Nathan FieldSkool vs Systeme.io comes down to one question: is the community your product, or one part of a funnel business? Skool is a community platform: a feed, courses, a calendar, live calls and payments in one simple group. Systeme.io is an all-in-one marketing tool: sales funnels, email, courses, websites, a blog, an affiliate program and a community feature, starting on a free plan. We run our own Skool community. Every price and feature below comes from each company's own pages, checked on 12 October 2026.
Pick Skool if the community is the product: $9 or $99 a month, built-in live calls and member levels, and Skool handles payments and sales tax. Pick Systeme.io if you sell through funnels and email: a free plan, paid plans from $17 a month and 0% transaction fees, though you pay Stripe or PayPal fees yourself.
Skool vs Systeme.io at a glance
| Skool | Systeme.io | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A community platform | An all-in-one marketing platform with a community feature |
| Price, monthly billing | Hobby $9, Pro $99 | Free, Startup $17, Webinar $47, Unlimited $97 |
| Price, yearly billing | "2 months free" | $170, $470 and $970 a year |
| Free option | 14-day free trial | A free plan that "never expires", no card needed |
| Fee per sale | Hobby 10% + 30c. Pro 2.9% + 30c (3.9% + 30c above $900) | 0% transaction fees. Your Stripe or PayPal fees apply |
| Whose payment account | Skool's, as merchant of record | Yours: Stripe, PayPal and other gateways |
| Sales tax and EU VAT | Skool collects, files and pays | Checkout adds the buyer's VAT rate. Filing is not mentioned |
| Members | Unlimited on both plans | Unlimited community members. Contacts capped by plan |
| Courses | Unlimited, in the Classroom | 1, 5, 20 or unlimited, by plan |
| Live calls | Skool Call built in, with recording | Not listed for communities. Zoom and Google Meet integrations |
| Points, levels, leaderboard | Yes, 9 levels | Not listed on its community page |
| Funnels and email marketing | Not built in | Yes, with unlimited email sends on every plan |
| Your own domain | Custom URL on skool.com (Pro) | Custom domains: 1, 3, 10 or unlimited |
| Mobile app | Skool's app | No branded app yet, Systeme.io says |
| Help finding members | Discovery and Growth Boost | Not listed |
What is the difference between Skool and Systeme.io?
Skool is built around the group. Systeme.io is built around the funnel. Most of the other differences come from that.
Skool gives every group the same layout: a Community feed, a Classroom for courses, a Calendar for events, and a leaderboard. You set a price, write your About page, and Skool takes the payment. Members earn points when others like their posts, and they level up. You can lock courses until a member reaches a level. It does one job and keeps the setup small.
Systeme.io describes itself as "an all-in-one online business platform" for sales funnels, email marketing, online courses, websites, memberships, automation and affiliate programs. Its community is one feature in that list. Systeme.io says a community is hosted "directly inside your systeme.io account", next to your courses, funnels and email list, and that access is sold through your sales funnels.
On Skool, the community is the product. On Systeme.io, the community is one tool inside a funnel builder.
How much do Skool and Systeme.io cost?
Skool starts at $9 a month. Systeme.io starts at $0. But they charge in different ways, so compare the whole bill, not just the plan price.
Skool's prices
Skool's pricing page shows two plans. Hobby is $9 a month and Pro is $99 a month. Both list unlimited members, courses, videos and live calls. The page marks Custom URL and Affiliates as not included on Hobby. Skool's help centre reserves more for Pro too, including plugins such as AutoDM, Zapier, webhooks and the cancellation video. Yearly billing gets "2 months free", and both plans start with a 14-day free trial. Our Skool pricing guide goes plan by plan, or you can try Skool free for 14 days (affiliate link).
Systeme.io's prices
Systeme.io's pricing page shows four plans. It says they are "based primarily on contact limits":
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly | Contacts | Communities | Courses | Custom domains |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 2,000 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Startup | $17 | $170 | 5,000 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| Webinar | $47 | $470 | 10,000 | 20 | 20 | 10 |
| Unlimited | $97 | $970 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
The pricing page lists community members as unlimited on every plan. It also says every plan includes unlimited email sends, unlimited sub-accounts and 0% transaction fees. The free plan "never expires and does not require a credit card", but it has tight limits: Systeme.io names 3 sales funnels, 1 automation rule, 1 email campaign and 500 students. If you cancel a paid plan, Systeme.io says your account goes back to the free plan at your next billing date.
Watch the contact limit. Systeme.io's help centre says that if you go over it, you get three warning emails, one a day. If you do nothing by the fourth day, the account is restricted. On a restricted free account, payments stop working and people cannot join a community you own. Skool lists unlimited members on both plans, so there is no cap like this to watch.
Skool has no free plan for owners, only the trial. Our post on whether Skool is free explains what is free for members and what is not.
Which one takes a bigger cut of each sale?
Systeme.io takes no cut. Skool does. But on Systeme.io you pay your payment provider instead, and on Skool the processing is already inside the fee.
Skool runs the payments
Skool's payments FAQ says "All payment processing happens on the Skools merchant", and you "cannot use your existing Stripe account". Hobby pays "10% + 30c /transaction for all transactions". Pro pays "2.9% + 30c /transaction for transactions up to $899 USD" and "3.9% + 30c /transaction for transactions above $900 USD". Skool says "Transaction fees are non-refundable."
Skool is a "merchant of record". It says it is "responsible for all sales tax collection, filing, and payments", and it adds EU VAT on top of your price. Prices on Skool are in USD, and payouts go to your bank every Wednesday in your local currency.
One more cost: Growth Boost. If Skool brings you a paying member through Discovery or its own ads, it takes a 30% commission on that member's payments for as long as they stay. It is on by default, and you can switch it off in Settings, then Discovery. For members you bring yourself, Skool only takes its normal transaction fee.
Systeme.io uses your own payment account
Systeme.io's pricing page says "No transaction fees" and "Accept payments using Stripe or PayPal at no extra cost". It also lists Apple Pay, Razorpay, Flutterwave, Mercado Pago, Xendit and cash on delivery. Its community page says that with 0% transaction fees, "you keep the full membership revenue minus payment processor fees".
Those processor fees are real. Stripe's pricing page lists its standard US rate as 2.9% + 30c for domestic cards, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% if currency conversion is needed.
Sales tax works differently too. Systeme.io's help centre says its order form adds the VAT rate of the buyer's country for information products, if your order form asks for the country. If it does not, the VAT rate is 0%. The article does not say Systeme.io files or pays that tax for you, so plan for that yourself.
The fee on a $100 sale
| Skool Hobby | Skool Pro | Systeme.io | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | $10.30 | $3.20 | $0 |
| Card processing | Included | Included | Your provider's fee. On Stripe's standard US rate, $3.20 for a domestic card, $4.70 for an international one |
| Sales tax filing | Skool does it | Skool does it | Your job |
| Monthly plan | $9 | $99 | $0 to $97 |
So per sale, Skool Pro and Systeme.io on Stripe cost about the same for a domestic card. The bigger gaps are the plan price, Skool's Hobby fee, and who handles the tax.
How do the community features compare?
Skool's community has more ways to keep members coming back. Systeme.io's community is simpler, but it plugs straight into your funnels.
Skool
- Classroom: pages that become video lessons, with files, links, transcripts and folders.
- Calendar: events that can repeat daily, weekly, monthly or yearly. The location defaults to a Skool Call, or you can pick Zoom, Meet or an address.
- Live calls: go live in the app or the browser, share screens, record, and download the recording within 14 days.
- Points and levels: 1 like is 1 point, there are 9 levels, and you can open a course only to members at a set level. Members see a leaderboard.
- Discovery: people browse and search Skool for groups to join.
Systeme.io
Systeme.io's community page lists:
- Private or public communities, on your own domain with your own URL path, name and cover image.
- Topics to organise posts, plus search.
- Posts and comments with formatting, file uploads, voice memos, and videos from YouTube or Loom.
- Pinned posts and scheduled posts.
- Post approval before posts go live.
- Access sold as a "digital product" on any order form, one-time or subscription. Systeme.io grants access on purchase and removes it if the member cancels.
That page does not list live calls, points, levels or a leaderboard. And it says plainly that Systeme.io "does not yet offer a branded mobile app". Skool has its own app, and Skool says you can go live in it.
What does Systeme.io do that Skool does not?
Systeme.io runs the marketing around the community. Its pricing page lists sales funnels, email campaigns and newsletters, automation rules and workflows, A/B tests, order bumps and 1-click upsells, websites, blogs, a booking calendar, coupon codes, physical products and your own affiliate program. Evergreen webinars come with the Webinar plan and up.
Skool has none of the funnel and email side built in. Its pricing page lists no email marketing tool or funnel builder. What it has is plugins that pass members on to other tools. Membership questions (both plans) can ask people for their email when they request to join. On Pro, Zapier can send each new paid member's name and email to your CRM. Skool's Pro plan also has member affiliates, so both platforms let others promote you for a commission.
If you want an all-in-one tool but bigger than Systeme.io, our Skool vs GoHighLevel comparison covers a CRM with communities built in.
Can you use Skool and Systeme.io together?
Yes, and there are two common ways.
Sell on Skool, email from Systeme.io
Members join and pay on Skool, so Skool stays the merchant of record and handles the tax. You run your email list and lead magnets on Systeme.io, and use Skool's membership questions to ask new members for their email. The free Systeme.io plan covers up to 2,000 contacts.
Sell on Systeme.io, host on Skool
People buy through a Systeme.io funnel, with order bumps and upsells. Skool's webhook plugin, a Pro feature Skool calls "a developer-only feature", can then send each buyer a unique invite to your group. It has costs. You lose Skool's tax handling on those sales. Skool's Discovery FAQ lists "Payments off-platform" as a ranking penalty. And Skool says Growth Boost "is not recommended for high ticket sales", and to switch it off if you sell members through a sales call or a sales funnel.
Should you pick Skool or Systeme.io?
Pick Skool if
- The community is what people pay for, and you want it running this week.
- You want live calls, levels and a leaderboard built in.
- You want Skool to handle payments, sales tax and EU VAT.
- You want people to find you through Discovery, and accept the 30% Growth Boost cut on those members.
- You want members to have a mobile app.
Pick Systeme.io if
- You sell courses or digital products through funnels and email, and the community is a bonus for buyers.
- You want to start for $0 and pay no platform fee on sales.
- You need order bumps, upsells, a website or a blog in the same account.
- You want the community on your own domain.
Systeme.io is the better pick for a funnel business on a small budget. If your income comes from email and sales funnels, and you already handle your own tax, its free plan does more for $0 than Skool can, and the 0% fee holds as you grow. Skool wins when the group itself is the thing people pay to join. For more options, see our list of Skool alternatives.
For most people weighing Skool vs Systeme.io, the question is whether you are building a community or a sales system. If it is the community, start a Skool community here (affiliate link) on the 14-day free trial.
FAQ
Is Systeme.io cheaper than Skool?
On the plan price, yes. Systeme.io has a free plan and paid plans at $17, $47 and $97 a month, with 0% transaction fees. Skool costs $9 or $99 a month plus a fee on every sale. But on Systeme.io you pay Stripe or PayPal fees yourself, and you handle sales tax.
Does Systeme.io have a community like Skool?
Yes, but a simpler one. Systeme.io communities have topics, posts, comments, file uploads, voice memos, pinned and scheduled posts, post approval and a custom domain. Its community page does not list live calls, points, levels or a leaderboard, and Systeme.io says it does not yet offer a branded mobile app.
Does Systeme.io charge transaction fees?
No. Systeme.io's pricing page says every plan has 0% transaction fees, and you accept payments through your own Stripe or PayPal account. You still pay those providers' fees. Stripe's standard US rate is 2.9% plus 30c for a domestic card, with 1.5% more for international cards.
Is Systeme.io really free?
Yes. Systeme.io says its free plan never expires and needs no credit card. It covers 2,000 contacts, 3 sales funnels, 1 course, 1 community and 1 custom domain. Go over the contact limit and, after three daily warnings, a free account is restricted: payments stop and people cannot join your community.
Can I connect Systeme.io to Skool?
Yes, on Skool Pro. You can sell through a Systeme.io funnel, then use Skool's webhook plugin, which Skool calls a developer-only feature, to send buyers an invite to your group. Skool lists payments off-platform as a Discovery ranking penalty, and you lose Skool's sales tax handling on those sales.
Who handles sales tax, Skool or Systeme.io?
Skool does it for you. Skool is the merchant of record and says it handles all sales tax collection, filing and payments, including EU VAT. Systeme.io's order form can add the buyer's VAT rate at checkout, but its help article does not say Systeme.io files or pays that tax.
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.