This site uses affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you use my links and make a purchase without incurring additional fee yourself. Many thanks for supporting this website. Please see my legal page for more details.

Last updated: May 2026

---

Circle has been the go-to platform for building communities for a few years now and it didn’t really have a lot of competition until Skool came along. It’s tried-and-tested, easy to use and is designed specifically for creators who want community at the centre of their business.

So when Thrive Academy launched, the comparison was inevitable. Both are community-first platforms. Both position themselves as alternatives to Kajabi and Skool. Both target course creators and coaches who want community baked in rather than bolted on.

So which community platform is the best one for your needs? In this Thrive Academy vs Circle comparison, I’ll walk you through the features and costs associated with both so you can make an informed decision.

Thrive Academy was the community platform I ended up choosing for my own business and I’ll explain more about why below!

---

Quick Answer: Thrive Academy vs Circle

Circle wins on community maturity, customisation depth, and a more established feature set.

Thrive Academy wins on price, course builder quality, built-in video hosting, and – critically – checkout power.

For creators already on ThriveCart, Thrive Academy is the stronger fit. For creators who want the most refined community experience and aren’t ThriveCart users, Circle is worth considering though be aware it will cost more than Thrive Academy.

---

Circle vs Thrive Academy for Pricing

Circle starts at $89/month for the Professional plan. The Business plan is $219/month and Enterprise is custom.

Thrive Academy starts at $37/month (Starter, up to 2,000 members), $67/month (Growth, up to 10,000 members), and $97/month (Scale, unlimited members). No transaction fees on any plan.

	Thrive Academy	Circle
Starting price	$37/month	$89/month (Professional)
Transaction fees	None	Yes 2% on professional plan
Annual discount	✅ ~25%	✅ ~20%
Member limits	2,000 / 10,000 / Unlimited	Varies by plan
Community limits	Unlimited	Limited to 20 spaces on Professional plan
Email included	On the roadmap	Additional cost
Video hosting	✅ Built in	❌ Separate cost

Thrive Academy is substantially cheaper at every comparable level. And video hosting is included – Circle charges extra for video or requires a separate host.

Pricing Winner: Thrive Academy on price.

👉 Click here to get the most up to date pricing for Circle

👉 Click here to get the most up to date pricing for Thrive Academy

---

Thrive Academy vs Circle for Community Features

Circle is excellent at community. It’s been built and refined specifically for this. You get spaces, discussion threads, DMs, events, live streams and a lot of customisation over how your community looks and behaves. The UX is clean and polished – I’ve found it very easy to use when I’ve joined courses and programs hosted on Circle.

Thrive Academy’s community is built around six spaces ready to go from day one – Q&A, Announcements, Course Space, Resource Hub, Quiz Hub, and Lounge. The gamification layer – XP, badges, leaderboards, streaks, level-up prompts – is more built-out than Circle’s. The activity feed gives members a real-time pulse on what’s happening.

Circle’s community features are more mature. Thrive Academy’s gamification is stronger.

Feature Winner: Its a tie! Circle on depth and maturity. Thrive Academy on gamification.

---

Which has Better Course Features – Thrive Academy or Circle?

This is where the gap opens up.

Circle has added courses – but they’re a relatively recent addition and they’re not the centrepiece. The course builder is functional but basic. Limited layouts, limited interactivity, no built-in video hosting.

Thrive Academy’s course builder was rebuilt from scratch and is much more capable:

• Drag-and-drop builder
• Built-in video hosting on all plans (100GB Starter, 500GB Growth, unlimited Scale)
• Multiple layout templates
• Sophisticated drip content
• Quizzes and interactive elements
• Certificates and progress tracking
• Course cloning and version control
• Blueprints – pre-built lesson templates

Feature	Thrive Academy Starter $37/mo	Thrive Academy Growth $67/mo	Thrive Academy Scale $97/mo	Circle Professional $89/mo	Circle Business $199/mo	Circle Plus
Members	2,000	10,000	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
Communities	10	Unlimited	Multiple branded communities	1 community with 20 spaces	1 community with 30 spaces	Flexible
Extra spaces/sections	Included via communities/spaces	Included	Included	$20/mo per 10 extra spaces	$20/mo per 10 extra spaces	Custom
Courses	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Community feed/discussions	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Member directory/profiles	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Direct messaging	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Group messaging/chat	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Events calendar	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Live sessions / live rooms	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Built-in video hosting	100GB	500GB	Unlimited	Storage included 200GB	Storage included 500GB	1TB
Max video file size	2GB	4GB	10GB	Not listed clearly	Not listed clearly	Not listed clearly
4K streaming	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌	Not clear
Course drip content	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Progress tracking	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Course cloning/templates	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Version rollback	✅	✅	✅	Not clear	Not clear	Not clear
Certificates	Basic	Custom certificate design	Custom certificate design	Not highlighted	Not highlighted	Not highlighted
Text quizzes/assessments	✅	✅	✅	Not clearly comparable	Not clearly comparable	Not clearly comparable
In-video quizzes	❌	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Pass marks/module gating	✅	✅	✅	Not clearly comparable	Not clearly comparable	Not clearly comparable
Randomised question pools	❌	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Gamification	Points, badges, leaderboards	Advanced config, streaks, levels, rewards	Advanced	✅	✅	✅
Community analytics	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	Advanced
Advanced course analytics	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅	Advanced
CSV/export data	❌	✅	✅	Bulk import/export included	Bulk import/export included	Included
AI moderation	❌	✅	✅	❌	❌	✅
AI quiz generation	❌	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
AI analytics insights	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌	✅
Conversational AI tutor	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌	Not same feature
AI agents/workflows	Roadmap/not live	Roadmap/not live	Roadmap/not live	❌	❌	✅
Custom branding	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Custom themes/CSS	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Custom community domain	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
White-label branding	❌	❌	✅	✅/limited	✅	✅
Remove platform branding	Not clear	Not clear	✅ implied	Not clear	✅	✅
Webhooks	✅	✅	✅	✅ via integrations/API	✅	✅
Zapier/integrations	Via ThriveCart/webhooks	Via ThriveCart/webhooks	Via ThriveCart/webhooks	✅	✅	✅
API access	Not clear	Not clear	Not clear	Limited API usage	More API usage	Higher/custom
Admins	Not clearly listed	Not clearly listed	Team/multi-admin	3	5	Unlimited
Moderators	Not clearly listed	Not clearly listed	Not clearly listed	10	15	Unlimited
Native checkout	✅ ThriveCart	✅ ThriveCart	✅ ThriveCart	✅ Stripe payments	✅ Stripe payments	✅ Stripe payments
Order bumps	✅ via ThriveCart	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
One-click upsells	✅	✅	✅	Basic/upgrade style	Basic/upgrade style	Better/custom
Downsells	✅ via ThriveCart	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Affiliate management	✅ via ThriveCart	✅	✅	❌ native affiliate centre	❌	❌
Paid private spaces	✅ beta	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Tiered memberships	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Transaction fees	ThriveCart fees only/payment processor	Same	Same	2% Circle fee	1% Circle fee	0.5%
Email marketing	Roadmap	Roadmap	Roadmap	Email Hub add-on	Email Hub add-on	10k contacts included
Branded mobile app	❌	❌	❌	Add-on / sales	Add-on / sales	Optional
Best fit	Smaller course/community setup	Growing membership/course business	Bigger/multi-brand setup	Community-first creator	Larger community business	Enterprise/community-led brand

For creators who actually deliver structured courses alongside community, Thrive Academy is the stronger product.

Course Winner: Thrive Academy

👉 Click here to see all the features in detail that Thrive Academy offers

👉 Click here to see all the features in detail that Circle offers.

---

Circle Vs Thrive Academy for Checkout and Commerce

This is where Thrive Academy clearly wins.

Circle has a payments layer but it’s not particularly sophisticated. They have recently added upsells but there are no bump offers, or affiliate management built in. If you want those things, you’d use a separate checkout tool – which means more tools (like Zapier to connect them), more cost and more complexity.

Thrive Academy runs on ThriveCart natively. ThriveCart is one of the most powerful checkout platforms available currently. One-click upsells, bump offers, full affiliate management, advanced payment plans – no stitching required.

Feature	Circle	ThriveCart / Thrive Academy
Checkout pages	Yes	Yes
Recurring memberships	Yes	Yes
Payment plans	Limited/basic	Strong
Coupons/discounts	Yes	Yes
Free trials	Yes	Yes
One-click upsells	Some newer support	Yes, mature
Order bumps	No proper native version	Yes
Downsells	No	Yes
Affiliate program	No native affiliate centre	Yes
JV affiliate tracking	No	Yes
Checkout customisation	Fairly basic	Strong
A/B testing	Limited	Yes
PayPal support	No (Stripe only)	Yes
Funnel flows	Basic	Advanced
Conversion-focused checkout	Not really	Very much yes

Thrive Academy is the clear winner here and will maximise revenue and average order value.

Winner: Thrive Academy – by a long shot

---

Which Has Better Analytics?

Circle has solid analytics – community engagement data, member activity, and some course-level data.

Thrive Academy offers per-course completion rates, lesson-by-lesson drop-off, community dashboards, and (on Growth+) CSV exports for building engagement-based automations.

Both are decent. Thrive Academy’s course analytics are more granular.

Winner: Close. Thrive Academy edges it on course-level data.

---

Thrive Academy and Circle on Maturity and Customisation

Circle has been around longer so it’s the more tried and tested platform . The product is more refined, better documented, and more customisable. If you want granular control over how your community looks, feels, and functions, Circle gives you more to work with.

Thrive Academy is brand new. It’ll improve quickly – ThriveCart isn’t a small team – but it’s a newer product and that matters.

Winner: Circle on maturity and customisation depth.

---

Who Should Choose Thrive Academy?

• You’re already on ThriveCart – the native checkout integration is a genuine advantage
• You deliver structured courses alongside community and want a proper course builder
• You want built-in video hosting without paying Vimeo or a separate host
• Budget matters – Thrive Academy starts at less than half Circle’s price
• You want gamification that actively motivates members

---

Who Should Choose Circle?

• You want the most tried and tested, mature community platform available
• Community is your core product and you want deep customisation
• You’re not on ThriveCart and the checkout advantage doesn’t apply to you
• You’re happy to pay $89/month for the Professional plan + transaction fees
• You don’t need a sophisticated course builder

---

Frequently Asked Questions

I personally chose Thrive Academy because I have used Thrivecart for my checkouts since 2020. I love all the new community and gamification features they are bringing in.

Circle remains a solid option and some people may prefer it.

---

Thinking about signing up for Thrive Academy? Use my affiliate link and you’ll unlock my bonus package – a membership hub Airtable template, email sequences for launching and onboarding your community, sales page templates, and PDF guides.

See my Thrive Academy bonus package here →

Click here to check out all the Thrive Academy features in depth.

And click here to checkout Circle features indepth.

Compare to other platforms too:

• Thrive Academy vs Skool
• Thrive Academy Pricing
• Thrive Academy vs Thrivecart’s Learn – what’s changed?

Got questions about Thrive Academy? Drop them in the comments!

---