SquadTrip sells trips to customers.
Your friends are not customers.
SquadTrip is a solid tool for organizers who sell trips and collect money from travelers: booking pages, payment plans, waivers. If you are a friend trying to get eight people to agree on dates, a budget, and a plan, you are not selling anything. TripCircle was built for that job.
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The honest version: SquadTrip is a live product you can use today, and it is the better choice if you run trips for a living and need booking pages and payment collection right now. TripCircle is in private beta, and booking integration is still being confirmed. More group features are on the way.
SquadTrip is genuinely good
at collecting payments.
For the job it was built for, an organizer selling a trip and collecting money from travelers, SquadTrip is solid. These strengths are real.
Booking pages with payment plans
One page with the trip details, options, and prices, where each traveler books a spot and pays on an installment schedule you set.
Deposits and automatic installments
Set a deposit and a payment schedule, and travelers are charged on the dates you set. No chasing people for each installment.
Registration forms and waivers
Collect passport details, dietary needs, and rooming preferences, and have travelers sign waivers online before the trip.
Buy Now Pay Later at checkout
Travelers can pay with Klarna, Afterpay, or Affirm at checkout, which helps close bookings for higher-priced trips.
You are not selling a trip.
You are planning one with your people.
SquadTrip assumes one person sells and everyone else buys. Your group trip does not work like that. That mismatch shows up everywhere.
SquadTrip is built for organizers who sell, not friends who plan
The organizer sets the price, travelers book and pay. In a friend group, nobody is selling anything. Everyone is deciding together, and SquadTrip has no mechanism for that.
Your friends pay 6% to pay you back
On the free plan, travelers pay a 6% processing fee on top of the trip price. On a $1,000 trip, each friend pays $1,060. Charging your friends a fee to settle up with you is awkward, and it exists because SquadTrip treats your friends like customers.
No group decisions, no voting, no shared itinerary
SquadTrip collects money. It does not help the group decide where to go, when to go, or what is on the plan. The decisions, the itinerary, and the headcount still live in a group chat while the booking page waits for payments.
SquadTrip vs TripCircle
| Feature | SquadTrip | TripCircle |
|---|---|---|
| Booking and payment pages | Yes | Not yet |
| Automatic payment plans | Yes | Not yet |
| Group decisions and voting | No | Yes |
| Group chat inside the trip | No | Yes |
| Shared itinerary building | No | Yes |
| Expense splitting (free) | No (6% fee) | Yes |
| Commitment and RSVP tracking | No | Yes |
| Group coordination help | No | Yes |
| Built for friend groups, not organizers | No | Yes |
Selling a trip vs
planning one with friends.
You are a retreat host, tour operator, or travel agent collecting payments from customers
You run trips for a living and you need booking pages, deposits, waivers, and installment plans for people who buy from you. SquadTrip does this well and it is the right tool for that job. SquadTrip is built for organizers who sell trips: retreat hosts, tour operators, and travel agents.
You are planning a trip with your actual friends
Nobody is selling anything. You need the group to decide together, commit, split costs without fees, and see one shared plan. That is TripCircle. TripCircle is not for sellers: if you run trips for a living and need to collect payments from customers, SquadTrip is the right tool.
Nobody is selling anything.
Everyone is deciding together.
Built for the way real friend groups plan real trips. Join the beta and be first in when your group is invited.
Get early accessFree to join. No credit card required.
SquadTrip questions.
What is SquadTrip best at?
SquadTrip is genuinely good at collecting payments: booking pages with payment plans, deposits and automatic installments, registration forms and waivers, and Buy Now Pay Later at checkout with Klarna, Afterpay, and Affirm.
Why does SquadTrip not fit friend groups?
SquadTrip assumes one person sells and everyone else buys. In a friend group, nobody is selling anything. Everyone is deciding together, and SquadTrip has no mechanism for group decisions, voting, or a shared itinerary.
Does SquadTrip charge friends a fee?
On the free plan, travelers pay a 6% processing fee on top of the trip price. On a $1,000 trip, each friend pays $1,060.
Does TripCircle collect payments?
Not yet. TripCircle is in private beta and booking integration is still being confirmed.
Is TripCircle live yet?
Not yet. TripCircle is in private beta. Join at tripcircle.us/beta and be first in when your group is invited. It is free to join and no credit card is required.
Last checked November 4, 2026. Spot something wrong? Email hello@tripcircle.us and we will fix it.