# Circle vs Discourse

| Attribute | Circle | Discourse |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 56.1 (55% (medium)) | 58.6 (42% (low)) |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | 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. | An open-source, customizable community discussion platform combining forums, real-time chat, and AI-assisted moderation. Available as managed hosting or self-hosted, designed for organizations from startups to enterprises to build engaged communities. |
| 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}` | - |
| integrations.count | 6 | 24 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Zapier"},{"name":"Make"},{"name":"Memberstack"},{"name":"MemberSpace"},{"name":"Memberful"},{"name":"Integrately"}]` | `[{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"Telegram"},{"name":"Discord"},{"name":"Mattermost"},{"name":"Matrix"},{"name":"Zulip"},{"name":"Rocket.Chat"},{"name":"Gitter"},{"name":"Stride"},{"name":"Microsoft Teams"},{"name":"Basecamp"},{"name":"IRC Cloud"},{"name":"Flock"},{"name":"Webex"},{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"Google Adsense"},{"name":"Google Ad Manager"},{"name":"Amazon Affiliates"},{"name":"Patreon"},{"name":"Google"},{"name":"Facebook"},{"name":"X"},{"name":"Apple"},{"name":"Mastodon"}]` |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` | `{"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Professional","summary":"$89/month with 14-day free trial","features":["Circle AI","Unlimited members","Courses","Discussions","Events","Website Builder","Live streams","Live rooms","Custom branding","Reporting & analytics","Searchable member directory","Rich member profiles","Paid memberships","Gamification","Custom domain","Weekly community digest","Migration services for payments"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":89,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Get key community building features, all in one place","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Business","summary":"$199/month (contact sales for customizations)","features":["Everything in Professional","Workflows","Custom profile fields","Circle MCP","Headless Member API","Admin API","Branded email notifications","Content co-pilot","Automated transcriptions","Activity scores","Standard migration services","Remove Circle branding"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":199,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Scale your community with workflows and customizations","contactSales":true},{"free":false,"name":"Circle Plus","summary":"Custom pricing with dedicated customer success management","features":["Everything in Business","AI Agents & AI workflows","Custom single sign-on (SSO)","Highest limits (Live, Storage, Workflows)","10k Email Hub contacts included","Sandbox community","Priority technical support","Priority platform migrations","Dedicated Customer Success Manager","Custom branded iOS and Android apps","In-app purchases","Fully managed branded apps"],"description":"Run your business with AI Agents, hands-on expert strategy, and optional branded apps","contactSales":true}],"addOns":[{"name":"Email Hub","components":[{"per":{"qty":1000,"unit":"contacts"},"kind":"metered","amount":10,"currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Sender email customization","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":49,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Integrately integration","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":40,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"From $89/month (Professional) with a 14-day free trial. Custom pricing for Circle Plus.","currency":"USD","freeTier":false,"sourceUrl":"https://circle.so/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-25T08:33:10.396Z","freeTrialDays":14,"startingPrice":{"amount":89,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free tier, 2 staff seats","features":["Unlimited members and chat","2 staff seats","Public and private categories","Community support"],"minSeats":2,"description":"Basic tier for exploring community features","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"storage":"5GB","max_categories":"10","monthly_emails":"20k","ai_daily_credits":"100k","monthly_page_views":"500k","translation_languages":"2"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"$100/month, 5 staff seats","features":["Unlimited members and chat","Unlimited public and private categories","Unlimited tags","Custom groups","5 staff seats","Email support","Custom and community themes","Custom domain","API and Webhook access","15+ plugins"],"minSeats":5,"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For growing communities needing scaling and brand customization","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"storage":"20GB","monthly_emails":"100k","ai_daily_credits":"500k","monthly_page_views":"1000000+","translation_languages":"4"}},{"free":false,"name":"Business","summary":"$500/month, 15 staff seats","features":["All Pro features plus:","Advanced reporting and analytics","Automation","Events","Gamification","15 staff seats","SSO (OpenID & OAuth2)","20+ additional plugins","Priority support","Migration services"],"minSeats":15,"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":500,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For established communities requiring advanced features and integrations","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"storage":"100GB","monthly_emails":"300k","ai_daily_credits":"1000000","monthly_page_views":"1000000+","translation_languages":"5"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing, unlimited staff seats, enterprise SLA","features":["All Business features plus:","Unlimited staff seats","Expert design and development services","99.9% uptime SLA","50+ plugins","GDPR and CCPA compliant hosting","Dedicated infrastructure","Custom development and integrations","SAML and enterprise authentication","White-glove onboarding"],"description":"Custom infrastructure for mission-critical communities with dedicated support and deep customization","contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"storage":"200GB+","staff_seats":"Unlimited","monthly_emails":"1500000+","ai_daily_credits":"5000000","translation_languages":"10"}}],"summary":"From $100/month. Free tier available.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.discourse.org/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-18T12:53:42.083Z","startingPrice":{"amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | no | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | high | high |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":89,"currency":"USD"}` | - |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| reliability.sla_pct | - | 99.9 |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |

## Capabilities (Community Platforms)

| Capability | Circle | Discourse |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Gamification badges and leaderboards | ✓ | - |
| Native live video streaming | ✓ | - |
| Native paywalls and paid subscriptions | ✓ | - |
| Event calendar and rsvp management | ✓ | - |
| Member directory and direct messaging dm | ✓ | - |
| Custom domain cname and white labeling | ✓ | - |
| Custom css and html theme editing | ✓ | - |
| Salesforce hubspot CRM contact sync | ✗ | - |
| Mobile app ios android deployment | ✓ | - |
| SOC2 type ii | - | - |
| ISO 27001 | - | - |
| Pricing model | Monthly subscription tiered | - |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T16:41:54.821Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*