Circle
Tool · this deep dive is built from the official pages of the platform itself and of the tools that support it.
Overview
Circle is a tool for a community of your own. It describes itself like this: "Build a home for your community, events, and courses — all under your own brand" (homepage). This is a self-description — the tool's own claim about itself, not an independent assessment.
From the wording the arrangement is visible: the community, the events and the courses live on your platform under your brand, not in someone else's social network. This is not a scheduler for posts and not a tool for working with external feeds.
The interface language of the homepage is English; the markup announces no other language versions (homepage).
The site is prepared to be read by programs: there is a machine-readable index llms.txt of 19,946 characters. The length is our own measurement on the date of the check, not a claim by the tool.
Which platforms it works with
A verifiable list could not be obtained, and this is a separate result, not a gap in the collection.
The integrations page opens, but the list of applications on it is loaded by a script: in the markup only the filters "All / Embed / Native / Snippets" are visible, and out of the names one is given — Zapier. The tool's own wording on this page is "Connect Circle with thousands of popular apps".
The gap between "thousands of apps" and one readable name is a property of the page, not a statement about the poverty of the integrations. The list exists, but from outside, without executing scripts, it cannot be read. Checking by it whether the particular platform you need is supported is not possible.
How you earn with it
An affiliate programme is announced, and it is described in more detail than with most tools in the catalogue (programme page). The affiliate's account is on the PartnerStack platform. Separately Circle has a Partner Program, but that is a catalogue of experts, not a commission for bringing people in. The pages were found through the site map: the addresses /affiliate and /referral answer with code 404.
The commission is a double one. For each referred client — 100 USD one-off, plus a recurring commission by levels. The levels are counted by the number of paying clients over a rolling twelve months: Start (0–9 clients) — 10%, Grow (10–49) — 15%, Lead (50 and more) — 20%. These are the rates for the Standard plans; on the Circle Plus plans they are half as much: 5%, 7.5% and 10% respectively.
A separate reservation by the source: affiliates using paid advertising cannot claim the high levels. That is, buying traffic and reaching 20% will not work out under the rules of the programme.
The recurring commission is announced as having no time limit — up to 20% of the subscription "for as long as they stay on Circle", there is no limit by sum. But this absence of a time limit has a start date: the recurring commission applies to clients referred from 24 June 2026. What happens with those referred earlier the page does not explain.
The lifetime of the click tag is 90 days ("Circle offers a 90-day cookie"), and after the start of the trial period the term until payment is no longer limited.
The payout threshold is low: "$5 or more available" — you can withdraw from five dollars and as often as you like. They pay through PayPal, Stripe or a direct bank transfer, depending on the country, all through PartnerStack; the platform itself withholds a small fee for processing the payment.
Taking part is free, but admission is by application — an answer is promised within two or three working days. The programme is addressed to content authors, community owners, B2B publications, community experts and course creators. Combining it with other affiliate programmes of Circle is allowed. Support — affiliates@circle.co. The terms are published as a separate page: affiliate terms and conditions.
What it will not do
Finding out in advance whether Circle supports the platform or the tool you need will not work out from the site: the integrations page gives out the list only by script, from outside one name is readable — Zapier. This is a limitation of the check, not a statement that there are few integrations.
Reaching the upper levels of the affiliate programme by means of paid advertising is not possible — a direct ban in the terms.
There will be no full rate on the Circle Plus plans: there the commission is half of what it is on Standard, at each of the three levels.
The recurring commission without a time limit extends to clients referred from 24 June 2026; about earlier ones the page is silent, and there are no grounds to assume that the rule applies to them too.
The verified sources name neither the cost of Circle's own plans, nor the composition of the free plan, nor limits on the number of community members — that is why there are no sections about pricing, about free access and about restrictions in this deep dive.
Verified data
The checked data this deep dive rests on.
About the platform
the platform describes itself as follows: «Build a home for your community, events, and courses — all under your own brand.»
Self-description: this is the platform's claim about itself, not an independent assessment
source, checked 2026-07-28
How the money works here
Affiliate programme. yes: the Circle Affiliate Program (a dashboard on PartnerStack); separately there is a Partner Program — a catalogue of experts
the pages were found through the sitemap, /affiliate and /referral give 404
source, checked 2026-08-04
Commission. $100 for each client brought in plus a recurring commission by level: Start (0-9 clients) 10%, Grow (10-49) 15%, Lead (50+) 20% on the Standard plans; on the Circle Plus plans — 5%, 7.5% and 10% respectively
the level is counted by the number of paying clients over a rolling 12 months; partners who use paid advertising cannot claim the high levels
source, checked 2026-08-04
One-off or recurring. recurring with no time limit: up to 20% of the subscription for as long as they stay on Circle; there is no cap on the amount
the recurring commission applies to clients brought in from 24 June 2026
source, checked 2026-08-04
Click-tag lifetime. Circle offers a 90-day cookie
once the trial has started, there is no limit on the time until payment
source, checked 2026-08-04
Payout minimum. $5 or more available — withdrawal is possible from 5 dollars, as often as one likes
from the FAQ "How and when do I get paid commissions?"
source, checked 2026-08-04
How they pay. PayPal, Stripe or a direct bank transfer (depending on the country), through the PartnerStack platform
PartnerStack withholds a small fee for processing the payment
source, checked 2026-08-04
Who is admitted. participation is free, admission by application, an answer within 2-3 working days; content creators, community owners, B2B publications, community experts, course creators; it can be combined with Circle's other affiliate programmes
support at affiliates@circle.co
source, checked 2026-08-04
Where the terms are. https://circle.so/affiliate-terms-and-conditions
the address is in the sitemap https://circle.so/sitemap.xml; the page mentions affiliate programme terms and conditions
source, checked 2026-08-04
Languages
the interface language of the home page: en
The language is taken from the markup attribute, the versions from hreflang
source, checked 2026-07-28
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