Skool $9/Month "Hobby Plan"
Hey everyone,
Just caught the latest Skool news, and it's a pretty big deal for anyone who's been on the fence about starting a community there. They've rolled out a brand new pricing tier called the "Hobby Plan" for just $9 a month.
For context, their only plan until now was $99/month, which was a steep entry point for many. This new plan is clearly aimed at making the platform accessible to everyone, from creators just starting out to those who want to build a free community around a passion.
Here’s a breakdown of what this new plan is all about.
TL;DR: Skool now has a $9/month plan that gives you unlimited members, unlimited courses, and native video hosting. It's a "solo" plan with a 10% transaction fee and a few other limitations, but it massively lowers the barrier to entry.
What You Get with the $9 "Hobby Plan"
For less than the price of a McDonald's meal, the new plan is packed with Skool's core features. You get:
Unlimited Members: No caps on how big your community can grow.
Unlimited Courses: Host as many courses as you want within your community.
Native Video Hosting: This was a recently released feature, and it's included in the $9 plan. You can upload your videos directly to Skool.
Ability to Monetize: You can still charge for access to your community right from the get-go.
Basically, you get all the fundamental tools you need to launch and run a community without the hefty price tag.
So, What's the Catch? (The Limitations)
To offer it at this price, there are a few key differences from the $99 "Pro Plan":
Single Admin Only: The Hobby Plan is designed as a "solo" plan, meaning you are the only administrator.
10% Transaction Fee: If you sell access to your group, Skool takes a 10% cut. This is higher than the Pro Plan's 2.9% fee, but the idea is you can switch to Pro once your income grows. For small-scale monetization, 10% is still very competitive.
No Custom URL: Your community will have a standard Skool URL.
"Suggested Communities" Sidebar: Your group will have a "Powered by Skool" banner, and the sidebar (where leaderboards usually are) will show a sticky list of other recommended Skool communities. You can't turn this off.
No Pro Plugins or Auto-Affiliate Commissions: Access to advanced plugins and the automatic affiliate attribution feature is reserved for the Pro plan.
How This Benefits Existing "Pro" Members
If you're already on the $99/month plan, nothing changes for you—except you're likely to get a boost. Your community will now be featured in the "suggested communities" sidebar on all the new $9 groups, meaning Skool will be actively sending new members your way for free. This is part of their goal to create the "best distribution" for creators on the platform.
Why They Did This & What's Next
According to the announcement, this move is part of their mission to "help one billion people find community" by lowering the barrier to entry. They're also planning to roll out huge new features like native live streaming (a Zoom/Google Meet replacement), Apple/Google Pay integration, and subscription courses (paid tiers within your group), and they confirmed all of this will be available on the $9 plan too.
This seems like a massive move to attract a huge wave of new creators and solidify their position in the market. It'll be interesting to see how platforms like Patreon, Kajabi, and others respond.
What do you all think? Is this enough to get you to start that community you've been thinking about?
P.S. For those who wanna try Skool, a 14-day free trial is available here:
Create your Skool account. It's free!

















