Circle is an all-in-one community platform for courses, memberships, and live events. Compare pricing plans, key AI features, and who it's best built for.
Category
Community Platforms
Pricing
Subscription, from $89/month (Professional plan, billed annually)
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 18, 2026
Founded
2020
Headquarters
New York, US (remote-first team)
Web AppiOSFree TrialAndroidAPIAI
Overview
Circle (Circle.so) is an all-in-one community platform founded in early 2020 by Sid Yadav, Rudy Santino, and Andrew Guttormsen, who previously worked together on the founding team of Teachable. The product publicly launched in August 2020 and is now used by more than 17,000 creators, educators, and brands.
Circle combines community discussion spaces, structured courses, paid memberships, live events, and native payments into a single branded platform, aiming to replace the combination of a separate community tool, course platform, and payment processor that many creators previously stitched together.
Key Features
Beyond community spaces and courses, Circle has added a growing set of AI features: a content Co-Pilot for writing and repurposing posts and lessons, AI Agents that answer member questions using a community's own content as a knowledge base, Activity Scores for tracking member engagement, and AI Workflows for automating admin tasks.
The platform integrates with around 40 apps including Zapier, Slack, Stripe, HubSpot, and Salesforce, and supports branded native mobile apps so communities can be offered under a creator's or brand's own name on iOS and Android.
Pricing
Circle offers four annually billed plans: Professional at $89/month, Business at $199/month, Enterprise at $499/month, and a custom-priced Plus Branded App tier for a fully dedicated mobile app.
The entry-level Professional plan excludes automation, API access, workflows, and white-labeling, which typically pushes growing communities to the Business plan. All plans include a 14-day free trial with no credit card required, but there is no permanent free tier.
Key Features
Community spaces — Discussion spaces organized for member conversations, similar to forums or social feeds, with customizable structure per topic or group.
Courses — Built-in course creation with lessons and modules so creators can deliver structured educational content alongside community discussion.
Memberships and gated content — Native paid membership tiers and gated content let creators monetize access directly without a separate payment tool.
Live events — Hosts live events and video calls within the platform for workshops, office hours, or community meetups.
AI Agents and Co-Pilot — AI Agents answer member questions using a community's own content as a knowledge base, while a Co-Pilot assists with writing and repurposing content.
Branded native mobile apps — Offers community owners a branded iOS and Android app experience under their own name, available on higher-tier plans.
Automation and integrations — Workflows and roughly 40 app integrations, including Zapier, Slack, Stripe, and Salesforce, automate admin tasks and connect Circle to other business tools.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Combines community, courses, memberships, events, and payments into one branded product
Actively adding AI features (Co-Pilot, AI Agents, Workflows) rather than a static feature set
Supports branded native mobile apps, which few community platforms offer out of the box
Founding team's prior experience building Teachable shows in the course and monetization tooling
Cons
No permanent free plan; only a 14-day free trial across all tiers
Entry-level Professional plan lacks automation, API access, and white-labeling, often forcing an upgrade to Business
Pricing (from $89 to $499+/month) is higher than some lighter-weight community tools
Branded native mobile apps require the separate, custom-priced Plus tier
Pricing
Professional $89/month Annual
Business $199/month Annual
Enterprise $499/month Annual
Plus Branded App Custom Custom
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Circle cost?
Circle has four annually billed plans: Professional at $89/month, Business at $199/month, Enterprise at $499/month, and a custom-priced Plus Branded App tier. All plans include a 14-day free trial.
Does Circle have a free plan?
No, Circle does not currently offer a permanent free plan, only a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
Who founded Circle?
Circle was founded in early 2020 by Sid Yadav, Rudy Santino, and Andrew Guttormsen, who previously worked together on the founding team of Teachable.
Can I get a branded mobile app with Circle?
Yes, branded native iOS and Android apps are available, most fully through the custom-priced Plus Branded App tier.
What integrations does Circle support?
Circle integrates with around 40 apps, including Zapier, Slack, Stripe, HubSpot, Mailchimp, WordPress, Google Sheets, and Salesforce.
What is Circle's AI Agent feature?
AI Agents can automatically answer member questions using a community's own discussions, lessons, and documents as a knowledge base.