Circle vs The PTDC
Two tools coaches often weigh against each other, compared on the same terms.
Circle
Community software for running a paid group off social media — spaces, threads, events and courses under your own branding rather than a Facebook group.
The PTDC
The Personal Trainer Development Center — a long-running publication and community focused on the business of coaching rather than on programming.
Pricing
Circle: Paid plans; trial available
The PTDC: Free articles and newsletter; paid programmes and mentorship
Category
Circle: Software
The PTDC: Communities
Topics
Circle: Community
The PTDC: Coach Communities, Forums
Last checked
Circle: 2026-09-16
The PTDC: 2026-09-16
What it is
Circle
A hosted community platform: discussion spaces, member profiles, live events, and course hosting, with paid membership built in so the community can be the product.
The PTDC
A large archive of articles on getting clients, pricing, retention and going online, written by working coaches, plus a newsletter and paid mentorship programmes built on the same material.
Best for
Circle
Group coaching programmes that have outgrown a Facebook group — no algorithm between you and your members, and no client seeing an ad mid-conversation.
The PTDC
The trainer who is good at training and bad at business — which is most of them. The free archive alone answers a lot of the questions that keep coaches underpaid.
Watch out for
Circle
Communities are not passive income; an empty Circle is worse than no community. Migrating people off Facebook loses some of them, so only move when the group is already active enough to survive the friction.
The PTDC
The free content funnels toward paid programmes, as you would expect. The advice skews toward the online-coaching business model, which is not the only viable one.
Editorial comparison — nothing here is paid placement. Pricing changes often; treat the vendor’s own page as the truth. How we review