⚡ Kort oordeel:
- Prijzen: Circle starts at $89/month (Professional plan). Thinkific starts at $36/user/month (Basic plan).
- Het meest geschikt voor: Circle suits community builders running memberships and live events. Thinkific suits course creators selling online courses.
- Belangrijkste verschil: Circle is built around community spaces first. Thinkific is built around course creation first.
- Onze keuze: Circle, for most creators who want an online community platform with integrated course delivery.
Creators compare Circle and Thinkific when their audience outgrows a Facebook group.
They want one home for members, content, and payments.
Both tools promise that. Neither solves it the same way.
Circle starts with the community and adds courses on top.
Thinkific starts with the course and adds a community feature later.
That single choice shapes everything else you will build.
Overzicht
This Circle vs Thinkific comparison covers pricing, core features, and day to day usability.
We leggen ook uit voor wie elk hulpmiddel het meest geschikt is.
Onze bronnen omvatten gepubliceerde specificaties, documentatie en G2-recensies.
Onze schrijvers hebben ook zelf ervaring opgedaan met beide platforms.
Die bevindingen staan in de onderstaande secties onder 'Wat ons team heeft opgemerkt'.
Wat is een cirkel?
Circle is an online community platform for creators, brands, and businesses.
It helps online bedrijf owners build and grow a thriving online community.
You organise everything into community spaces that hold posts, chats, and courses.
Related spaces roll up into a Space Group built around a theme.
Each space can be public, private, or secret.
That is how you control access for different community members.
Here is a walkthrough of how the platform Circle offers actually works.
🏆 Winnaar: Circle
Run memberships, live events, and courses in one place. Every plan includes a 14-day free trial.
Cirkelprijzen
Here is what Circle’s pricing looks like in 2026. Every tier includes unlimited members.
| Plan | Prijs | Het beste voor |
|---|---|---|
| Professioneel | $89/maand | Individuele makers en kleine teams |
| Bedrijf | $199/maand | Growing brands needing more advanced features |
| Onderneming | $399/maand | Larger organisations with technical needs |
| Plus-merkapp | Prijs op maat | Teams wanting their own branded mobile app |
Prijzen geverifieerd in juli 2026.
Gratis proefperiode: Yes. All plans come with a 14-day free trial so you can test the platform first.
Geld-terug-garantie: Circle does not publish a standard refund window. Use the trial period to decide.
📌 Opmerking: The pricing Circle publishes is only part of the bill. A transaction fee of 0.5% to 4% applies to payments you receive, and it varies by plan.
⚠️ Waarschuwing: Those fees sit on top of Stripe’s standard 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Our gegevens sheet lists Enterprise features instead of a figure, so the $399/month price above comes from Circle’s published pricing page.
Belangrijkste voordelen van Circle
Dit is waarom Circle het overwegen waard is:
- Organised community spaces: Public and private spaces, plus secret ones, let you run multiple spaces from one dashboard. Space Groups keep related topics together.
- Native live streaming: Host events without bolting on a webinar tool. You can run small sessions or larger livestream broadcasts.
- Paid memberships: Charge for access to certain spaces through Stripe. Coupon codes and free trials are built into checkout.
- Automatiseringstools: Workflows handle repetitive community management and send a welcome message to new members automatically.
- Rich community posts: Circle’s post editor supports headings, blockquotes, and collapsible sections for longer discussions.
- Toegang via de mobiele app: Members reach their communities, courses, events, and chats from their phone.
Wat ons team opmerkte
Ons schrijver set up a Circle community and spent several days building spaces inside it. Here is what stood out from that hands-on time:
Voordelen en nadelen van Circle
✅ Voordelen
- Spaces and Space Groups organise community content around clear themes
- Native live streaming lets you host events without a separate webinar tool
- Automation workflows handle repetitive community management tasks
- Clean user interface that feels familiar to Slack and Begrip gebruikers
❌ Nadelen
- Transaction fees of 0.5% to 4% apply on top of your plan
- Course functionality is thinner than dedicated learning platforms
- Costs climb quickly once you need more advanced features
Wat is Thinkific?
Thinkific is an all in one platform for building and selling online courses.
You can create courses, memberships, coaching programs, and digital downloads.
The drag and drop course builder needs no coding skills at all.
That makes it friendly for creators who avoid the technical stuff.
It leans toward online education and revenue, not internal corporate training.
Thinkific helps coaches, educators, and digital creators monetise what they know.
This Thinkific review video walks through the dashboard and course creation flow.
🥈 Runner Up: Thinkific
Build your first course in a few clicks. Zero transaction fees on every plan.
Thinkific-prijzen
Here is how the Thinkific pricing plans break down. All three tiers carry zero transaction fees.
| Plan | Prijs | Het beste voor |
|---|---|---|
| Basis | $36 per gebruiker per maand | Solo creators with unlimited courses |
| Begin | $74 per gebruiker per maand | Lidmaatschappen, pakketten en certificaten |
| Groeien | $149 per gebruiker per maand | Geavanceerde analyses en prioriteitsondersteuning |
Prijzen geverifieerd in juli 2026.
Gratis proefperiode: Yes. Thinkific offers a 14-day free trial. There is no free plan anymore, since it was retired in 2024.
Geld-terug-garantie: No published refund window. The trial is the safest way to test all the features.
📌 Opmerking: Zero transaction fees mean you keep what you earn, minus payment processor charges. Thinkific Plus sits above Grow with pricing available on request for enterprise teams.
⚠️ Waarschuwing: The rates above are the discounted figures when billed annually. Paying month to month costs more: $49, $99, and $199 for Basic, Start, and Grow.
Belangrijkste voordelen van Thinkific
Dit zijn de redenen waarom Thinkific het overwegen waard is:
- Real course building tools: Interactive lessons mix video, audio, PDFs, and quizzes. The Basic plan already allows unlimited courses.
- SCORM support: Upload learning content from Articulate Storyline or Adobe Captivate. That matters for compliance training.
- Ingebouwde e-mailmarketing: Send broadcasts and basic automation sequences without a third party tool.
- Sales tools and payment plans: The TCommerce suite handles subscriptions, payment plans, and bundles so students easily pay.
- Thinkific analytics: Track progress, enrollments, and revenue to judge course performance.
- Branded site builder: Customisable themes produce professional looking course pages. Higher tiers let you remove Thinkific branding for complete control.
Wat ons team opmerkte
Our writer built a test course inside Thinkific and published it to a live course website. Here is what stood out:
The clip below covers the same walkthrough in more detail.
Voordelen en nadelen van Thinkific
✅ Voordelen
- Zero transaction fees on every pricing tier
- Drag and drop builder works without coding skills
- SCORM compliance suits corporate and compliance courses
- Email marketing and sales tools are built in
❌ Nadelen
- Video player has no automatic captioning, so SRT files go up one by one
- The community feature feels detached from the main platform
- Bulk student enrollment is slow for large groups
Functievergelijking
Ready for a closer look at Circle vs Thinkific? We compare the key features across ten areas that decide which platform fits your business.
| Functie | Cirkel | Thinkific |
|---|---|---|
| Startprijs | $89/maand | $36 per gebruiker per maand |
| Gratis plan | ❌ | ❌ |
| Gemeenschapsruimtes | ✅ | ✅ (basis) |
| Native Live Streaming | ✅ | ❌ |
| Cursusbouwer | ✅ (basis) | ✅ |
| SCORM-ondersteuning | ❌ | ✅ |
| Transaction Fees | 0.5% – 4% | Geen |
| Automatiseringsworkflows | ✅ | ✅ (email only) |
| Mobiele app | ✅ | ❌ |
| Het beste voor | Community builders | Cursusmakers |
1. Community Spaces and Group Discussions
Cirkel: Community building and community engagement are the whole point here. Chat spaces support group discussions with organised threads, so a Circle community can stay tidy as it grows. Members see the entire community from one sidebar and jump between spaces quickly.
Thinkific: The community feature covers discussion forums attached to your courses. It helps student engagement, but reviewers say the community aspect feels bolted on rather than native. Students post and reply to other members without the deeper social tools Circle offers.
⚠️ Waarschuwing: If daily conversation is your goal, judge this category carefully. A course platform with forums is not the same as a dedicated space to engage members.
2. Course Building and Site Design
Cirkel: A built-in site builder lets you publish pages and attach a custom domain. You can create online courses inside a space, though the course builder stays light on structure. It works for cohort content, not for large libraries.
Thinkific: The drag and drop builder assembles interactive lessons from video, audio, PDFs, and quizzes. No coding skills are needed to arrange course content or design course pages. This is where Thinkific pulls clearly ahead.
3. Live Streaming and Live Events
Cirkel: The live streaming feature runs sessions for up to 30 participants or broadcasts to 100 viewers. You can host events and schedule reminders without leaving the Circle platform. Native live streaming is a cool feature that saves a webinar subscription.
Thinkific: Coaching and webinar tools let you sell and schedule live sessions with students. Delivery leans on connected video tools rather than streaming built into the product. That is fine for one-to-one coaching, weaker for large live events.
4. Automation Tools and Workflows
Cirkel: Workflows cut repetitive community management by triggering actions automatically. You can tag members, move them between spaces, or send a welcome message. G2 reviews note these automation tools stay basic next to dedicated workflow software.
Thinkific: Email automation runs broadcasts and basic sequences from inside the platform. Marketing features cover enrollment triggers and reminders. Reviewers describe the depth as adequate rather than advanced.
5. Member Onboarding and Lead Capture
Cirkel: Automated check-ins greet new members with tailored invitation emails and post-signup steps. New users land in the right space instead of an empty feed. That first hour matters more than most community features people shop for.
Thinkific: Lead generation tools capture signups through landing pages and free preview lessons. You can create promotions, offer students a discount, and boost sales around a launch. The focus is conversion, not conversation.
6. Analytics and Progress Tracking
Cirkel: Member activity tracking shows who posts, who lurks, and who has gone quiet. Managers use that to spot their most active people. The rapportage answers engagement questions, not revenue questions.
Thinkific: The dashboard reports enrollments, revenue, and completion so you can track progress per student. Student management and course performance data sit in one view. Some reviewers still want deeper insights than the standard reports give.
7. Customization, Branding, and Integrations
Cirkel: Brand colours, logos, and layout controls give you real customization options. Third party integrations connect tools like Google Forms, Zapier, and email software. G2 reviews say the integrations Circle ships are useful but narrower than rival platforms.
Thinkific: The AI landing page builder drafts pages and copy through the Thinker assistent. Themes look clean, but more control over design needs code, and full control over branding arrives on higher tiers. Custom integrations are possible, though users call out missing features in the affiliate system.
💡 Pro-tip: List the tools you already pay for before you commit. New features arrive on both platforms every quarter, but an integration gap today is a manual export tomorrow.
8. Course Content and Learning Experience
Cirkel: Gamification adds points and leaderboards to keep people returning. Lessons live beside conversation, so learners discuss as they go. Circle’s features favour momentum over structured curriculum design.
Thinkific: Chapters, drip scheduling, quizzes, and certificates cover the core features most course creators expect, and the content creation tools stay approachable throughout. You can run one course or a full catalogue on the same account. Other platforms match the format list, but few make it this approachable.
9. Email Marketing and Sales Tools
Cirkel: Broadcasts reach a whole space or the entire membership. Checkout handles paid tiers, coupons, and free trials through Stripe with multiple currencies. It supports a membership sales strategy well, a product launch calendar less so.
Thinkific: TCommerce handles one-time payments, subscriptions, and payment plans, giving buyers flexible payment options. Order bumps and coupons help you sell courses successfully during a launch. For selling online courses at volume, this is the stronger engine for business growth.
10. Prijsbepaling en kosten
Laten we de prijsopties eens naast elkaar vergelijken.
| Laag | Cirkel | Thinkific |
|---|---|---|
| Invoer | Professional: $89/month | Basic: $36/user/month |
| Midden | Business: $199/month | Start: $74/user/month |
| Bovenste | Enterprise: $399/month | Grow: $149/user/month |
| Bovenkant | Plus Branded App: Custom Pricing | Thinkific Plus: Custom Pricing |
| Transaction fees | 0.5% – 4% | Geen |
Cirkel: The Professional plan opens at $89/month with unlimited members but caps admins, moderators, and spaces. The Business plan at $199/month lifts those limits, and the Enterprise plan at $399/month adds technical controls. A transaction fee of 0.5% to 4% applies on every payment you collect.
Thinkific: The Basic plan runs $36/user/month when billed annually and already includes unlimited courses. Nothing is skimmed off your sales, which changes the maths at higher revenue. Thinkific is not the only platform with zero fees, but it is the cheaper entry point of these two.
💡 Testresultaat: On $5,000 of monthly sales, Circle’s 4% fee costs $200 before Stripe’s cut. Thinkific charges nothing. Run that number for your own revenue before you pick.
Verschillende scenario's
| Als u het nodig heeft... | Kiezen | Waarom |
|---|---|---|
| De laagste instapprijs | Thinkific | $36 vs $89 per month |
| Daily member conversation | Cirkel | Spaces built for discussion |
| Gestructureerd curriculum | Thinkific | Chapters, quizzes, certificates |
| Live events in-house | Cirkel | Native streaming included |
| Zero fees on sales | Thinkific | No cut of your revenue |
| A members’ mobile app | Cirkel | Apps ship with the plan |
💰 Jouw budget
Thinkific costs less upfront and takes no cut of sales. Circle’s higher base price buys community depth you cannot rebuild cheaply elsewhere.
🔌 Jouw technologie-stack
Check your email tool, CRM, and payment setup against both integration lists. Missing connections usually mean Zapier or a manual export every week.
📝 Jouw inhoudstype
Recorded lessons with quizzes point to Thinkific. Ongoing conversation, coaching calls, and events point to Circle.
🎓 Jouw ervaringsniveau
Both are user friendly for beginners. Circle’s menu sits on the left hand side and feels familiar if you Slack gebruiken, while Thinkific wins on setup user friendliness for a first launch.
🆓 Gratis proefversies en demo's
Each platform gives you 14 days free. Load real content and invite five people, because an empty test account teaches you nothing.
🛟 Ondersteuningsopties
Both run email and knowledge base support channels. Thinkific’s Grow tier adds priority support, though some users report the support team sends generic replies.
Overstaphandleiding
Already using one of these? Here is what changes when you move.
🔄 Switching from Circle to Thinkific?
✅ Wat je eraan hebt:
- Zero transaction fees on everything you sell
- A proper course builder with quizzes and certificates
- SCORM uploads for compliance training material
❌ Wat je verliest:
- Native live streaming for events
- Space Groups and secret spaces
- The members’ mobile app
📋 Zo schakel je over:
- Export your member list and cancel Stripe subscriptions in Circle
- Rebuild your lessons inside a Thinkific course
- Bulk enroll members, allowing extra time for large groups
🔄 Switching from Thinkific to Circle?
✅ Wat je eraan hebt:
- Spaces, chat, and threaded conversation as the main event
- Live streaming and events without extra software
- Automation workflows for onboarding and check-ins
❌ Wat je verliest:
- Zero-fee checkout on every sale
- Quizzes, certificates, and SCORM support
- The lower $36 starting price
📋 Zo schakel je over:
- Export students and course files from Thinkific
- Map each course to a Circle space or Space Group
- Invite members and switch billing to Circle checkout
Wat onze recensie niet behandelde
This comparison focused on individual creators and small teams. We did not test enterprise SSO, bulk licensing, or API work, and we did not run a community past a few hundred people. Our notes reflect the July 2026 versions of both products. If you manage thousands of learners or need custom development, your priorities will differ from ours.
Eindconclusie
| Categorie | Winnaar |
|---|---|
| 💰 Prijzen | Thinkific |
| 🏘️ Community Features | Cirkel |
| 🎓 Cursuscreatie | Thinkific |
| 🎥 Live Events | Cirkel |
| 🎨 Aanpassing | Cirkel |
| ⚙️ Automatisering | Cirkel |
| 👶 Gebruiksgemak | Cirkel |
| 🏆 Algemene winnaar | Cirkel |
🏆 WINNAAR: CIRKEL
Circle wins 5 out of 7 categories.
Het meest geschikt voor: Paid memberships, coaching communities, live events, and creators who want conversation at the centre.
Circle and Thinkific are not really rivals. They are two answers to different questions.
Circle is a community platform that also sells courses. Thinkific is a course platform that also runs forums.
Thinkific is the better pick if your revenue comes from selling structured lessons. It costs less, takes no fees, and its builder is the stronger one.
Circle takes the overall win because more creators need the thing it does best. Membership retention comes from people talking to each other, and that is the harder half to replace.
Meer over Circle vergeleken
Here is how Circle measures up against its closest rivals. Our full Circle review covers each of these in more depth.
Cirkel versus School
Circle wint op: Space Groups for organising topics, deeper branding controls, native live streaming
Skool wint op: One flat monthly price, faster setup for a first community, simpler interface for non-technical owners
Cirkel versus Machtige Netwerken
Circle wint op: Cleaner post editor, smoother navigation between spaces, better received onboarding tools
Mighty Networks wint op: Built-in member matchmaking, stronger course structure, longer track record with large networks
Cirkel versus Kajabi
Circle wint op: Day-to-day discussion tools, lower entry price, chat spaces with threads
Kajabi wint op: Funnels and pipelines, full email marketing suite, course and product delivery depth
Cirkel versus Bettermode
Circle wint op: Creator-focused checkout, live streaming built in, members’ mobile app
Bettermode wint op: Customisable page structures, stronger developer API, white-label site control
Meer informatie over Thinkific
Here is how Thinkific stacks up against the other course platforms creators shortlist:
Thinkific wint op de volgende punten: No transaction fees at any tier, SCORM uploads, broader theme customisation
Teachable scoort hoog op: Built-in tax handling for global sales, simpler payout setup, tighter affiliate reporting
Thinkific wint op de volgende punten: Much lower starting price, cleaner course-first dashboard, easier learning curve
Kajabi wint op: Marketing automation depth, landing page and funnel library, all-round business tooling
Thinkific vs LearnWorlds
Thinkific wint op de volgende punten: Faster course setup, friendlier pricing at entry level, simpler admin screens
LearnWorlds wint op de volgende punten: Interactive video with in-player quizzes, richer certificates, deeper assessment reporting
Thinkific wint op de volgende punten: Real curriculum tools, quizzes and certificates, flexible checkout and bundles
Skool wint op: Active daily discussion, gamified leaderboards, one predictable monthly bill
Veelgestelde vragen
What is circle so used for?
Circle.so is used to run paid memberships, courses, events, and group chat in one place. Creators pick it when a Facebook group stops working.
Is Circle so worth it?
It is worth it if conversation drives your revenue. At $89 per month plus transaction fees, a course-only business will get better value elsewhere.
What is the transaction fee for Circle so?
Circle charges 0.5% to 4% of each payment you receive, depending on your plan. Stripe’s own 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction applies on top.
Wat zijn de maandelijkse kosten van Thinkific?
Plans run $36, $74, and $149 per user monthly when billed annually. Paying month to month raises those figures to $49, $99, and $199.
Wat zijn de nadelen van Thinkific?
The video player lacks automatic captioning, bulk enrollment is slow, and community tools feel separate from courses. Reviewers also want more depth in the affiliate system.
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