Circular economy (CE) is one of the most discussed topics in academy and industry. Yet, the vastness of the subject can easily distract the discussions and cause incoherence to CE related plans and solutions. To assist in these challenges several frameworks and conceptual structures have been created. In this paper, we compare different CE frameworks from literature and evaluate their suitability to assist manufacturing companies in their strategic development work that aims for transformations towards CE. As an outcome, we propose synthesized guidelines for developing a CE framework, which would better support firms’ strategic decision-making and growth in CE.