The equation
Monthly revenue is simple: members × price. What makes a community a business is how long members stay. If a share c of members leaves each month, a member stays on average 1 ÷ c months, and pays you on average:
Revenue per member over their stay = monthly price ÷ monthly leaving rate
| Monthly price | If 5% leave each month (about 20 months) | If 10% leave (about 10 months) | If 20% leave (about 5 months) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $29 | $580 | $290 | $145 |
| $49 | $980 | $490 | $245 |
| $99 | $1,980 | $990 | $495 |
These leaving rates are hypotheses to show the math, not averages. Read the table across a row: at the same price, halving the share of members who leave doubles what each member is worth. Your own rate appears after two or three months; use it.
Why growth slows, and what sets the ceiling
If you bring in the same number of new members every month and the same share leaves, your community grows toward a ceiling: new members per month ÷ monthly leaving rate. An illustration: you start with 20 members, add 10 a month, and 10% leave each month.
- After 3 months: about 42 members
- After 6 months: about 58
- After 12 months: about 77
- Ceiling: 10 ÷ 0.10 = 100 members
To raise the ceiling, you can bring in more members each month or lose fewer. The second is often cheaper, because it depends on what happens inside the community, which you control.
Retention: what keeps members paying
- A first win early. The first week decides a lot: a welcome post, one clear first action, a reply from you to every introduction.
- A path. Lessons in order, so members always know the next step.
- A rhythm. Something every week on the same day: a challenge, a thread, a review session.
- Visible progress. Lessons completed, wins posted, points and levels. A leaderboard rewards members who help others, and those members make the community worth staying in.
- A reason to talk to each other, not only to you. Members who know other members stay longer than members who only watch videos.
- An exit question. Ask everyone who leaves what would have made them stay, and fix the most common answer first.
Offers: monthly, yearly and lifetime
Each way to pay changes your cash flow and who joins.
Monthly
The default. Low barrier, steady income, and every month a member can decide to leave.
Yearly
Priced at about 10 times the monthly price ("2 months free"). At $49 a month, that is $490 a year. A member who pays yearly has committed for twelve months, and you receive the cash up front. Note the link with the table above: if 10% of monthly members leave each month, the average monthly member pays about $490 over their stay, the same as one yearly payment.
Lifetime (one-time payment)
A single payment for permanent access. It brings cash now, but you serve that member for as long as the community exists, with no more payments. A rule that protects you: price lifetime above what an average member pays you over their stay (price ÷ leaving rate). At $49 a month and 10% leaving, that is above $490; at $980, a lifetime member pays what a 20-month member would. Many creators offer it only at set moments, to members who are already committed.
A second offer
At checkout or later: a course sold once, a template pack, a small group with more attention. A second offer earns more from members who want more, without raising the price for everyone.
What fees take, at three sizes
Platform and card fees come off the top. On Learnea Starter ($29 a month + 5% + Stripe 2.9% + 30¢), with every member paying $49 monthly:
| Members at $49 | Sales | Fees in total | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | $980 | $112.42 | $867.58 |
| 60 | $2,940 | $279.26 | $2,660.74 |
| 150 | $7,350 | $654.65 | $6,695.35 |
As revenue grows, a plan with a higher subscription and a lower percentage usually costs less. On Learnea, Pro ($79 + 2%) costs less than Starter from $1,666.67 a month in sales. On Skool, Pro costs less than Hobby from $1,267.61, counting only its listed fees; see Skool Hobby vs Pro.
A first-year plan, step by step
- Months 1 to 3: launch to people who already know you, at a founding price. Measure how many members leave each month.
- Months 4 to 6: fix the first week and the weekly rhythm until fewer members leave. Collect results you can show.
- Months 7 to 12: add a yearly plan, raise the price for new members with proof on your About page, and test a second offer.
At each step, recalculate the ceiling (new members per month ÷ leaving rate) to see whether to work on recruiting or on retention next.
Mistakes that cost money
- Promising members an income. Show real results with permission; do not promise numbers.
- Chasing new members while the first week is empty. Every member who leaves in week one had to be found, and found again.
- Discounts without an end date. A permanent discount is a new price.
- Choosing a platform on launch-month revenue. Choose on the revenue you expect in six months, and check the cost at that level.
Where Learnea fits
Learnea is built around the levers above: a course path, a community feed, gamification for visible progress, and payments monthly, yearly or once with a second offer. From Starter, you get unlimited members, courses and videos, a community feed, private messaging, points, levels and a leaderboard, an About page for your sales pitch, video up to 1080p, and monthly, yearly or one-time payments with a second offer. Pro adds a custom URL, affiliates, removal of the Learnea banner and advanced statistics. Learnea does not include email marketing, sales funnels, a native mobile app or built-in video calls; if weekly calls are part of your rhythm, plan a separate video tool.
Go further with how to price a paid community, is Skool worth it, or try Learnea free for 14 days.