Khoros Review
Table of Contents
What is Khoros?
Khoros is an enterprise customer engagement platform that combines community management, digital customer service, and social media management in one ecosystem. The homepage positions Khoros as community software with proven results, highlighting metrics like 300 of the world’s most vibrant communities and 1.8B community site visits per year. The platform is now part of the IgniteTech family, signaling a strong focus on AI-era customer connections and long-term product investment.
The core idea behind Khoros is to give brands a central hub where customers can self-serve, collaborate, and get support while agents and marketers manage conversations across channels. Khoros emphasizes outcomes such as $500M saved per year via self-service, 2–5x more revenue from engaged members, and a 25% NPS lift from community visitors. This makes it particularly attractive to large organizations that need to justify community and social investments with hard numbers.
Khoros is not a lightweight tool; it is designed for complex, multi-team environments with strict governance and compliance needs. The navigation highlights three main product pillars: Khoros Communities, Khoros Service, and Khoros Social Media Management, plus AI & Automation capabilities layered across them. For teams that primarily need fast content creation rather than full-stack engagement infrastructure, this breadth can feel like overkill compared to more focused tools.
Core value proposition: communities, service, and social in one place
Khoros’ core value proposition is unifying online communities, digital customer service, and social media management into a single, enterprise-ready platform. The site repeatedly stresses that only Khoros provides the software and expertise enterprises need to build world-class communities faster, with fewer resources. This combination of technology and strategic services is a key differentiator versus point solutions that only handle one part of the engagement stack.
For customer service leaders, Khoros promises excellent automation and digital service with no exceptions, powered by AI and a single workspace for cross-channel inquiries. For marketers, Khoros Social Media Management aims to bring global accounts, campaigns, and teams into one place to execute cross-channel campaigns faster and with less risk. Together, these pillars are designed to increase self-service, reduce support costs, and drive higher revenue from engaged community members.
The platform also leans heavily on AI & Automation, described as AI for every conversation, campaign, and customer. While the site does not detail every AI feature on the homepage, the messaging suggests AI-assisted routing, insights, and content workflows across communities, service, and social. This makes Khoros appealing to organizations that want to modernize legacy support and social operations without stitching together multiple vendors.
Key features and capabilities of Khoros
Khoros Communities is positioned as powerful community software built to last, giving customers and partners a safe space to connect, self-serve, and engage. The platform supports peer-to-peer support, knowledge sharing, and idea exchange, with a focus on reducing support costs through deflection and increasing customer satisfaction. Case studies on the site reference large-scale communities like the Microsoft Power BI Community, which reportedly grew over 600% while support headcount remained flat.
Khoros Service focuses on agent efficiency, automation, and operational insights across digital channels. It promises a single place for agents to resolve cross-channel inquiries, backed by AI-powered automation and routing. The goal is to deliver seamless, 24x7, omnichannel service while cutting costs and improving customer experience.
Khoros Social Media Management is described as social media marketing made simple for major brands. It centralizes content management, publishing, and governance for global social accounts, campaigns, and teams. This helps enterprises execute cross-channel campaigns faster, maintain brand consistency, and reduce risk through approval workflows and governance controls.
Beyond core products, Khoros offers services and integrations that extend the platform. Strategic Services, Professional Services, and Product Coaching are highlighted in the footer as ways to accelerate adoption and optimize results. Channel and tech integrations connect Khoros to other systems so brands can meet customers wherever they are and maintain a secure, compliant data environment.
- Enterprise-grade online communities for peer-to-peer support and collaboration
- Digital customer service with agent efficiency, automation, and operational insights
- Social media management for global accounts, campaigns, and governance
- AI & Automation across conversations, campaigns, and customer interactions
- Strategic Services, Professional Services, and Product Coaching for implementation and optimization
- Channel and tech integrations to connect with customers across platforms
- Trust Center with policies, resources, and certifications for data security and compliance
Pricing and plans for Khoros
Khoros does not publish public, self-serve pricing on its main site, and the /pricing and /platform/community URLs currently return 404 pages. This strongly suggests that Khoros operates on a custom-quote, enterprise pricing model tailored to each customer’s scale, modules, and service requirements. Prospective buyers are encouraged to request a demo or contact sales rather than choose from fixed tiers.
Given the enterprise focus and breadth of capabilities, it is reasonable to expect contract-based, multi-seat pricing with annual commitments. Costs likely vary based on which products are selected, such as Khoros Communities, Khoros Service, and Khoros Social Media Management, as well as add-on services like Strategic Services or Product Coaching. However, no official numbers, starting prices, or plan names are disclosed on the public website.
Because of this lack of transparency, buyers should plan for a discovery and scoping process with the Khoros sales team to understand total cost of ownership. This can be appropriate for large organizations that need tailored solutions, but it may be a barrier for smaller teams that prefer clear, published pricing. In such cases, more transparent tools with self-serve plans may be easier to evaluate and adopt.
Custom Enterprise Plan
- Access to Khoros Communities, Khoros Service, and/or Khoros Social Media Management depending on contract
- Enterprise-grade security, governance, and compliance features
- AI & Automation capabilities across conversations and campaigns
- Channel and tech integrations as scoped in the agreement
- Strategic, professional, or product coaching services as add-ons
All pricing appears to be quote-based; no public plan names or prices are listed.
Khoros does not provide public pricing or plan tiers on its website. All information above is inferred from the enterprise positioning and may vary by customer.
Customer stories and feedback
Khoros showcases several enterprise customer stories that emphasize cost savings, scalability, and improved customer satisfaction. One highlighted example is the Microsoft Power BI Community, where support headcount reportedly remained flat despite over 600% community growth, resulting in millions of dollars in deflected support costs. This story underscores Khoros’ strength in enabling peer-to-peer support at scale.
Another customer notes that after piloting Khoros and achieving business objectives with positive ROI, senior executives readily invested in the community without opposition. Other testimonials emphasize how Khoros communities harness collective intelligence and transform support organizations by delivering relevant, expert information at the right time and place. Overall, the tone of the customer feedback is that Khoros is a strategic, long-term platform rather than a quick tactical tool.
While the on-site testimonials are compelling, they are curated success stories from large brands and do not represent the full spectrum of user experiences. Prospective buyers should supplement these with third-party reviews to understand implementation complexity, onboarding time, and day-to-day usability. Still, the published stories demonstrate that Khoros can deliver substantial financial and experiential benefits when properly deployed.
- It was reported by Sandy Rivas, Senior Program Manager at Microsoft, that the Microsoft Power BI Community grew over 600% from its initial launch while support headcount remained flat, resulting in millions of dollars in deflected support costs and happier customers.
- It was shared by Imad Daoud, Senior Manager of Digital Support, that after a successful pilot with positive ROI and favorable user feedback, senior executives invested in the Khoros Community without opposition.
- It was stated by JP Bonnafoux, VP Growth & Success, Digital Business, that the Khoros Community allowed customers to benefit from the power of the company’s collective intelligence.
- It was described by Suzanne Macaluso, Sr. Advisor of Digital Platforms, that the Khoros Community transformed their support organization by providing digitally relevant, expert information at the right time and place with minimal effort.
Our in-depth review of Khoros
From a product perspective, Khoros excels as an enterprise engagement hub that unifies communities, service, and social media management. Its strengths lie in scalability, governance, and the ability to demonstrate ROI through metrics like support cost deflection and increased revenue from engaged members. For organizations with complex support and marketing operations, this consolidation can significantly reduce tool sprawl and operational friction.
However, Khoros comes with trade-offs that are important to acknowledge. The lack of transparent pricing and the apparent reliance on custom contracts make it harder for smaller teams or mid-market companies to evaluate. The platform’s breadth and enterprise focus also imply a steeper learning curve and longer implementation cycles compared to more focused tools.
In day-to-day use, Khoros is best suited to teams that have dedicated resources for community management, digital support, and social operations. If your primary need is rapid content ideation and publishing rather than full-stack engagement infrastructure, a lighter tool may deliver faster value. This is where specialized AI content tools can complement or even replace parts of the Khoros stack for certain use cases.
Pros
- Highly scalable community platform with proven results in support cost deflection
- Unified approach to communities, digital service, and social media management
- Strong enterprise positioning with governance, security, and compliance focus
- AI & Automation messaging suggests modern, data-driven workflows across channels
- Rich ecosystem of services, including Strategic Services and Professional Services
- Customer stories from recognizable enterprise brands validate ROI and impact
Cons
- No public pricing or clear plan tiers, making evaluation harder for new buyers
- 404 responses on expected URLs like /pricing and /platform/community reduce transparency
- Likely complex implementation and onboarding compared to lighter tools
- Enterprise focus may be overkill for small or mid-sized teams with simple needs
- Website content provides limited detail on specific AI features and in-app workflows
Final verdict: Is Khoros right for you?
Khoros is a strong fit for large enterprises that need a unified platform for communities, digital service, and social media management, backed by AI and professional services. Its proven track record with high-traffic communities and measurable cost savings makes it compelling for organizations that view customer engagement as a strategic investment. The platform’s depth and flexibility are clear advantages when governance, compliance, and cross-team coordination are non-negotiable.
On the other hand, the absence of public pricing, the enterprise-oriented positioning, and the likely implementation overhead make Khoros less suitable for small teams or early-stage companies. If your primary goal is to quickly create and publish high-quality social content, a more focused tool will be easier to adopt and manage. In many cases, Khoros will be part of a broader ecosystem where lighter tools handle specialized workflows.
Overall, Khoros earns a strong score for enterprises that can fully leverage its capabilities, but it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Teams should carefully assess their scale, governance needs, and appetite for complex implementations before committing. For leaner organizations or content-first workflows, pairing or replacing Khoros with a simpler AI-powered tool may deliver better day-to-day value.
Alternatives
If Khoros isn't the right fit, consider these similar tools:
Last updated: 17.11.2025