Community Platform Fees Explained: Skool vs Circle vs Mighty Networks

Why Platform Fees Matter More Than You Think

You charge your members $49/month. That sounds like $49 in your pocket — but between platform fees, transaction fees, and payment processing, the real number is closer to $42 or $43. Multiply that gap by 100 members and you're leaving $600–$700 on the table every single month.

Most creators pick a community platform based on features or vibes. That's fine at the start, but once your community has 50, 100, or 500 paying members, the fee structure you picked on day one can cost you thousands of dollars a year.

Every platform covered here has two types of fees you need to watch:

• Platform monthly fee — what you pay to use the software, regardless of revenue
• Transaction fee — a percentage the platform takes from each membership payment

On top of both, Stripe (or the platform's own payment processor) charges approximately 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. That one's unavoidable on most platforms.

Skool Fees: Simple, Flat, No Surprises

Skool has one plan: $99/month, flat. You get unlimited members, unlimited courses, and unlimited communities on that single subscription. There is no transaction fee on membership revenue — Skool does not take a percentage of what you earn.

The math is clean. If you charge $49/month and have 50 members, your gross is $2,450. After Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction (roughly $72), you net around $2,279 — then subtract the $99 platform fee and you walk away with about $2,180.

The downside: Skool's $99 flat fee hits hard when you're starting out. If you have fewer than 3 paying members, you're net negative before Stripe even touches a transaction. But once you have consistent paying members, the flat fee becomes your biggest advantage — no percentage taken from every dollar you earn.

Best for:

Creators who already have an audience and are confident they can reach 10+ paying members quickly. Skool's built-in discovery features also help you grow organically.

Circle Fees: One Plan Difference That Costs You

Circle has four main plans, and there is one critical split: the Starter plan charges a 1% transaction fee. Every other plan (Basic, Professional, Business) charges 0%.

That 1% doesn't sound like much. But if you have 100 members paying $49/month — $4,900 in gross revenue — Circle is taking an extra $49 from you just because you're on Starter instead of Basic. Over a year, that's $588 in avoidable fees.

Best for:

Creators who want a polished, customizable brand experience and are already past 20 paying members — where the $89 Basic plan becomes clearly cheaper than Starter once transaction fees compound.

Mighty Networks Fees: The Hidden 3%

Mighty Networks runs on its own payment processor called Mighty Payments (powered by Stripe). Unlike most platforms, it charges a 3% transaction fee on every paid membership — on both of its main plans.

The 3% feels invisible until you scale. At $49/month with 100 members, Mighty's cut is $147 before processing fees. Compare that to Skool's 0% transaction fee — that's a significant margin drag at scale.

Mighty Networks bundles courses, live streaming, and native app hosting on higher plans. If you need all of that in one place, the cost is easier to justify. But if you're optimizing purely for profit margin, the 3% transaction fee is a real headwind.

Best for:

Creators building a full-featured community + course ecosystem who need native mobile app hosting. Not the best choice if you're margin-focused.

Kajabi Fees: High Monthly, Zero Transaction

Kajabi is the most expensive platform on a monthly basis — starting at $69/month for Kickstarter, up to $399/month for Pro. The upside: Kajabi charges 0% transaction fees across every plan. What you earn stays yours (minus Stripe processing).

Kajabi makes sense when you're running a multi-product business — courses, memberships, email marketing, landing pages, and checkout all under one roof. At that point, the platform fee often replaces several other SaaS subscriptions.

Best for:

Established creators running a full creator business who want everything centralized and don't mind a higher monthly cost in exchange for that consolidation.

Heartbeat: The Free Plan Trap

Heartbeat offers a free plan, which is genuinely rare in the community platform space. But the free plan comes with a 5% transaction fee — one of the highest of any platform covered here.

The free plan looks great on the surface — no monthly fee! — but at scale, 5% is brutal. With 50 members at $49/month ($2,450 gross), Heartbeat takes $122.50 as its cut. Compare that to Skool's flat $99 with 0% transaction: Skool is already cheaper at 50 members.

Heartbeat's Scale plan at $59/month drops the transaction fee to 0%, which makes it competitive. But at that price point, Skool ($99) and Circle Basic ($89) are both worth comparing.

Best for:

Early-stage creators who want to test paid memberships with zero upfront commitment. Graduate to the Scale plan as soon as you hit 10+ paying members.

Which Platform Is Right for Your Member Count?

There is no single "best" platform — the right answer depends on your membership price and how many paying members you have (or plan to have). Here's the quick mental model:

• 0–5 members: Heartbeat Free or Circle Starter. Avoid high flat monthly fees until revenue is consistent.
• 6–20 members: Skool starts to win. At $99/mo with 0% transaction fee and a discovery feature to help you grow, it makes sense around 5–10 paying members depending on your price.
• 20–100 members: Skool or Circle Basic are both strong. If your price is above $30/month, Skool's 0% fee usually beats Circle's $89 plan unless you need Circle's design flexibility.
• 100+ members: Transaction fees dominate. Avoid Mighty Networks (3%) and any plan with a percentage cut. Skool, Kajabi, Circle Basic, and Heartbeat Scale are your 0% options.

The only way to know for sure is to run the numbers with your actual price and member count. That's exactly what the ClubMargins calculator is built for.