Circle
Circle is an all-in-one community platform that allows you to bring your discussions, memberships, events, and content together under your own brand for a seamless member experience.
Teachable
Teachable is an all-in-one platform that allows you to create, market, and sell online courses, digital downloads, and coaching services to students worldwide while managing your entire knowledge business.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Circle | Teachable |
|---|---|---|
| Website | circle.so | teachable.com |
| Pricing Model | Subscription | Freemium |
| Starting Price | $99/month | Free |
| FREE Trial | ✓ 14 days free trial | ✘ No free trial |
| Free Plan | ✘ No free plan | ✓ Has free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2019 | 2014 |
| Headquarters | New York, USA | New York, USA |
Overview
Circle
Circle gives you the tools to build a thriving home for your community, whether you are an individual creator or a large organization. You can host engaging discussions, organize live events, and deliver structured online courses all within a single, white-labeled environment. It replaces the need for disconnected tools like Facebook Groups, Slack, and Teachable by consolidating your entire ecosystem into one place.
You can manage your members with ease using automated workflows and flexible permission levels. The platform helps you monetize your expertise through tiered memberships, one-time payments, and recurring subscriptions. By keeping your audience in a space you own, you maintain full control over your data and the overall member experience without the distractions of traditional social media.
Teachable
Teachable is a comprehensive platform designed to help you turn your expertise into a profitable online business. You can build professional course websites without any coding knowledge, using intuitive drag-and-drop tools to upload videos, PDFs, and quizzes. The platform handles the heavy lifting of payment processing, tax collection, and student management so you can focus on creating high-quality content.
You can also offer one-on-one coaching sessions or sell digital downloads like ebooks and templates directly to your audience. Whether you are an individual creator starting your first side hustle or a growing business scaling your training programs, the platform provides the infrastructure to host your content securely. You get full control over your branding, pricing, and student data throughout the entire process.
Overview
Circle Features
- Organized Discussions Create dedicated spaces for different topics where you can host rich conversations with polls, media, and threaded replies.
- Live Streaming Broadcast live video directly to your members, host interactive workshops, and automatically save recordings for later viewing.
- Online Courses Build and host professional video courses with structured lessons and progress tracking to educate your community effectively.
- Event Management Schedule both virtual and in-person events with built-in RSVPs, calendar integrations, and automated event reminders.
- Paid Memberships Set up flexible paywalls to charge for access to specific spaces, courses, or your entire community platform.
- Automated Workflows Save time by automating repetitive tasks like onboarding new members or sending personalized messages based on activity.
Teachable Features
- Course Builder. Create engaging lessons by dragging and dropping video, audio, and text files directly into your curriculum folders.
- Custom Domain Support. Connect your own professional web address to your school to maintain a consistent brand experience for your students.
- Integrated Payments. Accept credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay instantly with automated payouts and built-in fraud protection.
- Student Quizzes. Reinforce learning and track progress by adding graded or non-graded assessments to your online course modules.
- Digital Downloads. Sell more than just courses by offering ebooks, guides, and templates as standalone products or course add-ons.
- Automated Tax Handling. Save time on administrative work with built-in EU VAT collection and automated tax reporting for your sales.
Pricing Comparison
Circle Pricing
- Unlimited members
- Courses and live streams
- Custom domain and branding
- Detailed member analytics
- Group chat spaces
- 3 admin seats included
- Everything in Professional, plus:
- Workflows and automation
- Custom profile fields
- Circle Plus mobile app access
- Priority email support
- 10 admin seats included
Teachable Pricing
- 1 course or digital download
- Unlimited students
- Integrated payment processing
- Tax handling
- Teachable subdomain
- $1 + 10% transaction fee
- Everything in Free, plus:
- 5 courses or digital downloads
- Custom domain support
- Direct integrations
- Email marketing tools
- 5% transaction fee
Pros & Cons
Circle
Pros
- Clean and modern interface for members
- Excellent consolidation of courses and community
- Strong white-labeling options for consistent branding
- Reliable native mobile app for engagement
- Frequent updates and new feature releases
Cons
- No forever-free plan for small groups
- Transaction fees apply on lower tiers
- Learning curve for complex automation setups
- Higher starting price than some competitors
Teachable
Pros
- Very easy to set up without technical skills
- Handles complex global tax compliance automatically
- Reliable video hosting included in all plans
- Clean and professional student learning interface
Cons
- Transaction fees apply even on paid plans
- Site customization options are somewhat limited
- Customer support response times can be slow