Nathan FieldIs Skool legit? Yes. Skool is a real software company, founded in 2019, and it takes payments through Stripe. But the question hides a second one. Is the platform real? Yes. Is the paid community you are about to join worth the money? That depends on the person who runs it, and Skool's own terms say it cannot promise that other users will keep to its rules.
Yes, Skool is a real company, SKOOL.COM, Inc., founded in 2019 by Sam Ovens and Daniel Kang and based in Los Angeles. It collects payments for communities through Stripe and handles their sales tax. The platform is legit. The risk is the single community: each owner sets the price, the content and the refund terms.
This page is for both sides. If you are about to pay for a community, the first half shows how payments work, what Skool polices and how to check a community before you join. If you are thinking about running one, the owner section covers Skool's fees, trial and downsides, and you can try Skool free for 14 days (affiliate link) if it fits. We run our own Skool community and build a tool for Skool owners, so we have a stake here. Every fact about Skool below comes from Skool's own pages, checked on 29 September 2026.
Who is behind Skool
Skool's About page says it was founded in 2019 by Sam Ovens (CEO) and Daniel Kang (CTO), has 30 employees and is based in Los Angeles, California. Its terms and conditions name the company as SKOOL.COM, Inc.
Alex Hormozi's name comes up a lot. Skool says he partnered with it in 2024 to create The Skool Games. He is not a founder.
Skool describes itself as a community platform where you can join communities or create your own. Some are free and some are paid.
Why people ask if Skool is a scam
You may be asking for one of these reasons.
- A charge you don't recognize. Skool collects the payment when you join a paid community, so the charge can show up under Skool's name, not the owner's. Our guide to the P.SKOOL.COM charge shows how to match it to your account.
- Income claims. Skool's About page says creators on Skool "earn full-time incomes". It does not say how many. Treat any income claim in a community's ad as that owner's claim, not a fact from Skool.
- A fake Skool page. The real site is skool.com. Skool's security article says never to enter your login details on a site that is not Skool.com.
- A community that didn't deliver. Each community is run by its own owner. A bad one is a problem with that owner, and the fix is a refund request or a report, both covered below.
How payments work on Skool
When you join a paid community, you pay Skool, and Skool pays the owner later. Here is what Skool's own pages say about your money.
| Question | What Skool says |
|---|---|
| Who takes my payment? | Skool.Com, Inc. collects and processes it as a go-between. The card processor is Stripe. |
| Who is the deal with? | You and the community owner. Skool's transaction terms say they are the only two parties, and Skool acts only as the payment go-between. |
| Who handles sales tax? | Skool, as "merchant of record". It adds EU VAT on top of the price. |
| What currency? | US dollars. Your card provider may charge a conversion fee. |
| Free trials? | If a community has one, you are charged when it ends unless you cancel first. |
| Can I cancel? | Yes, any time, from your settings. You keep access until the billing period ends. |
| Refunds? | Set by the community owner. Skool may refund at its discretion, but says that in most cases it will not refund on behalf of an owner. |
Sources: Skool's transaction terms, Payments FAQ and cancel article.
So your card is charged by Skool through Stripe, not by the community owner directly. But the thing you are buying is the owner's community. If it disappoints you, getting your money back is mostly up to the owner.
What Skool checks, and what it does not
Discovery: who gets shown
Skool Discovery is the directory where people find communities. Skool's Discovery FAQs say a human reviews rankings, and that penalties include bots or fake accounts, payments off-platform, bad customer support and an inactive owner. To be listed, a group needs a minimum number of members, posts and activity, plus a group description, an About page and a cover image. Being listed is not the same as Skool vouching for a group.
Skool is legit. Whether a community on Skool is worth paying for is a separate question, and the owner is the one who answers it.
How to check a paid Skool community before you join
- Read the About page like a sales page. Skool's help centre calls the About page essentially a landing and checkout page, and the owner writes it. Look for exactly what you get: which courses, how many live calls, how often, and for how long.
- Find out who runs it. Open the owner's profile, then search their name outside Skool. A real business should be easy to find.
- Ask before you pay. If the owner lists a support email or other contact, ask what you get and what the refund terms are. If you can't get an answer before you pay, think about what support will look like after.
- Get the refund terms in writing. Skool says each group's admins set its payment terms, and canceling does not refund you automatically. If the About page has no refund policy, ask, and screenshot the answer.
- Check the billing. Is it monthly, yearly or one payment? Is there a free trial, and when does it bill? Prices are in US dollars, and EU buyers pay VAT on top.
- Pay on Skool only. Skool's account security article tells members to transact only on Skool.com. Skool's cancel steps only cover payments made on Skool.
Red flags
- Being asked to pay outside Skool for something sold as a Skool community. Skool's Discovery penalizes off-platform payments, and its security article says to transact only on Skool.com.
- Guaranteed income or "get rich quick" pitches. A real community sells help and access, not a promised result.
- Cold DMs selling you a community. A stranger who messages you out of the blue with an offer is a reason to slow down.
- Anyone asking for your password or login code. Skool says neither it nor any admin will ever ask for your password.
- A login page that is not Skool.com. Skool says never to enter your login details anywhere else, and never to click suspicious links sent in Skool DMs.
- No clear refund answer, or no way to reach the owner.
How to get a refund or report a problem
Getting a refund
- Cancel first so you are not billed again. Click your profile picture, then Settings. In the Communities tab, click SETTINGS next to the group, then Manage membership. Our guide on how to cancel a Skool subscription has the app steps too.
- Ask the admins. In the community's Members tab, filter by Admins and click CHAT, or use the community's support email. Skool's refund article says this is where refund requests go.
- Wait for the money. If they agree, it goes back to the card you paid with, usually in about 7 to 10 business days.
- Go to your bank last. Skool's transaction terms ask members not to make unjustified chargebacks. A bank dispute is for charges you never agreed to.
Reporting a post, a person or a community
From Skool's help article How to report content or a user:
- A post or comment: click its three dots menu, then Report to admins. This goes to the group's admins.
- A user, including a spammer or a community owner: open their profile, click the three dots menu, click Report user, pick the reasons and click REPORT. Skool says spam users go to its platform moderation team.
- Anything serious: Skool's terms ask you to email help@skool.com about objectionable material.
Is Skool legit for owners?
If you want to start a community, the question is different: will Skool treat you and your money fairly? Here is what Skool's own pages say, including the parts the ads skip.
| Hobby | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9 a month | $99 a month |
| Transaction fee | 10% + 30c on every transaction | 2.9% + 30c up to $899, 3.9% + 30c above $900 |
| Members, courses, videos, live calls | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Custom URL change, member affiliates, most plugins, ownership transfer | No, Pro only in Skool's help centre | Yes |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days |
Sources: skool.com/pricing, the Payments FAQ and Skool's payment terms. Yearly billing gets 2 months free. The pricing page marks a custom URL and affiliates as Pro only, and Skool's help centre reserves more for Pro: changing your group URL, member affiliates, most plugins such as AutoDM, Zapier, the cancellation video and webhooks, and transferring group ownership. Our Skool pricing guide has the worked numbers.
What works in your favor
- Skool handles sales tax and EU VAT for you, as merchant of record.
- Payouts go to your bank every Wednesday, in your local currency. The first one can take up to 14 days.
- You can cancel any time. At the end of the billing period, your group is archived and stays read-only.
The downsides
- Plan fees are not refunded.
- The $9 Hobby plan lacks several features the pricing page shows for both plans.
- Skool can cancel your subscription at any time for any reason, and can suspend your access if your card is declined.
- Payments run through Skool. You cannot connect your existing Stripe account.
- Prices are in US dollars only.
- A member dispute costs you a $15 fee that Skool lists as non-refundable, and countering it costs another $15, which you get back if you win. Skool does not decide the outcome. The bank does.
- You can only refund a member up to your available balance.
If that trade suits you, you can start a Skool community here (affiliate link). If the fees or rules don't fit, compare Skool alternatives first.
Once you run one, keeping paying members is the job
Getting members to join is half the work. Keeping the ones who pay is the other half, and two things quietly cost owners paying members: cards that fail and members who cancel. Skool already does part of this. It retries a declined card itself, prompts the member to update their card, marks them with a red Declined label, and lets you see the retries and retry the charge by hand. On the Pro plan, you can also add a cancellation video that members see on step two of canceling. Backpack adds a personal follow-up on top of that. Payment Recovery sends a member a message in your own words when their card fails, and Cancellation Recovery does the same when a member cancels. You write the messages, and Backpack sends them for you from our servers, so it works with your computer off. It is $9 a month for every Skool community you admin, with every feature, and you can try Backpack free for 7 days. Backpack is not affiliated with Skool.
So, is Skool legit?
Yes. Skool is a real company, your payment runs through Stripe, and Skool handles the sales tax. What Skool cannot promise is that every paid community is good. So is Skool legit? The platform is. Check the owner, the About page and the refund terms before you pay, and pay only on Skool.com. If you want to build your own, you can start a Skool community (affiliate link) with a 14-day free trial.
FAQ
Is Skool a scam?
No. Skool is a real company, SKOOL.COM, Inc., founded in 2019 and based in Los Angeles. It takes payments through Stripe and handles sales tax for the communities on it. The risk sits with single communities, not the platform, so check the owner and the refund terms before you pay for one.
Who owns Skool?
Skool's About page and terms do not say who owns what share of the company. The About page says Skool was founded in 2019 by Sam Ovens, the CEO, and Daniel Kang, the CTO, and has 30 employees in Los Angeles. Its terms name the company as SKOOL.COM, Inc. Alex Hormozi partnered with Skool in 2024 on The Skool Games.
Did Alex Hormozi found Skool?
No. Skool's About page says it was founded in 2019 by Sam Ovens and Daniel Kang. It says Alex Hormozi partnered with Skool in 2024 to create The Skool Games. That is a partnership, not a founding role, and the About page gives no ownership details.
Is it safe to put my card on Skool?
Your card is charged by Skool through Stripe, not by the community owner directly. Skool says neither it nor any admin will ever ask for your password. The bigger risk is paying for a poor community, so read the refund terms before you join, and only pay on Skool.com.
Can I get a refund from a Skool community?
Only if the owner agrees. Skool lets each group's admins set their payment terms, and canceling does not refund you automatically. Message the admins on Skool Chat or the community's support email. If they approve it, the money goes back to your card in about 7 to 10 business days.
How do I report a scam community on Skool?
Report the owner's profile: open it, click the three dots menu, choose Report user, pick the reasons and click REPORT. Report single posts with Report to admins. For serious problems, Skool's terms ask you to email help@skool.com. If you were charged for something you never agreed to, call your card issuer.
We may earn a commission if you start a Skool community through a link on this page. It costs you nothing extra, and it does not change what we write.