# Circle vs Skool

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Circle

| Attribute | Circle | Skool |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 69 (53% (medium)) | 57.7 (46% (low)) |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"All-in-one community platform for building and managing branded spaces with member engagement, live events, courses, and integrated payment processing It is indexed under Community Platforms.","source":"https://circle.so","question":"What is Circle?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Circle is a paid product; published pricing starts at $89 per month. It is sold across 3 plans (Professional, Business and Circle Plus). There is no free tier. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://circle.so/pricing","question":"How much does Circle cost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Circle supports the web, iOS and Android. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://circle.so","question":"What platforms does Circle support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Circle, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://circle.so/pricing","question":"Can Circle be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 6 integrations for Circle, including Zapier, Make, Memberstack, MemberSpace, Memberful and Integrately. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://circle.so/pricing","question":"What does Circle integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2 and GDPR for Circle. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Circle not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://circle.so","question":"What security certifications does Circle have?","confidence":0.48},{"answer":"Circle is available worldwide. The vendor is headquartered in the United States.","source":"https://circle.so","question":"Where is Circle available?","confidence":0.75}]` | `[{"answer":"A community creation and discovery platform that hosts various topic-based communities, each with its own membership structure and content offerings. Communities range from AI automation and e-commerce to trading and freelancing education. It is indexed under Online Course Platforms.","source":"https://www.skool.com","question":"What is Skool?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Skool offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.skool.com","question":"Is Skool free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Skool. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.skool.com","question":"What platforms does Skool support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Skool, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://www.skool.com","question":"Can Skool be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Skool is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://www.skool.com","question":"Where is Skool available?","confidence":0.5}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | All-in-one community platform for building and managing branded spaces with member engagement, live events, courses, and integrated payment processing | Skool is a platform that enables users to discover existing communities or launch their own. Based on the homepage, it hosts various community-based courses and memberships with different pricing models. |
| features.capabilities | `{"pricing_model":"monthly_subscription_tiered","deployment_model":"creator_cloud_saas","native_live_video_streaming":true,"custom_css_and_html_theme_editing":true,"mobile_app_ios_android_deployment":true,"event_calendar_and_rsvp_management":true,"salesforce_hubspot_crm_contact_sync":false,"gamification_badges_and_leaderboards":true,"custom_domain_cname_and_white_labeling":true,"native_paywalls_and_paid_subscriptions":true,"white_label_custom_domain_and_branding":true,"native_video_hosting_bandwidth_included":true,"member_directory_and_direct_messaging_dm":true,"email_marketing_and_funnel_builder_native":true,"native_community_forum_and_discussion_boards":true,"affiliate_marketing_program_for_student_referrals":true}` | `{"deployment_model":"creator_cloud_saas","native_community_forum_and_discussion_boards":true}` |
| integrations.count | 11 | 1 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Zapier"},{"name":"Make"},{"name":"Memberstack"},{"name":"MemberSpace"},{"name":"Memberful"},{"name":"Integrately"},{"name":"Auth0","native":false,"category":"auth","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Facebook","native":false,"category":"auth","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Twitter","native":false,"category":"auth","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"WordPress","native":false,"category":"cms","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Outseta","native":false,"category":"crm","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Bubble","native":false,"category":"integration","direction":"inbound"}]` | `[{"name":"Meta"}]` |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Pro","features":["Private spaces","Bulk import/export","In-app notifications","Member profiles & directory","Basic moderation","Direct messaging","Group chat","Weekly email digest","Events","GDPR compliant","iOS and Android App","Desktop app","Chat spaces","Scheduled posts","Advanced reporting","Custom CSS/Javascript Snippets","Zapier integration","Embed widgets","White-labeled community","Color themes","Affiliate/conversion tracking code","Sender email customization","Integrately integration","API access","Headless Member API","Admin API","Analytics filtering"],"commitment":"monthly","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"members":"Unlimited","storage":"500GB","automations":"20","headless_api_mau":"100","ai_credits_monthly":"2500","live_stream_attendees":"100","live_room_participants":"15","admin_api_requests_monthly":"30000","scheduled_workflows_per_month":"20"}},{"free":false,"name":"Business","commitment":"monthly","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"members":"Unlimited","storage":"1TB","headless_api_mau":"500","ai_credits_monthly":"5000","live_stream_attendees":"200"}},{"free":false,"name":"Plus","commitment":"monthly","contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"members":"Unlimited","ai_credits_monthly":"None","live_stream_attendees":"500"}}],"addOns":[{"name":"Extra Circle AI credits","components":[{"per":{"qty":1000,"unit":"credits"},"kind":"per_unit","amount":10,"currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Extra admins","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"admin","amount":10,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Extra moderators","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"per 10 moderators","amount":20,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Extra spaces","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"per 10 spaces","amount":20,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Brand email notifications","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":40,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Customizable profile fields","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":49,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Live attendees","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"per 100 attendees","amount":20,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Hours","components":[{"kind":"fixed","unit":"per 10 hours","amount":50,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"Subscription plans for Pro, Business, and Plus tiers with monthly billing. Free 14-day trial; 30-day money-back guarantee. Email Hub priced per contacts (first 30 days free, charges on top of community plan).","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://circle.so/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-10-06T10:09:46.920Z","freeTrialDays":14,"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"type":"hybrid","summary":"Platform free; communities charge $7–$580/month or $580/year. Some offer money-back guarantees.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.skool.com","retrievedAt":"2026-09-08T17:31:32.593Z","freeTrialDays":7,"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | low |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":89,"currency":"USD"}` | - |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |

## Capabilities (Online Course Platforms)

| Capability | Circle | Skool |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Deployment model | Creator cloud saas | Creator cloud saas |
| Native video hosting bandwidth included | ✓ | - |
| Integrated checkout and payment gateway stripe | - | - |
| Drip content scheduling unlocking over time | - | - |
| Student quizzes assessments and certificates | - | - |
| Cohort based live class enforcement zoom sync | - | - |
| Native community forum and discussion boards | ✓ | ✓ |
| Affiliate marketing program for student referrals | ✓ | - |
| Email marketing and funnel builder native | ✓ | - |
| White label custom domain and branding | ✓ | - |
| SOC2 type ii | - | - |
| ISO 27001 | - | - |
| Pricing model | monthly_subscription_tiered | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:14:25.696Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*