Brutally Honest Skool Review – Pros, Cons and Pricing (2023)

If you're deciding to use Skool to build your online community, here's a brutely honest Skool review to help you know all the ins and outs before you go ahead and buy a monthly subscription.

Skool is a useful platform for creators where they can set up their communities and run courses. However, your decision to build a Tribe on Skool, will depend on many things and I don't want you to get lost in the hype running on the internet and take a decision that is best for you and your business.

What is inside

• Skool pricing
• Skool versus Kajabi
• Skool versus Facebook Group
• Stuff I like and don't like about Skool
• What my experience with Skool.com by Sam Ovens has been like

I've been using Skool for a good two years as a user and also as a community owner, so I think I'm pretty well placed to give you a no-holds-barred review of Skool.

You can also check out other community owners and see what they think in this free Skool community.

Quick intro

Just a quick heads-up:

If you're here, chances are you either already run a community or are busy putting one together. A community around your brand is the best thing a business can have. I wrote an article about this for Forbes recently, called 'The Tribe Effect.' Businesses everywhere are starting to get how important communities are and now's a great time to start your own.

In fact, we have recently launched a 5 days community building course and our invite-only community on Skool.

With so many options out there like Circle, Kajabi, Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups, it can be pretty hard to figure out which platform to go with.

If Skool's caught your eye and you're thinking about using it to build your community, let's get into the nitty-gritty.

Skool Community Platform Review

Skool was put together by this guy called Sam Ovens, who's also behind consulting.com. After doing tons of research and working with loads of creators and consultants, Sam decided to make a community platform that's a bit different from everything else out there.

At first look, you can see that Skool has this clean, tidy layout and some interesting features. It's all part of Sam's no-nonsense approach to solving some old problems in community engagement. If you're used to Facebook groups, you'll love Skool's simple design, funky fonts, and easy-to-use experience. It's like a breath of fresh air

Skool is not a perfect solution for everyone

Just to set the record straight, even though some articles might make it seem like Skool is for everyone, that's not really the case. Skool is actually a great solution for coaches, consultants, and folks who own information businesses. So, if you're not in any of these lines of work, Skool might not be the right fit for you.

But hey, if you're a course creator or an information entrepreneur (like a coach, consultant, or creator), Skool might just be the straightforward solution you need to boost sales, build stronger trust, and ramp up engagement with your target audience.

So, if you're into selling courses or subscriptions, Skool is your jam. But if you're all about selling physical products, Skool might not be your best bet. There are other platforms out there that might suit you better than Skool.com.

Skool Feature Review - from Top Notch to Not So Hot

One of the coolest things about Skool is its less-is-more approach. Using other tools like Kajabi or Facebook groups can sometimes feel like a bit of a chore. Skool, on the other hand, makes life easier by keeping things simple and cutting through the clutter of building a community and selling courses.

As someone who's been selling courses for years, I find Skool to be a breath of fresh air. The interface isn't all in your face; it gives you just what you need and leaves out what you don't. Here are a few key features:

Skool's High Points

• Incredible UI: It offers a smooth, slick experience that makes you want to use the platform, unlike some other ones.
• Single sign-on (SSO): No matter how many groups you're running, you only need to log in once. This solves a big headache for folks wanting to sell more expensive stuff (upsell) or run multiple groups.
• Personalized leaderboard: A leaderboard to keep an eye on and track member engagement.
• Personalized sections: Member profile, chat, and follow options to foster more connections.
• Rich course hosting
• Gamified engagement where members can unlock new features or courses as they level up.
• Subscription membership: After the recent update, you can charge a monthly subscription fee from your members, making it a way to monetize your content and membership.

Skool subscription review review

Skool recently introduced the premium membership feature. This allows users to host free and premium memberships within the single platform. For hosting mastermind groups and offering upsells, it can be highly useful.

Skool offers one-click upgrade and option to create multi-tiered membership plans for community builders and you can enable it.

Cons of Skool platform

But let's be real, not everything about Skool is rainbows and unicorns. For instance, Skool doesn't currently offer native video hosting for courses, although that's supposed to be rolling out by the end of 2023. So if you're planning on hosting your own courses, you might have to partner up with Wistia, Vimeo, or YouTube for the time being. In my own experience, Loom videos gel really well with Skool and provide a distraction-free vibe.

Another biggie is the lack of quizzes and resource uploading. Skool doesn't currently offer built-in PDF and file hosting features. Sure, you can work around this with other tools, and it's not exactly a deal breaker, but it would've been sweet to have this feature.

Here's another tick with Skool: it doesn't include a funnel builder. So you'll need to rustle up your own website hosted somewhere else if you want to have a sales funnel. 98% of time, you do not need it. 

Those are the main downsides for me, but it's worth noting that with Skool you can host unlimited users, set up drip-feed for your courses, and establish different access levels to boost engagement. 

Now that you've seen both the good and the not-so-good, let's dive into Skool's pricing.

Skool Pricing Review

Skool gives you a 14-day free trial, after which it costs $99 per month to host one community. A community can include an unlimited number of users and all-access courses. When you stack it up against Teachable's $199 per month and Kajabi's $199 and up per month, Skool's pricing is pretty competitive.

Visit Skool pricing page

What I really dig is the 24/7 customer service and a team of tech gurus who are always ready to lend a hand with any technical issues. When I was using Teachable to host my courses, I hit a snag with the support team that took three days to resolve, which ended up costing me nearly a grand because of a technical bug. And that all happened when I was paying $199/mo for that tool.

Skool's lifetime deal: Skool doesn't offer a lifetime deal. The only option right now is a monthly subscription of $99 per community.

Skool user experience review

Skool's less-is-more approach feels like a breath of fresh air in the bustling world of online community building. While other platforms try to pile on as many features as possible, Skool keeps it sleek and simple, giving you just what you need.

This approach can actually boost engagement in your community and can help improve the stickiness and lifetime value of community members.

Skool Mobile App - iOS and Android Experience

Skool recently rolled out a mobile app with a bunch of features designed to ramp up user engagement. My own experience with the iOS app wasn't all that different from using Skool on a desktop, which is nice because it feels familiar and comfy.

One cool addition is push notifications for group members, which can really help to drive engagement. Members can stay connected all the time, receive notifications, and this can bump up your daily active users (DAU).

Is Skool Support better than the competitors? 

As a community manager, support is super important to me. Skool offers community-based support for all customers and will provide direct email-based support if needed.

One of the things I love most about Skool is the community itself. Seeing other people building thriving communities is pretty inspiring. And it seems like everyone in the group is always ready to lend a hand.

Even if you don't have a specific issue, the group is always ready to share wisdom and advice. Skool provides personalized support tailored to your needs and makes sure all customers get their questions answered promptly.

But heads up, sometimes there's so much information it can feel like overload. So try not to get dazzled by the next shiny new thing.

Skool Alternatives

Skool vs Kajabi

So, Kajabi is like that multi-tool you keep in your drawer - it does a whole lot. It's got course creation, email marketing, and more, all under one roof. Now, that might sound great, but sometimes it's a bit much, like trying to navigate a spaceship when all you want to do is host a course and build a community.

Skool, on the contrary, subscribes to a more minimalist philosophy, concentrating its efforts on community building and course hosting. By prioritizing these two key areas, Skool streamlines the user experience and avoids overwhelming users with a multitude of features.

When it comes to your wallet, Kajabi can be a little steep, starting at $149 a month. Skool, on the other hand, comes in at a friendly $99 a month. Plus, with Skool, you get to host an unlimited number of users and complete courses in one community.

One area where Kajabi currently holds the advantage is native video hosting for courses, a feature Skool has yet to incorporate.

So, here's the rundown: if you want everything and the kitchen sink and you're okay with the price, Kajabi could be your match. But, if building an engaged community and simplicity are your jam, Skool might be the one for you.

Skool vs. Facebook Group

Let's face it, Facebook groups are a bit of a letdown. Sorry, Zuck!

Back in 2017, I spent loads of money populating my group with all sorts of people. Little did I know that one algorithm update would tank my engagement levels and that I'd have to pay just to reach my own community members.

Skool, on the other hand, tackles the major issues of a confusing interface and too many distractions. You can grow engagement, get feedback and eventually take your relationship with your members to the next level by building group funnels.

Skool vs Circle

Circle is a platform that allows you to create your very own online space, kind of like your personal virtual island. It's flexible and customizable, which is awesome for those who want full control of how their online community looks and feels.

On the flip side, there's Skool. Skool is less about all those fancy customizations and more about simplicity and focus. It's designed to help you build an engaging online community and host courses without getting lost in a sea of features. It's like your cozy community center that has everything you need and nothing you don't.

Now, when it comes to pricing, Circle charges based on the number of members you have. It starts at $39 a month for up to 1,000 members. Skool, however, is $99 a month, but it gives you the freedom to host unlimited members and full courses in one community.

One thing Circle really has going for it is its integration capabilities. You can connect it with tools like Zapier, allowing you to automate processes and connect with many other apps. This can be particularly useful for tech startups managing their developer communities.

Skool's features are tailored for creators and information businesses. It also offers integration with thousands of apps through Zapier but the features are targeted towards automating the management.

Skool Add-ons

Skool is a pretty chill platform for hosting courses and communities. But if you're building an online community empire, there are three additional things you'll need. Luckily, these are the only things you'll need.

Back when I started my own course business in 2019, it was a huge headache to manage communities on Telegram, sales funnels on ClickFunnels, courses on Teachable, calendars on Google, plus a few other tools. But you don't have to go through all that.

Here are all the tools you might need to manage your entire education and community business:

1. A Sales Funnel Builder

You'll still need a place to host your checkout pages, sales pages, and blogs to draw more people to your platform. If you're new to building sales funnels, there's no better place than ClickFunnels. It's easy-to-use and has an incredible community of funnel hackers as they call it.

I'm personally a big fan of the Thrive Themes if you are already using WordPress for your website. This will turn your entire website into a conversion-focused funnel. With complete control over your themes and hundreds of templates it's the perfect solution.

With woo-commerce integration and costing less than a dollar a day, this is all you need. You can create checkout pages, connect with various email services, and make beautiful pages without the headaches on WordPress.

2. Email Marketing System

Email marketing software is another crucial tool you'll need to build a complete sales funnel and engagement system. Generating leads, sending newsletters, and email updates is key.

For this, I recommend ConvertKit for all your email marketing needs.

I found it super intuitive to use and easy to get started with. You can start for free and only pay once you have more than 300 subscribers, so there's zero cost upfront.

Plus, for less than $30 a month, you can automate your entire email marketing system and run it like a boss. With ConvertKit, it's easy to create automated flows, subscriber tags, and segmentations, all without overwhelming designs.

What is next for you?

If you're looking to build a community around your products or make money by creating an online community, Skool is a solid option. It cuts through the clutter and gives you just what you need to grow a community and harness it for the end KPI you're shooting for (which is making money, right?).

In the end, the best way to get a real feel for Skool is to try it out for yourself. You can snag a 14-day Skool trial for free.

If you are unsure where to begin join our Tribe and start learning. It will be a pleasure having you.

You can easily cancel if it's not your thing, so there's no risk. And if you decide to stick with it, I'd love to hear more about your business in the comments.