Community platforms · November 2026 Edition
Circle vs Facebook Groups
Two of fourteen models named Circle first on the direct prompt; zero named Facebook Groups. Circle was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and Facebook Groups by six and Circle carries 57 labels and Facebook Groups 10, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in two categories this edition.
By Facebook, Colombia, founded 2004. Named in one category this edition.
First-choice share14%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate12%40%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#4#8A position in a field of 12; printed, not drawn.
Labels5710A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Circle reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Bettermode was named alongside these two in eleven of the fourteen direct answers. Bettermode vs Circle · Bettermode vs Facebook Groups · Discourse vs Circle
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the community platforms page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
CircleFirst choices, of fourteen modelsFacebook Groups
Direct201 against Circle
Paraphrase302 against Circle
Comparative20
Budget-constrained212 against Circle
Scale-constrained00
Negative102 against Circle · 4 against Facebook Groups
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, Circle and Facebook Groups were named in the same answer twenty-eight times, of the 153 answers naming Circle and the 35 naming Facebook Groups. In those answers Facebook Groups took the first choice one time and Circle six.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Circle and Facebook Groups stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | ||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | ||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | ||
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | | ||
| Grok 4.20 | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | |||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | ||
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | | | ||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | | | |
| Kimi K2 | | | | | ||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | |||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | | | |
| GPT-6 Luna | | |||||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | |
Circle Facebook Groups first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Circle on the left and Facebook Groups on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Circle and Facebook Groups stood in it.
Circle first, Facebook Groups not the choice
2 of 14 modelsFacebook Groups was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Llama 4 MaverickCircle
Qwen 3.7 FlashBettermode, Circle alternatives: Salesforce Experience Cloud, Zendesk Community
Neither was the first choice, one was named
4 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Grok 4.20Bettermode alternatives: Circle, Discourse, Gainsight Customer Communities
GLM 4.7 FlashXBettermode alternatives: Circle, Higher Logic Vanilla, Influitive
MiniMax M2.5Bettermode alternatives: Circle, Influitive, Salesforce Experience Cloud
Muse Glimmer 30BHigher Logic Vanilla alternatives: Bettermode, Circle, Gainsight Customer Communities, Salesforce Experience Cloud
Neither was named
8 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5Bettermode alternatives: Gainsight Customer Communities, Higher Logic Vanilla
GPT-5.4 miniGainsight Customer Communities alternatives: Higher Logic Vanilla, Salesforce Experience Cloud
Gemini 3.5 FlashGainsight Customer Communities, Higher Logic Vanilla alternatives: Bettermode, Discourse
Perplexity SonarBettermode alternatives: Gainsight Customer Communities
Mistral SmallBettermode alternatives: Higher Logic Vanilla, Influitive
DeepSeek V4 FlashHigher Logic Vanilla alternatives: Gainsight Customer Communities, Khoros Communities
Kimi K2Bettermode alternatives: Gainsight Customer Communities, Influitive
GPT-6 LunaHigher Logic Vanilla alternatives: Bettermode, Gainsight Customer Communities
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Circle leads by thirty-nine points.
Circle39%#1 of 12Facebook Groups0%#11 of 12Mid-marketThe figures above
Circle leads by twelve points.
Circle14%#4 of 12Facebook Groups2%#8 of 12Enterprise
What the models said about Circle
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Mighty Networks/Circle (more consumer/SaaS-focused or membership sites)” Grok 4.20 · paraphrase prompt · hard negative
“Avoid Per-Seat Pricing: Platforms like Circle.so or Mighty Networks are popular but often start at $99/mo.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · budget prompt · soft negative
“Circle, Bettermode, or comparable tools will not create engagement by themselves” Perplexity Sonar · negative prompt · soft negative
“Circle — best for branded customer communities that also want courses, events, memberships, and monetization in one modern platform.” GPT-5.4 mini · comparative prompt · first choice
“The best customer community platform for a company with a limited budget is Circle, which is available from $89 a month” Llama 4 Maverick · budget prompt · first choice
“The best customer community platform for a mid-market B2B company is Circle, which is the best all-around choice” Llama 4 Maverick · direct prompt · first choice
What the models said about Facebook Groups
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“These are convenient but risky for branded customer communities due to algorithm changes, data ownership loss, privacy scandals, and lack of control.” Grok 4.20 · negative prompt · hard negative
“Facebook Groups lack data ownership, have limited branding options, and are subject to algorithm changes” Mistral Small · negative prompt · hard negative
“No data ownership, algorithm changes disrupt reach, limited business features, privacy concerns” Kimi K2 · negative prompt · hard negative
“the best customer community platform is often Facebook Groups (completely free)” Grok 4.20 · budget prompt · first choice
“Completely free and leverages a platform most people already use. Good for informal communities but less branded.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · budget prompt · alternative
“Zero budget + no technical team: Use Discord, Facebook Groups, or Geneva.” Kimi K2 · budget prompt · alternative
Also compared
Bettermode vs CircleBettermode vs Facebook GroupsDiscourse vs CircleDiscourse vs Facebook GroupsHigher Logic Vanilla vs CircleHigher Logic Vanilla vs Facebook GroupsCircle vs Gainsight Customer CommunitiesCircle vs DiscordCircle vs Mighty NetworksGainsight Customer Communities vs Facebook GroupsDiscord vs Facebook GroupsMighty Networks vs Facebook GroupsAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full community standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.