ChatGPT answers, unedited

For your model—limited-capacity mastermind cohorts + a waitlist + optional private 1:1 coaching upgrades—I’d narrow it to Kajabi, Circle, and Maven, with Kajabi as my overall pick.

My ranking

1. kajabi.com — my pick

I'd choose this if your mastermind is a premium business offer, rather than primarily a course.

Kajabi supports both group and 1:1 coaching, scheduling, client management, offer packaging, and upsells. It specifically supports selling individual sessions or packages and can present an upsell after a coaching session. Kajabi

That maps nicely to something like:

Mastermind

• 8–12 seats
• $5,000–$15,000
• fixed start/end dates
• application → acceptance → payment
• waitlist when full

Optional upgrades

• +$1,500: 3 private sessions
• +$3,000: 6 private sessions
• VIP: mastermind + ongoing 1:1

The big advantage is that your cohort isn't an isolated product. You can build the whole customer journey around it: lead capture → nurture → application → sale → onboarding → cohort → 1:1 upsell → alumni/next cohort.

Kajabi also says its coaching product supports live group sessions, private notes, scheduling, resources, and upsells. Kajabi

2. circle.so — best if community is the product

I'd pick Circle if the magic of your mastermind is the members interacting with each other.

Think:

private community → cohort space → weekly calls → peer accountability → hot seats → alumni community

Circle is particularly strong for private spaces, cohort-based programs, live rooms and ongoing community. Circle

The downside is that I'd be less excited about it if your business is heavily funnel/application/upsell driven. Kajabi is more naturally oriented around the commercial side of the business.

3. maven.com — best if the cohort itself is the centerpiece

Maven is purpose-built around cohort-based programs. It has explicit cohort enrollment and waitlist functionality, including launching an enrollment campaign to people on your waitlist. Maven Help Center

It's particularly attractive if you want the platform to feel like:

"Join my next 6-week mastermind"

rather than:

"Join my coaching business."

I'd put Maven ahead of Kajabi if cohort operations and discovery were your primary concerns. But for a high-ticket mastermind business with meaningful 1:1 revenue, I'd rather own the entire customer journey in Kajabi.

What I'd do in your shoes

I'd build this as one core cohort offer with three levels, rather than making the 1:1 coaching a completely separate product:

Core — Mastermind
$X → group sessions + community

VIP — Mastermind + Private
$X + $Y → group + 3/6 private sessions

Private — 1:1
$Z → standalone coaching

Then use a waitlist when the cohort hits capacity and automatically invite the next people when a seat opens.

That structure makes the 1:1 upgrade feel like an obvious premium tier, rather than trying to sell coaching after someone has already bought.

Bottom line:

• Kajabi if you're building a serious premium coaching business → my recommendation
• Circle if the peer community is the main value
• Maven if you're primarily a cohort-course operator and want cohort-native infrastructure/discovery

If you tell me your typical cohort size, price point, and whether people apply or simply buy, I can narrow this down to the best setup—including exactly how I'd structure the waitlist and 1:1 upsell.

I'd pick Circle if the magic of your mastermind is the members interacting with each other.

Think:

private community → cohort space → weekly calls → peer accountability → hot seats → alumni community

Circle is particularly strong for private spaces, cohort-based programs, live rooms and ongoing community. Circle

The downside is that I'd be less excited about it if your business is heavily funnel/application/upsell driven. Kajabi is more naturally oriented around the commercial side of the business.

3. maven.com — best if the cohort itself is the centerpiece

Maven is purpose-built around cohort-based programs. It has explicit cohort enrollment and waitlist functionality, including launching an enrollment campaign to people on your waitlist. Maven Help Center

It's particularly attractive if you want the platform to feel like:

"Join my next 6-week mastermind"

rather than:

"Join my coaching business."

I'd put Maven ahead of Kajabi if cohort operations and discovery were your primary concerns. But for a high-ticket mastermind business with meaningful 1:1 revenue, I'd rather own the entire customer journey in Kajabi.

What I'd do in your shoes

I'd build this as one core cohort offer with three levels, rather than making the 1:1 coaching a completely separate product:

Core — Mastermind
$X → group sessions + community

VIP — Mastermind + Private
$X + $Y → group + 3/6 private sessions

Private — 1:1
$Z → standalone coaching

Then use a waitlist when the cohort hits capacity and automatically invite the next people when a seat opens.

That structure makes the 1:1 upgrade feel like an obvious premium tier, rather than trying to sell coaching after someone has already bought.

Bottom line:

• Kajabi if you're building a serious premium coaching business → my recommendation
• Circle if the peer community is the main value
• Maven if you're primarily a cohort-course operator and want cohort-native infrastructure/discovery

If you tell me your typical cohort size, price point, and whether people apply or simply buy, I can narrow this down to the best setup—including exactly how I'd structure the waitlist and 1:1 upsell.

For mastermind groups + limited-capacity cohorts + waitlists + private 1:1 add-ons, I’d usually narrow it to three platforms. The “best” depends on whether your business is primarily community-led, cohort-program-led, or premium coaching-led.

My top pick for your model: Kajabi

Best if you sell high-ticket transformations and want one system for:

• Cohort landing pages
• Applications/waitlists
• Payments and payment plans
• Email nurture sequences
• Group coaching delivery
• Private 1:1 upgrades
• Client portals

Kajabi supports structured coaching programs, including both 1:1 and group coaching, with scheduling, resources, payments, and offers. Kajabi Kajabi It also has private client experiences for higher-touch work through Backstage. Kajabi

A setup I’d consider:

Free lead magnet → waitlist → cohort application → cohort offer → 1:1 VIP upgrade

Example offers:

• Core mastermind: $3,000–$10,000
• VIP tier: cohort + monthly private calls: $8,000–$25,000
• Executive 1:1: separate premium package

Why I like it for you: it matches a coach’s business model, not just a community.

Best for community-heavy masterminds: Circle

Choose Circle if the main value is:

• Peer relationships
• Member networking
• Accountability
• Ongoing alumni community
• Multiple cohorts living together

Circle is strong for cohort spaces and community engagement. Circle

A good structure:

• Main community - Alumni lounge
• Resource library
• Events
• Private cohort spaces - Cohort A
• Cohort B
• VIP clients handled separately through a coaching CRM

The weakness: you may need extra tools for sophisticated sales funnels, applications, and 1:1 client management.

Best pure cohort experience: Maven

Maven is excellent if your product is basically:

“Join this 8-week transformational cohort with me.”

It is built around cohort delivery and has features for private cohorts and cohort management. Maven Help Center

I’d pick Maven if:

• You run 2–6 cohorts per year
• Your curriculum is the core product
• You don’t need a large CRM/business operating system

I’d be less excited about it if your main business is premium coaching upsells.

My ranking for your specific business

The stack I’d build for a premium mastermind operator

Kajabi

• Website/landing pages
• Waitlist
• Email sequences
• Checkout
• Cohort delivery
• 1:1 offers

• Zoom

• Live sessions

• Optional Circle

• If alumni/community becomes a major asset

Your biggest asset is probably not the content — it’s the scarcity, application process, peer group quality, and access to you. I’d choose a platform that makes the buying journey feel premium rather than one that only hosts lessons.

If you tell me your approximate price point (e.g., $500, $5k, $25k+ per seat) and whether cohorts are rolling enrollment vs fixed start dates, I can narrow the recommendation further.

For mastermind groups + private coaching + limited-capacity cohorts, I’d optimize for application flow, scarcity, waitlists, community, payments, and upsells more than a traditional “course platform.”

My shortlist:

Gig Money Tips Guideflow## My recommendation by business model

1. You sell a $3k–$25k mastermind with a few seats

I’d choose:

Circle + a sales funnel tool (or Kajabi alone)

Your flow:

1. Landing page → “Apply for next cohort”
2. Application form
3. Qualification call
4. Payment plan checkout
5. Private Circle community
6. Cohort space + alumni space
7. 1:1 coaching upgrade

Circle is particularly strong when the value is partly the network and peer accountability, not just your content. Guideflow

2. You want the simplest all-in-one setup

Choose Kajabi.

A typical offer ladder:

• Free newsletter / lead magnet
• Waitlist
• Group mastermind cohort
• VIP tier (+ monthly 1:1)
• Alumni membership

Kajabi shines when you need the marketing machinery around the offer: email sequences, checkout, funnels, and multiple offers under one roof. Guideflow

3. You run cohorts repeatedly (e.g., every quarter)

Choose Maven, Circle, or Disco depending on your style.

• Maven → “I launch a cohort, teach for 8 weeks, graduate people.” Ruzuku
• Circle → “The cohort becomes a community that keeps paying.” Guideflow
• Disco → “I’m building a scalable academy with multiple programs.” Disco

For your specific use case, I’d probably build this stack:

Option A (premium coach):

• Kajabi → marketing, applications, payments, email
• Circle → mastermind experience
• Zoom → calls
• Calendly → 1:1 scheduling

Option B (leaner):

• Circle → community + cohorts
• Stripe → payments
• Tally/Typeform → applications
• Calendly → calls

Features I would not compromise on

For a limited-seat mastermind, make sure the platform supports:

• Waitlist pages
• Application forms (not just “buy now”)
• Private cohort spaces
• Separate alumni groups
• Payment plans
• Add-on offers for 1:1 coaching
• Automated onboarding emails
• Calendar/event management
• Easy duplication for the next cohort

One question changes the answer quite a bit: Are your masterminds primarily (a) a structured program with a start/end date, (b) an ongoing membership community, or (c) a high-ticket advisory group where the cohort is mostly a container for your coaching?

For mastermind groups + private coaching, I’d narrow it to Kajabi, Circle, and Maven. The best choice depends on whether your business is primarily selling transformation, building community, or selling cohorts through a marketplace.

My pick: Kajabi

Kajabi is probably the strongest fit for the model you described.

Why:

• Limited-capacity cohorts: you can package a cohort/group-coaching offer with defined dates and enrollment.
• Waitlists + launch marketing: Kajabi's email, funnels, automations, and checkout are all integrated.
• 1:1 add-ons: this is where it gets particularly attractive for you. Kajabi supports structured 1:1 coaching, scheduling, payments, client dashboards, and upsells. www.kajabi.com
• Tiered offers: you could sell something like:
  • Mastermind — $X
  • Mastermind + 2 private sessions — $X + $Y
  • VIP — mastermind + ongoing 1:1
• Upsells: someone joins the cohort and then gets offered private coaching without you having to move them into another system.
• Marketing: useful if you're selling premium programs rather than simply hosting them.

Kajabi also added date-based course dripping specifically for cohort programs, which is useful when everyone needs to progress on the same schedule. www.kajabi.com

When I'd choose Circle instead

Circle is better if the mastermind community itself is the product.

It's especially compelling if your experience is:

weekly mastermind → peer relationships → accountability → ongoing community → occasional private coaching

rather than:

structured curriculum → cohort completion → next offer.

Circle is very strong for private spaces, group coaching, live sessions, courses, and ongoing member communities. circle.so

I'd choose Circle if you want one permanent home for alumni, where Cohort 1, Cohort 2, VIP clients, etc. can have different spaces.

When I'd choose Maven

Maven is the interesting third option if you want cohort-native selling and discovery.

Maven explicitly supports waitlist-to-enrollment launches, with its system notifying your waitlist when enrollment opens. circle.sohelp.maven.com

It's excellent for a defined, premium cohort such as:

6-week Executive Leadership Mastermind — 12 seats — $5,000

But for your particular model, I'd be less enthusiastic about Maven if 1:1 coaching is a major revenue stream. Kajabi is more naturally built around having the cohort, coaching, marketing, and upsells under one roof.

How I'd rank them for your business

Bottom line: I'd use Kajabi if you're building a premium coaching business where the mastermind is the core offer and 1:1 is the high-ticket ascension path.

A particularly clean funnel would be:

Waitlist → Application → Limited-seat mastermind → checkout → onboarding → VIP/1:1 upsell → alumni/community → next cohort

That structure plays directly to Kajabi's strengths, including its ability to package coaching programs, collect payments, schedule sessions, and offer bundled/upsell products. www.kajabi.com

If your masterminds are $3k–$20k+, I'd actually evaluate the platforms somewhat differently than I would for a $500 course—the sales/application/qualification workflow becomes much more important than the course-hosting features.

For your specific model—limited-capacity mastermind cohorts + waitlists + premium private 1:1 add-ons—I’d put Kajabi at #1.

My ranking

Why I'd choose Kajabi

Kajabi now maps unusually well to your offer structure:

• Limited seats: you can put a quantity limit on an Offer, so enrollment closes when the cohort hits capacity. help.kajabi.comhelp.kajabi.com
• Waitlist: Kajabi has a built-in workflow for sending people from a sold-out offer to a waitlist form/landing page. help.kajabi.com
• Cohorts: its cohort-based courses support scheduled content, live sessions, and separate cohorts. help.kajabi.com
• 1:1 upsell: you can create a separate 1:1 Coaching offer and use Kajabi's scheduler for private sessions. help.kajabi.com
• Group coaching: you can create multiple groups inside a group-coaching program, which is useful if you're running several mastermind cohorts throughout the year. help.kajabi.comhelp.kajabi.com

So your funnel could look like:

Mastermind waitlist → application/enrollment → 8–12 person cohort → private 1:1 upgrade → alumni/community offer

That can all live under one ecosystem rather than stitching together a course platform + waitlist software + scheduler + payment system + email automation.

When I'd choose Circle instead

If the community itself is the product, I'd seriously consider Circle.

Circle is particularly strong for a mastermind where the value comes from ongoing interaction: discussions, DMs, live events, Q&As, courses, and community can all live together. It explicitly supports fixed-start/fixed-end cohort courses, flexible pricing and upsells, and course waitlists. circle.so

I'd choose Circle over Kajabi if your promise is something like:

"Join an elite room of 12 founders and have access to the room, relationships, conversations and me."

I'd choose Kajabi if it's more:

"Join my 12-week proprietary program, get the curriculum/coaching system, and optionally add private access to me."

Maven

Maven is attractive if you're primarily selling cohort-based educational programs. It has a launch/waitlist workflow and handles cohort enrollment around specific start/end dates. help.maven.com

But for mastermind + private coaching upsells, I wouldn't make it my first choice. Your business sounds more like a high-ticket coaching ecosystem than a conventional cohort course business.

Bottom line: I'd start with Kajabi, especially if you're planning multiple tiers such as:

• Mastermind: $2k–$10k+
• Mastermind + private coaching: $5k–$20k+
• Private coaching only: premium/high-touch
• Waitlist: automatically captures people when the cohort sells out

If you tell me your typical cohort price, cohort size, whether applications are required, and whether the 1:1 add-on is a one-off or recurring, I can narrow this down to the best platform and the exact offer architecture I'd use.

For your model—limited-capacity mastermind cohorts + waitlists + optional private 1:1 coaching—I’d put Kajabi first, with Mighty Networks as the strongest alternative.

My ranking

Why I'd choose Kajabi for you: it now has dedicated group and 1:1 coaching, scheduling, payments, structured programs, client management, and upsells in the same ecosystem. You can sell the cohort as the core offer and then offer a private coaching upgrade without stitching together a bunch of tools. www.kajabi.com

Its coaching system also supports packages and individual sessions, and Kajabi explicitly supports cohort-style group coaching. www.kajabi.com

The setup I'd use

I'd structure your funnel roughly like:

Mastermind landing page
→ "Apply / Join Waitlist"
→ qualified prospects enter your waitlist
→ cohort opens with X seats
→ checkout
→ onboarding + private community
→ optional 1:1 upgrade
→ post-cohort continuation offer

The important distinction is that you're not really selling a "course." You're selling a high-touch transformation with scarce access to you. So I'd optimize for offer management + payments + client experience, rather than choosing a platform primarily because it has a nice course player.

When I'd pick Mighty instead

If the community itself is a major part of the mastermind, I'd seriously consider Mighty Networks.

Mighty is particularly strong for cohort experiences because courses, events, discussion, messaging, subgroups and community live together. It also supports bundles that can include coaching, masterminds, private groups and events. www.mightynetworks.com

Its current platform specifically supports tiered plans and bundles, which could map nicely to something like:

• Mastermind — $X
• Mastermind + 2 private sessions — $Y
• Mastermind VIP — $Z
• Private coaching only — $X/month

www.mightynetworks.com

My actual recommendation

Choose Kajabi if your business is primarily you + your expertise + premium coaching.

Choose Mighty if your business is becoming a community of high-level peers that happens to include your coaching.

For a typical mastermind operator doing, say, 8–20 people per cohort with a handful of premium 1:1 clients, I'd lean Kajabi.

One caveat: I'd specifically test the waitlist mechanics before committing. "Waitlist" can mean anything from a simple lead form to a true capacity-aware queue with automatic invitations, and that's an important distinction for your use case.

If you tell me your cohort price, number of seats, cohort frequency, and whether people apply or can buy directly, I can narrow this down to the best platform and the exact stack I'd use.

For mastermind groups + private coaching, I’d pick Circle as the best overall platform.

Circle

My ranking for your model

Why I'd choose Circle

Your business isn't really a "course business." It's a high-ticket relationship business with limited seats.

Circle lets you combine:

• Private cohort spaces — one space/community per mastermind cohort
• Live events and calls
• Member discussions and accountability
• Paid access and multiple pricing options
• Upsells at checkout — useful for your 1:1 upgrade
• Different access levels for different clients
• Courses/content alongside the actual mastermind experience

Circle's current paywalls support one-time payments, subscriptions, installments and multiple pricing options, and its checkout can present an upsell immediately after the primary purchase. help.circle.so

So you could structure an offer like:

Mastermind — $5,000
→ 12 seats
→ 8 group sessions
→ private community
→ weekly accountability

Mastermind + Private Coaching — $8,500
→ everything above
→ 4 private 1:1 sessions

That is a very natural fit for Circle's access/paywall model. Circle explicitly supports selling courses, coaching, memberships and events in one ecosystem. circle.so

Where Kajabi wins

Kajabi

If your priority is marketing and selling the coaching business, rather than the actual mastermind community, I'd seriously consider Kajabi.

Its coaching product includes scheduling, payments, client management, structured programs, milestones and automated enrollment. www.kajabi.com

So:

Circle = better client experience/community

Kajabi = better business/marketing infrastructure

One caveat: waitlists

If "waitlist" means a sophisticated application → qualification → waitlist → limited-seat enrollment funnel, I wouldn't make the platform itself responsible for everything.

I'd use:

Landing page → application → qualification → waitlist → checkout → Circle

That gives you control over who gets a seat rather than simply selling seats on a first-come basis.

For a premium mastermind, that's important. You probably don't want someone paying $5–10K without first being approved.

My recommended stack

For your specific business, I'd probably build:

Circle → community, cohort delivery, calls, content, payments
Stripe → payments
Calendly → 1:1 scheduling if Circle's scheduling isn't sufficient
Your email CRM → waitlist/nurture/application follow-up

And create three offers rather than trying to make one product do everything:

1. Waitlist — free
2. Mastermind — limited cohort
3. Mastermind + 1:1 — limited even further

That gives you a very clean ascension path.

If you're selling $3K–$20K+ masterminds, I'd choose Circle over Maven. Maven is excellent when the core product is a structured cohort course; Circle is better when the community and ongoing relationship are the product. Maven's own current discovery system is also oriented around course marketplace discovery and building waitlist momentum. help.maven.com

If you tell me your typical cohort price, number of seats, cohort length, and whether applications are required, I can recommend the exact stack and funnel I'd use—including how I'd set up the waitlist and 1:1 upsell.

For your specific model—limited-capacity mastermind cohorts + waitlists + premium 1:1 add-ons—I’d narrow it to Circle, Kajabi, and Mighty Networks, with Circle as my first choice.

🥇 My pick: Circle

For a mastermind business, I'd favor Circle because your community itself is part of the product.

You can structure it something like:

Mastermind
→ Application / waitlist
→ Cohort 1
→ Private cohort space
→ Weekly group calls
→ Resources/content
→ Member discussions
→ Optional 1:1 coaching upgrade

Circle supports gated spaces, paid access, courses/events and live interaction, which makes it particularly well suited to a premium cohort rather than just a conventional online course. www.mightynetworks.com

Circle

🥈 Kajabi if your biggest priority is selling

I'd choose Kajabi instead if your business is heavily dependent on:

• landing pages
• email sequences
• sales funnels
• payment plans
• lead nurturing
• selling multiple offers
• 1:1 coaching alongside group programs

Kajabi now supports Courses, Communities, Coaching, and marketing in one platform, including scheduling/payment functionality for coaching. help.kajabi.com

Kajabi

The tradeoff is that I think Circle gives you a better premium mastermind experience, whereas Kajabi gives you a better marketing/sales machine.

🥉 Mighty Networks if community is the moat

Mighty Networks is compelling if you envision eventually having a broader ecosystem:

Free audience → paid community → mastermind → VIP mastermind + 1:1 → alumni membership

Mighty supports courses, events, community, livestreaming and paid bundles, so it can accommodate a fairly sophisticated membership ecosystem. www.mightynetworks.com

Mighty Networks

What I'd do in your shoes

I'd build the offer architecture around capacity, rather than around the platform:

Waitlist
→ “Apply for the next mastermind”

Core offer
→ 8–12 people
→ 8–12 weeks
→ weekly group session
→ private community
→ resources/templates

VIP upgrade
→ mastermind + 2 or 4 private 1:1 sessions
→ deliberately capped at, say, 3–4 people

Alumni
→ optional ongoing community/membership

That makes the scarcity real: the mastermind has limited seats, while the 1:1 upgrade has an even tighter capacity constraint.

One important distinction: I wouldn't pick Maven for this unless the mastermind is essentially a cohort-based course. Maven is excellent at the cohort-course model and has strong waitlist/launch mechanics, but your business sounds more like a high-ticket relationship/community business than a course business. www.mightynetworks.commaven.com

My ranking for you:

1. Circle — best overall for premium mastermind cohorts
2. Kajabi — best if sales/marketing automation is the priority
3. Mighty Networks — best if you're building a larger community ecosystem
4. Maven — best if the offer is primarily a structured cohort course

If you tell me your typical cohort price, number of seats, cohort length, and whether people apply or simply buy, I can give you a much more definitive recommendation—including the exact setup I'd use for the waitlist → checkout → cohort → 1:1 upsell flow.

For your model—premium mastermind cohorts + limited seats + waitlists + optional private 1:1 coaching—I’d shortlist Circle, Kajabi, and Maven, but my top pick is Circle.

My ranking

1. Circle — probably the best fit

Circle is particularly strong if the mastermind itself is the product, rather than simply a course delivered to a group.

You can combine:

• A sales/landing page
• Paid cohort enrollment
• Private community spaces
• Cohort-specific discussion areas
• Live sessions/events
• Office hours
• Direct messaging
• Membership/subscription tiers
• Upsells
• Courses/resources
• Automations and segmentation

Circle explicitly supports cohort courses with fixed start/end dates, plus coaching sessions, live Q&As and events. Its current Professional plan is $89/month and Business is $199/month; workflows and more advanced customization are on Business. circle.so

The architecture I'd use for you:

Mastermind → private Circle space → weekly group calls → community → optional "Private Coaching" upgrade

That creates a very natural premium experience.

2. Kajabi — choose this if you're really selling coaching

Kajabi is stronger if your business looks more like:

Content/marketing → application/sales → coaching program → 1:1 upsell → email follow-up

Its coaching product supports structured programs, scheduling, payments, client dashboards, private notes, individual sessions, packages, and post-session upsells. It also supports group coaching. circle.sowww.kajabi.comhelp.maven.comcircle.so

So if you're personally spending a lot of time with clients and expect 1:1 coaching to become a significant percentage of revenue, I'd seriously consider Kajabi over Circle.

The tradeoff: Circle generally feels more like a high-end mastermind/community, while Kajabi feels more like a digital coaching business operating system.

3. Maven — excellent for cohort launches, less ideal for your exact model

Maven is extremely good at the "limited cohort → waitlist → enrollment window → cohort starts" model.

It has built-in waitlist functionality, automated waitlist emails, cohort launch campaigns, and the ability to close enrollment and automatically turn the landing page into a waitlist page. help.maven.com

It even recommends applications when you have a deliberately small cohort—for example, 10 seats with substantially more demand. help.maven.com

But I'd favor Maven if you're selling a cohort-based course.

For a true mastermind where the ongoing relationships, conversations, community, and access to you are part of the value proposition, I'd rather have Circle.

What I'd build in your shoes

I'd structure your offer as three tiers:

Tier 1 — Mastermind

• 8–12 seats
• Fixed cohort dates
• Weekly/biweekly group sessions
• Private community
• Group accountability
• Resources/templates

Tier 2 — Mastermind + Private Coaching

• Everything above
• X private sessions with you
• Priority access
• Personalized implementation/accountability

Tier 3 — 1:1 Coaching

• Separate premium offer
• Application required
• Limited number of clients

Then use the waitlist as the default state whenever the cohort is full, rather than sending people to a generic "sold out" page.

That matters psychologically: you're not saying "no." You're saying "this is selective; get in line for the next opening."

My actual recommendation

If you're already generating your own audience through LinkedIn, email, referrals, podcasting, etc.:

→ Circle

If you're building a broader coaching business with funnels, email marketing, courses and lots of 1:1:

→ Kajabi

If your core product is a structured, repeatable educational cohort:

→ Maven

For a premium mastermind operator, I'd pick Circle + a scheduling tool for the 1:1 component rather than trying to force everything into a course platform. Circle's current platform already combines courses, community, events, payments, memberships and coaching-oriented experiences, which makes it particularly well suited to this model. circle.so

If you tell me your typical cohort price (e.g. $2k/$5k/$10k+), cohort size, and whether the mastermind runs continuously or in 8–12 week cycles, I can narrow this down to the best setup—including exactly how I'd handle applications → waitlist → payment → seat limits → 1:1 upsells.

For your model—premium mastermind cohorts + private 1:1 coaching add-ons + genuinely limited seats + waitlists—I’d narrow it to Kajabi vs. Maven vs. Circle.

My pick: Kajabi

Kajabi is probably the best fit if you are building a coaching business/brand, rather than primarily selling courses.

Why:

• Cohort/group coaching: Kajabi supports structured group coaching programs and cohort-style delivery. www.kajabi.com
• 1:1 add-ons: You can sell individual sessions, multi-session packages, and upsells after coaching sessions. www.kajabi.com
• Offers/checkout: You can package different tiers—e.g. mastermind only, mastermind + 1:1, VIP/private coaching—and sell them through offers. www.kajabi.com
• Private client experience: Its Backstage product is specifically designed for premium 1:1 client portals. www.kajabi.com
• You can keep your website, email marketing, payments, checkout, coaching delivery and client management under one roof.

The big advantage for you is that you can make the business architecture look something like:

Mastermind
→ 8 seats
→ $X / cohort
→ application or checkout
→ cohort community/content/live calls

Mastermind + VIP
→ 8 seats
→ $X + premium
→ same cohort
→ 2–4 private sessions

Private Coaching
→ separate high-ticket offer
→ application/book-a-call
→ private client portal

That is much closer to a premium advisory business than a conventional online course business.

When I'd choose Maven instead

Maven is arguably better if the cohort itself is the product and you want a very polished enrollment/waitlist experience.

Maven has unusually strong cohort mechanics: waitlists, applications, enrollment, cohort management and automated waitlist/enrollment emails are built around the cohort model. help.maven.com

It also has a marketplace/discovery engine, which could potentially bring you new prospects. maven.com

But: for your specific model, I'd hesitate to make Maven the core platform if private 1:1 coaching is a meaningful revenue stream. Maven is optimized around cohort-based education; Kajabi is more naturally suited to the broader expert/coaching business.

Circle is the wildcard

Circle is the one I'd consider if the community experience is the heart of your mastermind.

Circle combines community, courses, events, live rooms, memberships and payments. Its current Professional plan is $89/month, while Business is $199/month. circle.so

You could create:

• Cohort A community
• Cohort B community
• alumni community
• VIP/private spaces
• live mastermind calls
• paid tiers
• recurring memberships

Circle supports different membership tiers, subscriptions, one-time payments and access controls for specific spaces. circle.so

Its weakness for you: I'd still rather have Kajabi handling the premium offer architecture + coaching business and Circle handling the community if community is exceptionally important.

How I'd rank them for your business

One important distinction

If you're selling $5k–$25k masterminds, I wouldn't optimize primarily for "course platform" features.

I'd optimize for:

Application → qualification → limited seats → payment → onboarding → cohort experience → VIP upsell → alumni/re-enrollment

That's why I'd lean Kajabi for you.

If your mastermind is more like "10 executives, 6 weeks, $3,000, live curriculum", I'd seriously consider Maven.

If it's more like "8 founders, ongoing peer group, intimate community, weekly calls, occasional 1:1, recurring membership", I'd lean Circle.

If you tell me roughly your price per cohort, cohort size, duration, and whether you want applications vs. direct checkout, I can recommend the exact platform + setup I'd use.

For mastermind groups + private coaching, I’d shortlist Kajabi, Circle, and Maven—but my default pick would be Kajabi if you want one system to run the whole business.

My ranking for your model

\*Kajabi can limit an offer by quantity and redirect people once capacity is reached, which is particularly useful for a scarce-seat mastermind. www.kajabi.com

🥇 I'd choose Kajabi if I were you

Your business isn't really a "course business." It's an offer ladder:

Waitlist → Limited-seat mastermind → optional private 1:1 → alumni/next cohort

Kajabi maps nicely onto that. It supports courses/cohorts, coaching, communities, offers, payments, upsells and email automation in the same ecosystem. www.kajabi.com

A setup I'd use:

• Mastermind landing page → application/waitlist
• Cohort offer → e.g. 8–12 seats
• Capacity reached → automatically send visitors to "Join the next cohort" / waitlist page
• Checkout → mastermind only
• Upsell/add-on → "Add 3 private coaching sessions"
• Post-purchase automation → onboarding, scheduling, reminders
• Alumni offer → next cohort or ongoing private coaching

That gives you a clean way to sell scarcity without making the sales process feel hacked together.

🥈 Circle if the mastermind is the community

I'd pick Circle if the value proposition is heavily based on peer interaction, ongoing community, discussion, accountability and alumni relationships.

Circle puts courses, discussions, live events, memberships and automations into the same community environment. circle.so

So if you're thinking:

"People aren't just buying my coaching—they're buying access to a room of exceptional people."

Circle may actually be better than Kajabi.

🥉 Maven if cohorts are your entire business

Maven is unusually good if your primary product is a premium, time-bound cohort. It is built around cohort launches, enrollment, waitlists and live delivery, and also has marketplace discovery. maven.com

The downside for your particular model is that private 1:1 coaching becomes less central. If you're going to have a substantial coaching upsell, I'd rather own the entire customer journey in Kajabi.

The important distinction

I'd make the decision based on what you're ultimately selling:

"Join my 8-person mastermind and get transformed."
→ Kajabi

"Join this elite community of 50 operators and participate in masterminds/coaching."
→ Circle

"Join my 6-week live expert-led cohort."
→ Maven

For mastermind + private coaching + limited seats + waitlist, Kajabi is my strongest recommendation.

If you tell me your approximate price per mastermind seat (e.g. $2k, $5k, $10k+) and whether people apply before paying, I can narrow this down further—the ideal setup changes quite a bit at high-ticket pricing.

For mastermind groups + private coaching, I’d optimize for something slightly different from a normal “course platform.” Your key requirements are:

1. Limited seats — e.g. 8–15 people, with enrollment closing automatically.
2. Waitlist — capture demand after the cohort fills.
3. Cohort experience — dates, live sessions, resources, community.
4. Premium 1:1 upsell — easily sell a private coaching tier/add-on.
5. Good checkout + automation — deposits, payment plans, onboarding, reminders, upsells.
6. Ideally, one client experience, rather than stitching together 5 apps.

My ranking for your model

🥇 I'd pick Kajabi for you

Kajabi is probably the strongest fit if you're building a high-ticket coaching business rather than simply selling a cohort course.

Kajabi supports both group and 1:1 coaching, built-in scheduling, live sessions, payment collection, community, email automation, funnels, upsells, and payment plans. It also lets you sell individual sessions or packages and create upsells after coaching sessions. www.kajabi.com

That maps very nicely to an offer ladder like:

Mastermind → Mastermind + private coaching → VIP 1:1

For example:

• Mastermind: $3,000 — 10 seats
• Mastermind + 3 private sessions: $5,000 — 3 seats
• Private coaching: $12,000 — 2 seats
• Next cohort waitlist: automatically opens when full

The important distinction is that you're selling access to you and a transformation, not just content. Kajabi is particularly strong when the cohort is one part of a larger business with funnels, email, coaching, memberships, and higher-ticket offers. www.kajabi.com

🥈 Maven if the cohort itself is the product

Maven is more compelling if your business is fundamentally cohort-based.

It's purpose-built around cohort launches, enrollment, waitlists, live delivery, and community. Maven also has marketplace/discovery functionality, which can help if you want the platform to contribute to customer acquisition. maven.com

I'd choose Maven over Kajabi if your model is:

“I run a premium 6-week mastermind six times a year.”

I'd choose Kajabi if it's:

“I run masterminds, sell private coaching, nurture leads, have multiple offers, and want this to become a substantial coaching business.”

🥉 Circle if the community is the mastermind

Circle becomes very attractive if the value proposition is primarily peer relationships + ongoing community + your facilitation.

Circle supports paid community/paywall models, including examples of cohort programs with waitlists and different coaching tiers. circle.sowww.kajabi.com

I'd use Circle when you want something like:

Application → paid mastermind → private community → monthly calls → alumni community → optional 1:1 coaching

rather than a conventional course curriculum.

One underrated option: Podia

Podia is worth considering if you want something simpler. Its current functionality allows you to set automatic signup limits on products, events, and plans, which is directly relevant to limited-capacity cohorts. help.podia.com

But for a premium mastermind business, I'd probably spend the extra money for Kajabi unless simplicity is your overriding concern.

What I'd do in your shoes

Kajabi + an application-first funnel.

Don't make your mastermind look like a $97 online course where someone simply clicks “Buy.”

I'd structure the funnel:

Landing page
↓
Apply for the next cohort
↓
Application/qualification
↓
Accepted → checkout
↓
8–12 seats available
↓
Cohort fills → waitlist automatically
↓
Offer accepted applicants a VIP 1:1 upgrade

And I'd make the 1:1 option a distinct premium tier, rather than trying to bolt it on after someone purchases.

That lets you turn one cohort into a natural ascension path:

Waitlist → Mastermind → Mastermind + 1:1 → Private coaching → Alumni/referral

Bottom line: Kajabi is my pick for your particular business model. Maven is the better specialist if you're primarily a cohort-course operator; Circle is the better choice if your mastermind is fundamentally a community. www.kajabi.com

For your specific model—limited-capacity mastermind cohorts + a waitlist + premium private 1:1 add-ons—I’d shortlist Kajabi, Circle, and Maven, with Kajabi as my default recommendation.

My ranking

1. 🥇 Kajabi — best fit for your business

If you're selling something like:

8-person mastermind — $5,000
→ application/waitlist
→ cohort onboarding
→ weekly group calls
→ private community
→ optional $1,500 private coaching package

I'd choose Kajabi.

It lets you put the marketing funnel, checkout, email automation, course/program delivery, coaching, and customer journey under one roof. Kajabi also specifically supports selling additional 1:1 coaching sessions to existing coaching clients, without requiring them to repurchase the entire program. help.kajabi.comwww.kajabi.comcircle.so

That's unusually well aligned with your model because the natural customer ladder becomes:

Waitlist → Mastermind → 1:1 upgrade → next cohort / alumni offer

You can also use date-based course delivery for cohorts rather than treating everything as an evergreen course. help.kajabi.comwww.kajabi.comcircle.so

Kajabi

2. 🥈 Circle — choose this if the community is the product

I'd choose Circle over Kajabi if your mastermind is primarily about peer interaction, accountability, discussion, networking, and ongoing community rather than structured curriculum.

Circle combines courses, discussions, events, live rooms, memberships, payments and website functionality. Its current Professional plan is $89/month and Business is $199/month. circle.so

It's particularly attractive if you envision:

• Cohort A
• Cohort B
• Alumni community
• VIP/private mastermind
• Private 1:1 clients
• Events/workshops
• Ongoing membership

all living inside the same community ecosystem.

Circle

My hesitation: for a high-ticket coaching business where the sales funnel and 1:1 monetization are as important as the community, Kajabi has the more natural business infrastructure.

3. 🥉 Maven — excellent if cohorts are the core product

Maven is purpose-built around cohort-based education. It has cohort enrollment, waitlist functionality, landing pages, Stripe payments, email campaigns, and cohort scheduling. It also explicitly supports opening enrollment to your waitlist when a cohort launches. maven.com

The catch for you is that Maven is optimized around selling the cohort itself, whereas your business sounds more like an expert/coaching business that happens to use cohorts.

Maven takes 10% of course revenue (plus Stripe fees), so I'd also think carefully about that economics if you're selling $5k–$15k programs. maven.com

Maven

What I'd build for you

If I were designing the funnel, I'd make it:

1. Waitlist
→ "Apply for the next Mastermind"

2. Application
→ qualifying questions
→ desired outcome
→ current situation
→ willingness/ability to invest

3. Acceptance
→ personalized acceptance email
→ checkout for the cohort

4. Cohort
→ 6–10 people max
→ weekly group session
→ private community
→ resources/frameworks

5. 1:1 upgrade
During the cohort:

"Want individual attention on your specific business? Add 3 private coaching sessions."

This is where Kajabi's native additional-session functionality becomes particularly useful. help.kajabi.com

6. Post-cohort
→ alumni community
→ next mastermind
→ ongoing advisory
→ higher-ticket private coaching

The key distinction

I'd make the decision this way:

Choose Kajabi if: you're building a coaching business with cohorts.

Choose Circle if: you're building a community/business where the mastermind is the community.

Choose Maven if: you're primarily building and repeatedly launching standalone cohort programs.

For what you described, I'd pick Kajabi. It gives you the cleanest path from lead → waitlist → limited cohort → 1:1 upsell → recurring/high-ticket relationship without having to stitch together several systems. help.kajabi.com

If you tell me your typical cohort price, cohort size, program length, and whether applications are required, I can narrow this down to the exact stack I'd use (including whether you even need Kajabi, or whether a much cheaper setup would be better).

For your model—limited-seat mastermind cohorts + a waitlist + optional/private 1:1 coaching upgrades—I’d put Kajabi first, with Circle as the strongest alternative.

My ranking

🥇 Kajabi — best fit if selling is the priority

I’d choose Kajabi if your business is fundamentally a high-ticket coaching business with cohorts as the product.

It supports cohort courses, group coaching, 1:1 coaching, payments, offers, scheduling, and upsells in the same ecosystem. Its checkout can also enforce limited quantities, and when the limit is reached you can redirect people to a landing page—useful for a “12 seats only → join the waitlist” model. www.kajabi.comwww.kajabi.com

A clean offer structure could be:

Mastermind Cohort — $X
→ 10–15 seats
→ application/checkout
→ cohort community + calls

Mastermind + Private Coaching — $Y
→ everything above
→ 2–4 private sessions

Private Coaching — $Z
→ standalone 1:1 package

That makes the 1:1 component an actual upsell, rather than something you have to manage separately. Kajabi explicitly supports selling individual sessions and packages and upselling clients into additional offers. www.kajabi.comwww.kajabi.com

Kajabi

🥈 Circle — better if the mastermind is the community

I'd pick Circle if the value proposition is primarily:

“Join this intimate group of exceptional people and have an ongoing place to learn, connect and get coached.”

Circle combines community, courses, events, live sessions, memberships, payments and automations. It also specifically supports cohorts, live sessions, coaching, upsells and paid memberships. circle.so

For a mastermind, I actually prefer Circle's member experience to Kajabi's. You can have:

• Main mastermind space
• Private cohort space
• Weekly discussion
• Live calls
• Resources
• Member directory
• DMs
• Separate VIP/1:1 space
• Alumni community

That feels much more like an actual private mastermind than an online course.

Circle

🥉 Mighty Networks — strong community alternative

Mighty is particularly good if you're building toward a larger membership ecosystem around your masterminds. It combines community, courses, events, livestreaming, memberships and messaging, with native mobile apps. www.mightynetworks.com

I'd favor it over Circle if you expect the business eventually to look like:

Free audience → paid membership → mastermind → advanced mastermind → events

rather than primarily:

Marketing → application → high-ticket mastermind → private coaching

Mighty Networks

What I'd do in your shoes

Start with Kajabi if your biggest problem is selling and monetizing limited-capacity programs.

Start with Circle if your biggest differentiator is the quality of the mastermind community itself.

And there's an important distinction:

• Kajabi = business/coaching operating system
• Circle = premium community operating system
• Mighty = community/membership ecosystem

For high-ticket mastermind + optional 1:1, my lean is Kajabi because the ability to package the cohort, enforce seat limits, collect payment, schedule coaching and sell upgrades in one commercial system maps unusually well to your model. www.kajabi.comwww.kajabi.com

If you tell me your cohort price, number of seats, whether people apply before paying, and whether the mastermind is ongoing or 6/8/12 weeks, I can narrow this down to the best setup—including exactly how I'd structure the waitlist → application → payment → 1:1 upsell funnel.