Skool

Skool was founded in 2019 by Sam Ovens and has grown rapidly, particularly among high-ticket coaching and course creator communities that prioritize peer engagement alongside structured content. As of 2026, Skool hosts tens of thousands of communities globally, with accelerated growth driven by its affiliate program and the platform's adoption by prominent online educators.

Skool's design philosophy is deliberately constrained. The platform offers two primary areas: a community feed (similar in structure to a Facebook Group but purpose-built for learning communities) and a course/classroom section for structured learning content. Members earn points and progress through a leaderboard by completing courses, posting, and commenting — a gamification mechanic that community operators report drives higher engagement than traditional LMS platforms. This claim is consistent with G2 and Trustpilot reviews (500+ combined as of Q1 2026) where engagement and community feel are the most frequently cited strengths.

**Pricing (as of 2026, per skool.com/pricing):** Skool uses a flat pricing model: $99/month per community regardless of member count. There are no transaction fees on course sales within Skool. You can charge members for access using Skool Payments (Stripe-powered), set a free community with paid courses, or offer a fully free community. Multiple communities require separate $99/month subscriptions. Skool does not offer annual billing at a discount — the monthly rate is fixed. This simplicity is both the model's strength and its constraint: a single large community is economical; multiple niche communities become expensive.

The platform's course builder is intentionally simple: video lessons, PDFs, and basic module structure. It does not offer quizzes, certificates, or SCORM compliance. Skool is not positioning itself as an LMS in the traditional sense — it is a community platform with course hosting capabilities, and the distinction matters when evaluating fit.