1How much does Skool cost in 2026?
The Skool pricing plans are Hobby and Pro. Both have a 14-day free trial and bill monthly or yearly until you cancel.
| Price and Skool features | Hobby | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9 a month | $99 a month |
| Yearly (2 months free) | $90 a year, about $7.50 a month | $990 a year, about $82.50 a month |
| Fee on each sale | 10% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ up to $899 |
| Fee on one charge over $899 | 10% + 30¢ | 3.9% + 30¢ |
| Growth Boost cut on members Skool finds | 30% in Skool's example | 30% in Skool's example |
| Members, courses, videos, live calls | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Custom URL | Listed | Yes |
| Member affiliates (referrals) | Listed | Yes |
| Transfer the group to someone else | Needs Pro | Yes |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days |
Sources: skool.com/pricing, Skool Payments FAQ, Payment terms and policy and Growth Boost, all checked 23 October 2026.
Skool's pricing page now lists a custom URL and affiliates on Hobby too, but its payment terms still call the custom URL a Pro feature. Check your settings before you count on it. The yearly prices are our maths from Skool's "2 months free" offer. The page does not print them.
Is there an enterprise plan? Some reviewers mention a white-label or enterprise option with a branded app. We could not find it on skool.com/pricing or in Skool's help center on 23 October 2026. Ask Skool support if you need it.
$1.14M all timeOne community business
$630,088 net revenueAll time, one offer
$208.68K in 30 daysOne month of paymentsReal screenshots from our clients and our stories. Not typical.
2What are Skool's transaction fees?
Skool keeps a fee every time a member pays you. The 3.9% Pro rate on a single charge over $899 matters if you sell high-ticket access in one payment.
| Member pays | Hobby fee | You keep | Pro fee | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $9 | $1.20 | $7.80 | $0.56 | $8.44 |
| $29 | $3.20 | $25.80 | $1.14 | $27.86 |
| $49 | $5.20 | $43.80 | $1.72 | $47.28 |
| $99 | $10.20 | $88.80 | $3.17 | $95.83 |
| $499 | $50.20 | $448.80 | $14.77 | $484.23 |
| $999 | $100.20 | $898.80 | $39.26 | $959.74 |
The $9 and $999 rows match the examples in Skool's Payments FAQ, which also sets these rules:
- Fees are not refunded. If you refund a member, Skool keeps its fee.
- Prices are in US dollars. Members pay in USD. You get paid in your local currency.
- Skool handles sales tax. Skool is the merchant of record. It adds EU VAT on top of your price and pays it for you.
- The cap is $100,000 per charge. That is the most one payment can be.
3How much does Skool take from creators? The Growth Boost cut
On members you bring yourself, Skool only takes the transaction fee. On members Skool finds for you, it also keeps a Growth Boost share.
Growth Boost puts your paid group at the top of Discovery and runs Meta ads for it with Skool's money. In Skool's own example, a member who pays $10 costs you $3 plus fees. That cut repeats every month the member stays.
| Member pays $49 on Pro | Skool keeps | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| You found the member | $1.72 | $47.28 |
| Skool found the member (30% share) | $16.42 | $32.58 |
- It is on by default. Turn it off in SETTINGS, then Discovery. Turning it off also takes you out of Discovery.
- You can bid a different share. Skool's settings offer more or less growth for a bigger or smaller cut. Members keep the share they joined at.
- Skool says it is not for high ticket. If you sell on a sales call or through your own funnel, Skool recommends turning it off.
- Free groups get no ads. Skool only runs ads for paid groups.
Source: Traffic Sources and Growth Boost and Discovery FAQs, checked 23 October 2026. The 30% row is our maths from Skool's $3 on $10 example.
4Hobby or Pro: which plan is cheaper for you?
Pro is cheaper once your group brings in about $1,268 a month. Below that, Hobby wins. The 30 cent part is the same on both plans, so it does not change the answer. If your price is $900 or more, the switch point moves up to about $1,475 a month.
| Sales a month | Members at $49 | Hobby costs | Pro costs | Pro saves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | 10 | $62 | $117 | -$55 |
| $1,000 | 20 | $115 | $134 | -$19 |
| $1,268 | 26 | $144 | $144 | $0 |
| $2,000 | 41 | $221 | $169 | $52 |
| $5,000 | 102 | $540 | $275 | $265 |
| $10,000 | 204 | $1,070 | $450 | $620 |
Affiliates matter for growth. 20% to 40% of new members can come from affiliates. If you plan to grow, switch to Pro the month you pass the line.
5The true monthly cost calculator
Yearly members pay once a year, so the 30¢ is charged less often than shown.
6How many members do you need to break even?
Members needed = (take-home goal + tools + Skool plan) ÷ what you keep per member after Skool's fee. The table uses a $5,000 take-home goal and $150 a month in tools.
| Price a month | Members on Hobby | Members on Pro | New members a month to hold it |
|---|---|---|---|
| $29 | 200 | 189 | 38 |
| $49 | 118 | 112 | 23 |
| $99 | 59 | 55 | 11 |
| $199 | 29 | 28 | 6 |
The last column is the number people forget. Paid groups keep about 80% of members a month, so a group of 112 loses about 23 members every month. Those have to be replaced before you grow at all. Run your own numbers in the price and tier builder below.
Want your numbers sent to you?
Leave your email and we will send your cost numbers, plus the one change we would make first.
We only use this to send your numbers and to follow up about your client acquisition. If you add a mobile, we may call or text you about it.7How should you price your own Skool community?
Three pricing models work for most coaches. Skool's tiered pricing lets one group run more than one, such as a free level and a paid level.
| Model | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Low monthly price | Big audience, fast growth, testing an idea | Members leave fast in months 1 to 3 |
| Yearly, paid up front | Coaches who want cash now and steadier members | You owe a full year of delivery |
| Free group, high-ticket on calls | Coaches with a $3K+ program | Turn Growth Boost off. Skool says it is not built for this. |
Price the yearly plan off how long members really stay. Yearly plans usually run about 17% off, and yearly members leave less. Skool's own app tip says customers expect about 20% off for paying yearly.
Skool's own suggestion is a three-step ladder, such as $9, $99 and $999 a month. We build it as a free level, a main paid level, a small top tier, and a high-ticket program sold on a call.
The top tier assumes 1 in 10 members take it. Before tax.
Skool lets one group run a free level and paid levels, and it keeps existing members at the price they joined at, so you can raise prices for new members only. Get the Skool community launch plan Claude skill to write the tier names and About page copy with Claude.
8What else does it cost to run a Skool group?
These costs decide whether a group makes money. The Skool bill is rarely one of them.
| Cost | What it looks like | How to keep it down |
|---|---|---|
| Members who leave | About 20% a month in an average paid group, 10% or less in the best | Fewer lessons, a simple week, a yearly plan |
| Your time | Posts, replies, live calls every week | One post, one call, one recording a week |
| Traffic | Content time or ad spend | Skool's Discovery search brings over a quarter of all memberships |
| Other tools | Email, booking calendar, design | Only pay for what you use each week |
| Sales calls | Someone to sell your high-ticket offer | Book calls from the group, not from cold ads |
Churn is the biggest hidden cost. At 80% retention, a member stays about 5 months. At 90%, about 10. Same price, double the money per member. One owner cut churn from 30% to 5.2% by deleting lessons members were not using.
The Skool fee can pay for itself. Skool pays 40% of the plan price when someone you refer starts a group. Its help center puts that at $39 a month for a Pro referral and $3.60 for a Hobby one (checked 23 October 2026). Three Pro referrals cover your own Pro plan.
For coaches, the group is often a cost of getting clients. Cost per booked call falls from about $250 to about $40 with a free group in front. Against that, $99 a month is cheap. To price your calls, use the client acquisition cost calculator. If you want the group and the calls built for you, see if you qualify.
See If You Qualify
Bring your numbers from the calculators. We'll look at your group together and tell you what we'd fix first.
9How does Skool pay out?
- Every Wednesday. Your available balance goes to your bank account once a week.
- The first payout is slower. Money takes 8 to 14 days to become available, and the first payout goes through extra checks.
- It lands in 1 to 5 business days. Usually 1 to 3 for US banks and 3 to 5 for banks outside the US.
- Local currency. Members pay in USD. You get paid in your own currency, with no extra conversion fee on the new payout system.
- Not your own payment account. Skool processes the payments and sends payouts through a connection it sets up for you. You cannot plug in a payment account you already have.
- The group plan must be active. Archived groups and groups with a failed plan payment do not get paid out.
Sources: How does Skool payout work? and the Skool Payments FAQ, checked 23 October 2026.
10Is Skool free?
For members, joining a free group is free. A paid group costs whatever its owner charges. Prices on Skool run from $1 to $10,000 a month.
Owners pay $9 or $99 a month after the 14-day trial, even for a group that is free to members. A group can be priced as free, paid monthly or yearly, free plus a paid upgrade, several paid tiers, or a one-time payment. You can give paying members a 7-day free trial.
11Is Skool cheaper than Patreon?
Patreon has no monthly plan. It takes a 10% platform fee on what you earn, plus payment processing, currency and payout fees. Skool Pro charges $99 a month and a lower fee.
| Sales a month | Patreon platform fee | Skool Pro fee (100 members) |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $100 + processing | $158 |
| $5,000 | $500 + processing | $274 |
| $10,000 | $1,000 + processing | $419 |
Above a few thousand a month, Skool Pro usually costs less. Patreon suits creators selling content to fans. Skool suits coaches who want a group, a course and calls in one place.
Patreon's 10% from patreon.com/pricing, checked 23 October 2026. Patreon does not list its processing fees on that page, so we left them out of the maths.
12How do you cancel a Skool membership or subscription?
If you own a group:
- Open your group and click SETTINGS.
- Go to Billing, then Manage subscription.
- Click Cancel subscription.
You keep access to the end of the period you paid for. Then the group turns read-only. Skool does not refund plan fees. To move from Pro to Hobby instead, use Change plan in the same place. That switch is instant, and the unused Pro time is not refunded.
If you are a member of someone else's group: click your profile picture, then Settings, then the Communities tab. Click SETTINGS next to the group, then Manage membership, and cancel. You leave at the end of the billing cycle. Skool suggests cancelling at least 24 hours before you are billed again.
Sources: owner cancel, member cancel, change plans and payment terms, checked 23 October 2026.
13Worked example: Marcus's first paid group
Made-up example. Marcus is a fitness coach. He runs a paid group at $49 a month with 120 paying members. He spends $150 a month on other tools and runs no ads.
| Hobby | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Sales a month | $5,880 | $5,880 |
| Plan | $9 | $99 |
| Transaction fees | $624 | $206.52 |
| Other tools | $150 | $150 |
| Total cost | $783 | $455.52 |
| He keeps | $5,097 | $5,424.48 |
On Hobby he would pay $327.48 more every month, or about $3,930 a year. He moves to Pro. His Skool cost is now about 5% of sales. At 80% retention he must replace 24 members a month just to stand still. So he cuts his course to the lessons people finish and adds a yearly plan.
14What to do this week
- Write down your sales last month and your paying members today.
- Run the true cost calculator with your real tools, ads and Growth Boost share.
- If you sell high ticket on calls, turn Growth Boost off in SETTINGS, then Discovery.
- If sales are over about $1,268 a month and you are on Hobby, switch to Pro.
- Run the price and tier builder with your take-home goal. Write two numbers on a sticky note: members needed, and new members a month to hold it.
- Cancel one tool you have not used in the last 30 days.
- Count how many members left last month. If it is more than 1 in 5, fix that before you buy traffic. If you cannot tell where the money leaks, find the exact bottleneck in your business.
- Read our Skool review if you are still deciding whether Skool fits at all.
Find the exact bottleneck in your business
Frequently asked questions
How much does Skool cost?
Skool costs $9 a month on the Hobby plan or $99 a month on the Pro plan, after a 14-day free trial. Yearly billing gives 2 months free. Skool also keeps a fee on each sale: 10% plus 30 cents on Hobby, or 2.9% plus 30 cents on Pro, rising to 3.9% plus 30 cents on a single charge over $899. Checked on skool.com on 23 October 2026.
How much does Skool take from creators?
On members you bring yourself, only the transaction fee: 10% plus 30 cents on Hobby or 2.9% plus 30 cents on Pro. On members Skool finds for you through Growth Boost, it also keeps a share, $3 of a $10 sale in Skool's own example, every month they stay.
Is Skool free?
Joining a free group is free for members. Running a group is not: owners get 14 days free, then pay $9 or $99 a month. You can still run a free group on a paid plan, where members pay nothing and you pay the plan.
Is Skool actually worth it?
For most coaches, yes, if the group has a clear job. A free group that books calls for a high-ticket program pays back the $99 Pro plan with one sale. A paid group at $49 covers Pro with about 3 paying members. It is not worth it if nobody posts or runs calls each week.
Should I pick the Hobby or Pro plan?
Pick Pro once your group sells more than about $1,268 a month, or about $1,475 if your price is $900 or more. Below that, Hobby is cheaper. Skool's pricing page now lists a custom URL and affiliates on both plans.
Does Skool have an enterprise or white-label plan?
Not that we could find. Skool's pricing page and help center list only Hobby and Pro as of 23 October 2026. Some reviewers mention a sales-led white-label option, but we could not confirm it or its price.
How do I cancel my Skool subscription?
Owners go to SETTINGS, then Billing, then Manage subscription, then Cancel subscription. You keep access to the end of the paid period, then the group turns read-only. Members cancel from their profile Settings, under Communities, then Manage membership. Skool does not refund plan fees.
Is Skool cheaper than Patreon?
Usually, once you sell more than a few thousand dollars a month. Patreon takes a 10% platform fee plus processing. Skool Pro is $99 a month plus 2.9% and 30 cents per charge.
Does Skool charge VAT or sales tax?
Skool is the merchant of record, so it collects sales tax for you. It adds EU VAT on top of your price and pays it to the government. Skool says it does not need to collect VAT in the UK for virtual training.
How much should I charge for my Skool community?
Most paid Skool groups sit near $50 a month. Pick a main price, add a yearly price about 17% lower, and add a small top tier at about six times the main price for calls and feedback. Then check you can replace the members who leave: at 80% retention, a group of 112 needs about 23 new paying members a month just to hold its size.
$10M+ in client results. I run Cashflow Coaches, a done-for-you marketing, sales, operations and tracking agency. We handle everything from paid ads, funnels, webinars, VSLs and Skool communities to setters, closers, ops and tracking. Two-time Skool Games winner.
Bring your Skool numbers to the call.
We look at your offer, your group and these numbers, and map the full system for your business. If you're not a fit, we tell you what to fix first.
Book your callKeep reading: Skool communities guideSkool reviewSkool alternativesSkool vs KajabiSkool vs WhopDone-for-you Skool growthScale a coaching businessCase study: paid communityClient acquisition cost calculatorFind your bottleneck (quiz)Home
Marcus is a made-up example. His numbers show how the maths works and are not a client result. Skool's prices and fees were checked on skool.com and help.skool.com on 23 October 2026 and can change. Benchmarks on this page are what other operators and Skool owners report. They are not Cashflow Coaches results and not a promise. Every real result on this page is a past result from a specific client. None of them is typical. Cashflow Coaches is not part of, or endorsed by, Skool.