# Alternatives to Circle

Circle is an all-in-one community platform combining discussions, courses, events, live streams, and paid memberships under your own brand.

Circle ranks #1 of 7 in Community platforms, with an Alt Score of 93. It is proprietary, sold by subscription from $89/month and available on Web, Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. 13 of 13 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/circle/
Category: Community platforms

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Creators, coaches, educators, and brands who want to build, manage, and monetize a paid or free online community under their own brand instead of relying on Facebook Groups, Slack, or a separate LMS.
- **What you get**: An all-in-one platform combining discussion forums, courses, live events/streaming, group chat and DMs, gamification, paid memberships, custom branding, member analytics, and both a standard and white-label branded mobile app, accessible on web, Mac/Windows desktop, and iOS/Android.
- **How it works**: Community owners organize content into flexible 'Spaces' (discussions, courses, chat, events) inside a single admin dashboard, gate access with subscriptions or one-time payments, and extend the platform with workflows/automation, SSO, integrations, and an API/webhooks layer on the Business and Circle Plus plans, after a 14-day free trial starting at $89/month.

## Profile

- **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-17)
- **Pricing model**: Subscription (verified 2026-07-17)
- **Starts at**: $89/month (verified 2026-07-17)
- **Platforms**: Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-17)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Mighty Networks](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/mighty-networks.md) | 89 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 2 | [Disciple](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/disciple.md) | 86 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 3 | [Discourse](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/discourse.md) | 83 | GPL-2.0 | Web, iOS, Android |
| 4 | [Hivebrite](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/hivebrite.md) | 83 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 5 | [Skool](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/skool.md) | 76 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 6 | [Bettermode](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/bettermode.md) | 72 | Proprietary | Web |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Community platforms checklist | Circle | Mighty Networks | Disciple | Discourse | Hivebrite | Skool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Subscription | Subscription | Subscription | OSS + paid hosting | Subscription (enterprise, contact sales for full pricing) | Subscription |
| Starts at | $89/month | $79/month | $399/mo billed annually ($469/mo quarterly) | $100/month | $895/mo (billed annually) | $9/month |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | GPL-2.0 | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Platforms | Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android |
| Discussion forums / feed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Courses / content hosting | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Partial | Yes |
| Live events / video | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| Group chat / messaging | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Paid memberships / subscriptions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Gamification (points/levels) | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | No | Yes |
| Branded mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Custom domain & branding | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Member analytics | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SSO / integrations | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Moderation tools | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| API / webhooks | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Free tier | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |

## Sources

Sources for Circle. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **License**: Proprietary — <https://circle.so/terms> (verified 2026-07-17)
  - Note: Circle is a closed-source commercial SaaS; its Terms of Service assert full IP/proprietary rights over the Services and Circle Materials, with no source code published.
  - Quote: “protected by law, including, but not limited to United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws”
- **Pricing model**: Subscription — <https://circle.so/pricing> (verified 2026-07-17)
  - Note: Circle has no free plan — only a 14-day free trial ("Free 14-day trial") before paid monthly/annual billing on Professional, Business, or Circle Plus tiers.
  - Quote: “No credit card required. You can cancel at any time.”
- **Starts at**: $89/month — <https://circle.so/pricing> (verified 2026-07-17)
  - Note: Cheapest paid tier (Professional). Business is $199/mo; Circle Plus is custom/contact sales. A 14-day free trial precedes billing.
  - Quote: “Professional $ 89 /mo*”
- **Platforms**: Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android — <https://circle.so/discussions> (verified 2026-07-17)
  - Note: Desktop app covers both Mac and Windows per circle.so/desktop-app: "Standalone app for Mac and Windows, no browser needed."
  - Quote: “Seamless access across web, desktop app, and mobile apps for iOS and Android”
- **Status**: active — <https://circle.so/discussions> (verified 2026-07-17)
  - Note: Site footer copyright reads "© 2026 Circle. All rights reserved." and the company is actively promoting a new "Circle Eclipse" product suite (Circle AI, Discover, Studios) across its marketing pages.
  - Quote: “Introducing Circle Eclipse: Meet Circle AI, Discover, Studios, and more”
- **Discussion forums / feed**: Yes — <https://circle.so/discussions> (verified 2026-07-17)
  - Quote: “Threaded comments that keep replies clear and easy to follow”
- **Courses / content hosting**: Yes — <https://circle.so/courses> (verified 2026-07-17)
  - Note: Courses page confirms a dedicated course-building product ("The AI-native course experience for digital businesses") with visual canvas, curriculum, and video player.
  - Quote: “Circle Courses — Launch and grow your online course”
- **Live events / video**: Yes — <https://circle.so/events> (verified 2026-07-17)
  - Quote: “Host anything from coaching calls to summits with Circle live rooms and streams”
- **Group chat / messaging**: Yes — <https://circle.so/chat> (verified 2026-07-17)
  - Quote: “Send private DMs and group messages for side conversations”
- **Paid memberships / subscriptions**: Yes — <https://circle.so/membership> (verified 2026-07-17)
  - Quote: “Set up your memberships, subscriptions, and payments in the same platform”
- **Gamification (points/levels)**: Yes — <https://circle.so/gamification> (verified 2026-07-17)
  - Quote: “What plans are gamification available on? Gamification is available on all plans!”
- **Branded mobile app**: Yes — <https://circle.so/branded-app> (verified 2026-07-17)
  - Note: White-label branded apps are a Circle Plus (custom pricing) add-on; a standard non-branded Circle member app for iOS/Android is included on lower tiers. Paid-tier gating still counts as yes per policy
  - Quote: “Circle's branded mobile apps are proven to boost engagement, loyalty, and lifetime value.”
- **Custom domain & branding**: Yes — <https://circle.so/customization> (verified 2026-07-17)
  - Quote: “Domain name : on Pro and Enterprise plans, you can set up a custom domain that will re-direct to your community.”
- **Member analytics**: Yes — <https://circle.so/analytics> (verified 2026-07-17)
  - Quote: “What Circle plans are analytics available on? Community analytics are available on all plans.”
- **SSO / integrations**: Yes — <https://circle.so/pricing> (verified 2026-07-17)
  - Note: Enterprise SSO is a Circle Plus feature; member-login SSO via Facebook, Twitter, Auth0, WordPress, etc. is available on lower tiers per the same pricing page comparison table.
  - Quote: “Custom single sign-on (SSO)”
- **Moderation tools**: Yes — <https://circle.so/discussions> (verified 2026-07-17)
  - Quote: “Restrict repeat offenders with moderation controls”
- **API / webhooks**: Yes — <https://circle.so/pricing> (verified 2026-07-17)
  - Note: Webhooks confirmed via Circle Knowledge Base article titled "Configure automation workflows to send webhooks" (help.circle.so/p/workflows/workflow-setup/configure-automation-workflows-to-send-webhooks
  - Quote: “API usage and limits Included Admin API requests 5,000/mo 30,000/mo”
- **Free tier**: No — <https://circle.so/pricing> (verified 2026-07-17)
  - Note: Pricing page lists only paid tiers (Professional $89/mo, Business $199/mo, Circle Plus custom) with a 14-day free trial; no free/forever-free plan is offered.
  - Quote: “Choose the Circle plan that's right for you No credit card required. You can cancel at any time.”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/