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ToolGPA

Circle vs MemberPress

We give Circle a 2.8 GPA and MemberPress a 1.8, out of 4.0. Circle grades higher on the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money 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

Free trial · from $89/mo
Full detailscircle.so

MemberPress

WordPress plugin for paid memberships, courses and communities

From $399/yr
Full detailsmemberpress.com

How we grade them

2.8GPACircleGood1.8GPAMemberPressWeak
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).
CLaunch is $399 a year at renewal plus 4.9% of every payment, about $131 a month at $2,000 of sales. Growth drops the fee: $699 a year at renewal, about $58 a month ($349.50 in the first year). The middle of this category, with hosting on top.
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.
FNothing free: no free version and no trial in the listing. You buy a yearly license to see it.
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.
CPaywall rules, memberships, a course builder, quizzes and certificates on Growth, ClubSuite forums and a member directory, and CoachKit coaching. A broad kit, but it needs a WordPress site to be useful, and Zapier and the API wait for Scale.
Ease of use
A4.87 from about 86,000 App Store ratings, the strongest record in this category. Members open the app and they're in.
CNo rating on record. You need WordPress on a host before anything else, then content rules and memberships to set up, so it takes some learning.
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.
BRuns in the browser inside WordPress, with Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.net, Zapier, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign and Kit. The REST API and webhooks are on Scale.
Best fora branded community with courses and eventspaid memberships on your own WordPress site

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 MemberPress. 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. MemberPress starts at $33.25 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3.

Circle scores higher, and starts $55.75 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 3 score higher than MemberPress for less.

Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged

C2.0B3.0A4.0Free$5$10$20$50$100$200$500More for lessCosts more, scores moreCosts less, scores lessCosts more, scores lessCircleMemberPress

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
The full chart of course and community platforms, and the best at every price

Where they differ

  • Circle starts at $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly). MemberPress starts at $399 per year at renewal, after a first year for $199.50.
  • Only Circle lists iOS and Android apps.
  • Circle also covers workflow automation and email campaigns.
In commonWebPublic APIAI featuresOnline coursesCommunity

At a glance

CircleMemberPress
PricingFree trialPaid
Starts at$89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)$399 per year at renewal, after a first year for $199.50
Free planNoneNone
Free trial14-day free trial, no credit card requiredNone listed
Web
iOS
Android
Made byCircleCaseproof, LLC
Price read fromcircle.somemberpress.com
CheckedOct 17, 2026Oct 17, 2026

Who each one suits

Circle

  • Creators and brands whose main product is a community
  • Communities that also sell courses and run live events
  • Teams that want automations and an API around their community

MemberPress

  • Site owners who want to sell memberships on their own WordPress site
  • Paywalled content, courses and coaching under one login
  • Builders who want to own their member data and pick their own host

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.

MemberPress

  • MemberPress needs a WordPress site. Each plan covers one site activation, staging sites included; up to 15 more are sold as separate yearly subscriptions.
  • Launch takes 4.9% of every payment and accepts Stripe only; Growth and Scale drop the fee, though Stripe or PayPal charges still apply.
  • First-year prices are half the list price, and every plan renews at full price: $399, $699 or $999 a year.
  • Forums, coaching and quizzes start on Growth; Zapier, the REST API and webhooks, and affiliates need Scale.

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.

MemberPress

Paywall and content rules
Smart Rules protect pages, posts, custom post types, categories, tags, files or parts of a page by membership; dripping content on a schedule needs Growth.
Memberships and checkout
Unlimited one-time and recurring memberships with upgrades, downgrades and pausing, coupons, a multi-item cart and a self-serve member dashboard.
Courses and quizzes
A drag-and-drop curriculum builder for unlimited courses and lessons; quizzes, assignments and certificates come with Growth.
AI Course Generator
Describe a course and AI drafts the sections, lessons and quiz questions, using a yearly allowance of AI credits that grows with the plan.
ClubSuite community
Forums and private groups called Circles, member profiles and a searchable directory on Growth, with direct messaging added on Scale.
CoachKit coaching
Run coaching programs with unlimited coaches, clients and cohorts, milestone and habit tracking, and dashboards for coaches and clients.

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.

MemberPress

  • Launch$399

    per year at renewal, after a first year for $199.50

    $199.50 the first year. One site, unlimited members and courses, Stripe only, 25,000 AI credits. MemberPress takes a 4.9% fee on each payment.

  • Growth$699

    per year at renewal, after a first year for $349.50

    $349.50 the first year. No transaction fee, PayPal and Square, forums and member directory, CoachKit, quizzes, certificates, dripping, 50,000 AI credits.

  • Scale$999

    per year at renewal, after a first year for $499.50

    $499.50 the first year. REST API and webhooks, Zapier, Easy Affiliate, direct messaging, gradebook, corporate accounts, Authorize.net, 100,000 AI credits.

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.

MemberPress

  • Other savings

    Half price for the first year

    The pricing page sells the first year of Launch at $199.50, Growth at $349.50 and Scale at $499.50; renewals are at the full $399, $699 and $999.

  • Nonprofit

    Introductory price for life for nonprofits

    Qualifying nonprofits keep the introductory price at every renewal, which MemberPress describes as up to 50% off all plan levels.

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