Circle or Fellow? It comes down to where your community meets
Circle is a strong platform for online communities. Here’s how it compares with Fellow on events, money, AI and cost, and which one fits a community that meets in person.
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+Drop Crew318 fellowsCircle is a community platform for creators and businesses. It puts discussions, courses, live streams, events and email in one branded space on your own domain, from $89 a month.
Fellow is a community app for brands and the people who love them. It is built for communities that meet in real life, like cafés, run clubs and brands with pop-ups and drops, and it is free to start.
The two overlap more than you might think: both do events, chat, paid memberships and AI. This guide uses Circle’s own pricing page and help center for its side, so you can see where each one is stronger.
The short answer
Circle is the better pick for an online community built on courses, live streams and its own domain, if a platform fee from $89 a month fits. Fellow is the better pick for a brand or local community that meets in person: events with waitlists and check-ins, a Shop, newsletters and a Fellow Friend that answers your customers, free to start.
| Feature | Fellow | Circle |
|---|---|---|
| To start | Free, with unlimited members | From $89 a month, billed yearly (14-day free trial) |
| Paid plans | Fellow Premium $29 a month, Fellow Brand $149 a month | $199 and $419 a month, billed yearly; Circle Plus is custom |
| Fee on paid memberships | 10% on Free, 5% on Premium, 3% on Brand, plus card processing | 2% on Professional, 1% on Business and Scale, 0.5% on Circle Plus, plus card processing |
| Events and RSVPs | Events with RSVPs, waitlists and reminders | Events with RSVPs, caps and email reminders, in person or on Circle Live |
| Paid event tickets | Yes, built in (5% on Free, down to 1% on Brand) | Yes, one price per event, on every plan |
| Chat | Group chats and one-on-one Lines | Direct messages, group chat and chat spaces |
| AI that answers for you | A Fellow Friend on every plan, on your website and in the app | Circle AI for admins on every plan; AI agents that answer members from Scale ($419) |
| Newsletters | Yes, free and members-only; emailed to subscribers on Premium and up | A weekly digest on every plan; email broadcasts are a paid add-on |
| Courses | Not built in | Yes, on every plan |
| Live voice and video | Not built in | Live streams and live rooms, with limits by plan |
| Apps | iOS, Android and web | Web, plus Circle’s iOS and Android app; branded apps on Circle Plus |
Fellow's fees are on top of Stripe's card fee. Members never pay to use Fellow.
Circle and Fellow at a glance
Circle
An all-in-one online community, at its best for courses, live streams and a branded space.
- Plans from $89 a month, billed yearly
- Discussions, chat spaces and DMs
- Courses and live streams on every plan
- Events with RSVPs, caps and paid tickets
- Circle AI for admins; AI agents from Scale
- Your own domain; branded apps on Circle Plus
Fellow
A community app for brands and local communities, at its best when people meet in real life.
- Free to start, with unlimited members
- Events with RSVPs, caps, waitlists, reminders and paid tickets
- Check-ins, stamp cards and badges for regulars
- Group chats and one-on-one Lines, with polls
- Paid memberships, a Shop and newsletters
- A Fellow Friend AI on your website and in the app, on every plan
Quick verdict
| If you want to | Pick |
|---|---|
| Sell online courses | Circle |
| Host live streams and workshops | Circle |
| Run in-person events with waitlists and check-ins | Fellow |
| Start with no monthly fee | Fellow |
| Answer customers on your website with AI | Fellow |
| Put your community on your own domain | Circle |
| Sell tickets to events | Either |
Feature by feature
Six areas that matter most to a brand or local community, with what each app does and which one we'd pick for it.
Events and tickets
Both handle events well. Circle is strongest online; Fellow is strongest at the door.
| Feature | Fellow | Circle |
|---|---|---|
| Create events | Yes, in person or online | Yes, in person, at a custom location or on Circle Live |
| RSVPs and caps | Going, with a cap if you want one | Yes, with a "Limit RSVPs" setting |
| Waitlists | Yes; people move in on their own when someone drops | Not mentioned in Circle’s help center |
| Reminders | You pick: from an hour to three weeks before | Email reminders you schedule; an hour before by default |
| Paid tickets | Built in: 5% on Free, down to 1% on Fellow Brand | Yes, one price per event, on every plan |
For an online workshop, Circle’s events are hard to beat. For a pop-up or a weekly run with a cap, what matters is who gets in when someone drops out and who actually shows up. On Fellow the waitlist moves people in by itself, and regulars get checked in at the door.
Our pick: FellowCourses and live video
This is Circle’s home turf.
| Feature | Fellow | Circle |
|---|---|---|
| Courses | Not built in | Yes, on every plan |
| Live streams | Not built in | Up to 100 attendees on Professional, more on higher plans |
| Live rooms | Not built in | Up to 15 people on Professional, 50 on Scale |
If your community is built around teaching or streaming, Circle has the tools and Fellow doesn’t. If you teach in person, a class or a clinic, an event with a cap and tickets usually does the job.
Our pick: CircleGetting paid
Circle takes a smaller cut, after a monthly fee. Fellow takes no monthly fee, and a cut when you sell.
| Feature | Fellow | Circle |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly platform fee | None on Free | From $89 a month, billed yearly |
| Paid memberships | Yes, with perks, on every plan | Subscriptions, one-time payments and installments |
| Fee on memberships | 10% on Free, 5% on Fellow Premium, 3% on Fellow Brand | 2% on Professional, 1% on Business and Scale |
| Event tickets | Yes: 5% on Free, down to 1% | Yes, on every plan |
| Selling products | A Shop, connected to Shopify if you have it | Not mentioned in Circle’s help center |
Every fee here is on top of card processing.
Slow Weekend · Shop
Weekend Tee, Sand$48 leftDrop 04 · ships next weekFor a community selling a few tickets and some merch each month, the monthly fee is usually the bigger number. Once a community is selling thousands a month in memberships, Circle’s lower percentage starts to pay for itself.
Our pick: FellowAI that answers for you
Both have AI. They point it at different people.
| Feature | Fellow | Circle |
|---|---|---|
| AI for running the community | Your Fellow Friend updates your page, drafts posts and schedules them when you ask | Circle AI, on every plan, sets up spaces, members and paywalls from a prompt |
| AI that answers members | A Fellow Friend, on every plan | AI agents, on Scale ($419 a month) and Circle Plus |
| On your website | Yes, a chat widget with your Fellow Friend | Inside your Circle community |
| Hands off to a person | Yes, to you or your team | Yes, admins step in from an AI Inbox |
Circle AI helps you run the platform. A Fellow Friend also talks to your customers, on your website and in the app, from the free plan up. On Circle, an AI that answers members starts on the $419 plan.
Our pick: FellowBeing found
Circle makes your community look like your own site. Fellow puts it where people already look.
| Feature | Fellow | Circle |
|---|---|---|
| Your own domain | No; your page lives at fellow.so/yourname | Yes, on every plan |
| A directory | Search and profiles in the Fellow app | Circle Discover, for paid communities Circle approves |
| Where members are | One Fellow app for every community they belong to | Circle’s app, or your own branded app on Circle Plus |
A custom domain makes Circle feel like part of your website. Fellow takes the other route: your members follow you in the same app as their run club and their café, so your drop or your pop-up lands where they already are.
Our pick: EitherPricing
Circle charges a monthly platform fee plus a small cut of each sale. Fellow is free to start and takes a fee only when a community sells something.
Fellow
- Fellow FreeFree5% on tickets and Shop, 10% on memberships
- Fellow Premium$29 a month3% on tickets and Shop, 5% on memberships
- Fellow Brand$149 a month1% on tickets and Shop, 3% on memberships
Plus card processing. Members never pay to use Fellow. See pricing
Circle
- Professional$89 a monthBilled yearly. 2% on sales, 3 admins.
- Business$199 a monthBilled yearly. 1% on sales, 5 admins, more AI tools.
- Scale$419 a monthBilled yearly. 1% on sales, 10 admins, AI agents.
- Circle PlusCustomBranded apps, 0.5% on sales.
Circle’s US prices, billed yearly, checked November 2026. 14-day free trial.
Where each one shines
Circle
- Courses and live video
- Courses, live streams and live rooms on every plan.
- Your own domain
- The community lives on your site’s address.
- AI for admins
- Circle AI sets things up from a prompt, on every plan.
- Room to grow
- Unlimited members, and branded apps on Circle Plus.
Fellow
- Free until you sell
- No monthly platform fee, with unlimited members.
- Built for the door
- Waitlists, tickets, check-ins and stamp cards for regulars.
- A Fellow Friend on every plan
- It answers customers on your website and in the app.
- A Shop next to the community
- Merch and drops in the same place as events and chat.
Which should you choose?
Choose Circle if
- You sell courses or teach over live streams
- You want the community on your own domain
- You want an AI that helps your admin team set things up
Choose Fellow if
- You want to start free and pay nothing until you sell something
- Your community meets in person and needs waitlists and check-ins at the door
- You want an AI answering customers on your website from the free plan up
- You sell merch or products next to tickets and memberships
The bottom line
If your community lives online, with courses, streams and its own domain, Circle is one of the best platforms for it, and the monthly fee buys a lot.
If you are a brand or a local community that meets in person, sells tickets and merch and wants an AI answering customers from day one, Fellow does that in one app, free to start.
Questions
No. Circle has a 14-day free trial, then plans from $89 a month, billed yearly. Fellow is free to start, with unlimited members, and takes a fee only when you sell something.
Both have AI, pointed at different people. Circle AI, on every plan, helps admins set up and run the community, and its AI agents that answer members start on the Scale plan. Every Fellow plan includes a Fellow Friend: an AI with your brand’s name that answers customers on your website and in the app, and hands conversations to your team when it should.
No. If courses or live streams are the center of your community, Circle is the better fit. Fellow is built around events, tickets, chat, a Shop and newsletters.
Yes. Circle lets admins sell tickets to an event, with one price per event, on every plan. Fellow has paid tickets too, plus caps, a waitlist that moves people in on its own and check-ins at the door.
Not for the community itself: your page lives at fellow.so/yourname. Your Fellow Friend can sit on your own website as a chat widget.
Fellow. Local communities need events with caps and waitlists, check-ins, a group chat and a way to sell tickets and merch, without a monthly fee before the first sale.
