Circle Alternatives

Skool

Free trial

9.2 /10

Skool is the simplest community + course platform. Two tiers only: Hobby at $9/month ($7.50 annual with 2 months free) — 10% transaction fee. Pro at $99/month ($82.50 annual with 2 months free) — 2.9% transaction fee. Both tiers unlimited members + courses + videos + live calls + custom URL + affiliate program. Primary differentiator is transaction fee percentage.

• Radical simplicity — two tiers differentiated primarily by transaction fee
• Pro tier's 2.9% transaction fee matches Stripe's base rate (no platform markup)
• Built-in affiliate program across both tiers

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Mighty Networks

Free trial

8.9 /10

Mighty Networks is the community + course platform with 'host' metric and streaming focus. Launch at $79/month: 3 hosts + 10 moderators + 200 GB + 20 streaming hours/100 viewers + 2% fee. Scale at $179/month: 5/15 + 500 GB + 30 hours/200 viewers + 1% fee + Kit + event charging. Growth at $354/month: 10/100 + 1 TB + 40 hours/1,000 + 0.5% fee + member video + migration. Mighty Pro custom with white-label apps.

• 'Host' metric recognizes multi-creator community businesses vs pure admin models
• Streaming hours + viewer limits are budgeted per-tier (clarity vs hidden caps)
• Kit (ConvertKit) integration at Scale tier ($179/mo) saves email workflow integration

Full Review Visit Mighty Networks

Discourse

Free plan Free trial

8.8 /10

Discourse is the open-source forum platform with hosted + self-host options. Hosted tiers: Free (2 staff + 500k page views + 5 GB), Starter $20/month (20k emails + unlimited categories), Pro $100/month (custom themes + API + 500k AI credits), Business $500/month (advanced analytics + 1M AI credits), Enterprise custom (99.9% SLA). Self-hosted free (Ruby on Rails) provides open-source escape hatch.

• Open-source foundation with self-host option provides genuine escape hatch — unique in category
• Free tier with unlimited members + 500k page views genuinely usable for small forums
• Pricing linear and transparent — 5x increments between tiers (Starter → Pro → Business)

Full Review Visit Discourse

Heartbeat

Free trial

8.6 /10

Heartbeat is the community platform with member-capped tiers + transaction fee differentiation. Build at $40/month annual ($490/year): 350 members + 5% transaction fee + 5 automations. Grow at $124/month annual ($1,490/year): 5,000 members + 2.5% fee + unlimited workflows + native video 50 hrs + white-label emails + API. Scale at $766/month annual ($9,200/year): unlimited members + 1.25% fee + branded mobile app + 200 hrs video.

• Scale tier's branded mobile app at $766/month annual is cheapest white-label app in category
• Native video hosting 50-200 hours included at Grow/Scale tiers (saves Vimeo/Wistia costs)
• White-label emails at Grow tier ($124/mo annual) for brand consistency in transactional emails

Full Review Visit Heartbeat