Pick Skool if the community is the product, Whop if you sell several product types and want no monthly fee, and Teachable if a structured course is the product. On October 2026 fees, Whop is cheapest per sale (2.7% + $0.30), Skool Pro and Teachable Builder are close once you sell a few thousand dollars a month, and the low tiers (Skool Hobby, Teachable Starter) cost the most per sale.
Skool vs Whop comes down to what you are selling: Skool is the better pick when the community itself is the product, and Whop is the better pick when you sell several products (a course, a chat group, files) from one store with no monthly fee. Teachable is the third option, and the right one when a structured course is the product and you do not need a community inside the same tool.
Prices and fees checked October 2026 in US dollars against Skool pricing and the Skool payments FAQ, Whop fees and Whop taxes, and Teachable pricing and Teachable transaction fees.
Disclosure: IImagined sells its own courses and All Access membership through Whop, which runs our checkout and billing, and our resources page links to Whop with a referral code. This article contains no affiliate links, and every figure below comes from the platforms' own pricing and help pages.
For the wider decision between courses, memberships and communities, start at our online courses and memberships hub. This page is the head-to-head for the three platforms creators ask about most.
The verdict by product type
- Course only: Teachable, or Whop if you want no monthly fee.
- Community only: Skool.
- Both, in one place: Skool if members mostly talk and learn together; Whop if you also sell other products or tiers.
- Mostly downloads and templates: none of the three; see how to sell on Gumroad and our digital products fee guide.
Skool vs Whop vs Teachable: the head-to-head table
| Skool | Whop | Teachable | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Community app with a classroom | Payments platform, storefront and marketplace | Course platform |
| Monthly price | Hobby $9; Pro $99 | None | Starter $39; Builder $89; Growth $189 (yearly billing: $29, $69, $139) |
| Fee per sale | Hobby 10% + 30c; Pro 2.9% + 30c (3.9% + 30c above $900) | 2.7% + $0.30 domestic card; +1.5% international; +1% conversion | Starter 7.5%; Builder and Growth 0% |
| Card processing | Included in the fee | Is the fee | Extra: 2.9% + $0.30 US domestic, 4.4% + $0.30 international |
| Marketplace | Discovery with Growth Boost (30% on members Skool brings) | Discover; Whop handles tax on those sales | None |
| Community | The core product | Chat, Forums and Events apps | Maintenance mode; not for new schools |
| Free trial | 14 days | No plan to trial | 7 days, plus 30-day refund |
The three charge in different ways. Skool and Teachable charge a monthly plan, and their cheapest plans take a higher cut of each sale. Whop has no plan at all; you pay processing per payment, and optional add-ons stack on top: 0.8% for orchestration, 0.5% for billing tools and 2% for tax and remittance, which Whop totals as 6% plus $0.30 with everything on (checked October 2026).
Fees compared (checked October 2026)
What you keep from one $100 sale
Illustrative input: a one-time $100 sale to a US card, before payout fees and any marketplace commission.
| Platform and plan | Fees on the sale | You keep | Plus monthly plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skool Hobby | $10.30 | $89.70 | $9 |
| Skool Pro | $3.20 | $96.80 | $99 |
| Whop, you handle tax | $3.00 | $97.00 | None |
| Whop, Whop-managed tax | $5.00 | $95.00 | None |
| Teachable Starter | $10.70 | $89.30 | $39 |
| Teachable Builder or Growth | $3.20 | $96.80 | $89 or $189 |
Monthly cost at three sales levels
Plan price plus per-sale fees for a $100 product, monthly billing, at illustrative sales of $1,000, $5,000 and $20,000 a month:
| Platform and plan | $1,000/mo | $5,000/mo | $20,000/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skool Hobby | $112 | $524 | $2,069 |
| Skool Pro | $131 | $259 | $739 |
| Whop, you handle tax | $30 | $150 | $600 |
| Whop, Whop-managed tax | $50 | $250 | $1,000 |
| Teachable Starter | $146 | $574 | $2,179 |
| Teachable Builder | $121 | $249 | $729 |
| Teachable Growth | $221 | $349 | $829 |
Fifty $100 sales to US cards, plan plus per-sale fees. Source: Skool, Whop and Teachable pricing pages, checked October 2026
- Skool Pro beats Hobby once you sell about $1,270 a month of $100 products, where the lower percentage covers the extra $90.
- Teachable Builder beats Starter above about $667 a month.
- Recurring charges cost more on Teachable: its Standard bundle adds 0.7% to recurring transactions and 0.5% where tax is assessed.
- Whop payouts cost extra: $2.50 for next-day ACH, 4% plus $2.50 for instant bank deposit, $23 for a wire.
Model your own price, member count and churn rather than ours: the fee gaps change a lot with price. Our online course platforms comparison runs the same math for Thinkific, Kajabi and Gumroad.
Community features compared
| Feature | Skool | Whop | Teachable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course access rules | Open, level unlock, buy now, time unlock, private, or tiers | Courses app with modules, video, files and quizzes | Courses, coaching and downloads; certificates on Growth |
| Member discussion | Group feed, the centre of the product | Chat and Forums apps, as many as you add | Course comments; Community closed to new schools |
| Affiliates | Member referrals | Global affiliate network, default 30% commission | Builder plan and above |
| Product limit | Not product-based | Not product-based | Starter 5, Builder 10, Growth 50 (memberships and bundles excluded) |
| Sales tax and VAT | Merchant of record; EU VAT added on top of price | Handled on Discover sales; 2% managed option or yourself on direct sales | Tax handling via Teachable Payments; 0.5% on taxed sales (Standard bundle) |
Sources: Skool's guide to course permissions, Whop's educational programs guide, Teachable's community article and pricing page, checked October 2026.
Skool: pick it when members are the product
Skool is a group with a classroom attached. Courses can be open to all members, unlock at a member level, sell for a one-time price, unlock a set number of days after joining, or be private to members you choose, and private courses can be grouped into tiers. That access model rewards participation, which is the point of a community product.
- Fees: Hobby $9 a month with 10% plus 30 cents per transaction; Pro $99 a month with 2.9% plus 30 cents (3.9% plus 30 cents above $900). Fees include processing and are not refunded.
- Growth Boost: on by default. Skool promotes your group in search and with its own ads and takes 30% of recurring charges from members it brings in, for as long as they stay. Switch it off under Settings, Discovery if you would rather not pay that.
- Payouts and tax: paid every Wednesday; the first payout can take up to 14 days. Members pay in US dollars, payouts arrive in local currency, and Skool handles EU VAT as merchant of record.
- Price changes: existing members keep the price they joined at when you raise it.
Whop: pick it to sell several products from one store
Whop is a payments platform and marketplace. A store can combine apps such as Courses for lessons and quizzes, Forums for announcements, Chat for real-time discussion and Events for live sessions, per Whop's educational programs guide. Products listed on Discover can be promoted by Whop's global affiliate network, at a default 30% commission you can change.
- Fees: 2.7% plus $0.30 per successful domestic card payment, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% for currency conversion. Buy-now-pay-later through financing partners costs 15%, ACH 1.5% capped at $5.
- Tax: Whop handles tax on Discover sales where it is registered. On direct sales, two managed options cost 2% per transaction, or you handle tax yourself at no Whop fee.
- Payouts: priced per method, from $2.50 for next-day ACH to $23 for a bank wire.
Teachable: pick it when the course is the product
Teachable is a course platform. Each plan has a product limit (5, 10 or 50 published courses, coaching offers or downloads), while memberships and bundles do not count toward it. Every plan includes iOS and Android student apps; Builder adds the affiliate program and drops the transaction fee; Growth adds certificates and removes Teachable branding.
- Fees: Starter $39 a month with a 7.5% plan fee; Builder $89 and Growth $189 with 0%. Yearly billing lowers them to $29, $69 and $139 a month.
- Processing: on Teachable Payments in the US, 2.9% plus $0.30 per domestic card and 4.4% plus $0.30 per international card, plus bundle fees (Standard: 0.5% on taxed and 0.7% on recurring transactions; Global: 2.8% on all).
- Community: in maintenance mode and closed to new schools; Teachable points creators to Discord or Slack linked from the dashboard.
- Members talking to each other is the value
- You want levels and unlocks to reward activity
- You run live calls inside the group
- You want marketplace reach via Discovery
- The curriculum is the value
- You sell coaching or downloads alongside courses
- You need certificates or a branded school
- You are happy to run discussion in Discord or Slack
Whop or Skool for community: the deciding questions
- 1Is the community the whole product?
Yes: Skool. If it is one of several things you sell, keep going.
- 2Do you sell more than one product or tier?
Yes: Whop handles mixed products and access in one store.
- 3Do you want a monthly plan at all?
No: Whop. Yes, and you sell over about $1,270 a month: Skool Pro.
- 4Do you want the platform to find members for a cut?
Skool Growth Boost takes 30% of recurring charges; Whop Discover adds affiliates you pay.
- 5Who should handle tax?
Skool includes it; Whop charges 2% on direct sales if it does it.
Mistakes creators make when choosing
- Comparing plan prices only. A $9 plan with a 10% cut costs more than a $99 plan once sales pass a modest level; always add the per-sale fees.
- Leaving Growth Boost on by accident. It is on by default in Skool, and the 30% applies to every recurring charge from members it brought in.
- Forgetting tax. On Whop direct sales, tax is yours unless you pay for the managed option; budget for one or the other.
- Choosing Teachable for a community. New schools cannot use its Community feature, so plan the discussion space elsewhere from day one.
- Ignoring payout costs. Whop charges per payout method, so weekly instant deposits cost more than one next-day ACH transfer.
Alternatives worth a look
If none of the three fits, the main alternatives are Gumroad for downloads and simple memberships, and Thinkific or Kajabi for courses with marketing tools; both sets are covered in our course platform comparison. Before choosing any platform, check the product has demand: our guide to judging a digital product niche covers that, and the Digital Products program covers offer design, pricing and launches whichever platform you pick. More guides live on the blog.
Skool vs Whop vs Teachable: FAQ
Skool vs Whop: which is better for a paid community?
Skool, if the community is the product. Its group feed, levels and classroom are built so members talk to each other, and course access can unlock by level. Whop can run a community with its Chat and Forums apps, and suits you better if you sell several product types or want a store with no monthly fee. Many creators who mainly host discussion pick Skool; those selling access bundles pick Whop.
Which is cheapest: Skool, Whop or Teachable?
On fees alone, Whop usually is: no monthly plan and 2.7% plus $0.30 per domestic card payment. With illustrative inputs of a $100 product and $5,000 a month in sales, plan plus per-sale fees come to about $150 on Whop, $249 on Teachable Builder and $259 on Skool Pro, before payout fees, tax add-ons and marketplace commissions. Checked October 2026.
Does Skool charge transaction fees?
Yes. The Hobby plan ($9 a month) takes 10% plus 30 cents per transaction. The Pro plan ($99 a month) takes 2.9% plus 30 cents on transactions up to $899 and 3.9% plus 30 cents above $900. Card processing is included and the fees are not refunded. Members Skool brings in through Growth Boost carry a 30% commission on their recurring charges unless you turn it off. Checked October 2026.
Does Teachable still have a community feature?
Not for new schools. Teachable's help center says Community is in maintenance mode and is no longer available to new schools or to schools that have not created one before. Teachable recommends course comments for discussion, or linking a third-party platform such as Discord or Slack from the student dashboard. That makes Teachable a course platform first in 2026. Checked October 2026.
Which platform handles sales tax for me?
Skool says it is the merchant of record and handles EU VAT, adding it on top of your price. Whop handles tax on Discover marketplace sales in jurisdictions where it is registered; on direct sales you can choose Whop-managed tax for 2% per transaction or handle it yourself. Teachable Payments offers tax handling, with a 0.5% fee on taxed transactions under its Standard bundle. Checked October 2026.
Is this comparison affiliated with Whop?
IImagined sells its own courses and All Access membership through Whop, which runs our checkout and billing, and our resources page links to Whop with a referral code. This article contains no affiliate links, and every price and fee in it comes from the platforms’ own pricing and help pages, checked in October 2026.
The platform is step one. The offer decides the rest.
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