Circle vs Skool
Both are community platforms aimed at creators, coaches and membership businesses. They differ most on value for money, branding and own domain and low transaction fees.
At a glance
| Circle | Skool | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 73/100 Higher | 70/100 |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Paid from | $89/mo per month, billed annually | $9/mo monthly; $7.50/mo billed yearly |
| Positioning | community platform | simple community |
| Launched | — | — |
| Best for | Established creators and brands who want a polished community, website and apps under their own domain. | Creators starting a community who want courses and live calls in one simple place at the lowest price. |
Where each one leads
| Dimension | Circle | Skool | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 3/5 | 5/5 | Skool |
| Ease of use | 4/5 | 5/5 | Skool |
| Low transaction fees | 4/5 | 2/5 | Circle |
| Branding and own domain | 4/5 | 2/5 | Circle |
| Course hosting | 4/5 | 4/5 | Tie |
| Live events | 4/5 | 4/5 | Tie |
| Automation | 3/5 | 2/5 | Circle |
Scores are 1–5 per dimension. Circle leads on 3 dimensions, Skool on 2. The overall figure weights these for community platforms generally — see methodology.
Pricing
Plans are listed per tool rather than paired row by row — tiers rarely line up, and putting one vendor's second plan beside another's implies an equivalence that is not there.
| Tool | Plan | Per month | Terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Circle | Professional | $89 | per month, billed annually |
| Business | $199 | per month, billed annually | |
| Scale | $419 | per month, billed annually | |
| Skool | Hobby | $9 | monthly; $7.50/mo billed yearly |
| Pro | $99 | monthly; $82/mo billed yearly |
Pricing checked 24 September 2026 against each vendor's own pricing page. Circle: Circle publishes prices for annual billing only, in USD, excluding tax. Skool: Billed in USD. Both plans include unlimited members; yearly billing gives two months free.
Verdict
Circle
- +Professional includes community, courses, live events, a website, payments and iOS, Android and desktop apps.
- +Transaction fees fall from 2% on Professional to 1% on Business and Scale.
- +A 14-day free trial without a card, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- −Published prices are for annual billing, from $89 a month.
- −Removing Circle branding and adding workflows needs Business, at $199 a month.
Skool
- +The Hobby plan is $9 a month with unlimited members, courses, videos and live calls.
- +Both plans include a custom URL and a built-in affiliate programme for your own community.
- +Yearly billing gives two months free: $7.50 or $82 a month.
- −Hobby takes a 10% transaction fee on everything you sell; Pro cuts it to 2.9%.
- −Pro costs $99 a month, so it only beats Hobby above roughly $1,270 a month in sales.
Common questions
Is Circle cheaper than Skool?
Circle starts at $89/mo (per month, billed annually), and Skool starts at $9/mo (monthly; $7.50/mo billed yearly) — so Skool is the cheaper entry point. Compare what each includes at that tier, and what it renews at, rather than the headline figure alone.
Which is better, Circle or Skool?
On our weighted scoring across the use cases in this category, Circle comes out ahead overall. The honest answer is that it depends on the use case — the tables above break the score down by dimension so you can weight it to your own priorities.