Happy Valley

Circle vs TalentLMS

Circle and TalentLMS are both online courses & LMS tools. Circle is aimed at creators and small businesses, while TalentLMS is aimed at small businesses. Circle costs less, from $89/mo versus $119/mo for TalentLMS. Only TalentLMS has a free plan.

Circle

All-in-one community platform for creators and brands

TalentLMS

Training platform for small and mid-size companies

PricingPaid · $89Freemium · $119
Starting price$89/mo$119/mo
Free planNoYes
Free trial14 days—
Built forCreators, Small businessesSmall businesses
Platformsweb, ios, androidweb, ios, android
CountryUS · 2020US · 2012
Rating——

Choose Circle if

Creators and companies who want a premium, branded community with courses and payments.

  • Polished, flexible community experience
  • Courses, events and payments in one
  • Strong for creators and B2B communities alike

Look elsewhere if: Budget communities (Skool, Discord) or knowledge-heavy forums (Discourse).

Choose TalentLMS if

SMBs training employees or customers.

  • Easy setup
  • Free plan
  • Good content library

Look elsewhere if: Large enterprises (Docebo).

Circle vs TalentLMS pricing

Circle

  • Professional$89/moBilled annually; unlimited members, 3 admins, 2% transaction fee
  • Business$199/moBilled annually; 5 admins, 1% transaction fee, workflows, API
  • Scale$419/moBilled annually; 10 admins, 1% transaction fee, AI agents
  • Circle PlusCustomBranded mobile apps, unlimited admins, 0.5% transaction fee

TalentLMS

  • Free$0Up to 5 users, 10 courses
  • Core$119/moBilled monthly; save 20% yearly; up to 40 users
  • Grow$229/moUp to 70 users
  • Pro$449/moUp to 100 users, $6 per extra user
  • EnterpriseCustomFrom 500-1,000 users

Circle · Key features

  • Spaces for posts, chat, events and courses
  • Live streams and video rooms
  • Paid memberships, tiers and gated spaces
  • Workflows for automation and member journeys
  • Branded mobile apps (Plus)
  • AI agent, analytics and API

Cons

  • Price plus transaction fees
  • Branded app is a significant add-on
  • Search and threading can be weaker than forums

TalentLMS · Key features

  • Course builder with AI assistance
  • TalentLibrary ready-made courses
  • Gamification and certifications
  • Assessments and surveys
  • Instructor-led and virtual sessions
  • Branches for multiple audiences

Cons

  • User-tier pricing
  • Limited advanced analytics
  • Less customizable than enterprise LMS

Circle vs TalentLMS: FAQ

Which is cheaper, Circle or TalentLMS?

Circle starts at $89/mo and TalentLMS at $119/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.

Do Circle and TalentLMS have a free plan?

Circle has no free plan, a 14-day free trial. TalentLMS has a free plan.

Not sure yet?