Member Price Can More Than Double Cost Without Changing the Cheapest Platform
Pricing last verified .
Lowering the member price feels like a reason to favor a platform that is friendlier to small payments. That instinct is wrong in this model.
At a fixed monthly revenue, a lower member price means more member transactions. The fixed part of a payment fee is then charged more often, so the total bill rises and that fixed component occupies more of the bill. That part is intuitive.
The less intuitive result is the one worth remembering:
A lower member price changes how much every platform costs. It does not change which platform is cheapest.
The reason is structural. At the same revenue and member price, every public plan in this comparison carries the same fixed amount per transaction. That amount is added to every plan’s cost, so it changes the level of the comparison without changing its relative order.
The comparison basis
The model holds monthly revenue constant and assumes one transaction per member per month. It uses annual billing throughout, because the recorded monthly price is not available for every plan in the comparison. The six member-price scenarios are generated in the calculation below rather than typed as displayed pricing claims.
For stacked plans, the processor basis is Stripe’s standard US online rate of 2.9% + $0.30. Skool is treated as all-in according to its published fee structure. Plans with an inferred subscription surcharge remain ranges; their lower edge does not silently become a single confirmed value.
An unverified processor entry is excluded from the numerical comparison, and unpriced tiers are outside the model. No missing price is silently filled with an estimate.
Lower member prices raise the bill
The first table fixes the monthly revenue scenario and changes only the member price. It shows total monthly cost, including the annual-billing subscription, the applicable percentage fees, and the fixed transaction component.
What changes when the member price changes
Every public plan in this comparison carries the same fixed transaction component of $0.30. At the fixed monthly revenue scenario, Skool Pro's total cost moves from $527.50 at the lowest member price to $235.00 at the highest. Its fixed-cost share moves from 56.87% to 3.19%.
| Platform plan | $5.00/member | $10.00/member | $25.00/member | $50.00/member | $100.00/member | $200.00/member |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skool Hobby | $807.50 | $657.50 | $567.50 | $537.50 | $522.50 | $515.00 |
| Skool Pro | $527.50 | $377.50 | $287.50 | $257.50 | $242.50 | $235.00 |
| Circle Professional | $669.00 | $519.00 | $429.00 | $399.00 | $384.00 | $376.50 |
| Circle Business | $729.00 | $579.00 | $489.00 | $459.00 | $444.00 | $436.50 |
| Mighty Networks Launch | $624.00–$659.00† | $474.00–$509.00† | $384.00–$419.00† | $354.00–$389.00† | $339.00–$374.00† | $331.50–$366.50† |
| Mighty Networks Scale | $674.00–$709.00† | $524.00–$559.00† | $434.00–$469.00† | $404.00–$439.00† | $389.00–$424.00† | $381.50–$416.50† |
| Podia Mover | $737.00–$772.00† | $587.00–$622.00† | $497.00–$532.00† | $467.00–$502.00† | $452.00–$487.00† | $444.50–$479.50† |
| Podia Shaker | $529.00–$564.00† | $379.00–$414.00† | $289.00–$324.00† | $259.00–$294.00† | $244.00–$279.00† | $236.50–$271.50† |
| Heartbeat Build | $735.00–$770.00† | $585.00–$620.00† | $495.00–$530.00† | $465.00–$500.00† | $450.00–$485.00† | $442.50–$477.50† |
| Heartbeat Grow | $694.00–$729.00† | $544.00–$579.00† | $454.00–$489.00† | $424.00–$459.00† | $409.00–$444.00† | $401.50–$436.50† |
| Platform plan | $5.00/member | $10.00/member | $25.00/member | $50.00/member | $100.00/member | $200.00/member |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skool Hobby | 37.15% | 22.81% | 10.57% | 5.58% | 2.87% | 1.46% |
| Skool Pro | 56.87% | 39.74% | 20.87% | 11.65% | 6.19% | 3.19% |
| Circle Professional | 44.84% | 28.90% | 13.99% | 7.52% | 3.91% | 1.99% |
| Circle Business | 41.15% | 25.91% | 12.27% | 6.54% | 3.38% | 1.72% |
| Mighty Networks Launch | 45.52%–48.08%† | 29.47%–31.65%† | 14.32%–15.63%† | 7.71%–8.47%† | 4.01%–4.42%† | 2.05%–2.26%† |
| Mighty Networks Scale | 42.31%–44.51%† | 26.83%–28.63%† | 12.79%–13.82%† | 6.83%–7.43%† | 3.54%–3.86%† | 1.80%–1.97%† |
| Podia Mover | 38.86%–40.71%† | 24.12%–25.55%† | 11.28%–12.07%† | 5.98%–6.42%† | 3.08%–3.32%† | 1.56%–1.69%† |
| Podia Shaker | 53.19%–56.71%† | 36.23%–39.58%† | 18.52%–20.76%† | 10.20%–11.58%† | 5.38%–6.15%† | 2.76%–3.17%† |
| Heartbeat Build | 38.96%–40.82%† | 24.19%–25.64%† | 11.32%–12.12%† | 6.00%–6.45%† | 3.09%–3.33%† | 1.57%–1.69%† |
| Heartbeat Grow | 41.15%–43.23%† | 25.91%–27.57%† | 12.27%–13.22%† | 6.54%–7.08%† | 3.38%–3.67%† | 1.72%–1.87%† |
| Monthly revenue | $5.00/member | $10.00/member | $25.00/member | $50.00/member | $100.00/member | $200.00/member | Full ranking signatures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500.00 | Skool Hobby | Skool Hobby | Skool Hobby | Skool Hobby | Skool Hobby | Skool Hobby | Same across all six prices8 scenarios, 2 distinct full-rank patternsShow one full orderSkool Hobby < Heartbeat Build < Podia Mover < Skool Pro < Podia Shaker < Mighty Networks Launch < Circle Professional < Heartbeat Grow < Mighty Networks Scale < Circle Business |
| $1,000.00 | Skool Hobby | Skool Hobby | Skool Hobby | Skool Hobby | Skool Hobby | Skool Hobby | Same across all six prices8 scenarios, 5 distinct full-rank patternsShow one full orderSkool Hobby < Skool Pro < Podia Shaker < Heartbeat Build < Podia Mover < Mighty Networks Launch < Circle Professional < Heartbeat Grow < Mighty Networks Scale < Circle Business |
| $2,000.00 | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Same across all six prices8 scenarios, 4 distinct full-rank patternsShow one full orderSkool Pro < Podia Shaker < Mighty Networks Launch < Heartbeat Build < Podia Mover < Circle Professional < Skool Hobby < Heartbeat Grow < Mighty Networks Scale < Circle Business |
| $3,000.00 | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Same across all six prices8 scenarios, 7 distinct full-rank patternsShow one full orderSkool Pro < Podia Shaker < Mighty Networks Launch < Circle Professional < Heartbeat Build < Podia Mover < Heartbeat Grow < Mighty Networks Scale < Skool Hobby < Circle Business |
| $5,000.00 | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Same across all six prices8 scenarios, 4 distinct full-rank patternsShow one full orderSkool Pro < Podia Shaker < Mighty Networks Launch < Circle Professional < Mighty Networks Scale < Heartbeat Grow < Circle Business < Heartbeat Build < Podia Mover < Skool Hobby |
| $10,000.00 | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Same across all six prices8 scenarios, 2 distinct full-rank patternsShow one full orderSkool Pro < Podia Shaker < Mighty Networks Launch = Mighty Networks Scale < Circle Professional < Circle Business < Heartbeat Grow < Heartbeat Build < Podia Mover < Skool Hobby |
| $20,000.00 | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Skool Pro | Same across all six prices8 scenarios, 6 distinct full-rank patternsShow one full orderSkool Pro < Podia Shaker < Mighty Networks Scale < Mighty Networks Launch < Circle Business < Heartbeat Grow < Circle Professional < Heartbeat Build < Podia Mover < Skool Hobby |
Sources checked through 2026-08-26; individual source dates and verification status: Skool pricing — plan price (checked 2026-08-20) (directly verified); Skool Payments FAQs — transaction fee rates and tiers (checked 2026-08-21) (directly verified); Skool analytics definitions — fee includes payment processing (checked 2026-08-21) (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); Podia pricing — plan price and platform fee (checked 2026-08-20) (directly verified); Podia transaction fees — fees are additional to the processor (checked 2026-08-26) (directly verified; operator manual verification); Podia Stripe account changes — subscriptions live in the creator's Stripe account (checked 2026-08-21) (directly verified); Heartbeat pricing — plan price and platform fee (checked 2026-08-20) (directly verified); Heartbeat payment processing fees — fees are added on top of Stripe (checked 2026-08-21) (directly verified)
Skool Pro makes the effect easy to see: the lowest member-price column is more than twice the highest member-price column at the same revenue. The fixed-cost table shows why. The fixed amount itself is shared; what changes is how many times it is charged and how large the total-cost denominator is.
The ranges matter. Mighty Networks, Podia, and Heartbeat keep a range where the subscription surcharge is inferred rather than confirmed. The tables preserve that uncertainty at every member price. A range is not permission to select the lower edge because it is more convenient.
The ranking does not move
This is the core finding, and it is different from saying that low-priced memberships cost more.
The final table checks two things at once. Each member-price column shows the cheapest plan at every tested revenue level. The last column checks the complete low-to-high ranking for every allowed surcharge scenario, not just the winner.
The result is the same in every row: the amounts move, but the cheapest plan does not. The complete ranking signatures also match across all six member prices. The inferred surcharge can change some positions below the winner, as the number of distinct patterns shows, but the member-price axis does not create a new ordering.
That is why “choose the platform with the smallest fixed-fee burden” is the wrong conclusion. There is no platform with a smaller fixed transaction component in this comparison. The fixed amount is common, so lowering the member price shifts all plans together.
The right question is not “which platform handles low member prices best?” It is “which platform is cheapest at this revenue and fee structure?” The answer can change with revenue, as the ranking table shows, but it does not change merely because the same revenue is spread across cheaper or more expensive memberships.
Why this is not the earlier two-point fee comparison
The transaction-fee comparison already shows why a fixed per-transaction charge weighs more heavily on a low-priced membership. That article’s question is whether a quoted rate is all-in or stacked, and it uses two member-price points to isolate the fee effect. See the transaction-fee comparison for that distinction.
This article asks a different question: whether changing member price changes the platform decision. It expands the axis to six scenarios, includes subscription cost and fixed-cost share, and checks complete rankings across the full revenue grid and every allowed surcharge state. The negative conclusion is the point: the bill changes, but the cheapest-platform choice does not.
The boundary of the result
This is a fee-and-subscription model, not a general platform ranking. The conclusion applies to the recorded annual-billing plans, the six member-price scenarios, the tested revenue bands, and the fee structures described above. A platform could become the better decision for a reason outside this model. That would be a different claim from saying that a lower member price changes the cost ranking.
Methodology
- Revenue is held constant while the member price changes, with one transaction per member per month.
- The calculation covers the six member-price scenarios shown in the tables and the seven tested monthly-revenue bands.
- Inferred subscription surcharges are evaluated as correlated vendor-level states, producing eight allowed scenarios across Mighty Networks, Podia, and Heartbeat.
- Total cost includes the annual-billing subscription, percentage fees, and the fixed amount on each modeled transaction. Fixed-cost share uses the appropriate bound when total cost is a range.
- The ranking check compares the full low-to-high order after cent-level rounding, including ties where they occur.
- Unverified processor entries, unpriced tiers, and unrecorded monthly-billing figures are outside the numerical conclusion.
Pricing changes without notice. We re-verify quarterly.