and maintenance service |
Plans renew automatically at the full renewal price. The introductory price only applies to the first year, and the page offers a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Why the renewal price matters more than the sticker price
The number on the pricing page is the cheapest year you will ever have. A community is a long-term project, so the price that counts is what you pay in year two, three and four.
On Launch, your second year costs twice your first. On Scale it is the same story, from $349 to $699. Most owners only notice this when the renewal email arrives, and by then their whole community depends on the plugin.
The costs that are not on the pricing page
Hosting
No BuddyBoss plan includes hosting. And because community pages are logged-in pages, normal page caching does not help much. Owners with active communities usually move to a bigger server or a managed plan to keep the site responsive.
The mobile app
The BuddyBoss App is its own subscription on top of your web plan, with Solo, App Launch and Managed options. You pay for the web plan and the app every year.
Gamification on Launch
Points, ranks and leaderboards are only in Scale. If you stay on Launch and want gamification, you add a third-party plugin and its paid add-ons, which means another license and another set of updates.
Extra sites
Each additional site license costs $99, and five or more sites need a call with sales. For an agency running client communities, this adds up fast.
What one community site really costs over three years
| Setup | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | 3-year total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TrueCommunity Solo, lifetime | $249 | $0 | $0 | $249 |
| TrueCommunity Solo, yearly | $119 | $119 | $119 | $357 |
| BuddyBoss Launch | $199 | $399 | $399 | $997 |
| BuddyBoss Scale (with gamification) | $349 | $699 | $699 | $1,747 |
These totals use the regular prices on each official pricing page, for one site, without hosting or the app. During the TrueCommunity launch deal, Solo lifetime is $149 until November 30.
How TrueCommunity prices the same job
I priced TrueCommunity the way I always wanted BuddyBoss to be priced: every feature in every plan, and the price you pay is the price you renew at.
| Plan | Sites | Yearly | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo | 1 | $119 | $249 once |
| Studio | 5 | $199 | $399 once |
| Agency | 30 | $299 | $599 once |
- Community, a full LMS and gamification are in every plan, so there is no higher tier to unlock.
- Yearly plans renew at the price you paid.
- Agency covers 30 sites for $299 a year. On BuddyBoss, adding 29 sites is not even a self-serve option.
- The free plugin on WordPress.org includes the community and courses, so you test everything before you pay.
- Every plan has a 14-day money-back guarantee.
The branded TrueCommunity mobile app arrives in January 2027 as a separate product with its own pricing, and it is not part of lifetime plans.
Is BuddyBoss worth the price?
BuddyBoss works, and if you are deeply invested in its theme and app, staying is a valid choice. But you are paying a premium for a stack of separate pieces, and that premium doubles after year one.
If you want community, courses and gamification without the renewal jump, TrueCommunity does the same job in one plugin for a fraction of the cost. Read my full list of BuddyBoss alternatives to see every option side by side.
Get community, courses and gamification for less
Frequently asked questions
How much does BuddyBoss cost per year?
BuddyBoss Launch costs $199 in the first year and $399 a year after that. Scale costs $349 in the first year and $699 a year after that, according to the official BuddyBoss pricing page.
Does BuddyBoss have a free version?
BuddyBoss lists a Start plan with a 2.9% fee on Stripe sales through its own memberships and courses, but its full features sit in the paid plans. TrueCommunity has a free plugin on WordPress.org with the community, courses and quizzes included.
Does BuddyBoss charge per member?
No. BuddyBoss does not list per-member fees, and Launch and Scale take no cut of sales through BuddyBoss Memberships and Courses. TrueCommunity also has no per-member fees and takes no cut.
Is the BuddyBoss App included in the plans?
No. The BuddyBoss App is a separate subscription on top of your web plan.
Does BuddyBoss offer a lifetime deal?
The current BuddyBoss pricing page shows yearly plans only. TrueCommunity offers a lifetime option on every plan, from $249 once for one site.
What is the cheapest way to run a BuddyBoss-style community?
Start with the free TrueCommunity plugin, then move to Pro when you need advanced courses, course sales and gamification. Solo costs $119 a year and renews at the same price.
Stop paying more every year