Run a paid community without the fee creep.
Pricing strategy, growth playbooks, platform comparisons and migration guides, written for creators who care about unit economics. Tell us where you are and we'll put your guides first.
What do you run your community on today?
- Kajabi Basic is now $179/mo
- Patreon takes a flat 10% of income
- Circle Professional’s 2% fee has no monthly cap
- Teachable Starter: $29/mo plus a 7.5% fee
- Discord Server Subscriptions take 10%
- Skool Hobby charges a 10% transaction fee
- Mighty Networks Launch: $79/mo plus 2%
- HiveLearn’s rev share stops at a monthly cap
HiveLearn vs every other community platform
Side-by-side comparisons of HiveLearn against Skool, Circle, Kajabi, Patreon, Mighty Networks, Thinkific, and Memberstack, with pricing, rev share, features, and total cost of ownership in one place.
New here? Start here
From idea to paid community in three reads.
27 minutes, in this order
- Step 1: What is a learning community?A plain-English definition: how it differs from a course, a forum, and an LMS, and why learning plus belonging keeps people engaged.5 min read
- Step 2: How to build a thriving online learning communityThe full playbook: picking a transformation, choosing a platform, onboarding, events, monetization, retention.12 min read
- Step 3: How to price your online community membership in 2026Value-based pricing, tier design, monthly vs annual, free trials, and why capped rev share beats uncapped platform fees.10 min read
Guides & features
Start with these
How to start a paid community with no monthly fee
Launch a paid community on a $0 plan, run a focused first week, and know the exact monthly revenue at which a paid plan becomes cheaper.
The best online community platforms in 2026, compared
Skool, Circle, Kajabi, Mighty Networks, Patreon, Discord, Thinkific and HiveLearn on price, transaction fees, and what actually ships.
The best Skool alternatives in 2026
Six platforms creators move to when they outgrow Skool, with 2026 pricing and a switching checklist.
Capped revenue share, explained with real numbers
What a capped revenue share is, how it resets each month, worked examples at every HiveLearn tier, and an honest look at when a cap matters and when it does not.
Skool vs Kajabi: a simple community or a marketing suite?
Skool costs $99 a month and does one thing well. Kajabi starts at $179 and runs your email, funnels and site too. Fee math at three revenue levels and a rule for choosing.
How much does a community platform really cost?
Subscription vs transaction fee vs processing, modelled at 100, 500 and 2,000 members. Why the cap decides the bill.
How to create an online course, step by step
A complete, practical guide to creating an online course: one outcome, demand checks, a backwards outline, simple recording, quizzes, a pilot cohort and a launch plan.
From 0 to 1,000 paying members: a launch playbook
The launch sequence: transformation, waitlist, founding-member pre-sale, launch week, onboarding, events, referrals.
What is HiveLearn?
A plain answer: what HiveLearn is, who it is for, what is included, what it costs, and what it does not do.
Switching platforms
Outgrowing your platform? The alternatives, the fee math, and how to move without losing members.
How to turn a Facebook group into a paid community
Keep the free Facebook group as your top of funnel, build a paid space for depth, collect emails, invite founding members, and the weekly rhythm that connects them.
How to move patrons off Patreon without losing your best supporters
Why Patreon pledges cannot be transferred, how to export patrons, a six-week announcement plan with the message for each step, and a two-home option.
How to migrate from Mighty Networks, step by step
What Mighty Networks exports, how to rebuild spaces and courses, how to move events and paying members without a gap, and a four-week plan.
How to migrate from Kajabi, step by step
What Kajabi exports, how to rebuild courses and community, what to do about email and funnels, how to move paying members, and a five-week plan.
How to migrate from Circle without losing paying members
What Circle exports and what it does not, how to rebuild courses, how to move paying members without double billing, and a four-week timeline.
The best Memberstack alternatives, and when to stay put
Six Memberstack alternatives compared on price and fees, what each one builds for you, fee math at $1,000, $5,000 and $20,000 a month, and who Memberstack still suits best.
The best Circle alternatives
Six platforms creators compare Circle against, with fee math showing why the uncapped 2% is the line item that decides it.
The best Mighty Networks alternatives
If the branded app is not why you are there, six platforms do courses, events and community for less. Includes when to stay.
The best Teachable alternatives
Teachable Starter is $29/mo plus 7.5%, billed annually. Six course platforms with real community, and the fee math at three revenue levels.
The best Thinkific alternatives
Thinkific is a strong LMS with a thin community. Six alternatives for creators whose students need each other, with the zero-fee plan taken seriously.
The best Patreon alternatives for creators
Patreon takes a flat 10% plus fees and has no courses or events. Six alternatives with fee math, and three creators who should or should not move.
The best Discord alternatives for paid communities
Discord is unbeatable for chat and hard to charge for. Six platforms that add a business around the server, and how to move without killing it.
The best Skool alternatives in 2026
Six platforms creators move to when they outgrow Skool, with 2026 pricing and a switching checklist.
The best Kajabi alternatives in 2026
Kajabi Basic is now $179/mo. Six cheaper platforms for courses and community, grouped by what you actually need to keep.
Migrating from Skool to HiveLearn: a step-by-step guide
Move members, content, and payments off Skool without losing customers. Plus the concierge migration included on Pro and above.
Choosing a platform
Head-to-head comparisons and buyer's guides for picking the right home the first time.
How to choose a community platform: 25 questions to ask before you pick
Twenty-five questions to put to every community platform on your shortlist, grouped by money, learning, engagement, events, data and growth, with why each one matters.
Course platform with community: how to tell real integration from a bolt-on
Every vendor claims courses plus community. Eight trial tests reveal whether they are connected or bolted together, with a fair shortlist and verified prices.
What is HiveLearn?
A plain answer: what HiveLearn is, who it is for, what is included, what it costs, and what it does not do.
Circle vs Kajabi: community first or marketing first?
Circle charges a lower plan price plus an uncapped percentage. Kajabi charges more up front and no platform percentage on its own payments. Here is where the bills cross.
Skool vs Mighty Networks: the leaderboard or the branded app?
Skool Pro is a flat $99 plus processing. Mighty Networks charges a monthly plan plus an uncapped percentage. Fee math at three revenue levels and who each one suits.
Teachable vs Thinkific: which entry plan, and when to move up
Teachable and Thinkific compared on what you actually pay at $1,000, $5,000 and $20,000 a month, plus the break-even point for upgrading.
Skool vs Thinkific: engagement or assessment?
Skool wins on engagement, Thinkific on assessment. Fee math at $1,000, $5,000 and $20,000 a month and a simple rule for choosing.
Kajabi vs Teachable: marketing suite or lean course host?
Kajabi bundles email, funnels and pages; Teachable keeps it lean. Fee math at three revenue levels and a checklist for pricing the stack you would rebuild.
Skool vs Kajabi: a simple community or a marketing suite?
Skool costs $99 a month and does one thing well. Kajabi starts at $179 and runs your email, funnels and site too. Fee math at three revenue levels and a rule for choosing.
Discord vs Skool: where should a paid community live?
Discord is free until you charge; Skool is $99 flat on Pro. Fee math at $1,000, $5,000 and $20,000 a month, plus chat, courses, events and the both-tools setup.
Capped revenue share, explained with real numbers
What a capped revenue share is, how it resets each month, worked examples at every HiveLearn tier, and an honest look at when a cap matters and when it does not.
Choosing a platform for a professional certification program
A professional certification lives or dies on whether employers trust it. What to look for: exam integrity, question banks, verifiable certificates, learning tracks and records. A fair shortlist.
Patreon vs Skool: which one should hold your paying members?
Patreon's uncapped 10% against Skool's flat $99: fee math at $1,000, $5,000 and $20,000 a month, plus what each platform does for courses, community and events.
Circle vs Mighty Networks: which community platform fits your members?
Circle and Mighty Networks charge similar uncapped fees. The decision comes down to spaces and admin tooling versus a branded app. Fee math at three revenue levels inside.
The right platform for a coding community or bootcamp
Coding communities need curriculum, graded assessments, project reviews and live sessions, while chat stays where developers already are. What to look for and a fair shortlist.
Choosing a membership platform for associations and nonprofits
Associations and nonprofits need dues, directories, events, continuing education, agreements and reports a board can read. What to look for, a fair shortlist, and when to buy a dedicated AMS instead.
Choosing an online fitness community platform
What trainers, coaches and studios need from an online fitness community platform: programs, live classes, streaks, check-ins and phone-first access. A fair shortlist and a rule for picking.
The best platform for group coaching: what a coaching program actually needs
Group coaching needs live calls, accountability between sessions, signed agreements and clean billing. Here is what to look for, a fair shortlist, and a rule for choosing.
Skool vs Circle
A straight comparison of the two most-searched community platforms on price, fees, courses, events and gamification.
Kajabi vs Thinkific
All-in-one marketing suite versus focused LMS: pricing after Kajabi's January 2026 restructure, learning depth, marketing and community.
The best online community platforms in 2026, compared
Skool, Circle, Kajabi, Mighty Networks, Patreon, Discord, Thinkific and HiveLearn on price, transaction fees, and what actually ships.
LMS vs community platform: which one do you actually need?
Where the line sits between a learning management system and a community platform, and when it stops mattering.
The best LMS for online courses in 2026
Creator LMS options ranked on assessment, certificates, progress tracking and whether students have a reason to come back.
Pricing & money
What to charge, what the platform takes, and how to monetize without burning trust.
What a creator tool stack really costs in 2026
The six tool categories creators stitch together, how each one charges, a worksheet to total your own stack, and one labelled math example comparing a split stack with an all-in-one.
Teachable transaction fees: when the 7.5% is worth paying
Teachable's 7.5% Starter fee, 0% on Builder and up, the Stripe fee that always applies, and the $533-a-month break-even for upgrading.
Patreon fees explained: the 10%, and the fees after it
Patreon's 10% platform fee, the processing, conversion and payout fees on top, what it costs at $2,000 and $10,000 a month, and when it is worth it.
How to bundle online courses without giving your best course away
The pricing psychology behind course bundles, a labelled worked example, and a simple rule for how big the bundle discount should be.
Kajabi pricing in 2026: plans, limits and what you really pay
Basic, Growth and Pro after the January 2026 restructure, what the 5-product and 2,500-contact limits mean, payment fees, and a rule for choosing.
The platform tax: what community platform fees cost over five years
A five-year model of community platform fees as revenue grows from $2,000 to $30,000 a month, and a second path to $250,000. Uncapped vs capped, every number shown.
Circle pricing explained: what you actually pay each month
Circle's three plans, what each costs at $2,000, $10,000 and $30,000 a month in sales, and the $11,000 break-even between Professional and Business.
Skool fees explained: Hobby vs Pro, and the $899 rule
Hobby vs Pro in plain numbers, the $899 per-sale rule, worked examples at three sales levels, and the break-even point where Pro wins.
Subscription vs one-time course pricing: which wins at scale?
A modelled look at 12 and 24 months of revenue, the one formula that decides it, and when selling both beats choosing.
How much does a community platform really cost?
Subscription vs transaction fee vs processing, modelled at 100, 500 and 2,000 members. Why the cap decides the bill.
How to price your online community membership in 2026
Value-based pricing, tier design, monthly vs annual, free trials, and why capped rev share beats uncapped platform fees.
How to monetize an online community (without burning trust)
Membership, courses, paid events, cohorts, sponsorships. Run them transparently and members stay glad they pay.
Growth
From the first ten members to the first thousand.
How to increase online course completion rates
Learners stop at three predictable points. A 10-step playbook to fix the first lesson, the middle slump and the last mile, without invented benchmarks.
How to onboard new community members: the first 7 days
A day-by-day onboarding plan for a new member's first week: welcome, first win, first reply, first lesson, first live event and a day-seven check-in, with scripts.
How to predict community churn with a member health score
The five behavior signals that predict community churn, a 100-point scoring model you can run in a spreadsheet this week, and what to do for members in each band.
How to run a 30-day challenge in your community
A step-by-step playbook for a 30-day community challenge: outcome, daily prompts, points and leaderboard, the mid-point dip, the finish line and the offer after.
How to run a cohort-based course, week by week
An operating plan for cohort-based courses: size and length, the weekly rhythm, pods, feedback loads, graduation and what happens to the cohort afterwards.
35 community engagement ideas that tie back to learning
35 concrete community engagement ideas for learning communities, grouped into rituals, course prompts, live formats, peer feedback, recognition, onboarding and win-backs.
How to start a paid community with no monthly fee
Launch a paid community on a $0 plan, run a focused first week, and know the exact monthly revenue at which a paid plan becomes cheaper.
How to sell online courses: from first sale to a repeatable system
A practical guide to selling online courses: the offer, the sales page, pricing, launch vs evergreen, the checkout, and the fee math most creators skip.
How to create an online course, step by step
A complete, practical guide to creating an online course: one outcome, demand checks, a backwards outline, simple recording, quizzes, a pilot cohort and a launch plan.
How to get your course or community recommended by AI assistants
Seven practical steps to make your course or community findable and recommendable by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude, plus a monthly test you can run yourself.
Community platform SEO: why gated communities underrank, and how to fix it
Why gated communities rarely rank, what to keep public vs behind the login, and a one-week checklist to make a paid community findable in Google.
How to build a thriving online learning community
The full playbook: picking a transformation, choosing a platform, onboarding, events, monetization, retention.
From 0 to 1,000 paying members: a launch playbook
The launch sequence: transformation, waitlist, founding-member pre-sale, launch week, onboarding, events, referrals.
What is a learning community?
A plain-English definition: how it differs from a course, a forum, and an LMS, and why learning plus belonging keeps people engaged.
HiveLearn features
The parts of HiveLearn creators ask about most.
How to turn a PDF into an online course with AI
Step by step: preparing a PDF, what an AI course builder drafts from it, what it gets wrong, and how much review a publishable course still needs.
E-signatures and member agreements for coaching programs and communities
How coaches and community owners collect signed member agreements: what the document usually covers, when to ask, how to gate access, and how to store proof. Not legal advice.
Online course assignments and a gradebook: a practical guide for creators
What to assign, a review workflow that fits in an hour a week, and what a creator's gradebook should actually track.
Drip content for an online course: when it helps and when it annoys
When a drip schedule helps learners finish, when it just makes them wait, and a simple test for choosing the interval between lessons.
How to run a paid online workshop people actually rebook
A complete plan for paid online workshops: choosing one outcome, a 90-minute run of show, pricing math, recording and replay policy, and the follow-up offer.
QR code event check-in: how to run the door at a community event
How QR ticket check-in works, a quick formula for how many scanners you need, a day-of door runbook with a paper fallback, and how to use attendance data afterwards.
How to sell tickets to your community's events
A practical setup for paid community events: member vs public pricing, the refund policy to write first, capacity and waitlists, ticket fee math and the reminder schedule.
How to design a learning path for online courses
When you have several courses, a learning path tells learners where to start and what comes next. How to sequence, gate and reward one.
How to import quizzes in GIFT, QTI or CSV when you leave Moodle or Canvas
Which quiz format to export from Moodle or Canvas, what survives the move between systems, and a cleanup checklist so nothing breaks on the way.
Choosing a community platform with an API: what to check before you commit
Eight checks that tell a usable community platform API from a checkbox, the automations creators actually build, and how HiveLearn's documented REST API fits.
How to build a randomized quiz question bank that is fair to every learner
How big a question bank should be, how to group questions so every attempt is equally hard, and a simple build plan for your first bank.
Auto-post to Slack, Discord and Telegram: keep members where they already talk
One-way channel alerts for new posts, courses and events, sent to the Slack, Discord or Telegram channel your members already watch. Setup steps and what to announce.
Running your community from Claude: what an MCP server actually does
What an MCP server for a community platform is, prompts worth trying, the key-safety rules that matter, and how to connect Claude Desktop or Claude Code to HiveLearn.
Secure online quizzes: why the answer key should never reach the browser
When a quiz is graded in the browser, the answers are often readable with developer tools. How to test your quizzes and why server grading fixes it.
How to review an AI-generated course before you publish it
A five-pass review checklist for AI course drafts: accuracy, voice, examples, assessment alignment and pacing, and the four jobs you should never hand to a model.
Verifiable certificates for online courses: why a PDF alone proves nothing
A certificate is only as strong as two things: a public record anyone can check, and completion rules that mean something. How to design both.
Gamification: points, badges & leaderboards
How HiveLearn turns participation into a game your members want to win. Native to every plan.
Events: a real calendar, RSVPs & ticketing
Run workshops and cohorts with reminders that reach members in Slack, Discord, and Telegram.
Slack, Discord & Telegram notifications
Auto-post new courses, posts, and events to the channels your members already live in.
Courses, community, events, payments. One home.
- No monthly fee until you monetize
- Rev share capped on every paid plan
- 14-day free trial on paid plans, no credit card
Plan finder
Which HiveLearn plan costs you least?
Two taps to your plan.
Pick your revenue and we'll show which plan costs least, with the math.
Fee cheat sheet
Every platform's fees, on one screen.
| Platform | Plans | Transaction / platform fee |
|---|---|---|
| HiveLearn | Starter $0/mo · Growth $39/mo · Pro $99/mo · Scale $249/mo · Enterprise $499/mo | Rev share 6% on Starter; 4% / 2% / 1% / 0.25% on paid plans, capped at $2,000–$5,000/month |
| Skool | Hobby $9/mo (10% transaction fee) · Pro $99/mo (2.9% + $0.30; +1% platform fee per sale over $899) | 2.9% + $0.30 on Pro (plus 1% platform fee per sale over $899), 10% on Hobby — uncapped |
| Circle | Professional $89/mo (2% fee) · Business $199/mo (1% fee) · Plus custom (0.5% fee) | 0.5%–2% transaction fee depending on plan, no monthly cap |
| Kajabi | Basic $179/mo (5 products, 2,500 contacts) · Growth $249/mo · Pro $499/mo · (legacy Kickstarter $89 no longer sold) | Kajabi Payments: 2.7%–2.9% + $0.30; third-party payment add-on fee 0.5%–5% by tier |
| Patreon | 10% of income earned on Patreon, plus payment processing, currency conversion, and payout fees | 10% platform fee, uncapped — plus payment processing and payout fees on top |
| Mighty Networks | Launch $79/mo (2%) · Scale $179/mo (1%) · Growth $354–$425/mo (0.5%) · Mighty Pro custom (0.5%) | 0.5%–2% transaction fee depending on plan, no monthly cap |
| Thinkific | Basic $49/mo (1 community) · Start $99/mo (1 community / 10 spaces) · Grow $199/mo · Expand $499/mo · Plus custom | 0% with Thinkific Payments; own-Stripe surcharge 0.5%–5% by tier |
| Teachable | Starter $29/mo (7.5% fee) · Builder $69/mo · Growth $139/mo · Advanced $309/mo (0% fee) — billed annually, no free plan | 7.5% transaction fee on Starter; 0% on Builder+ (Stripe 2.9% + $0.30 always applies) |
| Discord | Free to use · Server Subscriptions take a 10% platform fee (US-only, $2.99–$199.99 tiers) + Stripe processing | 10% on Server Subscriptions (US-only), uncapped — plus payment processing |
Starter $0/mo · Growth $39/mo · Pro $99/mo · Scale $249/mo · Enterprise $499/mo
Rev share 6% on Starter; 4% / 2% / 1% / 0.25% on paid plans, capped at $2,000–$5,000/month
Hobby $9/mo (10% transaction fee) · Pro $99/mo (2.9% + $0.30; +1% platform fee per sale over $899)
2.9% + $0.30 on Pro (plus 1% platform fee per sale over $899), 10% on Hobby — uncapped
Professional $89/mo (2% fee) · Business $199/mo (1% fee) · Plus custom (0.5% fee)
0.5%–2% transaction fee depending on plan, no monthly cap
Basic $179/mo (5 products, 2,500 contacts) · Growth $249/mo · Pro $499/mo · (legacy Kickstarter $89 no longer sold)
Kajabi Payments: 2.7%–2.9% + $0.30; third-party payment add-on fee 0.5%–5% by tier
10% of income earned on Patreon, plus payment processing, currency conversion, and payout fees
10% platform fee, uncapped — plus payment processing and payout fees on top
Launch $79/mo (2%) · Scale $179/mo (1%) · Growth $354–$425/mo (0.5%) · Mighty Pro custom (0.5%)
0.5%–2% transaction fee depending on plan, no monthly cap
Basic $49/mo (1 community) · Start $99/mo (1 community / 10 spaces) · Grow $199/mo · Expand $499/mo · Plus custom
0% with Thinkific Payments; own-Stripe surcharge 0.5%–5% by tier
Starter $29/mo (7.5% fee) · Builder $69/mo · Growth $139/mo · Advanced $309/mo (0% fee) — billed annually, no free plan
7.5% transaction fee on Starter; 0% on Builder+ (Stripe 2.9% + $0.30 always applies)
Free to use · Server Subscriptions take a 10% platform fee (US-only, $2.99–$199.99 tiers) + Stripe processing
10% on Server Subscriptions (US-only), uncapped — plus payment processing
Competitor prices from each provider's public pricing page, verified June 2, 2026. On HiveLearn, Stripe processing (2.9% + $0.30) is additional. Model your own numbers in the revenue calculator.
Is there a free plan?
Yes. Starter is $0 a month with a 6% revenue share, so there is no monthly fee until you monetize. Stripe processing (2.9% + $0.30) is additional.
What does “rev share capped” mean?
On paid plans the revenue share stops at a monthly ceiling: Growth is 4% capped at $2,000 a month, Pro 2% capped at $3,000, Scale 1% capped at $4,000, and Enterprise 0.25% capped at $5,000. Past the cap, the extra revenue is yours.
Is there a free trial?
Growth, Pro and Scale come with a 14-day free trial and Enterprise with 30 days. No credit card is needed to start.
Can I bring my members from Skool, Kajabi or another platform?
Yes. Member import is self-serve: upload a CSV export and HiveLearn adds existing users and emails an invite to everyone else. Concierge migration is offered on Pro and above at no extra cost.
What is included?
Courses with quizzes and verifiable certificates, a community feed, events with RSVPs and ticketing, payments, points and leaderboards, and auto-posting to Slack, Discord and Telegram. All-in-one: courses, community, events, payments.
How current are the prices in these guides?
Competitor prices are checked against each provider's public pricing page, and every guide shows when it was last updated. Creator platforms change pricing often, so check the provider before you decide.
Done reading?
Build the community you just read about.
No monthly fee until you monetize. Courses, community, events and payments in one place.