Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Circle.so VS Pensil

Compare Circle.so VS Pensil and see what are their differences

Circle.so logo Circle.so

Bring together your discussions, memberships, and content. Integrate a thriving community wherever your audience is, all under your own brand.

Pensil logo Pensil

Pensil provides creators and educators all the digital tools they need to run their online business.
  • Circle.so Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-14
  • Pensil Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-18

Circle.so features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Circle.so offers an intuitive and clean design that makes it easy for users to navigate and engage with the community features.
  • Customization Options
    Users can customize their community’s look, feel, and functionality to align with their brand, making it a versatile platform.
  • Integrated Monetization
    Circle.so provides built-in tools for monetization, such as the ability to charge for memberships, courses, and events, which helps creators generate revenue.
  • Robust Community Features
    The platform includes various features like forums, chats, events, and live streams, enabling rich interactions and engagement within the community.
  • Scalability
    Circle.so can support communities of different sizes, from small groups to large organizations, allowing for growth and adaptability.
  • Integration with Other Tools
    The platform integrates with popular tools and services like Zapier, Slack, and third-party membership platforms to enhance functionality and connectivity.

Possible disadvantages of Circle.so

  • Pricing
    Circle.so can be relatively expensive, with pricing plans that may not be affordable for all individuals or small businesses.
  • Learning Curve
    While user-friendly, some users may still face a learning curve in terms of fully utilizing all the platform’s features and customization options.
  • Limited Built-In Analytics
    The platform's built-in analytics capabilities are somewhat limited, which can make it harder for community managers to track detailed engagement and performance metrics.
  • Dependence on Internet Connectivity
    Circle.so is a cloud-based platform, so a stable internet connection is required at all times to access the community features, which can be a disadvantage for users with unreliable internet.
  • Feature Overwhelm
    The abundance of features can be overwhelming for new users, making it challenging to determine which tools are most beneficial for their specific community needs.

Pensil features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Analysis of Circle.so

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Circle.so is a robust and effective tool for community building, offering ample features to enhance engagement and communication among members.

Why this product is good

  • Circle.so is considered a good platform for building and maintaining online communities due to its user-friendly interface, customizable spaces, and integration capabilities. It allows creators to gather their audiences, share content, and engage in meaningful interactions through features like discussion forums, live streams, and group events.

Recommended for

    Circle.so is recommended for content creators, educators, coaches, and organizations seeking to build strong and interactive online communities. It's particularly beneficial for those who want to monetize their communities or create exclusive spaces for member interaction.

Circle.so videos

Circle.So Review: A First Look at Circle, the NEW SASS For Building Online Communities Without Code

More videos:

  • Review - Circle.so Review: Is this the best community platform for creators?
  • Tutorial - Learn how to Use Circle.So: Add Spaces, Structure Your Community and Monetize Your Platform

Pensil videos

No Pensil videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Circle.so and Pensil)
Community Platform
97 97%
3% 3
Community Management
96 96%
4% 4
Communication
92 92%
8% 8
Education
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Circle.so and Pensil

Circle.so Reviews

The Top Free and Paid Teachable Alternatives For Creators
While Circle offers video and social integrations, it’s missing quite a number of features on the sales and market side. For example, it doesn’t allow you to create in-app sales funnels with customizable landing pages and checkout for selling community memberships. It also doesn’t offer any native or third-party email marketing tools.
20 Telegram Alternatives to Chat With in 2024
Like Mighty Networks, Circle is a community platform that can work as an alternative to Telegram. It has a combination of forum, course, and livestreaming features to build a community around a shared interest. And your members can share text and video content.

Pensil Reviews

9 Teachable Alternatives in 2024 Ranked
However, Pensil is still growing, which means some of the features are not as polished as those on more established platforms. Most customers recommend Pensil because of the community-oriented approach and ease of use, but they indicate that the platform is still in its development stage. If you want to build strong, sustainable communities around your courses, Pensil is...
Source: teach.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Circle.so seems to be a lot more popular than Pensil. While we know about 31 links to Circle.so, we've tracked only 1 mention of Pensil. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Circle.so mentions (31)

  • Do you guys know of another platform where people can talk, but is less anonymous than reddit? Allows for more of a sense of connecting with real people in a safe way.
    Https://cptsdfoundation.org/ has a group that you can interact with using https://circle.so/. Membership is 5 bucks a month, and to me, while I was using it, it was a very welcoming community. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Tell HN: DuckDuckGo Search Results have jumped the shark
    Https://circle.so/pricing/ I would guess even if DDG protects your privacy, it would use information (perhaps search and or site history) the browser is broadcasting regardless to filter results it pipes to the end point. For example I never see quora results (honestly it's been some years so I'd forgotten they existed still) as some members in this thread were annoyed with and paid to be done with them ... Then... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Which nocode tool to build an online academy?
    What is the reason you are trying to go custom? https://circle.so this is probably the best platform I have seen. Big and small companies use it (even webflow) so it has great adoption works well. I would stay away from a custom solution when there are wonderful tools like circle out there. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Show HN: Engineering Book Club
    I am also curious about the logistics of the club. It seems to be this: https://circle.so. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • Feeling a bit stuck
    You could even possibly use something like https://circle.so if the app would eventually move in a more community based way, it has a lot you can do in the backend with automation. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

Pensil mentions (1)

  • Open Source Community/forum platform
    I've been researching a few up and coming community platforms such as tribe.so circle.so pensil.in beam.gg which by initial looks they all seem to share similar frameworks and styles which I'm really impressed by. It's sent me down a rabbit whole to see if there is an open source framework that these platforms are built on? Source: over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Circle.so and Pensil, you can also consider the following products

Mighty Networks - Mighty Networks enables entrepreneurs, organizations, and companies to create and grow a community-powered brand.

Discord - Step up your game with a modern voice & text chat app. Crystal clear voice, multiple server and channel support, mobile apps, and more.

Bettermode - Create community sites, code-free.

Telegram - Telegram is a messaging app with a focus on speed and security. It’s superfast, simple and free.

Slack - A messaging app for teams who see through the Earth!

Discourse - Discourse is an open source discussion platform built for the next decade of the Internet.