Skool vs Circle: Fees, Features and What You Actually Keep

By Kabir NorthUpdated Prices checked

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On this page 3 sections
  1. At a glance
  2. Fees at real revenue levels
  3. Migration notes

At a glance

Skool vs Circle at a glance. Prices checked 20 Oct 2026. At $5,000 from 100 one-time sales, US cards.

Skool Hobby

$9/mo

Platform fee
10.0% + $0.30
Card processing
Included
Fees
−$539
You keep$4,461 (89.2%)

Skool Pro

$99/mo

Lowest fees at $5k
Platform fee
2.9% + $0.30; 3.9% + $0.30 (txn ≥ $900)
Card processing
Included
Fees
−$274
You keep$4,726 (94.5%)

Circle Professional

$99/mo

Platform fee
2.0%
Card processing
Stripe 2.9% + $0.30
Fees
−$394
You keep$4,606 (92.1%)

Circle Business

$219/mo

Platform fee
1.0%
Card processing
Stripe 2.9% + $0.30
Fees
−$464
You keep$4,536 (90.7%)

Fees at real revenue levels

What you keep on each Skool and Circle plan
PlanYou keep at $1,000/moYou keep at $5,000/moYou keep at $20,000/mo
Skool Hobby$885fees −$115$4,461fees −$539$17,871fees −$2,129
Skool Pro$866fees −$134$4,726fees −$274$19,201fees −$799
Circle Professional$842fees −$158$4,606fees −$394$18,721fees −$1,279
Circle Business$732fees −$268$4,536fees −$464$18,801fees −$1,199

Assumes one-time sales at a $50 average price (so $1,000 = 20 sales), US cards, monthly billing, each platform's native payments. Excludes taxes, refunds and payout fees.

Change the numbers to match your business:

What you keep, by platform

Sale type
Plan billing

Adds the processor's international-card surcharge to that share of sales.

Skool Growth Boost is on by default: Skool takes 30% of revenue from members it brings in through Discovery. You can switch it off in Settings > Discovery.

Payment gateway
Plans to compare (up to 6)

Systeme.io

Skool

Teachable

Thinkific

Kajabi

Circle

LearnWorlds

Jump to results ↓

Keeps the most

You keep $4,726.00 (94.5%)

Skool Pro keeps the most at $5,000.00/mo gross.

  1. 1. Skool Pro

    $4,726.00 kept · 94.5%

    • You keep $4,726.00
    • Platform + processing $175.00
    • Plan cost $99.00

    Total fees $274.00 · effective fee 5.5%

    Visit Skool (opens in new tab, affiliate link) ↗

  2. 2. Circle Professional

    $4,606.00 kept · 92.1%

    • You keep $4,606.00
    • Platform fee $100.00
    • Processing $195.00
    • Plan cost $99.00

    Total fees $394.00 · effective fee 7.9% · −$120.00/mo vs Skool Pro

    Visit Circle (opens in new tab) ↗

  3. 3. Circle Business

    $4,536.00 kept · 90.7%

    • You keep $4,536.00
    • Platform fee $50.00
    • Processing $195.00
    • Plan cost $219.00

    Total fees $464.00 · effective fee 9.3% · −$190.00/mo vs Skool Pro

    Visit Circle (opens in new tab) ↗

  4. 4. Skool Hobby

    $4,461.00 kept · 89.2%

    • You keep $4,461.00
    • Platform + processing $530.00
    • Plan cost $9.00

    Total fees $539.00 · effective fee 10.8% · −$265.00/mo vs Skool Pro

    Visit Skool (opens in new tab, affiliate link) ↗
  • Skool Pro's fee tier (2.9% vs 3.9%) is chosen from your average transaction size ($900+ uses 3.9%).
  • Circle runs one-time paywall sales through Stripe Invoicing, which adds 0.4% per paid invoice (included above).

Estimates only. Excludes taxes/VAT, refunds, chargebacks and payout fees unless stated. Not financial advice.

Migration notes

Moving members, courses and payments between platforms takes planning: subscriptions usually can't be transferred automatically, and old links need redirects.

Frequently asked questions

Does Skool charge transaction fees?

Per Skool's help centre (checked 20 Oct 2026), Hobby charges 10% + $0.30 per transaction and Pro charges 2.9% + $0.30 (3.9% + $0.30 on transactions of $900+), with card processing included. Verify on skool.com before relying on this.

Does Circle charge transaction fees on top of Stripe?

Per Circle's help centre (checked 20 Oct 2026), yes: 2% on Professional, 1% on Business and Scale, charged in addition to Stripe's processing fees.