Skool

About Skool

You've probably joined a few online communities. They are commonly scattered across Discord or Facebook, and a course platform. Members struggle to find what they are looking for. Then they engage for a few days for participation stops a week later.

Skool fixes this mess. It's a community platform that combines course hosting, discussion forums, member directories, a newsletter, and payment processing into one clean interface. Instead of duct-taping five tools together, you get everything in one place with for as low as $9 per month. I’ll explain why below.

Start building your community on Skool today.

---

What is Skool?

At its core, Skool is a membership community platform built specifically for course creators and community builders who want to monetize their knowledge. It bundles a discussion forum (think Facebook Groups without the clutter), a course hosting system, gamification features, and payment processing.

The platform was created by entrepreneur Sam Ovens, who built it out of frustration with using multiple disconnected tools to run online communities. In 2024, Alex Hormozi—founder of Acquisition.com with a net worth over $100 million—partnered with Ovens and invested heavily in the platform, bringing massive attention and credibility to Skool.

What makes Skool different is its gamification layer. Members earn points, climb leaderboards, and unlock levels based on participation. This sounds gimmicky until you realize most online communities die from lack of engagement. The leaderboard system actually keeps people active.

The platform supports pricing anywhere from free communities to high-ticket paid memberships. You control your pricing strategy based on the value you provide.

---

Who is Skool For?

Skool works best for specific scenarios where engagement matters more than fancy features:

• Course creators charging $29-$199/month who want discussions and content in one place without managing multiple platforms
• Coaches and consultants building high-ticket private communities around their methodology or coaching programs
• Niche experts who need a simple platform their audience can actually navigate without a tutorial
• Anyone migrating from Facebook Groups who's tired of zero control and algorithm changes
• Communities focused on self-improvement, fitness, or skills training where accountability drives results
• Entrepreneurs participating in The Skool Games competition to build their monthly recurring revenue

Skip this if you're building a massive public forum with complex permission structures, need white-label branding for enterprise clients, want advanced quiz and certification features, or require complex automation and integrations with your existing tech stack.

---

Skool Pros and Cons

The balance here is clear: You trade advanced features and customization for simplicity and low fees. If your priority is getting a community up fast and keeping members engaged without technical complexity, that's a good trade. If you need enterprise features or complex workflows, you'll hit walls.

---

Skool Features: Communities, Courses & Gamification

Community Discussion Forums

The forum system looks like a cleaner Facebook Group without ads or algorithm manipulation. You create posts, members comment, and conversations stay organized by category. The interface feels familiar to anyone who's used Facebook Groups, but without the constant distractions and algorithm games.

What's missing: Advanced moderation tools, automated spam filtering, and the ability to create subcategories or nested discussion threads. All conversations happen in a single-level structure, which works fine for smaller communities but becomes cluttered as you scale.

Course Hosting and Content Delivery

Upload unlimited videos and organize them into modules. No storage caps on either the $9/month Hobby plan or the $99/month Pro plan.

The content player is basic: Videos play, you can add text descriptions and organize into modules, and that's about it. No interactive elements, no branching paths, no quizzes or assessments, and no completion tracking that triggers automations. Members can mark courses as complete, but there's no sophisticated learning management system behind it.

This simplicity works great if you're teaching straightforward skills or delivering coaching content, but falls short if you need to evaluate student progress or create complex learning experiences.

Built-in Payment Processing

Charge monthly subscriptions from $1 to $9,999 based on your value proposition. Skool integrates with Stripe to handle recurring billing, cancellations, and payment failures automatically. You don't need separate membership plugins or additional payment processors.

The system handles the technical side of payments, but you remain the merchant of record (unlike platforms like Whop where they control the transaction). You get direct payouts minus Skool's transaction fee.

Gamification and Engagement Systems

Members earn points for posting, commenting, and helping others. They climb visible leaderboards and unlock levels that you can tie to exclusive content access. This gamification isn't just window dressing—it's built into the core experience.

You can gate certain courses or content behind specific levels, creating natural progression paths. Members see their activity rewarded with visible status in the community, which drives continued participation.

This works especially well for self-improvement, fitness, and learning communities where visible progress motivates continued participation. The psychology is simple: people like seeing themselves advance and compete (in a friendly way) with others.

Live-Streaming Capabilities

Host unlimited live streams directly in your community. Both the $9 and $99 plans include this with no additional fees or time limits. Good for weekly Q&A sessions, workshops, or coaching calls.

The streaming quality is better than zoom without any additional fees. This feature is seamlessly integrated and allows your members to easily find and get involved with group calls or webinars within your group.

Calendar and Event Scheduling

Built-in calendar functionality lets you schedule group events, coaching sessions, and 1-on-1 calls. The system handles time zone conversions automatically, so your global members see events in their local time.

You can schedule both community-wide events (visible to everyone) and private sessions. The calendar integrates with email reminders, helping reduce no-shows for scheduled calls.

Member Directory and Networking

Every community has a directory showing all members, their participation levels, and activity. Members can find and connect with each other directly through the platform. The networking value increases as communities grow, creating natural opportunities for members to form relationships.

Try Skool free for 14 days and see if the gamification works for your audience.

---

Skool vs Alternatives: Pricing & Feature Comparison

Circle costs more at the comparable tier ($219/month for their Professional plan vs $99 for Skool Pro) and charges 7% transaction fees versus Skool's 2.9%. You get better customization and more advanced features, but you're paying significantly more for them.

Whop takes a different approach with no monthly fee—instead charging 3% on direct sales or 30% on sales through their Discover marketplace. However, Whop acts as the merchant of record (they control the transaction), and additional fees for international cards, currency conversion, and financing options can push effective rates to 12-22%. Whop is better suited for digital product sellers who want marketplace discoverability, while Skool focuses specifically on community and course delivery.

Choose Skool if low transaction fees and simple setup matter more than advanced features. Pick Circle if you need the middle ground with more sophisticated tools. Go with Whop if you're on a budget and want marketplace exposure.

---

Skool Pricing: Plans & Cost Breakdown

The transaction fee difference matters more than the monthly cost. If you're running a $39/month community with 100 paying members, that's $3,900 in monthly revenue.

• Hobby plan: You pay $9/month + $390 in transaction fees (10%) = $399 total
• Pro plan: You pay $99/month + $113 in transaction fees (2.9%) = $212 total

Once you have 40+ paying members, the Pro plan costs less even though it's $90 more per month. The math works heavily in favor of Pro for any serious community.

Compare this to competitors: Discord takes 16% ($624 in fees on that same $3,900), Patreon takes 10% ($390), and even Circle's 7% ($273) costs more than Skool's Pro plan total. Whop charges 3% base ($117) but can reach 12-22% effective rates with additional fees.

This pricing structure is honest about where Skool makes money (they want you on Pro at scale) but the 2.9% transaction fee genuinely is the lowest in the market right now for a full-featured community platform.

---

The Skool Games: Competition and Community Growth

One unique aspect of Skool is The Skool Games, a quarterly competition launched in February 2024 by Alex Hormozi and Sam Ovens. This isn't just marketing—it's a structured challenge that's driven significant platform growth and engagement.

How The Skool Games Works

Participants compete to achieve the highest Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) growth over a 90-day period. The competition includes:

• 10 distinct categories (changed from monthly to quarterly format in 2025) to give different niches fair competition
• Real-time leaderboards showing current standings
• Live workshops and training from Alex Hormozi and successful community builders
• Top 5 winners in each category receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles
• Exclusive mastermind day with Alex Hormozi at Skool HQ
• Physical Skool Games trophies with custom engraving
• Maximum pricing cap of $100/month to keep competition fair (communities can charge more, but only $100 counts toward rankings)

The 2025 format shifted from monthly competitions to quarterly cycles, encouraging sustainable growth over quick wins. This change came after feedback that monthly competitions encouraged short-term tactics over building lasting communities.

Why The Skool Games Matters

The competition serves multiple purposes:

1. Provides structure for new community builders who need direction
2. Creates networking opportunities with other successful founders
3. Drives accountability through public leaderboards and competition
4. Offers education through recorded workshops and live Q&A sessions
5. Rewards success with meaningful prizes beyond just money

The Games have become a significant driver of Skool adoption, with over 15,000 participants in the community. Even if you don't win, you gain access to training materials, community support, and strategies from top performers.

---

Is Skool Worth It? Honest Review

I've been using Skool for years, and it's easily become my favorite tool for running an online business. The simplicity is what keeps me coming back. I've tried Circle, watched friends struggle with Kajabi, and spent too much time in clunky Facebook Groups. Skool just works without making me or my members feel confused.

What I love most is that anyone can use it. I don't get support emails asking "where do I find my course" or "how do I post a question." Whether you're the business owner setting things up or a 65-year-old member joining their first online community, the interface makes sense immediately.

The gamification features actually work in practice, not just in theory. I've noticed members stay active longer when they can see their name climbing the leaderboard. It sounds silly until you watch engagement rates stay consistent month after month instead of dying after the initial excitement.

The integrated email system handles automated re-engagement without me building complex workflows. When members go quiet, Skool nudges them back. When someone asks a question I've answered before, the search could be better (that's my main frustration), but the overall system keeps the community alive with minimal effort from me.

The main limitations are real: no quizzes or assessments, limited customization, single-level discussion structure, and $99 per additional community. If you need those features, you'll feel constrained. But for most creators building their first or second community, the simplicity outweighs these limitations.

I've recommended it to probably 30+ people at this point. Every single one who actually needed a community platform (not just course delivery) has been happy with the switch.

---

Skool Review: Final Verdict

Skool wins on simplicity and economics. The 2.9% transaction fee beats every competitor, the all-in-one approach eliminates integration headaches, and the gamification genuinely improves engagement. If you're a coach, course creator, or expert building a paid community under $200/month, this makes sense.

It loses on customization, advanced course features, and organizational complexity. If you need sophisticated quizzes and assessments, white-label branding, multiple community tiers under one roof, or enterprise features, Circle or dedicated course platforms serve you better. But for most people building their first or second community, those features don't matter yet.

The ideal Skool user charges $29-$249/month for access to their knowledge, wants members to stick around and engage, and values keeping things simple over having every possible feature. That describes about 70% of the online community market.

The addition of The Skool Games provides extra motivation and education for new creators, while the backing from Alex Hormozi brings credibility and resources that smaller platforms can't match.

Start your free 14-day trial of Skool here.

---

FAQ

How much does Skool cost per month?

Skool offers two plans: Hobby at $9/month with a 10% transaction fee, and Pro at $99/month with a 2.9% transaction fee. Both include unlimited members, videos, and live-streaming. Pro adds custom URLs, advanced analytics, and the ability to hide suggested communities. Each additional community group costs another $99/month.

Can I host courses on Skool or just communities?

You can host both. Skool includes unlimited video hosting (via embed from YouTube, Vimeo, or Wistia) and course organization built into every plan. The course features are basic (video playback, text descriptions, and module organization) compared to dedicated course platforms like Teachable, but sufficient for most coaching and education content.

What's the difference between Skool and Discord for paid communities?

Discord charges 16% transaction fees versus Skool's 2.9%, doesn't include course hosting, and lacks built-in gamification designed for paid communities. Skool is purpose-built for paid communities and courses while Discord is a chat platform adapted for communities. If you're monetizing knowledge, Skool keeps more of your revenue and provides better tools for structured learning.

Does Skool have a mobile app?

Yes, Skool has mobile apps for iOS and Android. The mobile experience works for basic community access and course viewing, though it's not as feature-rich as the desktop version. Members can participate in discussions, watch courses, and check leaderboards on mobile.

How many members can I have on Skool?

Unlimited on both the Hobby and Pro plans. The platform handles communities from a few dozen members to tens of thousands. Your growth is limited by your ability to attract and retain members, not by Skool's technical restrictions.

What are The Skool Games?

The Skool Games is a quarterly competition where community creators compete to achieve the highest monthly recurring revenue growth. Top performers win an all-expenses-paid trip to LA, a mastermind day with Alex Hormozi, and exclusive trophies. The Games provide training, community support, and motivation for new creators. It costs nothing extra beyond your regular $99/month Skool subscription.

Can I offer different membership tiers on Skool?

You can use Skool's levels feature to gate content based on member participation or manually assigned status. However, if you want truly separate communities for different pricing tiers (like a free community, a $49 tier, and a $199 VIP tier), you'll need to create separate Skool groups at $99/month each. This is one of Skool's limitations compared to platforms with native multi-tier support.

Does Skool work for non-English communities?

Yes, Skool supports communities in any language. The interface itself is in English, but all content—posts, courses, discussions—can be in whatever language you choose. The platform has successful communities running in Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, and many other languages.