We compare subscription fees, platform charges, and plan limits for community, course, and digital-product services. Every figure is dated, sourced, and kept within the conditions the provider publishes.
Browse all articles →Some platforms quote a transaction fee that already includes card processing. Others quote their own cut and charge processing separately.
a 2.0% stacked platform fee plus Stripe costs more than a 2.9% all-in fee in the scenarios we model.
Almost every comparison online treats these as equivalent. They are not, and getting it wrong can reverse the ranking.
Read the fee and cost research →Every published article is listed in the research library, with the newest verification dates first.
Payhip's public plans expose the same listed features but different fixed fees and Payhip transaction rates. This model shows the monthly sales boundaries between them.
Read article →Systeme.io's free plan can cover a small creator setup, but contacts, funnels, courses, and other limits determine when a paid plan becomes relevant.
Read article →Community-platform trials range from two to four weeks in the recorded sample, but trial length alone cannot tell you which plan costs less or fits your launch.
Read article →A compact view of total monthly cost across common revenue levels. The table is generated from the pricing data, so the figures stay consistent across the site.
| Platform plan | $500 revenue | $1,000 revenue | $2,000 revenue | $5,000 revenue | $10,000 revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skool Hobby | $61Lowest cost | $114Lowest cost | $220 | $538 | $1,068 |
| Skool Pro | $100 | $118 | $153Lowest cost | $258Lowest cost | $433Lowest cost |
| Circle Professional | $120 | $151 | $213 | $399 | $709 |
| Mighty Networks Launch | from $107 to $110 per month† | from $134 to $141 per month† | from $189 to $203 per month† | from $354 to $389 per month† | from $629 to $699 per month† |
Sources checked through 2026-09-06; individual source dates and verification status: Skool pricing — plan price; rendered page checked for both billing states and no plan comparison table or add-on/additional-cost section was present (checked 2026-09-06) (directly verified); Skool Payments FAQs — vendor-published transaction fee rates and per-transaction tiers; payout examples deduct the published fee from the membership price (checked 2026-09-06) (directly verified); Skool analytics definitions — vendor explicitly states that fees collected by Skool cover payment processing (checked 2026-09-06) (directly verified); Circle pricing monthly billing availability — three checks of the Professional, Circle Plus, and Business tabs found no billing-period toggle (checked 2026-08-26) (directly verified; operator manual verification); Circle paywall transaction fees — vendor-side verbatim itemization of Stripe Payments and Stripe Billing rates in a paywall subscription fee example (checked 2026-08-21) (directly verified); Stripe US pricing — card processing rate (checked 2026-08-21) (directly verified); Stripe Billing pricing — pay-as-you-go tier rate / charged on Billing volume / one-off invoices excluded (checked 2026-08-21) (directly verified); Mighty Networks pricing — plan price and platform fee (checked 2026-08-20) (directly verified); Mighty Networks Stripe connection — who holds the Stripe account (checked 2026-08-21) (directly verified)
Full method and sources → Methodology
We use primary sources as a rule, and say when a source cannot be directly confirmed. We calculate total cost, not sticker price. We date every figure and re-verify quarterly. We earn affiliate commissions, and we say so when a platform we earn nothing from is the better choice.