Building a thriving online community isn’t easy. Many creators and entrepreneurs start with free tools like Facebook Groups or Discord, but soon realize those platforms are cluttered, distracting, and not really built for professional communities.
That’s where Circle.so comes in. Circle is a community-first platform designed for creators, coaches, and businesses who want to build engaged, branded, and distraction-free online communities. With tools for memberships, courses, events, and content, it has become a popular alternative to Facebook Groups and Mighty Networks.
But how much does Circle cost in 2025? And is it worth the investment compared to alternatives like Skool or Mighty Networks? Let’s find out.
Circle.so Pricing Plans in 2025
Circle offers three main plans, plus a custom Plus plan.
Let’s break each one down.
Professional Plan
The Professional Plan priced at $89/month billed annually is Circle’s base plan and it provides the most important features community owners need.
What you get with the Professional Plan:
- Unlimited members
- 3 admins
- 10 moderators
- 20 spaces
- 2% transaction fee
- 100GB attachment storage
- Livestreaming
- Courses
- Discussions
- Events
- Website Builder
- Live rooms
- Custom branding
- Reporting & analytics
- Searchable member directory
- Rich member profiles
- Paid memberships
- Gamification
- Custom domain
- Weekly community digest
- Migration services for payments
Who should use the Professional Plan?
- Coaches offering courses + community together
- Big membership site owners
- Creators that run paid programs and need automation
At $89/month billed annually, the price is quite steep and therefore is best suited for community owners that already have a medium to large sized audience that is properly monetized.
Business Plan
The Business Plan is built for established communities that are scaling fast.
What’s included in the Business Plan:
Everything in Professional, and:
- Unlimited members
- 5 admins
- 15 moderators
- 30 spaces
- 1% transaction fee
- 250GB attachment storage
- Workflows
- Custom profile fields
- Headless Member API
- Admin API
- Branded email notifications
- Content co-pilot
- Automated transcriptions
- Activity scores
- Migration services for courses (on annual plan only)
Best for:
- Large online schools with thousands of members
- Large companies building a community platform
Enterprise Plan
For very large organizations, Circle also offers an Enterprise plan.
This includes all Business features plus:
- Unlimited members
- 10 admins
- 100 moderators
- 100 spaces
- 0.5% transaction fee
- 1TB attachment storage
- AI Agents
- AI workflows
- Unlimited workflows
- Custom single sign-on (SSO)
- Priority support
- Advanced analytics
- Lower transaction fees
- Sandbox community
- 10 admins & 100 moderators
- Concierge onboarding, quarterly business reviews and a dedicated customer success manager on the annual plan only.
Best for:
- Large enterprises that want to build a thriving community
Plus Branded App Plan
This plan allows you to brand the Circle mobile apps as your own completely. Everything is done-for-you and it also gives access to more advanced features than other plans.
Its features include everything in the Enterprise plan and:
- Unlimited members
- 20 admins
- 200 moderators
- 500 spaces
- 0.5% transaction fee
- 2TB attachment storage
- Your own iOS and Android apps
- Prioritized migration services
- Dedicated launch team
- Access to Circle’s design studio
- Branded push notifications
- Offer in-app purchases
- Higher limits across the board
This plan has custom pricing and you’ll need to reach out to the Circle sales team to get a quote.
Circle.so Transaction Fees
Circle charges transaction fees on all pricing plans and each sale also attracts standard payment processing fees from Stripe or Paypal, depending on which payment processor you choose.
The transaction fees are:
- 2% on Professional Plan
- 1% on Business Plan
- 0.5% on Enterprise Plan
- 0.5% on Plus Branded App Plan
Stripe fees are around 2.9% + 30¢ per sale and Paypal fees are slightly higher.
So, if you sell a $100 membership on the Professional plan:
- Circle takes $2
- Stripe takes ~$3.20
- You keep $94.80
Circle.so Free Plan
As of 2025, Circle does not have a free plan however, they offer a 14-day free trial on all plans, so you can test the platform fully before committing.
Are There Any Hidden Fees?
Besides the transaction fees and payment processing fees, the only extra costs are optional:
- Add-ons (like custom development if you use their API)
- Optional upgrades (if you move to a higher plan)
Cheaper Alternatives to Circle.so in 2025
Circle is excellent, but it’s not the cheapest option. If you’re just starting out, here are some cheaper alternatives:
1. Skool: $99/month
- One flat plan, all features included
- Combines courses + community + gamification
- No transaction fees
- More “gamified” than Circle
Best for: Coaches & course creators focused on engagement.
2. Mighty Networks – From $49/month
- Community platform with courses & memberships
- Transaction fees: 1–3% depending on plan
- Great for community-first businesses
Best for: Creators who want community + courses + events at a lower starting price.
3. Podia: From $33/month
- Combines courses, memberships, digital products, and email marketing
- Mover plan ($33/month) has 5% transaction fee
- No dedicated community features like Circle
Best for: Solo creators who want everything in one platform.
4. Facebook Groups: Free
- Free, familiar, easy to use
- Full of distractions, no direct monetization
- No branding or ownership
Best for: Beginners testing community ideas with no upfront cost.
5. Discord: Free
- Free to set up and use
- Great for real-time chat & gamification
- Not designed for structured courses or memberships
Best for: Tech-savvy creators building free communities.
6. Thinkific: From $49/month
- Primarily a course platform, but has community features
- No transaction fees
- Professional training features
Best for: Course creators who want structured learning + basic community.
7. SchoolMaker: From $29/month
- Provides courses, coaching and community features
- No transaction fees
- Best for driving more course sales and successful learning outcomes
Best for: Course creators and coaches who want to drive more sales and improve student success rates.
Is Circle.so Worth It in 2025?
If community is central to your business and budget is not a problem, Circle.so is one of the cleanest, most professional platforms for building paid communities. Its combination of memberships, courses, and live events makes it a strong choice for coaches, educators, and entrepreneurs who want to own their community without distractions.
If budget is a concern, platforms like SchoolMaker, Mighty Networks or Podia can get you started cheaper.
Conclusion
Circle.so pricing in 2025 starts at $89/month and goes up to $419/month depending on your community size and features. Even with its 0.5% - 2% transaction fees, its strong engagement tools make it one of the best professional community platforms available.
If your business relies on building a vibrant, professional online community, Circle is a powerful and well-priced option in 2025.
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