Skool pricing in 2026: plans, fees and what you keep

Skool’s pricing page shows two prices: $9 a month and $99 a month. It doesn’t show the 30¢ on every payment, the 30% cut on members Skool finds for you, or the $100 for each new URL after your first. Those live in Skool’s help center.

This guide puts every plan and fee in one place, from Skool’s own pricing page and help docs as of October 2026, then works out what a member really leaves you. Every price is in US dollars, the only currency Skool charges in.

The short answer

Both plans include unlimited members, courses, videos and live calls. Skool says its fee covers card processing, so no separate card fee comes off.

Two more costs apply on either plan: 30% of every payment from members Skool’s Growth Boost finds for you, and $15 for each card dispute.

From a $29 monthly member, you keep $25.80 on Hobby and $27.86 on Pro. Pro costs less overall once your group takes in about $1,270 a month.

How does Skool work?

Skool is a place to run a free or paid community. Here’s how it works, start to finish.

• You start a group on skool.com. You pick Hobby or Pro, and both start with a 14-day free trial. Each group you run has its own plan.
• Every group has the same parts. A community feed, a classroom for courses, a calendar for events and live calls, a member list with points and levels, and an About page that works as your sales page. You add your name, icon, cover photo and About page. The layout is Skool’s.
• You choose how members pay. Free, monthly or yearly, a free and a paid plan side by side, several paid tiers, or one payment for lifetime access. You can also sell single courses inside the group.
• Members pay Skool, not you. Skool runs every payment as the seller, adds VAT where it applies, takes its fee and sends the rest to your bank every Wednesday. Skool says funds are ready to pay out after 8 to 14 days, and you can’t use your own Stripe account.
• Prices are in US dollars only. Members everywhere pay in USD.
• Members use Skool’s app. Your group sits in the Skool Communities app, next to every other group they’ve joined.
• Skool can promote you, for a cut. Groups that meet Skool’s minimum setup get listed in its Discovery directory. With Growth Boost on, Skool also shows yours in its search, in other groups and in ads, and keeps 30% of what each member it brings pays.
• Stop paying, and the group goes read-only. When your plan ends, Skool archives the group. Everything in it stays read-only, and nobody can add anything new.

Skool’s two plans

Hobby: $9 a month

Hobby is $9 a month, or $90 billed yearly. It takes 10% + 30¢ of every payment, at any size.

It includes unlimited members, courses, videos and live calls, plus membership questions and level-based limits on chat and posting. It allows one admin, and your group keeps the address Skool gives it when you start. Custom URLs, member affiliates, extra admins, webinars and most plugins are Pro only.

Pro: $99 a month

Pro is $99 a month, or $990 billed yearly (Skool shows that as $82 a month). It takes 2.9% + 30¢ of each payment up to $899, and 3.9% + 30¢ of payments over $900.

On top of Hobby, it adds:

• Up to 30 admins, instead of one.
• A custom URL: your choice of name on skool.com. The first change is included, and each change after that costs $100.
• Member affiliates: members earn a commission you set when they bring in new members.
• Webinars, beside the group calls both plans have.
• More plugins: AutoDM, onboarding and cancellation videos, Zapier, Google Ads tracking, up to three member links, instant approvals and webhooks.
• Group transfers to a new owner.

Every fee, one by one

The transaction fee

This is Skool’s cut of every payment members make: monthly and yearly memberships, one-time payments and course sales.

Skool says this fee covers payment processing. It’s also final. Skool’s help center says “Transaction fees are non-refundable,” so when you refund a member, Skool keeps its fee.

Growth Boost: 30% of members Skool finds

Growth Boost is Skool’s paid promotion, and it’s on unless you turn it off (in your group’s settings, under Discovery).

When Skool brings you a member, through its search, other groups or its ads, it keeps 30% of what they pay. That’s on top of the transaction fee, and Skool says it applies to recurring charges “as long as the member’s subscription is active.” Skool’s own example: on a $10 membership, it deducts $3 and fees. For members you bring in yourself, Skool takes only the transaction fee. You can change the boost percentage, and members keep the percentage they joined at.

Skool credits whatever a member clicked last before joining. Its help center gives the example of a fan who gets your emails and reads your posts on X and Facebook, then joins from a Skool ad: that member counts as Skool’s, and Skool can’t change it later.

Card disputes: $15 each

When a member disputes a payment with their bank, Skool takes the amount and a $15 fee from your balance. Fighting the dispute costs another $15, which comes back only if you win.

Changing your URL: $100

Your first custom URL is included with Pro. Each change after that costs $100, and Skool doesn’t refund it. The URL stays only while you’re on Pro.

Your plan, billed in advance

Skool charges your plan in advance, monthly or yearly, and doesn’t refund it, even for time you don’t use. Moving a group to a new owner needs Pro, and that upgrade isn’t refundable either.

VAT, paid by your members

Where Skool collects VAT, members pay it on top of your price, from 17% to 27% across the EU. It isn’t your choice: you can’t include it in your price or turn it off.

What a member really leaves you

Here’s what reaches you from one payment, before any Growth Boost cut.

Skool’s own examples match: $7.80 from a $9 membership on Hobby, and $959.74 from a $999 sale on Pro.

50 members at $29 a month bring in $1,450.

• On Hobby, fees come to $160 (50 times $3.20), plus the $9 plan. You keep $1,281.
• On Pro, fees come to $57.05 (50 times about $1.14), plus the $99 plan. You keep $1,293.95.

Now say Growth Boost brought in 10 of those 50. Skool keeps 30% of their $29 too: $8.70 each, or $87 a month. On Pro, Skool’s share becomes $243.05 a month, or $2,916.60 a year.

Hobby or Pro: which costs less?

Both plans charge 30¢ a payment, so the choice comes down to $9 plus 10% against $99 plus 2.9%.

Pro starts costing less once your group takes in about $1,270 a month. Below that, Hobby costs less, even with the bigger cut. At $1,450 a month, as above, Pro saves you $12.95.

Two catches. Pro’s fee rises to 3.9% + 30¢ on single payments over $900. And Growth Boost takes the same 30% on both plans.

What your $9 or $99 buys

Here’s what $9 or $99 a month buys, and what no plan includes.

Every plan gets you unlimited members, courses, videos and live calls, in Skool’s layout, at a skool.com address, in Skool’s app.

No plan gets you:

• Your own domain. Pro’s custom URL is an address on skool.com.
• Your own design. Every group uses Skool’s layout. You change the name, icon, cover photo and About page.
• Your own app. Members use the Skool Communities app.
• Links on your sales page. Skool says links in the About page description won’t work.
• Your own checkout. Members pay Skool, in US dollars, and you can’t connect your own Stripe account.

And watch the costs that grow with you: Hobby’s 10%, and Growth Boost’s 30% on every member Skool finds.

Your own site instead

Drate gives you a website made around you, on your own domain and in your look. Memberships and passes, members-only posts and video, courses and a community feed live together on one site, with Discord roles by membership. Members pay through your own Stripe account. Drate takes 5% of membership sales on every plan, plus $9 a month on Regular, or $60 a year. Pro is $12 a month, or $99 a year, and adds your own iOS and Android app.

Here’s what each costs a month, with members paying $29 by US card. Skool’s fee already includes card processing, so Drate’s columns add Stripe’s standard 2.9% + 30¢, the card fee Drate creators pay.

From about $145 to about $1,740 a month, both Drate plans cost less than either Skool plan, and Drate Regular costs less than Skool Hobby at every size. Above about $1,740, Skool Pro costs less in fees than Drate Pro, and above about $1,800 it costs less than Drate Regular, because its 2.9% + 30¢ already covers card processing, while Drate’s 5% comes on top of Stripe’s fees. Stripe also charges 1.5% more for international cards. None of this counts Growth Boost, which only adds to Skool’s side.

What Drate gives you at every size is a home that’s yours: your own domain and look on every plan, your own app on Pro, and members who pay you through your own Stripe account. On Drate you’re the seller, so sales tax and VAT are yours to handle.

The Skool alternative page lays out the features side by side and shows how switching works.

Questions

How much does Skool take from each payment?

On Hobby, 10% + 30¢ of every payment. On Pro, 2.9% + 30¢, or 3.9% + 30¢ on payments over $900. Skool says the fee covers card processing. If Skool's Growth Boost brought the member, Skool also keeps 30% of what they pay.

How much does Skool cost a month?

Hobby is $9 a month and Pro is $99 a month, each after a 14-day free trial. Billed yearly, Hobby is $90 and Pro is $990, which Skool shows as $7.50 and $82 a month. Each group you run has its own plan.

Is there a free Skool plan?

No. Both plans are paid once the 14-day trial ends. You can run a free group for your members, but you still pay Skool $9 or $99 a month for it.

What is Skool's Growth Boost?

It's Skool's own promotion, and it's on by default. Skool shows your group in its search, in other groups and in off-site ads, and keeps 30% of every payment from members it brings you, for as long as they stay. You can turn it off in your group's settings, under Discovery.

Can I use my own domain on Skool?

Skool's Pro plan includes a custom URL, which is your group's address on skool.com. Skool's plans don't list a domain of your own. The first URL change is included, and every change after that costs $100.

When does Skool Pro cost less than Hobby?

Once your group takes in more than about $1,270 a month. Below that, Hobby's $9 plus 10% costs less than Pro's $99 plus 2.9%. The 30¢ on each payment is the same on both plans.

What doesn't a Skool plan include?

Your own domain, design and app. Pro's custom URL is an address on skool.com, every group uses Skool's layout, and members use the Skool Communities app. Members also pay Skool in US dollars, and you can't connect your own Stripe account.

Sources

Checked on October 18, 2026. Prices and terms change, so check the latest before you decide.

1. Skool: Pricingskool.com
2. Skool: Payments FAQshelp.skool.com
3. Skool: Analytics definitionshelp.skool.com
4. Skool: Payment terms and policyhelp.skool.com
5. Skool: Traffic sources and Growth Boosthelp.skool.com
6. Skool: Discovery FAQshelp.skool.com
7. Skool: Why isn't my group visible on Discovery?help.skool.com
8. Skool: How to change my group URLhelp.skool.com
9. Skool: How to make a member an admin or a moderatorhelp.skool.com
10. Skool: How to use Pluginshelp.skool.com
11. Skool: How to add linkshelp.skool.com
12. Skool: How to create a webinarhelp.skool.com
13. Skool: How to set up member affiliates for your communityhelp.skool.com
14. Skool: How to transfer group ownershiphelp.skool.com
15. Skool: How does Skool payout work?help.skool.com
16. Skool: Countering disputes on Skoolhelp.skool.com
17. Skool: Skool VAT FAQshelp.skool.com
18. Skool: How to set up pricing for the grouphelp.skool.com
19. Skool: How to set up one-time course purchaseshelp.skool.com
20. Skool: How to set up my group's About pagehelp.skool.com
21. Skool: How to set up my group logo and cover photohelp.skool.com
22. Skool: What is Classroom?help.skool.com
23. Skool: How to create an event in your grouphelp.skool.com
24. Skool: How do points and levels work?help.skool.com
25. Skool: How to cancel my Skool group subscriptionhelp.skool.com
26. Skool Communities on the App Storeapps.apple.com
27. Stripe: Pricingstripe.com