If you're a creator researching platforms right now, you've probably stumbled across Circle. It's a solid platform with a strong reputation in the community space. We get asked about BTS vs Circle all the time—and honestly, we understand why. Both platforms help creators build communities and monetise their expertise. Both have loyal users who swear by them.
But here's the thing: we didn't build BTS to be "Circle but cheaper" or "Circle with different colours." We built BTS because we believe the entire approach to creator platforms needs to be different. BTS is where creators turn content and community into real businesses—and that philosophy shaped every decision we made.
The creator economy is fragmented. Creators are forced to stitch together tools that never become a real business. We watched talented people bounce between platforms, losing momentum, losing members, and losing the opportunity to build something they actually own. Circle is one answer to that problem. BTS is another. And in this piece, we're going to be completely honest about where we think Circle shines, where we think we're better, and most importantly—which platform actually fits your creator business.
From our experience: "Most creators don't need more features. They need one place where everything works together and they can actually focus on creating."
Let's break it down.
Quick Comparison Table
Before we dive deep, here's a side-by-side snapshot of how BTS and Circle compare on the fundamentals:
| Feature | BTS | Circle |
|---|---|---|
| **Starting Price** | Free (Starter Plan) | $89/month (Professional) |
| **Platform Fee** | From 3.5% (Pro) | 0.5% - 4% depending on plan |
| **Setup Time** | Hours, not weeks | Days to weeks |
| **Design Philosophy** | Modern, brand-forward | Functional, customisable |
| **Primary Focus** | Creator business infrastructure | Community platform |
| **Mobile App** | Native app included | Available on all plans |
| **Custom Domain** | Yes (Pro) | Yes (all plans) |
| **Courses** | Yes | Yes |
| **Subscriptions** | Yes | Yes |
| **Free Trial** | Free Starter plan (forever) | 14-day trial |
| **Best For** | Creators building owned businesses | Community-first creators |
| **Our Take** | Built for ownership and momentum | Built for features and flexibility |
BTS's take: "Circle gives you more knobs to turn. We give you a business that works out of the box."
Why We Built BTS Differently
Let's start with the problem we were trying to solve—because it's probably not what you'd expect.
We weren't looking at Circle and thinking, "How do we beat these guys?" We were looking at the entire creator economy and seeing a fundamental structural problem: most creator platforms optimise for transactions, not ownership.
Think about it. You've got your audience on Instagram. Your email list on ConvertKit. Your courses on Teachable. Your community on Circle or Skool. Your payments through Stripe. Your coaching calls on Calendly. Your content on Patreon or Substack.
Each tool is good at what it does. But together? They're a mess. You're not building a business—you're managing a patchwork of disconnected services that never quite talk to each other the way you need them to.
What we've learned: "The creators who struggle most aren't the ones lacking talent or audience. They're the ones drowning in tool fragmentation—spending more time managing platforms than actually creating."
When we built BTS, we asked a different question: What if a creator's business infrastructure lived in one place? What if everything ran behind the scenes, seamlessly, so the creator could focus on what they're actually good at?
That's what we mean when we say BTS is the creator business infrastructure. We're not a community platform with courses bolted on. We're not a course platform with community features added. We're the foundation that makes it possible to turn content and community into a real, owned business.
Our methodology focuses on two things:
- Structure — Giving creators a clear framework for their business, not just a pile of features
- Momentum — Making it easy to start, easy to grow, and hard to get stuck
Circle approaches this differently. They've built an incredibly feature-rich community platform that you can customise extensively. That's a legitimate approach. But it's not our approach.
BTS gives creators one place to build something they own. That philosophy influences everything—from our pricing model to our onboarding flow to how we think about support.
Where Circle Shines
We're confident in what we've built, and confident creators don't need to trash-talk their competition. So let's be honest: Circle does some things really well.
Feature Depth
Circle has been around longer than us, and they've had time to build out an impressive feature set. Their workflow automations are robust. Their customisation options are extensive. If you're the type of creator who wants granular control over every aspect of your community experience, Circle gives you the tools to achieve that.
Their AI Agents feature (available on Enterprise) is genuinely innovative. They've invested heavily in advanced analytics. And their ecosystem of integrations is mature.
Our honest assessment: If you want maximum configurability and you have the time to set everything up exactly the way you want it, Circle delivers.
Enterprise-Level Capabilities
Circle's Enterprise plan ($419/month) is clearly built for larger organisations. Branded mobile apps, dedicated support, advanced analytics, unlimited workflows—it's a serious offering for serious operations.
For creators who've already scaled to significant revenue and need enterprise-grade infrastructure, Circle can handle that complexity.
Community-First Focus
Circle was built as a community platform first. If your entire business model centres on community engagement and you need deep community-specific features, Circle has refined that experience over years of iteration.
Their spaces, group chats, and discussion tools are well-designed. Their events functionality is solid. They've thought carefully about community dynamics.
From our experience: "We respect what Circle has built. They've made thousands of communities possible. Our disagreement isn't about quality—it's about philosophy."
Where We Think We're Better
Now let's talk about why we built BTS differently—and where we genuinely believe we offer creators something better.
Modern Design That Represents Your Brand
Here's something we feel strongly about: Circle feels like back-office software, while BTS feels like a modern, public-facing creator business.
When a potential member lands on your BTS space, they see something that looks and feels premium. The design is intentional, brand-forward, and modern. We didn't build an admin panel that members happen to access—we built something creators are proud to show off.
This matters more than most platforms acknowledge. Your brand perception influences what you can charge, how engaged your members are, and whether people share your content with friends. First impressions count.
Our data shows: Creators who switch to BTS from other platforms consistently report that members comment on how "professional" and "clean" their new space looks.
Getting Started in Hours, Not Weeks
Circle's flexibility is a double-edged sword. More options means more decisions. More customisation means more setup time. We've talked to creators who spent weeks configuring their Circle community before launching.
BTS takes a different approach. We focus on structure and momentum, not algorithms. Our onboarding is designed to get you earning quickly—most creators launch within a day.
We made opinionated choices so you don't have to. The defaults work. The structure makes sense. You can customise later if you want, but you don't need to customise anything to have a business that looks great and functions well.
Our recommendation: "If you've been 'planning to launch' for months, the platform might be the problem. BTS is built to get you from idea to income in hours."
The Ownership Philosophy
This is the big one. Most creator platforms optimise for transactions, not ownership.
When we say BTS helps you build something you own, we mean it philosophically and practically:
- Your audience data is yours. Full access, full portability.
- Your brand is yours. No platform branding competing for attention.
- Your business logic is yours. We're infrastructure, not a landlord.
We don't see ourselves as "hosting your community." We see ourselves as running the infrastructure behind the scenes so you can build something durable.
BTS's take: "Every creator platform wants you on their platform. We want you building your business with our infrastructure."
Transparent, Creator-Friendly Pricing
Let's talk numbers. Circle's Professional plan starts at $89/month with a 2% transaction fee. Their Business plan is $199/month with 1%. Enterprise is $419/month with 0.5%.
BTS offers a free Starter plan—not a 14-day trial, a free plan. Forever. You can launch your creator business without spending a dollar on platform fees.
Our Pro plan is competitively priced with a 3.5% + 30¢ transaction fee, or $149/month. For most creators, our structure ends up more affordable—especially when you're starting out.
What matters here: We want creators to succeed before we succeed. That's why we start free. That's why we keep fees transparent.
Payout Speed
This one's practical but important. BTS payouts arrive in 1-5 days globally, with same-day payouts available in the US. When your members pay, you get paid—fast.
Cash flow matters when you're building a business. Waiting weeks for payouts creates friction, stress, and sometimes real financial pressure. We prioritised fast payouts because creators deserve to access what they've earned.
Who Should Choose Circle
We're not going to pretend BTS is right for everyone. Here's who we'd genuinely point toward Circle:
Established Community Operators
If you're already running a large, complex community and you need enterprise-grade features, Circle's mature platform can handle that scale. Their workflow automations, advanced analytics, and customisation options serve sophisticated operations well.
Creators Who Love to Tinker
Some people enjoy the process of configuring and optimising. If you find satisfaction in setting up complex automations, customising every detail, and having maximum control over your platform, Circle gives you those knobs to turn.
Those With Large Budgets and Technical Resources
Circle's more advanced plans require meaningful investment—both financial and in terms of time to set up and maintain. If you have the budget for Enterprise pricing and potentially a team member who can own the technical implementation, Circle is a legitimate choice.
Our honest take: "Circle is a good platform for certain creators. If the above describes you, we won't try to convince you otherwise."
Who Should Choose BTS
Now let's talk about who we built BTS for—and who consistently thrives on our platform.
Education-Focused Creators With 10K+ Audiences
If a creator has an audience but no structure, BTS is the answer. Our platform is specifically designed for education-focused creators in clear niches who already have audiences of 10,000 or more.
You've built the following. You have expertise to share. You have a digital product to offer—whether that's courses, content, coaching, or community. What you need is the infrastructure to turn that into a real business.
That's exactly what we built.
Creators Tired of Tool Fragmentation
If you're currently using three, four, five different tools to run your creator business and you're exhausted by the complexity, BTS consolidates everything into one place.
Everything runs behind the scenes in one space. Memberships. Courses. Community. Payments. Content. One login. One dashboard. One business.
Those Who Value Design and First Impressions
Your members' experience matters. If you care about presenting a professional, modern brand to your audience—not just a functional one—BTS is built for that.
We invested heavily in design because we believe creator businesses should look as good as the content they produce.
Creators Ready to Launch, Not Plan
If you've been researching platforms for months, creating comparison spreadsheets, and never quite launching—BTS is designed to break that cycle.
We made the decisions so you don't have to. Sign up today, launch this week. That's not marketing speak; it's how our platform actually works.
Our data shows: "$1,400,000+ has been paid out to creators on BTS. That money went to people who launched, not people who planned."
Making the Switch
Already on Circle and considering BTS? We've helped many creators make the transition, and we want to be transparent about what that looks like.
What Transfers Easily
- Your audience — Your members are yours. Email lists, contact information, all of it.
- Your content — Courses, posts, resources can all be migrated.
- Your brand — Your logo, colours, imagery—bring it all over.
What Takes Work
- Automations — If you've built complex workflows in Circle, you'll need to rebuild them in BTS. Our system is simpler, which means some advanced automations may need to be rethought.
- Member accounts — Members will need to create new logins. We help with communication templates to make this smooth.
How We Help
We don't just hand you a migration guide and wish you luck. Our creator success team actually helps with migrations. Real humans who understand both platforms and can guide you through the transition.
From our experience: "Migration anxiety keeps creators on platforms they've outgrown. We've seen the switch take days, not months—and creators consistently tell us they wish they'd done it sooner."
For detailed migration support, check out our Migration from Circle Guide or reach out to our team directly.
Our Honest Take
Let's bring this back to what matters.
Circle is a legitimate platform that's helped many creators build communities. We're not here to say they're bad—they're not. They've been doing this longer than us, they have more features, and they have established creators on their platform.
But we built BTS because we believe the philosophy matters as much as the features.
BTS is not a social network or a marketplace. We're creator business infrastructure. We exist so that creators can focus on creating, connecting, and growing something they own—while everything runs behind the scenes in one space.
If you want maximum customisation and don't mind the setup time, Circle is a solid choice.
If you want to launch fast, own your business, and have something that looks beautiful out of the box, we built BTS for you.
The best part? You can try BTS completely free. Our Starter plan isn't a trial—it's a real plan that lets you launch and start earning. No credit card required. No 14-day clock ticking.
We believe the best way to compare platforms is to actually use them. Sign up for BTS, explore what we've built, and see if our philosophy resonates with yours.
BTS is where creators turn content and community into real businesses. If that sounds like what you're trying to build, we'd love to help you get there.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does BTS cost?
BTS offers a free Starter plan to get started with no credit card required. Our Pro plan is competitively priced at $149/month with a 3.5% + 30¢ transaction fee—designed for creators ready to scale. Visit our pricing page for the complete breakdown and to see which plan fits your stage.
Is BTS free to use?
Yes! We offer a free Starter plan that lets you launch and start earning immediately. It's not a trial—it's a real plan you can use indefinitely. The Starter plan includes a 10% transaction fee, which decreases significantly when you upgrade to Pro. You bring your audience; we help you turn them into a real business.
What makes BTS different from other creator platforms?
We focus on creator business infrastructure, not just monetisation features. BTS gives creators one place to build something they own—memberships, courses, community, payments, and content all running behind the scenes in one space. We're not a marketplace, not a social network, and not complicated software that takes weeks to set up.
Can I migrate my existing members to BTS?
Absolutely. We help creators migrate from platforms like Circle, Patreon, Teachable, and others. Your member data, content, and brand can all transfer over. Our creator success team provides hands-on migration support—real humans who understand both platforms and guide you through the process step by step.
How long does it take to set up BTS?
Most creators launch within a day. Our onboarding is designed for speed and momentum, not complexity. We made opinionated choices about defaults and structure so you can focus on creating, not configuring. Some creators have gone from signup to first paying member in hours.
Does BTS take a percentage of my earnings?
Yes, and we're transparent about it. Our Starter plan (free) has a 10% transaction fee. Our Pro plan has a 3.5% + 30¢ transaction fee plus the monthly subscription. We designed our fee structure to align our success with yours—we do better when you do better.
What kind of support does BTS offer?
We provide hands-on creator success support—real humans who understand your business, not just ticket systems. We've helped over 1,600 creators build their businesses, and we take support seriously. Whether you need help with migration, setup, or growth strategy, our team is accessible and responsive.
Can I use my own domain with BTS?
Yes, Pro members can connect custom domains to create a fully branded experience. Your members see your URL, your brand, your business—not ours. We run the infrastructure behind the scenes while your brand stays front and centre.
Is BTS better than Circle?
It depends on your needs and philosophy. We built BTS for creators who want to own their business infrastructure, launch quickly, and have something modern and beautiful without extensive configuration. Circle offers more customisation options and deeper feature sets for those who want granular control. Both are legitimate choices for different types of creators.
Can I use both BTS and Circle?
Some creators do run multiple platforms, but most find BTS handles everything they need in one place. The whole point of our platform is consolidation—one place to build something you own, not another tool in your tech stack. That said, you're free to structure your business however works best for you.
How does BTS compare to Circle on pricing?
BTS starts free (Starter plan) with a 10% transaction fee. Circle starts at $89/month with a 2% transaction fee. For creators just starting out, BTS has a lower barrier to entry. As you scale, the math depends on your revenue and which features you need. Visit our pricing page for a detailed comparison.
What types of creators use BTS?
Our strongest communities are in education, business, fitness, and entrepreneurship niches. We're built for education-focused creators with clear niches and audiences of 10,000+ who have a digital product offering—content, courses, coaching, or community. We also serve entertainment-focused creators with larger audiences providing behind-the-scenes access.
How fast do I get paid on BTS?
BTS payouts arrive in 1-5 days globally, with same-day payouts available in the US. We prioritised payout speed because cash flow matters when you're building a business. When your members pay, you should get paid—fast.
Does BTS work internationally?
Yes, BTS supports creators globally (excluding Africa, Spain, Venezuela, North Korea, Iran, and Russia). Our payout infrastructure handles international payments efficiently, and creators around the world use BTS to build their businesses.
What can I sell on BTS?
BTS supports subscriptions (monthly and annual), pay-per-view content, one-off payments, free trials, tips, custom requests, and bundles. You set your own pricing and control your monetisation strategy. We're infrastructure that supports your business model, not a marketplace that dictates it.
Key Takeaways
- BTS and Circle serve different philosophies — Circle prioritises feature depth and customisation; BTS prioritises ownership, speed, and modern design
- BTS is creator business infrastructure — Everything runs behind the scenes in one place, designed for structure and momentum
- Circle may be better for enterprise-level operations with complex automation needs and large budgets
- BTS may be better for creators who want to launch fast and build something they own without weeks of configuration
- Try both platforms — BTS offers a free Starter plan (not a trial), Circle offers a 14-day trial. The best comparison is hands-on experience.
About the Author
The BTS Team is the Product Team at BTS. We built BTS because we believe creators deserve to own what they build—not rent it from platforms that optimise for their own growth instead of yours.
We've helped over 1,600 creators build their businesses and paid out more than $1,400,000 to creators on our platform. Every day, we talk to creators about what's working, what's frustrating, and what they actually need. This article reflects those conversations and our genuine perspective on how BTS compares to Circle.
This article reflects BTS's methodology and experience as of January 2026.
Ready to see the difference? [Start your free BTS account](/signup) and launch your creator business today. No credit card required, no 14-day countdown—just a real platform for building something you own.