Honest comparison
Chuhching vs Circle
Circle is the premium community platform, and the community experience is better than ours. The catch is the bill: $89/mo advertised routinely lands at $188–$277 once you add the admins, moderators and spaces you actually need, and every plan takes a cut of your revenue.
Circle
$89–$199/mo
Annual billing. No free plan, 14-day trial. Add-ons and 0.5–2% transaction fees on top.
Chuhching
Free core, then $59–$179/mo
The CRM, forms, booking & analytics — free. Pay to send & get booked.
Run your relationships
| Feature | Circle | Chuhching |
|---|---|---|
| CRM & pipeline | — | ✓ Free |
| Contact management | Paid | ✓ Free1,000 free, unlimited paid |
| Forms & quizzes | Partialprofile fields are a $49 add-on | ✓ Free3 free, unlimited paid |
| Booking & scheduling | — | ✓ Free |
| Analytics & dashboards | Paid | ✓ Free |
Reach & automate
| Feature | Circle | Chuhching |
|---|---|---|
| 2-way SMS | — | ✓ Freebring your own Twilio |
| Email sequences | Paid | Paid |
| Workflow automation | PartialBusiness tier ($199) only | Paid |
| Social posting | — | Paid |
Funnels & sites
| Feature | Circle | Chuhching |
|---|---|---|
| Funnel analytics | — | ✓ Freestage conversion, velocity, channel ROI |
| Landing & website pages | Partialspaces and landing pages | Partialprofile, community & custom-domain pages |
| SEO / PSEO / AEO | — | ✓ Freeindexable profile + programmatic pages; more on base plan |
Grow & host
| Feature | Circle | Chuhching |
|---|---|---|
| Communities | Paid | ✓ Free1 free, unlimited paid |
| Courses / products | Paid | Paid |
| Affiliate program | — | Paidnative + resellable |
Other modules
| Feature | Circle | Chuhching |
|---|---|---|
| Call tracking | — | Paidper-source trackable numbers, forwarding + source-attributed call log |
| Reputation management | — | Paidreview-request automation + reviews inbox; Google Business Profile sync |
Pricing & access
| Feature | Circle | Chuhching |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier to start | — | ✓ Free |
Only on Chuhching
| Feature | Circle | Chuhching |
|---|---|---|
| Agent-native — run it over MCP | — | ✓ Freeyour AI agent operates the whole platform |
| Pay-per-call agent tools (x402) | — | ✓ Freeagents pay per call, no login — e.g. book you as a guest |
| Get booked — podcasts, press, creators, VCs | — | Paiddiscover + AI-pitch + outreach engine |
| Public expert profile + directory | — | ✓ Freeindexable; journalists find you |
| Time tracking | — | ✓ FreeToggl-style, projects & tasks, timesheets |
| Business Vault (encrypted secrets & docs) | — | ✓ Free |
Pick Circle if…
- You want the best premium community experience available — Circle's spaces, member UX and branded app are more polished than ours and it shows.
- You need live rooms and events as a core part of the offer, where Circle is purpose-built.
Pick Chuhching if…
- You don't want the add-on ladder: $10 per extra admin, $20 per 10 moderators, $20 per 10 spaces, $49 for custom profile fields, $40 for branded email.
- You want the CRM, pipeline, outbound sequences and booking around the community, and no platform cut of your revenue.
Common questions
Why is Circle more expensive than the $89 sticker price?
Because the plan is a base and the features are add-ons. Professional is $89/mo on annual billing, but extra admins are $10 each, moderators $20 per 10, extra spaces $20 per 10, custom profile fields $49, branded email notifications $40, and live attendees $20 per 100. Reviewers commonly land at $188–$277/mo for a working setup. Automation, API access and white-label require Business at $199/mo (verified August 2026).
Does Circle take a cut of my revenue?
Yes: 2% on Professional, 1% on Business and 0.5% on Plus, charged on top of Stripe's own fees. Chuhching takes no platform transaction fee — you connect your own Stripe and pay Stripe's processing only. On a community doing meaningful monthly revenue that difference usually exceeds the subscription gap.
Is Circle's community better than Chuhching's?
Yes. Circle has spent years on the member experience, the space model and the branded mobile app, and it is a genuinely more polished community product than ours. If the community is the product and the budget is there, Circle is a good choice. Our argument is about what surrounds it, not about out-communitying Circle.
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Pricing and features last verified: August 2026. Verify current Circle pricing on their site. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Circle.