Skool pricing in 2026: Hobby vs Pro, the real fee math, and what it leaves out
Skool costs $9 a month plus 10% on Hobby or $99 plus 2.9% on Pro. See the fee math at three sizes and the email and store tools you still pay for.
Skool has two plans. Hobby is $9 a month plus 10% of every sale. Pro is $99 a month plus 2.9% + 30¢. Both fees already include card processing, and both plans have unlimited members, courses, videos, and live calls. Hobby is cheaper until your community brings in about $1,300 to $1,400 a month. Past that, Pro wins, and it stays one of the cheapest ways to run a paid community. What neither plan includes is an email list for people outside the group or a store for your other products, so most creators pay for those somewhere else.
Full disclosure: we make Eden, a creator store with communities, courses, and email built in. Skool's prices come from skool.com/pricing, checked on October 8, 2026.
Skool's two plans
| Plan | Monthly price | Fee per sale | Members | Courses and videos | Live calls | Custom URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobby | $9 | 10% | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Yes |
| Pro | $99 | 2.9% + 30¢ | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Yes |
- Yearly billing. Skool's page offers 2 months free when you pay yearly.
- The fee includes card processing. Skool runs payments on its own merchant account, so there's no separate Stripe fee on top. You also can't connect your own Stripe account.
- Big single charges cost more on Pro. Reviewers citing Skool's payments help say Pro's rate rises to 3.9% + 30¢ on charges over $899. This matters if you sell a high-ticket program inside Skool.
- The only difference between the plans is money. Same features, same limits. You pick on fee math alone.
The fee math at three sizes
Say you charge $50 a month. Here's what each setup costs you each month, including card fees.
| Monthly revenue | Skool Hobby ($9 + 10%) | Skool Pro ($99 + 2.9% + 30¢) | Eden Starter ($29 + 5% + Stripe) | Eden Max ($199 + 2% + Stripe) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 (20 members) | $109 | $134 | $114 | $254 |
| $5,000 (100 members) | $509 | $274 | $454 | $474 |
| $20,000 (400 members) | $2,009 | $799 | $1,729 | $1,299 |
Stripe's fee for Eden is figured at 2.9% + 30¢ per payment. It varies by country and card.
What the table says:
- Under about $1,300 a month, Hobby is cheapest. At $1,000, it costs $109.
- From about $1,400 a month, Pro is cheapest. At $20,000 a month, Pro costs $1,210 less than Hobby.
- On the community alone, Eden doesn't win on fees. Eden's 5% sits on top of Stripe's card fee. Skool Pro's 2.9% includes it. If a community is the only thing you sell, Skool Pro keeps more of a big group's money.
The hidden costs: what Skool doesn't do
Skool is a community and a classroom. Most creators also need an email list, a page that sells more than one thing, and a checkout for downloads, coaching, or a course sold on its own. Skool has none of those for people outside your group. Here's what creators usually add:
| Job | Common pick | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Email list, welcome sequence, launches | Kit Creator | $39 at 1,000 subscribers, $139 at 10,000 |
| Link in bio and a store for products | Stan Creator | $29 |
| Sales page for a bigger offer | A page builder, or Stan Pro | $0 to $99 |
Kit's free plan covers 10,000 subscribers if you can live without sequences and automations, which most launches need.
The whole stack, side by side
Same $50 membership. Skool plus Kit Creator plus Stan Creator, against Eden on one plan.
| Monthly revenue | Skool Hobby stack | Skool Pro stack | Eden Starter | Eden Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $177 | $202 | $114 | $254 |
| $5,000 | $677 | $442 | $454 | $474 |
| $20,000 | $2,177 | $967 | $1,729 | $1,299 |
Kit is priced at 1,000 subscribers for the $1,000 row and at 10,000 for the others. Eden Starter includes 10,000 contacts and 10,000 email sends a month. Email sequences need Eden Pro at $79, which adds $50 to the Starter column.
The honest read: Eden is cheapest for a small community, about even in the middle, and more expensive than a Skool Pro stack at $20,000 a month. At that size, the reason to pick Eden is having everything in one place.
Is Skool worth it?
For a community-first business, often yes.
- Pro's fee is hard to beat at scale. 2.9% + 30¢, all in, is about what card processing alone costs elsewhere.
- It's simple. One feed, a classroom, a calendar. Members learn it in a minute.
- Discovery. Skool's directory of groups brings some members in on their own.
It's a weaker fit when:
- You sell more than the community. A course on its own, coaching, a template, a paid newsletter. Each one needs another tool.
- Your members want real chat. Skool has one feed and no group chat or channels.
- Your members live on their phones. Skool's iPhone app sits at 3.8 stars from 776 ratings on the App Store.
Choose Skool or Eden
Choose Skool Pro if the community is your whole business, it earns more than about $1,400 a month, and you already have an email tool you like.
Choose Skool Hobby if you're testing an idea and expect under $1,300 a month for now.
Choose Eden if the community is one product among several, you want email, a store, and courses in the same place, or you want Telegram-style chat with channels, a Library (Eden's forum), and events instead of one feed.
Where Eden fits
On Eden, a community is a product in your store, next to your courses, coaching, downloads, and newsletter. Members get a chat with channels, threads, voice notes, and photos, a Library with categories that keeps the good answers, events that sync to their calendar, and member profiles. They use it on the web and in the Eden app on iPhone and Android.
You can run 1 community on Starter ($29 a month), 3 on Pro ($79), and as many as you like on Max ($199). There's no cap on members and no charge per member. Eden takes 5% per sale on Starter and Pro and 2% on Max, plus Stripe's card fee. See Communities and Eden vs Skool.
Where Eden falls short
Eden has no directory or leaderboard that brings in new members, so growth comes from your own audience. Members use the Eden app, so the app carries Eden's name and icon. There are no points or levels. Members can't message each other privately. And on the community line alone, Skool Pro takes less per sale.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Skool cost?
$9 a month plus 10% of each sale on Hobby, or $99 a month plus 2.9% + 30¢ on Pro. Both include unlimited members and courses. Yearly billing gets 2 months free.
Does Skool's fee include Stripe?
Yes. Skool processes payments itself, so the 10% or 2.9% + 30¢ is the whole fee. You can't connect your own Stripe account.
When should I switch from Skool Hobby to Pro?
Around $1,300 to $1,400 a month in sales, depending on your price. Above that, Pro's lower fee more than covers the extra $90 a month.
Does Skool have email marketing?
Not for people outside your community. There's no email list, no sequences, and no newsletter for leads. Most Skool owners pay for Kit, beehiiv, or a similar tool.
Is Skool cheaper than Circle?
Usually, on a big community. Skool Pro is $99 with card fees included. Circle Professional is $89 a month billed yearly, plus 2% and Stripe's card fee, and email is a $99 add-on. See Circle pricing and Skool vs Circle.
Sources
- Skool pricing, checked October 8, 2026
- Skool on the App Store, checked October 8, 2026
- How Skool payments work, for the over-$899 rate and the no-Stripe-connect rule
- Kit pricing, checked October 7, 2026
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