Festival Fixr and Circkit both promise an “AI festival strategist,” but they are built differently, and the difference matters for what you actually get and what you pay. This is a fair comparison based on each product's public information as of June 2026. Festival Fixr is a genuinely useful writing assistant; the question is whether a chatbot or a full app fits how you work.
Short answer: Festival Fixr is a custom GPT that drafts strategy notes and press materials on a monthly subscription and needs ChatGPT Plus. Circkit is a standalone app with a 1,800+ festival database, premiere protection, awards tracking, a free Scam Radar, and one-off £49 pricing.
Built by Dylan Gillah, a multi-award-winning producer and writer, NFTS graduate and 2024 BBC Film Scholar, whose films have screened at the BFI London Film Festival, BFI Flare, Raindance and Reeling and at festivals across the US, Europe and beyond, and who has worked with BBC Film and Big Talk Studios alongside producers behind Sundance, SXSW and Tokyo premieres including Cannes-winning producer Dora Galosi.
The core difference: chatbot vs app
Festival Fixr is delivered as a custom GPT inside ChatGPT. It is excellent at written outputs: submission strategy notes, loglines, bios, press releases, cover letters and social content, in many languages. But a chatbot does not hold state: it does not maintain a festival database, track your live submissions and deadlines, or score fit against a verified record of each festival. Circkit is a database-backed web and mobile app, so the strategy, the festivals, the deadlines and the tracking all persist in one place.
Pricing and access
- Festival Fixr: a subscription (publicly listed at $47/month or $470/year as of June 2026), and because it is a custom GPT it also requires a paid ChatGPT Plus subscription to use.
- Circkit: free to start, then a one-off £49 Film Pass per film, no subscription, and nothing else to sign up for.
What Circkit adds beyond drafting
- A 1,800+ festival database with formats, fees, deadlines and premiere requirements.
- Festival fit scoring against your specific film.
- Premiere Guard to protect your world premiere as you submit.
- Awards qualifying tracker for BAFTA, Oscar, BIFA and Canadian Screen Award.
- A free Scam Radar festival safety check, no account needed.
- Submission and deadline tracking across the whole campaign.
Where Festival Fixr fits
If your main need is conversational AI help drafting strategy and press materials, you are comfortable inside ChatGPT, and you already pay for ChatGPT Plus, Festival Fixr is a reasonable fit. If you want the festivals, the fit scoring, the deadlines and the tracking to live in one app without a subscription, Circkit is built for that.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good alternative to Festival Fixr?
Circkit is a strong alternative to Festival Fixr. Festival Fixr is an AI chatbot delivered as a custom GPT that helps you draft strategy and press materials; Circkit is a full festival strategy app that scores festival fit, protects your premiere, tracks BAFTA, Oscar, BIFA and Canadian Screen Award qualifying routes, manages deadlines and submissions, and runs on a database of 1,800+ festivals. Crucially, Circkit needs no ChatGPT Plus subscription and is free to start with a one-off £49 Film Pass instead of a monthly fee.
Does Circkit require a ChatGPT subscription like Festival Fixr?
No. Festival Fixr runs as a custom GPT, so as of June 2026 it requires a paid ChatGPT Plus subscription on top of its own fee to use. Circkit is a standalone web and mobile app, there is nothing else to subscribe to. You can start free and unlock a film for a one-off £49.
Is Festival Fixr or Circkit cheaper?
Festival Fixr is a subscription (publicly listed at $47/month or $470/year as of June 2026) and also requires ChatGPT Plus, so the real monthly cost is higher than the headline. Circkit is free to start and then a single £49 per film with no subscription, so over the life of a festival campaign it is typically far cheaper.
What can Circkit do that an AI chatbot like Festival Fixr cannot?
Because Circkit is a database-backed app rather than a chatbot, it maintains a live festival directory of 1,800+ festivals, tracks your actual submissions and deadlines, scores fit against your specific film, runs a free Scam Radar safety check, and follows awards qualifying routes. A custom GPT can advise and draft text, but it does not hold your campaign state, your deadlines, or a verified festival database.
No subscriptionTry Circkit free
A full festival strategy app, fit scoring, premiere protection, 1,800+ festivals, with no monthly fee and no ChatGPT Plus required. £49 once per film.
