Everything Skool charges in 2026
Features are identical on both plans — unlimited members, courses, videos, live calls and native video hosting. The only difference is the transaction fee. The $9 Hobby tier launched in July 2025; before that, every community paid $99.
| Charge | Hobby | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $9 | $99 |
| Annual billing | $90/year, about $7.50/mo | $990/year, about $82.50/mo |
| Transaction fee | 10% + $0.30 | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Above about $899 per sale | 10% + $0.30 | 3.9% + $0.30 |
| Card processing | Included | Included |
| International card surcharge | Absorbed by Skool | Absorbed by Skool |
| Subscription surcharge | Absorbed by Skool | Absorbed by Skool |
| VAT and sales tax | Handled and remitted | Handled and remitted |
| Each extra community | +$9/month | +$99/month |
| Admins | 1 | Unlimited |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days |
The all-in nature of Skool's fee is worth understanding, because it changes every comparison. Skool acts as the merchant, so there is no separate Stripe charge sitting behind the 10% or the 2.9%. You can verify this against Skool's own published example: a $999 sale pays out $959.74, which is exactly 3.9% + $0.30.
The 3.9% high-ticket rate
Skool's help centre confirms that transactions above roughly $899 are charged 3.9% + $0.30 on Pro rather than 2.9%. It applies to the whole transaction, not just the portion above the threshold.
| Sale price | Skool Pro rate | Skool fee | You keep | On Whop you keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $49 | 2.9% | $1.72 | $47.28 | $45.91 |
| $297 | 2.9% | $8.91 | $288.09 | $279.77 |
| $999 | 3.9% | $39.26 | $959.74 | $941.76 |
| $1,500 | 3.9% | $58.80 | $1,441.20 | $1,414.20 |
Per transaction, Skool Pro is cheaper than Whop at every price point — the 2.9% and 3.9% are all-in, while Whop's 5.7% + $0.30 is not. Skool's cost problem is the $99/month floor, not its rate. That is why the comparison turns entirely on your volume rather than your price point.
When to move up, and when to leave
Hobby's 10% is the highest transaction fee among the major community platforms. The break-even against Pro lands at roughly $1,200 to $1,300 per month in revenue: below that the $9 plan is cheaper despite the rate, above it the $99 plan wins.
| Monthly revenue | Hobby total | Pro total | Whop total | Cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $490 | $61 | $116 | $31 | Whop |
| $980 | $113 | $133 | $62 | Whop |
| $1,470 | $165 | $151 | $93 | Whop |
| $4,900 | $529 | $271 | $309 | Skool Pro |
| $14,700 | $1,569 | $615 | $928 | Skool Pro |
Note what the middle rows show: there is a band, roughly $0 to $3,500 per month, where neither Skool plan is the cheapest option available. That band is where most communities live for their first year.
Features Skool deliberately leaves out
Skool's minimalism is a design choice, not an oversight — but it is worth knowing what you will need another tool for: quizzes, assignments, certificates, drip content, email marketing, sales funnels, a custom domain, CRM integrations and advanced reporting. Payouts are Stripe-only, currency support is narrower than the larger platforms, and there is no SSO or SCIM for enterprise use.
Against that, the gamification layer — points, levels, leaderboards — is the best in the category and the reason most Skool communities retain well. If retention is your bottleneck rather than cost, that trade is worth making.
Where to go from here
Under $3,500 a month?
Then Skool's $99 floor is the single largest line item in your cost base. Whop charges nothing monthly — open one and compare a month of payouts side by side.
Start selling on Whop →