education

Teachable vs. Circle: Which Platform Suits You in 2025?

Teachable excels in course creation, ideal for educators and content creators. Circle focuses on community building, perfect for fostering engagement. 

This guide compares their features, pricing, strengths, and weaknesses to help you choose.

Teachable vs. Circle: Key Differences

Feature

Teachable

Circle

Platform Type

Online course platform

Community platform

Starting Price

$59/month

$99/month

Free Trial/Plan

Free plan

14-day free trial

Best For

Course-focused businesses

Community-driven businesses

Core Focus

Course creation, education

Community engagement

Course Creation

Robust tools, quizzes, lectures

Limited, basic course tools

Community Features

Basic comments, discussions

Spaces, live events, chats

Monetization

Courses, subscriptions, bundles

Memberships, events

Integrations

Zapier, Mailchimp, Stripe

Slack, Zapier, Stripe

Mobile Access

Mobile-friendly

Dedicated app

What is Teachable?

Teachable is a leading platform for creating, marketing, and selling online courses. It has served over 32 million students and sold 30 million products.

Its user-friendly interface supports structured courses with multimedia, quizzes, and assignments.

Key Features

  • Course Builder: Create engaging lectures and organize content.
  • Monetization: Sell courses via one-time payments, subscriptions, or bundles.
  • Integrations: Connect with Mailchimp, Zapier, and payment processors like Stripe and PayPal.

What is Circle?

Circle is designed to build vibrant online communities. It’s ideal for coaches, influencers, and creators focusing on member engagement through discussions, live events, and exclusive content.

Key Features

  • Community Tools: Dedicated spaces, group chats, and live streaming.
  • Monetization: Paid memberships and exclusive group access via Stripe.
  • Integrations: Supports Slack, Zapier, and other apps for seamless workflows.

Detailed Comparison

1. Course Creation

  • Teachable: Offers a robust course builder with video uploads, quizzes, and assignments. Ideal for structured learning.
  • Circle: Limited course tools, better suited for lightweight educational content within a community.

2. Community Building

  • Teachable: Basic engagement via course comments and discussions. Not designed for deep community interaction.
  • Circle: Excels with topic-specific spaces, live events, and real-time chats, fostering strong member connections.

3. Monetization

  • Teachable: Flexible options including course sales, subscriptions, and bundles. Supports global payments via credit cards and PayPal.
  • Circle: Focuses on membership-based revenue and paid event access, integrated with Stripe.

4. Customization

  • Teachable: Extensive branding options with custom logos, colors, and layouts for a professional course experience.
  • Circle: Full customization for community spaces, ensuring a branded, cohesive member environment.

5. Integrations

  • Teachable: Integrates with marketing tools (Mailchimp), automation (Zapier), and analytics (Google Analytics).
  • Circle: Connects with community tools (Slack), payment systems (Stripe), and automation (Zapier).

Pricing Plans

Teachable Pricing

Teachable offers a free plan and three paid tiers (monthly/annual billing):

Plan

Monthly

Annual (Per Month)

Basic

$59

$39

Pro

$159

$119

Pro+

$249

$199


  • Basic: 5 products per type, 5% transaction fee, email marketing, custom domains.
  • Pro: No transaction fees, 50 products, affiliate marketing, live chat, 5 admin seats.
  • Pro+: 200 products, custom roles, advanced scaling tools.

Note: Free plan includes 1 product per type and $1 + 10% transaction fee.

Circle Pricing

Circle offers a 14-day free trial and three plans (monthly/annual billing):

Plan

Monthly

Annual (Per Month)

Professional

$99

$89

Business

$219

$199

Enterprise

$399

$360

  • Professional: Rich member profiles, searchable directory, basic community tools.
  • Business: Advanced workflows, customization for growing communities.
  • Enterprise: Unlimited workflows, priority support, dedicated service.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Teachable

Pros:

  • Advanced course creation with quizzes and multimedia.
  • Flexible monetization for courses and bundles.
  • Beginner-friendly interface with minimal setup.

Cons:

Circle

Pros:

  • Robust community features like live events and group chats.
  • Flexible membership monetization.
  • High customization for branded community spaces.

Cons:

  • Limited course creation capabilities.
  • Higher-tier plans may be costly for small creators.

Which Platform is Right for You?

  • Choose Teachable if you prioritize creating and selling structured courses. Its tools are perfect for educators and businesses focused on online education.
  • Choose Circle if community engagement is your goal. It’s ideal for creators building interactive spaces for discussions and live events.

Alternative: For course-focused platforms, compare Teachable with LearnWorlds for similar features.

Conclusion

Teachable is the go-to for course creators, offering robust tools and a free plan for beginners. Circle shines for community builders, with a 14-day trial to test its engagement features. 

Align your choice with your primary goal—courses or community.

FAQs

Which is better for community engagement?
Circle, designed for community interaction, outperforms Teachable in this area.

Can Circle integrate with other tools?
Yes, Circle supports Slack, Zapier, Stripe, and more for enhanced functionality.

Is Teachable beginner-friendly?
Yes, Teachable’s intuitive interface makes course creation accessible for beginners and professionals.

Does Teachable support live events?
Teachable offers limited live event support, primarily via integrations like Zoom.

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