--- title: Circle canonical: https://saasranked.com/software/circle/ category: Customer Community Software points: 54 rank: 6 of 8 facts_checked: 2026-10-09 --- # Circle Hosted community platform with a custom domain and unlimited members from $89 a month, billed yearly. 54 points out of 100. #6 of 8 customer community platforms. Vendor: Circle Internet. Website: https://circle.so/ - Professional costs $89 a month billed yearly; plans have a 14-day free trial, not a free plan [1]. - Every listed plan has a custom domain and unlimited members [1]. - Custom SSO and webhooks start on the $419 Scale plan; the API starts on Business at $199 [1]. - Circle's own pricing page lists no uptime SLA, and the DPA names no SOC 2 or ISO 27001 report for Circle [1][3]. - Slack, Salesforce and HubSpot appear on the integrations page tagged as Zapier connections [2]. Verdict: Circle suits teams that want a hosted community with a custom domain and unlimited members at a published $89 a month [1]. The API starts at $199 and SSO and webhooks at $419 [1]. The catch: no free plan, no named SOC 2 or ISO 27001 report and no uptime SLA are published [1][3]. Best for: Brands and customer teams that want a hosted community with spaces, events and courses. ## Points | Criterion | Line | Value | Points | Note | |---|---|---|---|---| | Price | Free plan | No | 0/6 | Professional, Business and Scale list a 14-day free trial; no free plan is shown [1]. | | Price | Cheapest paid plan with a custom domain | $89/mo | 7/12 | Professional, $89 a month billed annually, includes a custom domain [1]. | | Members and access | Unlimited members | Yes | 6/6 | Pricing table lists unlimited members on Professional at $89 a month [1]. | | Members and access | Custom domain | Yes | 3/3 | Pricing table lists a custom domain on every plan [1]. | | Members and access | Single sign-on | Yes | 10/10 | Scale lists custom single sign-on, $419 a month billed yearly; Circle Plus page also lists it [1][6]. | | Members and access | Groups with their own permissions | Yes | 4/4 | Circle describes access groups that manage permissions, tiers and cohorts [7]. | | Moderation and answers | Moderation tools | Report queue, Spam or word filters | 4/8 | Flagged posts are reviewed by staff; profanity filters hide posts with set terms [5]. Approval and bans not described. | | Moderation and answers | Accepted answers | Not published | 0/5 | Not published on the vendor's discussions page [5]. | | Connections | Named integrations | None | 0/8 | Slack, Salesforce and HubSpot are tagged Zapier on the integrations page; Zendesk not shown [2]. | | Connections | Public API | Yes | 8/8 | Admin API and Headless Member API are documented, from the Business plan [4]. | | Connections | Webhooks | Yes | 3/3 | Scale lists webhooks [1]. | | Your data | Export your community data | Yes | 6/6 | Admins export audience lists as CSV from Manage Audience, and the pricing table lists bulk import/export on every plan [9][1]. | | Your data | Open source | Not published | 0/4 | Not published on the vendor's pricing page [1]. | | Your data | Self-hosting | Not published | 0/3 | Not published on the vendor's pricing page [1]. | | Security | SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001 | Not published | 0/8 | Not published on the vendor's DPA page, which names no SOC 2 or ISO 27001 report for Circle [3]. | | Security | Written uptime guarantee | Not published | 0/3 | Not published on the vendor's pricing page [1]. | | Security | Two-factor sign-in | Yes | 3/3 | Members can enroll in two-factor authentication with an emailed one-time code; admins of all communities have it by email [8]. | ## Plans | Plan | Price | Per month (USD) | |---|---|---| | Professional | $89/month, billed yearly [1] | $89 | | Business | $199/month, billed yearly [1] | $199 | | Scale | $419/month, billed yearly [1] | $419 | | Circle Plus | Custom [1] | - | Prices are based on annual billing; the pricing page shows no separate monthly-billing prices [1]. ## Strengths - Custom domain and unlimited members on every listed plan [1]. - A documented Admin API and Headless Member API on Business and above [4]. - Staff can review flagged posts, and word filters can hide posts [5]. - Access groups manage permissions, tiers and cohorts [7]. - Members can turn on two-factor sign-in with an emailed one-time code [8]. ## Limits - Plans have a 14-day trial but no free plan [1]. - Custom SSO and webhooks need the $419 Scale plan [1]. - Salesforce, Slack and HubSpot connections are tagged Zapier on the integrations page [2]. - No SLA is listed on any plan, and no SOC 2 or ISO 27001 report is named [1][3]. ## Sources 1. [Circle pricing](https://circle.so/pricing), Circle, accessed 2026-10-09 2. [Circle integrations](https://circle.so/integrations), Circle, accessed 2026-10-09 3. [Circle data processing agreement](https://circle.so/dpa), Circle, accessed 2026-10-09 4. [Circle API documentation](https://api.circle.so/), Circle, accessed 2026-10-09 5. [Circle discussions](https://circle.so/discussions), Circle, accessed 2026-10-09 6. [Circle Plus](https://circle.so/plus), Circle, accessed 2026-10-09 7. [Circle compared with Bettermode](https://circle.so/compare/vs-bettermode), Circle, accessed 2026-10-09 8. [Circle March 2026 release](https://circle.so/product-updates/march-2026-release), Circle, accessed 2026-10-09 9. [Circle January 2025 update](https://circle.so/product-updates/january-2025-update), Circle, accessed 2026-10-09