Circle vs Thinkific: Best Community Platform in 2025?

von | Feb. 6, 2025

Gewinner
Kreis
9.5
  • Immersive Live-Streams
  • Automated Check-ins
  • Gemeinschaft AI
  • Analyse
  • Automate Video Transcriptions
  • 14-tägige kostenlose Testversion verfügbar
  • Paid Plans from $89/month
Zweiter
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8.0
  • Thinkific Courses
  • AI Landing Page Baumeister
  • Email Automation
  • Coaching and Webinars
  • Sales Tools
  • 30-tägige kostenlose Testversion verfügbar
  • Paid Plans from $74/month
Circle vs. Thinkific

Okay, let’s dive into the world of online community platforms!

Ever wished you could easily connect with others who share your interests?

Or maybe you want to build a thriving community around your passion?

Choosing the right platform can be challenging. Two popular options often come up: Circle vs Thinkific. Which one is the best?

That’s precisely what we’re going to explore in this post. 

Überblick

We’ve spent considerable time exploring Circle and Thinkific, examining their functionalities, user experience, and community engagement tools. 

Our hands-on testing and analysis of user reviews and real-world applications have allowed us to create this comprehensive comparison.

We’re here to give you the inside scoop.

Kreis-Logo

Ready to streamline your community management? Circle boasts 95% user satisfaction and helps increase engagement by up to 40%.

9von 10

Preise: 14-day free trial available. Paid plan Starts at $89/month

Hauptmerkmale:

  • Simple Course Creation
  • Built-in Community
  • Gamifizierung
Denkwürdig

Ready to join the 50,000+ creators already using Thinkific to sell their courses? See how easy it is to build your online empire.

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Preise: 30-day free trial available. Paid plan Starts at $74/month

Hauptmerkmale:

  • Course Creation
  • Marketing Tools
  • Community Features

What is a Circle?

Okay, let’s talk about Circle. It’s a platform built to create online communities. 

Think of it as a modern forum, which is way more engaging. 

It’s designed to help you connect with your audience, foster discussions, and build a loyal following.

It’s all about bringing people together.

Entdecken Sie auch unsere beliebtesten Circle-Alternativen

Kreis-Logo
Kreis
9.0

Sind Sie bereit, Ihr Community-Management zu optimieren? Circle rühmt sich einer Benutzerzufriedenheitsrate von 95 % und hilft Unternehmen, das Engagement um bis zu 40 % zu steigern.

Hauptvorteile

  • Inclusivity: 95% of participants feel comfortable joining, regardless of dance experience.
  • Social Interaction: Facilitates interaction between 80% of participants.
  • Easy to Learn: Basic steps can be mastered in under 10 minutes.
  • Adaptable: Works with various music genres, from pop to folk.

Preise

Circle events are generally budget-friendly.

  • Professional: $89/month, Rich members profile, events
  • Geschäft: $199/month, Workflows, Admin API
  • Unternehmen: $360/month, Unlimited workflows, Priority Support
  • Plus Branded App: Custom pricing, Offer in-app purchase
Circle Pricing

Pros

  • Fun for all ages.
  • Promotes community.
  • Easy to organize.
  • Budget-friendly option.
  • No special skills are needed.

Nachteile

  • It can be repetitive.
  • It might not be exciting enough.
  • Limited range of movement.
  • Less emphasis on individual style.

What is Thinkific?

Now, let’s shift gears and talk about Thinkific. Thinkific is primarily a platform for creating and selling online courses.

It’s designed to help you share your expertise with the world.

However, it also offers some community features, making it a potential option if your primary focus is online courses with a community aspect.

Entdecken Sie auch unsere beliebtesten Thinkific alternatives

Denkwürdig
Denkwürdig
8.0

Sind Sie bereit, sich den über 50.000 Anbietern anzuschließen, die Thinkific bereits nutzen, um ihre Kurse zu verkaufen? Starten Sie noch heute Ihren kostenlosen Thinkific-Test und sehen Sie, wie einfach es ist, Ihr Online-Imperium aufzubauen.

Hauptvorteile

Thinkific really shines when it comes to course creation. Here’s what makes it stand out:

  • Robust Course Builder: You get a lot of control over how your courses look and function. Thinkific lets you add videos, quizzes, downloads, and more.
  • Marketing Tools: They offer tools to help you promote your courses, like email integrations and sales page templates.
  • Anpassung: You can tailor the look and feel of your course platform to match your brand.

Preise

Thinkific offers a range of plans to fit different needs. Their Basic plan starts at $36/month. Here’s a quick breakdown of what you can expect as you upgrade:

  • Start: $74/month
  • Wachsen: 149 $/Monat
Thinkific pricing

Pros

  • Easy to use platform.
  • Good course creation tools.
  • Offers marketing features.
  • Solid student Management.
  • Reliable customer support.

Nachteile

  • It can be more expensive.
  • Begrenzte Designanpassung.
  • Fewer built-in integrations.

Funktionsvergleich

Now, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty and compare Circle and Thinkific head-to-head.

This breakdown will help you see exactly how these online course platform options stack against each other. 

We’ll explore key features to help you choose.

1. Core Functionality

Circle: Focuses on building and nurturing online communities. It excels at fostering discussions, connections, and engagement among members.

Thinkific: Primarily an LMS and online learning platform. Its strength lies in creating, hosting, and selling online courses. Community features are secondary.

Circle-Workflow

2. Course Creation and Delivery

Kreis offers limited course creation tools. It is not designed to be a full-fledged Kursersteller like Thinkific.

Denkwürdig provides robust tools for creating and delivering engaging courses. It offers video hosting, quizzes, assignments, and more—a better online course platform than Circle.

3. Community Features

Circle: Shines in this area. It offers dedicated spaces, direct messaging, event hosting, and other features to facilitate community interaction.

Thinkific: It has some community features, but they’re less comprehensive than Circles. It’s more about supporting course-related discussions.

4. Marketing and Sales

Circle: Offers some marketing tools, but they’re not as robust as Thinkific’s.

Denkwürdig provides various marketing features to help course creators promote and sell their courses. These include landing page builders, cart integrations, and more. They are helpful for any course business.

5. Integrations

Circle: Offers a growing number of integrations with other platforms. Check their app store for the latest additions.

Denkwürdig Integrates with many tools, including email marketing platforms, payment gateways, and more. It is helpful if you want to connect your online course platform to other services.

Denkwürdig

6. Pricing and Plans

Circle: Offers tiered pricing plans based on the size of your community and the features you need. Consider your subscription model.

Thinkific: Has different pricing plans for course creators, with increasing features and capabilities.

7. Profile Customization and Notifications

Circle: Offers customizable member profiles and robust notification settings, enabling personalized engagement.

Thinkific: Provides profile features and notifications, but they are less extensive than Circle’s.

What Should You Look For When Choosing a Community Platform?

  • Benutzerfreundlichkeit: Is the platform intuitive for both admins and members?
  • Anpassung: Can you brand the community to match your style?
  • Engagement Tools: Does it offer features like forums, direct messaging, and events?
  • Moderation: Can you easily manage and moderate your community?
  • Integrationen: Does it connect with the tools you already use?
  • Preise: Does the pricing fit your budget and scale with your needs?
  • Unterstützung: Is there adequate support and documentation available?
  • Mobile Experience: Is the platform mobile-friendly, or does it offer a mobile app?
  • Analytics: Can you track key metrics about your community’s growth and engagement?
  • Sicherheit: Does the platform offer robust security features to protect your community?

Endgültiges Urteil

So, which platform wins? It depends on dein needs. Kreis is the winner if building a thriving community is your top priority. 

Its focus on engagement and member experience makes it a powerful tool.

However, Thinkific is better if your main goal is to create and sell online courses, with community as a secondary feature. 

It’s a solid online course platform. Remember, platforms like Außerdem und Lehrbar are also great options.

We’ve explored these platforms extensively, so we know what works.

Consider your goals, budget, and the features that matter most. 

We hope this comparison has helped you compare Thinkific and make the right choice.

Now, you can download our free guide for more tips!

More of Circle‍‍

Hier ist ein Vergleich von Circle mit den angegebenen Alternativen:

  • Circle vs. Skool: Circle konzentriert sich weitgehend auf die Community-Anpassung, während Skool starke Gamifizierung und vereinfachte Kursbereitstellung hinzufügt.
  • Kreis vs. Schwarm: Circle bietet allgemeinen Community-Aufbau, während Swarm den Schwerpunkt auf stark strukturierte, interessenbasierte Gruppen legt.
  • Circle vs. Teachable: Circle ist in erster Linie eine Community-Plattform, während Teachable sich auf die Kurserstellung mit einer integrierten Community konzentriert.
  • Circle vs. GoHighLevel: Circle ist auf Community-Funktionen spezialisiert, während GoHighLevel eine umfassende Suite zur Marketingautomatisierung ist, die Community-Tools umfasst.
  • Circle vs. MightyNetworks: Circle bietet robuste Community-Funktionen, während Mighty Networks die Community eng mit Kursen, Inhalten und Veranstaltungen integriert.
  • Circle vs. Bettermode: Circle bietet anpassbare Community-Bereiche, während Bettermode sich auf Deep Branding und White-Label-Community-Lösungen konzentriert.
  • Circle vs. LearnWorlds: Circle baut vielfältige Communities auf, während LearnWorlds Community speziell mit interaktivem Online-Lernen integriert.
  • Kreis vs. Disco: Circle dient dem allgemeinen Aufbau von Communities, während Disco sich speziell auf kohortenbasierte Lerngemeinschaften konzentriert.
  • Circle vs. Kajabi: Bei Circle steht die Community im Mittelpunkt, während Kajabi eine All-in-One-Plattform für Kurse, Marketing und Community ist.
  • Kreis vs. Weinen: Circle bietet eine strukturierte Plattform für Entwickler, während Wylo Einzelpersonen durch interessenorientierte Entdeckungen und Communities verbindet.
  • Circle vs Whop: Circle baut direkte Communities für Entwickler auf, während Whop ein Marktplatz für den Verkauf von Zugriffen auf digitale Communities und Produkte ist.

More of Thinkific

Here are brief comparisons of Thinkific against the specified alternatives:

  • Thinkific vs. Skool: Thinkific is a core course platform; Skool combines community, courses, and gamification.
  • Thinkific vs Swarm: Thinkific is a course platform with a community; Swarm focuses on structured community engagement.
  • Thinkific vs Kajabi: Thinkific is primarily a course platform; Kajabi is an all-in-one marketing, course, and website builder.
  • Thinkific vs. Teachable: Thinkific and Teachable are both leading platforms focused on creating and selling online courses.
  • Thinkific vs GoHighLevel: Thinkific is a course platform, while GoHighLevel is a broad marketing automation platform that includes courses and a community.
  • Thinkific vs MightyNetworks: Thinkific is a course platform with a community; MightyNetworks integrates community, courses, and content more deeply.
  • Thinkific vs. Bettermode: Thinkific is a course platform; Bettermode focuses on building highly customizable community spaces.
  • Thinkific vs. LearnWorlds: Thinkific is a course platform; LearnWorlds specializes in interactive courses and learning communities.
  • Thinkific vs Disco: Thinkific is a general course platform; Disco is tailored for cohort-based learning communities.
  • Thinkific vs Wylo: Thinkific is a course platform; Wylo connects individuals via interest-based groups/communities.
  • Thinkific vs Whop: Thinkific is a course platform with a community; Whop sells access to communities and digital products via a marketplace.

Häufig Gestellte Fragen

Which platform is better for selling online courses?

Thinkific is the stronger choice for selling courses. It has more robust course creation, marketing, and sales features. Circle is better if community building around your courses is your main focus, but it lacks some of Thinkific’s sales tools.

Can I use Circle to host my podcast?

Circle isn’t designed specifically for Podcast hosting. You could potentially integrate with a podcast hosting platform, but it’s not a built-in feature. Thinkific can host audio innerhalb a course, though it is not a podcast platform either.

Welche Plattform ist günstiger?

It depends. Circle’s starting price is lower, but Thinkific’s pricing might make more sense if your business is centered around course sales. Consider what features you actually need before making a decision.

Can I use these platforms to run surveys?

Thinkific offers some basic survey functionality. The circle does not have built-in survey features. You would likely need to integrate with a third-party survey tool for Circle.

I’m a coach planning a launch. Which platform should I choose?

If your launch is primarily focused on selling a course, Thinkific is probably the better choice. Circle might be better if the launch is centered around community building. Consider the main goal of your launch as a coach oder entrepreneur.

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