Compare
Circlevs
Help Scout
Circle runs member communities with spaces, events, courses, and paywalls. Help Scout is a human-feeling help desk: shared inbox, Docs, Beacon chat, and AI drafts.
How Circle and Help Scout compare
Circle is where serious community hosts go when the community is the business. Spaces for discussion and chat, courses and events in the same place, paid memberships with branded checkout, gamification, workflows, Circle AI, and on Circle Plus your own branded iOS and Android apps. It has grown into an all-in-one for membership businesses, and the Website Builder and Email Hub mean many hosts no longer need a second tool for the front door. If your members log in every week to talk to each other, Circle is built for exactly that.
Help Scout is support that feels like email from a person. A shared inbox with assignments and saved replies, Docs for a knowledge base, Beacon for chat and self-service, customer profiles, workflows, reports, and AI drafts and summaries help small teams deliver warm, organized support. Nothing about it feels like a ticket number.
Where they are different
Circle
- Circle's pages are the front door to a members-only space.
- Circle's Email Hub is an add-on priced per contact on top of the plan.
- Circle's DMs live between members inside the community.
- Circle has courses, live streams, paid tiers for users, and gamification.
Help Scout
- Help Scout is the support tool beside your site.
- Help Scout handles email and Beacon chat for anyone.
- Help Scout has no marketing email.
Choose Circle when a paid, private community with courses and events is the product, and you want members in a branded app.
Choose Help Scout when a small team needs a warm, organized help desk with a knowledge base.
Compare features
What's on Circle and Help Scout
A check means that capability is available. Circle and Help Scout are marked only when the offer is comparable, not the same product.
Site and brand
- Workspace siteCircle: IncludedHelp Scout: Not included
Audience and email
- AudienceCircle: IncludedHelp Scout: Included
- Email on your domainCircle: Not includedHelp Scout: Included
- Marketing emailsCircle: IncludedHelp Scout: Not included
- Campaign workflowsCircle: IncludedHelp Scout: Not included
Messaging
- Built-in chatCircle: IncludedHelp Scout: Included
- Messaging CenterCircle: Not includedHelp Scout: Included
Commerce
- Shop paymentsCircle: IncludedHelp Scout: Not included
Team
- Admin usersCircle: IncludedHelp Scout: Included
- Per-admin permissionsCircle: IncludedHelp Scout: Included
- AI AssistantCircle: IncludedHelp Scout: Included
* Note: This table does not capture every feature of Circle or Help Scout, and is not intended as a comprehensive list. We keep this page current, but Circle or Help Scout may add or remove features that are not shown here.
Circle vs Help Scout pricing
Compare plans, prices, and what it costs to get started.
Circle
Current plans and prices
See what Circle charges on their pricing page.
Help Scout
Current plans and prices
See what Help Scout charges on their pricing page.
Cardel: An alternative to
Circle and Help Scout
You don't pay until you publish.
Cardel provides a home for your craft. Share and sell your work, grow your audience, and bring your community together on a site of your own.
Common questions
Is Cardel an alternative to Circle or Help Scout?
Cardel is a home for your craft: a site of your own with a blog, newsletter, shop, community, and one inbox. It can replace Circle or Help Scout when you want your work, audience, and sales in one place. The feature list on this page shows where Circle and Help Scout are marked.
Can I use Cardel with Circle or Help Scout?
Yes. Cardel pages can link out to other products, so you can keep Circle or Help Scout for what it does best and bring the rest of your work to Cardel.
How much does Cardel cost compared with Circle and Help Scout?
You don't pay for Cardel until you publish. Choose Starter, Pro, or Studio when your site goes live. Circle and Help Scout set their own prices, so check their pricing pages on this page for current plans.
How do I switch from Circle or Help Scout to Cardel?
Start with Build Your Site, set up your home, and bring your work over at your own pace. You do not have to move everything on day one.