Influitive vs. Higher Logic Vanilla

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Influitive
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
AdvocateHub helps B2B marketers capture customer enthusiasm and use it to drive marketing and sales efforts. With AdvocateHub, B2B marketers build an advocate community and invite customers into it to complete “challenges” like referrals, reference calls or product reviews. As they complete challenges, advocates gain points, badges and levels which can be used for a variety of perks and privileges.N/A
Higher Logic Vanilla
Score 6.0 out of 10
N/A
Higher Logic Vanilla is a customizable and themable forum software. It can be used for support communities, Q&A Communities and more. There are numerous integrations, including SSO, and connectors to popular software such as Mailchimp, WordPress, Zendesk and Salesforce.N/A
Pricing
InfluitiveHigher Logic Vanilla
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Essential
Contact sales team
Corporate
Contact sales team
Enterprise
Contact sales team
Enterprise Plus
Contact sales team
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
InfluitiveHigher Logic Vanilla
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsTo learn more about Influitive's pricing, please reach out to a member of our sales team.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
InfluitiveHigher Logic Vanilla
Considered Both Products
Influitive
Chose Influitive
The challenges were a big factor in our decision. We wanted to have a place users could consume and contribute, and not just browsing articles and moving on. We wanted them to be able to interact with the content, and each other. Many community platforms are just forums. We …
Chose Influitive
Influitive was already in place when I started working here; however 3 years later when we decided to completely re-launch our program from the ground-up, I evaluated a couple other providers. Influitive still stood out as the best option in the market due to their superior …
Chose Influitive
I honestly haven't come across another provider that I wouldn't recommend. New companies and providers are created each year. Each company has their pros and cons and you need to find what company you want to partner with. We have been happy with Influitive and don't have a …
Chose Influitive
We vetted other programs before choosing Influitive. We were most impressed with the flexibility of Influitive and feel we made the right decision.
Chose Influitive
I felt Influitive offered a more complete package, with a strong roadmap. This was the top option for a one stop shop, that would allow me to truly build a solid foundation for a thriving program. It has not let me down, and I am still pleased that this was the vendor I cheered …
Higher Logic Vanilla

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
InfluitiveHigher Logic Vanilla
Brand Advocacy Tools
Comparison of Brand Advocacy Tools features of Product A and Product B
Influitive
6.4
1 Ratings
17% below category average
Higher Logic Vanilla
-
Ratings
Community Building5.51 Ratings00 Ratings
Referral Management5.51 Ratings00 Ratings
Rewards Program7.31 Ratings00 Ratings
Program Notices4.51 Ratings00 Ratings
Reference Request Automation8.21 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-Channel Marketing7.31 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
InfluitiveHigher Logic Vanilla
Small Businesses

No answers on this topic

PowerDMS by NEOGOV
PowerDMS by NEOGOV
Score 9.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies

No answers on this topic

PowerDMS by NEOGOV
PowerDMS by NEOGOV
Score 9.6 out of 10
Enterprises

No answers on this topic

Discord
Discord
Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
InfluitiveHigher Logic Vanilla
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(153 ratings)
9.0
(10 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.3
(38 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
7.2
(19 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.0
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.4
(71 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
In-Person Training
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
10.0
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.8
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
6.7
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
6.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.5
(13 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
InfluitiveHigher Logic Vanilla
Likelihood to Recommend
Influitive
We have seen success with information sharing. Giving customers another way to access our resources has been a huge help for them. While we see good engagement numbers there are still some limitations to getting our advocates to complete the 'harder' challenges, like a testimonial or reference
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Higher Logic
For companies that want to customize almost anything and make the forum look like your site, Vanilla Forums is the one for you. Customization and automation of the data via the API with other systems is more than possible and they serve to be great as a hosting provider, dealing with all the upgrades, deployments and maintenance and threat management well. I would say they might be less turn key for a small application but the fact they have an open source community, the ability to find help and information can lower the barrier of entry for most.
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Pros
Influitive
  • Allows you to create compelling and engaging challenges that help your content stand out.
  • The gamification system enables a seamless rewards program that doesn't require a big manual lift.
  • The data and insights are easy to access, analyze, and guide you toward your north star.
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Higher Logic
  • Gamification: The ability to incentivise community members to get involved with ranks and badges is one of the main reasons that we purchased the tool.
  • Support: The Vanilla support team are incredible, often responding to issues very late at night and proactively fixing issues as soon as they occur.
  • Customisation: Vanilla can be completely styled with css allowing us to match it to the branding of the rest of our website.
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Cons
Influitive
  • The Admin view is not as intuitive as the user view and the functionality just isn't as great. I wish it had almost the same layout/interface as how the customer sees it so I didn't have to constantly enter Preview mode.
  • I wish there were more included integrations in the regular Influitive package.
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Higher Logic
  • There are some features I wish Vanilla would implement that could improve ease of use in our specific community, but some of the ideas we have are not necessarily something that would benefit all of the forums that Vanilla works with.
  • In the past, we've had issues with releases breaking some of our specific site features they built for us, but this has improved drastically recently.
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Likelihood to Renew
Influitive
Depending on the cost and new features to be added, our company might be motivated to renew the use of Influitive. However, a lot depends on the year to come and the enhancements that can better our experience and add more gamification to the platform. Adding elements that can woo our target audience.
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Higher Logic
No answers on this topic
Usability
Influitive
Overall, Influitive is very easy to use for customers. There's a bit of a learning curve for new admins, but that's only because Influitive isn't always intuitive. The UI is confusing in certain places. I expect something to be in one place, and I find it somewhere else entirely. This is the only reason my usability rank isn't higher
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Higher Logic
It is very intuitive and simple to operate. Our customers immediately came up with the curve and began contributing content.
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Reliability and Availability
Influitive
Yes, always available and extremely quick. The availability is 10 on 10 for sure. We also have situations where their team might not be working or on a holiday, but if we have an event, they are available and ensure smooth running. That is the beauty of having Influitive take care of you.
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Higher Logic
No answers on this topic
Performance
Influitive
Influitive AdvocateHub interacts with Blackbaud Champions and is an on-time response system. What I mean by that is once data is entered in Influitive AdvocateHub, it is updated in real time and I can access a computer and the data is there immediately. Sometimes the rewards do not show up right away and I am under the assumption that the delay is caused by an influx of traffic.
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Higher Logic
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Influitive
If a problem can be easily addressed, Influitive Support is all over it! They're fast and always easy to work with. Some of the larger, or more unique problems, can get a little lost. I'd love to see a bit more follow-up on these more important issues, instead of me needing to reach out to find the status of a previously submitted issue. Overall, everyone at Influitive is kind and wants to help!
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Higher Logic
They did an amazing job transferring our content from GetSatisfaction. We had almost 100% success in the transfer of 8 years worth of content.
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In-Person Training
Influitive
I was taught and made to show all features that could help me learn more about the platform and this was great hands-on training for me. I picked up things faster than others and did have time to create challenges and make changes while someone was around to supervise and help.
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Higher Logic
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Influitive
The training was extensive and gave me the knowledge/ skills that I needed in order to implement my advocacy program using Influitive's Advocate Hub. I also meet on a regular basis with my Customer Success Manager. My Success Manager helps give me ideas for my program and helps me ensure that it's successful. Influitive is really invested in my success. They act more like a partner than a vendor
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Higher Logic
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Influitive
I think some of the key insights I can put forward are all aligned to simply being organized. Make sure you have a well thoughts out plan where you have taken all factors into account. Prioritize the list of deliverables, and make sure you have all the right people alighed to assist internally & externally. If you have a well organized plan you will be set up for success.
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Higher Logic
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Influitive
Vanilla is great for forums, but they don't have the gamification/challenges piece that is so important toward building advocacy. I've found a similar circumstance with Salesforce communities--good if you're looking primarily for crowdsourced tech support and QA, but nothing "sticky" for really building a thriving community, or the advocacy piece
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Higher Logic
From a footprint standpoint, Vanilla has less technical bloat than vbulletin or InVision, and it outdoes Lithium as far as features and service go. The bloat of other services and ability to use new ways of engaging communities such as through Reactions are part of the reason Vanilla was selected. However, the features are better on a couple more seasoned platforms and more equipped to deal with issues and technical problems.
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Scalability
Influitive
When I stayed using we only had a hundred or so Advocates and now we have 2100+. Pretty amazing product!
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Higher Logic
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Influitive
  • Influitive has helped us generate hundreds of reviews on sites like G2, TrustRadius, and Capterra, which has resulted in various awards and positive placement on grid reports.
  • Influitive has helped us generate dozens of case studies and hundreds of quotes that can be used in sales and marketing campaigns.
  • Influitive has generated thousands of survey responses to help our product team better understand what our customers want, which has had a direct impact on our product roadmap.
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Higher Logic
  • Increased uptime and overall speed in the forum (compared to our previous phpbb solution)
  • Increased usage by users which resulted in a higher pages/session in a short amount of time
Read full review
ScreenShots

Influitive Screenshots

Screenshot of Expand your reach through trusted channelsScreenshot of Take Influitive mobile. Advocacy enables anytime, anywhere.

Higher Logic Vanilla Screenshots

Screenshot of Looks great on any device, including desktop, tablet or mobile device.Screenshot of We offer over 60 plugins that can add functionality to your community.Screenshot of Many different themes to choose from, which you can further customize as you like.Screenshot of You have full access to edit HTML and CSS of your theme, to make any changes you need.