Circle has two priced plans: Professional at $89/month and Business at $199/month (both billed annually). Circle Plus is custom pricing for enterprise needs. Like Mighty Networks, Circle charges transaction fees on every plan — and features like workflows, API access, and removing Circle branding require the Business tier.
Circle's Plans at a Glance
All plans with monthly and annual pricing, limits, and key features.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Tx Fees | Courses | Students | Key Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional | $89/mo | $89/mo | 2% | Unlimited | Unlimited | 2% transaction fee |
| BusinessPopular | $199/mo | $199/mo | 1% | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1% transaction fee |
| Circle Plus | Custom | — | Lower | Unlimited | Unlimited | Custom pricing — must talk to sales |
Professional
- Unlimited members
- Courses
- Discussions & events
- 2% transaction fee
- No workflows or automations
Business
Popular- Everything in Professional
- Workflows (20 automations)
- Admin API & Headless Member API
- 1% transaction fee
- No AI Agents, AI moderation, or SSO
Circle Plus
- Everything in Business
- AI Agents & AI workflows
- Custom SSO
- Custom pricing — must talk to sales
- Transaction fees still apply (reduced rate)
What Circle's Pricing Page Doesn't Make Obvious
Hidden fees, gotchas, and costs that aren't clear until you're already committed.
Add-on costs can double your bill on Professional
Branded emails ($40/mo), custom profile fields ($49/mo), extra admins ($10/mo each), extra spaces ($20/mo per 10) — a Professional user needing these pays $89 + $40 + $49 + $10 = $188/mo before even counting the Email Hub
Email Hub costs $99/mo on top of your plan
Sending email broadcasts to your community costs +$99/mo for 10K contacts. At 30K contacts, that's $300/mo extra. Only Circle Plus includes 10K contacts
Transaction fees on every plan — never reaches 0%
Professional charges 2%, Business charges 1%, Circle Plus 0.5%. At $10,000/mo revenue on Professional, that's $200/mo in fees on top of your plan
Live event limits are tight: 100 attendees, 10 hours/mo on Professional
Extra live attendees cost $20/mo per 100 attendees. Extra hours cost $50/mo per 10 hours. A single large live event could trigger overages
Workflows, API access, and white-labeling all require Business ($199/mo)
Automations, API access, branded email notifications, remove Circle branding, and AI content writer all need the $199/mo Business plan
No priority support on Professional or Business
Priority email and technical support is only available on Circle Plus (custom pricing). Both standard plans get community support only
Is Circle a Course Platform or a Community Platform?
Circle started as a community platform and added course features later. That origin shapes everything about the pricing and feature set. You're paying for Slack-like community spaces, rich discussions, and member management — with courses as an integrated but secondary capability.
If community is genuinely the center of your business model, that's a good fit. If you're primarily selling courses and want to add a community element, you may be paying for community infrastructure you don't fully use.
Transaction Fees That Never Reach Zero
Like Mighty Networks, Circle charges transaction fees on every plan — 2% on Professional, 1% on Business, 0.5% on Enterprise. Even at the top tier ($399-419/month), you're paying $100/month in fees on $20,000 revenue, bringing your total to over $500/month. These fees stack on top of Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30.
Add-On Costs That Aren't on the Pricing Page
Circle's pricing page shows the plan fees, but several features important to course creators cost extra: the Email Hub add-on runs $99/month, extra admin seats cost $10/month each, branded emails are $40/month, and additional community spaces cost $20/month per 10 spaces. These can significantly increase your total cost beyond the listed plan price.
What Real Circle Users Say
What Users Appreciate
"Amazing software, excellent (I mean EXCELLENT) customer service, great tech support."
Long-term Circle users tend to be satisfied. This reviewer managed a 1,200-member community since mid-2020 with consistently positive experience. Circle's Slack-like community spaces get praise for their threaded discussions, rich media formatting, and polished member experience.
One notable advantage: Circle offers strong migration support. A creator who migrated from Mighty Networks described the Stripe subscription migration as seamless — "customers didn't have to do anything" and all existing subscriptions transferred intact.
Common Complaints
"You have to pay even more to access your customer email database."
The layered costs frustrate creators. Beyond the plan fee and transaction fees, basic features like email access require additional payment. A Trustpilot reviewer in October 2025 reported their plan price was increased from $89 to $129/month with no prior notice.
Platform reliability is a concern. A Trustpilot reviewer in February 2026 described Circle "randomly deleting checkout pages" — hours of detailed work gone. Another in December 2025 reported videos frequently failing to load or play, even on a strong connection. A reviewer in July 2025 found that new subscribers weren't receiving emails and had been removed from community spaces.
Course features draw the most consistent criticism. Reviews describe courses as an "add-on rather than integrated" — Circle lets you upload lessons but doesn't support cohort-based tracking, certificates, or interactive learning modules. One analysis noted the platform "monetizes duration, not outcomes," which is a fundamental mismatch for transformation-based programs.
The Migration Question
Circle is notably better than most community platforms for outbound migration. Member CSV exports, community data exports (posts, comments), and Stripe payment migration are all available. Business annual+ customers get free concierge migration. The 20+ API endpoints make programmatic data access possible.
See our complete Circle vs Ruzuku comparison and honest Circle review. You can also view Circle's official pricing page to verify current numbers.
Real-World Cost Scenarios
What Circle actually costs at three revenue levels — including fees, add-ons, and the plan you'd really need.
Solo Creator
$1,000/mo revenueCircle
$109/mo
Professional: $89/mo
Processing fees: $20/mo
Annual: $1,308/yr
Ruzuku
$99/mo
Core ($99/mo): $99/mo
0% platform fee (standard Stripe 2.9% + $0.30)
Annual: $1,188/yr
What you get on Circle
- Community spaces
- Courses
- Events & live streams
- Custom branding
What you'll still need
- 2% transaction fee ($20/mo)
- No workflows
- Course features are basic
- No student tech support
Growing Business
$5,000/mo revenueCircle
$249/mo
Business: $199/mo
Processing fees: $50/mo
Annual: $2,988/yr
Ruzuku
$99/mo
Core ($99/mo): $99/mo
0% platform fee (standard Stripe 2.9% + $0.30)
Annual: $1,188/yr
What you get on Circle
- Workflows & automations
- API access
- Remove Circle branding
- Content co-pilot
What you'll still need
- 1% transaction fee ($50/mo)
- Email Hub costs extra
- Course tools less mature
- No student tech support
Established Creator
$20,000/mo revenueCircle
$399/mo
Business: $199/mo
Processing fees: $200/mo
Annual: $4,788/yr
Ruzuku
$199/mo
Pro ($199/mo): $199/mo
0% platform fee (standard Stripe 2.9% + $0.30)
Annual: $2,388/yr
What you get on Circle
- Full workflow automations
- API access for custom integrations
- Branded emails
- Migration services
What you'll still need
- 1% fee = $200/mo at this scale
- Email Hub add-on needed
- No student tech support
Circle vs. Ruzuku: Honest Comparison
A fair, side-by-side cost comparison focused on what matters most to course creators.
| Feature | Circle | Ruzuku |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $89/mo (Professional) | $99/mo (Core) |
| Transaction fees | 1-2% on all plans | 0% on all plans |
| Community features | Slack-like spaces, live rooms, events | Discussion forums |
| Courses | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Members | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Course engagement tools | Basic | Quizzes, assignments, drip content |
| Student tech support | Not included | Included on all paid plans |
| Native Zoom integration | Third-party integration | Yes, built-in |
| White-label | Business ($199/mo) | Pro ($199/mo) |
| Workflow automations | Business ($199/mo) | Basic automations |
Choose Circle if:
Community is the primary way your members interact and get value. Circle excels at creating Slack-like community spaces with rich discussions, live rooms, events, and member directories — particularly for membership communities where ongoing interaction matters more than structured courses.
Choose Ruzuku if:
Courses are your primary product and community supplements the learning experience. You want dedicated course features (quizzes, assignments, drip content), zero transaction fees, built-in Zoom, and student tech support without paying for advanced community tools you may not need.
Circle Pricing FAQ
How much does Circle cost?
Circle has two priced plans: Professional at $89/month and Business at $199/month (billed annually). Circle Plus offers custom pricing for enterprise needs with AI features, SSO, and branded apps.
Does Circle charge transaction fees?
Yes. Circle charges transaction fees on every plan: 2% on Professional and 1% on Business. Circle Plus offers lower rates (custom). These fees are on top of Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30 processing.
Is Circle worth it for courses?
Circle is worth it if you need a community platform with courses as an add-on. If courses are your primary product, a dedicated course platform will offer better learning tools (quizzes, assignments, certificates) at a lower total cost with no transaction fees.
Does Circle have a free plan?
No. Circle offers a 14-day free trial (no credit card required), then plans start at $89/month for Professional.
Can I switch from Circle to another platform?
Yes. Circle offers standard migration services on the Business plan and priority migrations on Circle Plus. You can export member lists and community data. Stripe payment subscriptions can be migrated intact.