Leave Circle: what it costs and where to go
Circle is $89/month plus 2% (Professional), $199 plus 1% (Business), or custom plus 0.5%, with payment processing on top. Whop is $0 plus 2.7% + $0.30 all-in. For a branded, white-label community with events and email, Circle's plan buys product; Whop buys lower fixed cost and a marketplace.
Verdict: Depends — read on
What moves
- Spaces content — export and re-host; no importer.
- Courses — re-uploaded.
- Members — re-subscribed.
What breaks
- Memberships.
- White-label domain experience; Whop products live under whop.com.
- Circle events, live streams and email tooling.
What you lose
Branding, spaces, live events, integrations.
What you gain
No plan fee, 2.7% + $0.30 inclusive of processing, Discord gating, affiliates, marketplace listing, payouts product.
What it costs, by monthly volume
Published domestic rates, computed at the stated average order size. Circle: Professional $89/mo (2% transaction fee), Business $199/mo (1%), Circle Plus custom (0.5%). Whop: 2.7% + $0.30 base; the second Whop row adds the optional 2% managed tax service as if every sale were taxed, which is the upper bound.
$10,000 a month · $75 average order · ≈133 orders
| Platform | Rate | Fees / month | Effective rate | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whop — base domestic cards | 2.7% + $0.30 | $309 | 3.09% | $9,691 |
| Whop — with managed tax if you enable the 2% service | 4.7% + $0.30 | $509 | 5.09% | $9,491 |
| Circle Professional + 2.9% + 30¢ processing plan + platform fee + processing | 4.9% + $0.30 + $89/mo | $618 | 6.18% | $9,382 |
$50,000 a month · $75 average order · ≈667 orders
| Platform | Rate | Fees / month | Effective rate | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whop — base domestic cards | 2.7% + $0.30 | $1,551 | 3.1% | $48,449 |
| Whop — with managed tax if you enable the 2% service | 4.7% + $0.30 | $2,551 | 5.1% | $47,449 |
| Circle Professional + 2.9% + 30¢ processing plan + platform fee + processing | 4.9% + $0.30 + $89/mo | $2,740 | 5.48% | $47,260 |
$100,000 a month · $75 average order · ≈1,333 orders
| Platform | Rate | Fees / month | Effective rate | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whop — base domestic cards | 2.7% + $0.30 | $3,099 | 3.1% | $96,901 |
| Whop — with managed tax if you enable the 2% service | 4.7% + $0.30 | $5,099 | 5.1% | $94,901 |
| Circle Professional + 2.9% + 30¢ processing plan + platform fee + processing | 4.9% + $0.30 + $89/mo | $5,388 | 5.39% | $94,612 |
$250,000 a month · $99 average order · ≈2,525 orders
| Platform | Rate | Fees / month | Effective rate | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whop — base domestic cards | 2.7% + $0.30 | $7,507 | 3% | $242,493 |
| Whop — with managed tax if you enable the 2% service | 4.7% + $0.30 | $12,506 | 5% | $237,494 |
| Circle Professional + 2.9% + 30¢ processing plan + platform fee + processing | 4.9% + $0.30 + $89/mo | $13,095 | 5.24% | $236,905 |
$1,000,000 a month · $99 average order · ≈10,101 orders
| Platform | Rate | Fees / month | Effective rate | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whop — base domestic cards | 2.7% + $0.30 | $30,030 | 3% | $969,970 |
| Whop — with managed tax if you enable the 2% service | 4.7% + $0.30 | $50,030 | 5% | $949,970 |
| Circle Professional + 2.9% + 30¢ processing plan + platform fee + processing | 4.9% + $0.30 + $89/mo | $52,119 | 5.21% | $947,881 |
$5,000,000 a month · $149 average order · ≈33,557 orders
| Platform | Rate | Fees / month | Effective rate | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whop — base domestic cards | 2.7% + $0.30 | $145,067 | 2.9% | $4,854,933 |
| Whop — with managed tax if you enable the 2% service | 4.7% + $0.30 | $245,067 | 4.9% | $4,754,933 |
| Circle Professional + 2.9% + 30¢ processing plan + platform fee + processing | 4.9% + $0.30 + $89/mo | $255,156 | 5.1% | $4,744,844 |
When to move, when to stay
Move if the branded experience is not what customers pay for. Stay if it is.
How to run the migration
- Open a Whop account and complete business verification before anything else; payout holds on a new account are the most common migration complaint.
- Recreate products at identical prices. Decide on tax: self-managed, Whop calculates/collects, or Whop collects and remits.
- Ask Whop's sales team about volume pricing and, if you are on Stripe, about card-data import.
- Announce a switch date; offer a bridging discount or extended access so subscribers re-consent willingly.
- Run both processors for one billing cycle. Close new sign-ups on Circle, then cancel remaining subscriptions there as they renew on Whop.
- Keep the Circle account open for refunds and disputes for at least 120 days.
The generic sequence, with timing, is on the migration checklist.
How to leave Circle itself
Circle bills $89–$199 a month before payment processing, so the cancellation question usually arrives when the plan fee stops matching what the community earns.
Cancel from Settings → Plan in the Circle admin area. Billing stops at the end of the current period; export members and posts before it closes, because access to the admin goes with the plan.
Cancelling and migrating are two jobs. Stand the Whop products up and move subscribers first, then cancel Circle — the moment the plan lapses you usually lose the export you still needed.
Get a volume quote from Whop
Whop's network team quotes custom rates for larger businesses. Tell them your monthly volume and current platform.
Talk to Whop about migratingWhop Network · 2.7% + $0.30 · custom rates at volumePartner link · free to start · no monthly fee
Frequently asked questions
How do I leave Circle?
Cancel from Settings → Plan in the Circle admin area. Billing stops at the end of the current period; export members and posts before it closes, because access to the admin goes with the plan.
Is Whop cheaper than Circle?
On published rates, Whop's 2.7% + $0.30 base is below Circle's Professional $89/mo (2% transaction fee), Business $199/mo (1%), Circle Plus custom (0.5%). The tables above show the gap at each volume.
Can I transfer subscriptions from Circle to Whop?
No processor allows subscription transfer; customers re-subscribe. Plan a bridging offer and a dual-running period.
Does Whop replace everything Circle does?
No. Branding, spaces, live events, integrations.
Written by Karel Moreau, editor of Migrate Payments. Fees and policies re-checked against the providers' published pricing pages on 20 September 2026. Spotted a change? karel.moreau@migratepayments.com.