Deedmade™ / Guides
Guides
Straight answers before you pay for another platform
What course and membership platforms really cost, the small print behind the monthly prices, and what it takes to own yours instead. Written by Deedmade™, fair to the alternatives, and in plain words.
Skool alternatives in 2026: how to own your community
The main Skool alternatives are Circle and Mighty Networks (more control, still rented), Kajabi (courses first, with a community), Discord (free, not built for paid groups) and owning your own platform. Pick Skool for speed and discovery; pick owning if the community is your business for years.
· 6 min readRead →CostsKajabi pricing 2026: what you'll pay over 1, 3 and 5 years
Kajabi costs about $179, $249 or $499 a month billed monthly, or less a month if you pay a year up front. Over five years that's roughly $10,700 to $29,900 on monthly billing, before extra fees if you use another payment processor. Owning your platform is one payment instead.
· 5 min readRead →CostsMembership website cost: build vs rent vs own
Building a membership website yourself costs little money but a lot of your time. Renting a platform costs about $40 to $500 a month for as long as you use it. Owning one built for you is a single larger payment, then only small running costs. Over five years, renting usually costs the most.
· 7 min readRead →AppsBest course platform with your own branded app
Kajabi includes a branded app, Thinkific sells one as an add-on for about $199 a month, and Circle and Mighty Networks keep theirs for custom-priced top plans. Deedmade™ includes your own members app with your name and icon; listing it in the App Store and Google Play is an optional $99 a month.
· 6 min readRead →ClientsClient portal for a law firm or consultancy: own vs rent
A client portal gives each client one private place for messages, files, booked calls, agreements and invoices. You can use the portal in your practice software, rent a portal tool every month, or own one under your firm's name. This guide covers the client-facing side only.
· 5 min readRead →GiftsChristmas gift for a coach or creator: their own platform
Give them their own platform: a website, members app and courses that are theirs to keep, with no monthly fee required. Gift it at deedmade.com/gift. The gift never expires, so they can build it whenever they're ready.
· 5 min readRead →CompareThinkific alternatives in 2026: rent cheaper or own it
The main Thinkific alternatives are Teachable (a cheaper start), Kajabi (courses plus email and funnels), LearnWorlds (interactive video and tests), Podia (simple all-in-one) and owning your platform. Stay on Thinkific for its course builder; own your platform to pay once instead of every month.
· 6 min readRead →CompareStan Store alternatives in 2026: own your storefront
The main Stan Store alternatives are Podia and Kajabi (more course and email tools), Gumroad (no monthly fee, a cut of each sale), Systeme.io (low-cost funnels and email) and your own website. Stan is great for selling from your bio; own your platform once the store has become a business.
· 6 min readRead →ComparePodia alternatives in 2026: pay monthly or pay once
The main Podia alternatives are Thinkific and Teachable (stronger course tools), Kajabi (more marketing power), Stan Store (selling from your bio), Skool (community first) and owning your platform. Podia is simple and fair; own your platform when the monthly bill has become a fixed cost of your business.
· 5 min readRead →CompareKartra alternatives in 2026: cheaper, or pay once
The main Kartra alternatives are Kajabi (courses first, with email and funnels), ClickFunnels (funnels first), Systeme.io (the low-cost all-in-one), GoHighLevel (agencies and CRM) and owning your platform. Kartra suits marketers who live in funnels; owning suits a business that would rather pay once.
· 6 min readRead →CostsHow much does a course platform really cost?
A typical setup of a course platform, a community, video calls and booking costs about $350 to $400 a month, which is over $4,000 a year and nearly $22,000 over five years, and some of those monthly prices are charged a year at a time. Owning your platform costs less within about a year.
· 3 min readRead →CompareKajabi alternatives in 2026: pay less, or pay once
Kajabi's alternatives: cheaper course platforms (Teachable, Thinkific, Podia), community platforms (Skool, Circle), building it yourself, or owning a finished platform. Owning usually costs less within one to two years, then only small running costs.
· 2 min readRead →CompareSkool vs having your own community
Skool is quick to start and has built-in discovery, but it's monthly, looks the same as every other Skool group, and your members live on Skool. Your own community costs more up front but is yours: your name, your look and your member list.
· 2 min readRead →How toHow to build a membership website in 9 steps
Decide what members get and what it costs, choose where it will live (rented or owned), set up your domain, payments and email, add your first content, then invite a small group before you open it to everyone.
· 2 min readRead →ExamplesMembership website examples by type of business
The best membership sites show what members get on the first screen, make joining one step, and give new members a clear first thing to do. Here are examples by type of business, each one a working platform you can tap through.
· 2 min readRead →PaymentsStripe or Whop for membership payments?
Use Stripe if card processors accept your kind of business: it pays straight into your bank and works with everything. Use Whop if Stripe restricts what you sell, as with some trading and investing education.
· 2 min readRead →OwningWhat owning your membership platform actually means
Owning your platform means your website, members, payments and email run on accounts in your name: your domain, your Stripe, your hosting and your email. No platform can raise your price, take a cut of your sales or lock you out of your members.
· 2 min readRead →How toHow to move your members off Kajabi or Skool
Export your members, set up the new platform, bring them in, and tell them before you switch. Run both side by side for a short time so nobody gets lost, and let paid-up members keep access until their next payment.
· 2 min readRead →YogaHow to build a membership site for your yoga classes
Put your class library, live classes and a gentle beginner path in one members app with your name on it. Charge monthly, offer a free week, and let students practise from their phone without juggling Zoom links and payment apps.
· 2 min readRead →FitnessYour own fitness coaching app: what it needs and costs
A fitness coaching app needs workout programs on video, live or recorded classes, check-ins and reminders, all under your brand. You can rent several tools every month, or own one app with your name on it.
· 2 min readRead →TradingHow to build a trading education platform that pays
Put your course, playbook, live trading room and alerts in one members app, and take payments through a processor that accepts trading education. Keep marketing honest: no promised returns, and show that results vary.
· 2 min readRead →CoachingCoaching platform: clients, calls and programs in one
A good coaching platform puts your programs, booked calls, client messages and payments behind one login, with your name on it. Most coaches rent four or five tools to get there; you can own one instead.
· 2 min readRead →CompareKajabi vs Teachable vs owning your course platform
Teachable is the cheaper way to rent a course platform, but its lowest plan takes a share of every sale. Kajabi costs more and adds a website and email marketing. Or own your platform: pay once, keep 0% fees, and it costs less than Kajabi within a year and less than Teachable within about two and a half.
· 2 min readRead →CompareKajabi vs Skool vs owning your platform
Skool is a simple rented community with courses; Kajabi is a rented course business with a website and email. If you want both the course and the community, under your own name, owning a platform does both and stops the monthly bill.
· 2 min readRead →CompareSkool vs Circle vs your own community platform
Skool is one simple rented plan; Circle is more flexible but its low monthly prices are billed yearly and lower plans take a share of sales. Your own community platform has neither: your name, your app, your member list, paid once.
· 2 min readRead →CompareTeachable vs Thinkific vs owning your course platform
Teachable has a cheaper entry plan that takes a share of sales; Thinkific starts higher with no platform cut. Both are rented every month. Owning your course platform costs more on day one and less within two to three years, and then nothing more.
· 2 min readRead →CompareCircle vs Mighty Networks vs your own community
Circle and Mighty Networks both rent you a community with courses and events, show monthly prices that are billed yearly, and take a share of sales on lower plans. Owning your community platform removes all three.
· 2 min readRead →How toHow to sell an online course, step by step
Pick one problem you solve, pre-sell it to a small group, record the course in short lessons, put it on a platform with a simple checkout, and send people to it from your email list and social posts. Start small and improve it with real students.
· 2 min readRead →How toHow to start a paid online community
Start with a clear reason to join, a small founding group, a weekly rhythm (a live call, a challenge or a thread), and a fair monthly price. Communities live or die on the first 30 days, so plan those before you open.
· 2 min readRead →PricingHow to price an online course or membership
Price by the result, not the hours of video. Most course creators undercharge: start where it feels slightly high, offer a founding price to the first group, and test. Memberships usually charge monthly with a discounted yearly option.
· 2 min readRead →How toHost course videos privately, not on unlisted YouTube
Unlisted YouTube or Vimeo links can be shared by anyone who has them. For paid lessons, put videos behind your members' login, so only paying members can watch, and they stay in your own storage.
· 2 min readRead →GrowingHow to reduce membership cancellations (churn)
Many cancellations happen in the first 30 to 60 days, when a new member never gets a quick win. Fix onboarding first, then failed payments, then give members a reason to come back every week.
· 2 min readRead →Stop renting. Own it.
Build your platform free in early access and see it working, usually within the hour. You pay only if you approve it, once, and keep today's price.
- No card
- Pay once, no monthly fee
- 0% of your sales
- On your own accounts