How Cardel and Disciple compare
Disciple does the thing most community platforms charge a premium for: every plan includes your own iOS and Android app listed under your name, a synced web version, and no Disciple branding anywhere your members look. Groups, feeds, DMs, events, native video, livestreaming, courses, push notifications to segments, and a customer success manager who helps you through the app store submission. Associations, training providers, nonprofits, and membership brands that want an icon on the member's phone are who it is built for.
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. Cardel does not build a mobile app, host a members-only community on your site, or run courses and paid tiers. It is a public website that search engines can read, with your blog, Shop, Schedule, audience list, email, and Messaging Center behind it.
Where they are different
Disciple lives behind a login and a home screen icon; Cardel lives at your domain in the open, where readers arrive from search and explore your pages.
Disciple reaches members with push notifications and hands email to Mailchimp or ConvertKit; Cardel sends newsletters and campaigns from your own address and receives replies in one inbox.
Disciple starts at $599 a month for a branded app with unlimited members; Cardel plans are priced for a single creator or a small team running a site, starting at $89/mo or $69/mo if billed yearly.
Disciple has courses, livestreams, tiers, and in-app purchases; Cardel sells items and bookings through Stripe or linked buttons on your Shop pages.
Choose Disciple when your members should open an app with your name on it, and a private community with groups, events, and paid tiers is the whole point.
Choose Cardel when the public site is the point: publishing, selling, booking, and answering people from one place on your own domain, with the audience list and inbox included.
You are the Forgemaster. Cardel is your forge. What you build is yours.
Common questions
Is Cardel a Disciple alternative?
Cardel is a home for your craft: a site of your own with a blog, newsletter, shop, community, and one inbox. It can replace Disciple when you want your work, audience, and sales in one place. The feature list below shows where the two overlap and where they part.
Can I use Cardel and Disciple together?
Yes. Cardel pages can link out to other products, so you can keep Disciple for what it does best and bring the rest of your work to Cardel.
How much does Cardel cost compared to Disciple?
You don't pay for Cardel until you publish. Choose Starter, Pro, or Studio when your site goes live. Disciple sets its own prices, so check their pricing page below for current plans.
How do I switch from Disciple to Cardel?
Choose Start for Free, set up your home, and bring your work over at your own pace. You do not have to move everything on day one.
Compare features
What's on Cardel and Disciple
A check means that capability is available. Disciple is marked only when the offer is comparable, not the same product.
Site and brand
- Workspace siteCardel: IncludedDisciple: Not included
- Custom domainUse your own domain with HTTPS. Cardel includes the DNS records for the site and for sending and receiving email.Use your own domain with HTTPS. Cardel includes the DNS records for the site and for sending and receiving email.Cardel: IncludedDisciple: Included
- Theme and fontsCardel: IncludedDisciple: Included
- Brand kitCardel: IncludedDisciple: Not included
Public content
- BlogCardel: IncludedDisciple: Not included
- Reader engagementCardel: IncludedDisciple: Not included
- Showcase pagesCardel: IncludedDisciple: Not included
- Shop pagesCardel: IncludedDisciple: Not included
Reach and quality
- SEOCardel: IncludedDisciple: Not included
Audience and email
- AudienceGroups, tags, and import so you can organize contacts and bring in an existing list.Groups, tags, and import so you can organize contacts and bring in an existing list.Cardel: IncludedDisciple: Included
- Email on your domainSend and receive from your custom domain, not a shared Cardel address.Send and receive from your custom domain, not a shared Cardel address.Cardel: IncludedDisciple: Not included
- Marketing emailsCardel: IncludedDisciple: Not included
- Bulk email workflowsCardel: IncludedDisciple: Not included
- Campaign workflowsCardel: IncludedDisciple: Not included
Messaging
- Built-in chatCardel: IncludedDisciple: Included
- Messaging CenterCardel: IncludedDisciple: Not included
Commerce
- Shop paymentsSell on your Shop pages with Stripe. Cardel takes a 0.5% application fee on those card sales. Stripe's own processing fees still apply, and you keep the rest.Sell on your Shop pages with Stripe. Cardel takes a 0.5% application fee on those card sales. Stripe's own processing fees still apply, and you keep the rest.Cardel: IncludedDisciple: Included
- Scheduling and bookingsLink to external scheduling available on Starter.Cardel: IncludedDisciple: Not included
Team
- Admin usersCardel: IncludedDisciple: Included
Other
- Video catalogCardel: IncludedDisciple: Included
- Native video hostingCardel: Not includedDisciple: Included
- iOS and Android appsCardel: Not includedDisciple: Included
- Push notifications to audienceCardel: Not includedDisciple: Included
- Built in coursesCardel: Not includedDisciple: Included
- Paid membership tiersCardel: Not includedDisciple: Included
- In-app purchasesCardel: Not includedDisciple: Included
* Note: This table does not capture every feature of Cardel or Disciple, and is not intended as a comprehensive list. We keep this page current, but Cardel or Disciple may add or remove features that are not shown here.
Cardel vs Disciple pricing
Compare plans, prices, and what it costs to get started.
Cardel
You don't pay until you publish
Build at no cost, then choose Starter, Pro, or Studio when your site goes live.
Disciple
Current plans and prices
See what Disciple charges on their pricing page.
Forge your community
Choose Cardel
Looking for a Disciple alternative? Bring your work to a site of your own.
Compare Cardel
See how Cardel stacks up, or explore Disciple comparisons.