Skool vs Circle for Indie Makers (2026)
Skool is the cheaper, faster start for a paid community: $9/mo on Hobby, or $99/mo on Pro, with discovery built in. Circle is the better operating system for a community that is also a business: from $89/mo billed yearly, with a custom domain, spaces and courses, plus workflows and APIs on higher plans. Pick Skool for your first paid group, Circle when brand, structure and data ownership matter.
Key takeaways
- Skool starts at $9/mo on Hobby with a 10% + 30c transaction fee, or $99/mo on Pro with 2.9% + 30c (3.9% above $900 per charge).
- Circle starts at $89/mo billed yearly for Professional with a 2% fee, on top of Stripe's 2.9% + 30c and 0.7% for Billing on subscriptions.
- Skool brings discovery and a native growth loop. Circle brings custom domains, multiple spaces and full data export, with APIs and workflows on Business.
- At 100 members paying $20/mo, all-in monthly cost is about $239 on Skool Hobby, $187 on Skool Pro, $231 on Circle Professional and $321 on Circle Business (example, US cards).
- If you are not charging members, a free Discourse plan or Discord beats both. Pay for Skool or Circle when you need gated access, payments and courses.
On this page 20
- TL;DR
- How this differs from our other community guides
- Skool vs Circle at a glance
- What you actually pay
- Skool: cheap plan, expensive fee at the bottom
- Circle: higher plan, lower fee, Stripe on top
- The 100-member worked example
- Features that change the decision
- Discovery and who owns the audience
- When a free option beats both
- Picks by situation
- How to choose in ten minutes
- Frequently asked questions
- Is Skool cheaper than Circle?
- Does Skool have a free plan?
- Can I use my own domain on Skool or Circle?
- Which is better for selling a course?
- Can I move my community later?
- Launch your community
- Sources
Verdict: Pick Skool if you are starting a paid community and want the shortest path to recurring revenue. Its Hobby plan is $9/mo, Pro is $99/mo, and Discovery can put your group in front of buyers you do not already know (Skool pricing). Pick Circle if the community is part of a real business: from $89/mo billed yearly, you get a custom domain, spaces, courses and a documented export, with workflows and APIs on Business (Circle pricing).
Every price, fee and limit below comes from Skool's or Circle's own pages, checked on 15 Nov 2026. The arithmetic and the advice are ours and are marked as such.
TL;DR#
- Skool is cheaper to start and at scale. Hobby is $9/mo with a 10% + 30c fee per transaction; Pro is $99/mo with 2.9% + 30c up to $899 per charge, then 3.9% + 30c (Skool payments FAQ).
- Circle costs more but is a fuller product. Professional is $89/mo billed yearly, Business $199/mo and Scale $419/mo, with 2%, 1% and 1% transaction fees (Circle pricing).
- Circle's fee sits on top of Stripe. Budget Stripe's 2.9% + 30c, plus 0.7% Billing on subscriptions, plus Circle's cut (Circle transaction fees).
- Skool owns the growth loop. Discovery ranks groups by growth, engagement and retention, and Growth Boost takes 30% of members it brings you unless you turn it off (Discovery FAQ, payments FAQ).
- Circle owns the brand and the data. Custom domain on every plan, Circle branding removed on Business, and an export of members, spaces, posts, comments and events (Circle pricing, custom domain, export).
Disclosure: ZeroRaised publishes this comparison and is a launch site for bootstrapped products. ZeroRaised has no commercial relationship with Skool or Circle and earns nothing if you sign up for either. Facts come from the linked sources as checked on 15 Nov 2026.
How this differs from our other community guides#
We have covered the free end already: our Discord guide is for a free server as a top-of-funnel tool, and our community-led growth guide is about building around a product. This post is the paid-platform decision.
If you are still deciding whether to sell a course, read how to create and sell an online course first. Skool and Circle are delivery and billing layers, not a substitute for an offer people want.
Skool vs Circle at a glance#
| Skool | Circle | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $9/mo Hobby, $99/mo Pro | $89/mo Professional, billed yearly |
| Transaction fee | Hobby 10% + 30c; Pro 2.9% + 30c, 3.9% above $900 | 2% Professional, 1% Business and Scale, 0.5% Plus |
| Payments | Skool handles payments and EU VAT | Your own Stripe account |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days, no card |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Structure | One feed, up to 10 categories | 20, 30 or 100 spaces, private included |
| Courses | Classroom, drip, level unlocks, one-time buys | Courses on every plan |
| Live events | Skool Call with screen sharing and recording | Live streams and live rooms, with limits by plan |
| Gamification | Points and 9 levels | Included on every plan |
| Discovery | Ranked by growth, engagement, retention | None listed on the pricing page |
| Custom domain | Custom URL on skool.com | Custom domain on every plan |
| API | Zapier and webhook on Pro | API, MCP and workflows on Business |
| Export | Membership answers | Members, spaces, posts, comments, events |
| Mobile | Not checked | iOS, Android and desktop apps |
Sources: Skool pricing, Skool payments FAQ, Skool categories, Skool Discovery, Skool Classroom, Circle pricing, Circle fees.
What you actually pay#
Skool: cheap plan, expensive fee at the bottom#
Skool has two plans. Hobby is $9/mo and Pro is $99/mo, both with unlimited members, courses, videos and live calls (Skool pricing). Yearly billing is advertised as "2 months free", so confirm the annual total at checkout.
The plan price is not the whole cost. Skool takes a cut of every paid transaction:
| Plan | Fee per transaction |
|---|---|
| Hobby | 10% + 30c |
| Pro | 2.9% + 30c up to $899 per charge |
| Pro | 3.9% + 30c above $900 per charge |
Those numbers are from Skool's payments FAQ (Skool payments FAQ). This fee replaces Stripe processing; Skool says this is cheaper than Stripe because Stripe charges an additional 1.5% for international cards and 0.5% for subscriptions. That is Skool's own comparison and we have not checked it against Stripe's pricing.
Skool also handles tax on its side. Its help says "Skool handles EU VAT for you" and that it adds the VAT rate on top of your price and remits it (Skool payments FAQ). Our read: if you sell to EU customers, that is a real saving.
Two catches. Skool's own subscription fees are non-refundable, with no refunds for partial periods (Skool payment terms). And Growth Boost is "default ON", taking 30% of recurring payments from members Skool brings you. Turn it off in Settings > Discovery (Skool payments FAQ).
Circle: higher plan, lower fee, Stripe on top#
Circle's published prices are based on annual billing: Professional $89/mo, Business $199/mo, Scale $419/mo, Circle Plus by quote (Circle pricing). The footnote says prices are "based on annual billing and do not include applicable taxes", so check the monthly rate before you commit.
Circle's fee is lower than Skool's, but it does not replace Stripe. You connect your own Stripe account, and every subscription payment pays Circle 2% (Professional), 1% (Business or Scale) or 0.5% (Plus), plus Stripe 2.9% + 30c, plus 0.7% Stripe Billing (Circle transaction fees).
That gives Professional an effective 5.6% + 30c on a subscription before tax, and Business 4.6% + 30c. Circle refunds its own fee on refunds made inside Circle, not from the Stripe dashboard.
Circle has no free plan either: a 14-day trial with no card and a 30-day money-back guarantee (Circle pricing). Payouts go through your Stripe account, with the first payout generally taking 7 to 14 days (Circle payouts).
The 100-member worked example#
For 100 members paying $20/mo ($2,000/mo gross): US cards, monthly subscriptions, Circle billed yearly, no add-ons and no tax.
| Plan | Transaction fees | All-in monthly cost | You keep | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skool Hobby | $9 | $230 | $239 | $1,761 |
| Skool Pro | $99 | $88 | $187 | $1,813 |
| Circle Professional | $89 | $142 | $231 | $1,769 |
| Circle Business | $199 | $122 | $321 | $1,679 |
Our arithmetic from the published fees: Hobby is 10% + 30c on 100 transactions, Pro is 2.9% + 30c, Circle Professional adds 2% + 2.9% + 0.7% + 30c, and Circle Business swaps the 2% for 1%.
The surprise is Hobby. It looks cheap, but at $2,000/mo the 10% fee makes it $52/mo more expensive than Skool Pro and $8/mo more than Circle Professional. Our read: Hobby is a testing plan, not a scale plan. Pro becomes cheaper than Hobby once sales pass about $1,268/mo, assuming memberships under $900 per charge so the 3.9% tier does not apply.
Circle Business only beats Professional on total cost above about $11,000/mo in member payments, because the extra $110/mo buys a 1% fee cut. Below that, buy Business for the API, workflows and branding, not the fee.
Features that change the decision#
Community structure. Skool is one feed with up to 10 categories (Skool categories). Our read: members land in one place and see everything. Circle gives you 20 spaces on Professional, 30 on Business and 100 on Scale, with private spaces and a member directory (Circle pricing). Need separate rooms for beginners, alumni and support? Circle is the better shape.
Courses and events. Skool's Classroom supports lessons and folders (Classroom), drip content (drip), level-locked courses (level-locked courses) and one-time purchases (one-time purchases). It has native live calls with screen sharing and recording (Skool Call). Circle includes courses and live events on every plan, with live stream attendee limits of 100, 200 and 500 and live room participant limits of 15, 20 and 50 by plan (Circle pricing). Skool feels like a community with a course; Circle feels like a membership business.
Gamification. Skool gives one point per like, nine levels and level-locked courses. Level 2 starts at 5 points, Level 5 at 155 and Level 9 at 33,015 (Skool points). Circle includes gamification on every plan and adds activity scores on Business (Circle pricing).
Brand and domain. Circle includes a custom domain on every plan (Circle custom domain). Skool gives you a custom URL on skool.com. Its pricing page lists a custom URL on both plans, while its help centre says changing the group URL is "only available on the Pro plan", with the first change free and later changes costing $100 each (Skool URL). Skool lists a custom URL, not a custom domain. If your community is the brand, Circle wins.
Automation, API and email. Skool's documented automation is a Zapier plugin on Pro for paid members, membership answers, invites and course unlocks (Zapier), plus a developer-only webhook on Pro (Plugins). Circle sells workflows, an Admin API and MCP on Business, and webhooks on Scale (Circle pricing). Circle's Email Hub add-on is $0/mo under 100 contacts. Skool's email is mostly notifications, a weekly digest and event reminders (Skool notifications); if email marketing is core, budget for an external tool either way.
Mobile. Circle includes iOS, Android and desktop apps on every plan and sells custom branded iOS and Android apps only on Plus (Circle pricing). We have not verified Skool's mobile app features, so check them before you commit.
Discovery and who owns the audience#
Skool runs a discovery marketplace. Groups need a threshold of members, posts and activity to appear, and Skool ranks them by member growth, engagement and retention, with a human reviewing rankings to stop gaming (Discovery FAQ). That can send buyers who have never heard of you. The price is Growth Boost: 30% of payments from members Skool brings you, on recurring charges, unless you turn it off. Skool fronts the ad cost (payments FAQ).
Circle's pricing page lists no discovery marketplace, so assume you bring the audience. In exchange, you keep the brand: custom domain, your Stripe account, your member data and a documented export. Circle's export covers members, spaces, posts, comments and events as CSV files, and admins request it by contacting support (Circle export). Cancel Skool and the group is archived read-only (payment terms). Skool documents an export of membership answers from the Members tab (Skool export), not a full posts or course export.
Our read: with no audience, Skool's discovery is worth 30% because 30% of a customer you would not otherwise have beats 100% of nothing. If you already have an audience, or a brand that outlives the platform, Circle's ownership terms are worth the higher price.
When a free option beats both#
If you are not charging for access, do not pay for either platform yet. Discord is where many maker communities start; our Discord marketing guide covers the setup. Discourse has a free hosted plan with unlimited members, 500k monthly page views, 20k monthly emails, 2 staff seats and 10 categories (Discourse pricing). Paid Discourse starts at $100/mo.
The free options beat Skool and Circle when you need discussion, not checkout. They lose when you need gated courses, subscriptions, a member CRM and payments without duct tape. That is the moment to pay.
Picks by situation#
This is our editorial advice, based on the prices and features above.
| Your situation | Our pick |
|---|---|
| First paid community, small audience, want discovery | Skool Hobby ($9/mo, 10% fee) |
| Paid community above about $1,268/mo in sales | Skool Pro ($99/mo, 2.9% fee) |
| Course plus community, own domain, own brand | Circle Professional ($89/mo billed yearly, 2% fee) |
| SaaS customer community with API and workflows, or custom SSO | Circle Business (API, workflows) or Scale (custom SSO) |
| Free audience, no payments yet | Discord, or Discourse's free plan |
| Want Discovery without the 30% cut | Skool with Growth Boost off, and bring your own traffic |
| You sell to EU customers and do not want VAT admin | Skool, because it handles EU VAT for you |
How to choose in ten minutes#
- Count your audience. Our rule of thumb: under 500 people and no email list? Start on Skool Hobby with Discovery. Over 5,000 who already buy from you? Circle's ownership terms matter more.
- Decide whether the community is the product or a feature. If it is the product, Circle's domain and spaces justify the price. If it is a retention layer for a course, Skool is enough.
- Do the fee maths at your real price. The 10% Hobby fee gets ugly fast.
- Check the exit. If losing your posts on cancel would hurt, Circle's export is safer. If you are testing an offer, Skool's smaller commitment wins.
Frequently asked questions#
Is Skool cheaper than Circle?#
For a paid community at scale, usually yes. At 100 members paying $20/mo, Skool Pro costs about $187/mo all-in versus $231 for Circle Professional and $321 for Circle Business (example, US cards, annual Circle billing). Hobby looks cheaper but its 10% fee makes it the most expensive at that size.
Does Skool have a free plan?#
No. Skool offers a 14-day trial, then Hobby at $9/mo or Pro at $99/mo. Circle also has no free plan: 14-day trial, no card, 30-day money-back guarantee.
Can I use my own domain on Skool or Circle?#
Circle includes a custom domain on every plan. Skool gives you a custom URL on skool.com; its help centre says changing the group URL is a Pro feature, the first change is free and later changes cost $100. Skool does not advertise a custom domain.
Which is better for selling a course?#
Both can sell courses. Skool bundles a Classroom with level unlocks, drip content and one-time purchases into a simple group. Circle adds multiple spaces, a custom domain and an Email Hub add-on, with APIs on Business. If the course is the main product and you want your own brand, Circle is stronger. If you want the shortest path from audience to paid group, Skool is.
Can I move my community later?#
Circle documents a data export with members, spaces, posts, comments and events as CSV files. Skool documents an export of membership answers from the Members tab, but not a full posts or course export. That asymmetry is the main lock-in risk.
Launch your community#
Once you have picked a platform, the next job is getting the first members. Our bootstrapped app launch guide walks through the pre-launch list. When you are ready, submit your product to ZeroRaised for free, and join the newsletter for more comparisons like this one.
Sources#
All sources last checked 15 Nov 2026.
- Skool pricing, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Skool payments FAQ, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Skool payment terms and policy, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Skool Discovery FAQ, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Skool points and levels, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Skool Classroom, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Skool one-time course purchases, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Skool Call, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Skool categories, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Skool notifications, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Skool plugins, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Skool Zapier integration, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Skool group URL, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Skool membership answers export, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Skool drip, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Skool level-locked courses, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Circle pricing, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Circle paywall transaction fees, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Circle payouts, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Circle custom root domain, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Circle data export, last checked 15 Nov 2026
- Discourse pricing, last checked 15 Nov 2026
Frequently asked questions
Is Skool cheaper than Circle?
For a paid community at scale, usually yes. At 100 members paying $20/mo, Skool Pro costs about $187/mo all-in versus $231 for Circle Professional and $321 for Circle Business (example, US cards, annual Circle billing). Hobby looks cheaper but its 10% fee makes it the most expensive at that size.
Does Skool have a free plan?
No. Skool offers a 14-day trial, then Hobby at $9/mo or Pro at $99/mo. Circle also has no free plan: 14-day trial, no card, 30-day money-back guarantee.
Can I use my own domain on Skool or Circle?
Circle includes a custom domain on every plan. Skool gives you a custom URL on skool.com; its help centre says changing the group URL is a Pro feature, the first change is free and later changes cost $100. Skool does not advertise a custom domain.
Which is better for selling a course?
Both can sell courses. Skool bundles a Classroom with level unlocks, drip content and one-time purchases into a simple group. Circle adds multiple spaces, a custom domain and an Email Hub add-on, with APIs on Business. If the course is the main product and you want your own brand, Circle is stronger. If you want the shortest path from audience to paid group, Skool is.
Can I move my community later?
Circle documents a data export with members, spaces, posts, comments and events as CSV files. Skool documents an export of membership answers from the Members tab, but not a full posts or course export. That asymmetry is the main lock-in risk.