Comparison
A free Circle alternative for member communities
Circle is a polished community platform for businesses and creators, with courses and paid memberships. If you need a free space where you approve members, run a feed and appoint moderators, a duno network covers that.
Written October 2026. Products change — check each one's own site for current details.
What Circle is
Circle is a community platform used by creators, educators and companies. It offers discussion spaces, events, courses, paid memberships and options for custom branding and domains, on paid plans.
What duno does differently
Free
No plans or fees. Approval, roles, invite links and moderation are all included.
Ready in minutes
Pick a name, choose public, private or hidden, and share an invite link.
Found inside duno and in search
Public networks appear in duno's network directory and can be indexed by search engines.
Professional features included
Members have profiles with experience and skills, and you can post jobs for free.
Circle and duno side by side
| Feature | Circle | duno |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Businesses and creators | Communities and groups of any kind |
| Cost | Paid plans | Free |
| Paid memberships and courses | Yes | No |
| Spaces / channels | Multiple spaces per community | One feed per network (run several networks) |
| Custom domain and branding | Available | duno.com/net/your-name with logo, cover and colour |
| Approval, roles, moderation | Yes | Yes |
| Jobs board and Q&A | Not built in | Built in |
A general description, not a full feature list. "Generally" means it depends on settings, plans or tools you add.
When Circle is the better choice
- You sell memberships or courses.
- You need multiple spaces, deep customisation or your own domain.
When duno fits better
- You want a free community without a monthly bill.
- One clear feed with approval and moderators is all you need.
- Your members value professional profiles, jobs and Q&A.
Trying duno alongside Circle
- Create the networkPick a name and address at duno.com/net/your-name, choose public, private or hidden, and write your rules and a welcome message.
- Share the invite linkPost an invite link where your members already are. You can limit how many times it works and when it expires.
- Run both for a whilePin the important posts on duno and see where your members prefer to talk. Nothing stops you from using both.
Frequently asked questions
Does duno have multiple spaces per community?
Each network has one feed. Communities that need separate spaces create several networks (up to five per person) or use duno groups.
Can I sell access?
No. duno networks are free to join and duno doesn't process payments.
Can I brand my network?
Yes, with a name, logo, cover image, colour, tagline, About page and rules.
Is there an API or integrations?
No.
Is duno free?
Yes. Creating an account, creating networks, inviting members, posting jobs and asking questions are free. There are no paid plans and no ads in the feed.
Who runs a network on duno?
The person who creates it. Owners appoint admins and moderators, approve or decline join requests, remove or ban members and can transfer ownership. duno's own moderators only step in for content that breaks duno's terms.
Is this comparison neutral?
We wrote it as fairly as we could and list the cases where the other product is the better choice. Products change often, so check each one's own site for current features.