For a paid community that's simple to run and keeps members engaged, Skool is our top pick — flat pricing, unlimited members, and gamification that genuinely drives activity. If you want a more polished, customizable space with deep branding, Circle.so is the premium choice, and Mighty Networks is best if you need native mobile apps plus courses.
If you just want a free place to chat, Discord is unbeatable — but you'll need a third-party tool to charge for access. Here's how they compare on cost, fees, and fit.
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Best overall fit for a typical communities buyer. Here's why — and when something else wins.
Free real-time chat and voice for communities — monetize with add-on tools.
Why it fits: For a paid community that's simple to run and keeps members engaged, Skool is our top pick — flat pricing, unlimited members, and gamification that genuinely drives activity.
| Tool | Score | From | Free | Txn fee | Best for | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Free Lowest | ✓ | N/A (use 3rd-party) | Free communities and engaged real-time chat | Visit | |
| | $20.75 | — | 0% platform fee on sales; 2.9% on digital products; + payment processing | Solopreneurs who want a storefront and marketing built for them by AI | Visit | |
| | $89 | — | 2% (Pro) / 1% (Business) | Established creators and brands wanting a premium feel | Visit | |
| | $9 | — | 10% + $0.30 (Hobby); ~2.9% processing only (Pro) | Coaches selling paid communities | Visit Skool (affiliate link, opens in a new tab) | |
| | $71 | — | 0% via Kajabi Payments; external processor adds a platform fee since Jan 2026 (Starter 5%, Basic 2%, Growth 1%, Pro 0.5%; PayPal exempt) | Established creators and coaches | Visit | |
| | Free Lowest | ✓ | 2.7% + $0.30 card processing | Creators selling gated Discord/Telegram communities | Visit | |
| | $36 | — | 0% via Thinkific Payments; external Stripe/PayPal gateway adds 5% (Basic), 2% (Start), 1% (Grow) until $1M in sales | Serious course creators | Visit | |
| | Free Lowest | ✓ | ~10% + processing (new creators) | Content creators monetizing a fan base | Visit | |
| | $49 | — | 10% (Starter); 5% higher tiers | Creators building paid video memberships | Visit | |
| | $79 | — | 0.5–2% + processor | Creators wanting courses + community in one | Visit | |
| | $37 | — | 0% platform fee (processor fees apply) | Creators selling premium courses with a community | Visit | |
| | $24.92 | — | None (you keep your own payment processor) | Course creators wanting community + LMS on WordPress | Visit | |
| | $49 | — | 5% (Build), 2.5% (Grow), 1.25% (Scale) + processor | Creators and coaches monetizing memberships and courses | Visit | |
| | $89 | — | 5% on paid memberships | Brands and creators wanting a fully branded community | Visit | |
| | $505 | — | 0% Disciple fee (Stripe ~3% on web; app-store fees apply) | Established creators and brands wanting a native app | Visit | |
| | $49 | — | 4.9% + Stripe processor fees | Creators and publishers selling gated content | Visit | |
| | $399 | — | None | SaaS and B2B companies launching branded communities | Visit | |
| | $895 | — | ~1.5% on paid memberships (verify current plans) | Universities and alumni networks | Visit | |
| | $35 | — | Not publicly disclosed | Coaches building masterminds and communities | Visit |
Score is our composite of independent user ratings, value, and feature breadth — how we score. Prices are entry-tier estimates; verify current pricing on each site.
Most plans here are flat-rate, so the monthly price stays the same as you scale. Here's the comparison:
These plans are flat-rate, but sales fees aren't — drag your monthly sales to see the real cost, cheapest first.
AI commerce platform (formerly Nas.io) to launch a storefront and sell products, courses and memberships
Polished, customizable community platform with courses and built-in monetization.
Dead-simple paid communities with courses, live calls, and gamification.
All-in-one platform to build, market, and sell courses, coaching, and communities.
All-in-one platform to sell digital products, memberships, and gated communities
Polished course and community builder with zero platform transaction fees.
Membership and recurring-payment platform with a trusted creator brand.
All-in-one video membership platform with a branded site and OTT/TV apps.
All-in-one community, courses, and memberships with native mobile apps.
All-in-one platform to create, market, and sell online courses and communities
WordPress-based platform to build communities, membership sites, and LMS courses
All-in-one platform to build, manage, and monetize online communities and courses
White-label, all-in-one community platform with branded web and mobile apps
Build your own fully branded community app for web, iOS and Android, no code
Membership and subscription platform for creators, publishers, and podcasters
All-in-one customer community platform for branded, no-code online communities
All-in-one platform to build, manage, and monetize alumni and member communities
All-in-one platform to build courses, communities, and masterminds with AI tools
We email when pricing changes or a better option appears. One useful email, no spam.
If you're charging for your community, yes — Skool Pro has no platform fee and unlimited members, so it pays for itself past a handful of paying members. If you're testing an idea, the $9 Hobby plan works but takes 10% + $0.30 of each sale.
Skool is simpler and more engagement-focused (gamification, leaderboards); Circle is more customizable and polished but pricier with paid add-ons. Pick Skool for a coaching/course community, Circle for a branded membership. See Skool vs Circle.
Not natively — Discord is free and has no built-in payments. You can bolt on Whop, Memberful, or Patreon to charge for access, but you'll pay their fees (often ~10%) and lose the structured course/classroom experience that Skool or Circle give you.
