Backpack vs Skool AutoDM: Do You Need Both?

Skool AutoDM is Skool's built-in welcome message, and for some owners it is all the automation they need. We make Backpack, a $9 a month tool for Skool community owners, so read this knowing that. The fair question is this: Skool already sends an automatic DM, so why add a tool? Below is what AutoDM does according to Skool's help centre, what Skool already does when a card fails or a member cancels, and only then where Backpack adds something. Every Skool fact was checked on Skool's own pages on 29 September 2026.

Backpack vs Skool AutoDM at a glance

What Skool AutoDM does

AutoDM is a plugin inside Skool. Skool's plugins article says to use it "to welcome new members to your group" and marks it as a Pro plan plugin. It sends one message that you write.

Here is how it behaves, per Skool's AutoDM help article:

• Trigger: a new member joins your group.
• Speed: they get the message "within 1 to 5 minutes of joining the group".
• Sender: you can change who it comes from, but only group admins can send it.
• One exception: if a conversation already exists, the member does not get an AutoDM.

Skool's own tip is to ask one open question and one closed one, such as whether they are new to Skool and what made them join.

How to turn it on

These are the steps from Skool's help article:

1. Click the SETTINGS button in your community.
2. Go to the Plugins tab and click EDIT.
3. Write your message in the message box. Add #NAME# and #GROUPNAME# if you want them, and use PREVIEW to check the formatting.
4. To change the sender, click Change. Only group admins can send the AutoDM.
5. Click SAVE and toggle the feature ON.

Which plan it needs

AutoDM needs Skool's Pro plan. Skool's pricing page lists Hobby at $9 a month and Pro at $99 a month, and the plugins article marks AutoDM "Pro plan". For the full cost of each plan, fees included, see our Skool pricing guide.

What Skool already does when a card fails or a member cancels

Failed payments

Skool does not ignore a failed card. Per its help article on declines, the member gets a red "Declined" label. Open the declined invoice and you can see why the card was declined, how many payment retries Skool has already made out of the total, and a way to retry the charge by hand. The member sees the error too, with a prompt to update their billing method. Our guide to Skool failed payments covers what to do next.

Cancellations

On Pro, Skool has a cancellation video. You add it in the Plugins tab, by uploading a video or embedding a link, and members see it on step two when they go to cancel (Skool's help article). Skool's tip is to explain what they would lose by leaving, and keep it light.

What is not there

None of this is a message from you. The plugins article lists no plugin that messages a member when their card fails or after they cancel. The retries and the Declined label happen on Skool's side, and the cancellation video plays during the cancel steps. If you want a personal note at either moment, you send it by hand or use a tool.

When Skool's AutoDM is enough

For some owners, a Skool auto DM on join is all they want. AutoDM is enough, and you may not need Backpack, if:

• You are on Pro and only want to welcome people. AutoDM comes with Pro and arrives in 1 to 5 minutes. Backpack's welcome can take up to an hour.
• Your community is free. With no paid members, there are no failed cards or paid cancellations to follow up.
• Only a few members fail or cancel. Skool already retries the card and flags the member as Declined. If that is a handful a month, a DM you send by hand does the job.
• You do not want an outside tool holding your Skool session. AutoDM runs inside Skool. Backpack, to send with your computer off, stores your Skool session.

If that is you, keep your $9.

When Backpack adds something

Backpack is a Chrome extension plus our servers. It does five things for every Skool community you admin, for $9 a month with 7 days free. You write every message, and it sends exactly what you wrote from your own Skool account, as a normal DM. It is worth adding if you want:

• A follow-up when a card fails. Payment Recovery starts within an hour of the failed payment, on top of Skool's own retries, and stops once the member pays.
• A message when someone cancels. Cancellation Recovery sends when a member cancels and stops if they resubscribe. It does a different job from the cancellation video, which plays during the cancel steps.
• More than one welcome. Welcome Drip sends your welcome within an hour of someone joining, then a check-in a few days later.
• Scheduled posts. Pick the day and time in your own time zone, and it posts from our servers. See how to schedule Skool posts.
• Your own Claude or ChatGPT. Connect it with one link, then ask who failed a payment this week, or have it write a post for your schedule.

Know the trade-offs. Backpack is $9 a month on top of your Skool plan, and it only works in communities you admin. It is not on the Chrome Web Store yet. To send with your computer off, it stores your Skool session, encrypted at rest, with the key held apart from the database. It never asks for or stores your Skool password, and you can revoke access at any time, which deletes the session. Backpack is not made by or affiliated with Skool. For more on keeping paying members, see how to reduce churn on Skool.

Do you need both?

Only if you want the jobs AutoDM does not do. The one overlap is the welcome, and both let you switch it off: AutoDM is a toggle in Plugins, and any Backpack message you switch off never sends. So pick one to say hello:

• AutoDM for the hello, Backpack for the rest. Keep AutoDM on for the fast first message, switch off Backpack's welcome messages, and use Backpack for failed payments, cancellations and posts.
• Backpack for the whole welcome. Switch AutoDM off and use Welcome Drip if you want a hello and then a check-in a few days later.
• AutoDM alone. If a single hello is all you need, stop here.

So Backpack vs Skool AutoDM is less a choice between two tools than a question of which moments you want covered. If failed cards and cancellations are the gap, try Backpack free for 7 days.

FAQ

Is Skool AutoDM free?

Only if you already pay for Skool Pro. AutoDM comes with the Pro plan, which is $99 a month, and Skool lists no separate price for it. The Hobby plan, at $9 a month, does not include it. Backpack is a separate $9 a month, with 7 days free.

Does AutoDM work on the Hobby plan?

No. Skool's plugins help article lists AutoDM as a Pro plan plugin, and Skool's pricing page puts Pro at $99 a month against $9 for Hobby. The plugins that article lists for both plans are membership questions, unlocking chat at a set level, and unlocking posting at level 2 or 3.

Can Skool AutoDM message members whose payment failed?

Not as Skool's help centre describes it. AutoDM is for welcoming new members when they join. For a failed card, Skool retries the charge, marks the member "Declined" and prompts them to update their billing method, and you can retry by hand. A tool like Backpack adds a follow-up DM in your own words.

How fast does Skool AutoDM send?

Within 1 to 5 minutes of a new member joining, according to Skool's help article on setting it up. There is one exception: if a conversation already exists, the member does not get an AutoDM. Backpack's Welcome Drip sends within an hour of someone joining, then a check-in a few days later.

Can I use Skool AutoDM and Backpack together?

If you run both, let only one of them send the welcome. AutoDM can be switched off in the Plugins tab, and any Backpack message you switch off never sends. A simple split is AutoDM for the first hello and Backpack for failed payments, cancellations and scheduled posts, with Backpack's welcome messages switched off.

Does Backpack need my Skool password?

No. Backpack never asks for or stores your Skool password. To send with your computer off, it stores your Skool session, encrypted at rest. You can revoke it at any time, and it is deleted when you do. AutoDM needs none of this, because it is part of Skool.