Skool vs Circle: which community platform should a coach pick?
The short answer
Skool is the cheap, simple choice: $9 a month with a 10% fee, or $99 with 2.9%, plus gamification and a Discovery marketplace. Circle is $129 a month plus 2% of sales, with native live rooms, spaces and unlimited members, and workflows and brand removal on the $219 Business plan. Skool for a starter group, Circle for a membership business.
Pricing and features checked September 2026. We link every source at the bottom of the page.
Eight things a coaching business needs,
scored side by side.
Each group is scored 0 to 5 from the 26 capabilities in the full matrix below. A full point means it is native, half means partial or an add-on.
Skool
2.3 / 5
Circle
3.2 / 5
Coachful
4.6 / 5
Coaching delivery
Scheduling & sessions
Getting paid
Marketing & growth
Community & content
Client management
Brand & apps
AI & platform
What each one costs,
and what it costs once you add the rest.
Skool
community platform
Hobby
Unlimited members, courses, videos, live calls; custom URL; affiliates; 10% transaction fee
$9/mo
$7.5/mo annual
Pro
Same features; 2.9% transaction fee (Skool help centre: 2.9% + 30c up to $899, 3.9% + 30c on transactions of…
$99/mo
$82.5/mo annual
- FeesHobby: 10% (+ processing). Pro: 2.9% + 30c per transaction up to $899; 3.9% + 30c above $899 (1% Skool fee on high-ticket). Processing handled by Skool Payments…
- ModelFlat per community; unlimited members. Each additional community/group is a separate subscription.
- Trial'TRY FOR FREE' - 2 months free on either plan per the pricing page; card requirement not stated. Yearly billing gives 2 months free ($90/yr Hobby, $990/yr Pro per…
Circle
community platform
Professional
$1,068/yr. Unlimited members, 3 admins, 10 moderators, courses, events, live streams, paid memberships…
$129/mo
$89/mo annual
Business
$2,388/yr. 5 admins, 15 moderators, workflows/automations, API, automated transcriptions, content co-pilot…
$219/mo
$199/mo annual
Enterprise
Reported by third parties at $419/mo (AI Agents, advanced analytics, priority support, lower fees); not…
Custom
$419/mo annual
Circle Plus
Custom pricing; branded iOS/Android apps, AI Agents, custom SSO, launch support, 0.5% fee. Third parties…
Custom
- FeesCircle platform fee on payments processed through Circle: 2% Professional, 1% Business, 0.5% Plus, plus standard Stripe processing.
- ModelUnlimited members on all plans; admin/moderator seats capped (3/10, 5/15, unlimited on Plus). Email Hub add-on is priced by contact count.
- Trial14-day free trial on Professional and Business; third-party sources say no credit card required.
With CoachfulCoachful
coaching platform
Lite
Up to 5 clients. Every feature.
$29/mo
$19/mo annual
Solo
Unlimited clients.
$49/mo
$39/mo annual
Pro
Unlimited clients, Coachful Intelligence.
$99/mo
$79/mo annual
Studio
3 coach seats.
$199/mo
$159/mo annual
- Fees0% platform fee. You keep everything after Stripe or Razorpay processing.
- ModelFlat monthly price. Lite is capped at 5 clients; every other plan is unlimited clients.
- Trial7-day free trial. Card required at signup, no charge during the trial, cancel in one click.
The true cost of your stack
Skool plus the tools it does not cover
We pre-selected what Skool lacks. Toggle anything you would actually buy. Entry-tier prices, September 2026.
Skool + 5 tools
$114/mo
$9 Skool + $105 in add-ons. 6 logins for your clients.
Coachful Solo, everything included
$49/mo
Saves $65/mo, $780/yr.
Twenty-six capabilities,
nothing hidden in the footnotes.
Tap any cell for the specific detail behind it. Partial means it exists with real limits, or needs an add-on.
What matters most here
Fair play first,
then the honest answer.
Circle is the best-rated community tool in this set on G2 (4.5 from 501 reviews), and Skool's Discovery marketplace and gamification genuinely bring in members that Circle never will.
Pick Skool if…
- You are launching your first paid group and $9 a month with a 10% cut beats $129 before you have members.
- You want the leaderboard, levels and Discovery marketplace doing your engagement and acquisition.
- Your members are in the Hormozi and Ovens ecosystem and already have the Skool app installed.
- You do not care about a custom domain or branding; skool.com/your-group is fine.
Pick Circle if…
- You want live rooms and live streams inside the community, not a Zoom link on a calendar event.
- You need your own domain and Circle branding removed (Business), or a fully branded app later (Plus).
- You run several programs and want spaces, member-level pricing, workflows and an API.
- You want your own Stripe account and a lower platform fee: 2% on Professional, 1% on Business.
With CoachfulPick Coachful if…
- You also coach 1:1: booking, intake, contracts and client notes, none of which Skool or Circle have.
- Your community sits inside a program with habits and check-ins, not next to it.
- You want 0% platform fee, your own domain and a branded client app on a flat $49/mo.
Real ratings,
the good and the bad.
Scores and counts as published on each review site when we checked. We do not curate them.
Skool
- Trustpilot★★★★★1.7(51)
Praised for
- Radically simple UX; members and coaches learn it in minutes; app store ratings 4.1 (Google Play, 6,099) and 3.8 (App Store, 714)
- Cheapest entry in this set ($9/mo) with unlimited members, courses and calls
- Gamification (points, levels, leaderboards) and Discovery marketplace measurably drive engagement and organic member acquisition
Complaints
- Trustpilot 1.7/5 (51 reviews, 78% one-star, profile unclaimed): unauthorized charges, hidden cancellation flow, unresponsive support, scam communities on Discovery
- No custom domain, no white-label, no website/funnels/email automation, no public API - very little control or portability
- Hobby's 10% fee and Pro's +1% high-ticket fee are the highest in this set for sellers doing volume
Circle
- G2★★★★★4.5(501)
- Capterra★★★★★4.7(48)
- Trustpilot★★★★★3.9(73)
Praised for
- Best-rated community product in this set on G2 (4.5, 501 reviews) and Capterra (~4.7-4.8); praised for clean UX and fast onboarding
- Native live rooms/streams, courses, events and paywalls in one member experience
- Unlimited members on every plan; workflows/API on Business
Complaints
- Platform fee of 2%/1% on top of Stripe, plus paid Email Hub and custom-priced branded app - total cost climbs fast
- No scheduling or 1:1 client management; Circle is a community layer, not a coaching back office
- Trustpilot 27% one-star: video playback lag, frozen leaderboards, laborious account deletion, incomplete docs
Coachful
- Trustpilot★★★★★4.5(21)
Praised for
- Coaching delivery (programs, habits, check-ins) is native, not bolted on
- Scheduling, payments, contracts, website, community and email in one subscription
- Flat pricing with unlimited clients from $49/mo and no platform fee
Complaints
- Younger product with a smaller public review footprint than 10-year-old tools
- No Apple Calendar sync yet (Google and Outlook only)
- Mobile app is branded, not fully white-labelled under your own App Store listing
Leaving is easier than
you have been told.
Getting your data out of Skool
- Export
- Settings > Members > Export gives a CSV of name, email, join date and membership questions only; no export of posts, DMs, course progress or leaderboard data.
- Lock-in
- Monthly/yearly; cancellation flow described by reviewers as hidden; subscriptions per group. No custom domain means no SEO equity to take with you.
- Worth knowing
- Third-party scrapers (Apify, tools4skool) exist for fuller exports; HighLevel publishes a Skool-to-HighLevel migration guide.
Getting your data out of Circle
- Export
- Members CSV (name, email, join date) and subscriptions CSV exportable any time; posts/content have no bulk export.
- Lock-in
- Monthly or annual; no published refund policy (contact support@circle.so). Cancel from plan settings.
- Worth knowing
- Reviewers describe account deletion as requiring multiple email exchanges.
With CoachfulMoving in
Send us your export
CSV of clients, your packages, your program outlines. We map the fields.
We rebuild it with you
Programs, booking pages, contracts and payments set up on an onboarding call.
Clients get one invite
They log into your branded home on web and mobile. Nothing to re-explain.
Full client data ZIP (roster, notes, check-ins, goals, habits, sessions, form responses), course export, org backup JSON. And if you ever leave: monthly plans, cancel in one click. data stays until you ask for deletion.
Coaches who made the switch
I tried running my coaching business across five different apps. It was a complete waste of time and money. Then I found Coachful. It was everything I need in one platform.
Christopher Duff
Founder, Duff X Athletics
It’s the coaching platform I always wanted — it just didn’t exist yet. I have one dashboard for everything and already saved $1,300 by cancelling all the tech I had duct-taped together.
Emily F.
Coach · United States
Fantastic piece of software for coaches who want everything to be in one place. The Coachful team have been amazing at being on hand to help get everything set up. Would highly recommend!
Luis
Coach · United Kingdom
Sources and verification dates
Skool · pricing checked 2026-09-02
- skool.com/pricing
- help.skool.com/article/86-subscriptions-faq
- trustpilot.com/review/www.skool.com
- ruzuku.com/compare/skool-pricing
- ruzuku.com/learn/articles/how-to-cancel-skool
- ruzuku.com/learn/articles/is-skool-any-good
- revenuegeeks.com/software/skool/pricing
- revenuegeeks.com/software/skool/is-skool-legit
Circle · pricing checked 2026-09-02
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Skool vs Circle, answered
The questions coaches ask before choosing.
Neither one runs the whole coaching business. Coachful does.
Programs, scheduling, payments, community and your website in one login. 7-day free trial, cancel in one click.
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