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Circle Community Platform vs. SchoolMessenger

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Circle Community Platform

    Score8.6 out of 10
    N/ACircle is an all-in-one branded community platform. Circle empowers creators and businesses to bring together their community, events, courses, and so much more — all under their own brand.

    $39

    per month

    SchoolMessenger

    Score10 out of 10
    N/ASchoolMessenger is a school community software featuring secure email, social media monitoring, school website, and mobile app. In late 2023 it was acquired by PowerSchool, and is now a PowerSchool product.N/A
    Pricing
    Circle Community PlatformSchoolMessenger
    Editions & Modules
    Basic
    $39
    per month
    Professional
    $89
    per month (billed annually)
    Business
    $199
    per month (billed annually)
    Enterprise
    $360
    per month (billed annually)
    Enterprise
    $399
    per month
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Circle Community PlatformSchoolMessenger
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
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    Circle Community PlatformSchoolMessenger
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    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Circle Community PlatformSchoolMessenger
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.3
    (4 ratings)
    2.1
    (5 ratings)
    Usability
    7.9
    (4 ratings)
    7.5
    (2 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Circle Community PlatformSchoolMessenger
    Likelihood to Recommend
    CircleCo, Inc
    Circle offers all the main functionalities that are needed to build a Community from scratch. It is very easy to set up even for someone like me with ZERO technical skills. I really enjoy managing the Community on Circle as it is very intuitive and smooth and doesn't require a lot of time to learn of to work around it
    Read full review
    PowerSchool Group LLC
    This is great for schools who want a bulk package of services at a competitive cost. Older website designs limit functionality and have a very square design. SchoolMessenger has more modern templates with newer capabilities which is better for visitors of the site. The functionality is great for parents who are accessing the site on the go, which happens more often than you know.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    CircleCo, Inc
    • Community Engagement, connection and communication
    • Courses
    • Payments
    • Channels/Spaces to specific topics and conversations
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    PowerSchool Group LLC
    • It is widely used.
    Read full review
    Cons
    CircleCo, Inc
    • Deeper analytics and more customization in metric views
    • More accurate tracking for invite links (Not just clicks; actual joining would be useful)
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    PowerSchool Group LLC
    • There's nothing I dislike. This program is very straight forward to use.
    • It just works well.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    CircleCo, Inc
    Overall, great. Platform could be easier to navigate.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    PowerSchool Group LLC
    SchoolMessenger serves our main purpose of sending out emergency notifications and notices to parents. It is great to cut down on the paper use and the ability to attach documents to our notes. We have used this to send home notifications from our Parent-Teacher Organization. Parents have thanked us for sending a back ups due to papers being misplaced and knowing that they have a backup through email.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    CircleCo, Inc
    No answers on this topic
    PowerSchool Group LLC
    Overall, this is a good, effective, and cost-efficient product. It is missing some key functionality we had with a previous program which limits my total score, but I still think a lot of school districts can get a lot out of SchoolMessenger. The features and functions they do include work well.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    CircleCo, Inc
    No answers on this topic
    PowerSchool Group LLC
    The support is fantastic. I have never had such complete support from a technology service. Every issue has been resolved while I was on the phone. I never had to wait for a callback or an advanced support tech. Their people are very well trained in their product and how to meet their customer's needs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    CircleCo, Inc
    It was the easiest to set up and it was suggested by a lot of people as the best one for my needs! I have zero previous experience about building a community so I tried to listen to suggestions of ppl with more experience than myself. So far it has been a good choice
    Read full review
    PowerSchool Group LLC
    Easier to use and more cost effective than shoutpoint
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    CircleCo, Inc
    • $500 a month, instead of needing several different platforms to do the things I need, Circle does most of them.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    PowerSchool Group LLC
    • Lost the confidence of families that we were protecting their data.
    • Refused to refund our funds after they released confidential information.
    • Required extensive resources to find another product.
    Read full review
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