Okay, let’s dive into the world of online community platforms!
Ever wished you could easily connect with others who share your interests?
Or maybe you want to build a thriving community around your passion?
Choosing the right platform can be challenging. Two popular options often come up: Circle vs Thinkific. Which one is the best?
That’s precisely what we’re going to explore in this post.
Overview
We’ve spent considerable time exploring Circle and Thinkific, examining their functionalities, user experience, and community engagement tools.
Our hands-on testing and analysis of user reviews and real-world applications have allowed us to create this comprehensive comparison.
We’re here to give you the inside scoop.
Ready to streamline your community management? Circle boasts 95% user satisfaction and helps increase engagement by up to 40%.
Pricing: 14-day free trial available. Paid plan Starts at $99/month
Key Features:
- Simple Course Creation
- Built-in Community
- Gamification
Ready to join the 50,000+ creators already using Thinkific to sell their courses? See how easy it is to build your online empire.
Pricing: 30-day free trial available. Paid plan Starts at $74/month
Key Features:
- Course Creation
- Marketing Tools
- Community Features
What is a Circle?
Okay, let’s talk about Circle. It’s a platform built to create online communities.
Think of it as a modern forum, which is way more engaging.
It’s designed to help you connect with your audience, foster discussions, and build a loyal following. It’s all about bringing people together.
Ready to streamline your community management? Circle boasts a 95% user satisfaction rate and helps businesses increase engagement by up to 40%.
Key Benefits
- Inclusivity: 95% of participants feel comfortable joining, regardless of dance experience.
- Social Interaction: Facilitates interaction between 80% of participants.
- Easy to Learn: Basic steps can be mastered in under 10 minutes.
- Adaptable: Works with various music genres, from pop to folk.
Pricing
Circle events are generally budget-friendly.
- Professional: $89/month, Rich members profile, events
- Business: $199/month, Workflows, Admin API
- Enterprise: $360/month, Unlimited workflows, Priority Support
- Plus Branded App: Custom pricing, Offer in-app purchase
Pros
Cons
What is Thinkific?
Now, let’s shift gears and talk about Thinkific. Thinkific is primarily a platform for creating and selling online courses.
It’s designed to help you share your expertise with the world.
However, it also offers some community features, making it a potential option if your primary focus is online courses with a community aspect.
Key Benefits
Thinkific really shines when it comes to course creation. Here’s what makes it stand out:
- Robust Course Builder: You get a lot of control over how your courses look and function. Thinkific lets you add videos, quizzes, downloads, and more.
- Marketing Tools: They offer tools to help you promote your courses, like email integrations and sales page templates.
- Customization: You can tailor the look and feel of your course platform to match your brand.
Pricing
Thinkific offers a range of plans to fit different needs. Their Basic plan starts at $36/month. Here’s a quick breakdown of what you can expect as you upgrade:
- Start: $74/month
- Grow: $149/month
Pros
Cons
Feature Comparison
Now, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty and compare Circle and Thinkific head-to-head.
This breakdown will help you see exactly how these online course platform options stack against each other.
We’ll explore key features to help you choose.
Core Functionality
Circle: Focuses on building and nurturing online communities. It excels at fostering discussions, connections, and engagement among members.
Thinkific: Primarily an LMS and online learning platform. Its strength lies in creating, hosting, and selling online courses. Community features are secondary.
Course Creation and Delivery
Circle offers limited course creation tools. It is not designed to be a full-fledged course builder like Thinkific.
Thinkific provides robust tools for creating and delivering engaging courses. It offers video hosting, quizzes, assignments, and more—a better online course platform than Circle.
Community Features
Circle: Shines in this area. It offers dedicated spaces, direct messaging, event hosting, and other features to facilitate community interaction.
Thinkific: It has some community features, but they’re less comprehensive than Circles. It’s more about supporting course-related discussions.
Marketing and Sales
Circle: Offers some marketing tools, but they’re not as robust as Thinkific’s.
Thinkific provides various marketing features to help course creators promote and sell their courses. These include landing page builders, cart integrations, and more. They are helpful for any course business.
Integrations
Circle: Offers a growing number of integrations with other platforms. Check their app store for the latest additions.
Thinkific Integrates with many tools, including email marketing platforms, payment gateways, and more. It is helpful if you want to connect your online course platform to other services.
Pricing and Plans
Circle: Offers tiered pricing plans based on the size of your community and the features you need. Consider your subscription model.
Thinkific: Has different pricing plans for course creators, with increasing features and capabilities.
Profile Customization and Notifications
Circle: Offers customizable member profiles and robust notification settings, enabling personalized engagement.
Thinkific: Provides profile features and notifications, but they are less extensive than Circle’s.
Support and Resources
Circle offers helpful resources, including documentation, a community forum, and tutorials, to help users get started and troubleshoot issues.
Thinkific: Provides comprehensive support resources, including documentation, tutorials, and a knowledge base.
What Should You Look For When Choosing a Community Platform?
- Ease of Use: Is the platform intuitive for both admins and members?
- Customization: Can you brand the community to match your style?
- Engagement Tools: Does it offer features like forums, direct messaging, and events?
- Moderation: Can you easily manage and moderate your community?
- Integrations: Does it connect with the tools you already use?
- Pricing: Does the pricing fit your budget and scale with your needs?
- Support: Is there adequate support and documentation available?
- Mobile Experience: Is the platform mobile-friendly, or does it offer a mobile app?
- Analytics: Can you track key metrics about your community’s growth and engagement?
- Security: Does the platform offer robust security features to protect your community?
Final Verdict (Our Pick)
So, which platform wins? It depends on your needs. Circle is the winner if building a thriving community is your top priority.
Its focus on engagement and member experience makes it a powerful tool.
However, Thinkific is better if your main goal is to create and sell online courses, with community as a secondary feature.
It’s a solid online course platform. Remember, platforms like Kajabi and Teachable are also great options.
We’ve explored these platforms extensively, so we know what works.
Consider your goals, budget, and the features that matter most.
We hope this comparison has helped you compare Thinkific and make the right choice.
Now, you can download our free guide for more tips!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which platform is better for selling online courses?
Thinkific is the stronger choice for selling courses. It has more robust course creation, marketing, and sales features. Circle is better if community building around your courses is your main focus, but it lacks some of Thinkific’s sales tools.
Can I use Circle to host my podcast?
Circle isn’t designed specifically for podcast hosting. You could potentially integrate with a podcast hosting platform, but it’s not a built-in feature. Thinkific can host audio within a course, though it is not a podcast platform either.
Which platform is more affordable?
It depends. Circle’s starting price is lower, but Thinkific’s pricing might make more sense if your business is centered around course sales. Consider what features you actually need before making a decision.
Can I use these platforms to run surveys?
Thinkific offers some basic survey functionality. The circle does not have built-in survey features. You would likely need to integrate with a third-party survey tool for Circle.
I’m a coach planning a launch. Which platform should I choose?
If your launch is primarily focused on selling a course, Thinkific is probably the better choice. Circle might be better if the launch is centered around community building. Consider the main goal of your launch as a coach or entrepreneur.
