Circle vs Discourse Pricing (2026)
How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.
| Circle pricing | Discourse pricing | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $89/mo | $100/mo |
| Number of plans | 3 | 3 |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | ||
| Pricing model | flat-rate | flat-rate |
Price is one row. To weigh the features too, use our feature comparison template →
Professional
- Circle AI
- Unlimited members
- Courses
- Discussions
- Events
- Website Builder
- Live streams
- Live rooms
- Custom branding
- Reporting & analytics
- Searchable member directory
- Rich member profiles
- Paid memberships
- Gamification
- Custom domain
- Weekly community digest
- Migration services for payments
Business
Popular- Workflows
- Custom profile fields
- Circle MCP
- Headless Member API
- Admin API
- Branded email notifications
- Content co-pilot
- Automated transcriptions
- Activity scores
- Standard migration services
- Remove Circle branding
Circle Plus
- AI Agents & AI workflows
- Custom single sign-on (SSO)
- Highest limits (Live, Storage, Workflows)
- 10k Email Hub contacts included
- Lower transaction fees
- Sandbox community
Pro
- Unlimited members & chat
- Unlimited public & private categories
- Unlimited tags
- Custom groups
- Email support
- Custom & community themes
- Custom domain
- API and Webhook access
- 15+ plugins
- 5 staff seats
Business
- Advanced reporting & analytics
- Automation
- Events
- Gamification
- SSO (Open ID & OAuth2)
- 20+ additional plugins
- 15 staff seats
- Priority support
- Standard migration services
Enterprise
- Expert design & development services
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Custom migration services
- GDPR & CCPA compliant hosting
- 50+ additional plugins
- Unlimited staff seats
Circle vs Discourse FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- Circle starts lower at $89/mo, compared to $100/mo for Discourse.
- Can I use either one for free?
- Neither has a free plan. But Circle and Discourse offer a free trial.
- How do they charge?
- Both use a flat-rate model, so the comparison is straightforward — it comes down to features and limits at each price point.
- Which one is a better deal?
- Depends on what you need. Circle: Circle sits mid-to-premium compared to bare-bones forum tools like Discourse or Discord, but it's cheaper than bundling a separate course platform, CRM, and community tool together. They're courting creators and course businesses who've outgrown Facebook Groups or Discord but aren't ready for a full-blown custom-built platform. Discourse: At $100-500/mo flat, Discourse undercuts enterprise community platforms like Khoros or Vanilla that price on usage or seats and can run into five figures monthly, but it's pricier than free/open-source alternatives since you're paying for hosting and support rather than the software itself. They're clearly courting mid-market teams who want a polished, maintained forum without either the DIY hosting hassle or enterprise-tier contracts.
Still deciding? See the best Circle alternatives or the best Discourse alternatives, ranked with verified pricing.
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