Is there a Skool annual plan?

Not publicly. Skool bills monthly by default and there's no published annual discount. Support has occasionally offered annual deals to larger accounts but don't bank on it. $99 × 12 = $1,188 per community per year is the safe budget number.

Are Stripe fees included in Skool's $99?

No. Stripe is separate. Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per member payment, regardless of Skool. On a $50/month membership, Stripe takes about $1.75 per payment per member. International cards add roughly 1% more.

Can I get a discounted Skool plan?

Not officially. $99/month is flat for everyone. No student discounts, non-profit discounts, or promo codes published. Multiple communities each cost $99. Agencies feel this — that's where third-party tools like tools4skool's Agency tier ($149/mo across all clients) start saving real money.

What's included in Skool's $99/month?

Unlimited members, unlimited courses, mobile app, custom URL (skool.com/yourname), gamified leaderboard, calendar, member directory, Stripe billing, email notifications, basic analytics, member CSV export, admin and moderator roles. What's NOT included: DM automation, churn-saver, member CRM, comment lead extraction. Those require third-party tools.

Is Skool cheaper than Patreon or Mighty Networks?

At meaningful scale, yes. Patreon takes 8-12% of revenue. Mighty Networks tiers run $41-$179 plus 2-3% transaction cuts. Skool's flat $99 wins past about $1,000 MRR. At $10k MRR, Skool costs ~$450 total; Patreon would cost ~$1,200 in fees. The bigger you grow, the more Skool's flat-fee model pays off.

Is the Skool free trial credit-card-required?

Generally no for new accounts, though Skool can change this. The card is collected before the trial ends if you want to keep the community active. If you don't add a card, the community pauses on day 15. Most users add a card during the trial to avoid the pause.

What does it cost to run a Skool community at scale?

At 200 members paying $50: roughly $450-500/month all-in (Skool $99 + Stripe ~$350 + optional automation $29-$59). About 4.5-5% of $10,000 MRR. At 1,000 members and $50/month, tooling drops to about 3.5% of MRR. Skool's flat fee is the cost-control lever — it doesn't grow with you.

Skool Pricing (2026): The Real $99/Month Breakdown With Stripe

On this page

Platform fee
Stripe fees
Free trial
Add-ons
Total cost examples
FAQ

The platform fee — $99/month per community

Skool charges $99/month per community, flat. Unlimited members. Unlimited courses. Unlimited admins. No per-seat pricing, no transaction-volume tier, no enterprise upsell.

If you run multiple communities, each is $99/month. Skool doesn't bundle. Five communities = $495/month before any other tooling.

No published annual discount. Bill monthly is the default.

See the pricing inside Skool itself.

14-day free trial — no card required. Most community owners decide whether Skool fits within the first week.

Start Skool free trial →

Stripe fees — the real second line item

Every payment your members make goes through Stripe. Stripe takes 2.9% + $0.30 per US card transaction. International cards add ~1%. Currency conversion adds another ~1%.

This isn't Skool's fault — it's standard payment processing. But it changes the maths:

$30 × 100 members = $3,000 MRR. Stripe ~$117. Skool $99. Total $216 (~7%).
$50 × 200 members = $10,000 MRR. Stripe ~$350. Skool $99. Total $449 (~4.5%).
$97 × 500 members = $48,500 MRR. Stripe ~$1,557. Skool $99. Total $1,656 (~3.4%).

Skool trial

$0 for 14 days

Full features
Take member payments

Skool monthly

$99/mo

Unlimited members
Unlimited courses
Mobile app
Stripe billing

Stripe processing

2.9% + $0.30

Per member payment

tools4skool free

$0/mo

1 sequence
20 DMs/day
Churn risk score

tools4skool Starter

$29/mo

Unlimited DM sequences
Image DMs
Pipeline CRM

tools4skool Pro

$59/mo

Churn-saver
Comment miner
Slash commands

tools4skool Agency

$149/mo

Multiple Skool accounts
Team seats

The 14-day free trial

When you create a new community, you get 14 days free. Full feature access. You can take member payments during the trial — Skool processes them but doesn't bill you the platform fee until day 15.

If you can land 10 paying members at $30/month within the trial, you're net positive on the platform fee from day one. After 14 days, the community pauses if you don't pay (content preserved, no new posts or signups).

Add-on tooling — what most operators pay for

Skool ships almost zero behavioural automation. Welcome DMs, churn-saver, comment lead extraction, member CRM — none of it is native.

Most serious operators add a tool:

tools4skool. Free tier (1 sequence, 20 DMs/day). Paid: $29 / $59 / $149 per month for Starter / Pro / Agency. Chrome extension that piggybacks your existing Skool session — no password ever stored.
Skoot. Similar feature set, roughly double the price.
Custom Zapier flows. DIY for technical operators.

Total cost examples by stage

Pre-launch (0 members): $0 during trial, $99/month after.

Early (20 members at $30): $600 MRR. Stripe ~$22. Skool $99. tools4skool free tier. Net to you: ~$479.

Scale (200 at $50): $10k MRR. Stripe ~$350. Skool $99. tools4skool $29-$59. Net: ~$9,490.

Mature (1,000 at $50): $50k MRR. Stripe ~$1,755. Skool $99. tools4skool $59-$149. Net: ~$48,500.

Tooling drops from ~7% of MRR at small scale to ~3.5% at maturity. Skool's flat fee is the lever.

Stop leaving DMs, churn, and revenue on the table.

tools4skool plugs the holes Skool ships with. Free plan forever, paid tiers from $29/mo.

Book a demo →

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Frequently asked

$99/month per community, flat. Unlimited members. Plus Stripe fees (2.9% + $0.30) on every member payment. No tiered pricing, no per-seat fees, no enterprise tier. The 14-day free trial is the only zero-cost option and only applies to new communities.