Choosing between Skool and Circle is not just about features and pricing, it is about understanding what your business needs right now and in the future. Skool and Circle have different ways they approach courses and community building and the right platform for you will be determined by the one that meets your needs better.
Skool was built with learning gamification in mind and drives learner engagement through competition, points, and social interactions which is why it feels like a mix of a Facebook group and a video game leaderboard. Everything is designed to make members want to participate and engage. It is sort of a social media platform for learners.
Circle, on the other hand, is built for creators who want complete control over their brand experience and need sophisticated tools to manage complex communities. Circle feels like having your own custom social network, polished, branded, and highly customizable.
The differences between Skool and Circle is seen in how content is organized and how members interact on both platforms.
User Experience
Skool
Skool’s simplicity is its superpower, the user interface is very simple and minimalist. It has easy navigation, community interactions flow like a social media feed making it easy for social media savvy users to adjust to the platform quickly. New users typically do not need any training to be able to use the platform which drives higher learner engagement. The disadvantage of this simple design is that it looks outdated compared to newer platforms like Circle and might make some users think that it is not a premium option.
Circle
Circle has a modern, sophisticated, and highly customizable design. Users can redesign their landing pages to completely match their brand colours as well as create custom spaces for community needs, manage complex discussions and drive deeper community connections. These extra features make Circle more difficult and takes way more time to set up than Skool.
The winner here depends on what you are looking for. If you want to launch quickly and don't care for design, Skool wins but if you need a more premium feel and you’re fine with the time it takes to set it up properly, Circle is the right choice.
Community
This is where you can really see the difference between these platforms.
Skool
Skool's community features are built on the concept of engagement through gamification. Skool’s leaderboard feature is not just a nice-to-have feature, it is the heart of the platform. Users have consistently noted that their communities transformed when members started competing for the top spots. People who were slackers suddenly became active contributors because they could see their progress and status.
The point system in Skool also boosts engagement. Members earn points for posting, commenting, getting likes, and completing courses. This point system leads to more quality content. Skool is good enough for basic community needs but if you have complex needs, it might not be the best option.
Circle
Circle's community feature is good for more complex community needs and has better organization and customization tools. For example, the Spaces feature allows users to create separate areas for different topics, member types, or discussion formats. Users can create different spaces for beginners, pro members, general discussion, and announcements with each space having its own rules and settings.
Circle also has gamification features but it cannot be compared to that of Skool. Circle is superior for community moderation with tools like: keyword blocklist, automated flagging, and granular admin controls.
Course Creation
Both Skool and Circle offer course creation features with different twists.
Skool
Skool's course builder is basic, users can create modules with text and embedded videos, but videos have to be hosted on another platform such as YouTube or Vimeo. Skool’s course structure is simple: modules contain lessons, and that's it. No quizzes, no certificates, no complex learning paths.
In Skool, courses are integrated with the community through gamification. You can set up course completion requirements that have to be met before users can move to a higher level, students also post about their progress in the community, which leads to accountability that traditional course platforms do not give.
Circle
Circle has more sophisticated and more traditional course building features. It allows users to host their videos directly on the platform with storage limits based on their plan. Users can also create complex course structures and add different content types including documents, videos, and audio files.
Circle also offers built-in live streaming, which is good for mastermind sessions and live webinars. Unlike Skool, Circle's courses feel separate from the community experience. Even though users can discuss courses in dedicated spaces, it is not the same level of community integration and gamification that Skool has which makes educational content feel social and engaging.
Pricing
Skool
Like everything else about Skool, it operates a simple pricing structure with a flat pricing of $99 per month with no hidden fees or complicated pricing plans. This gives predictability in terms of pricing that makes users avoid worrying about escalating costs.
Skool charges transaction fees (2.9% + 30 cents for payments under $900, 3.9% + 30 cents above $900) which can add up when you have many users.
Circle
Circle’s pricing is more complex and starts at a slightly lower price than Skool but can get way more expensive quickly. The Professional plan at $89/month might seem cheaper, but has many limitations. For serious community builders, you'll need the Business plan at $199/month. Circle’s pricing goes to as high as $419 per month for the Enterprise plan and if you want a branded app, you will need to request for custom pricing.
For simple course and community builders, Skool offers better value but for complex, branded communities with advanced needs, Circle's pricing makes sense.
Customization and Branding
Skool
While Skool offers minimal customization options such as adding your logo, choosing few color options, and writing a description, that's about it. Every Skool community looks basically the same, which can be a problem if branding matters to you. This generic look sometimes makes members feel that the platform is not a premium one and can affect high ticket product sellers negatively.
Circle
Circle is way better than Skool at customization and branding. You can create a completely custom look that matches your brand perfectly, use your own domain, and even remove Circle branding completely on higher plans. Member profiles are also customizable and enable better connection building.
Circle also offers fully branded mobile apps with custom pricing on the highest pricing plan. This level of customization is important for enterprise clients or creators who have built strong personal brands.
Analytics and Data
Skool provides basic analytics that cover the essentials: member activity, popular posts, course completion rates, and revenue tracking. The data is presented simply and is easy to understand at a glance. For most community builders, this information is sufficient to understand what is working and what isn't. However, if you are trying to optimize member journeys, understand detailed engagement patterns, or create sophisticated member segments, Skool's analytics feel limited.
Circle provides comprehensive analytics that are better than what Skool offers. You can track member engagement across different spaces, understand content performance in detail, see member journey patterns, and even get AI-generated insights about community health. The automation workflows in Circle also provide detailed analytics on their performance, helping users optimize member onboarding and engagement sequences.
For creators who love data and want to optimize every aspect of their community experience, Circle's analytics are valuable. For those who prefer to focus on content and engagement rather than data analysis, Skool's simpler approach is okay.
Integration and Automation
Skool allows basic automation and integrations such as integrations with Zapier, payment processors and email tools. But overall, the integrations are limited, which tie into Skool's idea of keeping things simple.
Circle offers more complex integration and automation abilities. It has a workflow automation engine that allows users to create complex member journeys, automated responses, and sophisticated onboarding sequences. Circle also integrates with most popular tools that creators need, from CRM systems to email marketing platforms.
Mobile Experience
Skool's mobile experience is basic, it has a mobile app and also has a mobile responsive website that work well enough, but it feels like a mobile version of a desktop site instead of a proper mobile experience..
Circle offers a better mobile experience, especially on the highest pricing plan that includes branded mobile apps. These branded apps allow push notifications, offline content access, and a much better mobile experience.
AI Features
Circle has added AI features called Community AI to help users build and manage their communities better. It has an AI content generation feature, automatic video transcription and activity stores for tracking member engagement. These AI features are exclusive to the Business and Enterprise plans.
For now, Skool does not have any AI features but hopefully that will change soon.
Customer Support
Skool provides support through email, phone, the Skoolers community and a help center while Circle provides support via their help center and email.
Which Should You Choose?
Skool is the right choice if:
- You want to build an engaged learning community
- You prefer to keep things simple
- You want to launch quickly
- You value engagement and community interaction over complex features
- You prefer predictable, simple pricing
- You don't need extensive branding customization
- You want a platform that scales simply as you grow
- You are comfortable with a basic design
Skool works well for coaches, course creators, and educators who want to build highly engaged learning communities where members support and motivate each other.
Circle is the better choice if:
- You want to be able to customize the platform with your branding
- You are building a complex community
- You want advanced analytics and automation capabilities
- You need features like native live streaming and video hosting
- You are willing to invest time to learn and setup the platform
- You have a larger budget and need advanced features
Circle works well for established businesses, enterprise users, and creators who have built strong personal brands and need a community platform that is more sophisticated.
Conclusion
Making the decision of which platform to choose depends on what your needs are. Both Skool and Circle have their unique strengths and weaknesses and serve business owners' needs differently. If you are building a learning community where learner engagement and community support are very important. Skool's gamification and simplicity will serve you well.
If you are building a professional community that needs to have your branding, provide complex member experiences and leverage enterprise-grade features and you have the budget for it, Circle will give you the results you need.
If you are a beginner and you want to test community building without a huge investment in setup time or complexity, start with Skool. The 14-day trial is enough to help you make a decision on if community building is for you.
If you are an established creator with a clear brand vision and specific feature requirements, invest the time to set up Circle properly. The extra effort to set it up will yield good results over time.
Either way, focus on creating value for your members first. The platform features matter, but they are just tools. Your content, engagement, and genuine care for your community members will determine your success far more than whether you choose points and leaderboards or automation workflows and custom branding.
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