Skool Pricing 2026: Hobby $9 vs Pro $99, and the Fee That Decides It

Some links on this page may earn us a commission. It never changes the numbers or the verdict. How we make money.

Skool pricing looks almost too simple. There are two plans: Hobby at $9 a month and Pro at $99 a month. Both give you unlimited members, courses, videos and live calls. So why would anyone pay $90 more?

One word: fees. Hobby takes 10% of every sale. Pro takes 2.9%. If you charge for your community, that gap decides which plan is cheaper. I checked Skool’s pricing page on 4 November 2026. Here is the full picture.

Skool plans and prices in 2026

Source: skool.com/pricing, checked 4 Nov and re-checked 6 Nov 2026. On the re-check the yearly toggle showed $7.50 and $82 a month.

One thing to know: Skool runs the payments itself. Its fee already includes card processing. On most other platforms, you pay the platform and the card processor separately. So Pro’s 2.9% is close to what you would pay a card processor anyway.

Hobby or Pro: the $1,268 line

On monthly billing, Pro costs $90 more than Hobby. Hobby charges 7.1 percentage points more per sale. So Pro pays for itself once 7.1% of your sales is more than $90. That is about $1,268 a month.

Monthly billing. The 30¢ per-sale charge applies on both plans and is left out. One third-party source reports a higher 3.9% + 30¢ rate on single sales above about $900.

What a $99 membership really costs you on Hobby

Say you charge $99 a month to join your community. On Hobby, Skool keeps $9.90 plus 30¢ of every payment. That is $10.20 per member, per month.

How many members before Pro wins

Thinking in dollars is hard when you are starting. Thinking in members is easier. Here is how many paying members it takes to cross the $1,268 line at common prices:

Our arithmetic from Skool’s fees on 4 Nov 2026, monthly billing. Fees per member include the 30¢ charge. Pro’s $99 plan price is not in the per-member column.

Write your number down. When your member count reaches it, switch to Pro that same week.

What Skool really costs: three real setups

1. A free community for your audience

Hobby on monthly billing: $108 a year. No sales means no fees. For a free group with courses and live calls, that is hard to match anywhere.

2. A $49 membership with 41 members

That is $2,009 a month in sales. On Hobby, you pay $9 plus about $213 in fees, so about $222 a month. On Pro, you pay $99 plus about $71 in fees, so about $170. Pro saves about $52 a month, or about $630 a year.

3. A premium group with 10 members at $1,000 a month

That is $10,000 a month. On Pro at 2.9%, fees are about $293 plus the $99 plan. One third-party source reports a 3.9% + 30¢ rate on single sales above about $900, which would make fees about $393. Either way, Pro is the only sensible plan here. Ask Skool which rate applies to your price before you set it.

Free communities: Hobby is hard to beat

If your community is free, Skool Hobby at $9 a month is one of the cheapest community tools you can buy. You get unlimited members, courses and live calls. Compare that with Circle, which starts at $89 a month billed yearly.

Is yearly billing worth it?

Skool says yearly billing gives you two months free. Its yearly toggle shows $7.50 and $82 a month, which works out like this:

• Hobby: $90 a year instead of $108. You save $18.
• Pro: $984 a year instead of $1,188. You save $204.

On Hobby, the saving is small, so stay monthly until you know your community will last. On Pro, $204 is real money. Switch to yearly once you are sure you will stay on Pro for twelve months.

How to pay less for Skool

• Start on Hobby. While your group is free or small, $9 a month is the right price.
• Switch at your member number. Use the table above. Most people switch months too late.
• Offer a yearly membership. One yearly payment means one 30¢ charge instead of twelve. It also keeps members longer.
• Bring your own members. A third-party source reports a 30% commission on members who find you through Skool’s discovery. Members from your own audience avoid it.
• Use the 14-day trial to build. Upload your course and set up your group before the first payment.

Other costs to know

• Skool’s own promotion. If members find you through Skool’s discovery features, a third-party source (CartMango) reports Skool takes a 30% commission on those members. Members you bring yourself are not affected.
• Custom URL and affiliates are Pro only. Skool’s plan cards show both crossed out on Hobby. If you want your own web address or an affiliate program for your group, budget for Pro.
• No email marketing. Skool can email members, but it is not a newsletter tool. Many owners add Kit or MailerLite for that.

Is Skool worth it?

Skool is one of the best-value platforms we track, as long as you pick the right plan. Hobby at $9 a month gives a free community everything it needs: unlimited members, courses and live calls. Pro at $99 a month gives a paid community a fee close to what a card processor charges anyway, with processing included.

The trap is staying on Hobby too long. The 10% fee feels small at first. At $2,000 a month in sales, it costs about $52 a month more than Pro. That is why I tell every client to write down the member count where Pro wins and to act on it.

Skool is not a full business platform. It has no blog, no deep design control and no email marketing tool. Many owners add a cheap email tool next to it. Even with that added, Skool plus Kit or MailerLite often costs less than one all-in-one platform.

Weighing Skool against an all-in-one? Read Kajabi vs Skool and Skool vs Circle.

Skool pricing FAQs