Circle Community: 12 Awesome Features (2025 Guide)

In this guide, I’ll cover everything you need to know about the Circle Community platform.

You’ll discover:

• The top features that make Circle stand out.
• How to use it for building communities, selling courses, managing memberships, and hosting live events.
• How to choose the right Circle platform plan for your needs.

Let’s get started.

What is Circle Community?

Circle community or simply Circle.so is a platform that allows you to create private online spaces where you can bring together and engage your audience, offer value, and build a sustainable business around it.

Founded in 2020 by Sid Yadav, Rudy Santino, and Andrew Guttormsen — former Teachable employees — Circle was created to address the limitations of traditional social forums. 

The founders recognized that existing platforms lacked effective community engagement tools and made it difficult for creators to monetize their audiences. 

Since its launch, Circle has grown into one of the best community-building software. It’s easy to use and has well-rounded engagement, content creation, and monetization tools.

Unlike platforms like Reddit or Facebook Groups, Circle gives you full ownership and control of your community. 

You can define the structure of your community, set access levels for content, and decide how to engage and monetize your audience.

Circle community platform is a great fit if:

• You’re a content creator or influencer selling online coaching to your audience.
• You want to create an online learning environment where students can engage and collaborate.
• You’re an educator looking to monetize your knowledge through paid courses and subscriptions.
• You want to build a community around a shared interest, goal, or challenge.
• You’re running a business and want to create an exclusive space for customers and product fans where you can offer support, share exclusive deals, and insider updates, and even get feedback on your product features before making them public.

12 Circle Community Features

Circle is one of the best platforms for building online communities. I know because I’ve used it and have tested similar tools like Mighty Networks, Kajabi, Podia, and Skool. In comparison, Circle has consistently delivered in functionality and ease of use.

In this section, we’ll explore its top features and see how good each one of them is.

Feature #1: Spaces and Space Groups

Spaces are the fundamental building blocks and organization criteria of your Circle community. Think of them as dedicated areas inside your community, that enable you to organize conversations, content, and events in a focused manner.

Using Spaces you can create separate sections for:

• discussions
• events
• courses
• resources
• group chats

Admins and community owners can then control access to these Spaces by making them public, invite-only, or private.

Space Groups on the other hand are collections of Spaces grouped into common themes and topics —  making it easier for members to navigate the community and find the content or discussions relevant to them.

Feature #2: Courses

Circle allows you to create dedicated spaces for hosting online courses.

You can build a standalone course space within a space group or bundle it with other space types for a more integrated learning experience.

For example, you can combine a course space with events and a discussion board within the same space group, to offer a community-centered learning environment.

With Circle online course builder you get to choose from 3 course structures: Self-paced, Structured, and Scheduled. 

Let’s break down what each of these means.

• Self-paced: Students have full control over their learning. Once enrolled, they get immediate access to all course materials, with no time restrictions on when they can start or complete the course. This is ideal for evergreen courses where students can join anytime and progress at their own pace.
• Structured: Course content is released gradually, based on when a student enrolls. New materials are made available at set intervals. For example, the first section is unlocked upon enrollment, the second a day later, and so on. This format works well for coaching programs or training where you want to keep students engaged without overwhelming them.
• Scheduled: Unlike Structured courses, content in Scheduled courses is released on specific dates for all students at once. This format is perfect for cohort-based learning, where students move through the course together and engage in discussions or projects simultaneously. It’s suitable for bootcamps, workshops, or time-sensitive courses.

Once you’ve selected the course structure, you can organize the curriculum using Sections and Lessons. 

You can upload your learning materials in various content formats, such as videos (up to 4GB per file), audio files, PDFs, and Sheets from platforms like Airtable and Google Sheets.

Moreover, you can incorporate quizzes into your course lessons to evaluate students as they progress. 

However, Circle courses don’t offer a built-in certificate of completion. If you want to provide certificates, you’ll need to integrate external apps like Zapier.

How to Build an Online Course in Circle

To create an online course in Circle, go to the top navigation bar in your community dashboard, click on “Courses,” and then select “Create a course.”

You’ll be prompted to choose a course structure. If you’re new, you can start with the default Self-paced structure, then click “Next.”

After that, enter the course name and choose the space group where the course will be categorized. Once done, hit the “Create space” button.

You’ll be taken to the course builder interface, where you can structure your course and upload learning materials.

To add content, click the “Edit lessons” button at the far right corner of your course dashboard. 

Start by adding a section: click “Add section,” enter the section title, and hit the checkmark icon to save.

Next, add lessons. In your course section, click “Add New,” then choose “Lesson”. 

Enter the lesson title, then click “Edit” to proceed.

You’ll be taken to an interface where you can upload or embed lesson materials.

So, click “Upload or embed media” to add videos, audio files, or other media content. Circle supports a variety of file formats, including MP4, MOV, and MP3.

Alternatively, you can import content from platforms like YouTube, Wistia, or Vimeo using the “Embed” feature.

Finally, add a description for the lesson and hit “Save” to complete the setup.

Feature #3: Events Scheduling and Live Streaming

Circle allows you to schedule and host live events natively, eliminating the need for third-party platforms like Zoom. 

You can easily schedule events, place them behind a paywall, and go live within the platform. This feature is ideal for hosting 1-on-1 coaching sessions, webinars, Q&As, AMAs, or live cohorts.

Let me walk you through how to use the feature.

But first, you need to create an event space.

Creating an Event Space

To manage your upcoming events efficiently, you’ll first need to create an event space. 

This will enable you to centralize all your events in one place, allow members to RSVP, and implement paywalls for paid events.

To create an event space, hover over to your ideal space group, click the plus ➕ icon, and then select “Create space”.

In the “Choose space type” dialog, select “Events” and click “Next”.

Setup the essential details about your events space including:

• Space Name: The name that will appear in the sidebar under your space group.
• Space Group: This will auto-fill based on where you started the new space, but you can change it using the dropdown menu.
• Add Members: Toggle to automatically add all members from the space group.
• Access Level: Choose between open, private, or secret access.
• New Post Notifications: Set default notifications for your members (email, in-app, or mobile push) when a new event is posted.
• Auto-RSVP: Enable this to automatically RSVP space members to new events.

Scheduling Live Events

Once you’ve created an event space, you can now schedule a live event.

To do so, click the “New event” button inside your event space.

Circle will prompt you to enter key details for your live event, such as:

• Title: The theme of your event
• Space: The space where you want to host the event.
• Host: The person who’ll be hosting the live session.
• Topics: The focus or purpose of your event.
• Date and Time: The start and end time of the event.
• Repeats: Set the event frequency—daily, bi-weekly, every Sunday, or as a one-time event.
• Location: Choose between a physical location, virtual options (Circle Livestream, Zoom, YouTube Live), or TBD.
• Registration: Decide if the event will be paid or free.

After publishing the live event, a backstage session will be created in your live dashboard. 

You can join the session early to prepare. Meanwhile, attendees will see a “Join Live” option on the event page when it’s time to start.

The Go Live Utility

Circle’s Go live tool makes it easy to initiate an instant live stream inside your community. You’ll find it in the bottom-left section of the sidebar of your community. 

When you click on it, a popup window will appear with three options:

• Schedule live events: You can easily set up live rooms or streams in your Circle space to engage members. It works the same way we’ve covered above on how to create live events inside your space.
• Start a live room: Host up to 30 attendees where everyone can participate via video, audio, and chat. This is perfect for 1-on-1 meetings, coaching sessions, or small group cohorts.
• Start a live stream: Host larger events (100–1,000 attendees, depending on your plan). Only the admin and co-hosts can speak or share videos, making this ideal for webinars, Q&As, or AMAs.

If you choose to start a Live Room, you can invite specific members or an entire space to the event. You can record the session, make the livestream private, disable link sharing, and mute participants.

 For Live Streams, you can invite co-hosts, customize the same settings as in a Live Room, and share a unique link with your attendees.

Once you’re ready to go live, Circle will redirect you to a room where you can test your audio and video and prepare for your live event.

Feature #4: Paywalls

A robust community platform should provide flexible options for gating premium content to help you monetize your audience.

Circle delivers on this with its paywall functionality. You can restrict access to specific spaces or materials, allowing only paying members to access them. 

But to create a paywall in Circle you need to integrate Stripe. 

Fortunately, Circle has a native Stripe integration, making the setup simple. You can refer to its detailed documentation for guidance here. 

However, unlike platforms such as Kajabi, Circle doesn’t support PayPal and other payment gateways. If Stripe isn’t available in your country, you’ll need to use checkout tools like ThriveCart to access payments.

Circle’s paywalls allow you to charge for access through subscriptions (monthly, quarterly, or annually), one-time fees, or installments. You can offer subscriptions in over 20 currencies, including USD, EUR, and CAD.

Additionally, you can boost subscriptions by offering incentives such as discounts, coupons, and free trials.

Feature #5: Community Chat

Many community platforms lack robust chat features, often requiring integrations with tools like Slack for group chats, 1-on-1 conversations, or direct messaging. That’s not an issue with Circle.

Circle chat allows you to create chat spaces within your community for real-time conversations and discussions. These spaces can be private, public, or invite-only.

Within chat spaces, members can send text messages, images, GIFs, audio, and file attachments. They can also mention others using the @mention tag and use # to link to posts, events, or spaces in the community.

In addition to group chats, members can also privately message each other.

Feature #6: Posts

The Post feature allows you to share content, stories, ideas, make announcements, and more within your community. It’s a versatile content creation tool that also enables members to contribute their own content.

Circle’s Post space includes an intuitive Content Editor with everything you need to craft content.

Simply hit the “/” key and the editor will display all formatting options such as headlines, bullets, numbered lists, blockquote, and more along with Co-pilot, which is Circle’s native generative AI integration.

You and your members can share a variety of content formats, including text, images, audio, code snippets, videos, GIFs, polls, PDFs, file embeds, and data tables. You can also embed content from third-party platforms like YouTube, Wistia, Spotify, Typeform, and Airtable—almost any embeddable content is supported

Community members can engage with posts through comments, GIFs, reaction emojis, and more.

Feature #7: Gamification

Gamification is an effective way to keep members engaged inside your community. By offering incentives for participation, you can motivate members to interact, share their ideas, and take action.

Circle offers built-in gamification through leaderboards. Members earn points for receiving likes on their posts—each like equals one point. The more points they accumulate, the higher they rank on the leaderboard.

 You can also fully customize the levels and point system to fit your community’s needs.

In addition to points and rankings, Circle allows you to reward members with custom badges that appear on their profiles.

You can further motivate top-performing members by offering perks like access to exclusive spaces or discounts on premium offerings.

Feature #8: Workflows

Workflows in Circle allow you to automate repetitive tasks, helping you focus on content creation and scaling your community operations. 

There are three types of workflows you can create in the Circle community platform:

• Automation workflow
• Bulk action workflow
• Scheduled workflow

Let’s expand on each one of them to understand what they entail.

Automation Workflow

Automation Workflows allow you to automate tasks based on “if-then” conditions. For example, when a member joins your community, you can automatically send them a welcome message and tag them.

Circle provides over 20 event triggers and actions, plus more than 15 templates for various use cases like onboarding, paywall management, and engagement to help you get started quickly.

Bulk Action Workflow

Bulk Action Workflows lets you set up audience rules and execute bulk tasks for a selected group. You can segment members by custom profile fields, tags, spaces, paywalls, location, event RSVP, and more. 

For example, you can send a bulk message to all attendees of an upcoming event or tag members with similar interests.

Scheduled Workflow

Scheduled Workflows allow you to plan and execute bulk actions in advance, either as a one-time task or repeatedly, eliminating manual execution at specific times.

Some scheduled workflow ideas include:

• Setting up recurring workflows to welcome new members
• Adding or removing member tags for specific audiences
• Sending personalized DM reminders for key events
• Removing members or cohorts from spaces on specific dates

Feature #9: Themes and Customization 

The ability to customize your community the way you like is one of the big things to look for in any community platform. Circle doesn’t disappoint in this case.

Circle’s theme customization feature provides the flexibility to modify various design elements of your community to align with your brand identity.

You can:

• Add your logo and community icon
• Implement a dark mode or light mode
• Customize header background color
• Sidebar color
• Hover effects
• Link and button colors

Beyond these options, you can also customize space icons to fit the theme of each space. You can choose from a wide selection of emojis and shapes, or upload custom icons.

Feature #10: Mobile Apps (Android & iOS)

Circle offers mobile apps for both Android and iOS, allowing members to stay connected on the go. Members can participate in discussions, consume course content, browse profiles, and attend live sessions through the app.

However, for administrative tasks such as managing member settings, creating courses, or adjusting community settings, you will still need to use the Circle web app.

Feature #11: Affiliates

Circle lets you set up an affiliate program for your digital products, such as courses or memberships.

With its built-in affiliate marketing tools, you can offer fixed or percentage-based commissions to affiliates who promote your products.

You can seamlessly integrate your affiliate program with paywalls, allowing you to link specific pricing plans to affiliate promotions. Additionally, you can control how long commissions remain pending before they become due for payment.

For payments, Circle supports PayPal and Wise. Affiliates will need to provide their linked email account during onboarding to receive payments.

Affiliates have access to a private dashboard where they can track earnings, access affiliate links, and monitor their performance.

Feature #12: Moderation

Circle offers strong tools to ensure a safe community environment. You can assign roles, like moderators, to manage specific spaces or the entire community.

Moderators can remove posts, review flagged content, and enforce member-specific content approval.

Circle also includes additional moderation features such as profanity filters, reporting tools, and the ability to flag members for further review.

Other Features

• Custom Profile Fields: Circle allows you to collect additional member information for better personalization and community segmentation. You can choose from over six field types such as website, social media account links, bio, location, and more.
• Code Snippets: You can add custom CSS and JavaScript snippets to customize your site or integrate with tools like Google Analytics, Intercom, and other third-party apps, making it easier to track user behavior and collect data about your community’s performance. 
• API and Webhooks: Circle provides API and webhook support to seamlessly connect your community with external tools, automating workflows and integrations.
• Email White-labeling: With Circle’s white-labeling options, you can customize emails sent to members, ensuring consistent branding in all communications.
• Weekly Digests: This feature enables you to send personalized weekly summaries, keeping members updated on the latest community activities and encouraging ongoing engagement.

Circle Community Pricing

Circle offers four paid plans to help you scale your community. Here’s a breakdown of each plan:

• Basic Plan: $49 per month. Limited to 100 members, with 1 admin and 1 moderator.
• Professional Plan: $99 per month. Unlimited members, with 3 admins and 10 moderators.
• Business Plan: $219 per month. Unlimited members, with 5 admins and 15 moderators.
• Enterprise Plan: $399 per month. Unlimited members, with 10 admins and 100 moderators.

Circle also offers a custom plan called CirclePlus for businesses looking to whitelable their community and have custom mobile apps built for them.

Circle Community Pros and Cons

Top Circle Community Alternatives

1. Mighty Networks – Closest Circle community alternative with advanced customization and engagement tools
2. Kajabi – Superior branding and marketing features including sales funnels, website building, and email marketing.
3. Skool – Best for simplicity and advanced gamification features

Circle Community FAQs