The Circle Alternative With Courses, Community and Email in One Place
FreshLearn is a Circle alternative for creators and academies who run courses and a community together: courses, community, coaching, email marketing, automations and certificates on one platform, with 24/7 human support. No transaction fees, no email add-on, and free migration from Circle.
Why pay more than double? See what Circle costs once you add email and remove its branding ↓
Why Creators Switch
What Creators Say About FreshLearn
Unprompted reviews from FreshLearn's Trustpilot page (rated 4.7 from 495 reviews).
Outstanding Experience with FreshLearn
“We have had a positive experience using FreshLearn for our online programs and ministry initiatives. The platform offers a clean and professional design, making it easy for participants to access content, register for events, and engage with our community. The website builder is intuitive, and the customization options allow us to maintain our brand identity.”
FreshLearn gets a 10/10 from me
“My business has grown exponentially with Freshlearn, since it's so easy to use the site, make courses, publish them, and then advertise. I use their system for classes, masterclass events, community hub, free digital downloads, email marketing, etc, and they are adding new stuff all the time.”
FreshLearn is awesome!
“The folks on the FreshLearn team are the best part of the platform! They're always willing to help and were able to guide me to get up and running very quickly and have patiently answered every question I've had!”
The most affordable LMS with all the features
“The most affordable LMS with all the features needed for a coach or businesses to run their operations. The most important thing that I appreciate with more than 3 years of relationship with them is their customer support - the best.”
FreshLearn has been great from the start
“Great on-boarding, easy to use and very responsive customer support via email. Along with telephone calls and bookable video call support. They have gone above and beyond with technical support. Response to my support requests are very fast.”
Great customer support
“Great customer support, live, humans solving any issue you might have.”
Side-by-Side
FreshLearn vs Circle
Fees, limits, features and support, plan by plan.
| Feature | FreshLearn | Circle |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction fee on your salesKEY | 0% on every plan | 2% (Professional), 1% (Business, Scale) |
| Email marketingKEY | Built in (3K–12K emails/mo by plan) | Email Hub add-on: $99/mo for 10,000 contacts |
| Remove platform brandingKEY | From No Brainer | From Business ($199/mo, billed yearly) |
| Workflow automationKEY | Built in, unlimited workflows (No Brainer+) | None on Professional; 20 a month on Business; unlimited on Scale |
| Branded mobile appKEY | $299/yr per platform, from No Brainer | Circle Plus only (custom pricing) |
| Courses | No limit on any paid plan | Included |
| Members / learners | No limit | Unlimited |
| Live events | Built-in video calls, plus Zoom or Google Meet | Built in; 100 attendees and 10 hours a month on Professional, add-ons for more |
| Admin users | 1 / 3 / 7 by plan | 3 / 5 / 10 by plan |
| Support | 24/7 human support; immediate on weekdays; phone from No Brainer | Standard support (Professional, Business); priority on Scale |
Circle details from circle.so/pricing (prices billed yearly), as of October 2026.
Total Cost
What It Costs on Circle
Circle charges extra for email marketing, keeps its branding on the entry plan and saves automation for higher tiers. FreshLearn includes them.
| What you need | FreshLearn | Circle |
|---|---|---|
| Courses, community and email marketing | No Brainer: $799/yr | Professional + Email Hub: $2,256/yr |
| Plus your own branding and automation | No Brainer+: $1,399/yr | Business + Email Hub: $3,576/yr |
| Plus your own branded app | No Brainer + 2 apps: $1,397/yr | Circle Plus: custom pricing |
Billed yearly, from each vendor's pricing page, as of October 2026. Circle's Email Hub is $99/mo for 10,000 contacts on top of the plan.
Why Switch
Why Creators Are Leaving Circle
The reasons creators give us most often when they move from Circle.
Paying extra for email
Circle's Email Hub is a $99/mo add-on for 10,000 contacts. FreshLearn includes email marketing on every paid plan.
Your brand and automations cost more
Removing Circle's branding needs Business ($199/mo billed yearly), and the Professional plan has no automations. FreshLearn removes branding from No Brainer.
Your own app
Circle's branded app is only on Circle Plus, with custom pricing. FreshLearn's branded app is $299/yr per platform from No Brainer.
Free Migration
How Migrating From Circle Works
Our team moves your courses, pages, members and their progress. Most migrations finish within 48 hours.
DIY Migration
Import course videos and content quickly using our step-by-step migration guide.
- Export your Circle content and member list
- Import into FreshLearn with bulk upload
- Reorganize with drag-and-drop builder
- AI helps rebuild course structure
Done-For-You Migration
Our team moves your courses, quizzes, pages, members and their progress. Free on No Brainer (up to 10 courses) and No Brainer+ (up to 15) billed yearly or every two years; a small fee on monthly billing.
- 3,000+ migrations completed
- Most finish within 48 hours
- Members keep access: we set up FreshLearn alongside your Circle community
- Dedicated migration specialist assigned
Understand. Practice. Master.
Turn any course into an AI-powered learning experience.
Course AI
Chat with your course. Jump to the exact moment you need.
Learners can ask questions and get instant answers from your content, with precise context from your videos.
What is demand elasticity?
Demand elasticity measures how sensitive demand is to price changes. A higher elasticity means demand changes more with price.
Answer sourced from your video content
“Your competitor is 30% cheaper. Why should I go with you?”
I understand budget matters. Can you help me understand which outcomes are most important to your team?
✓ Great redirect to value! You avoided defending price and pivoted to understanding needs. Score: 87%
AI Coach
Practice real scenarios. Get feedback that actually improves you.
From sales calls to interviews, learners train with AI that responds, challenges, and scores them.
AI Quiz Generator
Create quizzes instantly from lesson content: no manual question writing required.
AI Captions
Automatically generate captions for every lesson video in your academy.
Not just content. Real learning.
Explore AI StudioPlatform Capabilities
Everything You Need.
Nothing You Don't.
Everything you need to create courses, run programs, engage learners, and grow your academy: all in one place.
Create Courses in Hours, Not Months
Drag-and-drop builder with AI that generates outlines, quizzes, and summaries in seconds. Supports video, text, live sessions, in-person classes, and cohort-based programs.
Integrations
Integrate with the tools you love
Connect your favorite payment gateways, marketing tools, communication platforms, and automation workflows: all built in.
FAQ
Questions About Switching
Everything you need to know about moving from Circle to FreshLearn.
Is FreshLearn cheaper than Circle?
Yes, once you include email marketing. Billed yearly (as of October 2026), FreshLearn No Brainer is $799/yr; Circle Professional plus its Email Hub add-on is $2,256/yr. With your own branding and automation, it's $1,399/yr on FreshLearn No Brainer+ against $3,576/yr for Circle Business plus Email Hub.
Does FreshLearn have a community like Circle?
Yes. Community spaces with discussions and gamification are built in from No Brainer, alongside courses, live classes, coaching and certificates.
Is email marketing included?
Yes, on every paid plan: 3K, 5K or 12K emails a month depending on your plan. Circle's Email Hub is a $99/mo add-on.
Does FreshLearn charge transaction fees?
No. FreshLearn charges 0% on every plan; only your payment gateway's standard fee applies. Circle charges 2% on Professional and 1% on Business and Scale.
Can I have my own branded mobile app?
Yes. A white-label app under your brand costs $299 per year per platform (iOS or Android) and is available from No Brainer. Circle's branded app is only on Circle Plus.
Will you migrate my Circle courses and members?
Yes. Our team moves your courses, quizzes, pages, members and their progress, free on No Brainer and No Brainer+ plans billed yearly or every two years. On monthly billing, we migrate for a small fee.
Can I talk to a real person?
Yes. FreshLearn offers 24/7 human support: an immediate reply on weekdays and within 2–4 hours at weekends. Phone support starts on No Brainer.
Your Move
Your Courses. Your Revenue.
No Platform Tax.
Switch from Circle and run your courses, community and email marketing in one place, with no add-ons.