Compare
Circlevs
ThriveCart
Circle runs member communities with spaces, events, courses, and paywalls. ThriveCart is a lifetime-priced checkout with bumps, upsells, affiliates, and courses.
How Circle and ThriveCart 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.
ThriveCart is a cart that pays for itself once. A one-time price buys high-converting checkout pages, order bumps, one-click upsells, subscriptions, coupons, affiliate management, and a course platform through ThriveCart Learn. Digital sellers who hate monthly fees and love conversion rates have made it a cult favorite.
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.
ThriveCart
- ThriveCart is the cart, not the site.
- ThriveCart hands buyers to your email tool.
- ThriveCart has no inbox or bookings.
Choose Circle when a paid, private community with courses and events is the product, and you want members in a branded app.
Choose ThriveCart when checkout conversion, bumps, and affiliates matter and you want to pay once.
Compare features
What's on Circle and ThriveCart
A check means that capability is available. Circle and ThriveCart are marked only when the offer is comparable, not the same product.
Site and brand
- Workspace siteCircle: IncludedThriveCart: Not included
- Custom domainCircle: IncludedThriveCart: Included
- Theme and fontsCircle: IncludedThriveCart: Included
Audience and email
- AudienceCircle: IncludedThriveCart: Included
- Marketing emailsCircle: IncludedThriveCart: Not included
- Campaign workflowsCircle: IncludedThriveCart: Not included
Commerce
- Shop paymentsCircle: IncludedThriveCart: Included
Team
- Admin usersCircle: IncludedThriveCart: Included
- AI AssistantCircle: IncludedThriveCart: Included
* Note: This table does not capture every feature of Circle or ThriveCart, and is not intended as a comprehensive list. We keep this page current, but Circle or ThriveCart may add or remove features that are not shown here.
Circle vs ThriveCart pricing
Compare plans, prices, and what it costs to get started.
Circle
Current plans and prices
See what Circle charges on their pricing page.
ThriveCart
Current plans and prices
See what ThriveCart charges on their pricing page.
Cardel: An alternative to
Circle and ThriveCart
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 ThriveCart?
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 ThriveCart when you want your work, audience, and sales in one place. The feature list on this page shows where Circle and ThriveCart are marked.
Can I use Cardel with Circle or ThriveCart?
Yes. Cardel pages can link out to other products, so you can keep Circle or ThriveCart for what it does best and bring the rest of your work to Cardel.
How much does Cardel cost compared with Circle and ThriveCart?
You don't pay for Cardel until you publish. Choose Starter, Pro, or Studio when your site goes live. Circle and ThriveCart set their own prices, so check their pricing pages on this page for current plans.
How do I switch from Circle or ThriveCart 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.