Softwr

Dating · head to head

HER vs Khoros

HER logo

HER

Dating

The dating app for LGBTQ+ women and queer people

From
Free
Rated
-
Khoros logo

Khoros

Social Media

Enterprise social media management and branded community platform, now owned by IgniteTech

From
On request
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only HER has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: HER facebook or Instagram account required for signup, which excludes closeted users or those with safety concerns; Khoros igniteTech, part of ESW Capital, acquired Khoros in May 2025 and around 116 staff were made redundant within weeks, and ESW has a documented pattern of running acquired software on minimal cost bases, so support responsiveness and roadmap delivery are legitimate contract-negotiation issues rather than theoretical risks.
  • They diverge on capability: HER covers Profile Matching, Khoros covers Branded communities.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which HER and Khoros actually diverge.

Attributes where HER and Khoros differ
AttributeHERKhoros
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsiOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, API
CategoryDatingSocial Media
Founded2013Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in HER

  • Profile Matching
  • Communities
  • Events
  • Feed
  • Filter by Sexuality
  • Video Chat
  • Instagram
  • Spotify

Only in Khoros

  • Branded communities
  • Community gamification
  • Social publishing
  • Social customer care
  • Moderation tooling
  • Listening and analytics
  • Aurora and Iris AI
  • Knowledge deflection

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

HER

No use cases recorded yet. See the HER review.

Khoros

  • A telecommunications operator that wants a public support community whose accepted answers measurably deflect contact centre volumenot HER
  • A consumer brand consolidating a dozen regional social accounts under one publishing approval workflow with regional role permissionsnot HER
  • A games publisher running player forums where moderation load and volunteer moderator tooling matter more than publishing featuresnot HER
  • A bank that needs social service messages tracked against the same SLA framework as its email and chat queuesnot HER

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

HER

  • Facebook or Instagram account required for signup, which excludes closeted users or those with safety concerns
  • No web version available; mobile-only platform on iOS and Android
  • Fake profiles and romance scams present on platform despite selfie verification
  • Limited user base outside major cities; geographic areas without Pride events may have single-digit user pools
  • Key features like Discover page and unlimited likes are behind paywall with 14-hour swiping limit unless paid

Khoros

  • IgniteTech, part of ESW Capital, acquired Khoros in May 2025 and around 116 staff were made redundant within weeks, and ESW has a documented pattern of running acquired software on minimal cost bases, so support responsiveness and roadmap delivery are legitimate contract-negotiation issues rather than theoretical risks.
  • Community migration is genuinely hard: moving years of threads, accepted solutions, member reputation and SEO-bearing URLs off Khoros later is a project measured in quarters, which makes the switching cost far higher than the annual licence suggests.
  • Pricing is not published and the platform is sold on annual enterprise contracts with substantial implementation and design services, so the first-year cost is materially higher than the recurring licence and hard to benchmark.
  • The publishing and listening side inherited from Spredfast has been outpaced by dedicated social suites, so social-first teams frequently find themselves keeping a second tool for scheduling and analytics and paying for overlapping capability.
  • The product is the result of merging two large codebases and has now changed private-equity owner twice, and reviewers consistently report that community administration and social management still feel like separate systems sharing a login rather than one product.
  • Khoros Community Classic is being sunset in favour of the new Aurora AI community platform, so existing customers face a forced migration of an already hard-to-move asset, on the acquirer timetable rather than their own.

Pricing, plan by plan

HER

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Liking and matching
    • Messaging
    • Communities
  • Premium$14.99/month
    • Ad-free experience
    • See who is online in real-time
    • Additional search filters

Khoros

On request
  • Khoros$undefined/year
    • Branded communities
    • Social publishing and governance
    • Social customer care queue

Which should you pick?

Choose HER if

  • You need profile matching.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android.
  • You also want communities.

Choose Khoros if

  • You need branded communities.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
  • You also want community gamification.

Questions people ask

Is HER or Khoros better?
Neither clearly leads. HER starts at Free and Khoros at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, HER or Khoros?
HER has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for HER and On request for Khoros.
Does HER or Khoros run on more platforms?
HER runs on iOS, Android. Khoros runs on Web, iOS, Android, API.
Can I use HER for free?
Yes. HER has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Khoros starts at On request.
What can HER do that Khoros cannot?
HER covers Profile Matching, Communities, Events, Feed. Khoros covers Branded communities, Community gamification, Social publishing, Social customer care.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

HER: Are all HER features free to use?

Yes. All core features are completely free including liking, matching, messaging, joining communities, and viewing events. HER Premium ($14.99/month or $7.50/month annually) removes ads and adds filters.

Source
Khoros: Who owns Khoros now?

IgniteTech, an ESW Capital company, acquired Khoros on 27 May 2025. Vista Equity Partners, which created Khoros by merging Lithium and Spredfast, is no longer the owner.

HER: What communities does HER offer?

HER features 30+ communities for queer women, lesbian, bi, nonbinary, trans, and gender nonconforming users. Users can add pronouns, pride pins, and gender identities to their profiles.

Source
Khoros: Why does the website say khoros.ai?

The company moved its corporate domain from khoros.com to khoros.ai as part of an AI-first relaunch under IgniteTech, centred on its Aurora and Iris AI capabilities.

HER: What platforms does HER support?

HER is available on iOS (App Store) and Android (Google Play).

Source
Khoros: Is pricing published?

No. Khoros quotes privately on annual enterprise contracts, and implementation services are a significant separate cost.

Khoros: Should the ownership change affect my decision?

It should affect your contract. Ask for written roadmap commitments, named support staffing and exit or data-export terms before signing a multi-year community deal.

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