Whop vs Circle
Circle: Professional $89/mo + 2%; Business $199/mo + 1%; Circle Plus custom + 0.5% (plus your payment processing). Whop: no monthly fee, 2.7% + $0.30 per sale. Circle's per-sale cut is at or below Whop's, so it becomes cheaper once volume covers its monthly plan. Beyond price, the choice is about product: Circle is the polished, white-label community platform used by course creators and brands, priced on a monthly plan plus a transaction fee on top of processing. Whop charges nothing monthly and 2.7% + $0.30 all-in.
Cost side by side
| Whop | Circle | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | None | $89 |
| Per sale | 2.7% + $0.30 | Professional $89/mo + 2% |
| Setup / listing | Free | Free trial, then plan |
| Tax handling | Optional 2% managed service | Your responsibility (via processor tools) |
| Payouts | 200+ countries, $10 min | Via Stripe/PayPal or platform payouts |
Monthly fees at $50 per sale
| Monthly revenue | Whop fees | Circle fees | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | $16 | $102 | Whop by $86 |
| $1,000 | $33 | $115 | Whop by $82 |
| $2,500 | $82 | $154 | Whop by $72 |
| $5,000 | $165 | $219 | Whop by $54 |
| $10,000 | $330 | $349 | Whop by $19 |
| $25,000 | $825 | $739 | Circle by $86 |
Circle row uses Professional $89/mo + 2% plus 2.9% + $0.30 processing; Patreon's unpublished processing fee is excluded, so its true cost is higher.
When to stay on Circle
Stay on Circle if branding and a custom domain experience matter to your customers, or you use its spaces, events and email tooling heavily.
When to move to Whop
Move if the $89–$199 is a large share of revenue, you sell mainly through Discord, or you want affiliates and a marketplace listing without extra tooling.
What you give up
White-label branding, Circle's spaces model, native live events and its integrations ecosystem.
What moving involves
- Recreate products and tiers on Whop; keep prices identical to avoid re-consent friction.
- Announce a switch date and offer existing members a bridging discount or extended access — subscriptions cannot be transferred between processors, so every member re-subscribes.
- Run both for one billing cycle, then close new sign-ups on Circle.
- Export your member list before you cancel the old plan.
For established businesses with meaningful monthly volume, the migration guide on our sister site goes deeper: migrating from Circle to Whop.
Compare the dashboards yourself
A Whop account is free and takes minutes. Build the same product you have on Circle and look at the fee on a test order.
Start selling on WhopFree · no monthly fee · 2.7% + $0.30 per salePartner link · free to start · no monthly fee
Frequently asked questions
Is Whop cheaper than Circle?
For most creators, yes: Whop has no monthly fee and charges 2.7% + $0.30 per sale, against Professional $89/mo + 2% on Circle. Circle's per-sale cut is at or below Whop's, so it becomes cheaper once volume covers its monthly plan.
Can I move my members from Circle to Whop?
Not automatically. Subscriptions are tied to the processor, so members re-subscribe on Whop. Export your list, announce a date, and bridge with a discount.
Does Whop have Circle's features?
Whop covers checkout, subscriptions, communities, courses, files and affiliates. It does not replicate everything: White-label branding, Circle's spaces model, native live events and its integrations ecosystem.
Written by Karel Moreau, editor of Digital Seller Guide. Fees and policies re-checked against the providers' published pricing pages on 20 September 2026. Spotted a change? karel.moreau@digitalsellerguide.com.