Circle alternatives · Courses
Free alternatives to Circle
Circle has no free plan. 9 of the 41 other course and community platforms in this directory are free or have a free plan.
Circle is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly). 2 of them have no paid plan at all; the rest pair a free plan with paid ones.
9 tools · Listings checked up to Nov 12, 2026 · Where the facts come from
How each one differs from Circle
- Free plan · from $100/mo
Discourse
Open-source discussion forum software with hosted plans
What is free: Free hosting plan: 2 staff seats, 10 categories, 5GB of storage, 20k emails a month and 500k page views a month.
- Discourse starts at $100 per month. Circle starts at $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
- Discourse has a free plan. Circle does not, though it has a free trial.
- Discourse is open source, according to its own site.
- Discourse also covers team chat.
- Free plan · from $17/mo
systeme.io
All-in-one marketing suite with funnels, email, courses and community
What is free: 2,000 contacts, unlimited emails, 3 funnels, 1 course with 500 students, 1 community, 1 blog, 1 automation rule and 1 email campaign. No card needed.
- systeme.io starts at $17 per month for up to 5,000 contacts, billed monthly. Circle starts at $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
- systeme.io has a free plan. Circle does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Circle lists iOS and Android apps.
- systeme.io also covers booking links, sales pipeline and marketing automation.
- Free
Maven
Marketplace for live cohort courses and workshops taught by experts
What is free: Everything. There is no paid plan.
- Maven is free. Circle starts at $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
- Maven has a free plan. Circle does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Circle lists iOS and Android apps.
- Maven also covers surveys.
- Free plan · from $398/yr
LifterLMS
WordPress LMS plugin with a free core and paid bundles
What is free: Core plugin: unlimited courses, memberships, students and teachers, with quizzes, certificates and achievement badges.
- LifterLMS starts at $398 per year for 1 site (Earth bundle), or a free core plugin. Circle starts at $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
- LifterLMS has a free plan. Circle does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Circle lists iOS and Android apps.
- LifterLMS also covers templates, marketing automation and reports.
- Free plan · from $15/mo
Sensei LMS
WordPress course plugin with a free core and a paid Pro tier
What is free: Sensei Free: unlimited free courses, certificate builder, basic quizzes and learning mode, open-source and community supported.
- Sensei LMS starts at $15 per month, billed yearly ($179), for Sensei Pro; the core plugin is free. Circle starts at $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
- Sensei LMS has a free plan. Circle does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Circle lists iOS and Android apps.
- Sensei LMS is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Free plan · from $99/mo
Ruzuku
Course platform with live sessions, community and no sales fee
What is free: Up to 5 student enrollments at a time, unlimited courses, community discussions, live meetings, sales pages and payments.
- Ruzuku starts at $99 per month, billed monthly ($997 per year). Circle starts at $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
- Ruzuku has a free plan. Circle does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Circle lists iOS and Android apps.
- Ruzuku also covers webinars.
- Free
Hotmart
Sell courses and digital products for a cut of each sale
What is free: Everything. There is no paid plan.
- Hotmart is free. Circle starts at $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
- Hotmart has a free plan. Circle does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Circle lists iOS and Android apps.
- Hotmart also covers marketing automation, affiliate tracking, digital downloads and webinars.
- Free plan · from $49/mo
Paid Memberships Pro
Open-source WordPress membership plugin with managed hosting
What is free: Self-host the open-source PMPro platform with the core plugin, 25 free add-ons and payment gateways; no support or premium add-ons.
- Paid Memberships Pro starts at $49 per month for Standard (self-hosted), or a free self-hosted core. Circle starts at $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
- Paid Memberships Pro has a free plan. Circle does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Circle lists iOS and Android apps.
- Paid Memberships Pro is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Free plan · from $15/mo
Fourthwall
Creator shop with merch, digital products and memberships
What is free: Design and sell products, offer memberships, run promotions; 5% fee and 5 GB limit on digital products.
- Fourthwall starts at $15 per month for Pro. Circle starts at $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
- Fourthwall has a free plan. Circle does not, though it has a free trial.
- Fourthwall also covers online store, digital downloads, merchant of record and print on demand.
- Circle also covers workflow automation, email campaigns and online courses.
Common questions
Is there a free alternative to Circle?
Yes. Discourse, systeme.io, Maven, LifterLMS, Sensei LMS, Ruzuku, Hotmart, Paid Memberships Pro and 1 more are free or have a free plan.
Does Circle have a free plan?
Circle has no free plan. Circle is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
When was this checked?
Each listing shows its own date. On this page they run from Oct 17, 2026 to Nov 12, 2026. Vendors change prices and plans without notice, so confirm on their site before you buy.
This page is built from the listings. A tool is here because its listing says so, and the order is how close each is to Circle: the alternatives its listing names first, then the tools that share the most features with it.