vs Skool: the honest math at 200 members.
We say 'creators keep $64/mo more on our Pro tier at 200 members'. Here's the line-by-line math, with current AUD/USD FX and the per-transaction fees Skool charges that we don't. With a worked example a real coach can drop their numbers into.
The scenario
A scaling coach with 200 paying members at $49 AUD/mo = $9,800 MRR. They're deciding between staying on Skool Pro or migrating to The Platform Pro.
The math people usually skip: Skool Pro charges 2.9% + $0.30 USD per transaction on top of its $99 USD/mo subscription. At 200 transactions a month, those flat fees alone are 200 × $0.30 USD ≈ $84 AUD/mo at the current FX (USD/AUD 1.40, indicative May 2026). That's real money creators forget about when they compare to a sticker price.
Critical caveat: these tables compare platform fees only. Stripe Connect processor fees apply to both Skool and The Platform — they're billed by Stripe directly to your Connect account, not by either platform. We've excluded them on both sides to keep the comparison apples-to-apples.
Skool side
| Skool Pro subscription | $99 USD = $138.60 AUD/mo |
| Take rate, 2.9% on $9,800 | $284.20 AUD/mo |
| Per-transaction fee, 200 × $0.30 USD | $84.00 AUD/mo |
| Total Skool fees | $506.80 AUD/mo |
| Creator keeps | $9,293.20 AUD/mo |
Platform side
| The Platform Pro subscription | $149 AUD/mo |
| Take rate, 3% on $9,800 | $294.00 AUD/mo |
| Per-transaction fee | $0 (none) |
| Total Platform fees | $443.00 AUD/mo |
| Creator keeps | $9,357.00 AUD/mo |
The delta + what it doesn’t capture
+$64 AUD/mo stays in the creator's pocket on The Platform versus Skool, at 200 members and $49 AUD/mo pricing. That's $768/year on a single math difference, before factoring in any of the qualitative differences.
What this comparison doesn’t capture:
- Chat-native delivery. Members get the skill in Telegram, where they already are 50× a day. Skool requires opening the Skool app or website. Engagement differential is real, harder to put a number on.
- Creator owns the IP. Skill Packs are real GitHub repos owned by the creator. If The Platform vanishes tomorrow, the installed code still works. Skool members lose access if Skool shuts down.
- AI skills as the atomic unit. Skool sells video courses. We sell deployed code that runs in your buyer's workflow. Different products for different markets.
- Affiliate engine. Built-in 30% tier-1 lifetime + 5% tier-2 override MRR-only program, paid from our take rate not yours. Skool has no equivalent.
If your product is fundamentally video lessons + community access, stay on Skool. We aren't the right rail for that. If your product is an AI skill your buyers want running in their chat, the math + the delivery model + the IP ownership all point one way.
Drop your own numbers into the calculator at /pricing#savings-calculator. It re-runs the math live with your member count and price-per-member.
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