Circle vs Xperiencify (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 2.2.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Circle grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, features 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
Xperiencify
Course platform built around points, badges and other game features
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 Xperiencify if
- Fits if you want points, levels and badges built into your course
- Works for creators who want course, email and funnels from one vendor
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to publish for free, since publishing needs a paid plan
- Tight if you grow, with caps of 10 courses and 1,000 active students on Growth and 20 and 5,000 on Pro
- Watch out: the lifetime plan has the same caps as Growth, and bigger needs go to a custom Enterprise plan
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $99 a month against $999 for the year
How we grade them
| 2.8GPACircleGood | 2.2GPAXperiencifyFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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). | CGrowth is $99 a month, or $999 a year, and a lifetime plan is $1,499, which is more than two years of the $49 middle. Growth is capped at 10 courses and 1,000 active students. |
| 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. | DThe account is free to build in, but a paid plan is needed to publish a course. |
| 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. | BGamification, quizzes, certificates, community, funnels, email, a CRM and a student app. Nothing in the listing is missing for running a course. |
| 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 build the course, the game rules and the funnel yourself. |
| 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, iOS and Android, with 3 integrations on record. No desktop program. |
| Best for | a branded community with courses and events | a course maker who wants points and badges |
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 Xperiencify. 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. Xperiencify starts at $99 a month and scores 2.7.
Circle scores higher and starts $10 a month lower. Of the other course and community platforms on the chart, none scores higher than Circle for less, and 3 score higher than Xperiencify 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.
- Xperiencify also covers marketing automation and chatbots.
At a glance
| Circle | Xperiencify | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly) | $99 per month, billed monthly ($999 per year) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | Account is free until you publish a course; a paid plan is needed to publish. |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Circle | Xperiencify Inc. |
| Price read from | circle.so | xperiencify.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 12, 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.
Xperiencify
- Published courses and active monthly students are capped: 10 and 1,000 on Growth, 20 and 5,000 on Pro.
- The lifetime plan has the same caps as Growth, and larger needs go to a custom Enterprise plan.
- You cannot publish a course without a paid plan; the free account is for building only.
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.
Xperiencify
- Gamification
- Points, variable rewards, badges, leaderboards, celebrations and a binge mode that reward students for progressing through a course.
- Quizzes and certificates
- Quizzes with multi-path logic, plus completion certificates.
- Community
- Forums and community features sit inside the same account as the courses.
- Ask the Expert bot
- An AI chatbot trained on your course content answers students' questions about it.
- Funnels, email and CRM
- Sales funnels with one-click upsells, email broadcasts and autoresponders, a CRM, affiliate management and split testing.
- Student app
- The pricing page lists a native iOS and Android app for students.
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.
Xperiencify
Growth$99
per month, billed monthly ($999 per year)
10 published courses and 1,000 active monthly students; unlimited sites, funnels and courses in draft.
Pro$199
per month, billed monthly ($1,999 per year)
20 published courses and 5,000 active monthly students; unlimited sites, funnels and courses in draft.
Lifetime$1,499
one-time payment
One payment instead of a subscription, with 10 published courses and 1,000 active monthly students.
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.
Xperiencify
- Annual discount
Yearly billing
The pricing page has an Annual option: Growth $999 a year and Pro $1,999 a year, against $99 and $199 a month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Circle or Xperiencify?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Circle is cheaper to start with: $89 a month, against $99 a month for Xperiencify. Circle starts at $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly), and Xperiencify starts at $99 per month, billed monthly ($999 per year).
Which has a free plan, Circle or Xperiencify?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Circle nor Xperiencify has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
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.