Circle vs Ning
No leader: the top candidate Ning has only 0.26 confidence (low), below the 0.35 needed to declare a winner. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.
Capabilities
Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for community platforms. “-” means undocumented, not absent.
What each one is
The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.
Circle
Circle enables community builders to create a centralized space for their communities, courses, events, and live streams—all with custom branding and integrated payment systems. The platform provides tools for member engagement, content delivery, and monetization without requiring technical expertise.
Ning
Ning is a platform for creating branded online communities with drag-and-drop design, member management, discussion forums, events, and monetization features. It serves educators, nonprofits, enthusiasts, and businesses seeking to build engaged communities around shared interests.
Pricing
List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.
Circle
From $89/month (Professional) with a 14-day free trial. Custom pricing for Circle Plus.
- Professional$89/month with 14-day free trial
- Circle AI
- Unlimited members
- Courses
- Discussions
- Events
- +12 more
- BusinessContact sales
- Everything in Professional
- Workflows
- Custom profile fields
- Circle MCP
- Headless Member API
- +7 more
- Circle PlusContact sales
- Everything in Business
- AI Agents & AI workflows
- Custom single sign-on (SSO)
- Highest limits (Live, Storage, Workflows)
- 10k Email Hub contacts included
- +7 more
Ning
From $12.50/month (annual billing). Free 14-day trial on all plans.
- Starter$12.50/month, billed annually
- Drag & Drop Builder
- Photo & Video
- Events & Posts
- Activity Feed
- Multiple Blogs & Forums
- +9 more
- Basic$27.95/month, billed annually
- Drag & Drop Builder
- Photo & Video
- Events & Posts
- Activity Feed
- Multiple Blogs & Forums
- +10 more
- Performance$54.95/month, billed annually
- Drag & Drop Builder
- Photo & Video
- Events & Posts
- Activity Feed
- Multiple Blogs & Forums
- +14 more
- Ultimate$107.95/month, billed annually
- Drag & Drop Builder
- Photo & Video
- Events & Posts
- Activity Feed
- Multiple Blogs & Forums
- +15 more
Platform & deployment
Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.
Integrations
What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.
Circle
- Zapier
- Make
- Memberstack
- MemberSpace
- Memberful
- Integrately
Ning
- YouTube
- Vimeo
- MailChimp
Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.