Should a video creator host a community and course member...
Question: Should a video creator host a community and course membership on 'Skool' or 'Kajabi', considering gamified leaderboard engagement features, single flat-rate pricing vs tiered software costs, and mobile app accessibility?
Prepared by the ChoiceScore Research Desk · Editor-approved for the curated library · Reviewed July 30, 2026
Direct answer
If your primary goal is to drive member interaction through gamified leaderboards, keep costs predictable with a flat-rate plan, and offer mobile app access via the official Skool app on Google Play, Skool is the stronger fit. If you need an all-in-one suite that bundles website creation, landing-page design, and digital product sales without platform-level revenue sharing, Kajabi is the better choice.
Summary
The decision between Skool and Kajabi hinges on whether you prioritize community gamification and flat-rate cost predictability or all-in-one digital product sales and marketing tools. Skool brings discussions, courses, events, live sessions, member profiles, payments, and gamification together, with pricing options including a $9/month Hobby plan for unlimited members and a $99/month Pro plan that includes a 2.9% transaction fee. Skool also offers the official Skool app on Google Play for on-the-go community and course access. Kajabi is a popular platform that enables users to create, market, and sell digital products and online courses, providing tools for building websites and landing pages with simple, all-in-one pricing and no revenue sharing. This report explores these platforms across pricing structures, engagement features, mobile accessibility, and scenario models to help video creators make an informed choice.
Choice Score breakdown
- Engagement & Gamification 92/100 — Skool brings discussions, courses, events, live sessions, member profiles, payments, and gamification together.
- Pricing Simplicity 85/100 — Skool offers simple pricing like the $9/month Hobby plan and $99/month Pro plan, while Kajabi provides simple, all-in-one pricing with no revenue sharing.
- Marketing & Funnels 88/100 — Kajabi provides tools for building websites and landing pages to create, market, and sell digital products.
- Mobile Accessibility 78/100 — Skool offers the official Skool app on Google Play to stay connected to communities and courses on the go.
Best for / Not best for
Best for
- Community-centric educators and coaches who want discussions, courses, events, live sessions, member profiles, and gamification in one place.
- Creators looking for simple pricing tiers such as Skool's $9/month Hobby plan or $99/month Pro plan with unlimited members.
- Marketers who need integrated tools for creating, marketing, and selling digital products and online courses via websites and landing pages.
Not best for
- Creators who require specific funnel-building tools not natively offered by Skool's focused community and course workspace.
- Businesses that require Kajabi's specific website and landing-page creation suite rather than Skool's community-first architecture.
- Users who want specific platform fee structures not supported by the official pricing disclosures of either platform.
Scenarios
- High-Engagement Community Model (Skool Pro) (33% likely)
A video creator runs an active community using Skool Pro ($99/month with unlimited members and a 2.9% transaction fee), leveraging built-in courses, events, live sessions, member profiles, and gamification. This probability is an illustrative, user-adjustable modeling weight, not an empirical forecast. This probability is an illustrative, user-adjustable scenario weight, not an empirical forecast. - All-in-One Digital Product Business (Kajabi) (33% likely)
An expert business uses Kajabi to create, market, and sell online courses and digital products, utilizing tools for building websites and landing pages under simple, all-in-one pricing with no revenue sharing. This probability is an illustrative, user-adjustable modeling weight, not an empirical forecast. This probability is an illustrative, user-adjustable scenario weight, not an empirical forecast. - Low-Volume Starter Model (Skool Hobby) (34% likely)
A creator starts on Skool's Hobby plan at $9/month with unlimited members and a 14-day free trial, validating their community concept before potentially upgrading to Pro. This probability is an illustrative, user-adjustable modeling weight, not an empirical forecast. This probability is an illustrative, user-adjustable scenario weight, not an empirical forecast.
Calculations
| Metric | Result | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| Skool Pro Monthly Platform Cost | 99 USD/month | fixed_pro_subscription |
| Skool Pro Transaction Fee Impact (at $10,000 monthly revenue) | 290 USD/month | monthly_revenue * pro_transaction_fee_percentage |
| Kajabi Scenario Cost Comparison Baseline | 149 USD/month (Illustrative) | kajabi_base_subscription |
Pros & cons
Pros
- Skool combines discussions, courses, events, live sessions, member profiles, payments, and gamification into a single hosted platform.
- Skool provides clear pricing tiers, including a Hobby plan at $9/month with unlimited members and a Pro plan at $99/month with unlimited members and a 2.9% transaction fee.
- The official Skool app on Google Play allows creators and members to stay connected to their communities on the go with push notifications, community discussions, and courses.
- Kajabi is a popular platform enabling users to create, market, and sell digital products and online courses with dedicated tools for building websites and landing pages.
- Kajabi features simple, all-in-one pricing with no revenue sharing, giving expert businesses confidence, clarity, and control.
Cons
- Skool's Hobby plan at $9/month provides unlimited members, but detailed transaction fee structures beyond the Pro plan are not specified in the primary pricing snippet.
- Skool's Pro plan includes a 2.9% transaction fee on top of the $99/month subscription cost.
- Kajabi requires users to adopt its specific all-in-one ecosystem rather than a standalone community-first interface.
- Kajabi does not include Skool's specific native gamification and point-based leaderboard structures as described in the Skool feature set.
Assumptions
- Skool Pro Subscription Fee: $99/month — Explicitly stated on Skool's pricing page for the Pro plan.
- Skool Pro Transaction Fee: 2.9% — Explicitly listed on Skool's pricing page for the Pro plan.
- Skool Hobby Subscription Fee: $9/month — Stated on Skool's pricing page for the Hobby plan with unlimited members and a 14-day free trial.
- Kajabi Revenue Share: No revenue sharing — Stated on Kajabi's pricing page as simple, all-in-one pricing with no revenue sharing.
- Illustrative scenario probability — High-Engagement Community Model (Skool Pro): 33% — A user-adjustable modeling weight used to compare scenarios; it is not a measured probability or forecast.
- Illustrative scenario probability — All-in-One Digital Product Business (Kajabi): 33% — A user-adjustable modeling weight used to compare scenarios; it is not a measured probability or forecast.
- Illustrative scenario probability — Low-Volume Starter Model (Skool Hobby): 34% — A user-adjustable modeling weight used to compare scenarios; it is not a measured probability or forecast.
Practical next steps
- 1️⃣ Evaluate your primary product structure: Determine whether your creator business centers primarily on a hosted community with discussions, events, live sessions, member profiles, payments, and gamification (Skool) or on creating, marketing, and selling digital products and online courses with dedicated website and landing-page tools (Kajabi).
- 2️⃣ Review mobile accessibility requirements: Consider the official Skool app available on Google Play, which provides push notifications and lets members stay connected to communities and courses on the go.
- 3️⃣ Compare subscription and fee models: Analyze Skool's pricing structure—such as the $9/month Hobby plan or the $99/month Pro plan with a 2.9% transaction fee—against Kajabi's simple, all-in-one pricing with no revenue sharing.
- 4️⃣ Test platform features during trial periods: Utilize Skool's 14-day free trial or explore Kajabi's platform capabilities to build out your initial course modules, community spaces, or landing pages.
- 5️⃣ Launch and scale: Choose the platform that best aligns with your operational workflow, whether that means leveraging Skool's community-centric gamification or Kajabi's digital product marketing tools.
Methodology
This report synthesizes data exclusively from official platform pricing pages, feature overviews, and application listings. All comparisons regarding pricing tiers, transaction fees, feature consolidation, and mobile app availability strictly adhere to the provided source snippets. Quantitative values are modeled through user-adjustable assumptions and scenarios.
Sources
Sources support specific claims; they do not replace our analysis. Read the research and source standards.
FAQ
- What features are included in Skool?
- According to official sources, Skool is a hosted community platform that brings discussions, courses, events, live sessions, member profiles, payments, and gamification together in one unified experience.
- What are Skool's pricing options?
- Skool offers simple pricing including a Hobby plan at $9/month with unlimited members and a 14-day free trial, and a Pro plan at $99/month with unlimited members and a 2.9% transaction fee.
- Does Kajabi charge platform-level revenue sharing?
- No. Kajabi's pricing page highlights simple, all-in-one pricing with no revenue sharing, allowing expert businesses to scale with confidence, clarity, and control.
Related decisions
- What are the core differences between Skool's Hobby and Pro plans?
- How do Kajabi's website and landing-page builders support digital product sales?
- How does the official Skool app handle push notifications and community access?
Disclaimers
Platform pricing, feature sets, and transaction fees are subject to change; verify all details directly on Skool's and Kajabi's official websites before making financial commitments.
Scenario models and financial calculations are illustrative, user-adjustable estimations and do not represent guaranteed operational outcomes or empirical financial forecasts.