Skool's plans and prices
Skool keeps its pricing simple: two plans, each for one group. Here's what they cost as of November 2026:
| Plan | Billed monthly | Paid a year up front | Fee on each sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skool Hobby | ~$9 a month | ~$90 a year, up front (~$7.50 a month) | 10% plus 30 cents |
| Skool Pro | ~$99 a month | ~$984 a year, up front (~$82 a month) | 2.9% plus 30 cents (3.9% on a single payment of $900 or more) |
Two things to know about the table. First, the yearly prices are the monthly price with two months free, and you pay the whole year on day one. Second, each group is its own subscription: run two groups and you pay twice.
What Pro adds over Hobby
Both plans include the parts most people join Skool for: unlimited members, courses and videos, a calendar, live calls, levels and a leaderboard, and Skool's apps. Pro adds:
- A much lower fee on sales (more on that below).
- A custom address for your group on Skool, and the option to hide the suggested communities members see.
- More admins. Hobby has one admin seat.
- Affiliates, webinars, automatic welcome messages and Zapier for connecting other tools.
- Advanced analytics and the option to transfer ownership of the group.
The transaction fee is the real price of Hobby
Hobby looks like the cheap plan, and for a free or very small group it is. But 10% of every sale goes to Skool, plus 30 cents a payment. On Pro, the 2.9% plus 30 cents is about what card processing costs anywhere, so the real price of Pro is the monthly plan. Here's a month on each, with members paying $30 a month:
| Members paying | Monthly sales | Skool Hobby: plan and fees | Skool Pro: plan and fees | Your own platform: card fees only |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | $300 | ~$42 a month | ~$111 a month | ~$12 a month |
| 30 | $900 | ~$108 a month | ~$134 a month | ~$35 a month |
| 100 | $3,000 | ~$339 a month | ~$216 a month | ~$117 a month |
| 300 | $9,000 | ~$999 a month | ~$450 a month | ~$351 a month |
The last column is the card fee you'd pay on any platform (Stripe's standard US rate of about 2.9% plus 30 cents; check yours). Deedmade™ takes 0% on top. Hobby is cheapest only while the group earns very little. Once sales pass about $1,270 a month (around 43 members at $30), Pro costs less, and at 100 members Hobby costs ~$4,070 a year.
What Skool costs over 1, 3 and 5 years
| Plan | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skool Pro, billed monthly | ~$1,190 | ~$3,560 | ~$5,940 |
| Skool Pro, paid yearly | ~$980 | ~$2,950 | ~$4,920 |
| Skool Hobby, plan only (plus 10% of sales) | ~$110 | ~$320 | ~$540 |
| Deedmade™, owned | $2,499 | $2,499 | $2,499 |
These are list prices only. They assume Skool's price never goes up and that you run one group. And at the end of five years, the group, the app and the rules are still Skool's.
Owning has cost less from month 26. After that, renting keeps going and owning doesn't.
Costs people miss
- Yearly billing is paid up front. The lower monthly figure is the yearly charge divided by 12. Stop after a few months and you've usually still paid for the year, so check Skool's refund terms.
- The fee on big payments. On Pro, a single payment of $900 or more (a yearly membership or a high-ticket program) is charged 3.9% instead of 2.9%.
- One subscription per group. A free group and a paid one, or two programs, means two plans.
- The tools around it. Skool has no website or sales pages of its own beyond your group's About page, and no email marketing to people who haven't joined yet. Most hosts pay for a website and an email tool as well.
- Leaving later. Members who pay through Skool are billed by Skool, and those subscriptions can't be moved to your own account. The bigger the group, the bigger that job gets. See how to migrate from Skool.
What Skool does well
- It's fast and simple. A group, a classroom and a calendar in an afternoon, and members never get lost.
- Joining is quick. Skool runs the checkout inside the group, so members join and pay in a couple of taps.
- Discovery. People already on Skool can find your group, which a new website can't offer on day one.
- A cheap way to test an idea. Hobby costs very little while a group is small or free.
When Skool is worth it, and when owning wins
- Stay on Skool while you're finding out whether people will pay, or if most new members find you through Skool itself.
- Move to Pro once sales pass about $1,270 a month, if you stay. Hobby's fee costs more than Pro from there.
- Own your platform once the group is a business you'll run for years and most members come from your own content, list and referrals.
The other way: pay once and own it
Deedmade™ builds your own community platform on accounts in your name: community spaces with levels and a leaderboard, courses with quizzes and certificates, live sessions, events, booking, a shop and email marketing, in a members app with your name and icon, on your own domain, with an Owner's Portal to run it. You pay $2,499 once (the early-bird price until December 31, 2026; the regular price is $3,900), and we take 0% of your sales.
Against Skool Pro billed monthly, owning has cost less from about month 26; against Pro paid yearly, from about month 31. After that, there's no monthly fee required. What's left is the card fee on each sale (as anywhere), your domain, and Cloudflare hosting, which is free or about $5 a month with live features. The $49 a month care plan is optional, and so is listing your app in the App Store and Google Play ($99 a month).
See your own version first: build yours free, with no credit card until you've tested it and approved it, and a working preview usually within the hour. Comparing more options? Read Skool alternatives in 2026.
Prices of other companies are approximate, from their own pricing pages on October 11, 2026 (yearly-billing prices, add-ons and plans not in our calculator were checked on November 6, 2026), and they change. Where a page shows a monthly price that is billed a year at a time, we say so. Check their websites for today's prices.
Skool's prices, fees and plan features in this guide were checked on November 8, 2026. Check skool.com for today's.
Questions people ask
How much does Skool cost per month?
About $9 a month for Hobby, plus 10% and 30 cents of each sale, and about $99 a month for Pro, plus 2.9% and 30 cents. Paid yearly, about $90 and $984 a year, charged up front. Check skool.com for today's prices.
What's the difference between Skool Hobby and Pro?
Mainly the fee: Hobby takes 10% of each sale, Pro 2.9%. Pro also adds a custom address, more admins, affiliates, webinars, automatic welcome messages, Zapier, advanced analytics and the option to hide suggested groups.
Does Skool take a cut of my sales?
Yes. Hobby takes 10% plus 30 cents a payment. Pro takes 2.9% plus 30 cents (3.9% on a single payment of $900 or more), which is about what card processing costs anywhere.
Is Skool cheaper if I pay yearly?
Yes, by two months: Pro is about $984 a year instead of $1,188. You pay the whole year up front, so it only makes sense if you're sure you'll stay.
How much does Skool cost over three years?
Skool Pro is about $3,560 over three years billed monthly, or $2,950 paid yearly, for one group, before any price rises. Owning with Deedmade™ is $2,499 once (the early-bird price until December 31, 2026; the regular price is $3,900), with 0% of your sales.
Is there a cheaper way to run a paid community than Skool?
Free tools like Discord cost nothing but aren't built for paid memberships. Over a few years, owning your platform usually costs less than renting: against Skool Pro billed monthly, Deedmade™ has cost less from about month 26.
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