{
 "schema_version": "1.0",
 "id": "circle",
 "name": "Circle",
 "research_status": "researched",
 "vendor_domain": "circle.so",
 "category": "Growth & Revenue",
 "task": null,
 "summary": "Community platform for creator businesses: discussions, courses, events, memberships and messaging in one branded home — plus a no-code website builder, branded iOS/Android apps, email marketing, a member CRM, built-in payments and AI agents that answer member questions.",
 "best_for": "creators and brands running a paid community — courses, memberships, events and discussions in one branded home, with a built-in payments stack and even branded mobile apps",
 "skip_if": "you only need a casual chat space (Discord-style) or your margins are thin on high sales volume — the platform commission plus processing fees stack against you",
 "honest_knock": "The sticker is only the entry: Circle keeps a commission on every sale on top of Stripe's processing fees, and email marketing is a separate add-on — so a monetized community's real bill runs meaningfully past the plan price. Model it at your actual sales volume before choosing a tier.",
 "pricing": {
  "status": "public",
  "entry_price": "$89",
  "entry_price_terms": "Professional · per month billed annually ($129 billed monthly)",
  "from_price_usd_month": 89.0,
  "plans": [
   {
    "name": "Professional",
    "price": "$89/mo billed annually",
    "includes": "2% transaction fee; 2,500 AI credits/mo"
   },
   {
    "name": "Business",
    "price": "$199/mo annual",
    "includes": "1% transaction fee; 2,500 AI credits/mo; 5,000 Admin API requests/mo"
   },
   {
    "name": "Scale",
    "price": "$419/mo annual",
    "includes": "1% transaction fee; 5,000 AI credits/mo; 30,000 Admin API requests/mo"
   },
   {
    "name": "Circle Plus",
    "price": "no published price",
    "includes": "0.5% transaction fee; custom pricing; fully branded apps"
   }
  ],
  "plans_source": "summarised from pricing.notes; every plan name and amount appears verbatim in those notes",
  "notes": "(2026) Professional about $89/mo billed annually ($129 monthly), Business $199/mo annual, Scale $419/mo annual, plus a custom Circle Plus tier for fully branded apps. On top of the subscription Circle takes a commission on every sale you make through the platform (roughly 2% on Professional, 1% on Business, 0.5% on Plus) plus standard Stripe/PayPal processing, and the Email Hub is a paid add-on around $99/mo for 10,000 contacts. 14-day free trial, but no always-free option. Re-verified 12 October 2026 on circle.so/pricing and its pricing.md: Professional $89, Business $199 and Scale $419 a month, all marked as annual-billing USD prices excluding tax, Circle Plus on custom pricing; transaction fees 2%, 1%, 1% and 0.5%; Circle AI credits 2,500, 2,500 and 5,000 a month, extra credits $10 per 1,000; Business includes 5,000 Admin API requests a month ($.005 per extra request), Scale 30,000 ($.002). The $129 monthly figure is not printed on the page we read.",
  "verified_at": "2026-10-12",
  "source_url": null,
  "schema_offer": {
   "price": 89.0,
   "currency": "USD",
   "description": "Professional, per month billed annually ($129 billed monthly); Circle also takes roughly 2% commission on sales made through the platform. Read on the vendor's own pricing page on 2026-09-22.",
   "page": "https://marketingandsalessoftware.com/circle-review.html"
  },
  "source_quotes": [
   {
    "field": "free_trial",
    "plan": null,
    "quote": "free 14-day trial",
    "source_url": "https://circle.so/pricing",
    "read_on": "2026-10-25"
   }
  ],
  "recent_change": null,
  "price_history": null
 },
 "free_plan": false,
 "free_plan_evidence": null,
 "cost_traps": [
  {
   "id": "usage_metered",
   "label": "Usage-metered",
   "evidence": "On top of the subscription Circle takes a commission on every sale you make through the platform (roughly 2% on Professional, 1% on Business, 0.5% on Plus) plus standard Stripe/PayPal processing, and the Email Hub is a paid add-on around $99/mo for 10,000 contacts.",
   "verified_at": "2026-10-12",
   "source_url": null
  },
  {
   "id": "addons_extra",
   "label": "Key features are paid add-ons",
   "evidence": "On top of the subscription Circle takes a commission on every sale you make through the platform (roughly 2% on Professional, 1% on Business, 0.5% on Plus) plus standard Stripe/PayPal processing, and the Email Hub is a paid add-on around $99/mo for 10,000 contacts.",
   "verified_at": "2026-10-12",
   "source_url": null
  }
 ],
 "compare_with": {
  "name": "Skool or Mighty Networks",
  "why": "Skool wins on radical simplicity and flat pricing, Mighty Networks on affordable entry; Circle wins on breadth: branded apps, email, CRM, AI agents and a real payments stack"
 },
 "links": {
  "record": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/api/v1/products/circle.json",
  "review": "https://marketingandsalessoftware.com/circle-review.html",
  "marketplace": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/marketplace/circle/",
  "vendor_site": "https://circle.so"
 },
 "purchase": {
  "seller": "the vendor",
  "how": "AIBuilder Marketplace does not sell this software. Sign up, start a trial or buy on the vendor's site.",
  "handoff_url": "https://try.circle.so/qquhcg8869bj",
  "affiliate": true,
  "disclosure": "Where purchase.affiliate is true, purchase.handoff_url is an affiliate link: AIBuilder Marketplace may earn a commission at no extra cost to the buyer. Commission never changes what a record says, and products are not ranked by commission. Where it is false the link is the vendor's plain site."
 },
 "provenance": {
  "research": "hand-researched dossier, read on the vendor's own pages",
  "researched_since": "2026-07",
  "method": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/how-we-review/",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0. Credit 'AIBuilder Marketplace' with a link to https://aibuildermarketplace.com/atlas/.",
  "note": "A rebuild is not a new measurement: pricing.verified_at is the date that matters."
 },
 "cost": {
  "status": "not_yet",
  "engine": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/agents/#cost",
  "rules": null,
  "growth": null
 },
 "unknowns": [
  "Data export tested on 2026-10-31; contract terms not researched. Scope and untested export routes are listed in measured.exit_test.",
  "Being verified: refund terms are not yet matched to a verbatim line on the vendor's own pages. Not matched does not mean there is none.",
  "No computable price rules yet: cost at a given team size cannot be calculated for this product."
 ],
 "verification": {
  "price": "read",
  "free_trial": "measured",
  "refund": "being_verified"
 },
 "status_page": null,
 "measured": {
  "support": null,
  "onboarding": null,
  "inbox": {
   "timeline": {
    "signup_at": null,
    "messages": [
     {
      "received_at": "2026-10-31T16:08:40Z",
      "sender_name": "Circle team",
      "sender_domain": "circle.so",
      "subject": "Welcome to Circle! ",
      "folder": "inbox",
      "offer": null
     },
     {
      "received_at": "2026-11-02T16:08:39Z",
      "sender_name": "Circle team",
      "sender_domain": "circle.so",
      "subject": "Not sure where to start? Just ask Circle AI.",
      "folder": "inbox",
      "offer": null
     }
    ]
   },
   "window_start": "2026-10-30T23:00:00Z",
   "window_end": "2026-11-13T23:00:00Z",
   "window_days": 14,
   "time_basis": "signup_date_midnight_Europe_Amsterdam",
   "status": "partial",
   "observed_at": "2026-11-04T02:18:02.225482Z",
   "counts": {
    "transactional": 0,
    "onboarding_tips": 1,
    "sales_upsell": 0,
    "personal_looking_sales": 0
   },
   "first_sales_email_hours": null,
   "has_list_unsubscribe": true,
   "uncertain": 1,
   "after_cancel": {
    "status": "not_tested"
   },
   "after_deletion": {
    "status": "not_tested"
   },
   "after_unsubscribe": {
    "status": "not_tested"
   }
  },
  "invites": {
   "status": "not_tested",
   "default_on": "not_tested",
   "plus_accepted": "not_tested",
   "invitee_can_unsubscribe": "not_tested",
   "address_book_requested": "not_tested",
   "workspace_requested": "not_tested"
  },
  "entry_exit": {
   "signup": {
    "screens": "not_tested",
    "card_required": "not_tested",
    "call_required": "not_tested",
    "observed_on": null,
    "evidence_url": null
   },
   "cancel": {
    "screens": "not_tested",
    "call_required": "not_tested",
    "observed_on": null,
    "evidence_url": null
   }
  },
  "tested_on": "2026-10-31",
  "tested_by": "Our team; actor, account and scope are documented in the review.",
  "review_url": "https://marketingandsalessoftware.com/circle-review.html",
  "method": [
   "Completed the setup questions",
   "Opened the audience list and the contact import",
   "Opened the Professional checkout without paying"
  ],
  "claims": [
   {
    "claim": "free 14-day trial",
    "claim_source": "https://circle.so/pricing",
    "claim_read_on": "2026-10-25",
    "observed": "The welcome banner warned of losing access on November 14 and showed nearly fourteen days remaining.",
    "observed_on": "2026-10-31",
    "evidence": {
     "label": "Our test observations",
     "url": "https://marketingandsalessoftware.com/circle-review.html#claim-vs-measured"
    },
    "plan": "Trial",
    "comparability": "Circle trial length is checked against its access-expiry banner in the new community.",
    "status": "confirmed",
    "buying_consequence": "Access expiry is visible even though the test could not operate the embedded uploader.",
    "buyer_direction": null,
    "claim_changed_on": null
   },
   {
    "claim": "No credit card required",
    "claim_source": "https://circle.so/pricing",
    "claim_read_on": "2026-10-25",
    "observed": "The recorded session proceeded without payment details; complete registration screens were not counted.",
    "observed_on": "2026-10-31",
    "evidence": {
     "label": "Our test observations",
     "url": "https://marketingandsalessoftware.com/circle-review.html#claim-vs-measured"
    },
    "plan": "Trial",
    "comparability": "Circle card-free wording is checked against its recorded post-registration session without payment entry, while full signup screen counting remains unknown.",
    "status": "confirmed",
    "buying_consequence": "The observed work required no card; paid features may have separate requirements.",
    "buyer_direction": null,
    "claim_changed_on": null
   },
   {
    "claim": "$89/mo",
    "claim_source": "https://circle.so/",
    "claim_read_on": "2026-10-31",
    "observed": "Professional annual shows $89 per month and $1,068 due today; monthly is $129. Annual billing was preselected and no tax line was visible.",
    "observed_on": "2026-10-31",
    "evidence": {
     "label": "Our test observations",
     "url": "https://marketingandsalessoftware.com/circle-review.html#claim-vs-measured"
    },
    "plan": "Trial",
    "comparability": "Circle price comparison uses Professional in USD with year pricing; missing final tax or an unopened checkout and an unverified matching cost rule prevent an all-in comparison.",
    "status": "not_testable",
    "buying_consequence": "Use the displayed amount only within the observed selection; a matching cost-rule total has not been verified.",
    "buyer_direction": null,
    "claim_changed_on": "2026-10-31"
   }
  ],
  "exit_test": {
   "run_date": "2026-10-31",
   "what": "Contact-import attempt without adding or inviting test members.",
   "first_import": null,
   "file_inspected": false,
   "reimport_tested": false,
   "awkward": "The upload drop zone was inside an embedded frame that our test setup could not operate. No import ran; this is a test-setup limitation, not a Circle defect. The import marketing-consent switch was off; the owner row separately showed marketing Yes. Professional checkout defaulted to annual billing, and its displayed amount had no tax breakdown.",
   "friction": {
    "export_route": "Email-delivered audience export was not requested; no test contacts existed.",
    "format": "Only our unsubmitted input CSV is available.",
    "reimport": "Not tested: no test contacts imported.",
    "cancellation": "No cancellation, expiry or deletion action tested."
   },
   "not_tested": [
    "Complete signup screen count and human first-result setup speed.",
    "Actual cancellation, expiry, deletion and follow-up mail.",
    "Kit fields not entered and application record reimport."
   ],
   "available_fields": [],
   "not_offered": [],
   "note": "A check of this export route with synthetic records, on the account and date stated. Re-importing the export was not tested. The exported file was not opened, so what it contains is unverified. Friction is described, not scored; this is not a verdict on the product.",
   "evidence_url": "https://marketingandsalessoftware.com/circle-review.html#exit-test"
  },
  "facts": {
   "trial_requires_card": {
    "value": "not_tested",
    "basis": "No explicit observation in the public evidence.",
    "observed_on": "2026-10-31",
    "evidence_url": "https://marketingandsalessoftware.com/circle-review.html#hands-on"
   },
   "trial_duration_confirmed": {
    "value": true,
    "basis": "The welcome banner warned of losing access on November 14 and showed nearly fourteen days remaining.",
    "observed_on": "2026-10-31",
    "evidence_url": "https://marketingandsalessoftware.com/circle-review.html#claim-vs-measured"
   },
   "export_file_inspected": {
    "value": false,
    "basis": "Contact-import attempt without adding or inviting test members. A check of this export route with synthetic records, on the account and date stated. Re-importing the export was not tested. The exported file was not opened, so what it contains is unverified. Friction is described, not scored; this is not a verdict on the product.",
    "observed_on": "2026-10-31",
    "evidence_url": "https://marketingandsalessoftware.com/circle-review.html#exit-test"
   },
   "export_reimport_tested": {
    "value": false,
    "basis": "Contact-import attempt without adding or inviting test members. A check of this export route with synthetic records, on the account and date stated. Re-importing the export was not tested. The exported file was not opened, so what it contains is unverified. Friction is described, not scored; this is not a verdict on the product.",
    "observed_on": "2026-10-31",
    "evidence_url": "https://marketingandsalessoftware.com/circle-review.html#exit-test"
   },
   "export_direct_download": {
    "value": false,
    "basis": "Email-delivered audience export was not requested; no test contacts existed.",
    "observed_on": "2026-10-31",
    "evidence_url": "https://marketingandsalessoftware.com/circle-review.html#exit-test"
   },
   "marketing_emails_14d": {
    "value": "not_tested",
    "basis": "No complete unambiguous 14-day inbox observation available.",
    "observed_on": "2026-11-04",
    "evidence_url": null
   }
  }
 },
 "task_evidence": {
  "structured_checks": [],
  "sessions": [
   {
    "source": "session",
    "product_name": "Circle",
    "product_id": "circle",
    "run_date": "2026-10-31",
    "session_type": "hands_on",
    "what": "Tested by our team on 31 October 2026 on the free trial: Daan created the account and our AI assistant ran the test in Daan's browser. We set up the community, looked at the audience and the contact import, and opened the plan checkout.",
    "findings": [
     "Setup asks four questions, including your annual revenue. The trial ran to 14 November, with no card.",
     "In the audience list the admin account itself was set to receive marketing emails ('Yes').",
     "The contact import has its own marketing switch, off by default, with the note to enable it only with explicit consent.",
     "The upload area for the CSV did not accept our file in this test, so the import was not done. We count that as a limit of our test setup, not of Circle.",
     "Professional was preselected at $89 a month billed yearly, or $129 monthly. The yearly checkout showed $1,068 due today, with no tax line."
    ],
    "not_tested": [
     "Importing and exporting contacts",
     "Posts, courses and events",
     "Inviting members",
     "Contacting support"
    ],
    "report": null,
    "disclosure": null,
    "evidence_status": null,
    "result": "reported",
    "note": "Findings as written up after the session; no pass/fail per task was scored.",
    "claim_checks": [
     {
      "claim": "free 14-day trial",
      "claim_source": "https://circle.so/pricing",
      "claim_read_on": "2026-10-25",
      "observed": "The welcome banner warned of losing access on November 14 and showed nearly fourteen days remaining.",
      "observed_on": "2026-10-31",
      "evidence": {
       "label": "Our test observations",
       "url": "https://marketingandsalessoftware.com/circle-review.html#claim-vs-measured"
      },
      "plan": "Trial",
      "comparability": "Circle trial length is checked against its access-expiry banner in the new community.",
      "status": "confirmed",
      "buying_consequence": "Access expiry is visible even though the test could not operate the embedded uploader.",
      "buyer_direction": null,
      "claim_changed_on": null
     },
     {
      "claim": "No credit card required",
      "claim_source": "https://circle.so/pricing",
      "claim_read_on": "2026-10-25",
      "observed": "The recorded session proceeded without payment details; complete registration screens were not counted.",
      "observed_on": "2026-10-31",
      "evidence": {
       "label": "Our test observations",
       "url": "https://marketingandsalessoftware.com/circle-review.html#claim-vs-measured"
      },
      "plan": "Trial",
      "comparability": "Circle card-free wording is checked against its recorded post-registration session without payment entry, while full signup screen counting remains unknown.",
      "status": "confirmed",
      "buying_consequence": "The observed work required no card; paid features may have separate requirements.",
      "buyer_direction": null,
      "claim_changed_on": null
     },
     {
      "claim": "$89/mo",
      "claim_source": "https://circle.so/",
      "claim_read_on": "2026-10-31",
      "observed": "Professional annual shows $89 per month and $1,068 due today; monthly is $129. Annual billing was preselected and no tax line was visible.",
      "observed_on": "2026-10-31",
      "evidence": {
       "label": "Our test observations",
       "url": "https://marketingandsalessoftware.com/circle-review.html#claim-vs-measured"
      },
      "plan": "Trial",
      "comparability": "Circle price comparison uses Professional in USD with year pricing; missing final tax or an unopened checkout and an unverified matching cost rule prevent an all-in comparison.",
      "status": "not_testable",
      "buying_consequence": "Use the displayed amount only within the observed selection; a matching cost-rule total has not been verified.",
      "buyer_direction": null,
      "claim_changed_on": "2026-10-31"
     }
    ],
    "claim_checks_note": "A vendor claim (quoted, with source and read date) set against what we observed in this session on the plan stated. status is confirmed, contradicted, not_comparable, not_testable or out_of_date; it is not a score of the product.",
    "exit_test": {
     "run_date": "2026-10-31",
     "what": "Contact-import attempt without adding or inviting test members.",
     "first_import": null,
     "file_inspected": false,
     "reimport_tested": false,
     "awkward": "The upload drop zone was inside an embedded frame that our test setup could not operate. No import ran; this is a test-setup limitation, not a Circle defect. The import marketing-consent switch was off; the owner row separately showed marketing Yes. Professional checkout defaulted to annual billing, and its displayed amount had no tax breakdown.",
     "friction": {
      "export_route": "Email-delivered audience export was not requested; no test contacts existed.",
      "format": "Only our unsubmitted input CSV is available.",
      "reimport": "Not tested: no test contacts imported.",
      "cancellation": "No cancellation, expiry or deletion action tested."
     },
     "not_tested": [
      "Complete signup screen count and human first-result setup speed.",
      "Actual cancellation, expiry, deletion and follow-up mail.",
      "Kit fields not entered and application record reimport."
     ],
     "available_fields": [],
     "not_offered": [],
     "note": "A check of this export route with synthetic records, on the account and date stated. Re-importing the export was not tested. The exported file was not opened, so what it contains is unverified. Friction is described, not scored; this is not a verdict on the product."
    },
    "in_catalog": true
   }
  ]
 },
 "open_questions": [
  {
   "question_id": "circle:cancellation_terms",
   "key": "cancellation_terms",
   "question": "Can a customer cancel at any time, and what happens to an annual plan that is cancelled mid-term?",
   "status": "open"
  },
  {
   "question_id": "circle:data_export",
   "key": "data_export",
   "question": "Which data can a customer export, in which formats, on which plans?",
   "status": "open"
  },
  {
   "question_id": "circle:data_location",
   "key": "data_location",
   "question": "Where is customer data stored, and can a customer choose the region?",
   "status": "open"
  },
  {
   "question_id": "circle:minimum_seats",
   "key": "minimum_seats",
   "question": "Is there a minimum number of seats or users on any plan?",
   "status": "open"
  }
 ],
 "vendor_answers": [],
 "agent_channels": {
  "vendor_mcp": {
   "what": "Read community analytics, member lists and posts; write actions such as inviting members or posting need your explicit approval each time.",
   "plan": "Business plans and above, at no additional cost. Community admins only — regular members cannot use it.",
   "status": "Live",
   "source": "https://circle.so/blog/circle-mcp-use-cases",
   "checked": "2026-07-28",
   "note": "The vendor's own MCP server, from our MCP research; it works with your own account at the vendor."
  },
  "agent_checkout": {
   "status": "not_found",
   "detail": "No explicit support for purchases by AI agents on the vendor's own pages.",
   "checked_at": "2026-10-07",
   "method": "homepage, /pricing and the pricing page we cite, read as plain HTML (no JavaScript) and searched for explicit support of purchases by AI agents: Agentic Commerce Protocol, Instant Checkout, Agent Payments Protocol, buy in ChatGPT, agentic checkout"
  }
 }
}