Circle vs. Skool: All-in-One Comparison.
- Brianna Leever
- Nov 6, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 23
This article is routinely updated as new features are rolled released. It was last updated October 2025.
Introduction
This article is part of Ember Consulting’s Community Platform Comparison series, where we explore five leading platforms: Circle, Skool, Kajabi, Mighty, and Heartbeat to help community builders choose the right home for their community.
Each article compares two platforms head-to-head and contributes to our Community Platform Comparison Guide, a comprehensive PDF you can download when you submit your email address below.
With dozens of new Community Platforms popping up every year, finding the right one for your community can be a daunting task.
This article aims at providing you with the information you need to make a confident choice in Circle, Skool, or realize that neither will be the best fit for you ( in which case, we explore other options like Mighty Networks, Heartbeat and Kajabi for you).
Read on to get a comparison of critical platform features, of watch me diagnose and gently roast each platform in the video below.
TL;DR — Circle vs Skool (2025 Update)
If you’re comparing Circle vs Skool, think of it as depth vs simplicity.
Circle (this is an affiliate link) gives you a fully customizable home for your community: Ideal if you’re building a brand or membership and want tools like live streaming, automation, and AI-powered content co-pilots. It’s made for creators and companies who want flexibility that grows with them.
This platform is ideal for communities that use the freemium community model (parts of the community available for free and parts only privately accessible to paying members) - though I would not recommend the freemium model for communities. Circle boasts some pretty impressive communities hosted on their platform including Jay Clouse's Creator Science, Ness Labs, and The Upside. While Circle heavily targets creators looking to turn their audience into a paid community, brands are increasingly using the platform to host their own customer communities as well. Find examples of communities in their showcase.
→ Starts at $89/month
Skool (this is an affiliate link) keeps things intentionally simple: One feed, gamified levels, and a built-in discoverability engine that gets your community seen. Perfect for educators, coaches, and creators who want engagement without tech overwhelm.
Skool loves to tout what I assume is the revenue generated in their top communities from creators like Andrew Kirby, Patrice Moore, and Max Perzon. Skool maintains and extremely simple design centered on their single feed, classroom. Most recently, "Skool Games" has come onto the scene as a Skool Community where people learn how to build businesses in Skool communities.
→ Flat $99/month (unlimited members)
Both platforms are evolving fast and what you choose shouldn’t just depend on features, but how your community actually functions.
Acknowledging my bias:
You'll hear it right away, but I have never built a legitimate community in Skool and as of 2023, have built 16 communities on Circle.
Circle vs Skool: How to decide which community platform is right for you?
At the end of the day, the platform you choose matters less than how you design and implement your community. That being said, certain platforms can create way more barriers than necessary depending on the programming strategy of your community. To learn more about the 4 Types of Communities and how they lend themselves to different types of platforms, join our free Masterclass.
For a really practical approach, for each row in the table, rate how that platform’s features stack up based on what you need. Total each column up and make a quantitative decision. But we highly encourage you to get in and test each platform yourself (each has a free trial) to play around and get a feeling for it yourself.
COMING UP: Beyond the Comparison: Learn from Real Builders
This comparison is one piece of our broader Community Platform Comparison Series.
Join us for a live panel where community builders hosting their communities on Circle, Skool, Mighty, Kajabi, and Heartbeat share their perspectives on their experience building on each platform.
Subscribe to the newsletter to get notified when we go live.
To get the full data table comparing all five platforms side by side, download the Community Platform Comparison Guide.
Conclusion
Circle continues to lead with extensive features for ambitious creators and brands who want flexibility, automation, and scalability with native live streaming and AI tools. Skool remains the go-to for communities emphasizing gamification and simple, immediate engagement with flat-rate pricing.
The choice depends on your community goals, resources, and the importance of customization vs simplicity.
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