Top 10 Circle.so Alternatives for Product Feedback in 2024

Looking for a Circle.so alternative with feedback boards, roadmaps, changelogs, and in-app widgets? You're in the right place!

I get it. You want something that's slick, powerful, and gets the job done quickly, but Circle.so just makes you want to pull your hair out.

No worries. I gathered all of the best Circle.so alternatives for feedback collection & management into one place and analyzed their pros, cons, and pricing, so you don't have to.

Let's find you the feedback tool of your dreams! 👇

The Best Circle.so Alternatives in 2024:

1. Featurebase - All-in-one feedback tool, best value for money
2. Nolt - Great for small teams, limited features
3. FeedBear - Cheap feedback tool with limited features
4. Frill - Simple design and lightweight widgets
5. Skool - Community-focused, lacks feedback management tools
6. Canny - For super small or enterprise companies, no in-between
7. Bettermode - Customizable all-in-one community engagement platform
8. Sleekplan - Most affordable pricing, limited features
9. Roadmunk - Focused on roadmapping, has basic feedback forms
10. Rapidr - Feedback collection, good price for very large teams

But before you run off to choose an alternative, let's go over Circle.so's drawbacks. This will help you know what to avoid while choosing a competitor. 🔎

Why even switch from Circle.so?

Circle.so is a community building tool that comes with its downsides. We have listed the key ones so you can know what to look for in a similar tool.

• Not Great for Managing Feedback
  Circle.so isn't made for collecting and organizing feedback well. Important feedback can easily get missed, as it lacks tools to properly track and manage it.
• Best for Specific Businesses
  Circle.so works well for coaches and consultants. But, it's not ideal for those selling physical products or software.
• No changelog widget and popups
  Circle.so doesn't have widgets you can put in your app. This makes it harder to get feedback or show customers your updates.

The 10 Best Circle.so Alternatives for Collecting Feedback

Now that we know what to avoid in a good alternative to Circle.so, let's get to the good part - the alternatives!

I handpicked each tool in this list by looking at their features and ease of use. I compared their advantages, drawbacks, and costs to Circle.so so you can pick the best one. Let's jump in!👇

1. Featurebase

Featurebase is the best Circle.so alternative. It has a neat interface and many rich features, including roadmaps and a changelog, to get the most out of your feedback.

It comes with affordable pricing and a Free plan allowing unlimited feedback. You can set it up in minutes and always get quick help through live chat. ⚡️

Featurebase's key features:

• Feedback boards, changelog, and a roadmap
• In-app widgets (see live demo)
• Sort feedback by monetary value
• Surveys
• Prioritization frameworks
• Automated notification emails
• Custom domain
• User segmentation
• Single Sign-On
• API
• Over 6 + languages, including Spanish, German, French, etc.

Advantages of Featurebase:

• Intuitive interface - a neat and easy-to-use design for you and your users with gamified features like leaderboards to incentivize feedback
• AI duplicate post-detection - users & admins will see relevant similar posts before posting to reduce duplicates
• AI-powered search - always find that idea that you were looking for, even if you don't remember the exact wording
• Lots of customizations - have your boards look exactly the way you want by changing the colors, theme, text, and much more
• Replies and @ mentioning - intuitive comment section for lengthy discussions

Drawbacks of Featurebase:

• No HubSpot & Salesforce integrations (see existing integrations)

How much does Featurebase cost?

• Free Plan - unlimited posts, all basic features like a feedback board, roadmap, and changelog to take your product to the next level
• Growth Plan ($40/month) - 4 managers, all integrations and widgets, custom domain, and seamless user login
• Premium Plan ($124/month) - 8 managers, API, SSO, and user segmentation

All plans let you collect unlimited feedback, and you can try the paid ones with a 10-day free trial. See pricing here →

Featurebase reviews:

• Product Hunt - 4.9/5

Conclusion

Featurebase is the best Circle.so alternative for collecting and managing feedback. It has a better dashboard and user interface for collecting feedback, all at a much lower price.

Featurebase offers an intuitive interface with feedback boards, a roadmap, a changelog, in-app widgets, and much more.

The onboarding is amazingly quick, with the migration options from Circle.so helping you get set up in minutes.

Learn more here →

2. Nolt.io

Nolt is a lightweight alternative to Circle.so that's best suited for small teams looking to collect feedback using simple features. However, it doesn't have changelogs and can get quite pricey for what it offers.

Nolt's key features:

• Feedback boards
• A roadmap
• Feedback collection widget
• Anonymous posting, commenting, and voting
• Password-protected boards

Advantages of Nolt:

• Simplicity (at the cost of many features)
• SAML 2.0 for enterprise
• Has over 10+ different translations

Drawbacks of Nolt:

• No admin dashboard
• No changelog for closing the feedback loop with users
• No duplicate post-detection system
• Only one widget
• No user segmentation
• No sorting feedback by customer revenue
• Doesn't scale well with many ideas (no bulk editing or filtering, etc.)
• No built-in prioritization frameworks for product managers

How much does Nolt cost?

• Essential ($29/month) - 1 board, roadmap, SSO
• Pro ($69/month) - 5 boards, API, and task management integrations
• Enterprise (talk to sales) - unlimited boards

The Essential Plan is great if you need SSO upfront, but otherwise, you'll find a better deal from other tools in this list.

Nolt reviews:

• G2 - 5/5
• Capterra - 4.9/5
• GetApp - 4.9/5

Conclusion

Nolt is a great Circle.so alternative for smaller teams looking for simplicity and voting boards. However, it lacks many crucial features like changelogs, user segmentation, and a dashboard.

Their pricing isn't expensive, but most alternatives offer much more for the same cost.

Check out the best Nolt alternatives →

3. FeedBear

FeedBear is another very basic Circle.so alternative for collecting feedback. It has all the necessary features to get you started but falls short of competitors by missing many advanced functionalities like user segmenting.

FeedBear's key features:

• Idea boards for feature requests
• User voting on best ideas
• Product roadmap sharing

Advantages of FeedBear

• Fully customizable with your own CSS
• Single Sign On (SSO)
• Custom HTML/JS code

Drawbacks of FeedBear:

• No admin dashboard to effectively manage feedback
• Very primitive filtering and sorting
• No user segmenting
• Can't sort feedback by customer revenue
• No built-in prioritization frameworks

How much does FeedBear cost?

FeedBear has simple pricing starting from $49/month. It offers all core features like roadmap, changelog, and custom domain. The second plan is already $99/mo while removing branding and granting SSO. You can use the 14-day free to test them out.

FeedBear reviews:

• G2 - 4.8/5
• Capterra - 4.8/5

Conclusion

FeedBear is a very primitive feedback tool at an affordable price. They're ideal for smaller teams after simplicity and don't need many advanced features.

‌It lacks a dashboard and comprehensive filtering system to manage feedback effectively and doesn't scale well with those growing fast.

Want more options? Check out these top FeedBear alternatives →

4. Frill

Frill is a straightforward Circle.so alternative with simple feedback boards and a widget. They have a pretty user interface but could improve their feedback management side.

The pricing and dashboard make it a more suitable option for smaller teams that don't get much feedback.

Frill's key features:

• Feedback boards, roadmaps, changelogs
• Feedback collecting widget & changelog popups
• Changelog notification emails
• Custom domain

Advantages of Frill:

• Minimalistic & straightforward UI
• Translations into any language

Drawbacks of Frill:

• Poor dashboard view for managing & moderating feedback
• No user segmentation
• No sorting feedback by customer revenue
• No changelog emails
• No duplicate post-detection system
• No built-in prioritization frameworks

How much does Frill cost?

Frill offers 4 plans to choose between. You can try out each one with a 14-day free trial.

• Startup ($25/month) - 50 active ideas at a time
• Business ($49/month) - removes the feedback limit
• Growth ($149/month) - unlimited feedback, white labeling, privacy features
• Enterprise (starting at $349/month) - SOC2 and a dedicated support manager

Frill reviews:

• G2 - 4.8/5
• Capterra - 4.6/5
• GetApp - 4.6/5

Conclusion

If you're looking for a simple alternative to Circle.so, Frill is a nice option. It offers a changelog, widgets, and a custom domain.

The first plan costs $25/mo and is suited for smaller teams that don't get more than 50 ideas in a month. The next plans are still quite affordable, but a bit pricey compared to others.

Check out the best Frill alternatives →

5. Skool

Skool is a platform for coaches and educators to create online communities and courses. It has basic features, limited customization, and lacks tools for detailed feedback management.

We find it best suited for simple community building and course management.

Skool's key features:

• Community - let users submit ideas and chat in a community
• Classroom - courses, modules, videos, resources, searchable transcripts, and progress tracking
• Gamification - make your group fun with points, levels, and rewards

Advantages of Skool:

• Very good for community management
• Gamification features help with community engagement
• Users can get notifications in-app and via email

Drawbacks of Skool:

• Poor feedback management
• No duplicate post-detection
• No widgets for in-app feedback gathering
• No prioritization frameworks for product management
• No integrations with tools like Jira, Intercom, or Slack

How much does Skool cost?

Skool offers all its features for $99/month. For community management & courses, this is a great deal. However, if you're also looking to handle feedback and bug reports, they do not have the tools for the job, and you will find better value elsewhere.

Skool reviews:

• No reviews

Conclusion

Skool is a community tool at it's core. It's got features like gamification, selling courses and event calendars.

Since most of the focus has gone to the community side, it lacks on the feedback management side. For example, they don't have a dashboard for managing feedback & have no statuses on posts like "In Progress" or "Completed".

Check out the best alternatives to Skool →

6. Canny.io

Canny.io is a popular feedback tool that targets enterprises. It offers all the same features as Circle.so and much more. However, their paid plans cost a lot, and the free plan has a strict limit on monthly posts.

Canny's key features:

• Feedback boards, roadmaps, changelog
• Prioritization frameworks
• Feedback widget
• Automated email notifications
• Duplicate post-detection
• Custom domain

Advantages of Canny:

• SOC2 compliance for enterprises
• Modern & intuitive design

Drawbacks of Canny:

• Very expensive pricing 
• No changelog popups
• No bulk editing
• No prioritization matrices
• No follow-up questions like "How important is this for you?" for extra insights
• Customers complain about not being listened to
• Supports only English

How much does Canny cost?

• Free plan - limits active posts to only 100 a month. For very small companies only
• $99/month (Starter Plan) - custom domain, roadmap, 2 integrations. Very limited in features, equal to competitors' free plans
• $399/month (Growth) - for 5 admins, user segmentation, private boards, and more
• Business (talk to sales) - unlimited boards, pay by invoice, SOC2, etc.

Canny Pricing 2024: Is It Worth It →

Canny reviews:

• G2 - 4.5/5 (complaints)
• Capterra - 4.8/5
• GetApp - 4.7/5

Conclusion

Canny is a reasonable Circle.so alternative for enterprises. They are SOC2 certified, support paying by invoice & have advanced moderation features. 

They offer a free plan that limits you to 100 posts. Furthermore, the most useful features are on the $399/mo plan, so it can get even quite expensive.

Check out these affordable Canny alternatives →

7. Bettermode

Bettermode is a Circle.so alternative that comes with a community feed, feedback board, help center & event handling. It's highly configurable and has integrations with popular tools like Jira or Intercom.

It lacks a good dashboard with filtering & prioritizing, making it not the best for feedback management. There is also no duplicate feedback detection, so you will have to handle that yourself.

Bettermode's key features:

• Community discussions - have a place for your community to chat & discuss things
• Ideation - capture feature requests and ideas from users
• Help Center - build a knowledge base for your users to teach them about your product
• Events - organize events & webinars with your users

Advantages of Bettermode:

• All-in-one tool - have all community management in a single platform
• Visually customizable - change every part of your community in real-time
• Gamification - boost engagement & encourage users to leave feedback

Drawbacks of Bettermode:

• Poor feedback management - no dashboard for handling large volumes of feedback
• Too complex - if you're only looking to manage feedback, there are better options
• High pricing - the cheapest plan starts at $599/mo

How much does Bettermode cost?

Bettermode has a pretty simple but costly pricing structure:

• Advanced ($599/mo) - all features except enterprise-specific ones
• Enterprise (talk to sales) - Uptime SLA, Master service agreement, SAML authentication

Bettermode reviews:

• G2 - 4.6/5
• TrustRadius - 8.8/10

Conclusion

Bettermode is an enterprise community platform. They are trying to be an all-in-one tool for communities but have some shortcomings.

Mainly, their feedback gathering & management could be improved. There is no dashboard & minimal filtering possible on user feedback. This makes it difficult to manage it at larger volumes.

Their cheapest plan costs $599/mo. For feedback management, more powerful and cheaper options are available at way cheaper prices.

Check out the best Bettermode alternatives →

8. Sleekplan

Sleekplan is one of the most budget-friendly alternatives to Circle.so. Besides feedback boards, roadmaps, and changelogs, it also supports satisfaction surveys. It's a great deal for smaller startups that don't need complex features.

Sleekplan's key features:

• Feedback boards, roadmaps, changelogs
• CSAT and NPS satisfaction surveys
• Anonymous posting, commenting, and voting
• Customizable survey widgets
• Supports 10+ languages

Advantages of Sleekplan:

• Very affordable pricing - highest plan $45/month
• A lightweight tool, not too complex

Drawbacks of Sleekplan:

• Outdated UI & UX
• No changelog popups
• No duplicate post-detection system
• No bulk editing
• No follow-up questions
• Few integrations
• Run by a solo founder, so customer support might not be good

How much does Sleekplan cost?

Sleekplan offers 4 plans to choose from. Each allows unlimited feedback and end users.

• Indie (free) - 1 admin, 1 feedback board, and a changelog
• Starter ($15/mo) - 3 admins, changelog, roadmap, customer satisfaction surveys
• Business ($45/mo) - 10 admins, merge posts, white labeling, custom domain, and user segmentation
• Enterprise (custom) - Everything in Starter, plus unlimited admins

Their pricing seems (and is) affordable, but many critical features like post-merging are only on the third plan.

Sleekplan reviews:

• G2 - 4.8/5
• Capterra - 5/5
• GetApp 5/5

Conclusion

Sleekplan is a good choice for smaller teams that also want to measure customer satisfaction. It's a nice, affordable alternative, but you'll have to go with the $45/mo plan to access most of the useful features.

Check out the best Sleekplan alternatives →

9. Roadmunk

Roadmunk is a feature roadmapping tool for larger companies. It helps product managers manage and prioritize feature ideas to make better product decisions.

It's an expensive but robust tool with many rich features and integrations. However, it has its downsides, mostly on the feedback collection side.

Roadmunk's key features:

• Roadmaps - display upcoming features, manage and prioritize ideas on a roadmap view
• Feedback boards - let users submit ideas and upvote others' posts
• Prioritization frameworks - prioritize ideas using frameworks like Value vs Effort or RICE
• Integrations - connect Roadmunk with popular issue-tracking tools like Jira, Trello, and Monday
• Single Sign-On - automatically sign in users with your existing data

Advantages of Roadmunk:

• Customizable design and filter options
• Controlled Access for each member of the team
• Swimlane and Timeline are great features for internal presentations

Drawbacks of Roadmunk:

• Selecting dates from the calendar takes a lot of time. Users want a quicker way, like typing the date directly or copying and pasting
• There are reports of occasional lagging or slow performance
• It's not easy to customize some of the features

How much does Roadmunk cost?

Here are the 4 tiers with the main differences:

• Starter ($19/mo) - 1 admin, unlimited roadmaps, feedback collection & prioritization, One-way Jira, Azure, Trello integrations, 3 reviewers
• Business ($49/editor/mo) - customizations, dependencies, API, 5 reviewers. (Optional: Two-way Jira + Azure DevOps for $9/editor/mo)
• Professional ($99/editor/mo) - Single Sign-On, Two-way Jira + Azure DevOps, 10 reviewers
• Enterprise (custom $$$) - advanced customization, private cloud, custom nr of reviewers

It doesn't seem too expensive at first. However, if you take into account the 'per editor' pricing and compare its functionality to alternatives, it's quite a lot.

You can pay the same price for much more complete tools offering more seats and even get many of these features for free.

Roadmunk reviews:

• G2 - 4.0/5
• Gartner - 4.6/5
• TrustRadius - 8.9/10

Conclusion

Roadmunk is a good choice if creating customizable roadmaps is important to you. This, along with their prioritization frameworks makes it a good choice for managing feedback internally.

Feedback collection with Roadmunk is very primitive and they lack a public feedback board. It's not possible for users to upvote, chat with each other or view changelogs.

Check out the best Roadmunk alternatives →

10. Rapidr

Rapidr is another good Circle.so alternative with a pretty intuitive design. It's aimed at larger companies, helping them collect and manage user feedback to make better product decisions. The pricing only makes sense for very large teams, so keep in mind if you're a smaller startup.

Rapidr's key features:

• Feedback boards, roadmap, changelog
• Custom domain
• Email notifications
• User segmentation
• Single Sign-On

Advantages of Rapidr:

• Pretty modern design compared to some other alternatives
• Enterprise integrations like Hubspot & Salesforce
• SAML 2.0 for enterprise

Drawbacks of Rapidr:

• Expensive
• No changelog widget or popups
• No built-in prioritization frameworks & matrices
• No bulk editing, deleting, or merging
• Very few customizations - can only change the theme color

How much does Rapidr cost?

Rapidr offers 3 pricing tiers:

• Startup ($49/mo) - 5 admins, roadmap, changelog, custom domain, widgets, and basic integrations like Slack
• Business ($199/mo) - 50 admins, user segmentation, SSO, and advanced integrations like
• Enterprise (custom) - unlimited admins, white labeling, and priority support

While the first plan is comparable with most other feedback tools on the market, the other plans are quite expensive and more suitable for enterprises.

Rapidr reviews:

• G2 - 4.8/5

Conclusion

Rapidr is a fresh feedback tool for larger teams. It's a robust alternative to Circle.so, but lacks some important features like prioritization frameworks and in-product widgets for notifications.

If you're a smaller startup, you'll find a better deal elsewhere in terms of pricing.

Check out the best Rapidr alternatives →

What is Circle.so?

Circle.so is a platform for businesses to create their own online communities. It's user-friendly and a great fit for those looking to connect and collaborate digitally.

While you can easily gather product feedback on Circle, managing it can be a bit of a challenge. The platform doesn't have a way to spot repeat posts or a specific area to track all the feedback. This means that if you're getting a lot of responses, sorting them out can be tough.

How much does Circle.so cost?

Circle.so comes with four tiers of pricing:

• Simple ($49/mo) - core features like discussions, events, paid memberships, custom domain
• Professional ($99/mo) - courses, live streams, unlimited members, custom branding, custom code snippets, reporting & analytics
• Business ($219/mo) - workflows, API access, email white-labelling, custom profile fields, activity scores
• Enterprise ($399/mo) - custom single sign-on (SSO), 10 admins, 100 moderators, unlimited workflows

It doesn't seem too expensive at first. However, if you take into account the 'per member' pricing and compare its functionality to alternatives, it's quite a lot.

Key features of Circle.so:

Circle.so offers many core features that most feedback tools do. This includes:

• Discussions - hold engaging conversations with customers
• Events - host virtual events
• Workflows - Deliver personalized welcome messages, nudges, awards, and subscription renewal reminders

Conclusion

The bottom line is that Circle.so is an great community management platform, but it lacks many crucial features regarding feedback collection & management. You can't close the loop with your users, collect feedback with in-app widgets, and much more.

Fortunately, there are plenty of powerful alternatives with user-friendly interfaces and lots of features to make managing feedback enjoyable.

Featurebase is one of the best Circle.so alternatives. It has all the matching features and much more for an even lower price. Besides feedback boards, it offers changelogs, in-app widgets, and automated emails - all with a beautiful and intuitive design.

Featurebase comes with a Free Plan that allows unlimited posts. You can automatically migrate over from Circle.so in minutes, so there's no downside to trying it. 👇