Circle
All-in-one community platform for creators and brands
Circle is a community platforms tool for Creators and Small businesses, offered as paid ($89/mo). Founded in United States in 2020. Popular alternatives include Skool, Mighty Networks, Bettermode.
About Circle
Circle is a community platform from a US company founded in 2019 by people who previously built creator tools, and it has become one of the most popular homes for paid communities, cohort courses and B2B customer communities. It brings discussion spaces, chat, events, live streams, courses and memberships into one branded space on web, iOS and Android.
Communities are organized into spaces, each of which can be a post feed, a chat channel, an event calendar or a course. Paywalls, tiers and gated spaces handle monetization with Stripe, and the platform adds its own transaction fee on top of Stripe's charges, a percentage that shrinks on higher plans. Business adds workflows that automate onboarding and member journeys, custom profile fields and API access; AI features help with moderation, summaries and an AI agent that answers members. Fully branded iOS and Android apps are a separate Plus offering with a significant extra price.
Circle fits creators and companies who want a polished, premium community and are willing to pay for it. It is less suited to tight budgets and to knowledge-heavy communities where search and threaded discussion matter most. Skool is simpler and cheaper with gamification built in, Mighty Networks offers a similar all-in-one bundle, Discord is free but noisy and hard to monetize, and Discourse is the open-source choice for searchable forums.
Key features of Circle
- 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
Pros and cons
Pros
- Polished, flexible community experience
- Courses, events and payments in one
- Strong for creators and B2B communities alike
- Good mobile experience
Cons
- Price plus transaction fees
- Branded app is a significant add-on
- Search and threading can be weaker than forums
- Workflows require Business tier
Circle pricing
Circle uses a paid model. A 14-day free trial is available.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Professional | $89 / mo | Billed annually; unlimited members, 3 admins, 2% transaction fee |
| Business | $199 / mo | Billed annually; 5 admins, 1% transaction fee, workflows, API |
| Scale | $419 / mo | Billed annually; 10 admins, 1% transaction fee, AI agents |
| Circle Plus | Custom | Branded mobile apps, unlimited admins, 0.5% transaction fee |
Source: circle.so · checked on Oct 20, 2026
How Circle compares in Community platforms
- Rank by votes
- #1 / 17
- Starting price
- $89
- Free alternatives
- 4
0 votes from members
11% below the category median ($100/mo)
Free or open-source tools in Community platforms
Circle ranks #1 of 17 community platforms tools by community votes and is priced below most tools in the category.
Common use cases
- 1Cohort course with community and live sessions
- 2Paid membership community for a creator
- 3Customer community for a SaaS product
- 4Mastermind group with events and chat
Best for
Creators and companies who want a premium, branded community with courses and payments.
Not ideal for
Budget communities (Skool, Discord) or knowledge-heavy forums (Discourse).
Integrations
- Stripe
- Zapier
- Make
- ConvertKit
- Mailchimp
- Zoom
- Slack
- Memberstack
- API and webhooks
Our take
Circle is the best-designed community platform if you can afford it. Choose Skool for simplicity, Discourse for searchable knowledge.
FAQ
- What is Circle?
- Circle is a Community platforms tool: All-in-one community platform for creators and brands.
- How much does Circle cost?
- Circle uses a Paid model; paid plans start at $89 per month.
- What are the best alternatives to Circle?
- Community-listed alternatives to Circle include Skool, Mighty Networks, Bettermode, Heartbeat.
- Does Circle have a free trial?
- Yes, Circle offers a 14-day free trial.
- What does Circle integrate with?
- Circle integrates with Stripe, Zapier, Make, ConvertKit, Mailchimp, Zoom and more.
- Which platforms does Circle support?
- Circle is available on web, ios, android.
- Who is Circle for?
- Creators and companies who want a premium, branded community with courses and payments.
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