Want to understand how Skool pricing works? You’re in the right place.
Skool is an online community platform founded by Sam Ovens and recently bought out by Alex Hormozi. It’s gained a lot of momentum since the takeover and has become one of the most popular platforms for creators and students alike.
However, you might have noticed that Skool isn’t very clear about its pricing—and there’s no obvious link to its pricing page in the site navigation bar.
That’s why in this post, I’ll explain Skool’s pricing in detail. I’ll reveal how much it costs in subscription and transaction fees, what’s included, how the free trial works, and everything else you need to know.
Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Skool Pricing: Overview
If you’re short on time, see the table below for a very brief overview of Skool’s pricing.
Skool subscription cost | Transaction fees | What’s included? | Free trial? |
$99/month | 2.9% + 30c | – One group – All features Unlimited everything | 14-day free trial available |
Skool Pricing: A Detailed Breakdown
Skool’s pricing is pretty straightforward compared to other membership & online course platforms. There aren’t a bunch of different plans to choose from depending on what features you need.
There’s just one monthly subscription plan that costs a flat rate of $99 per month per group. Here’s how it works.
How It Works
It costs $99/month per community group you create on Skool. For that price, you get access to every feature (we’ll talk more about these later), and you can have unlimited courses, members, and content.
It’s up to you whether you charge a membership fee for access to your community or you make it available for free. Either way, you’ll still pay the $99/month fee.
However, if you do choose to make it a paid community, you’ll also pay 2.9% + 30c in transaction fees on every sale you make.
For example, let’s say you charge your community members $20 bucks a month to join, and you have 100 members.
In that case, you’ll earn $2,000/month in revenue, but you’ll pay $88/month in transaction fees, plus the $99/month for your monthly subscription. So, your take-home profit should be around $1,813/month.
Free Trial
If you want to test Skool out to make sure it’s a good fit for your needs before you buy, you can get started with a 14-day free trial.
However, you’ll need to enter your credit card details to sign up (I know, I hate it too), so make sure you cancel before the billing date; otherwise, you may be charged.
Is There a Money-Back Guarantee?
Skool doesn’t provide any details about any kind of money-back guarantee on their website, as far as I can see. You’d have to contact their support team to check whether or not they offer refunds on subscription plans if canceled within a set number of days/weeks.
What About Taxes?
Skool takes care of VAT & sales tax compliance for you, including EU VAT collection and remittance. All the liability is on Skool, not you.
However, you may need to pay income tax on your earnings depending on your country, state, and circumstances. I’d recommend consulting a qualified tax advisor for advice if you’re not sure what your liabilities are.
Are There Any Other Hidden Costs?
There are no other hidden costs to using Skool as far as I can see (aside from the transaction fees, but they’re pretty clear about this upfront).
However, as we’ve discussed, you may need to pay income taxes on your earnings. Also, there may be additional costs like third-party payment processing fees, as well as the subscription costs of any other external tools you use to market your courses and host your content.
Will I Make My Money Back?
That’s up to you. You could easily make your money back if you sell enough memberships to your Skool community. If you charged $99/month, it’d only take two paying members to completely cover your costs and earn you a little profit.
The top creators on Skool have thousands of paying members, earning them tens of thousands of dollars in revenue every month.
On top of that, you can also earn money through Skool’s affiliate program, which pays a 40% commission on referrals.
How Does Skool Pricing Compare To Its Competitors?
Skool isn’t the cheapest community platform on the market, but it isn’t the most expensive either. I’d say that, on the whole, it provides pretty good value for money compared to its competitors.
For example, take Kajabi—one of Skool’s biggest competitors. Kajabi’s plans start from $119/month (so only a little more than Skool’s) but come with 0% transaction fees (whereas Skool charges 2.9%).
However, that’s just the entry-level price, you’ll pay more for higher-priced plan tiers that include all features with Kajabi. Whereas with Skool, all features are included in the base price.
Patreon is another one of Skool’s largest competitors. It’s completely free with zero monthly subscription costs, but you’ll pay 5%-12% in transaction fees depending on the plan you sign up for, which is significantly more than Skool.
So, Patreon is probably better value for money if you don’t plan on earning a lot from selling memberships. But if you do, it could work out much more expensive.
Skool vs Competitor Pricing At A Glance
I’ve compared Skool’s pricing to its main competitors in the table below.
Platform | Starting price | Transaction fees* |
Patreon | Free | 5% – 12% |
Kajabi | $119/month | 0% |
Thinkific | Free or $39/month | 0% |
LearnWorlds | $24/month | 0% – $5 |
Teachable | Free or $39/month | 0% – 10% |
Circle | $49/month | 0.5% – 4% |
Skool | $99/month | 2.9% |
*When a range is given, transaction fees vary depending on the plan you sign up for.
Skool Pricing: Features
Here’s a breakdown of some of the key features you get when you sign up for Skool’s all-in-one platform.
Course Creation
You can create and host an unlimited number of online courses on Skool and give your free or paid community members access to them.
The built-in course creator is easy to use, and you can add all sorts of multimedia content to your lessons, including text, images, video, and audio.
Community Creation
Create your own community space where your members can interact through posts, comments, direct messages, and more.
Gamification Tools
Skool gamifies the learning process by giving you multiple ways to ‘reward’ your students for engagement and progress.
For example, you can reward them with badges when they meet certain milestones, distribute experience points and gems, and encourage community engagement through public community leaderboards.
Integrations & Support
Connect Skool to the rest of your tech stack by integrating it with popular tools like Mailchimp and Zapier. Plus, get access to around-the-clock customer support whenever you need it.
Exclusive Content
Get access to exclusive, members-only educational content and events like webinars, workshops, and more. Plus, access to a private community where you can chat with other Skool creators.
So… Is It Worth It?
That concludes our in-depth guide to Skool’s pricing. Hopefully, that’s cleared things up about how much the online course platform costs.
The only question that remains is… is it worth the price?
I think so. All things considered, Skool seems to be pretty good value for money. The starting price is a little steep, but given that you get access to so many great features and unlimited students and courses, it’s probably worth it.
Still have questions? Check out the FAQs below. And don’t forget to explore some of our other blog posts for more information about other online course platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are the answers to some FAQs about Skool’s pricing.
Does Skool Offer a Free Plan?
No. Unfortunately, Skool doesn’t offer a free forever plan. It only offers a 14-day free trial that includes access to all features, and you’ll need to enter your credit card details to sign up.
Are There Any Affordable Alternatives To Skool?
Yes. There are a few platforms that are more affordable than Skool. I’d recommend Thinkific as it has a free plan and its paid plans start at a third of the cost of Skool. Plus, it charges 0% transaction fees no matter which plan you sign up for.
Is Skool Free For Students?
Students can sign up for the Skool platform for free to discover communities.
However, only some communities are free to join. It’s up to the creator how much they charge, so prices for paid communities vary.