Correct, but those instant access to money limits are increased over time as you conclude more transactions and build trust with Circle. I've only been using it for a few months now, and never used LocalBitcoins, but Circle is amazingly easy to use.
The issue with LocalBitcoins, for my area, is that the sellers are few and far between that are willing to do cash, and they usually have minimum limits that aren't necessarily accessible to everyone, plus their markup is crazy high.
There's pros and cons to each option, Circle works best for me and I have absolutely no reason to ever even look at Localbitcoins.