TL;DR. Skool charges $99/mo flat. One plan. No tiers, no per-seat fees, no per-feature upsells. Unlimited members, admins, courses, classroom pages, DMs, events. 14-day free trial, no credit card to start. Stripe takes ~2.9% + $0.30 on member payments separately.
The pricing — full
| Platform fee | $99 USD per month |
| Annual discount | None |
| Free trial | 14 days, no credit card |
| Per-member fee | $0 |
| Per-admin fee | $0 (unlimited admins) |
| Per-course fee | $0 (unlimited courses) |
| Storage limit | None published |
| Bandwidth limit | None published |
| Stripe fee | ~2.9% + $0.30 per member transaction (standard Stripe rates) |
| Affiliate commission paid out | 40% recurring forever to referrers |
| API access cost | No official API. Unofficial via Apify actor: ~$1.50/mo typical pay-per-event |
What “$99/mo flat” actually means
Most community SaaS has at least 3 pricing tiers:
- Basic — limited members / admins / features
- Pro — unlocked features but per-member fees
- Business — enterprise pricing with white-label
Skool’s bet: simplify to one tier. $99/mo and everything is unlocked.
10 members? $99. 1,000 members? $99. 50,000 members? Still $99.
This isn’t a marketing trick — it’s the actual pricing model. Skool’s founder Sam Ovens has publicly committed to keeping it flat.
Total cost of ownership — realistic
For a typical paid community:
| Component | Cost |
|---|---|
| Skool platform | $99/mo |
| Stripe fees (member payments) | ~3% of member revenue |
| Email (Skool sends; no need for ConvertKit etc. if you stay native) | $0 |
| Course hosting (built-in classroom) | $0 |
| Video hosting (use Zoom embeds + YouTube unlisted) | $0 (Zoom you might have anyway) |
| Optional: API automation via Apify actor | $1.50/mo |
| Optional: AI-driven member screening (LLM) | $5-10/mo |
| Optional: n8n hosting (self-host) | $0 |
| Optional: n8n cloud | $20/mo |
| TOTAL | $99-$135/mo + 3% of revenue |
Hidden costs to watch
- Stripe charges on every member payment. ~3% + $0.30 per transaction. On 100 members at $30/mo: ~$120/mo to Stripe. Add to budget.
- Cookies expire (~3.5 days) on API automation. Build auto-rotation into your scripts or rotate manually. Time cost, not money.
- Your time. Running a Skool community well takes 10-20 hours per week initially (community management, content production, member onboarding). Plan for it or automate aggressively from day one.
- External tooling. Zoom, email marketing if you go beyond Skool’s native send, CRM if you track outside, etc. These are your existing stack — Skool doesn’t add costs here, but doesn’t reduce them either.
Pricing vs major alternatives
| Platform | Starting price | At 100 members + course access | At 1000 members |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skool | $99/mo | $99/mo | $99/mo |
| Circle | $89/mo (Basic) | $199/mo (Professional) | $399/mo (Business) |
| Mighty Networks | $39/mo (Community) | $99/mo (Business) | $179/mo (Path) |
| Kajabi | $149/mo (Basic) | $199/mo (Growth) | $399/mo (Pro) |
| Thinkific | $36/mo (Basic) | $74/mo (Pro) | $149/mo (Premier) |
| Discord | Free | Free | Free |
Skool is only competitive at scale — at small communities ($89 Circle Basic vs $99 Skool), Skool is more expensive. At larger communities ($399 Circle Business vs $99 Skool), Skool is dramatically cheaper.
The crossover is typically at ~50-100 members for owners who’d otherwise need Circle Professional.
Is there an annual discount?
No. Skool is monthly billing only at $99/mo. Many competitors offer 15-30% annual discounts; Skool deliberately doesn’t.
Some founders read this as a feature: it forces monthly value-checking by the customer. Others read it as missed savings. Both views are reasonable.
How to validate the price for your specific case
The 14-day free trial gives you the empirical answer:
- Sign up free (here)
- Build out your community basics in days 1-3
- Invite 5-10 members
- By day 14, ask yourself: would I pay $99/mo for what this is doing for the community?
If yes → convert. If no → cancel before day 14.
Refunds
Standard policy: no refunds on already-charged months. Cancel anytime to stop future billing. The 14-day trial is the validation window.
Currency and international
Pricing is in USD. Skool bills via Stripe which handles currency conversion if you’re paying from a non-USD card. Some banks add foreign transaction fees (1-3%) on top.
VAT/sales tax: Skool charges VAT to EU customers. For US customers, sales tax applies depending on state.
Common questions
Will Skool’s price increase?
Skool has held $99/mo since launch in 2019. No price increase publicly announced as of May 2026. Existing customers would typically be grandfathered if a future change happens — standard SaaS practice.
Can I get a discount through an affiliate?
Some affiliates have negotiated one-month-free promos for first-time signups. The 14-day trial is the primary entry path. The ref link in this doc converts directly to trial start.
Can I downgrade if I’m not using all features?
There’s only one paid plan. No downgrade option. If you can’t justify $99/mo, cancel and move to a free platform (Discord) or a tiered competitor (Circle Basic at $89).
What about Skool for non-profits or education?
Standard $99/mo. No published non-profit / education discount.
Related
Try Skool — 14-day free trial
→ Start your Skool community — no credit card, $99/mo after the trial.
Want to automate community admin? Use this Apify actor — pay-per-event, ~$1.50/mo typical.