Circle vs Skool 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 | Skool pricing | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $89/mo | $9/mo |
| Number of plans | 3 | 2 |
| 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
Hobby
- Unlimited members
- Unlimited courses
- Unlimited videos
- Unlimited live calls
- 10% transaction fee
Pro
- Unlimited members
- Unlimited courses
- Unlimited videos
- Unlimited live calls
- 2.9% transaction fee
- Custom URL
- Affiliates
Circle vs Skool FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- Skool is the cheaper option, starting at $9/mo vs $89/mo for Circle.
- Can I use either one for free?
- Neither has a free plan. But Circle and Skool 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. Skool: That $9 entry point undercuts most community/course platform competitors (think Circle, Mighty Networks) who often start at $30-50/mo, making Skool look like the budget on-ramp. But Pro at $99 flat, regardless of member count, actually makes it a steal for larger communities compared to per-seat competitors — this is where they win on value.
Still deciding? See the best Circle alternatives or the best Skool alternatives, ranked with verified pricing.
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