Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) are collective urban energy forms that shifted the traditional centralized energy supply paradigm towards a more inclusive, distributed and citizen-oriented energy system. While REC definition is unique and derives from the Directive 2018/2001, their practical implementation across Europe reveals a wide variety of organizational and technical configurations. This work proposes a structured catalogue of REC archetypes, designed to guide urban and energy planners in navigating this complexity. From lesson learnt from the literature, case studies and projects, five main archetypes have been identified and studied. These models are examined across four key dimensions, i.e. energy vectors, governance, technology and context, to highlight their distinct features and replicability potential. A comparative analysis is then presented to discuss the enabling factors, such as infrastructure, regulation, socio-economic and environmental aspects, and guide stakeholders into a possible procedure for choosing the most appropriate REC archetype adapted to the local condition and long-term sustainability goals.