Circle Alternative for Video Communities
Your Community, Your Brand,
Your Revenue.
Circle charges a 2% to 0.5% transaction fee on member payments and keeps branded apps for its custom-priced Circle Plus plan. CC Community Platform charges a 0% platform fee, puts your brand on your own domain, and adds branded iOS and Android apps on any plan.
Proven at scale: powers a community with 10M+ users.
Free 30-minute assessment. No commitment. Built by Closed Circuit Inc.
Circle vs CC Community Platform, Side by Side
Every Circle figure below comes from Circle's own published pages, checked Oct 12, 2026. Where we could not verify a figure, we left it out.
| Circle | CC Community Platform | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | Professional $89/mo, Business $199/mo, Scale $419/mo (annual billing); Circle Plus custom | Launch $199/mo, Operator $399/mo, + $1,500 setup; Member OS from $499/mo |
| Members | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Transaction fee on member payments | 2% Professional, 1% Business and Scale, 0.5% Circle Plus | 0% platform fee (standard Stripe fees apply) |
| Admins / moderators | 3 / 10 on Professional; extra admins $10/mo each, extra moderators $20/mo per 10 | Not sold per seat |
| Spaces | 20 on Professional; extra spaces $20/mo per 10 | Not sold per space |
| Remove vendor branding | Business plan and up | White-label on every plan, your own domain |
| Video | Courses, live streams and live rooms | Video-first: long-form, shorts, stories, live and DMs |
| Live streaming | 10 hours on Professional, 100 attendees; extra hours $50/mo per 10 | $149/mo add-on: 20 hours included, $6 per extra hour; viewer limits apply |
| Storage | 200 GB Professional up to 1 TB | Metered on Cloudflare R2, or your own R2/S3 bucket |
| Where your data lives | Circle's platform (bulk import/export available) | Your bucket (Cloudflare R2 or S3) |
| Branded iOS and Android apps | Circle Plus only (custom pricing) | Add-on on any plan, quoted per project |
| Ad revenue | – | Revenue share; you keep the larger share with your own sponsors |
Circle figures from circle.so/pricing, checked Oct 12, 2026. Plans and rates change; check their current page before deciding.
How You Earn on CC Community Platform
Memberships and courses
0% platform fee. Use your own Stripe account or ours; standard Stripe processing fees apply either way, and we add nothing on top.
Your own sponsors
Sell sponsorships and ad slots to your own partners and keep the larger share of that revenue.
Network ads
Fill unsold slots with ads we bring and earn a revenue share, with no ad sales work on your side.
When Circle is the better fit
- You are just starting and the $89/mo entry price matters more than the transaction fee.
- You want built-in AI tools, workflows and email marketing in the same product.
- You are happy inside Circle's feature set and do not need control over where your media lives.
- You want to start a self-serve free trial today rather than a scoped setup.
When CC Community Platform is the better fit
- You charge for membership and the transaction fee has become real money.
- You have a team of admins and moderators, or many spaces, and per-seat add-ons keep growing.
- Video is the product: shorts, stories and live, not video attached to posts.
- You want your own branded app without moving to an enterprise plan.
- You want your media in your own Cloudflare R2 or S3 bucket.
- You want to earn from ads and sponsors, not just memberships.
One Price Per Community
No per-seat pricing and no cut of your member revenue. Add live streaming, metered storage and branded mobile apps only if you need them.
Launch
$199/mo
+ $1,500 setup
- Unlimited members
- 0% platform fee
- White-label on your own domain
- Long-form video, shorts, stories, DMs
Operator
$399/mo
+ $1,500 setup
- Everything in Launch
- Higher platform limits
- Priority support
Member OS
From $499/mo
Scoped with you
- Everything in Operator
- Scoped to your organization
Live streaming add-on
$149/month for 1 simultaneous stream with 20 hours included. Extra hours $6 each; each additional simultaneous stream $99/month. Viewer limits apply.
Storage
Metered on Cloudflare R2, or bring your own R2/S3 bucket and pay your provider directly.
Branded mobile apps
Native iOS and Android apps in your brand, built with .NET MAUI. Quoted per project.
Enterprise
Running a big community? Ask for a quote.
A dedicated live server, higher viewer limits and branded iOS and Android apps, scoped to your community.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best Circle alternative for a video community?
If video, branding and keeping your revenue matter most, CC Community Platform is built for that: unlimited members, a 0% platform fee, white-label on your own domain, and video-first features (long-form, shorts, stories, live and DMs) with media stored in your own bucket. Circle is a strong all-round community and course tool; see the honest fit section on this page.
How much does Circle cost?
As published on circle.so/pricing (checked Oct 12, 2026), Circle's plans are Professional $89/mo, Business $199/mo and Scale $419/mo on annual billing, with Circle Plus at custom pricing. Add-ons include extra admins at $10/mo each, extra moderators at $20/mo per 10, extra spaces at $20/mo per 10, and extra live hours at $50/mo per 10 hours.
Does Circle take a cut of membership revenue?
Yes. Circle's pricing page (checked Oct 12, 2026) lists transaction fees of 2% on Professional, 1% on Business and Scale, and 0.5% on Circle Plus. CC Community Platform charges a 0% platform fee; only standard Stripe processing fees apply.
Does Circle offer branded mobile apps?
Circle's custom branded iOS and Android apps are part of Circle Plus, which is custom priced (circle.so/pricing, checked Oct 12, 2026). CC Community Platform offers native iOS and Android apps in your brand as an add-on, built with .NET MAUI and quoted per project, on any plan.
How much does CC Community Platform cost?
CC Community Platform starts at $199 per month (Launch) or $399 per month (Operator), each plus a one-time $1,500 setup fee, and Member OS starts at $499 per month. Every plan has unlimited members and a 0% platform fee on memberships and courses; standard Stripe processing fees apply, using your Stripe account or ours. Live streaming is a paid add-on billed monthly with included hours and per-hour overage (viewer limits apply), storage is metered, and branded mobile apps are quoted per project.
Can I move from Circle to CC Community Platform?
Yes. Start with a free 30-minute migration assessment. We review your members, content and payments and give you a written migration plan.
Run the Numbers on Your Community
Tell us your member count, what you charge, and whether you need live or an app. We will show you the side-by-side honestly, including when staying on Circle is the right call.