Circle and Mighty Networks are hosted community platforms for creators, coaches and brands that run paid memberships and courses. Circle is built to sit inside a host's own website or app and to open to AI agents. Mighty Networks is built to sell access in many forms, with free member apps carrying its brand. Creators and product teams suit Circle, while coaches and course creators wanting community, courses and billing in one place suit Mighty Networks.
by Circle
Pricing: Professional $89/mo and Business $199/mo, both on annual billing; Circle Plus by quote. 14-day trial, no card. Transaction fee 2%, 1% or 0.5%.
Circle is a community platform for creators and brands: discussions, chat, courses, events and paid memberships on your own domain, sold flat per community.
by Mighty Networks
Pricing: Explore $35, Launch $95, Scale $215, Growth $425 a month billed monthly; Mighty Pro quoted. 14-day trial, no card. Transaction fee 2% down to 0.5% by plan.
Mighty Networks is a hosted community platform for creators selling memberships, courses and events on their own domain, with branded apps on the top tier.
Online Community Platforms features side-by-side
Professional $89/mo and Business $199/mo, both on annual billing; Circle Plus by quote. 14-day trial, no card. Transaction fee 2%, 1% or 0.5%.
Explore $35, Launch $95, Scale $215, Growth $425 a month billed monthly; Mighty Pro quoted. 14-day trial, no card. Transaction fee 2% down to 0.5% by plan.
Choose Circle if you want to embed community components inside your own website or app. Choose Mighty Networks if you want to sell one-time access, event tickets and promo codes, with free apps for members. Both are bought on paid plans billed by the month, and higher plans are sold by quote.
A product team that wants a community inside its own site fits Circle. The platform embeds community components and widgets into that team's own website or app. A dedicated connection also opens the community to AI agents, alongside the interfaces developers use for custom code. The weak spot is live video, where users find streaming limited and hold live meetings in a separate meeting tool instead.
A coach turning individual clients into group programs is the buyer Mighty Networks has in mind. The platform sells access in several forms, from one-time payments and paid event tickets to promo codes and waitlists. Members get free apps carrying the Mighty brand, and migration services help a host move a community off a free social network. The limit users name is a complex interface with a steep learning curve.
In reviews from 2026, Circle's users praise easy onboarding, a clean interface and quick, effective support. They complain that prices or extra charges surprise them, including fees on payments and costs for add-ons. Mighty Networks's reviewers from 2019 to 2026 like the responsive, personal support and how community, events and courses sit together. They complain about unwanted renewals, charges after cancelling and a slow route to a human.
Circle describes an online educator that built an English-language learning community with courses, live conversation clubs and a knowledge base. The educator found it quick to put together and good looking, and students even meet in person because of the community. One Mighty Networks customer, a personal development and virtual events community, moved its community and events onto branded apps. Live attendance at its virtual events grew sharply and the membership scaled up.
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