There’s a better home for your academy.
A community platform where the advertised $89/month balloons to $277 once you add the features you actually need.
Get early access to Achene0%
vs 2% on Circle Professional
Transaction fee on every payment
£5/mo
vs $129/mo to get started on Circle
Entry price for a full platform
Built-in
vs $99/mo Email Hub add-on on Circle
Email broadcasts to your students
Feature by feature
How Achene and Circle stack up on the things that matter most to independent educators.
| Feature | Achene | Circle |
|---|---|---|
| Commission on sales | 0% on all tiers | 2% (Professional) · 1% (Business) · 0.5% (Plus) |
| Starting price | £5/month | $129/month |
| Email broadcasts | Included on all tiers | $99/mo Email Hub add-on; full branded sending on Business+ ($219/mo) |
| Progress tracking | Included — per lesson & course | Not available — no certificates, quizzes, or cohort tracking |
| Workflow automations | Included | Business plan ($199/mo annual) only |
| Community spaces | Global + per-course, all tiers | Core feature — best-in-class discussion spaces |
| Video hosting | Included on all tiers | Included with live streaming |
| Custom domain | All paid plans | All paid plans |
| Student limit | Unlimited on all tiers | Unlimited on all tiers |
Pricing, side by side
Circle prices in USD. Achene prices in GBP — no commission on student payments on any tier.
Circle plans
Achene plans
See what you’d save
Enter your current plan and revenue to see your estimated annual saving with Achene.
Estimates only. Achene prices in GBP; competitor prices in USD. Conversion at £1 ≈ $1.26. Does not include standard Stripe processing fees (2.9% + $0.30), which apply to all platforms.
Why educators move away from Circle
Circle's transaction fees (2% on Professional) aren't shown on the pricing page — you only find them after signing up. On $3,000/month revenue that's $60/month on top of the plan fee.
Email broadcasts require a separate $99/month Email Hub add-on. The Professional plan advertised at $89/month (annual) routinely costs $188–277/month once real features are added.
Workflow automations are locked behind the $199/month Business plan. You can't automate onboarding, reminders, or re-engagement sequences on the entry plan.
Circle was built for communities, not courses — no completion certificates, no quizzes, no cohort progress tracking. Courses feel like a bolt-on.
You can only build one community under one brand. If you want separate spaces for different products or audiences, you need a second subscription.
Multiple Trustpilot reviews describe prices raised without notice, checkout pages randomly deleted without warning, and charges continuing after confirmed cancellation.
Ready to make the move?
Achene lets you import your existing students via CSV — migration is straightforward. Get early access below.
Get early access
We’re launching soon. Leave your details and we’ll let you know when you can get started. There will be a generous free trial for early access users.