Step 1: price the result, not the content
Members do not pay for hours of video. They pay for what changes for them. A useful way to set a first range is to estimate what the result is worth to one member per month, then charge a small share of it, so the member gets back many times what they pay.
A worked example: a community helps freelance designers win one extra $1,000 client per quarter. That is about $333 a month of value. Charging 5% to 10% of it gives a range of $17 to $33 a month, and the member still gets 10 to 20 times their fee back when it works.
Applied to three kinds of communities, as reasoning rather than market data:
- Interest and hobby communities (the value is the company, the content and the fun): no money result to share, so prices sit low, roughly the cost of a streaming or app subscription. You need many members.
- Skill communities with an income or career result: the result has a dollar value, so the method above applies. Prices from the tens to around a hundred dollars a month are common results of that math.
- High-touch groups (small cohorts, feedback on members' work): your time is the limit, so the price follows your time. Fewer members, a higher price each.
Use the range as a starting point for a test, not as a final answer.
Step 2: count the members you need, after fees
Start from what you want to keep each month, then divide by what one member leaves you after fees. The formula, for a monthly plan:
Members needed = (income goal + platform subscription) ÷ (price − platform cut − card fees per member)
For a goal of $3,000 a month kept, at a few prices:
| Monthly price | Learnea Starter ($29 + 5% + Stripe 2.9% + 30¢) | Skool Hobby ($9 + 10%, as listed) |
|---|---|---|
| $19 | 177 members | 176 members |
| $29 | 115 members | 116 members |
| $49 | 68 members | 69 members |
| $99 | 34 members | 34 members |
| $199 | 17 members | 17 members |
Example of one cell: at $49 on Learnea Starter, one member leaves $49 − $3.87 (7.9%) − $0.30 = $44.83. Then ($3,000 + $29) ÷ $44.83 = 67.6, so 68 members. Skool's figures count only the 10% on its pricing page.
The lesson is in the first column, not the platform: going from $29 to $49 cuts the members you need from 115 to 68. Ask yourself which is easier for you: finding 115 people or convincing 68 that the result is worth $49.
Step 3: watch the fixed fee on low prices
Card processors charge a fixed amount per payment, 30¢ with Stripe's standard rate. On a low price, it weighs more. On Learnea Starter, the total share taken (5% + 2.9% + 30¢) is:
- 11.23% of a $9 payment
- 8.93% of a $29 payment
- 8.51% of a $49 payment
- 8.20% of a $99 payment
A yearly plan helps here too: one payment a year instead of twelve means one fixed fee instead of twelve.
Step 4: plan for the members who leave
Every month, some members cancel. If a share c of your N members leaves each month, you need N × c new members a month just to stay level. With the 68 members above and a hypothetical 10% leaving each month, that is about 7 new members every month before you grow at all.
This is why price and retention are linked. A higher price means fewer members to replace each month, and usually members who are more committed to the result. A lower price means a larger audience to recruit from, every month.
Step 5: offer more than one way to pay
- Monthly: the easiest yes. Keep it as the default.
- Yearly at about 10 times the monthly price: the "2 months free" logic Skool shows on its own pricing page, and the logic of Learnea's $290 a year against $29 a month. Members who are sure save; you get cash up front and fewer payments to process.
- One-time payment: fits a course with a community attached, when the result has an end point.
- Founding price: lower for the first members, with a clear end date. Decide in advance whether founders keep it when the price goes up.
Step 6: test, then raise
- Launch at the low end of your range if you have no proof yet, with a founding price that ends on a set day.
- Collect results: member wins, before-and-after, quotes you have permission to use.
- Raise the price for new members once the proof is on your About page. Keep existing members at their price if you promised it.
- Look at who leaves and why. Ask one question on the way out: "what would have made you stay?"
Where Learnea fits
Learnea lets you charge monthly, yearly or once, with a second offer, and the yearly plan is built into its own pricing: Starter is $29 a month or $290 a year plus 5%, Pro $79 a month or $790 a year plus 2%, with Stripe fees on top. 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.
To go further: how to start a paid community, how to make money with a paid community, or try Learnea free for 14 days.