Community platforms compared
Every community and course platform people search for, with what it is and what it costs — prices and fees read on each company's own page on October 26, 2026. Where a price couldn't be read, the row says so instead of guessing. Swazy is in the list too: it runs a free or paid community from your link in bio, next to everything else you sell, and moves your members in from Skool, Circle, Whop, Patreon, Kajabi, Discord or a Facebook group.
| Platform | What it is | Price and cut of sales |
|---|---|---|
| Swazy | Free or paid communities in your link in bio — topics, a classroom, events, points and levels — next to the products you sell | Starter $19/month + 4%; Pro $49 + 2%; Studio $99 + 0%. No free plan; a 14-day trial (card needed). |
| Skool | Community, classroom and gamification | Hobby $9/month + 10% + 30¢; Pro $99/month + 2.9% + 30¢ (3.9% + 30¢ on charges over $900); no free plan listed. |
| Circle | Branded community with courses and events | Professional $89 billed yearly, Business $199 billed yearly, Scale $419 billed yearly (per month); 2% / 1% / 1% transaction fee (0.5% on Circle Plus, priced on request). |
| Whop | Marketplace for memberships, apps and communities | No monthly or platform fee listed; card processing 2.7% + 30¢; payouts $2.50 next-day, 4% + $2.50 instant. |
| Mighty Networks | Community, courses and a mobile app | Launch $79/month (2%); Scale $179 (1%); Growth $354 (0.5%); Pro priced on request (0.5%). |
| Patreon | Creator memberships and posts | Free to start; 10% platform fee on income, plus payment processing, currency conversion and payout fees. |
| Heartbeat | Chat-style community platform | Build $49/month ($40 yearly) + 5%, 350 members; Grow $149 ($124) + 2.5%; Scale $849 ($766) + 1.25%. |
| Bettermode | Branded community software for businesses (formerly Tribe) | Starter $199/month ($149 yearly); Growth $1,750 ($1,500); Premium priced on request. |
| Disciple | White-label community apps | See their site (not checked) |
| Memberful | Memberships on your own website | Standard $49/month + 4.9% transaction fee. |
| MemberPress, Supercast | WordPress memberships; paid podcasts | See their site (not checked) |
| Kajabi | Courses, coaching, communities, email and funnels | Basic $179/month billed monthly ($143/month billed yearly); Growth $249 ($199 yearly); Pro $499 ($399 yearly). No revenue share; Kajabi Payments 2.9% + 30¢, plus 2% / 1% / 0.5% on a third-party gateway. |
| Teachable | Course platform | Starter $39/month ($29 yearly) + 7.5%; Builder $89 ($69) + 0%; Growth $189 ($139) + 0%. |
| Thinkific | Course platform with communities | Start $109/month ($82 yearly); Grow $219 ($164); Expand $499 ($374); no free plan; Thinkific Payments 2.9%. |
| Podia | Courses, downloads, memberships and a community | Mover $49/month ($42 yearly) + 5%; Shaker $99 ($84) + 0%; Earthquaker $179 ($150) + 0%. |
| Systeme.io | Funnels, courses and email in one suite | Free (2,000 contacts, 1 course); Startup $17/month; Webinar $47; Unlimited $97; 0% transaction fees. |
| Kartra | Funnels and courses in one suite | Essentials $59/month ($52 yearly) + 5%; Starter $119 ($99) + 0%; Growth $229 ($189); Professional $549 ($429). |
| LearnWorlds, Uscreen, Teachery, Graphy, LearnDash, Teachfloor, SchoolMaker, Pathwright | Course and LMS tools | See their site (not checked) |
| Hivebrite, BuddyBoss, Discourse, Common Room, Commsor, Mobilize | Community software for associations, WordPress sites, forums and B2B teams | See their site (not checked) |
| Discord, Facebook Groups, Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp Communities | Free chat servers and groups | Free for the core product (not re-checked). |
Prices are each company's own, billed monthly unless a row says "yearly", read on October 26, 2026. Card processing (Stripe's or the platform's own) applies on top almost everywhere, Swazy included.
Sources: Skool pricing, Skool fees, Circle pricing, Whop fees, Mighty Networks pricing, Patreon pricing, Heartbeat pricing, Bettermode pricing, Memberful pricing, Kajabi pricing, Teachable pricing, Thinkific pricing, Podia pricing, Systeme.io pricing, Kartra pricing.
Geneva — Bumble bought it in 2024; its standalone app reportedly shut in September 2025.
Three things decide what a community costs you: the monthly price, the platform's cut of each payment, and card processing. A 10% cut costs more than a fixed plan once members pay you more than a few hundred dollars a month; a high monthly price only pays off with a big paying community.
Some platforms here are built for communities (Skool, Circle, Mighty Networks, Heartbeat), some for courses (Kajabi, Teachable, Thinkific, Podia), some for memberships (Patreon, Memberful) and some are free chat apps (Discord, Facebook Groups). Swazy runs a free or paid community from your link in bio, next to everything else you sell.
Discord, Facebook Groups, Slack, Telegram and WhatsApp Communities are free for the core product, and Systeme.io and Patreon are free to start (Patreon takes 10% of income). Skool, Thinkific and Podia list no free plan; Circle and Mighty Networks offer trials.
On their own pages: Whop lists no platform fee (card processing 2.7% + 30¢), Kajabi takes no revenue share, and Podia Shaker, Teachable Builder, Systeme.io and Swazy Studio list 0%. Swazy Starter takes 4% and Pro 2%; Skool Hobby and Patreon take 10%.
Yes, with the built-in move tool, from Skool, Circle, Mighty Networks, Whop, Patreon, Kajabi or any list with emails (Discord and Facebook groups come over by a join link). You can move your community in under 10 minutes; members come over as they tap their invite, and by default paying members get free access until the date they already paid through. See swazy.bio/move-your-community.
Each one was read on the company's own pricing page on October 26, 2026, logged out, in US dollars. Where a page couldn't be read, the row says "See their site" instead of a number.