Circle vs Skool Comparison 2026
Circle and Skool solve the same problem in opposite ways. Skool strips out customization entirely, no theme, no layout, so a paid community can ship this week; Circle configures everything under your own branding and domain, which costs more and takes longer to set up. Skool starts at $9 a month with a 10 percent cut of member payments, or $99 for a 2.9 percent cut; Circle starts at $89 with a 2 percent cut, actually undercutting Skool's own Pro tier on both price and fee. The real question is whether the community needs to look like yours.
Community software that looks like yours, not ours
Community, courses and a calendar in one paid space
At a glance
- Skool starts cheaper, at $9.
- Neither has a free tier.
- Circle takes 2% of what you earn against Skool's 10%.
Side by side
Circle | Skool | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $89 | From $9 |
| 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 | Not stated |
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.
Skool
Community, courses and a calendar in one paid space
Skool puts a forum, a course player and events behind one membership. The interface is deliberately plain, which keeps people posting, and there is very little customization by design. Both plans take a percentage of what members pay, which is the part of the pricing that has changed most since Skool launched.
Our note
Skool was worth recommending when it was one flat fee, and the two-tier pricing has made it a calculation instead. Run the $1,300 sum against your own numbers before picking a plan, and look at Circle instead if the community needs to look like yours.
Why people weigh these two
- Skool instead of Circle
- Skool is the simpler thing Circle out-configures, putting community, courses and a calendar in one paid space from $9 against Circle's $89.
- Circle instead of Skool
- Circle brands the space to look like yours rather than a shared template, starting at $89, for someone who wants their own look where Skool's plainness is deliberate and fixed.
Which one should you pick
Choose Circle when the space has to carry your own brand, not a shared template every Skool community shares. At $89 a month with a 2 percent transaction fee, it is also cheaper on both counts than Skool's own Pro tier at $99 and 2.9 percent, so the branding is not even the only thing bought at that price point.
Choose Skool to ship this week with nothing to design, at $9 a month if member revenue is modest. Its own numbers say switch to Pro at $99 once member payments pass roughly $1,300 a month, since the lower 2.9 percent fee then outweighs the higher subscription. Nobody who needs the space to look like their own brand should be here at all; the lack of customization is the point, not a gap.
Common questions
- Which one is cheaper to start?
- Skool, by a wide margin: Hobby is $9 a month against Circle's $89. Skool's cut of member payments is higher though, 10 percent against Circle's 2 percent, so the gap narrows as revenue grows.
- At what point does Skool's own Pro plan make sense over Hobby?
- Skool's own numbers put it at roughly $1,300 a month in member payments; above that, Pro's 2.9 percent cut costs less in total than Hobby's 10 percent despite the higher $99 subscription.
- Which one lets the community look like your own brand?
- Circle does: your domain, your colors, your spaces. Skool has no theme, no layout and no page builder by design, so a community there looks like every other Skool community.
- Is Circle actually cheaper than Skool at the higher tier?
- Yes: Circle's $89-a-month plan carries a 2 percent transaction fee, while Skool's $99 Pro plan carries 2.9 percent. Circle wins on both the subscription price and the fee at that comparison point.
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.