Patreon vs Skool (2026): Pricing, Fees and Which to Pick
Patreon costs nothing monthly and takes 10% of your income, with payment processing, currency conversion and payout fees charged on top. Skool is $9 or $99 a month and takes 10% or 2.9% + $0.30, processing included. Patreon wins while you are small and sells tiered perks; Skool wins once you pass roughly $1,394 a month and what you sell is a course and a community.
Prices taken from skool.com and patreon’s own pricing page on 16 August 2026.
Skool vs Patreon: the short answer
Pick Skool if…
What you sell is teaching — a curriculum, a cohort, a group that shows up for each other. Skool has courses, live calls and gamification built in, and its 2.9% Pro fee already includes payment processing.
Pick Patreon if…
You are monetising an existing audience with tiered perks — art, music, a podcast — or you are under about $1,000 a month, where paying no rent beats paying $9 or $99 for a lower percentage.
Pricing and fees compared
| Skool | Patreon | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan, billed monthly | $9/mo (Hobby) | $0/mo — free to start |
| Entry plan, billed yearly | $7.50/mo | No subscription to discount |
| Next tier up | $99/mo (Pro) | None — one rate for everyone |
| Platform fee | 10% Hobby / 2.9% + $0.30 Pro | 10% of income earned |
| Payment processing | Included — Skool processes it | Charged on top; percentage not published |
| Currency conversion and payouts | No separate charge | Charged on top; percentage not published |
| Free trial | 14 days | Not needed — free until you earn |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
Headline prices tell you less than the fee structure does. Work your own numbers through the Skool fee calculator before you commit either way.
Features compared
| Skool | Patreon | |
|---|---|---|
| Courses with modules and lessons | Yes | No |
| Membership tiers at different prices | No | Yes |
| One-off payments | No | Yes |
| Live calls / livestreaming | Yes | Yes |
| Gamification (points, levels) | Yes | No |
| Email newsletters to members | No | Yes |
| Podcast hosting and RSS | No | Yes |
| Public discovery directory | Yes | Yes |
| Custom URL | Yes | Yes |
| Communities per account | One | One page |
Where Skool loses
Every comparison you will read is written by someone with a preference. Here is the case against Skool, stated plainly:
- One community at one price, so a $10 tier and a $100 tier mean two subscriptions — the single biggest gap against Patreon.
- The Pro fee steps from 2.9% to 3.9% + $0.30 on transactions of $900 or more, which lands on exactly the high-ticket offers Skool is recommended for.
- No email marketing or automation, so most creators pay for a separate tool.
- No control over colours, fonts or branding — every Skool community looks like Skool.
- You pay the $9 before your first member arrives; Patreon charges nothing until you earn.
Where Patreon loses
- The 10% is a floor, not the total: processing, currency conversion and payout fees are charged on top and Patreon does not publish those percentages on its pricing page.
- No courses. Patreon's own feature list covers posts, video, chats and newsletters — there is no module-and-lesson structure, so a curriculum ends up in Google Docs.
- The percentage never falls. There is no higher tier that buys you a lower rate, so 10% at $500 a month is 10% at $50,000.
- Members do not really meet each other. Comments under a post are not a community, and retention on a paid group comes from the other members.
- Patreon retired its old 8% and 12% plans for a single 10%, so comparisons still quoting 8% are out of date.
Skool vs Patreon FAQ
- Is Skool cheaper than Patreon?
- Above roughly $1,394 a month, yes, and probably sooner. Reading Patreon's fees as generously as possible — 10% and nothing else — Skool Pro's $99 + 2.9% overtakes it at $1,394. Every point of processing Patreon adds pulls that crossover down. Below about $1,000 a month Patreon is genuinely cheaper, because paying no rent beats paying for a lower percentage.
- Does Skool have tiers like Patreon?
- No. Skool is one community at one price, and one community per account, so running two price points means two subscriptions. If tiering is central to your offer that is a real reason to stay on Patreon.
- Can you sell courses on Patreon?
- Not as courses. Patreon has posts, video, livestreams, chats and newsletters, but no module-and-lesson structure, so a curriculum has to be assembled out of posts or hosted elsewhere and linked. Skool has unlimited courses on both plans.
- Can you move your Patreon members to Skool?
- There is no one-click migration. You can export your member list from Patreon and invite people into Skool, but payment authorisations do not transfer — every member re-subscribes by hand. Plan for attrition and time the move around a launch rather than moving quietly mid-month.
Other Skool comparisons
Try Skool before you decide
Fourteen days, both plans, and you can switch tiers at any time. Cheaper than being wrong about Patreon for a year.
Start your free Skool trial (opens in a new tab)