Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover courses & coaching. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Podia | Skool | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $42 | From $9 |
| Pricing model | Free trial, then paid | Paid subscription |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 30 days | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | 5% of what you earn | 10% of what you earn |
| Runs on | Web | Not stated |
| Covers | Courses & Coaching, Digital Products & Storefronts | Community Platforms, Courses & Coaching, Memberships & Subscriptions |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
Courses, downloads and email in one place
Podia sells courses, digital downloads, coaching and memberships from one storefront, with an email tool attached so the list and the products live together. Nothing in it is the best version of itself, and that is the trade being offered: one subscription instead of four. The entry plan charges 5 percent of sales, which the two plans above it drop.
Our note
The 5 percent on the entry plan is the number to run first. Past about $850 of monthly sales the fee costs more than the $42 jump to Shaker, and that jump also removes the email subscriber cap.
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Community, courses and a calendar in one paid space
Skool puts a forum, a course player and events behind one membership. The interface is deliberately plain, which keeps people posting, and there is very little customization by design. Both plans take a percentage of what members pay, which is the part of the pricing that has changed most since Skool launched.
Our note
Skool was worth recommending when it was one flat fee, and the two-tier pricing has made it a calculation instead. Run the $1,300 sum against your own numbers before picking a plan, and look at Circle instead if the community needs to look like yours.
Only on this side
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.