Socio Connect vs Circle.so
Socio Connect and Circle, side by side.
Both are community platforms you pay for monthly. Circle is built for creators and brands. Socio Connect is built to run a church, nonprofit, association or alumni network, with giving, check-in, volunteers and the Assistant on one record.
14-day free trial, no card needed · First 25 organizations get 30% off
A note before we go further: Circle is a good product, and plenty of creators, brands and small organizations run thriving communities on it. If it’s the right fit for yours, stay on it. This page sets the two side by side so you can choose.
Harbor Point Church is an example.
What changes
A community, or the whole organization.
Circle gives creators and brands a polished community with paid memberships, and does it well. If your organization also takes gifts, checks kids in, schedules volunteers or runs a website, those usually live in other tools, each with its own list of people.
Socio Connect puts them on one record per person, so you can see where everyone is, and act on who needs you this week.
Circle charges a monthly plan, and on paid memberships a transaction fee: Professional 2%, Business 1%, Scale 1%, Circle Plus 0.5%. Admin and moderator seats are capped by plan, and the Admin API is metered by plan.
On Socio Connect, dues, gifts and tickets go to your own Stripe account, and we never add a platform fee. Stripe charges its usual card fee. Plans are priced by active people, and API and webhooks come with Complete.
Every post, course, gift, check-in and shift lands on the same record, in one platform.
$0
platform fee on giving, dues and tickets
$299
a month on Community, up to 750 active people
14 days
free on Community, no card
Job by job
What you pay for, job by job.
What Circle charges, the tools an organization may pay for beside it, and where each job lives in Socio Connect. Count the ones you actually use.
| The job · published price | In Socio Connect |
|---|---|
Community spaces and messages Circle · $89–$419/month; Circle Plus quoted privately | Groups with feeds and messages, a member directory, and announcements to everyone or one groupEvery plan |
People records | One record per person and household, with everything they’ve done with youEvery plan |
Dues, gifts and tickets Circle transaction fee · Professional 2%, Business 1%, Scale 1%, Circle Plus 0.5% of paid membership revenue | Dues, gifts and tickets go to your own Stripe account, with no platform feeCommunity |
Events and ticketing A separate ticketing tool, if you use one: Eventbrite · 3.7% + $1.79 per paid ticket | Events and RSVPs on every plan. Paid tickets on Community, to your own Stripe account with no platform feeEvery planCommunity |
Courses A separate course platform, if you run one: Thinkific · $40–$164/mo Teachable · $39–$189/mo, plus a share of revenue on some plans | Courses with certificatesCommunity |
Giving A separate giving tool, if you use one: Donorbox Pro · $150/mo | Giving to your own Stripe account, with recurring gifts and year-end statements, and no platform feeCommunity |
Volunteers A separate sign-up tool, if you use one: SignUpGenius · $8.99–$44.99/mo | Volunteer teams and schedules, and worship planningCommunity |
Your website | A public website, on your own domain from FoundationEvery plan |
Member app A branded app under your own name comes with Circle Plus · quoted privately | Members sign in on the web, from any phone or computer. Your own app in the stores is coming on EnterpriseOn the way |
AI Circle AI on every published plan, with AI credits by plan (2,500 a month on Professional and Business, 5,000 on Scale); AI agents and AI workflows from Scale | The Assistant: who needs your team this week, a reason for each name, and a note drafted for your team to sendCommunity |
Price for 750 active people Circle · $89–$419/month, plus 0.5–2% on paid memberships | Community, $299/month for up to 750 active peopleCommunity |
Prices as published on each vendor’s pricing page, checked September 2026. Ranges run from the smallest to the largest plan; Circle Plus is quoted privately. AI features are as Circle lists them on its pricing page. Card processing isn’t shown: you pay it whatever platform you use. Socio Connect plans are priced by active people. Anyone who signed in, gave, checked in or RSVP’d in the last 90 days. Children and people you imported who haven’t done anything don’t count.
See every planOne member record
Questions you can finally answer.
These need data that usually sits in two or more tools. On one record they're one place to look, and the Assistant brings the people behind them to your team each week.
- 1Which members come to events but haven’t renewed?
- 2Does finishing CE courses make members more likely to renew?
- 3Which special interest groups keep members engaged between conferences?
- 4Which lapsed members still read every announcement?
Harbor Point Church is an example.
Circle.so and Socio Connect
Side by side, at a glance.
| Compared | Circle.so | Socio Connect |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | $89–$419/month on published plans; Circle Plus quoted privately | Monthly or yearly, by active people: Free, then $99, $299 and $599 a month; Enterprise priced to fit |
| Entry price | Professional, $89/month | Free up to 50 active people; Foundation $99 a month |
| Share of membership revenue | 0.5–2% transaction fee, by plan | None. Stripe's card fee only |
| Member app | A branded app under your name with Circle Plus, quoted privately | Members sign in on the web, from any phone or computer. Your own app in the stores is coming on Enterprise |
| Integrations | An Admin API metered by plan | API and webhooks on Complete |
Moving over
Moving off Circle.
Your members show up every week, so take it one step at a time:
- 01
Sign up. Your 14-day Community trial starts the day you sign up.
- 02
Import your members from a spreadsheet, then set up your groups and events.
- 03
Connect your own Stripe account for dues, gifts and tickets.
- 04
Keep Circle running until your members have moved, and switch between programs, not in the middle of one.
Should you switch?
Who each is best for.
If you’re a creator or a brand selling a membership, Circle is built for you, and its entry plan costs less than our Community plan. Stay on it.
Socio Connect makes sense when you run an organization: a church, nonprofit, association or alumni network that needs giving, check-in, volunteers, courses and a website on one record per person, with no cut of what people give.
Circle
Stay on Circle if…
- You’re a creator or brand selling courses and memberships
- You want Circle AI agents and workflows on Scale
- Your community doesn’t need giving, check-in or volunteers
Socio Connect
Choose Socio Connect if…
- You run a church, nonprofit, association or alumni network
- You want giving, events, courses and volunteers on one record
- You don’t want a platform fee on dues, gifts or tickets
Need something built just for you? We build custom platforms too, from your own app to a program nobody else runs. See custom builds
In their words
“This is a game changer for how we serve our community of men.”
Ready for one platform instead?
Plans from $99 a month, and we never take a cut of your giving. 14-day free trial, no card needed · First 25 organizations get 30% off.
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