If you’re trying to choose an online community platform to grow and engage your membership, you’ve probably come across both Circle and Mighty Networks.
Both platforms offer features like online courses, community management, discussion boards, group messaging, and integration with your existing tech stack.
But which is better: Mighty Networks or Circle? It can be overwhelming and confusing to dig through the specifics yourself. So we took care of it for you.
Read on to learn the key features, similarities, and differences between the platforms:
Circle vs. Mighty Networks at a glance
Which community platform is best for you? Here’s a quick summary in a few words of the most important differences:
| Features | Circle | Mighty Networks |
| Community chat | Lots of options for multiple chat spaces with different formats, Discord-like community interface | Post and chat spaces available |
| Community connections | Members can find each other via directories or Workflow automations | AI-powered community connections highlight similarities between members |
| Member onboarding | Automated pop-ups and emails for new members | Customizable welcome checklist walks new members through your community |
| Online course tools | AI-powered content assistant on Business plan and above | AI-powered course tools available on all plans |
| Live learning tools | Live streaming and live rooms, which are great for office hours and Q&As, on the Professional plan and above | Live streaming available on all plans |
| Pricing | Starts at $49/month (up to 100 members) | Starts at $41/month (unlimited members) |
| Customer support | Enhanced support available with custom pricing | Enhanced support available with custom pricing |
| Monetization | One-time and subscription options for paid memberships with free trials, promotions, discounts, and coupons | One-time and subscription options for paid memberships with advanced options including bundling and hidden discounts |
| Mobile apps | iOS and Android community apps available with branded app support (custom pricing). | iOS and Android community apps available with branded app support (custom pricing). |
Key similarities & differences between Circle and Mighty Networks
Both of these platforms offer a host of features for online community building, whether you’re a creator, building an educational network, or a fitness community.
Features shared between Circle and Mighty Networks
Circle and Mighty Networks offer a lot of the same features. Here are some standouts that you’ll find in both:
- Community: Community features on both platforms include public chat spaces, enable specific group chat rooms, and the ability to create group chats with individuals.
- Online course creation: Both platforms let you build and share courses that share your expertise with your audience.
- Live streaming capabilities: If you want to live stream to your audience, that’s no problem, as both platforms let you do so with ease.
- Monetization options: You can offer both free and paid community access, and offer multiple types of subscription plans and membership tiers, on both Circle and Mighty Networks.
- Branded mobile apps: On higher-tier plans, you can work with professionals to get branded apps for your community.
Where Circle wins
Circle emerges as the winner if you’re looking specifically for community features. Here are a few of the key features that rise above Mighty Networks when it comes to community:
- More chat options: Circle offers a wide variety of spaces that support different types of interactions (like posts, images, chat, and so on) and content from members, giving you more control over how your members interact.
- Built-in automation tools: The Workflows feature lets you automate some parts of your community-building natively. These automations can save you a ton of time (Mighty Networks also supports automation, but you’ll have to use a Zapier integration).
- Live rooms for community discussions: By allowing members to join live rooms instead of simply live streaming, you can foster a more discussion-oriented space that’s great for office hours and Q&As.
Circle is exactly what I was looking for in a community platform- not tied to social media, lots of control of aesthetics, etc. Also, their customer service is top-notch. They have so many group coaching opportunities, and opportunities to talk with people one-on-one about the service, and pain points. It’s almost like business coaching is included. All the examples they provide make it easy to succeed!
Leyla S., Verified User G2
Where Mighty Networks wins
Now let’s look at how Mighty Networks sets itself apart.
- AI-powered community connections: Mighty Networks’ community interface is full of AI-powered features, but the way it connects members to other members with similar interests is not only cool, but quite useful for fostering community.
- Member onboarding tools: When new members join your community platform, Mighty Networks presents a customizable welcome checklist to get them interacting and connecting as fast as possible.
- Unlimited members on the basic plan: Circle and Mighty Networks both offer affordable basic plans, but only Mighty Networks gives you unlimited members on that plan.
I was able to create a subdomain on my website and use that as my mighty address! So people don’t have to type in a mighty specific address, but rather community.mysite.com This makes it look like it’s very exclusive to my site which I really like (this was actually a friction point before because I didn’t want to take people off my site for a community)
4 stars, Jeremy W., Verified User G2
Circle vs. Mighty Networks: 9 key differences to help you choose
1. Community chat
Circle community chat
The community forum is a central part of Circle – you can think of it as an alternative to Slack or Discord. But instead of just having multiple channels where you can chat live, Circle allows you to blend both live and asynchronous spaces.
The core feature of Circle is Spaces. There are six types:
- Posts
- Events
- Images
- Chat
- Courses
- Members
Each type of Space allows a specific type of content. For example, a Posts Space is like a social media feed, while a Chat feed is a live chat.
Spaces can also be put into groups to help your members find what they’re looking for:
Mighty Networks community chat
While every Mighty Network has room for both posts and live chat, the options are a bit more limited.
Within each Network Space (essentially a subgroup within your community), there’s a Feed where members can post if they have permission:
And a place for members to chat live:
By combining spaces, Feeds, and chat rooms, you can create a variety of places for your members to post and chat, but it isn’t quite as seamless as it is in Circle.
The customization of the spaces is amazing for all my versatile uses and has given me ideas for how to better sell my brand and grow my community. The native live streams are intimate and fun and easy to navigate.
5 stars, Verified user, G2
2. Community connections
Circle community connections
Within your Circle community, your users can browse member directories, take part in group chats, and send each other direct messages. You can also foster connections within your community by using Workflows.
Workflows are automations that you build within Circle. You can access Workflow templates or build your own:
While Circle mentions using Workflows to “connect like-minded members,” there’s no specific Workflow template to do so.
If you can think creatively and put tags, Space membership, and other factors to good use, though, you may be able to automate community building by adding members to Spaces based on predetermined rules.
Mighty Networks community connections
One of Mighty Networks’ coolest features is the People Explorer, an AI-powered tool that lets members find other members who they have things in common with:
Community members can find other members who share a category (think “yoga instructor,” “small business owner,” or “romance reader”), live nearby, are hosts of the Space, are online, or meet other criteria.
Mighty Networks’ AI-powered “Show Similarities” button also makes it clear to members what they have in common with other members:
This is a cool community feature that makes it easy for community members to find people they’d like to connect with.
3. Member onboarding
Circle member onboarding
Circle provides an automated welcome pop-up for new members that you can customize. Encourage new community members to explore your Spaces, engage in chats, and explore what you have to offer.
You can also create a Start Here or Welcome Space to share information for new members:
Video source: Circle.
The Workflows you can use to create community connections in Circle also work for member onboarding.
These automations could be used to send a message encouraging new members to check out specific Spaces, offer useful information about your courses, or share other tips.
Mighty Networks member onboarding
One of the community building features that Mighty Networks offers is an extensive onboarding experience for new members.
This appears in the form of a Welcome checklist that introduces new members to your community. Members check off tasks as they go through the list:
It comes with the following default options for online communities:
- Fill Out Your Profile
- Adjust Your Notifications
- Download the App
- Cheer Something
- Add a Comment
- Start a Chat
You can also add custom list items, and the option to include a welcome article lets you share important information that helps your members get the most out of the community right away.
There’s also a Welcome section that serves as a pinned post containing tips for getting started in your online community:
4. Online course tools
Circle online course tools
While Circle’s focus is on community, it also lets you create online courses using a drag-and-drop editor and present them in a content library:
You can send students messages, and they can interact with each other using messages, comments, and tags. Student leaderboards also provide an element of gamification for added motivation:
If you’re interested in AI features, Circle has you covered – but, unlike Mighty Networks, you’ll need to pay for it (the Business plan enables access to the content co-pilot, an AI writing assistant, but you won’t get it in the Community or Professional plan). If your plan enables it, though, you can get help writing content summaries, getting lesson ideas, editing your content, and more.
Circle supports drip delay release schedules, where students can see content but aren’t able to access it until release day.
Students can also access your courses on the go using Circle’s iOS and Android apps.
Mighty Networks course-building tools
Continuing to lean into AI, Mighty Networks offers assistance in online course creation with machine-learning-powered course outlines:
You can release the lessons of your courses using three different schedules:
- Sequential: the lesson unlocks as soon as a member completes the previous lesson.
- Timed: the lesson unlocks a specific number of days after a member joins the Space.
- Scheduled: the lesson unlocks on a specific date and time.
You can also leave your lessons unlocked so members can access them at any time.
Like Circle, the Mighty Networks iOS and Android apps let community members access your courses from anywhere.
I’ve tried Facebook Groups, stitched together with various other platforms to host my online courses, website, email lists, etc. Trying to weave everything together was exhausting and unsustainable for our startup nonprofit. Not only was I able to create the foundation of my community in a matter of hours, I have been able to build it out quickly. And my members have given me lots of positive feedback so far.
5 stars, Verified user, G2
5. Live learning tools
Circle live learning tools
Events, live streams, office hours, and live Q&As are among the ways Circle lets you interact with your members in real-time (both live and recorded videos are great for building a community around).
You can use live rooms to provide a slightly different format for office hours and Q&As – participants can pop in and out whenever they’d like, making it a less formal experience than a live stream.
Circle’s pricing plans come with different limits for live interactions:
| Features | Basic | Professional | Business | Enterprise |
| Live stream attendees | None | 100 | 200 | 1,000 |
| Live room participants | None | 30 | 40 | 50 |
| Hours of streaming / live rooms | None | 20 | 30 | 40 |
| Live recording | None | 50 hours | 75 hours | 100 hours |
Mighty Networks live learning tools
You can live stream in Mighty Networks in much the same way – just fire up a new stream from any space in your community.
There’s no equivalent to live rooms in Mighty Networks, but adapting your live streams to a smaller audience should be fairly easy.
You also get a nice-looking banner at the top of your network when you go live:
Here are the limits and features you’ll get with different Mighty Networks pricing plans:
| Features | Community | Courses | Business | Path-to-Pro |
| Live stream viewers | 50 | 200 | 500 | 1,000 |
| Live streaming hours | 5 hours | 20 hours | 30 hours | 40 hours |
6. Pricing
Circle pricing
| What’s included | Basic | Professional | Business | Enterprise |
| Monthly cost | $49 | $99 | $219 | $399 |
| Members | 100 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Spaces | 10 | 20 | 30 | 100 |
| Transaction fees | 4% | 2% | 1% | 0.5% |
Because Circle offers so many features, you’ll have to reference their pricing page if you have specific questions.
Here are a few highlights:
- Courses aren’t available on Circle’s Basic plan.
- Annual billing (with a discount) is only available on the Courses, Business, and Enterprise plans.
- Automations, API access, and content co-pilot are only available on the Business and Enterprise plans.
- Priority email support and concierge onboarding are only available on the Enterprise plan.
Mighty Networks pricing
| What’s included | Community | Courses | Business | Path-to-Pro |
| Monthly cost | $41 | $119 | $219 | $360 (annual billing only) |
| Members | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Spaces | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Transaction fees | 3% | 2% | 2% | 1% |
As with other online community platforms, there are a lot of features that vary between the pricing plans, so you’ll need to head to the Mighty Networks pricing page to get the details.
Here are a few things that stand out:
- Courses and Zapier integrations aren’t available on the Mighty Networks Community plan.
- White-labeled emails are only available on the Business and Path-to-Pro plans.
- Charging for one-time events is only available on the Business and Path-to-Pro plans.
- A dedicated support team and access to the Mighty Networks community are only available on the Path-to-Pro plan.
7. Customer support
Circle customer support
The customer support team at Circle gets favorable reviews on G2, which is a good sign.
You get access to the Circle Customer Community at every pricing level, which is a nice bonus.
You can even preview the community before you join, though the Ask the Community section, where you might be able to get community support, is limited to paying clients.
If you want priority email support, you’ll need to pay for the Enterprise plan, which will cost you $399 per month (or $360 if you pay annually). And if you pay annually, you’ll get concierge onboarding and a dedicated customer success manager.
Support – which is key – has always delivered every time I have had the [occasion] to use it.
5 stars, Anthony d., G2
Mighty Networks customer support
You’ll need to pay for the Path-to-Pro plan ($360 per month, annual billing only) to get extra support features on Mighty Networks.
Every plan includes in-product customer support (which gets good reviews on G2), but access to the Mighty Networks creator community and a dedicated support team are limited to Path-to-Pro users.
You can get an idea of what the support community might look like by checking out Mighty Community, but it’s not the same community you’ll get access to as a Path-to-Pro user:
You get more than just dedicated support, though – you also get access to a strategy team, a Community Design consult, and a Mighty Pro Design Studio brand package.
8. Monetization
Circle monetization
There are several ways you can monetize your online community and courses with Circle:
- One-time payments
- Weekly, bi-weekly, quarterly, or annual subscriptions
- Charge in local currency
- Free trials, promotions, discounts, coupons
There’s not a whole lot to say here – these options will cover what most people want to do.
Mighty Networks monetization
You’ll get most of the same options for monetization in Mighty Networks, though there are a few additional ways for you to charge your members:
- One-time payments
- Monthly or annual subscription fees
- Bundling
- Hidden plans and discounts
- Free trials
- 120+ currencies
- Token-gating
Bundling lets you give access to a specific set of spaces or courses for a single fee, and hidden plans and discounts are a fun way to generate an exclusive feel for some options.
Token-gating allows you to limit entry to your online community platform using cryptocurrency or non-fungible tokens (NFTs). While it’s nice to have an additional option, we don’t expect this to be high on many creators’ priority list.
9. Mobile apps
Circle mobile apps
With most of their plans, Circle lets your online community members access your community and courses using their iOS or Android mobile apps.
However, you can create branded apps if you sign up for Circle Plus. This gives your members a great branded experience and smooth onboarding flows while you get migration assistance and VIP concierge customer support.
Circle Plus also gives you access to a design team that will create branded assets for your apps for a more professional look.
I have a course I lead with a few hundred members and I love having an app and desktop version to offer them. I considered a lot of platforms to offer my course including Kajabi, Thinkific and Skool. I have experience with all these platforms as a consumer, and altho they are all great I actually like circles functionality and UI the most.
4 stars, Ryan R., G2
Mighty Networks mobile apps
Like Circle, Mighty Networks offers iOS and Android mobile apps that let your members access your community.
You also have the option to create branded apps when you pay for their Pro plan (custom pricing only). In addition to your apps, you’ll get access to the design studio and a strategy consult for your launch.
And, as mentioned previously, the Mighty Pro plan will get you access to an exclusive online community and enhanced support.
Mighty Pro has two options, one of which includes a complete setup done by the Mighty team, comprehensive migration services, pre-launch meetings, and monthly strategy reviews (while pricing isn’t listed, it’s safe to assume that this will cost you more).
Uscreen: A Better Alternative to Circle and Mighty Networks
Both Mighty Networks and Circle are good choices for your community platform. But a third option might be the best if you’re looking to provide more value to your audience, save time while making money, or streamline your community.
Uscreen is an all-in-one platform that provides value to your audience through delivering top-notch video content and community building features.
The content library is inspired by Netflix and YouTube, and helps community members find what they’re looking for fast – or discover new videos they weren’t expecting.
Uscreen also provides professional-quality native live streaming to connect with your online community. This is especially good if you’re already a YouTuber or influencer and you’d like to get them into a paid membership model.
Community engagement tools like user-uploaded videos, social profiles, integrated member feedback, and community challenges help you deliver a great value to your members.
Public and private spaces let your users connect to you and each other, and a variety of monetization options let you control access to content, community spaces, and online courses in a way that works for you.
In short, Uscreen gives you complete control over your community space, how you engage members, and how you provide access to the world.
Choosing the right community platform for you
Both Mighty Networks and Circle are among the best online community platforms – so how do you choose between the two?
It comes down to what you prioritize.
In general, Circle focuses on community features, like
- multiple spaces for different types of content,
- online course leaderboards and other gamification,
- live rooms and event spaces with calendaring, and
- automated community building features with Workflows.
On the other hand, Mighty Networks stands out for its interesting AI-powered features, including
- helping members connect over their similarities,
- AI-powered course creation,
- welcome checklists and suggested icebreaker questions, and
- automated outreach for bringing lapsed members back.
Pricing between the two online communities is similar, though Mighty Networks does offer unlimited members in their most basic plan.
It’s tough to choose between the two, but here’s our take on Circle:
Circle is great if you’re looking for something with a Slack- or Discord-like feel with the ability to monetize and offer courses, as well.
The ability to create multiple spaces of different types adds a lot of versatility to Circle’s community platform.
If you want a stronger focus on video, though, an alternative to Circle might be a good choice.
What about Mighty Networks?
Mighty Networks may be your best choice if you like the idea of using AI to help create content and maximize audience engagement.
With a great member interface and a host of AI-powered tools, Mighty Networks feels like a very modern community platform.
However, choosing a Mighty Networks alternative might be warranted if you want better automations or more control over your content library.
That being said, don’t overlook Uscreen:
Uscreen is tough to beat if video is a core part of your community, whether you’re looking for a beautiful content library or native live streaming capabilities.
Lots of monetization options, a host of video tools, crucial community building features, and a thriving community of successful creators all point toward Uscreen’s place as one of the best online community platforms.
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