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Crews vs Circle

Circle is a polished, well-established platform for creators, coaches and brands. It combines discussion spaces, courses, live events, paid memberships and custom branding, and it's priced as a business tool.

Crews solves a different problem. It's for organizers running groups that meet in person and need somewhere to plan, chat and keep memories: run clubs, studios, sports clubs, membership clubs. It's a paid tool too ($59/month per crew after a 14-day trial), but it doesn't try to be a course or membership platform.

Who should pick Circle, who should pick Crews

Pick Circle if…

  • You’re a creator, coach or brand running a community as a business
  • You sell memberships or courses
  • You want extensive branding and a professional presentation
  • You need integrations with your marketing tools

Pick Crews if…

  • You organize a club or program that meets in person
  • You don’t need to sell access or host courses
  • You want events, RSVPs, chat and memories in one simple space
  • You want something members can join in a minute

At a glance

  • Built for

    Crews
    Organizers of clubs, studios and local groups
    Circle
    Creators, coaches, brands and businesses

  • Shared calendar

    Crews
    Shared crew calendar, plus a personal calendar across all your crews
    Circle
    Events within a community

  • Event RSVPs

    Crews
    Going / maybe / not going, capacity limits, invite-only events
    Circle
    Events with RSVPs and live sessions

  • Event chat

    Crews
    Every event gets its own chat
    Circle
    Discussion spaces and chat

  • Group chat

    Crews
    Real-time crew chat with threads, reactions, @mentions and pinned messages
    Circle
    Chat spaces and direct messages

  • Photo memories

    Crews
    Memory wall; turn any chat photo into a memory
    Circle
    Posts in discussion spaces

  • Leagues & challenges

    Crews
    Leagues by crew size and crew-vs-crew challenges
    Circle
    Engagement features within a single community

  • Courses & paywalls

    Crews
    Not available
    Circle
    Courses, paid memberships and paywalls

  • Custom branding

    Crews
    Crew profile and theme color
    Circle
    Extensive branding options

  • Price

    Crews
    14-day free trial, then $59/mo per crew
    Circle
    Paid plans; see their site

Key differences

  1. 1

    Different jobs

    Circle is designed to help someone run a community as part of a business: selling access, hosting courses and presenting a branded experience. Crews is for the group itself: a calendar, RSVPs, chat and a memory wall.

  2. 2

    Cost

    Both are paid. Circle’s cost depends on the plan (check their pricing page), and for a business that earns from an online community it can be well worth it. Crews is $59/month per crew, including up to 100 members, and pays for events, chat and memories rather than courses or paywalls.

  3. 3

    Rivalry between groups

    Crews places each crew in a league by size and lets crews challenge each other. The competition is between groups, not just between members of one community.

  4. 4

    What Crews doesn’t do

    Crews doesn’t host courses, sell memberships, offer custom domains or integrate with marketing tools. If you need those, Circle is the better pick.

When Circle is the better choice

Circle is the better choice for business-run communities.

  • Paid memberships, courses and cohort programs
  • Brands that want a fully branded community
  • Communities that need integrations with marketing and sales tools
  • Online-first communities run by a creator or team

Moving your group from Circle

If your Circle community is really a group of people who meet up, Crews can be a lighter home for it.

  1. 1.Create your crew and choose public or private. Private crews are joined by invite link or approved join request.
  2. 2.Make one or two trusted members moderators so organizing isn’t all on you.
  3. 3.Add the next few upcoming plans to the crew calendar, so there is something to RSVP to on day one.
  4. 4.Send personal invite links to members, with a short expiry for a clean cut-over.
  5. 5.Post a few favorite photos to the memory wall to make the new space feel like yours from the start.

The verdict

Pick Circle if you're a creator or business running a paid, branded online community. Pick Crews if you organize a club or program that meets up and want plans, chat and memories in one place, without paying for course and paywall features you'll never use.

Start 14-day free trial

Frequently asked questions

Is Crews a Circle alternative?

For social groups and clubs, yes. For paid memberships, courses and branded business communities, Circle is built for that and Crews isn’t.

Can I charge for access to my crew?

Not today. Payments and membership dues via Stripe are on the roadmap, not available yet.

Can Crews host courses?

No. Crews focuses on events, chat, memories and leagues.

How much does Crews cost?

Every crew starts with a 14-day free trial, no card needed. After that it’s $59/month per crew, paid by the organizer, and members join free. That includes up to 100 members; each extra 100 members is +$18/month. Billing is monthly and you can cancel anytime. Full details are on the pricing page (/pricing).

Comparison based on publicly available information as of September 2026; features change — check each product's site. Product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

run your club in one place.

Start with a 14-day free trial, no card needed. Then $59/month per crew, with every feature included and members joining free.

Start 14-day free trialSee pricing