Skool Review
Community and course platform in one, built around a paid group and a leaderboard
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Looking for a Skool alternative? See our ranked comparison.→What is Skool?
Skool is a paid community platform: one URL where you run discussion posts, a course area (Skool calls it the Classroom), live calls, and a point-based leaderboard that ranks members by activity. There's no seat pricing and no separate course tool to bolt on. You pick a monthly plan, set what members pay to join, and Skool takes a cut of that revenue on top of the plan fee.
It's built for people running an ongoing paid group, not a one-off course sale. The leaderboard and points system exist to keep members posting and showing up, which is Skool's main pitch over a plain course platform: retention, not just delivery.
Skool screenshots
Who it's for
- ✓ Coaches and creators running a single paid community with courses, discussion, and live calls bundled together
- ✓ Anyone who wants gamified engagement (points, levels, leaderboard) to keep members active
Who should look elsewhere
- ✗ Anyone selling multiple separate courses to different audiences rather than one ongoing community
- ✗ Businesses that need real branding control, a custom domain look, or deep marketing/funnel tools
Pros
- + One flat price covers unlimited members, courses, videos, and live calls, no per-seat math
- + The leaderboard and points system genuinely drives more posting than a plain forum or Discord
- + Setup is fast, most creators are live with a course and community structure in a day
Cons
- – Transaction fees (10% on Hobby, 2.9-3.9% on Pro) sit on top of the plan price and aren't shown next to the $9/$99 headline
- – Branding and design control are limited, every group looks like a Skool group
- – No built-in export for posts, discussion threads, or engagement history if you decide to leave
- – Support and billing complaints show up often in reviews, particularly around cancellation
Skool pricing
At about $9/month to start, it is one of the cheaper options in Online Course Platforms.
| Plan | Price | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Hobby | $9/mo | Unlimited members, courses, videos, and live calls · 10% + $0.30 fee on every transaction · Custom URL and affiliate program included |
| Pro | $99/mo | Same unlimited features as Hobby · 2.9% + $0.30 fee per transaction up to $899 (3.9% + $0.30 on transactions of $900 and up) · Custom URL and affiliate program included |
Price is per community, not per seat. Both plans carry a 14-day free trial. Yearly billing gives 2 months free, so Pro works out to about $82.50/month. On top of the plan fee, Skool takes a cut of every payment your members make: 10% + $0.30 per transaction on Hobby, 2.9% + $0.30 on Pro for transactions up to $899, rising to 3.9% + $0.30 on Pro for transactions of $900 and up. That transaction fee is where most of Skool's real cost sits, and it isn't shown next to the $9/$99 sticker price. Existing members keep their old rate if Skool raises prices later.
Pricing verified July 7, 2026 · source
How Skool's pricing compares
Skool next to its closest alternatives on entry price, billing, and whether pricing is public.
| Tool | Starting price | Billing | Free option | Pricing disclosed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skool | $9/mo | flat | Trial (14 days) | Public |
| Kajabi | $179/mo | tiered | Trial (30 days) | Public |
| Thinkific | $36/mo | tiered | Trial (30 days on all paid plans) | Partly public |
| Teachable | $29/mo | tiered | Trial (7 days, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans) | Partly public |
| Podia | $42/mo | tiered | Trial (30 days, no credit card required) | Public |
| LearnWorlds | $24/mo | tiered | Trial (30 days on Starter, Pro Trainer, and Learning Center) | Partly public |
Top Skool alternatives
Skool FAQ
Is Skool free?+
No. There's no free-forever plan. The cheapest option is Hobby at $9/month, which also carries a 10% transaction fee on anything members pay you.
What's the real difference between Hobby and Pro?+
Both give you unlimited members, courses, and live calls. The difference is the transaction fee: 10% on Hobby versus 2.9% on Pro for transactions up to $899 (3.9% on $900 and up). Working out the math on the $90/month gap between plans, Pro only pays for itself once a community is bringing in roughly $1,270/month in member revenue; below that, Hobby's lower plan price wins even with its higher fee.
Can I export my community if I leave?+
You can export your member list, but posts, discussion threads, course content, and leaderboard history have no built-in export. You'd need to save or copy that content manually before canceling.