Looking for the best online course platform? For me, it's Skool! Explore my Skool review with insights, features, and real examples from 3 years of experience.
Are you searching for the best online course platform to host and sell your course?
As a course creator, I've been using Skool.com for the past three years to run my course, along with a members' community and live events.
I remember when I was comparing Skool vs Circle, Skool vs Mighty networks, and Skool vs Kajabi. With so many Skool alternatives it was overwhelming.
But I'm happy to say that Skool turned out to be the perfect choice for me!
In this Skool review, I'll give you an overview of Skool's features, including real examples from my course, so you can decide if it's the right choice for you.
If you want:
For an affordable flat price with unlimited members and courses.
Then the Skool platform might be exactly right for you!
Ready to see what it's like to run your course on Skool through real examples?
Let's get started with this ultimate Skool review!
And by the way, Skool is free for the first 14 days via the free trial, so you can try it risk-free!
Skool is an online course platform, with a focus on community building.
On Skool your members can do 4 things:
Having courses, community, and events on one platform is a fantastic experience for both you and your members.
It might sound complicated, but the interface is minimalistic and extremely easy & intuitive to use. My members love it!
Ready to see Skool in action?
Watch this 1 minute Skool demo video from Skool founder Sam Ovens:
Skool stands out from other online course platforms thanks to its high community engagement fueled by rewards.
It automatically boosts community engagement, without continuous effort from you.
This is how it works:
Members level up via likes from other members on their posts and comments in the community.
You can set up rewards (free courses and events) that unlock automatically when a member reaches a specific level.
Members can explore the rewards they can unlock and see the top-liked members in the leaderboards tab.
This motivates people to make valuable posts and comments for others in the community.
And who could be a better judge of who adds the most value to the community than the community itself?
It's a brilliant system!
You have full control over the rewards you want to give (no rewards is possible too).
Let's have a closer look at how my members experience Skool's key features (courses, community, and events) and how gamification with rewards boosts community engagement, with real examples!
When a new member joins my Skool community, the first thing they see is a lively community with members interacting through posts and comments:
It feels full of energy and they think "How exciting to meet all these like-minded people!".
New members also receive an automated welcome message from me via private chat:
I give them a warm welcome, encourage them to introduce themselves to the community, and explain how to get started with my course.
Tamas went for it and introduced himself via a post:
Next, Tamas navigates to the classroom and opens the course he wants to follow:
The intuitive and organized layout, with each chapter having its own video and resources, makes it easy for him to start learning.
He can easily navigate through the course using a side menu.
He presses play and starts watching the first video.
There are no advertisements on Skool, unlike Facebook or LinkedIn, allowing him to focus.
He finishes the first video in one go, completes the first worksheet, and thinks to himself:
"It feels great to get the first task done!"
From the introduction video of my course Tamas learned he can join weekly live coaching calls with me via the calendar.
Curious, he checks the calendar and sees that this Thursday there is a call scheduled:
Eager to join he clicks the button to add the event to his private calendar and thinks:
"How cool that I can talk live with the course creator!"
Exploring further, he notices the leaderboards with community members ranking based on points and that points can unlock rewards such as a “private onboarding call” (at level 2).
He learns he can earn points from other community members who like his posts and comments.
This gamification feature motivates members to engage more, as points unlock exclusive courses and events for free.
But wait, 6 people already liked his introduction post and went up to level 2:
The first reward is unlocked: A private onboarding call.
He sees the next reward at level 3 is a bonus course.
Thrilled, he plans to engage more in the community to earn additional rewards.
If you're passionate about sharing your knowledge, Skool is here to help you turn that passion into profit. Let’s dive into how you can make money with Skool.
First of all, it's possible to make your Skool completely free (community, courses, and events).
This can for example make sense if you want to use your Skool group to generate leads for other products or services you sell, like private coaching, done-for-you services, or products you sell via an e-commerce store.
If you want to charge money from your Skool members, there are 2 ways built into Skool:
You can combine these 2 methods or apply only 1.
Skool provides a complete solution. You don't need other tools for a landing page, order form, merchant account, etc; it's all built into Skool.
Skool sends payouts to your bank account via Stripe, there is a button in the settings to set this up (it's easy and takes about 3 minutes).
Next, you can start making money, and see your revenue in the dashboard:
You can also sell Skool memberships and courses via your own infrastructure by integrating your own payment system and/or CRM via Zapier.
Later in this article, I'll show you how easy it is to set up your entire Skool (courses, community, events, and rewards) via a few simple steps, including receiving payments.
Right now you're probably excited after seeing all the cool things you can do with the platform and want to know more about Skool pricing, so we'll cover that first.
Skool pricing is straightforward and deciding on your plan couldn't be easier.
There's only 1 plan of $99 per month with everything included:
The 2,9% transaction fee is only on sales you make directly via the platform (which is a low fee compared to Patreon, Discord, Gumroad, Kajabi and Stripe). Alternatively, you can integrate your own payment system and/or CRM via Zapier.
There are no hidden fees or up-sells.
You can cancel your plan anytime, it's very flexible!
What I like the most about the Skool.com pricing model is that the price doesn't go up if you add more members and courses.
And even though all Skool features are always included, I don't feel like I'm paying for things I don't need - because I’m using all of them.
Keep in mind, each Skool plan includes 1 community (group) that's accessible to all your members. If you want multiple separate communities, you will have to subscribe to additional plans.
Many people wonder: is Skool free? Or can I get a discount?
While there’s no free plan, discounts, or special promotions, you can create a free Skool account, and try it for free for 14 days (best deal available) to decide if it’s the right tool for you.
Now that you know what Skool is and are familiar with its key features and pricing, I'll show you how easy it is to set up your entire Skool (I did at all in one day) and walk you through the main admin features to grow and manage your Skool once it's up and running!
As a course creator, the course management features are naturally very important to you.
Here's what you need to know about the Skool online course platform:
Let's have a look at how Skool helps you build an online course
The classroom is where you set up your courses, and your members follow them.
You can add an unlimited amount of courses at no extra cost, so that’s great.
If you have multiple courses, the classroom looks like a scrollable wall displaying all the available content:
Within Skool online course platform, you have the flexibility to offer a mix of free and paid courses and can fully control which members can access each course. This flexibility can attract a broader audience and increase your sales.
Imagine a member browsing your classroom and noticing a course they can't access. Seeing it there can spark their interest and motivate them to gain access, helping you turn free members into paying customers or selling another course to an existing paid course member.
When you add a new course you also decide who can access it, let's see how that looks!
Adding a new course to the classroom is very easy and fast, this is all you need to fill in:
Let's have a closer look at the 5 options for managing course access:
If you choose level unlock, it automatically shows up at the leaderboards tab as a reward members can unlock.
Once a course is added to the classroom, you can create separate pages for each chapter or topic.
You can create a course page within a few minutes via an easy to use drag & drop editor. Here is an example of a course page while editing:
Most of my course pages consist of a video for learning and a worksheet to help members put their knowledge into practice (like in the example above).
Here is everything you can add to a course page:
Skool doesn't have native video hosting yet. You upload your videos to YouTube, Vimeo, Loom, or Wistia and then simply paste the link into Skool:
For me, this works fine because I already use these platforms, and Skool plans to add native hosting in the future.
If members complete a course page they can mark it as done, which gives you analytics regarding their progress in the course:
They can easily navigate through the course pages via the menu on the left.
Great! You've set up an amazing course for your members to follow - now it’s time to leverage Skool's magic, which lies in combining courses and community in one place.
The Skool community platform is where:
For Your Members
The community aspect adds a lively, social, and supportive dimension with:
For You (The Admin)
The community is extremely easy to set up, use, and maintain - as the gamification feature (more on that later) allows you to build an highly engaged online community with minimal effort.
Imagine scrolling through a lively timeline and seeing all your course-related topics being discussed and engaged with.
The Skool community platform quickly became the heart of my group, boosting course completion rates. Members actively give feedback, discuss course materials, and support one another, sometimes even answering each other's questions, which is fantastic!
So if you're wondering “how to build an online community”, Skool might also be a good solution for you!
Creating a new post is simple:
And hit the post button!
Admins also have the option to send a post as an email to all members. This built-in email newsletter lets you reach members outside the Skool platform and encourages them to visit the community. The email will show your post and link to it inside your Skool community.
This is an example of a post I send as an email to my all members:
As an admin you can set up the post categories that your members can choose from.
It's optional, but I find it very handy to keep things organized. I for example have a “support” category where course members can get support with their questions.
You can also create a category that only you can post in but everyone can view, for example, a category where you post video recordings of past live events.
The Skool community engagement software also lets you delete unwanted posts and comments with a simple click, or even completely remove/ban members.
Besides using the forum, you can chat privately with your members, and they can chat with each other one-on-one.
You, can even set up an automated message for new group members. I love this feature because it gives a warm welcome, motivates them, and explains how to get started.
This is what my automated welcome message looks like:
This is all great, but how does the platform notify people when they have unread activities?
Notifications keep everyone in the loop. Just like on social media, the notifications timeline ensures members stay up to date with all community activities, posts, and interactions. They can access it easily at the top right of the screen.
Automated email notifications
Skool’s automated email notifications ensure you can reach your members even when they're not logged into the platform. With a single click, you can send out a digest of:
Skool app: mobile push notifications
If your members have the Skool community app installed, they can also receive mobile push notifications. This approach, email and mobile push notifications helps maintain high levels of interaction and ensures that members never miss out on important updates or discussions.
Notification preferences:
Members can control which types of notifications they receive and how frequently, so you don't have to worry about overwhelming them.
Great, you've set up your course on Skool and have your community figured out. Now, it’s time to explore Skool's most famous feature: Gamification!
Here’s how it works:
This system motivates members to add valuable content and engage with each other. Who better to judge the value of contributions than the community itself? It’s a brilliant system to grow a self-sustaining community with little effort from you!
Plus, you have full control over the rewards. Decide which courses & events unlock as a reward or choose not to set up any rewards at all.
Here’s a real-life example of how this all works out in my community:
Do you see what’s happening here?
Just from this post, nine likes were handed out.
Every member starts at level 1, with level 9 being the highest. Your current level is shown on your avatar
Here are the points (likes) needed to reach each level:
I created a reward for members who reach level 2, where I give away a free email marketing audit worth €1.000. They gain new ideas and insights for optimization, and for me, it's a great way to get them on a call. During the call, I can explain how they can implement the audit findings through my course or hire me to do it for them. It's a very effective way to do sales!
New members can see these rewards as teasers but need to level up to unlock them.
If you think about it for a second, I'm sure you can invent a cool reward for your best members as well!
The members of your community who earned the most points are shown publicly in the Leaderboards tab, which lists the top rankers for three periods:
This is what it looks like:
This is very motivating because it creates a feeling of competition.
In some Skool communities, there's a monthly contest with prizes for the members who earn the most points. Imagine being part of a Skool community for painting courses and having the chance to win a painting created by your teacher. How cool would that be! In my opinion, Skool's gamification tools make it one of the best platforms to build an online community.
As you’ve seen, Skool is all about fostering an engaging online community, and one of the best ways to do this is by hanging out with your members over a live video call (such as via Zoom or Google Meet). This is where Skool’s calendar section shines.
Through the calendar tab, members can easily discover and access your upcoming (online) live events.
Members can then view your events calendar by month, week, or year, with all meeting times and dates adjusted to their timezone, eliminating confusion and increasing the chances of them signing up for an event.
If they are interested in an event, they can easily add it to their private calendar with a button, and access the event via a link you add (e.g., Google Meet or Zoom).
As an admin, you control who can attend an event:
By hosting these events, you can:
For example, I host a weekly live group coaching call (Q&A style) for members of my email marketing course.
It's an hour every Thursday from 5-6 pm, where they can ask me anything about the course, get feedback on their work, and learn from other members' questions.
This feature allows me to sell my course at a higher price and reassures skeptical buyers that I’ll be available throughout the course (and that I stand behind the quality of it). I also get valuable feedback from the questions that people ask that I use to improve my course of time. It's a win-win
Additionally, I host a free monthly masterclass for those who haven’t bought my email marketing course yet. It covers specific topics from the course and ends with a special deal for those who buy within 24 hours, which works great!
I also enable an email notification to be sent out to all my members one day before the event to increase attendance.
Keep in mind: Skool doesn't have built-in video conferencing, so you'll need to link to another tool like Google Meet or Zoom. With great options available, this works fine for me.
An upcoming event is something exciting for members to look forward to, and for admins, it's extremely easy to set up. All you have to do is fill out the template below.
If you set up an event, it gains extra visibility by being featured at the top of the community page.
Let’s dive into how to make money with Skool.
It is possible to make your Skool group completely free (community, courses and events). This approach is perfect if you want to generate leads for other products or services you offer, like private coaching, done-for-you services, or e-commerce products.
However, if you are ready to start earning directly from your Skool community, Skool offers 2 simple ways to monetize your content (you can combine both methods or use only one):
1. Monthly Subscription:
Members pay a monthly fee to access your community and courses & events that are open for all members.
You set the price, for instance, $29/month. This fee appears on your Skool "About page", inviting people to subscribe
Once they pay, they get instant access to everything your community offers to all members.
2. One-time payment for specific courses
Or, imagine offering special courses for a one-time fee, like $999 for a comprehensive course.
Members pay once and gain immediate access to that course or event.
This method lets you monetize individual courses without committing to a subscription model. But it can be combined with the subscription model as well.
The Skool membership platform simplifies payments with an integrated solution. No need for extra tools, Skool handles landing pages, order forms, and payments via Stripe. Setting this up takes just about 3 minutes.
Prefer using your own payment system? No problem! You can integrate your payment processor and CRM with Skool via Zapier.
Integrating your own payment system or CRM through Zapier allows you to:
This flexibility ensures you can manage subscriptions and course access based on your own infrastructure and requirements.
As an admin, you get access to valuable analytics metrics:
This data helps you keep a pulse on your community's health. On your group dashboard, you can see:
When you check an individual member’s profile, you can see their course completion progress. This is useful for motivating and supporting members who might need a little nudge.
Skool has an app for Android and iOS devices. Anything you can do on the desktop, you can do via the app as well. It’s fast, reliable, and user-friendly, allowing members to:
It's very fast and it works great, this is what it looks like:
The skool.com app also supports push notifications, keeping your members updated on community activities. As an admin, you can even adjust your Skool group settings on the go.
We've covered the main Skool features. Want to have a list of all the features Skool has to offer?
You can find that on the Skool features page.
You likely found this Skool review article because you're looking for the best online course platform and wonder: Is Skool good? Is Skool legit? Is it worth it?
In my experience, Skool is the best platform out there and is definitely worth the $99 per month!
As you've seen in this Skool platform review I can run my courses, community, and online live events all from one simple platform.
Skool makes it easy for me to earn an income from the value I add for my members, and my members love using Skool tool. It's a win-win.
I also like how the built-in gamification with rewards boosts community engagement, without continuous effort from me.
All that for an affordable price of $99 per month, with unlimited members and courses.
There are 3 cons on the list with features I wish Skool also had. But there is a workaround for all of them so I can still do everything I want. And by the way, new features are being added all the time.
Via this Skool review, you've had an inside view of what it's like to run your course on Skool.
But the only way to find out if Skool is the best choice for you is to try it yourself.
Via the 14-day Skool.com free trial, you can do that completely risk-free.
I encourage you to give it a try and hopefully, you'll like Skool as much as me!
