Circle vs Mateflow
Circle
circle.soMateflow
mateflow.comSide by side
| Figure | Circle | Mateflow |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $89/mo | $49/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 4 |
| Spec score · Learning Community Platforms | 9.0 (#2) | 8.3 (#8) |
| Spec score · Community Platforms | 8.9 (#10) | 8.7 (#14) |
| Community features | The platform includes discussions, chat, member profiles and directories, gamification, and analytics. | The platform includes feeds, spaces, direct and group messaging, events, courses, and live sessions. |
| Custom domain | Yes | Yes |
| Event hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Integrations | Circle lists integrations including Airtable, Google Sheets, Memberstack, WordPress, Memberful, Typeform, and Slack through native connections, embeds, snippets, or Zapier. | The integrations page lists Stripe, Slack, Discord, and Zapier connections, plus webhooks and a REST API; it says Google Calendar and Mailchimp are not yet connectable. |
| Mobile apps | both | Mateflow offers native iOS and Android apps, and says the community also runs in a mobile browser. |
| Moderation tools | Yes | Yes |
| Private spaces | Yes | Yes |
| Paid from | 89 | 49 |
Plans
Circle
- Professional$89 a month
- Business$199 a month
- Scale$419 a month
- Circle PlusPriced on request
Mateflow
- Starter$49 a month
- Growth$129 a month
- Business$399 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
Circle
Circle brings community, content, events, courses, payments, email and website tools into one platform. Its community features include discussions, chat, member profiles and directories, gamification and analytics. Courses can be self-paced, structured or scheduled, with sections, lessons and quizzes. Events, live streams and live rooms include Q&A, attendee participation and session recordings. Circle lists integrations such as Airtable, Google Sheets, Memberstack, WordPress, Memberful, Typeform and Slack through native connections, embeds, snippets or Zapier. It offers Admin and Headless Member APIs, with request limits varying by plan. Access includes Android, iOS, Mac, Windows and web; desktop apps are available to communities on all plans. Professional costs $89 a month with annual billing, Business costs $199 a month with annual billing, and Scale costs $419 a month with annual billing. A 14-day trial is listed, but there is no free plan. The pricing comparison lists live-stream attendee caps of 100, 200 and 500 for Professional, Business and Scale, respectively.
Mateflow
Mateflow is a platform for creators, brands, education teams, and organizations running branded communities. It provides feeds, spaces, direct and group messaging, events, courses, and live sessions. Its AI Copilot, included on every plan, can answer questions using uploaded documents and indexed community discussions. Communities can charge subscriptions, gate spaces, and collect Stripe payments; transaction fees range from 3% on Starter to 0% on Enterprise. The platform lists integrations with Stripe, Slack, Discord, and Zapier, plus webhooks and a REST API. API access begins on Growth, which allows 5,000 requests per day and five webhook endpoints; Starter does not include API access. Mateflow describes two-factor authentication, email verification, bot protection, session revocation, and audit logs as security controls. Its public security page does not publish a SOC 2 report or penetration-test summary. Every plan includes a 14-day free trial without a credit card, but there is no free plan.