Circle vs Skool
We give Circle a 2.8 GPA and Skool a 2.4, out of 4.0. Circle grades higher on features and ease of use. Skool grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on 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
Skool
Community platform with courses, events and paid memberships
How we grade them
| 2.8GPACircleGood | 2.4GPASkoolFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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). | BGraded against its alternatives, community platforms. Pro is $99 a month, $82.50 with yearly billing's 2 months free, and its 2.9% + 30 cents is card processing; Hobby's 10% would add $200 on $2,000 of sales. $82.50 beats Mighty ($119), Circle ($129) and Heartbeat ($140). |
| 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. | CNo free plan. There's a 14-day trial of either plan, and the listing doesn't say it needs a card. Skool's payment policy gives no refunds on its fees after that. |
| 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. | CA feed, chat, a classroom of courses, a calendar, unlimited live calls on Skool itself, points and levels, payments with EU VAT and a discovery directory. It does the community job fully, but it's a smaller kit: no email, landing pages or quizzes in the listing. |
| 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. | C3.84 from 782 App Store ratings, just inside the C band. Starting a group looks simple, with a feed, a classroom and a calendar and nothing to wire up. |
| 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, iPhone and Android, so members can join from anywhere. Integrations are thin, though: Zapier only, and only on Pro. No desktop app, which an A needs. |
| Best for | a branded community with courses and events | a paid community with courses inside |
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 Skool. 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. Skool starts at $9 a month and scores 2.3.
Circle scores higher, and starts $80 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 none scores higher than Skool 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 starts at $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly). Skool starts at $9 per month, billed monthly.
- Circle also covers workflow automation and email campaigns.
At a glance
| Circle | Skool | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly) | $9 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | 14-day free trial of either plan |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Circle | Skool.com, Inc. |
| Price read from | circle.so | skool.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 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
Skool
- Creators building a paid community around a topic, with courses inside
- Coaches running group programs with live calls
- Owners who want members to find them through Skool's own directory
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.
Skool
- Hobby keeps 10% plus 30 cents of every sale. Payments go through Skool only; your own Stripe account cannot be connected.
- Growth Boost is on by default and takes 30% of recurring charges from members Skool brings in; it can be turned off.
- A custom URL, the affiliate program and the Zapier integration need the Pro plan.
- Skool's payment policy gives no refunds on its subscription fees.
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.
Skool
- Community feed and chat
- A discussion feed organized by categories, with group rules, moderation tools, membership questions and member chat.
- Classroom
- Courses inside the group, which can be included in a membership, sold as one-time purchases, or unlocked as members reach a level.
- Calendar and live calls
- A group calendar of events and unlimited live calls hosted on Skool itself, from the browser or the mobile app.
- Points, levels and leaderboards
- Members earn a point for each like their posts and comments get, and climb levels and leaderboards; owners can lock courses until a level.
- Payments and payouts
- Monthly, annual, freemium or one-time pricing. Skool processes cards, adds and remits EU VAT, and pays out weekly in local currency.
- Discovery and Growth Boost
- Groups can appear in Skool's discovery search. Growth Boost promotes a group and runs ads for it in exchange for a cut of members it brings.
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.
Skool
Hobby$9
per month, billed monthly
Unlimited members, courses, videos and live calls. Skool keeps 10% plus 30 cents of each sale. No custom URL, affiliates or Zapier.
Pro$99
per month, billed monthly
Adds a custom URL, affiliates and Zapier. Fees fall to 2.9% plus 30 cents a sale up to $899, and 3.9% plus 30 cents above $900.
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.
Skool
- Annual discount
2 months free with yearly billing
Skool's pricing page has a monthly and yearly switch and says yearly billing gives 2 months free.
