1Is Skool or Circle better for a paid coaching community?
Skool, for a paid group or a free group that books calls. Circle, when the group must look like your brand, live on your domain or split into many spaces.
| Skool | Circle | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $9 a month (Hobby) or $99 (Pro) | $89 a month (Professional), billed yearly |
| Next plan up | None. Pro is the top plan. | $199 (Business), $419 (Scale), Circle Plus by quote |
| Fee on each sale | 10% + 30¢ (Hobby), 2.9% + 30¢ (Pro) | 2% (Professional) or 1% (Business), plus Stripe's fee |
| Card processing | Included in the fee | Extra. Stripe charges about 2.9% + 30¢ on US cards |
| Members | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Courses and live calls | Yes, on both plans | Yes. Live streams up to 100 people, 10 hours a month on Professional |
| Free members from the platform | Yes, Discovery search | No public directory like it |
| Points, levels, leaderboard | Yes | Yes (gamification on all plans) |
| Custom domain | Pro only (custom URL) | All plans |
| Your own design | Logo, cover, About page only | Color themes, custom CSS, white label from Business |
| Separate spaces | One group per community | 20 to 100 spaces |
| Email marketing | Not a full email tool | Email Hub add-on, $99 a month for 10,000 contacts |
| Member affiliates | Built in, on Pro | Tracking code support listed, no built-in member referral program on the pricing page |
| Branded mobile app | No | Circle Plus only |
| Admins on the entry plan | Not listed as a limit | 3 admins and 10 moderators, $10 a month per extra admin |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days, no card |
Sources: skool.com/pricing and the Skool Payments FAQ; circle.so/pricing (plan table and fee tooltip, which says the fee is "in addition to the standard Stripe processing fee"); Stan's help page listing the US Stripe card rate of 2.9% + 30¢. All checked 22 October 2026. Circle shows yearly prices only on its page, so paying month to month may cost more.
$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.
2Which one costs less at your member count?
Skool costs less at every size we checked. The gap grows with your sales, because Circle stacks its own cut on top of Stripe's. Full monthly bill, plan plus every fee:
| Group | Sales a month | Skool | Circle | Skool saves a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 members at $49 | $1,225 | $139 Hobby | $156.53 Professional | $210 |
| 100 members at $49 | $4,900 | $271.10 Pro | $359.10 Professional | $1,056 |
| 300 members at $49 | $14,700 | $615.30 Pro | $862.30 Business | $2,964 |
| 1000 members at $49 | $49,000 | $1,820 Pro | $2,410 Business | $7,080 |
| 50 members at $297 | $14,850 | $544.65 Pro | $793.15 Business | $2,982 |
Each column uses the cheaper plan for that size. Skool switches from Hobby to Pro at about $1,268 a month in sales. Circle switches from Professional to Business at about $11,000. Below $500 a month in sales, Circle Professional is cheaper than Skool Pro, but Skool Hobby is cheaper than both.
3The Skool vs Circle cost calculator
US cards, monthly billing. International cards cost more on Stripe.
4Where does Circle win?
We run more groups on Skool than anywhere else. Circle still beats it on these points.
- It looks like your brand. Custom domain, color themes and custom CSS on every plan. White label from Business. Skool allows a logo and a cover.
- Many spaces. You get 20 on Professional, 30 on Business and 100 on Scale. That suits a company with several programs, cohorts or customer groups.
- Email in the same place. Email Hub is a $99 a month add-on for 10,000 contacts. Skool is not an email tool.
- Tools for builders. API access, a headless member API and automations from Business up. Skool keeps things closed and simple.
- Branded apps. Circle Plus builds your own iOS and Android apps. Skool has no branded app.
5Where does Skool win?
- Lower total fees. Pro's 2.9% + 30¢ includes card processing. On Circle you pay Circle's percentage and Stripe's.
- Free members. Skool's Discovery search brings over a quarter of all memberships on the platform. Circle groups have to bring every member themselves.
- The About page sells. Free groups convert about 20% of About page visitors, and paid groups about 4%.
- Members bring members. Many Skool groups get 20% to 40% of their members from member affiliates.
- Tax handled. Skool is the merchant of record and adds and pays EU VAT for you. On Circle, payments run through your Stripe account, so check how tax works for your country.
- Less to build. One feed, one classroom and one calendar. Members know where to go, and you can launch the same day.
6What is the Circle app?
Circle is community software for creators and brands. You get spaces for posts, chat, courses, events and live streams, on the web, a desktop app and iOS and Android apps. You can charge for access through Stripe. Plans run from $89 to $419 a month billed yearly, plus a custom-priced Circle Plus with your own branded apps.
See If You Qualify
Bring your numbers from the calculator. We'll look at your group and tell you what we'd fix first.
7Which fits your business, Skool or Circle?
The weights are our view from building groups.
8Worked example: Dana picks a platform
Made-up example. Dana is a business coach. She has 150 paying members at $59 a month and sells a $3,000 program on calls. She is choosing between Skool and Circle.
| Skool Pro | Circle Professional | |
|---|---|---|
| Sales a month | $8,850 | $8,850 |
| Plan | $99 | $89 |
| Platform fee | $301.65 | $177 |
| Stripe fee | Included | $301.65 |
| Total a month | $400.65 | $567.65 |
Skool keeps her $167 more a month, about $2,004 a year. She scores 14 to 1 for Skool on the check, because she does not need a branded hub. About 10% of group joiners buy the next offer, when about a third get on a call and 30% to 50% of those close. For Dana, one extra $3,000 sale a month is worth more than the whole fee gap for a year.
9What we see across our Skool builds
- Members leaving costs more than fees. Paid Skool groups keep about 80% of members a month on average, and the best keep 90% or more. Pick the platform your members will actually open.
- Simple beats pretty. Skool cut its own owners' group to one post, one call and one recording a week, and churn came down. More spaces can mean more places to fall behind.
- The group is the front door. Cost per booked call falls from about $250 to about $40 with a free group in front. Run your own numbers in the client acquisition cost calculator.
Two client results. Not typical. One built $143K a year in recurring memberships from zero. Another, John Duda, reached 23,403 free and 659 paying Skool members.
10What to do this week
- Write down your paying members and your price today.
- Run the calculator above. Note the yearly gap.
- Take the 6-question check. If Circle wins on brand or spaces, list what that is worth to you in dollars.
- If you are already on Circle and Skool wins, start a 14-day Skool trial and move one small cohort first, using the six-step move plan and announcement email.
- Read the Skool pricing breakdown to pick Hobby or Pro.
- Compare the other options in Skool alternatives, Skool vs Kajabi and Skool vs Whop.
Get the Skool community launch plan Claude skill to set up the group, the About page and the first 30 days with Claude. If the platform is not the real problem, find the exact bottleneck in your business, or bring your numbers to a call and see if you qualify.
Find the exact bottleneck in your business
Frequently asked questions
Is Skool or Circle better for a paid coaching community?
For most coaches, Skool. It costs less once every fee is counted, it is simpler for members, and its Discovery search brings free members. Circle is better if you need your own brand, a custom domain, many separate spaces or built-in email.
What is the Circle app?
Circle is community software for creators and brands. It has spaces for posts and chat, courses, events and live streams, on web, desktop and mobile apps. Plans start at $89 a month billed yearly, checked on circle.so on 22 October 2026.
Is Skool cheaper than Circle?
Yes, at every member count we tested. Skool Pro is $99 a month plus 2.9% + 30 cents per sale, card processing included. Circle Professional is $89 a month plus 2%, and Stripe adds about 2.9% + 30 cents on top.
Does Circle charge transaction fees?
Yes. Circle charges 2% on Professional, 1% on Business and Scale, and 0.5% on Circle Plus. Its pricing page says this is in addition to the standard Stripe processing fee.
What are some alternatives to Skool?
The main ones for coaches are Circle, Kajabi, Whop, Mighty Networks, Teachable, Patreon, Discord and Stan Store. We compare all eight with a cost calculator in Skool alternatives.
What are some good apps for building communities?
For paid coaching groups: Skool for simplicity and free reach, Circle for a branded hub, Kajabi if courses and email come first, Whop for low fees and many product types, and Discord for chat-first groups.
Is Circle better than Discord?
For a paid coaching community, usually yes. Circle has courses, events and a clean feed built for members who pay. Discord is free and great for live chat, but paid server subscriptions are limited to US owners and it has no real course area.
What are some good alternatives to Circle for community platforms?
Skool is the closest and cheapest for coaches. Mighty Networks is similar in price and features. Kajabi suits course-first businesses. See all eight compared in Skool alternatives.
Founder of Cashflow Coaches. His team has scaled 350+ Skool communities and builds the funnels that turn free members into paying members and high-ticket clients. More about Anshjeet.
Bring your platform numbers to the call.
On the call we look at your offer, your group and your numbers from this page, 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 alternativesSkool vs KajabiSkool vs WhopSkool pricingSkool reviewSkool communities guideDone-for-you Skool growthScale a coaching businessFind your bottleneck (quiz)
Dana is a made-up example. Her numbers show how the maths works and are not a client result. Skool and Circle prices and fees were checked on skool.com, help.skool.com and circle.so on 22 October 2026 and can change. Stripe fees use the standard US card rate; other countries, international cards and currency conversion cost more. 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 or Circle.