Circle vs LaunchPass (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Circle: it is first in our ranking of course and community platforms, and it grades higher too, 2.8 against 2.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Circle grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Circle
Community platform with courses, events, payments and branded apps
LaunchPass
Charge for access to Discord, Telegram and Slack communities
Which one is for you
Pick Circle if
- Fits if the community is your product and courses and events hang off it
- Works for brands that want their own domain and website around the community
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you also need email campaigns, as Email Hub starts at $19 a month extra
- Skip it if you want an app under your own name, which is only in custom-priced Circle Plus
- Tight if you outgrow 20 spaces and 3 admins on Professional
- Watch out: Circle takes 2% of each sale on Professional and 1% on Business and Scale
- Watch out: workflows, the API and removing branding need Business at $199 a month; AI agents and webhooks need Scale
Pick LaunchPass if
- Fits if your community already lives on Discord or Telegram
- Works for creators who want to charge monthly for access
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a place to host the community, as it only gates other apps
- Pricey if you sell a lot, as 3.5% comes on top of $29 and Stripe's fees
- Tight if you stay on Basic, as billing, coupons, trials and analytics are Premium
- Watch out: it works with Discord, Telegram and Slack only
How we grade them
| 2.8GPACircleGood | 2.0GPALaunchPassFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGraded against its alternatives, community platforms. Professional is $89 a month billed yearly plus Circle's 2% of sales, $40 on $2,000: $129 a month. That's mid-pack, above Skool Pro ($82.50) and Mighty Networks ($119), below Heartbeat ($140). | CPremium is $29 a month, between the cheaper quarter ($20) and the middle ($37), plus a 3.5% fee and Stripe's fees. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a 14-day trial with no card needed, which is enough to set up spaces and invite a few people. | CThe Basic plan has no cap on free members but cannot charge for access; a 14-day Premium trial exists. |
| Features | BSpaces with posts and chat, courses, events, live streams and rooms, paid memberships, a website builder, gamification and AI credits on every plan. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the job; workflows and the API just start on Business. | DOne narrow job: gating Discord, Telegram and Slack access. It needs one of them to be useful at all, and does not host a community. |
| Ease of use | A4.87 from about 86,000 App Store ratings, the highest rating on record in this category. Members open the app and they're in. | CNo store rating on record. You connect Discord or Telegram and Stripe, and set tiers. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Zapier, Stripe, PayPal, Slack, HubSpot, Mailchimp and Teachable, plus an API and MCP on Business. No desktop app, which an A needs. | BWeb, with Discord, Telegram, Slack and Stripe listed. |
| Best for | a branded community with courses and events | charging for access to Discord, Telegram or Slack |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Circle and LaunchPass. How we grade
Price against what you get
Circle starts at $89 a month and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. LaunchPass starts at $29 a month and scores 2.0.
Circle scores higher, and starts $60 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other course and community platforms on the chart, none scores higher than Circle for less, and 23 score higher than LaunchPass for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Circle also covers workflow automation, email campaigns and online courses.
- LaunchPass also covers reports.
At a glance
| Circle | LaunchPass | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly) | $29 per month, plus 3.5% transaction fee |
| Free plan | None | Basic plan: unlimited free members, automated invites, a customizable invite page and one-click sign-up on and off. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | 14-day free trial on Premium |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Circle | LaunchPass |
| Price read from | circle.so | launchpass.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Circle
- Circle takes 2% of each sale on Professional, 1% on Business and Scale and 0.5% on Circle Plus.
- Email Hub costs extra on top of any plan except Circle Plus: $19 a month for up to 1,000 contacts, $99 at 10,000.
- Workflows, the API and removing Circle branding need Business; AI agents and webhooks need Scale.
- An app under your own name in the app stores is only in Circle Plus, which is priced through sales.
LaunchPass
- Premium adds a 3.5% transaction fee on top of the $29 monthly price; Stripe fees apply as well.
- It works with Discord, Telegram and Slack only; it does not host a community of its own.
- Coupons, free trials, tiers and analytics are Premium features, not part of Basic.
Key features
Circle
- Spaces, discussions and chat
- Members join topic spaces for posts and chat, with a member directory, rich profiles and gamification. Professional allows 20 spaces.
- Courses
- Courses live inside the community on every plan, and course migration from another platform is free on annual Business plans and above.
- Events and live streams
- Live events, live streams and live rooms: Professional covers 100 stream attendees, 15 room participants and 10 hours.
- Payments and website
- Paid memberships and products through Circle's checkout, a website builder and a custom domain on every plan.
- Workflows, API and AI
- Business adds workflows, APIs and an MCP server; Scale adds AI agents, AI moderation and webhooks. Extra AI credits cost $10 per 1,000.
- Email Hub
- An optional add-on for broadcasts, scheduled campaigns, sign-up forms, segments and marketing automations to contacts and members.
LaunchPass
- Paid access to chat communities
- Connect Discord, Telegram or Slack and Stripe, then charge for access with no coding.
- Flexible subscription options
- Set your own prices, charge weekly, monthly or yearly, and offer free trials and coupons on Premium.
- Multi-tier access
- Run paid and free access in the same community, with different tiers mapped to different access.
- Automatic removal on cancel
- On Discord, a cancelled subscription triggers a kick or role removal automatically.
- Branded invite page and widget
- Create a custom invite page, or embed the sign-up widget on a page you already have.
- Analytics and affiliates
- A dashboard with an activity feed, conversion tracking and affiliate integration, on Premium.
Plans
Circle
Professional$89
per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
Unlimited members, courses, events, website, payments, apps, 3 admins, 20 spaces, 2,500 AI credits. Circle takes 2% of each sale.
Business$199
per month, billed annually ($219 billed monthly)
20 workflows, APIs and MCP, custom profile fields, branded emails, no Circle branding, 5 admins, 30 spaces. 1% transaction fee.
Scale$419
per month, billed monthly or annually
AI agents and AI workflows, unlimited workflows, webhooks, custom SSO, 10 admins, 100 spaces, 5,000 AI credits. 1% transaction fee.
Circle PlusCustom
Custom branded iOS and Android apps, unlimited admins and spaces, Email Hub with 10,000 contacts, a dedicated expert. 0.5% transaction fee.
LaunchPass
Basic$0
Free forever. Automated invites for free members, a customizable invite page and a custom description.
Premium$29
per month, plus 3.5% transaction fee
One-time and recurring billing, coupons, free trials, multi-tier access, an embeddable widget and analytics.
Ways to pay less
Circle
- Annual discount
Lower monthly price with annual billing
Circle's pricing lists Professional at $89 a month billed annually against $99 monthly, and Business at $199 against $219. Scale costs the same either way.
LaunchPass
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Circle or LaunchPass?
As of Nov 13, 2026, LaunchPass is cheaper to start with: $29 a month, against $89 a month for Circle. Circle starts at $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly), and LaunchPass starts at $29 per month, plus 3.5% transaction fee.
Which has a free plan, Circle or LaunchPass?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only LaunchPass has a free plan. Circle does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Circle and LaunchPass run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Circle lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.