The two Skool plans, side by side
Skool's pricing page lists exactly two plans. Both include unlimited members, courses, videos and live calls. The differences are the monthly price, the transaction fee and two features.
| Hobby | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly billing | $9/month | $99/month |
| Yearly billing (shown as a monthly equivalent) | $7.50/month | $82/month |
| Transaction fee | 10% | 2.9% |
| Members, courses, videos, live calls | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Custom URL | Not included | Included |
| Affiliates | Not included | Included |
| Free trial | "Try for free" on both; the page description says "14-day free trial" (card requirement not stated) | |
The yearly toggle says "2 months free!". Skool shows only the monthly equivalent, not a yearly total. By our math, Hobby yearly is $7.50 × 12 = $90 a year, and $82 for Pro is a rounded figure ($99 × 10 / 12 = $82.50).
The break-even point: $1,267.61 a month in sales
Call your monthly sales S. Each plan costs its subscription plus its percentage of S:
- Hobby: $9 + 10% × S
- Pro: $99 + 2.9% × S
They cost the same when 9 + 0.10 × S = 99 + 0.029 × S, so 0.071 × S = 90, so S = 90 / 0.071 = $1,267.61. Check: at $1,267.61, Hobby costs $9 + $126.76 = $135.76 and Pro costs $99 + $36.76 = $135.76.
Above that point, every extra dollar you sell costs 10 cents on Hobby and 2.9 cents on Pro, so Pro saves you 7.1 cents per dollar. At $3,000 a month, that is $309 on Hobby against $186 on Pro: $123 a month, or $1,476 a year, for the same features plus a custom URL and affiliates.
Does a fixed fee per payment change the answer?
Skool's pricing page shows only the percentages. It does not list a fixed amount per payment, and it does not say whether card processing is included in the percentage or charged separately. If the same fixed fee applied to every payment on both plans, it would add the same amount to both sides of the equation and the break-even would stay at $1,267.61.
With yearly billing, switch earlier
If you pay Skool yearly, use $7.50 and $82: (82 - 7.50) / 0.071 = $1,049.30 a month. The cheaper subscription on Pro pulls the break-even down by about $218.
Skool: subscription plus the transaction fee its pricing page lists (it does not say whether card processing is included). Learnea: subscription plus its fee plus Stripe card processing (2.9% + 30¢ per payment). Prices checked on October 22, 2026.
The calculator uses the same method as the table below: Stripe's card fees are added to the Learnea columns, because Learnea's commission does not include them. Move the average payment to match your price.
Cost table: Skool and Learnea from $200 to $10,000 a month
Method, so you can redo it with your own numbers:
- Skool: subscription + the percentage on its pricing page, nothing else. That is the reading most favorable to Skool.
- Learnea: subscription ($29 Starter, $79 Pro) + commission (5% or 2%) + Stripe card fees of 2.9% + 30¢ per payment. We assume an average payment of $50, so $1,000 of sales is 20 payments and $6 in fixed fees.
- Monthly billing for every plan.
| Sales per month | Skool Hobby | Skool Pro | Learnea Starter | Learnea Pro | Lowest total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $200 | $29.00 | $104.80 | $46.00 | $90.00 | Skool Hobby |
| $500 | $59.00 | $113.50 | $71.50 | $106.50 | Skool Hobby |
| $1,000 | $109.00 | $128.00 | $114.00 | $134.00 | Skool Hobby |
| $1,500 | $159.00 | $142.50 | $156.50 | $161.50 | Skool Pro |
| $3,000 | $309.00 | $186.00 | $284.00 | $244.00 | Skool Pro |
| $10,000 | $1,009.00 | $389.00 | $879.00 | $629.00 | Skool Pro |
Example of one cell: Learnea Starter at $1,000 is $29 + $50 (5%) + $29 (2.9%) + $6 (20 × 30¢) = $114.
What the table says, without spin
- Under about $1,000 a month, Skool Hobby costs less than both Learnea plans. At $500, Hobby is $59 against $71.50 for Learnea Starter.
- Learnea Starter costs less than Skool Hobby from $1,333.33 a month. Learnea Starter's variable cost is 8.5% (5% + 2.9% + 0.6% for the 30¢ at a $50 average payment), against 10% on Hobby: 20 / 0.015 = $1,333.33. Learnea Pro passes Hobby at 70 / 0.045 = $1,555.56.
- Skool Pro costs less than Learnea Starter above $1,250 and less than Learnea Pro above $769.23, on the reading that Skool's 2.9% is everything Skool takes. If you switch Skool plans at the right moment, Skool's fees as listed are lower than Learnea's from about $1,268 a month upward.
- Where Learnea Pro costs less: you want a custom URL or an affiliate program, which Skool reserves for Pro, and you sell less than $769 a month. At $500, that is $106.50 on Learnea Pro against $113.50 on Skool Pro.
If your Skool payout statements show a card processing charge on top of the percentage, add it to the Skool columns: the comparison moves in Learnea's favor, by exactly that amount.
How to choose between Hobby and Pro
- Selling under $1,267 a month (or $1,049 on yearly billing)? Hobby, unless you need a custom URL or affiliates.
- Selling more? Pro. Waiting costs you 7.1 cents on every dollar above the line.
- Close to the line? Look at the next three months, not the last one. A launch month can push you over for a single month only.
When Learnea is worth a look
Price alone will rarely decide it against a Skool user who picks the right plan. These are the cases where Learnea can fit better:
- You need a custom URL or affiliates while your sales are still under about $769 a month: Learnea Pro is $79 against $99 for Skool Pro.
- You are on Skool Hobby above $1,333 a month and prefer a $29 subscription to a $99 one: Learnea Starter's total is lower than Hobby from there.
- You want members to pay monthly, yearly or once, with a second offer at checkout, plus points, levels and a leaderboard, private messaging, an About page and video up to 1080p. Members, courses and videos are unlimited from Starter.
What Learnea does not include, so you can decide with all the facts: built-in video calls, email marketing, sales funnels and a native mobile app. Skool lists unlimited live calls on both plans; if weekly calls are the core of your community, count that. You can test both: each offers 14 days free. Compare the full feature list on Skool vs Learnea, read the fee details in Skool fees explained, or start a Learnea trial.