If you’re comparing community platform pricing in 2026, the sticker price isn’t the price. There are three layers of cost — the subscription, the transaction fee on paid memberships, and the per-tier feature wall — and the platform that’s cheapest at 50 members is rarely the cheapest at 500.
This post walks through all three, with actual per-member math at 50 / 500 / 5,000 paid members so you can pick on real numbers, not the marketing site.
We make Minechain and we’ll appear at the end for honest comparison. Numbers are from public pricing pages as of May 2026.
The three layers of community platform cost
Every host pays for some combination of:
- The base subscription — what you pay for access to the platform (Skool’s $9 or $99, Circle’s $49–$199, Mighty’s $41–$360+).
- Transaction fees on paid memberships — what the platform takes from each member’s payment on top of Stripe’s ~3% + 30¢.
- Tier walls — features locked behind higher plans (admin seats, custom domains, white-label, analytics, API access).
The most expensive line in the long run is usually #2, not #1. A 4% transaction fee at scale dwarfs a $50/mo subscription delta.
Skool’s actual 2026 pricing
| Plan | Subscription | Transaction fee | Members | Notable limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobby (2025+) | $9/mo | 2.9% | Up to 100 paid | No custom domain, no priority support |
| Standard | $99/mo | 2.9% | Unlimited | Most hosts default here |
On top of that: Stripe fees (~2.9% + 30¢ per charge in the US, ~1.5% + 20p in the UK).
Per-member cost at $30/mo per member, Standard plan:
- 50 members: $99 + (50 × $30 × 2.9%) = $143.50/mo → $2.87 per member
- 500 members: $99 + (500 × $30 × 2.9%) = $534/mo → $1.07 per member
- 5,000 members: $99 + (5,000 × $30 × 2.9%) = $4,449/mo → $0.89 per member
The 2.9% transaction fee dominates above ~300 members.
Circle.so’s actual 2026 pricing
| Plan | Subscription | Transaction fee | Admin seats | Notable limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $49/mo | 4% | 1 | No paywalls (so the 4% only matters at higher tiers) |
| Professional | $89/mo | 2% | 3 | Paywalls + workflows |
| Business | $199/mo | 0% | 7 | Most “real” hosts land here |
| Enterprise | $360+/mo | 0% | Custom | API, SSO, white-label |
Per-member cost at $30/mo per member, Professional plan:
- 50 members: $89 + (50 × $30 × 2%) = $119/mo → $2.38 per member
- 500 members: $89 + (500 × $30 × 2%) = $389/mo → $0.78 per member
- 5,000 members: $199 + (5,000 × $30 × 0%) = $199/mo → $0.04 per member (Business plan)
Circle wins big at scale because the 0%-transaction-fee Business plan is flat — but only if you commit to $199/mo.
Mighty Networks’ actual 2026 pricing
| Plan | Subscription | Transaction fee | Communities | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community | $41/mo | 3% | 1 | Entry-level |
| Business | $119/mo | 2% | 1 | Custom domain, branding |
| Path-to-Pro | $360/mo | 0% | 3 | Multi-community, white-label, advanced tools |
Per-member cost at $30/mo per member, Business plan:
- 50 members: $119 + (50 × $30 × 2%) = $149/mo → $2.98 per member
- 500 members: $119 + (500 × $30 × 2%) = $419/mo → $0.84 per member
- 5,000 members: $360 + (0%) = $360/mo → $0.07 per member (Path-to-Pro)
Mighty’s Path-to-Pro flat-rate is the most aggressive at very large scale.
Side-by-side: cost per paid member
| Members | Skool (Standard) | Circle (best tier) | Mighty (best tier) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | $2.87 | $2.38 (Pro) | $2.98 (Business) |
| 500 | $1.07 | $0.78 (Pro) | $0.84 (Business) |
| 5,000 | $0.89 | $0.04 (Business) | $0.07 (Path-to-Pro) |
What this shows:
- Skool is the simplest and the most predictable, but the 2.9% fee never goes away.
- Circle wins big above 1,000 paid members because the Business plan removes the percentage cut.
- Mighty wins at very high scale or if you run multiple communities — otherwise it’s the most expensive of the three.
Costs that don’t appear on the pricing page
The four hidden costs that bite hosts after they commit:
- Migration cost. Moving 500 active members between platforms takes ~2 weeks of host time and loses roughly 20–40% of the community to attrition. Plan for it before you switch.
- Onboarding ramp. Circle’s setup is ~1 week. Mighty’s is ~2 days. Skool’s is ~1 hour. Multiply by your hourly rate; this is real money.
- Churn replacement cost. This is the one no platform talks about. If your community loses 30% of members in year one (the category average), replacement at $30 CAC each is $9 per starting member, every year. This dwarfs all three subscription costs combined.
- The retention gap. None of the three platforms above gives you a tool to reduce that 30% churn. Better content reduces it. Better gamification reduces it slightly. But the highest-leverage move — paying your members back when they show up — isn’t an option on any of them.
That fourth one is why Minechain exists.
Where Minechain fits on this chart
Honest disclosure: we make Minechain. Pricing is being finalized, but the design intent is:
- Free to start — covers up to ~50 members, full feature access. (Cheaper than Skool’s Hobby plan, larger than Circle’s free trial.)
- Paid host tiers that unlock larger member caps and advanced features. Final numbers in place before public launch.
- No platform transaction fee on host-funded rewards to members. Stripe fees still apply on the host’s incoming payments.
The bigger point isn’t where we slot on the sticker-price chart. It’s that the math changes when your community has a retention layer. A community with a 60% year-one retention rate (achievable when members earn back) costs roughly half as much per surviving member as one with 30% retention, regardless of which platform you’re on.
The cheapest platform isn’t the one with the lowest line item. It’s the one with the lowest cost per member who stayed.
Bottom line
| Use case | Cheapest platform |
|---|---|
| Starting today, < 100 members | Skool Hobby ($9/mo) |
| Mid-size, 100–500 members | Skool Standard ($99/mo, all-in) |
| Large, 1,000+ members | Circle Business ($199/mo flat above the fee threshold) |
| Multi-community, 5,000+ across networks | Mighty Path-to-Pro ($360/mo flat) |
| Any size, where retention is the cost you actually care about | Minechain |
Pricing pages tell you what platforms charge. They never tell you what platforms save you downstream. The decision worth making is the second one.
See also: 7 Skool alternatives in 2026 · Circle.so vs Skool vs Mighty Networks · Online community software: what every comparison misses.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Skool cost per month in 2026?
Skool's Hobby plan is $9/month (launched 2025). The standard Skool plan is $99/month with unlimited members. A 2.9% transaction fee on paid memberships goes on top, plus Stripe's standard ~2.9% + 30¢ per transaction.
Is there a free plan on Skool?
No. The cheapest paid plan is the $9/mo Hobby tier. There is a 14-day free trial of the $99 standard plan.
Does Circle.so charge transaction fees?
Yes — Circle's Basic plan charges 4% on paid memberships in addition to Stripe fees. Higher tiers reduce this: Professional drops it to 2%, Business removes it entirely.
Which is cheapest at scale — Skool, Circle, or Mighty Networks?
At 50 members, Skool is cheapest. At 500 members, all three are within ~$50/mo of each other. At 5,000+ members, Mighty Networks tends to be lowest because its top tier is flat-rate rather than per-member.
