Circle is rented: they set the price, the rules and what you can change. Freehold builds community and the rest of your business as your own platform, with your own app, for one flat price from $1,900.
Circle Professional: $89 a month, plus 2% of sales (annual billing) Circle Business: $199 a month, plus 1% of sales (annual billing)
One price, from $1,900. No monthly platform fee.
Cut of your sales
On the plans shown
None. Only Stripe's card fee.
Whose accounts
Theirs
Yours: your Stripe, your Cloudflare, your domain
Your own app
Their app or their website
Your name and icon on members' phones, with push alerts
Who can change the rules
Circle
You
What replaces Circle here
CommunityCreator and upSpaces, posts with photos, replies, likes, levels and a leaderboard, with host tools to pin, close and moderate. Discord, Facebook and Telegram are free, but your members live on their app, under their rules. Here they live on yours.
Is Freehold a good Circle alternative?
If you want to own your platform instead of renting it, yes. Freehold builds community and more as one platform on your own accounts, for one price. Circle is a subscription you keep paying for as long as you use it.
Can I move my members from Circle?
The Pro plan includes moving you over; on other plans it's an add-on. What can be moved depends on what Circle lets you export.
Will I lose features I use on Circle?
Compare the list below with what you use. If something you rely on isn't there, ask for a quote from the builder or check the upgrade roadmap.
Plans
Launch
$1,900once
Sell your course and run your members from your own site.
Website, members app, console app, payments, push alerts and backups, plus