Circle vs Mighty Networks Comparison 2026
Circle and Mighty Networks charge nearly identical transaction fees at matching tiers, 2 percent at entry, 1 percent in the middle, 0.5 percent at the top, and Mighty Networks is consistently the cheaper subscription: $79 a month against Circle's $89 at entry, $179 against $199 in the middle. The real difference is the app. Mighty Networks ships a branded mobile app under your own name on its higher tiers; Circle's listing describes a website with your domain and branding, not a native app in the stores.
Community software that looks like yours, not ours
Community, courses and memberships
At a glance
- Mighty Networks starts cheaper, at $79.
- Neither has a free tier.
Side by side
Circle | Mighty Networks | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $89 | From $79 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Paid subscription | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days |
| 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.
Mighty Networks
Community, courses and memberships
Mighty Networks puts the community first and hangs courses, events and paid memberships off it, which is the opposite order from a course platform that added a forum later. Members get a branded app rather than another tab. The transaction fee on the entry plan is small but real, and it disappears as the plans get dearer.
Our note
Against Circle and Skool this is the one that ships an app under your own name, and it is priced accordingly. If the app is not the point, the other two do the community half for less.
Why people weigh these two
- Mighty Networks instead of Circle
- Mighty Networks covers the same community, courses and memberships from $79 with a trial, the nearest rival at Circle's end of the market.
- Circle instead of Mighty Networks
- Circle brands the community as your own space rather than a network members join, built for a business that wants its name on everything.
Which one should you pick
Choose Circle if a native branded app is not the point, since the two platforms charge the same transaction fees at matching tiers and Circle costs a little more for the same percentage. It leads with configurable spaces, courses and live streams inside a browser rather than an app store listing.
Choose Mighty Networks if members should get an app icon on their home screen rather than a bookmark. Launch is $79 a month at a 2 percent fee, Scale is $179 at 1 percent, both slightly cheaper than Circle's matching tiers, and Mighty Pro adds the branded app along with strategy services at a custom price. If the app was the reason you were comparing the two, this is the one built for it.
Common questions
- Do Circle and Mighty Networks charge the same transaction fee?
- Nearly: both fall from 2 percent at entry to 1 percent in the middle to 0.5 percent at the top tier. The subscription price differs slightly, with Mighty Networks a little cheaper at each matching level, $79 against $89 and $179 against $199.
- Which one ships a branded mobile app?
- Mighty Networks does, which is what its higher tiers and Mighty Pro plan are largely priced for. Circle's listing describes a branded website rather than a native app in the stores.
- Which one is cheaper at the entry tier?
- Mighty Networks, by $10 a month: Launch is $79 against Circle's Professional at $89, both with a 2 percent transaction fee and a 14-day trial that needs no card.
- Does either one offer API access?
- Circle does on every tier. Mighty Networks includes API and MCP access from its Scale plan at $179 a month, not on the cheaper Launch tier.
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.