How to Choose a Community Platform for Paid Groups with Course Content

Choosing a community platform for paid groups with course content is not the same as choosing a course host. You are choosing the home for a paid learning relationship, where members may be paying for lessons, access, accountability, live sessions, peer feedback or a mix of all four.

That makes the first question simple: what are members really buying? If they are buying the group itself, Skool or Mighty Networks should be high on the shortlist. If they are buying a broader course business with email, funnels and offers around it, Kajabi is the cleaner fit.

This guide is not an overall LMS ranking. In EverythingLMS’ fixed ranking, Thinkific is the top overall platform, Teachable is second, and LearnWorlds is third. For this specific community-led use case, the useful comparison is Skool, Mighty Networks and Kajabi, because each solves a different version of the paid-group problem.

Choose based on what you are really selling

Choose Skool if the paid group is the main product and the course content supports the discussion. It gives you a simple community-first structure, with Classroom for organised pages, folders, videos, files, resource links, searchable video transcripts and pinned community posts tied to course pages.

The trade-off is course depth. Skool is a good fit for guides, resources, playbooks and straightforward lessons, but it should not be treated as a full LMS replacement for complex assessments, certificates or corporate reporting.

Choose Mighty Networks if the member experience needs more structure. It supports paid memberships, events, resource libraries, courses, spaces and bundles, which suits communities with programmes, cohorts or recurring member activity.

The downside is that more structure means more setup decisions. If you only need one paid group with a simple course area, Mighty Networks can feel heavier than Skool.

Choose Kajabi if the paid group is one part of a complete creator business. Kajabi brings courses, coaching, memberships, newsletters, email, funnels, checkout, payments, automations and community into one system.

That convenience comes with a higher recorded starting price than several creator tools. EverythingLMS records Kajabi from $89, while Skool is recorded at $99 and Mighty Networks from $41.

Is the community or the course the main product?

If the community is the product, optimise for member behaviour first. Look at discussion quality, access rules, notifications, member discovery, events, spaces and how easily people can find the right conversation.

Skool fits here if you want a simpler paid group where lessons sit beside the community. The limitation is that the course layer is intentionally straightforward, so it works best when learning happens through the group as much as through the curriculum.

Mighty Networks also fits community-first businesses, especially when the community needs different spaces for courses, events, challenges or member segments. The catch is that those extra layers need design work, or the community can become harder to run than it needs to be.

If the course is the main product, the priorities change. You should care more about curriculum structure, offers, checkout, email, automations, student management and reporting than the social feed.

Kajabi is stronger in that course-business case because the community sits beside the sales and delivery system. The trade-off is focus: Kajabi is not the pure community specialist in this group, and buyers who want a social product first may prefer Skool or Mighty Networks.

What paid-access model do you need?

Map your access model before you compare features. Most paid groups fall into one of seven patterns: free community plus paid upgrade, monthly membership, annual membership, tiered access, one-time course access, cohort access, or a bundle of course, community and coaching.

Skool’s documented pricing options cover free groups, subscriptions, freemium, tiered pricing, one-time payment and a 7-day free trial for member subscriptions. That is a useful range for community-led products, but the fee rules still need checking before you price a high-ticket offer.

Mighty Networks supports recurring monthly or annual memberships, one-time fees, and bundles that combine courses with monthly membership. It is a better fit if access needs to vary by course, cohort, event series or resource library.

The limitation is complexity. If your business has one offer and one audience, that extra flexibility may not improve the member experience.

Kajabi supports private, paid and tiered communities, with billing and access managed inside Kajabi. It also supports subscriptions, upsells and community bundles with larger programmes.

That makes Kajabi useful for a paid group attached to a funnel or course offer. It is less compelling if you do not need the sales system around the community.

How much course structure do you need?

For light course structure, Skool’s Classroom is often enough. It can hold pages, folders, videos, resource links, downloadable files and searchable video transcripts, with pinned community posts connected to course pages.

That works well for playbooks, templates, resource libraries and guided programmes. It is not the right benchmark if you need the richest course design, where EverythingLMS ranks LearnWorlds as the stronger course-design platform.

Mighty Networks goes further on course and programme formats. Its pricing grid lists on-demand courses, cohort-based courses, live courses and challenges, quizzes or tests, resource libraries, habit trackers, native video upload, drip courses, badges and certifications, and AI course-outline support.

The trade-off is that broad capability does not automatically create a better course. If your content is mostly a few lessons and weekly prompts, Mighty’s extra course options may be more than you need.

Kajabi should be viewed differently. Its advantage is not only the lesson area, but the way courses connect to checkout, payments, email, funnels, automations and customer management.

The downside is that Kajabi’s community decision is tied to the whole business system. If you already have email, checkout and funnels elsewhere, moving everything into Kajabi may be a bigger change than the community needs.

Do you need events, spaces and recurring programming?

Paid communities usually retain members through recurring interaction, not static lessons alone. If members stop meeting, posting or getting feedback, the course library starts to look like a one-time purchase.

Mighty Networks is strong for structured community programming. Its multi-feature Spaces allow a space to combine features such as course material, course community and events, which suits cohorts, themed rooms and recurring programmes.

The catch is operational. More spaces and events mean more moderation, more calendar management and more decisions about where each conversation belongs.

Skool is better if you want a simpler rhythm around a central community and Classroom content. That can work well for accountability groups, coaching communities and creator-led memberships where the main value is participation.

The limitation is that buyers wanting a more layered event and space architecture may outgrow the simple setup. In that case, Mighty Networks deserves a closer look.

Kajabi’s community product now supports a redesigned experience, expanded search, branded colours and channels that can use Feed, Gallery or Forum layouts. That is useful if the community supports a bigger product suite, but Kajabi’s main strength remains the wider course-business stack.

How much does a paid community platform really cost?

The monthly price is only the first layer. For paid groups, the real cost has four parts: platform subscription, platform transaction fee, payment-processing or card fee, and app-store fee where mobile in-app purchases are involved.

EverythingLMS records Skool at $99. Skool’s own payments FAQ also describes transaction fees that vary by plan and amount: Pro-plan transactions up to $899 are charged 2.9% + $0.30, transactions above $900 are charged 3.9% + $0.30, and Hobby-plan transactions are charged 10% + $0.30.

That means Skool should not be treated as a flat-cost-only platform. Its transaction fees are non-refundable, and its current transaction limit is up to $100,000 per charge, so the numbers matter more as offer price rises.

EverythingLMS records Mighty Networks from $41. Mighty’s transaction-fee documentation lists platform fees of 5% on Explore, 2% on Launch, 1% on Scale, 0.50% on Growth, and 5% during the Growth free trial.

Mighty also says Stripe and card-company processing fees apply to web payments and typically range from 2.5% to 5% per transaction. For iOS purchases through the Mighty Networks app, Apple’s in-app purchase system applies, Apple charges 15% under its standard policy, and Mighty does not add an extra Mighty transaction fee.

EverythingLMS records Kajabi from $89. Kajabi’s pricing separates payment-processing rates for Kajabi Payments from third-party payment provider fees, and its help docs list extra payment-related fees in areas such as international cards, ACH, payment plans, disputes and currency conversion.

Kajabi is attractive if replacing several tools reduces your total stack cost. The catch is that a higher platform subscription can still be the wrong choice if you only need community, course pages and basic paid access.

Do you need marketing automation and sales funnels?

Choose Kajabi if marketing and sales operations are central to the offer. It is built for creators who want website, checkout, payments, email, funnels, automations, courses and community in one place.

The drawback is commitment. Kajabi makes the most sense when you are willing to run the business through it, not when you want to add a lightweight community beside an existing stack.

Choose Skool if the community itself drives acquisition, retention and delivery. Its simpler model suits creators who sell the group as the main experience, but advanced email marketing and funnel work may require other tools.

Choose Mighty Networks if the member experience matters more than the funnel. It is strong when the offer depends on spaces, events, courses and recurring programming, but it should not be bought only to replace a dedicated marketing stack unless that workflow has been checked carefully.

Skool vs Mighty Networks vs Kajabi for paid groups

Skool is the simple community-first option. Best fit: paid groups where discussion, accountability and Classroom resources are the core product. Fees to watch: subscription cost, plan-based transaction fees and the amount-based jump above $900 on Pro-plan transactions.

Mighty Networks is the richer community and programming option. Best fit: memberships with spaces, events, courses, resource libraries, cohorts or different member journeys. Fees to watch: platform transaction fees by plan, Stripe or card fees, and Apple’s 15% in-app purchase fee where relevant.

Kajabi is the all-in-one course-business option. Best fit: creators selling courses, memberships or coaching with community included in a wider sales system. Fees to watch: the recorded from-$89 platform price, Kajabi Payments processing rates, third-party provider fees and extra payment-related charges.

The practical split is clear. Pick Skool if the group is the product, Mighty Networks if the community needs more architecture, and Kajabi if the community is attached to a larger course business.

What should you check before migrating members?

Before you commit, audit everything that has to move. That includes course videos, downloads, posts, comments, student accounts, member history, access groups, live-call calendars, emails, offers, coupons, subscriptions and payment processors.

The payment piece is the one that catches teams out. Check whether existing subscriptions can be migrated cleanly, or whether members must re-enter payment details after the move.

Plan tiers before importing content. Your courses, spaces, events and community areas should map cleanly to paid offers, or members will end up with confusing access rules on day one.

Export member data and content backups where possible before launch. Even when a move is technically simple, rebuilding trust after lost posts, broken access or missing resources is a slog.

Final verdict: which platform should you shortlist?

Shortlist Skool if the paid group is the product and course content supports the community. It is the cleanest fit for simple community-led delivery, but less suitable if you need advanced course design or formal LMS controls.

Shortlist Mighty Networks if the paid group needs richer spaces, events, resources and programming. It gives more room to design the member experience, but it also asks more of the operator.

Shortlist Kajabi if the community is part of a complete creator business. It is the better fit when courses, checkout, email, funnels, automations and website management belong in one platform, but it is more than many simple paid groups need.

If you are still early, decide the product before deciding the platform. A course library, an accountability group and a full creator business may all contain lessons, but they need different homes.