Community platform fees in 2026: Skool Pro sits $38 above Circle at $5,000 a month in sales, or $138 below it
On the prices each platform publishes, Skool Pro costs $227 a month at $5,000 in sales against $189 on Circle and $179 on Mighty. If Skool's 2.9% already covers card processing, the order flips and Skool is $92 to $138 cheaper. Skool's pricing page does not say which.
- The numbers: at $5,000 a month in sales, published charges are Mighty Launch $179, Circle Professional $189, Skool Pro $227 and Kajabi Basic $243, on yearly billing and before card processing.
- The flip: if Skool's 2.9% includes card processing and the others do not, add Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30 to them and Skool Pro ($227) beats Kajabi ($319), Mighty ($355) and Circle ($365).
- The plan choice: Skool Hobby is cheaper than Pro below about $1,049 a month in sales on yearly billing, and below about $1,268 on monthly billing.
- The catch: the cheaper Mighty and Circle plans withhold features that Skool's two plans both list, so price is one input.
Lattice finding
At $5,000 a month in sales, Skool Pro costs $38 more than Circle Professional on published charges, and $138 less if Skool's 2.9% includes the card processing that Circle's 2% leaves out.
Read October 2026 Every plan price and fee is from the vendor's own pricing page. The sales levels and the $49 payment are our assumptions.
What does each platform charge at $5,000 a month in sales?
Four numbers answer most of the question. Each is the plan price on yearly billing plus the platform's stated transaction fee on $5,000 of member payments, with card processing left out.
At $5,000 a month in sales: $82 a month on yearly billing plus 2.9% of sales.
$89 a month on yearly billing plus 2% of sales, before card processing.
$79 a month on yearly billing plus 2% of sales, before card processing.
$143 a month on yearly billing plus 2% when you bring your own processor.
How do the five plans rank on published charges?
The same ranking at five sales levels
| Monthly sales | Skool Hobby | Skool Pro | Circle Professional | Mighty Launch | Kajabi Basic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | $57.50 | $96.50 | $99 | $89 | $153 |
| $1,000 | $107.50 | $111 | $109 | $99 | $163 |
| $2,500 | $257.50 | $154.50 | $139 | $129 | $193 |
| $5,000 | $507.50 | $227 | $189 | $179 | $243 |
| $10,000 | $1,007.50 | $372 | $289 | $279 | $343 |
Monthly cost on yearly billing, platform charges only. Skool Hobby is the cheapest below about $894 a month in sales against Mighty Launch, and below about $1,049 against Skool Pro.
Does Skool's 2.9% include card processing?
Skool's pricing page, read October 27, 2026, lists a 2.9% transaction fee on Pro and does not say whether card processing is inside it. Circle's and Mighty's pages do not say either, so we assumed their fees sit on top of card processing, as Kajabi's page states for its own third-party fee. Stripe's standard rate, read the same day, is 2.9% + 30 cents on domestic cards, which at a $49 average payment is about 3.5% of sales. We have not confirmed Skool's or Circle's and Mighty's side from their payments help articles, so here is the table for each case.
- Platform fee
- Card processing, Stripe standard 2.9% + $0.30
If Skool's fee is all-in, the others carry that 3.5% on top. Kajabi is shown on Kajabi Payments, which already includes processing. At $5,000 a month in sales:
| Monthly sales | Skool Hobby | Skool Pro | Circle Professional | Mighty Launch | Kajabi Basic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | $57.50 | $96.50 | $116.56 | $106.56 | $160.56 |
| $1,000 | $107.50 | $111 | $144.12 | $134.12 | $178.12 |
| $2,500 | $257.50 | $154.50 | $226.81 | $216.81 | $230.81 |
| $5,000 | $507.50 | $227 | $364.61 | $354.61 | $318.61 |
| $10,000 | $1,007.50 | $372 | $640.22 | $630.22 | $494.22 |
If Skool's fee is not all-in, add the same processing to Skool and the ranking in the first table stands: Mighty and Circle first, Skool Pro third. Ask Skool in writing before you decide on this line alone, and read the screen when you set up payments.
When does each Skool plan pay for itself?
The crossover is the monthly sales at which two plans cost the same. Below it the plan with the lower monthly price wins, above it the plan with the lower fee wins.
Two readings matter. Skool Hobby to Pro moves from about $1,268 on the $9 and $99 monthly prices to about $1,049 on the yearly $7.50 and $82, so yearly billing makes Pro pay off sooner. And against Kajabi Basic, Skool Pro stays cheaper until about $6,778 a month in sales, on published charges with a third-party processor.
What do the cheaper plans leave out?
| Plan | Plan price, yearly billing | Transaction fee | Limits we read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skool Hobby | $7.50 ($9 monthly) | 10% | Same listed features as Pro: unlimited members, courses, videos and live calls, custom URL, affiliates |
| Skool Pro | $82 ($99 monthly) | 2.9% | Same listed features as Hobby |
| Circle Professional | $89 | 2% | Workflows, APIs and branding removal start on Business at $199 (1% fee) |
| Mighty Launch | $79 | 2% | 3 hosts, 20 streaming hours a month, 200 GB storage, 1 landing page. Scale is $179 with a 1% fee |
| Kajabi Basic | $143 ($179 monthly) | 2.9% + $0.30 on Kajabi Payments, or 2% with another processor | 5 products, 2,500 contacts, 1 website, 1 community, 2 admin users. Email and funnels are included |
The upgrade steps matter for the same reason. Circle Business is $199 with a 1% fee, so at $5,000 a month in sales it costs $249 on published charges, more than Skool Pro. Mighty Scale is $179 with a 1% fee, $229 at the same sales.
Run it for your own sales
Enter your monthly sales. The first column is published charges only. The second adds Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30 to Circle and Mighty and uses Kajabi Payments for Kajabi, which is the case where Skool's fee is all-in.
| Plan | Published charges | If Skool's fee is all-in |
|---|
Which platform fits which stage?
Use sales as the fork, then check features. Under about $900 a month in sales, Skool Hobby is the cheapest plan here. Between about $900 and $1,050, Mighty Launch is cheapest on published charges and Hobby is close. Above about $1,050, Skool Pro replaces Hobby. From there the order depends on the open line: Mighty and Circle lead on published charges, Skool leads if its fee covers processing. Choose Kajabi when you need its email and funnels in the same bill, because Kajabi Basic costs more than Skool Pro until sales pass about $6,778 a month. We have not run a paid community on any of these, so this page covers price and structure, not engagement or retention.
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Skool's pricing page lists 2.9% and does not say what it covers, and Circle's and Mighty's pages do not say either. Ask each in writing, or read the payments screen when you connect your processor, before choosing a plan on these numbers. The cheaper plans also withhold features, listed in the table above.
Frequently asked
Which community platform is cheapest at $5,000 a month in sales?
On published charges alone, Mighty Launch at $179 a month, then Circle Professional at $189, Skool Pro at $227 and Kajabi Basic at $243. That counts the plan price on yearly billing plus each platform's stated transaction fee, and leaves out card processing. Skool Hobby is the dearest at $507.50 because 10% of $5,000 is $500.
Does Skool's 2.9% transaction fee include card processing?
Skool's pricing page, read October 27, 2026, lists a 2.9% transaction fee on Pro and does not say whether card processing is inside it. We have not confirmed it from Skool's payments help article, so this page shows both cases. If the fee is all-in, Skool Pro is $92 to $138 cheaper than the others at $5,000 a month, and its fee on a $49 payment is $1.42 against $2.70 on Circle Professional. If it is not, add the same processing to Skool and the first ranking holds.
When does Skool Pro beat Skool Hobby?
Pro is cheaper once monthly sales pass about $1,049 on yearly billing ($82 against $7.50, with 2.9% against 10%) and about $1,268 on monthly billing ($99 against $9). Below that, Hobby costs less. Both plans have the same listed features, so the choice is arithmetic.
Is Skool Pro cheaper than Circle?
On published charges only, Skool Pro is cheaper than Circle Professional below about $778 a month in sales and dearer above it, because Skool's 2.9% is higher than Circle's 2% and the plan prices differ by only $7. If Skool's fee includes card processing and Circle's does not, Skool Pro is cheaper at every sales level we tested.
Does Kajabi take a cut of sales?
Kajabi's pricing page says no revenue sharing. With Kajabi Payments it charges card processing of 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic, 2.8% + $0.30 on Growth and 2.7% + $0.30 on Pro. If you use another processor it adds a 2% fee on Basic, 1% on Growth and 0.5% on Pro, which Kajabi's page labels a third-party payment provider fee.
What do the cheaper plans leave out?
Mighty Launch caps hosts at 3, streaming at 20 hours a month and storage at 200 GB, and has one landing page. Circle Professional leaves out workflows, APIs and branding removal, which start on Business at $199. Kajabi Basic allows 5 products, 2,500 contacts and 2 admin users. Skool lists the same features on Hobby and Pro.
How this page was built
We read the Skool pricing page, including its yearly toggle, and the Circle, Mighty Networks, Kajabi and Stripe pricing pages in a browser on 27 October 2026. Circle states its prices on annual billing, so every plan price here is the yearly-billing monthly equivalent, and Skool and Kajabi monthly prices are shown beside them. Each cost is the plan price plus the platform's stated transaction fee times monthly sales. Card processing is left out of the first table. The second table adds Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30 to Circle and Mighty at an assumed $49 average member payment, and uses Kajabi Payments for Kajabi. We did not read Skool's payments help article, so whether its 2.9% includes processing is unconfirmed and both cases are shown. Circle and Mighty do not say either, and we assumed their fees sit on top of processing. We did not buy any plan or run a checkout. Higher single-payment rates, taxes, currency fees and refunds are not modelled.
Bottom line
At $5,000 a month in sales, Skool Pro is $227, between Mighty ($179) and Kajabi ($243) on published charges, and the cheapest of the four if its 2.9% already covers card processing. Settle that one line first, then compare the features you need. See the plans on Skool.
Federal data behind this page
What a programme costs, what its graduates earn, and what aid is available are published by federal statistical agencies rather than by any provider's marketing page, and the sources below are the primary ones. They are linked so a reader can check a figure here directly.
- College Scorecard publishes the federal cost, completion and post-enrolment earnings data used to compare programmes.
- National Center for Education Statistics is the federal statistical agency for education and the source most published figures trace back to.
- IPEDS holds the institution-level survey data behind enrolment, price and completion comparisons.
- Federal Student Aid states what aid exists, who qualifies, and what repayment actually obligates a borrower to.
- CFPB paying for college documents how education financing works and where its common traps are.
- US Department of Education sets the policy framework the accreditation and aid systems operate under.
- Department of Education laws and policy carries the rules that decide whether a provider or credential is recognised.
This page compares programmes on published data. Outcomes vary by student, and a reader's own aid package and circumstances decide what a programme actually costs them.