Skool vs Circle: Building a Paid Community in 2025

von | Okt. 13, 2024

Gewinner
Schule
9.0
  • Gemeinschaft
  • Classroom
  • Kalender
  • Leaderboard
  • Challenges
  • 14 Tage kostenlose Testversion verfügbar
  • Kostenpflichtige Tarife ab $99/Monat
Zweiter
Kreis
8.0
  • Anpassung
  • Analyse
  • Arbeitsabläufe
  • Marketing-Drehscheibe
  • Gemeinschaft AI
  • 14 Tage kostenlose Testversion verfügbar
  • Paid Plans from $89/month
Schule-vs-Zirkel

Ready to build a thriving paid online community? Choosing the right platform between Skool and Kreis is key.

Both offer great features, but which is best for Du?

This post breaks down Skool vs Circle strengths and weaknesses, focusing on pricing, ease of use, and engagement tools.

By the end, you’ll confidently choose the platform to set your community up for success.

Skool vs Circle: Overview

To give you the most accurate comparison, I dove deep into both platforms.

This included exploring their features firsthand, comparing pricing plans, and even testing out their community engagement tools. Let’s see how they stack up!

But first, it’s important to understand that Skool and Circle, while both community platforms, have slightly different focuses.

Skool is geared towards course creators who want to build a community around their courses.

While Circle caters to a wider range of communities, including those not centered around courses.

Schullogo

Want to see Skool in action? They offer a free trial so you can explore its features & know if it’s the right fit for your community. Click here to learn and explore more!

9von 10

Preise: 14 day free trial available. Paid plan Starts at $99/month

Hauptmerkmale:

Kreis-Logo

Ready to give Circle a try? They offer a 14-day free trial, and no credit card is required. Click here to explore Circle’s features and see how it can elevate your community!

8von 10

Preise: It has a free plan. Paid plan Starts at $89/month

Hauptmerkmale:

  • Memberships
  • Events
  • Live Streams

Was ist Skool?

Ever wished for a platform that combines courses and community?

That’s Skool in a nutshell. It’s designed for creators who want to teach and build a tight-knit community around their content.

Think of it as a blend of your favorite online course platform with a sozialen Medien feel.

Also, explore our favorite Skool alternatives…

Schullogo
Schule
9.0

To explore Skool’s streamlined platform for building and selling online courses, visit their official website. Skool prioritizes ease of use and community engagement.

Hauptvorteile

Skool shines in a few key areas:

  • Simple setup: Get your community up and running in minutes, seriously.
  • Built-in courses: No need for separate course platforms. It’s all here.
  • Gamified challenges: Boost engagement with fun challenges and contests.
  • Direkte Nachrichtenübermittlung: Connect with members one-on-one.
  • Keine Transaktionsgebühren: Keep more of your earnings.

Preise

Skool keeps it simple with just two pricing tiers:

  • $99/Monat: 1 group, All features, Unlimited courses, Unlimited members, 2.9% transaction fee.
Skool-pricing

Pros

  • Saubere Schnittstelle.
  • Great for courses.
  • Erschwingliche Preise.
  • Excellent support.

Nachteile

  • Begrenzte Anpassungsmöglichkeiten.
  • Weniger Integrationen.
  • Can feel basic.

Was ist Circle?

We are looking for a versatile platform to host your community.

Circle might be your answer. It’s designed for a wide range of communities, from membership sites and coaching programs to online courses and fan clubs.

Think of it as your own customizable online space to connect and engage.

Also, explore our favorite Circle alternatives…

Kreis-Logo
Kreis
8.0

Join over 10,000 thriving communities on Circle. Explore its powerful features and elevate your community engagement today.

Hauptvorteile

Here’s where Circle truly shines:

  • Anpassung: Make your community truly your own with extensive branding and design options.
  • Rich feature set: From events and live streams to memberships and paywalls, Circle has it all.
  • Powerful integrations: Connect with your favorite tools like Zapier, Mailchimp, and more.
  • Mobile App: Keep the conversation going with dedicated iOS and Android apps.
  • White-label option: For those who want complete control over branding.

Preise

Circle offers a tiered pricing structure with a free trial to get you started:

  • professional: $89 per month for Rich member profiles, Searchable member directory, Events, and Discussions.
  • Geschäft: $199 per month for Courses, Live stream, Live rooms, Unlimited members, and Custom branding.
  • Enterpeise: $360 per month for Workflows, Custom profile fields, Headless Member API, Admin API.
  • Plus Marken-App: Individuelle Preise.
circle pricing 2025

Pros

  • Hochgradig anpassbar.
  • Feature-rich platform.
  • Great mobile app.
  • Lots of integrations.
  • Active support team.

Nachteile

  • Overwhelming.
  • High pricing
  • Steilere Lernkurve.

Funktionsvergleich

Picking the best platform for your online community is a big decision.

Let’s dive deeper into all the features of Skool and Circle so you can make the right choice.

1. Community Building

Both Skool and Circle have the must-have features for community building. This means they both have:

  • Discussions: Spaces where community members can talk to each other and share ideas. Think of it like online forums.
  • Member profiles: Each person gets a profile to show who they are.
  • Direkte Nachrichtenübermittlung: Members can send private messages to each other, just like texting.
  • Spaces and groups: You can divide your community into smaller sections. This is super helpful for keeping things organized, especially in large communities. It’s kind of like having different rooms in your house for other activities.
  • Member directory: Easily find other community members with specific interests or skills.
skool features

2. Creating Courses

Skool is built with course creation in mind.

  • Skool: You can easily create and share your courses right inside Skool. It’s like having your classroom and community all in one place.
  • Circle: Circle can do classes, too, but it’s not as strong in this area. Skool is the winner if you teach a lot.

3. Customization

  • Circle: Circle has tons of customization features. You can change color fonts, add your logo, and even use your website address. It’s like decorating your online space to match your style.
  • Skool: Skool is simpler. It looks nice, but you can only change a little. Customization features compared to Circle are limited.
Aktivität in der Schule

4. Memberships

Both platforms allow you to have paying members in your community.

  • Circle: You can get really creative with memberships in Circle. You can have different levels, like “bronze,” “silver,” and “gold,” each with a different price and different things members get. This is great for giving your members more choices.
  • Skool: Skool’s memberships are more basic.

5. Integrations

Integrations mean connecting your community platform to other online tools you use.

  • Circle: Circle works with lots of other tools, like email programs (like Mailchimp), Zapier (which connects different apps), and things that help you understand your members better.
  • Skool: Skool can connect to some tools, but not as many as Circle.

6. Live Videos

  • Both do: You can do live videos in both Skool and Circle. This is awesome for doing live lessons, Q&A sessions, or just hanging out with your community.
  • Circle: Circle has special tools to help you plan events, which is useful if you do a lot of live stuff.
circle-theme

7. Mobile App

  • Skool: Perfect for creating courses and if you want something easy to use. It’s also great if you wish to have unlimited members without paying extra.
  • Circle: A good choice if you want lots of features and ways to change how your community looks. It’s also better for bigger online communities.

What to look for when choosing an online community platform?

  • Denken Sie an Ihre Bedürfnisse: What features are essential for your community? Do you need in-depth courses, advanced customization, or specific integrations?
  • Berücksichtigen Sie Ihr Budget: Both platforms have different pricing structures. Choose the one that fits your budget and offers the best value for your needs.
  • Try before you buy: Take advantage of free trials to test both platforms and see which one feels right for you.
  • Factor in future growth: Choose a platform that can scale with your community as it grows.
  • Remember support: Look for a platform with responsive and helpful customer support.
  • Community focus: Skool leans towards course-based communities, while Circle is more versatile.
  • Facebook Groups: If you’re looking for a free option to start with, Facebook Groups can be a good starting point, but they need the features and customization of Skool or Circle.
  • Video hosting: Both platforms offer video hosting, so you can easily share videos with your community.
  • Enable dark mode: While not a deal-breaker, Circle offers a dark mode option, which some users may prefer.

Endgültiges Urteil

So, which platform wins? It’s a close call, but we choose Circle.

Why? Circle is like a Swiss Army knife. It has lots of tools and can do many things.

You can change it to look exactly how you want. It also works with other apps you might use.

This makes it great for different kinds of communities.

Skool is awesome, but it’s simpler. It’s like a really good kitchen knife – perfect for certain tasks, like making courses.

But Circle is better if you need more features and want to grow a bigger community.

Do you want something super easy to use and focused on courses?

Then the Skool community might be best. But if you want more options and think your community will get big, Circle is the winner.

More of Skool

Here’s a brief comparison of Skool against the listed alternatives:

  • Skool vs. Teachable: Skool verbindet Community mit Kursen und Gamification; Teachable konzentriert sich auf die Erstellung von Kursen mit der Community als Zusatzmodul.
  • Skool vs. GoHighLevel: Skool ist für Community/Kurse mit Gamification; GoHighLevel ist eine umfassende Marketing-Automatisierungsplattform, die auch Community-Funktionen enthält.
  • Skool gegen MightyNetworks: Skool legt den Schwerpunkt auf Gamification innerhalb seiner Community-/Kursstruktur; MightyNetworks bietet eine breitere Palette an Inhalten, Veranstaltungen und Community-Optionen.
  • Skool vs. Bettermode: Skool bietet integrierte Kurse und Gamification; Bettermode ermöglicht eine tiefgreifende Anpassung für markenbezogene Community-Erlebnisse.
  • Skool vs. Thinkific: Skool kombiniert Community, Kurse und Gamification; Thinkific ist in erster Linie eine Kursplattform mit Community-Funktionen.
  • Skool vs. LearnWorlds: Skool erweitert Gemeinschaft und Kurse um Gamification; LearnWorlds konzentriert sich auf interaktive Online-Kurse mit integrierten Gemeinschaften.
  • Schule gegen Schwarm: Skool integriert Kurse und Gamification in die Community; Swarm konzentriert sich auf strukturierte, interessenbasierte Community-Interaktionen.
  • Skool vs. Disco: Skool umfasst gamifizierte Kurse und eine Community; Disco ist auf kohortenbasiertes Lernen und Lerngemeinschaften spezialisiert.
  • Skool vs. Kajabi: Skool konzentriert sich auf Community und Kurse mit Gamification, während Kajabi eine All-in-One-Business-Plattform ist, die Kurse, Marketing und Community umfasst.
  • Skool gegen Wylo: Skool bietet eine Plattform für Kreative mit Kursen und Gamification; Wylo verbindet Menschen durch interessenbasierte Community-Entdeckung und Interaktion.
  • Skool vs Whop: Skool bietet eine Creator-Plattform mit gamifizierten Communities und Kursen; Whop ist ein Marktplatz und eine Plattform für den Verkauf von Zugang zu Communities und digitalen Gütern.

More of Circle‍‍

Hier ist ein Vergleich von Circle mit den angegebenen Alternativen:

  • 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. Thinkific: Circle ist eine dedizierte Community-Plattform, während Thinkific hauptsächlich für Online-Kurse mit der Community als Add-on gedacht ist.
  • 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.

Häufig Gestellte Fragen

Which platform is easier to use, Skool or Circle?

Skool is generally easier to get started with, thanks to its simpler interface and streamlined features. Circle has a steeper learning curve due to its wider range of customization options.

Can I use Skool or Circle for free?

Both platforms offer free trials. Skool has a limited free plan, while Circle provides you a 14-day free trial to test its features.

Does Skool have a dedicated member directory?

No, Skool currently lacks a dedicated member directory. Circle, on the other hand, offers a searchable member directory to help members connect.

Which platform is the best for selling online courses?

Skool is specifically designed for course creators, with tightly integrated course features. While Circle can host courses, it’s not its primary focus.

Can I integrate my email marketing tools with Skool and Circle?

Yes, both platforms offer integrations with popular email marketing tools. Circle has a wider range of direct integrations, while Skool relies mainly on Zapier for connections.