Skool starts at $9 a month; Mighty Networks starts at $95, or about $79 effective on annual billing. That gap decides most head-to-heads before features enter the room. Skool is the leaner, gamified pick; Mighty is the flexible one you shape into your own member product.
Both run paid communities with courses and events, both take a cut of member payments, and both offer 14-day trials. I verified the numbers on both pricing pages in July 2026.
Skool | Mighty Networks | |
|---|---|---|
Cheapest paid start | $9/mo (Hobby) | $95/mo (Launch; $950/yr = about $79/mo) |
Transaction fee | 10% Hobby / 2.9% Pro, + $0.30, all-in | 2% on Launch, + processing |
Free trial | 14 days | 14 days, no card |
Gamification | Points, levels, leaderboards | Lighter (activity feeds, badges vary by setup) |
Structure | One fixed layout | Spaces you design per use case |
What Each Platform Is
Skool is one opinionated layout for every community: feed, classroom, calendar, leaderboard, payments, at $9 or $99 a month. Its bet is that constraints drive participation, and the leaderboard does more retention work than any custom design would.
Mighty Networks is a community builder you configure: spaces for chat, courses, events, and live streams, arranged how your offer needs them. Launch starts at $95 a month, and the platform markets AI member-matching features under the People Magic label. It reads as a product you design, not a template you join.
Pricing and Fees
The entry gap is $86 a month, which buys Mighty’s flexibility only if you use it. On fees, Mighty’s 2% Launch cut plus card processing lands near 5% all-in; Skool Pro’s 2.9% + $0.30 includes processing. At $3,000 a month in member billing, that is roughly $150 against $186, before the subscriptions.
For anyone under about $1,268 a month in member revenue, the cheapest seat in this comparison is Skool Hobby at $9 plus 10%. The full crossover table lives in the Skool pricing breakdown.
Where Mighty Networks Genuinely Wins
Structure and format range. Multiple space types, live streaming and native events, and layouts per cohort or product tier make Mighty the stronger base for complex member products: multi-program academies, hybrid event communities, organizations with segments. Skool’s single feed handles exactly one product shape, deliberately.
Payments and Payouts in Practice
Mighty’s platform fee steps down by plan: 2% on the $95 Launch tier, 1% and 0.5% above it, always with card processing on top. Skool’s Pro fee of 2.9% + $0.30 includes the processing, pays out every Wednesday with the first payout inside 14 days, and bills in USD only.
- Skool: all-in fee, weekly Wednesday payouts, non-refundable transaction fees on refunds.
- Mighty Networks: the platform cut shrinks as you climb plans, which rewards communities that outgrow Launch.
- Non-US owners: Skool’s USD-only billing adds conversion costs on both sides; factor it in outside the US.
If flexible structure matters but $95 is steep, compare Circle’s $89 Professional first; the trade-offs sit in my Skool vs Circle breakdown.
Choose Skool or Mighty Networks
- Choose Skool if: one community, one offer, maximum participation per dollar. $9 to validate, $99 when revenue clears $1,268 a month.
- Choose Mighty Networks if: your member product needs multiple spaces, events, and streams arranged your way, and the $95 entry is a rounding error against that need.
- Full context: the Skool review covers Skool’s hard limits before you commit either way.
Switching Between Skool and Mighty Networks
The structural gap is the migration cost. Skool’s one-feed content maps into a single Mighty space in an afternoon; collapsing a multi-space Mighty setup into Skool means deciding what dies, because Skool will not host five parallel rooms. Payments restart on the new checkout either way, and both 14-day trials run without touching your live community.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Skool cheaper than Mighty Networks?
Yes: $9 versus $95 a month at entry. Even Skool Pro at $99 undercuts Mighty’s $95 Launch once fees are included, because Skool’s 2.9% + $0.30 covers processing.
Which has better engagement features?
Skool, if engagement means gamification. Points, levels, and leaderboards are native and central. Mighty leans on structure, events, and AI member-matching instead.
Do both platforms take transaction fees?
Yes. Skool takes 10% (Hobby) or 2.9% (Pro) + $0.30 all-in; Mighty takes 2% on Launch plus processing. All-in, the comparable tiers land near each other; Skool Hobby is the expensive outlier per transaction.
Do Skool and Mighty Networks offer free trials?
Both give 14 days. Mighty starts without a card. Skool bills automatically on day 15 unless canceled by day 13.
Which is better for events and live streams?
Mighty Networks. Native live streaming and event-centric spaces are core features there. Skool covers events through its calendar and calls, at simpler depth.
What does Mighty Networks charge per sale?
2% on Launch, 1% and 0.5% on higher plans, plus card processing. Skool Pro’s 2.9% + $0.30 includes processing, so the all-in totals land close at the entry tiers.