Skool alternatives in 2026

Looking for a Skool alternative? Our top pick is Nas.com — Nas.com covers the same job as Skool, usually at a lower entry price. Below, 18 communities compared on price, transaction fees, and who they actually suit, plus a calculator to see real costs at your scale.

People usually leave Skool over: limited design and white-label customization; hobby plan's 10% sales fee is steep; sparse marketing/automation tooling.

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Top alternative: Nas.com

★ Top pick

Nas.com

AI commerce platform (formerly Nas.io) to launch a storefront and sell products, courses and memberships

Why it fits: Nas.com covers the same job as Skool, usually at a lower entry price.

From $20.75/mo

Score

Txn fee 0% platform fee on sales; 2.9% on digital products; + payment processing

0% platform fee on most sales — a big shift from the old per-sale cut
AI does the heavy lifting: builds the store, the ads and the content

No free plan — 7-day trial only, then $20.75/mo

Solopreneurs who want a storefront and marketing built for them by AICreators selling a mix of products, courses and memberships

Visit Nas.com Read review

Skool vs the alternatives

Including Skool itself, so you can see exactly what you'd gain or give up.

Tool	From	Free	Txn fee	Best for	Visit
Skool Dead-simple paid communities with courses, live calls, and gamification.	$9	—	10% + $0.30 (Hobby); ~2.9% processing only (Pro)	Coaches selling paid communities	Visit Skool (affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
Discord Free real-time chat and voice for communities — monetize with add-on tools.	Free Lowest	✓	N/A (use 3rd-party)	Free communities and engaged real-time chat	Visit
Nas.com ★ Top pick AI commerce platform (formerly Nas.io) to launch a storefront and sell products, courses and memberships	$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
Circle.so Polished, customizable community platform with courses and built-in monetization.	$89	—	2% (Pro) / 1% (Business)	Established creators and brands wanting a premium feel	Visit
Kajabi All-in-one platform to build, market, and sell courses, coaching, and communities.	$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
Whop All-in-one platform to sell digital products, memberships, and gated communities	Free Lowest	✓	2.7% + $0.30 card processing	Creators selling gated Discord/Telegram communities	Visit
Thinkific Polished course and community builder with zero platform transaction fees.	$36	—	0% via Thinkific Payments; external Stripe/PayPal gateway adds 5% (Basic), 2% (Start), 1% (Grow) until $1M in sales	Serious course creators	Visit
Patreon Membership and recurring-payment platform with a trusted creator brand.	Free Lowest	✓	~10% + processing (new creators)	Content creators monetizing a fan base	Visit
Uscreen All-in-one video membership platform with a branded site and OTT/TV apps.	$49	—	10% (Starter); 5% higher tiers	Creators building paid video memberships	Visit
Mighty Networks All-in-one community, courses, and memberships with native mobile apps.	$79	—	0.5–2% + processor	Creators wanting courses + community in one	Visit
Graphy All-in-one platform to create, market, and sell online courses and communities	$37	—	0% platform fee (processor fees apply)	Creators selling premium courses with a community	Visit
BuddyBoss WordPress-based platform to build communities, membership sites, and LMS courses	$24.92	—	None (you keep your own payment processor)	Course creators wanting community + LMS on WordPress	Visit
Heartbeat All-in-one platform to build, manage, and monetize online communities and courses	$49	—	5% (Build), 2.5% (Grow), 1.25% (Scale) + processor	Creators and coaches monetizing memberships and courses	Visit
Honeycommb White-label, all-in-one community platform with branded web and mobile apps	$89	—	5% on paid memberships	Brands and creators wanting a fully branded community	Visit
Disciple Build your own fully branded community app for web, iOS and Android, no code	$505	—	0% Disciple fee (Stripe ~3% on web; app-store fees apply)	Established creators and brands wanting a native app	Visit
Memberful Membership and subscription platform for creators, publishers, and podcasters	$49	—	4.9% + Stripe processor fees	Creators and publishers selling gated content	Visit
Bettermode All-in-one customer community platform for branded, no-code online communities	$399	—	None	SaaS and B2B companies launching branded communities	Visit
Hivebrite All-in-one platform to build, manage, and monetize alumni and member communities	$895	—	~1.5% on paid memberships (verify current plans)	Universities and alumni networks	Visit
Mastermind.com All-in-one platform to build courses, communities, and masterminds with AI tools	$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.

Monthly cost compared

Communities — monthly cost

These plans are flat-rate, but sales fees aren't — drag your monthly sales to see the real cost, cheapest first.

Your monthly sales

Exact $/mo:

Every alternative, compared

Discord

Free real-time chat and voice for communities — monetize with add-on tools.

Free plan

From Free

Score

Txn fee N/A

Completely free to run a community
Best-in-class real-time chat and voice

No native paid memberships or courses

Free communities and engaged real-time chatBolting on a free member perk

Visit Discord Read review

Nas.com

AI commerce platform (formerly Nas.io) to launch a storefront and sell products, courses and memberships

From $20.75/mo

Score

Txn fee 0% platform fee on sales; 2.9% on digital products; + payment processing

0% platform fee on most sales — a big shift from the old per-sale cut
AI does the heavy lifting: builds the store, the ads and the content

No free plan — 7-day trial only, then $20.75/mo

Solopreneurs who want a storefront and marketing built for them by AICreators selling a mix of products, courses and memberships

Visit Nas.com Read review

Circle.so

Polished, customizable community platform with courses and built-in monetization.

From $89/mo

Score

Txn fee 2%

Highly polished, customizable interface
Strong all-in-one feature set with monetization

No free plan; entry floor now $89/mo

Established creators and brands wanting a premium feelCourses + events + community

Visit Circle.so Read review

Kajabi

All-in-one platform to build, market, and sell courses, coaching, and communities.

From $71/mo

Score

Txn fee 0% via Kajabi Payments; external processor adds a platform fee since Jan 2026

Genuinely all-in-one — no separate email or funnel tools needed
Strong marketing automation and funnels

Expensive entry point ($89/mo billed monthly)

Established creators and coachesCreators wanting courses + email + funnels in one

Visit Kajabi Read review

Whop

All-in-one platform to sell digital products, memberships, and gated communities

Free plan

From Free

Score

Txn fee 2.7% + $0.30 card processing

No monthly fee — free to start, pay per transaction
Strong for gated Discord/Telegram communities

Effective rate climbs once automation/FX/payout fees stack

Creators selling gated Discord/Telegram communitiesDigital product sellers wanting zero upfront cost

Visit Whop Read review

Thinkific

Polished course and community builder with zero platform transaction fees.

Recurring

From $36/mo

Score

Txn fee 0% via Thinkific Payments; external Stripe/PayPal gateway adds 5%

0% platform transaction fees across all plans
Strong, polished course-building experience

No permanent free plan (30-day trial only)

Serious course creatorsCoaches building a course + community

Visit Thinkific Read review

Patreon

Membership and recurring-payment platform with a trusted creator brand.

Free plan

From Free

Score

Txn fee ~10% + processing

No upfront cost; pay only when you earn
Trusted, recognized brand for fan support

High effective take rate (platform + processing)

Content creators monetizing a fan basePodcasters, artists, and YouTubers

Visit Patreon Read review

Uscreen

All-in-one video membership platform with a branded site and OTT/TV apps.

Recurring

From $49/mo

Score

Txn fee 10%

Purpose-built for paid video memberships and OTT
Native iOS, Android and TV apps for your brand

Real video-business pricing starts at $149–199/mo plus per-subscriber fees

Creators building paid video membershipsBrands wanting their own streaming apps

Visit Uscreen Read review

Mighty Networks

All-in-one community, courses, and memberships with native mobile apps.

Recurring

From $79/mo

Score

Txn fee 0.5–2% + processor

True all-in-one: community, courses, events, payments
Branded native mobile apps available

Transaction fees on most plans plus processor fees

Creators wanting courses + community in oneBrands needing native mobile apps

Visit Mighty Networks Read review

Graphy

All-in-one platform to create, market, and sell online courses and communities

From $37/mo

Score

Txn fee 0% platform fee

0% platform transaction fees on all plans
Backed by Unacademy with strong feature set

No permanently free plan

Creators selling premium courses with a communityEducators wanting branded web and mobile apps

Visit Graphy Read review

BuddyBoss

WordPress-based platform to build communities, membership sites, and LMS courses

From $24.92/mo

Score

Txn fee None

Self-hosted on WordPress — you own your data and revenue
Deep LMS and membership integrations

Requires WordPress hosting and technical setup

Course creators wanting community + LMS on WordPressBrands wanting a self-hosted community with native apps

Visit BuddyBoss Read review

Heartbeat

All-in-one platform to build, manage, and monetize online communities and courses

From $49/mo

Score

Txn fee 5%

All-in-one: community, courses, events, and payments
Custom domain and white-label branding included

No permanent free plan

Creators and coaches monetizing memberships and coursesConsultants running branded client communities

Visit Heartbeat Read review

Honeycommb

White-label, all-in-one community platform with branded web and mobile apps

From $89/mo

Score

Txn fee 5% on paid memberships

True white-label across web and native apps
Proven at large scale (brands, celebrities)

Branded apps and white-label raise the price

Brands and creators wanting a fully branded communityOrganizations needing native iOS/Android apps

Visit Honeycommb Read review

Disciple

Build your own fully branded community app for web, iOS and Android, no code

From $505/mo

Score

Txn fee 0% Disciple fee

Truly white-label apps under your own brand
No Disciple cut of revenue (0% platform fees)

Expensive relative to web-only platforms

Established creators and brands wanting a native appMembership businesses monetizing courses at scale

Visit Disciple Read review

Memberful

Membership and subscription platform for creators, publishers, and podcasters

From $49/mo

Score

Txn fee 4.9% + Stripe processor fees

Simple flat monthly fee with unlimited members
Owned by Patreon with deep integrations

4.9% fee stacks on top of Stripe fees

Creators and publishers selling gated contentPodcasters and newsletter publishers

Visit Memberful Read review

Bettermode

All-in-one customer community platform for branded, no-code online communities

From $399/mo

Score

Txn fee None

Highly customizable, developer-friendly with robust API
Strong feature set for SaaS/B2B customer communities

Expensive entry point with no free tier

SaaS and B2B companies launching branded communitiesTeams needing API/SSO and deep customization

Visit Bettermode Read review

Hivebrite

All-in-one platform to build, manage, and monetize alumni and member communities

From $895/mo

Score

Txn fee ~1.5% on paid memberships

Highly customizable with white-label branding
Strong fit for alumni, associations, and nonprofits

Expensive with a high entry price and no free tier

Universities and alumni networksProfessional associations and large nonprofits

Visit Hivebrite Read review

Mastermind.com

All-in-one platform to build courses, communities, and masterminds with AI tools

From $35/mo

Score

Txn fee Not publicly disclosed

Built-in community plus marketplace for discovery
Low $47 entry with a $1 trial

Community partly relies on Facebook group + live check-ins

Coaches building masterminds and communitiesCreators wanting an AI-assisted all-in-one

Visit Mastermind.com Read review

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Frequently asked questions

What is the best Skool alternative?

Nas.com is our top Skool alternative for most people — ai commerce platform (formerly nas.io) to launch a storefront and sell products, courses and memberships. The best choice depends on your budget and goals; see the quick-pick list above.

Is there a free alternative to Skool?

Yes — Discord has a genuinely free plan, making it the cheapest Skool alternative to start with.

Why switch from Skool?

Common reasons: limited design and white-label customization; hobby plan's 10% sales fee is steep; sparse marketing/automation tooling. If those aren't dealbreakers for you, Skool may still be the right tool — we list its strengths too.