Circle alternative
The Circle alternative for when
the course is what people pay for.
Circle Professional costs $89 a month billed yearly, which is $1,068 a year, plus a 2% fee on every sale.Circle is built around a community. Knola is built around the course: it writes the lessons, makes the slides and narrated video lessons, and sells them.Pay once and your course stays online.
One paymentYour course stays online30-day money-back
Circle Professional · a year of bills
Every year$1,068
Knola Studio · your receipt
One payment
$197
Next bill: none
Your course stays online.
The short answer
Knola vs Circle in 30 seconds
If you only read one part of this page, read this.
- Knola is an AI course platform that you pay for once: $97 for Solo or $197 for Studio. Circle is a community platform with courses inside it, from $89 a month billed yearly, with a 2% transaction fee on Professional.
- Circle gives you community spaces, events, live streams, courses and a branded app on its top plan, and its AI can propose a course outline. Knola drafts the whole course from your notes, turns each lesson into slides with a speaker script, narrates them into video lessons and writes the sales page. You can also turn your teaching into ebooks and downloads, and sell them on their own or with a course.
- We made this move ourselves. BetaState, our company, ran its courses on Circle for about $250 a month. They now run on Knola. Choose Circle if your members pay mainly for the community. Choose Knola if they pay for the course.
Knola vs Circle, side by side
Start with what each one costs. Then see what each one does.
| Cost | Knola | Circle |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | KnolaOne payment. Solo $97, Studio $197. | CircleA subscription. From $89/mo billed yearly; monthly billing costs more. |
| Keeping your course online | KnolaPay once and your course stays online. No monthly fee to keep it there. | CircleStop paying Circle and your community, courses included, stays open only until the end of your billing period. Circle typically removes the data 90 days later. Circle’s help centre |
| Fees on your sales | Knola0% with your own checkout. 7.5% on Knola checkout, or 0% on Knola Pro ($37/mo). | Circle2% on Professional, 1% on Business and Scale, on top of card processing. |
| Building the course | KnolaAI drafts every lesson, then makes the slides and the narrated video lessons. | CircleCircle AI proposes an outline and helps write lesson copy. You record the videos yourself. |
Circle prices and fees are from Circle’s own pages, checked 24 Sept 2026. See every Circle plan.
What you get
Everything a course business needs, and what each platform includes.
| Feature | Knola | Circle |
|---|---|---|
| Create your course | ||
| AI course outline | ||
| AI writes every lesson | Drafts lesson copy with you; AI writer on Business and up | |
| AI slides with a speaker script | ||
| Narrated video lessons, nothing to record | ||
| Narration in your own voice | ||
| AI ebooks, worksheets and checklists | ||
| Video hosting with transcripts | Transcripts on Business and up | |
| Sell your course | ||
| No monthly fee | ||
| Sell ebooks and digital downloads | Files inside a paid space or course | |
| AI-written sales pages | ||
| Sales funnels | Checkout and upsell pages | |
| Checkout | ||
| Order bumps and upsells | Upsells after checkout | |
| Coupons and payment plans | ||
| Teach your students | ||
| Quizzes | ||
| Completion certificates | ||
| Drip lessons | ||
| Student progress tracking | ||
| Included in full | 18 of 18 | 6 of 18 |
IncludedLimited or higher plans onlyNot included
From Circle’s public product and pricing pages, checked 24 Sept 2026. Tell us if something changes.
Circle pricing in 2026: what you actually pay
Circle has three plans with public prices, plus Circle Plus on custom pricing. All of them bill for as long as your community is online. Prices from Circle’s own pricing page.
Circle Professional
$89 /month
Billed yearly: $1,068 a year
Unlimited members · 3 admins · 20 spaces · 2,500 AI credits/mo
Circle Business
$199 /month
Billed yearly: $2,388 a year
Unlimited members · 5 admins · 30 spaces · 2,500 AI credits/mo
Circle Scale
$419 /month
Billed yearly: $5,028 a year
Unlimited members · 10 admins · 100 spaces · 5,000 AI credits/mo
- Circle publishes prices for annual billing only. Monthly billing is available at a higher price Circle does not publish.
- Circle adds a transaction fee on every sale: 2% on Professional, 1% on Business and Scale, 0.5% on Circle Plus. Card processing is extra.
- Circle AI credits are shared between Circle AI, workflow tasks, API calls and agents. Extra credits cost $10 per 1,000.
- Email Hub (email marketing) is an add-on on every plan except Circle Plus, from $99 a month at 10,000 contacts.
- Checked 24 Sept 2026 on Circle pricing.
What Circle costs you, against Knola
Move the sliders to match your business. Knola’s own fees are included.
Circle Professional
$1,068 a year, billed yearly + 2% of sales
$2,376
Knola Studio
One payment, your own checkout (0% to Knola)
$197
Knola Studio + Pro
One payment + $37 a month, 0% platform fee
$1,085
Over 24 months, Knola costs you $2,179 less than Circle Professional.
Illustration using public prices checked 24 Sept 2026. Card processing (about 2.9%) applies on every platform and is not included. Per-sale fees assume a $100 average order. Knola prices are today’s prices.
From an idea to a course that sells
On Circle you get an outline, then you write, record and sell each lesson. On Knola, you bring the knowledge and review each step.
01
Describe what you teach
Type a few lines, or upload your notes, PDFs or videos. Knola drafts the outline and every lesson.
How the AI course builder works
02
Turn a lesson into slides
One click makes a branded deck with a speaker script for every slide.
See the AI presentation maker
03
Let Knola narrate the video
Review the narration, hear a preview, then Knola makes the video lesson. Nobody records anything.
04
Turn lessons into ebooks
Make an ebook, worksheet or checklist from your lessons. Sell it on its own, or add it to the course.
See the AI ebook creator
05
Get your sales page written
AI writes the sales page from your actual course. Rewrite any section in one click.
See the AI sales page builder
06
Build the funnel
Join your pages, checkout and follow-up offers into one buying journey.
Explore course sales funnels
07
Take payments
A checkout with order bumps, upsells, coupons and payment plans. Buyers get access straight away.
How Knola checkout works
08
Check what stuck
Knola writes quiz questions from each lesson. Students finish with a certificate.
See quizzes and certificates
09
Follow every student
See who is watching, how far each student got and who has finished.
Explore student analytics
The AI is optional
Already made your course? Just host it on Knola.
The AI is there when you want it, never required. Bring the course you built, arrange it your way and sell it, for the same one-time fee, with no monthly Circle bill.
- Upload your own videos, PDFs and files
- Write and arrange every lesson yourself in the editor
- Add quizzes, certificates and drip release
- Sell it with a checkout, order bumps and upsells
- Pay once and your course stays online.
Nothing missing
Everything you use Circle courses for is here too.
Moving your course to Knola does not mean giving up the basics.
- Course hosting and brandingYour school, with your logo and colours.Included
- Video lessons with transcriptsHosted video, captions and clickable transcripts.Included
- Quizzes and certificatesGraded quizzes and completion certificates.Included
- AI sales pagesWritten from your course, edited by you.Included
- Sales funnelsPages, checkout and follow-up offers, joined up.Included
- Ebooks and digital downloadsSell them on their own, or bundle them with a course.Included
- Checkout, bumps and upsellsPlus coupons and payment plans.Included
- Student progressSee who is stuck and who has finished.Included
- Sales and funnel analyticsRevenue, conversions and the offers that earn.Included
Stay with Circle if…
- your members pay mainly for discussion and community spaces,
- you run regular events and live streams for your members,
- you want a branded community app of your own.
If people pay you for the course, not the community, you are paying every month for a community platform.
Knola is built for you
Join other creators building & selling courses
People just like you turning what they know into a sellable course they own with Knola.
“I believe Knola is the future platform of online education: powerful, intelligent, accessible, and created with both the teacher and the learner in mind.”
Joy Hauʻoli Sutherland
Co-Founder of LVH Brands
“What I love most about Knola is how easy it makes the course-creation process, but even more importantly, the support. When I have a question or need help figuring something out, I feel like there are real people who want to help, not just a support ticket system.”
Lori Kantor
Universal Educational Services“What sold me wasn’t just the platform, it was the people. I asked a question expecting to wait days and got a real, helpful answer within the hour. You can tell Knola is built by people who actually want you to succeed, not just take your money.”
Sophie Richards
PeaceLoveSerenity
“I’d been sitting on my course idea for nearly two years, convinced I’d get around to it one day. I’d written a couple of books before but never sold an online course. I came across the Knola offer and my experience so far has been great. I wish I had found it sooner.”
Richard A
Business Owner
Moving your course from Circle takes an afternoon.
Most of the work is done for you.
- 1
Download your files
Save your videos, PDFs and lesson text from your Circle course spaces.
- 2
Upload them to Knola
Knola transcribes each video and drafts the lesson text around it. You can also bulk-upload lessons.
- 3
Rebuild the sales page with AI
Knola writes a new sales page from your course. Adjust it, then add your checkout.
- 4
Bring your students with you
Export your member list as a CSV from Circle, then paste the emails into Knola. Knola enrols every student in your new course and emails each one an invite, in a couple of clicks.
Got a big course, or questions before you move?
Talk to us first. Tell us what you have on Circle and we will help you plan the move.
Our promise
Pay once and your course stays online.
No monthly fee to keep it there. That is the whole deal.
- One paymentSolo $97 or Studio $197. No monthly bill, whether you sell or not.
- Your course stays onlineWe don’t take courses down from people who paid for a licence.
- Your work is never locked inExport your content as PDF, HTML or Markdown at any time.
- 30-day money-back guaranteeIf Knola is not for you, tell us within 30 days and we refund every penny.
Questions about Knola and Circle
How much does Circle cost per month?
Circle Professional is $89 a month, Business $199 and Scale $419, all billed yearly. Circle Plus has custom pricing. Email Hub and extra AI credits cost extra.
Does Circle charge transaction fees?
Yes. Circle takes 2% of each sale on Professional, 1% on Business and Scale, and 0.5% on Circle Plus. Card processing is extra.
Is Circle good for selling online courses?
Circle courses live inside your community, as a space. You get lessons, quizzes, drip, progress tracking and lesson comments. Circle’s help centre does not list completion certificates. If people pay you mainly for the course, Knola is built for that: it builds the course, the video lessons and the sales page, for one payment.
Does Circle have AI to create courses?
Yes. Circle AI can propose a course outline and help write lesson copy, and Circle’s AI content writer and automatic transcripts are on Business and up. Knola goes further on the course itself: it turns each lesson into slides with a speaker script and narrates them into a video lesson, so you never have to record anything.
Can I sell ebooks and downloads, not just courses?
Yes. Knola is not only for video courses. Turn your lessons into ebooks, worksheets and checklists with AI, or upload your own files, then sell them on their own, as an order bump, or bundled with a course. Buyers get their download straight after checkout.
Can I move my courses from Circle to Knola?
Yes. Download your videos and files from Circle and upload them to Knola, and Knola transcribes the videos and drafts the lessons. Then export your member list as a CSV from Circle and paste in the emails: Knola enrols every student and emails them an invite. Got a big course? Get in touch through our help page and we will help you plan the move.
What happens to my Circle community if I stop paying?
Circle’s help centre says your community stays active until the end of your billing cycle, and Circle typically removes the data 90 days after that. Cancelling your plan does not cancel your members’ paid subscriptions: you have to cancel and refund those yourself. On Knola there is nothing to stop paying: pay once and your course stays online.
Does Knola have a community like Circle?
No. Knola has no forums or member spaces. If your community is what people pay for, stay with Circle. If the course is, Knola builds more of it for you, for one payment.
Do I have to use Knola’s AI?
No. The AI is there when you want it, never required. If you have already made your course, upload your videos, PDFs and files, write and arrange the lessons yourself, add quizzes and certificates, and sell it with Knola’s checkout. It is the same one-time licence, with no monthly Circle bill: pay once and your course stays online.
Other Circle alternatives worth knowing
Knola is our answer for courses, but it is not the only one. Here is where the others fit.
Knola
One payment. AI builds the course, slides, narrated video lessons, ebooks and sales page.
Skool
Built for paid communities, like Circle. Course tools are basic, with no sales pages or funnels.
Knola vs SkoolKajabi
Courses, email marketing, a community and a mobile app in one monthly plan.
Knola vs KajabiThinkific
A strong course builder for teams and group sales. Monthly plans, with an AI tutor only on its enterprise plan.
Knola vs ThinkificTeachable
Popular for selling courses with a mobile student app. Starter adds a 7.5% fee on every sale.
Knola vs TeachablePodia
Simple courses, downloads and email together. Monthly plans, with a 5% fee on Mover.
Knola vs Podia
Pay once. Build it in days, not weeks.
Bring what you know. Knola builds the course, the slides, the video lessons, the ebooks and the sales page around it.