Circle vs Disciple Comparison 2026
Circle and Disciple both run a branded community, but Disciple's whole pitch is trading a much higher fixed price for zero transaction fees. Circle starts at $89 a month and takes 2 percent of member revenue on that tier, falling to 0.5 percent on its custom plan. Disciple starts at $399 a month billed yearly and takes nothing at all, on every tier, plus ships a branded app in the Apple and Google stores rather than a website that happens to work on a phone. Disciple's own listing puts the crossover at roughly $8,000 a month in member revenue, below which Circle's percentage costs less.
Community software that looks like yours, not ours
Your community as an app in the app stores
At a glance
- Circle starts cheaper, at $89.
- Neither has a free tier.
- Only Disciple lets you take everything with you if you leave.
- Disciple takes no share of what you earn. Circle takes 2%.
Side by side
Circle | Disciple | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $89 | From $399 |
| Pricing model | Paid subscription | Paid subscription |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 14 days | Not stated |
| API | Yes |
Circle
Community software that looks like yours, not ours
Circle gives you spaces, events, courses and live streams under your own branding and domain. It is the more configurable answer to Skool, and the price reflects that. Worth it once a community is paying for itself.
Our note
The right answer when the community has to look like it belongs to you, and an expensive one before that is true. Against Skool it is more money and more control, which is the entire difference between them.
Only on this side
- Covers courses & coaching
Disciple
Your community as an app in the app stores
Disciple builds a branded community app and puts it in the Apple and Google stores under your name, rather than sending members to a website that happens to work on a phone. It takes nothing from what members pay, which matters at the price it charges. That price starts at several hundred a month, so it is a business decision rather than an experiment.
Why people weigh these two
- Disciple instead of Circle
- Disciple puts your community into the app stores under your own name at $399, the step past Circle when a branded app matters most.
- Circle instead of Disciple
- Circle is community software that looks like yours rather than the vendor's, paid from $89 a month, a middle price point well under an app-store build.
Which one should you pick
Choose Circle while a community is still proving it can pay for itself. At $89 a month plus a 2 percent transaction fee, the fixed cost is a fraction of Disciple's, and the 14-day trial needs no card. It has no native branded app in the way Disciple ships one; members use a website with your domain on it instead.
Choose Disciple once member revenue is well past Circle's break-even, roughly $8,000 a month by Disciple's own accounting, and a branded app under your own name in both stores is worth the fixed cost. Every tier carries zero transaction fees, so a community doing real volume keeps all of it, and the cheapest plan is $399 a month billed yearly against $469 paid monthly.
Common questions
- Which one is cheaper for a small community just starting out?
- Circle is, by a wide margin: $89 a month against Disciple's $399 billed yearly. Disciple's own listing puts the crossover at roughly $8,000 a month in member revenue, below which Circle's percentage-based fee costs less overall.
- Which one ships a branded app in the app stores?
- Disciple does, on every tier, published under your own name in both the Apple and Google stores. Circle's listing does not describe a native branded app; members use a website with your domain and branding instead.
- Does either one take a cut of member payments?
- Circle does, falling from 2 percent on its cheapest plan to 0.5 percent on its top tier. Disciple takes zero transaction fees on every plan, which is the trade for its much higher fixed price.
- How much livestreaming does each include?
- Disciple states an allowance directly: 500 minutes a month rising to unlimited on its higher tiers. Circle's listing describes live streams and rooms as a feature but does not state a specific minutes allowance.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.