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Community platforms · September 2026 Edition

Circle vs Skool

Two of twelve models named Circle first on the direct prompt; zero named Skool. Circle was named by twelve of the twelve models and Skool by six and Circle carries 43 labels and Skool 10, so the shares are not directly comparable.

Circle

accepted challenger

Named in two categories this edition.

Skool

accepted challenger

Named in one category this edition.

First-choice share15%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate23%20%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#3#8A position in a field of 14; printed, not drawn.
Labels4310A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Circle reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Bettermode was named alongside these two in nine of the twelve direct answers. Higher Logic Vanilla vs Circle · Higher Logic Vanilla vs Skool · Bettermode vs Circle

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all twelve models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the community platforms page.

By framing

How many of the twelve models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
CircleFirst choices, of twelve modelsSkool
Direct203 against Circle · 1 against Skool
Paraphrase20
Comparative10
Budget-constrained312 against Circle
Scale-constrained00
Negative005 against Circle · 1 against Skool
Bars are first choices, 0 to 12 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to twelve.

Across every category in the September 2026 Edition, Circle and Skool were named in the same answer twenty-nine times, of the 125 answers naming Circle and the 31 naming Skool. In those answers Skool took the first choice two times and Circle eight.

Every model, every framing

The seventy-two answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Circle and Skool stood in it.
ModelDirectParaphraseComparativeBudget-constrainedScale-constrainedNegative
Claude Haiku 4.5
GPT-5.4 mini
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Perplexity Sonar
Grok 4.1 Fast
Mistral Small
DeepSeek V4 Flash
Llama 4 Maverick
Qwen 3.7 Flash
Kimi K2
GLM 4.7 FlashX
MiniMax M2.5
Circle Skool first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Circle on the left and Skool on the right.

The direct prompt

The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Circle and Skool stood in it.

Circle first, Skool not the choice

2 of 12 modelsSkool was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.
Qwen 3.7 FlashCircle alternatives: Discourse, Guru, Microsoft Viva Topics & Teams, Salesforce Communities
MiniMax M2.5Circle, Higher Logic Vanilla alternatives: Bettermode, Salesforce Experience Cloud

Neither was the first choice, one was named

2 of 12 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.
Perplexity SonarBettermode alternatives: Circle, Gainsight Customer Communities
Kimi K2Higher Logic Vanilla alternatives: Bettermode, Circle, Salesforce Experience Cloud

Neither was named

8 of 12 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.
Claude Haiku 4.5Bettermode alternatives: Gainsight Customer Communities, Higher Logic Vanilla, Influitive, Zendesk Community
GPT-5.4 miniHigher Logic Vanilla alternatives: Gainsight Customer Communities, Khoros Communities
Gemini 3.5 FlashBettermode alternatives: Discourse, Gainsight Customer Communities, Higher Logic Vanilla
Grok 4.1 FastHigher Logic Vanilla alternatives: Bettermode, Gainsight Customer Communities
Mistral SmallBettermode alternatives: Discourse, Jatra
DeepSeek V4 FlashHigher Logic Vanilla alternatives: Bettermode, Gainsight Customer Communities, Salesforce Experience Cloud, Zendesk Community
Llama 4 Maverickno first choice
GLM 4.7 FlashXHigher Logic Vanilla alternatives: Bettermode, Gainsight Customer Communities, Salesforce Experience Cloud, Zendesk Community

Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.

By buyer segment

The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Circle leads by thirty-one points.
Circle31%#1 of 13
Skool0%#10 of 13
The full small business standing →
Mid-marketThe figures above
Circle leads by thirteen points.
Circle15%#3 of 14
Skool2%#8 of 14
The full mid-market standing →
Enterprise
Circle leads by two points.
Circle2%#8 of 9
Skool0%#– of 9
The full enterprise standing →

What the models said about Circle

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.

“Avoid Creator-First Platforms (e.g., Circle, Mighty Networks, Skool)” Gemini 3.5 Flash · direct prompt · hard negative
“Avoid: Paid SaaS like Circle ($89/mo)” Grok 4.1 Fast · budget prompt · hard negative
“Very polished UX, but support/billing concerns are notable... Circle for post-cancellation billing issues” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Start with Circle if you want a polished, low-maintenance experience that covers marketing, support, and engagement.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“If you have ~$90/month and no developers, Circle offers the best value for a professional customer community.” Kimi K2 · budget prompt · first choice
“the best customer community platform is usually Circle if you want a polished, all-in-one branded community” GPT-5.4 mini · budget prompt · first choice

What the models said about Skool

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of six in this category shown.

“Avoid Creator-First Platforms (e.g., Circle, Mighty Networks, Skool)” Gemini 3.5 Flash · direct prompt · hard negative
“Why to be cautious: Feature limitations and poor user experience” Mistral Small · negative prompt · soft negative
“Final Pick: If you can spend even a tiny amount, Skool at $9/month gives you the most features per dollar.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · budget prompt · first choice
“Skool at $99/month is one of the most cost-effective all-in-one options with gamification and payments built in.” GLM 4.7 FlashX · budget prompt · alternative
“Skool is a highly simplified platform that combines discussion threads, a course classroom, and an event calendar.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · budget prompt · alternative
Also compared
Higher Logic Vanilla vs CircleHigher Logic Vanilla vs SkoolBettermode vs CircleBettermode vs SkoolCircle vs DiscourseCircle vs DiscordCircle vs Gainsight Customer CommunitiesCircle vs Facebook GroupsDiscourse vs SkoolDiscord vs SkoolGainsight Customer Communities vs SkoolFacebook Groups vs SkoolAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full community standing

Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.