Circle
Community platform with courses, events, payments and branded apps
Our verdict
First of our top three course and community platforms
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.
See all three and how we rankCircle report card
Good · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 17, 2026
Best for a branded community with courses and events
Circle is the most complete of the community platforms: spaces, chat, courses, events and live streams, payments and a website, with workflows and an API on Business. Its app has a 4.87 from about 86,000 ratings. It costs more than Skool or Mighty Networks once its 2% cut is in, and email marketing is an add-on.
Who Circle is for
- Great if the community is your product and courses and events hang off it
- Good for brands that want their own domain and website around the community
- Handy when you want workflows and an API around your members
Who Circle is not for
- 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
Why Circle gets a 2.8
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyGraded 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).
- CFree plan and trialNo free plan, but a 14-day trial with no card needed, which is enough to set up spaces and invite a few people.
- BFeaturesSpaces 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.
- AEase of use4.87 from about 86,000 App Store ratings, the strongest record in this category. Members open the app and they're in.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, 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.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Circle's own pages on 17 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/circle#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/circle.svg" alt="Circle: 2.8 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Circle stands among course and community platforms
Circle's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 16 of the 18 other course and community platforms we grade, and level with 2.
It stands best on ease of use (A, above 17 of 18) and worst on value for money (C, above 3).
Its paid plans start at $89 a month, against a middle price of $41 for the category: 15 of the 17 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.3 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 19 course and community platforms we grade, cut by the letter each got. Circle’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 3 of 18, level with 13
- CFree plan and trialAbove 3 of 18, level with 13
- BFeaturesAbove 10 of 18, level with 8
- AEase of useAbove 17 of 18, level with 1
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 18, level with 17
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 19 course and community platforms. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep Circle, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Circle you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.8 is higher than 16 of the 18 other course and community platforms we grade. It costs $1,068 a year.
What you could make
- Online courses: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
- Newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox.
- A members' space with posts, chat and events that people keep coming back to.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Circle’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Circle?
Circle is a community-first platform for running a paid or free community under your own brand. Discussions, chat, courses, events and live streams sit in spaces members join, with payments, a website builder and gamification included. Higher plans add workflows, an API, AI agents and, on Circle Plus, a custom branded mobile app.
Circle is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly). See every plan
Good for
- 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
Worth knowing
- 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.
Key features
- 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.
Circle pricing
- Starts at
- $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- 14-day free trial, no credit card required
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Professional | $89per 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 | $199per 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 | $419per 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 Plus | Custom | Custom branded iOS and Android apps, unlimited admins and spaces, Email Hub with 10,000 contacts, a dedicated expert. 0.5% transaction fee. |
Read from circle.so on Oct 17, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Circle before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discountLower 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.
Stated on circle.so
How people rate the Circle app
4.9
out of 5 for the iPhone and iPad app
- 5 stars92%
- 4 stars5%
- 3 stars1%
- 2 stars<1%
- 1 star<1%
86,034 ratings on the App Store in the United States, read Oct 17, 2026. It rates the app, not everything the product does. See the listing
Works with
Circle alternatives
- Circle vs Mighty Networks
Free trial · from $79/mo
- Circle vs Skool
Free trial · from $9/mo
- Circle vs Heartbeat
Free trial · from $40/mo
- Circle vs Disco
Free trial · from $399/mo
- Circle vs Kajabi
Free trial · from $143/mo
Common questions
Is Circle free?
No, Circle is a paid product, but you can try it first. 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
How much does Circle cost?
Circle lists 4 plans. Professional: $89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly). Business: $199 per month, billed annually ($219 billed monthly). Scale: $419 per month, billed monthly or annually. Circle Plus: custom pricing. Prices were read from circle.so on Oct 17, 2026.
What platforms does Circle work on?
Circle is available on Web, iOS and Android.
Does Circle offer any discounts?
Circle publicly lists the following: Lower monthly price with annual billing.
How is Circle rated?
Circle's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.9 out of 5 from 86,034 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 17, 2026. That is the store's rating of the app, not a score from us.
Does Circle have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. Circle is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Circle have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. Circle is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Circle open source?
Circle is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 17, 2026.
Does Circle have an API?
Yes. Circle offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Circle integrate with?
Circle's listing names Zapier, Stripe, PayPal, Slack, Google Analytics, HubSpot, Mailchimp and Teachable. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Who makes Circle?
Circle is made by Circle.
What are the alternatives to Circle?
The closest alternatives to Circle in our directory are Mighty Networks, Skool, Heartbeat, Disco and Kajabi. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Circle.
How does Circle compare with other course and community platforms?
Circle's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 16 of the 18 other course and community platforms we grade, and level with 2. It stands best on ease of use (A, above 17 of 18) and worst on value for money (C, above 3).
Is Circle good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Circle C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $89 a month, against a middle price of $41 for the category: 15 of the 17 others that charge start lower. On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.3 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Could I make my own version of Circle?
To replace Circle you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.8 is higher than 16 of the 18 other course and community platforms we grade. It costs $1,068 a year. What you could not make: Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. Newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox. A members' space with posts, chat and events that people keep coming back to. A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page. This is a judgement from its listing. We have not built one.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 17, 2026. What people say is linked where it appears.