7 Best Skool Alternatives in 2026: Communities and Courses

Skool is simple and sticky: a community feed, a classroom for courses, a calendar for live calls, and points, levels and leaderboards that keep members posting. Creators look elsewhere when the 10% fee on the Hobby plan bites, when members outside the US have to pay in dollars, or when they need course tools Skool doesn't list. We found no quizzes, certificates, coupons or payment plans in its help center.

Here are seven alternatives, compared on price, what each takes from your sales, how each pays you and whether members get an app, with an honest note on who should stay on Skool.

The short answer

The best Skool alternative depends on what you'd keep. For a community-first platform with events and apps, Circle or Mighty Networks. For an all-in-one with a community, coaching and marketing, Kajabi. For a course school with quizzes, certificates and a community at 0% fees, Klasira. For mature course commerce, Thinkific. For a simple all-in-one, Podia. For training businesses, LearnWorlds.

Key takeaways

• Skool costs $9 a month (Hobby, 10% + 30¢ per sale) or $99 (Pro, 2.9% + 30¢, or 3.9% + 30¢ above $900), with card processing included.
• Circle and Mighty Networks are the closest like-for-like swaps; both charge a transaction fee on every plan, from 2% down to 0.5%.
• Klasira, Podia (Shaker and up), Kajabi on Kajabi Payments and Thinkific on Thinkific Payments take no transaction fee; card processing still applies.
• Skool is the merchant of record and files sales tax for you; most alternatives leave tax to you or only calculate it, so price that in.

Disclosure: we make Klasira, one of the platforms on this list. Every other product's details come from its own public pages, checked in October 2026 and linked at the end. We include each one's real strengths, and say who it suits better than us.

How we compared them

We picked community platforms (Circle, Mighty Networks) and course platforms with a community built in (Kajabi, Thinkific, Podia, LearnWorlds, Klasira), and checked each one's pricing and help pages in October 2026. We compared monthly price, fees per sale, how payouts work, whether members get an app, and which course tools each one has that Skool doesn't list.

At a glance

The platforms, one by one

1. Klasira

Best for: Creators who want a designed school, 0% transaction fees and every sale paid into their own Stripe account
Price: See Klasira's pricing; 0% transaction fees. Fee: 0%.

Klasira is a new course platform with a community built in. For a Skool owner, the relevant parts are community spaces for the whole school or one course, with posts, comments and likes; announcement spaces that are emailed to members; and a discussion under every lesson.

It adds the course tools Skool doesn't list: quizzes graded automatically with a pass mark, assignments you approve or send back with feedback, certificates with a public verification link, drip schedules, payment plans and coupons. Each school sells in its own currency, one of 19, and every sale goes into your own Stripe account with 0% taken by Klasira.

What it lacks against Skool: no points, levels or leaderboards, no group live calls or calendar (a booking page handles one-to-one calls), no app, and no directory that sends you members.

Where it shines: Course tools Skool doesn't list, a community in the same place, 0% fees, 19 selling currencies.

Watch out for: New; no gamification, live calls, app or discovery; you handle tax registration and filing yourself.

2. Circle

Best for: Brands running a community with courses and events
Price: $89, $199 or $419 a month, billed yearly. Fee: 2%, 1% or 1% by plan; 0.5% on Circle Plus.

Circle is a community platform with courses, events and paid memberships, and unlimited members on every plan. It charges a transaction fee on every plan, from 2% down to 0.5%.

Against Skool: Circle gives you more control over how the community looks and is organized: 20 spaces on Professional, live streams for up to 100 attendees, a website, payments and Circle's own apps. It costs more, adds a 2% fee on Professional, and offers a 14-day free trial.

Where it shines: Polished community spaces and events, unlimited members.

Watch out for: A transaction fee on every plan; priced for communities more than solo course sellers.

3. Mighty Networks

Best for: Community-first courses and cohorts
Price: From $79 a month billed yearly ($950 a year). Fee: 2%, 1% or 0.5% by plan.

Mighty Networks runs courses and events inside a community, with an AI co-host and apps. Its transaction fee falls from 2% on Launch to 0.5% on Growth, deducted from payouts in your connected Stripe account.

Against Skool: Mighty Networks is the closest in spirit, with community, courses and events, apps and an AI co-host. Its plan table lists subscription intervals and installments, free trials, promo codes and charging in hundreds of currencies, none of which Skool lists. The 14-day trial runs on the Growth plan.

Where it shines: Community and cohort features, apps, events.

Watch out for: A transaction fee on every plan; community-first rather than a course school.

4. Kajabi

Best for: Creators who want the most complete all-in-one and have the budget
Price: $179, $249 or $499 a month ($143, $199 or $399 yearly). Fee: 0% on Kajabi Payments or PayPal; 0.5% to 2% on other processors.

Kajabi covers courses, coaching with built-in live video, communities, newsletters and podcasts, with unlimited marketing emails, funnels and landing pages on every plan and an AI assistant called Cofounder. Affiliates and cohort courses start on Growth.

Against Skool: Kajabi includes one community on Basic and Growth and three on Pro, next to courses, coaching and marketing email, so it suits creators for whom the community is one part of a bigger business. Basic is limited to 5 products and 2,500 contacts.

Where it shines: The broadest toolkit, live video coaching, a student app, unlimited marketing email.

Watch out for: Expensive; 5 products and 2,500 contacts on Basic; monthly payouts for new Kajabi Payments accounts.

5. Thinkific

Best for: Established course businesses that want unlimited courses and deep commerce tools
Price: $109, $219 or $499 a month ($82, $164 or $374 yearly). Fee: 0% on Thinkific Payments; 0.5% to 2% on direct Stripe.

Thinkific offers unlimited courses on every plan, quizzes, assignments, certificates, communities, Zoom sessions inside courses, and commerce tools such as order bumps, payment plans, bundles and gifting. Thinkific Payments remits US and Canadian sales tax. Plus adds SSO, SCORM and learning paths.

Against Skool: Thinkific includes communities on every plan (1 on Start, 3 on Grow, 10 on Expand), Zoom meetings and webinars, paid memberships and certificates. Live events inside communities are capped at 5 on Start.

Where it shines: Unlimited courses, mature commerce, live sessions in courses, an enterprise tier.

Watch out for: Highest entry price here; a gateway fee if you connect your own Stripe; 0.7% extra on Thinkific Payments for subscriptions and payment plans.

6. Podia

Best for: Creators who sell courses, downloads, coaching and webinars from one simple site
Price: $49, $99 or $179 a month ($42, $84 or $150 yearly). Fee: 5% on Mover; 0% above.

Podia is an approachable all-in-one: courses, downloads, coaching, webinars and live events, a community, email marketing, and a website with a blog. Payments go to your own Stripe or PayPal, and Podia offers free migration help.

Against Skool: Podia includes a community, coaching and live events on every plan, alongside courses, downloads, email and a website. Mover charges 5% per sale; Shaker and Earthquaker charge nothing.

Where it shines: Simple to use, events and webinars, a website and blog, free migration help.

Watch out for: 5% fee on Mover; affiliates and upsells only from Shaker; 100, 500 or 1,000 email subscribers included by plan, more as a paid add-on; no app.

7. LearnWorlds

Best for: Training businesses that need SCORM, interactive video or white-labelling
Price: $49, $99 or $299 a month ($44, $79 or $249 yearly). Fee: $5 per paid enrollment on Starter; none above.

LearnWorlds combines a creator course platform with corporate learning features: interactive video, SCORM and HTML5 packages, learning paths, assessments, a community and, on higher plans, white-labelling, SSO and LTI. Certificates, subscriptions, payment plans and affiliates start on Pro Trainer.

Against Skool: LearnWorlds includes a built-in community on every plan, but its strength is structured learning: assessments, certificates and SCORM from Pro Trainer, and learning paths. It suits paid training more than a chatty membership.

Where it shines: Corporate learning depth, interactive video, a 30-day trial, 24/7 support from Pro Trainer.

Watch out for: $5 per sale on Starter; key selling tools need Pro Trainer; more complex than creators may need.

What Skool does better

Skool's simplicity is its product. Members know where to post, gamification rewards them for it, and live calls are unlimited on both plans. Its apps are free, its directory can send you members, and because Skool is the merchant of record it collects, files and pays sales tax for you; for EU members it adds VAT to the price. Payouts arrive weekly, on Wednesdays, through a Stripe Express account Skool creates for you (you can't use an existing Stripe account).

The trade-offs are the ones that send people looking: members pay in US dollars, the Hobby plan takes 10% + 30¢ of every payment, and the classroom is a place for videos rather than a course with assessments.

What a $49-a-month community of 100 members costs

Here's one month of a paid community: 100 members at $49, or $4,900. Card processing is estimated at Stripe's US rate of 2.9% + 30¢; international cards cost more. Skool includes processing in its fee.

On Hobby, Skool is the most expensive way to run a paid community of this size; on Pro it's among the cheapest, because processing is included and there's no separate fee. So most owners who leave Skool Pro leave for features, currencies or control, not price.

Community platform or course platform?

Circle, Mighty Networks and Skool are communities with courses inside. Kajabi, Thinkific, Podia, LearnWorlds and Klasira are course platforms with a community inside. If members pay for conversation, accountability and live calls, stay community-first. If they pay for a structured course with assessments and a certificate at the end, a course platform will serve them better.

How to choose

• Keep the community at the center, with better design and events: Circle or Mighty Networks.
• Members outside the US who want to pay in their own currency: Mighty Networks or Klasira.
• Courses with quizzes, assignments and certificates, plus a community: Klasira, Thinkific or LearnWorlds.
• Community, coaching and email marketing in one bill: Kajabi or Podia.
• Already on Skool Pro and happy with gamification and live calls: staying may be cheapest.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to Skool?

For a community-first platform, Circle or Mighty Networks. For courses with a community attached, Klasira, Thinkific or Podia. For an all-in-one with marketing and coaching, Kajabi.

Is there a Skool alternative with no transaction fees?

Yes. Klasira charges 0% on every plan, Podia 0% on Shaker and Earthquaker, Kajabi 0% on Kajabi Payments and Thinkific 0% on Thinkific Payments. Card processing applies on all of them. Circle and Mighty Networks charge a fee on every plan.

Is Circle better than Skool?

Circle offers more control over spaces, design, events and branding, and a branded app on Circle Plus. Skool is simpler, has gamification built in, and handles sales tax. Circle costs more and adds a 2% fee on Professional.

Can members pay in their own currency instead of US dollars?

Not on Skool, where every subscription is priced in USD. Mighty Networks says it can charge in hundreds of currencies, and each Klasira school sells in one of 19 currencies.

How do I move a community off Skool?

Set up the new space first, announce the date, invite members by email and run both for a few weeks. Paid subscriptions don't transfer between platforms, so paying members usually subscribe again on the new one.

Try Klasira with your own course

If your Skool classroom has become a real course, try rebuilding one module in Klasira with a quiz and a certificate. Pick a theme, add one course and connect Stripe, then judge it on your own material. Start your school or see pricing.

Related: Skool pricing, Klasira vs Skool, Circle pricing, course platform pricing and alternatives.

Sources

Details about other companies in this post were checked against these public pages in October 2026. Products, prices and rules change, so confirm with each source before you decide.

• Skool pricing
• Skool: subscriptions FAQ
• Circle pricing
• Mighty Networks pricing
• Kajabi pricing
• Kajabi Payments payouts
• Thinkific pricing
• Thinkific: accept payments with Stripe
• Podia pricing
• Podia: accepting payments
• LearnWorlds pricing