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Source-backed analysis11

Review basis

The AppDuo team prepared this review by analysing product features, official documentation and user feedback to help you understand its strengths, limitations and suitability for your needs.

11 reference sources

Information updated Nov 10, 2026

How we review
Circle logo

Circle Review

Paid community platform bundling courses, events, payments and branded apps

7.3/10

By · Updated

  • Web
  • iOS
  • Android
Free trial · $89.00/mo
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Our verdict

Circle suits creators and brands that want community, courses, events and payments in one place, including custom-branded apps on Plus. The trade-offs are a starting price of $89/month (annual billing), a 0.5-2% transaction fee on top of Stripe's fees, and many advanced features reserved for pricier tiers.

Best for: Creators, coaches and brands selling paid memberships or courses

Skip it if: Small experiments on a tight budget: the pricing page lists no free plan

Pros

  • Unlimited members on every plan, with courses, events, chat, payments and iOS/Android apps
  • 14-day trial without a card and a 30-day money-back guarantee
  • Circle API, webhooks, MCP, workflows and SSO on higher tiers

Cons

  • From $89/month on annual billing; monthly-billing prices are not published
  • Transaction fee of 2% (Professional), 1% (Business, Scale) and 0.5% (Plus) plus Stripe fees
All pros and cons · Who is it for?

Pros

  • The member app is rated 4.9/5 on the US App Store and 4.8/5 on Google Play

Cons

  • Workflows, API and white-labeling start at Business, and extras such as Email Hub cost $99/month

Best for

  • Teams that need a branded community with SSO, API access and automation

Experience & key features

What Circle is

Circle is a community platform for creators and brands built by CircleCo, Inc. According to TechCrunch on 7 December 2021, it was founded in January 2020 in New York by Sid Yadav, Rudy Santino and Andrew Guttormsen; Yadav described it as a Shopify for creator- and brand-led communities. At that point it had more than 4,000 paying communities with 2 million members in total, so it is mainly a tool for community owners rather than an open social network.

Key features

The pricing page lists discussions, courses, live events, a website, a member directory, payments, gamification, a custom domain and iOS/Android apps on every plan. Business adds workflows, the Circle API and MCP and white-labeling; Scale adds AI agents, webhooks, custom SSO and AI moderation. Payments run through Stripe in over 25 local currencies, covering one-time purchases, subscriptions, trials and installments. Circle Plus adds custom-branded iOS and Android apps.

Pricing and fees

There are four tiers: Professional at $89, Business at $199 and Scale at $419 per month (based on annual billing, excluding taxes), plus Circle Plus by quote. Circle's transaction fee is 2%, 1%, 1% and 0.5% respectively, on top of Stripe's processing fees. Add-ons include extra admins at $10/month each, Email Hub at $99/month for 10,000 contacts (first 30 days free) and AI credits at $10 per 1,000. The pricing page offers a 14-day trial without a card and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

More analysis

Compared with alternatives

Circle targets community owners who want control over branding, payments and data, so it is often compared with Skool, Mighty Networks or Bettermode. Those who only need free community chat might look at Discord, and open-source forums are covered by Discourse. This write-up rests on Circle's public documentation and press coverage rather than hands-on testing, so check the pricing against the official page before deciding.

Screenshots

Community view on the Circle homepage
Community view on the Circle homepage
Events feature on the Circle homepage
Events feature on the Circle homepage

Plans & pricing

Prices last verified Nov 10, 2026

Professional

$89/mo

$89/month based on annual billing (excluding taxes). Unlimited members, 3 admins, 10 moderators, 20 spaces, 200GB storage, 2,500 AI credits a month and a 2% transaction fee. No workflows, API or white-labeling.

Business

$199/mo

$199/month based on annual billing. 5 admins, 15 moderators, 30 spaces, 500GB, 2,500 AI credits a month and a 1% transaction fee. Adds workflows, the Circle API and MCP, and a white-labeled community without Circle branding.

Scale

$419/mo

$419/month based on annual billing. 10 admins, 100 moderators, 100 spaces, 1TB, 5,000 AI credits and a 1% transaction fee. Adds AI agents, unlimited workflows, webhooks, custom SSO and priority support.

Circle Plus

Contact sales

Custom pricing via sales. Unlimited admins and moderators, 1TB storage, 0.5% transaction fee, custom-branded iOS and Android apps, native in-app payments, a dedicated success manager and 10,000 Email Hub contacts.

Free plan limits
The pricing page lists no permanent free plan; only a 14-day trial on Professional, Business and Scale, with no card required.
Free trial
14-day free trial · no credit card
Cancellation & refunds

The pricing page promises a 30-day, 100% money-back guarantee. The Terms of Service separately say Circle may terminate access at any time and that you are not entitled to a refund of amounts already paid, to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Privacy

Per the privacy notice (last updated 1 September 2026), Circle is responsible for processing data for its own services; for each community, the Creator is the data controller and Circle acts as processor. Circle collects account details, posted content, the last 4 card digits and billing address, IP, device data and cookies. It uses interest-based advertising for its own services and does not respond to Do Not Track signals. The notice says personal data is not used to train external AI models. The European notice sets retention periods: device and usage data for up to 3 years, customer contact data for the agreement plus 6 years. Separately, the Android app's Google Play data-safety section states that data isn't encrypted in transit and can't be deleted.

Official pricing page

Circle alternatives

Discord logoVSCircle logoDiscord vs Circle
Discord logo7.0/10

Discord

Server-based voice, video and text chat that grew out of gaming communities

Freemium
Skool logo6.7/10

Skool

Community, courses and gamification in one flat-priced platform

Free trial

Frequently asked questions

Does Circle have a free plan?

The pricing page lists no free plan. There is a 14-day trial for Professional, Business and Scale with no credit card required.

What transaction fees does Circle charge?

2% on Professional, 1% on Business and Scale, 0.5% on Plus. Stripe's processing fees apply on top and vary by country.

Is there a member limit?

No. The pricing page lists unlimited members on every plan; the limits apply to admins, moderators, spaces and storage.

Does Circle have mobile apps?

Yes. The pricing page includes iOS and Android apps on all plans, with custom-branded apps in Circle Plus. The member app is rated 4.9/5 on the US App Store and 4.8/5 on Google Play. Circle's own 2021 review says its iOS app launched in January 2021.

Review evidence & sources11

Scores

Ease of use
7.5
Why this score

One platform covering community, courses, events and payments reduces tool stitching, and the member app scores 4.9/5 (App Store) and 4.8/5 (Google Play), but no independent source assesses the admin side, so the score stays at a solid middle. The interface is English-only.

Features
8.5
Why this score

Broad scope: discussions, courses, events, chat, website, payments, workflows, AI agents, API, MCP and branded apps (Plus).

Value for money
6.5
Why this score

$89-$419/month on annual billing plus transaction fees and add-ons; reasonable for communities with revenue, steep for small projects.

Performance
7.5
Why this score

Circle's site states 99.9% uptime and SOC 2 certification; these are vendor claims without independent verification.

Support
7.0
Why this score

A knowledge base, community and customer success team exist; priority support starts at Scale. Trustpilot shows 4.2/5 from 141 reviews, though the profile is claimed and on a paid Trustpilot plan.

Privacy & security
6.5
Why this score

Clear processor/controller split and concrete retention periods in the European notice; points deducted for interest-based advertising, ignoring Do Not Track, and a Google Play data-safety section stating data isn't encrypted in transit and can't be deleted.

What users say

Sources

Specs & compatibility
Developer
CircleCo, Inc.
Headquarters
United States
Launched
2020
Category
CommunityBusiness

Capabilities

  • Real-time collaboration
  • Public API
  • Integrations
  • AI features
  • Mobile app
  • Templates

Platforms

  • Web
  • iOS
  • Android

Interface languages

  • English

Integrations

  • Stripe
  • Zapier
  • Circle API
  • Circle MCP
  • SSO

Support

  • Help center
  • Community forum

Change history

  1. Company.A $24.7 million Series A led by Tiger Global at a $200 million valuation.
  2. Feature.The events feature launches.
  3. Company.A $4 million seed round from 30+ investors and early adopters is announced.
Full change history (6)
  1. Feature.The iOS app launches.
  2. Company.First funding round of $1.5 million.
  3. Launch.Circle is founded in New York by Sid Yadav, Rudy Santino and Andrew Guttormsen.
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