Courses & Communities

Our top three course and community platforms

The first two are close. Circle comes first because it runs a community and courses together with unlimited members, and its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.9 from about 86,000 ratings. Simplero costs less to start, takes no fee on sales and has email built in, but its price climbs with your contact list. systeme.io is third for anyone who wants to start for nothing. Thinkific narrowly missed: $40 a month billed yearly, with no fee on sales through its own checkout, but students get no phone app unless you pay $199 a month.

1. 1

   First: Circle

   Free trial · from $89/mo

   For: Most creators, especially those building a community

   Circle puts discussions, chat, courses, events and live streams in spaces members join, with paid memberships, a website builder and a custom domain on every plan. Professional is $89 a month billed yearly ($99 monthly) for unlimited members, 3 admins and 20 spaces, plus 2% of each sale, and the 14-day trial needs no card. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.9 from about 86,000 ratings. Know the limits: email to contacts is the Email Hub add-on, from $19 a month, and workflows and the API need Business at $199 a month billed yearly.

   iPhone and iPad app: 4.9 out of 5 on the App Store

   Circle pricing and details
2. 2

   Second: Simplero

   Free trial · from $59/mo

   For: Coaches who want courses, email and checkout in one account

   Simplero puts courses with quizzes, memberships, communities, coaching programs, email with a CRM, funnels and checkout in one account, and takes no fee on sales. Starter is $59 a month billed yearly for 500 contacts, with a 14-day trial of every feature. Members get an iPhone and Android app, and the iPhone and iPad version averages 4.85 from 1,256 ratings. It is second because contacts push the price up, to $134 a month at 10,000 on Starter, which stops at 10 courses and one site or community, and affiliates and the API need Scale at $149.

   iPhone and iPad app: 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store

   Simplero pricing and details
3. 3

   Third: systeme.io

   Free plan · from $17/mo

   For: Anyone who wants to start selling for nothing

   systeme.io's free plan, with no card, covers 2,000 contacts, unlimited emails, 3 funnels, 1 course for up to 500 students and 1 community, and no plan takes a fee on sales, though payment processors still charge theirs. Startup is $17 a month for 5 courses and 5,000 contacts. It is third because it is a funnel and email builder first: the course side has video, PDFs, drip and locking but no quizzes or certificates on record, it runs only in a browser, and the free plan allows 1 automation rule and 1 email campaign.

   systeme.io pricing and details

Ranked on Oct 17, 2026 from what each listing shows and what people say about the tool, not from our own testing. How we rank