Disco vs Pathwright (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Disco if

• Fits if you run live cohorts for professionals and want a community around them
• Works for companies teaching customers, partners or staff in a branded academy

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you're a solo creator, at $399 a month billed yearly before you've sold anything
• Tight if you pass 250 active members, since more needs Scale, from $999 a month billed yearly
• Skip it if you want PayPal, as payments run only through Stripe, at Stripe's own rates
• Watch out: the API, webhooks, SAML SSO and a branded mobile app all need Scale
• Watch out: the trial is just 7 days, short for building out an academy before you pay

Pick Pathwright if

• Fits if you teach in cohorts and want each lesson laid out as steps
• Works for course makers who want discussion inside each step

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you run many cohorts, since Starter allows 1 per course and Essentials 3
• Pricey if you grow: past 1,000 members, extra member blocks are added to the monthly bill automatically
• Watch out: Stripe charges 2.9% plus $0.30 per course sale
• Watch out: the public pricing page loads its figures with JavaScript, so these prices come from the help centre, where Starter shows a $99 monthly fee

Disco

• There is no free plan; the one self-serve plan, Create, is $399 a month billed annually and covers up to 250 active members.
• More than 250 members, extra academies, the API and webhooks, SAML SSO and a branded mobile app need Scale, which starts at $999 a month billed annually.
• Disco charges no transaction fee, but payments run only through Stripe at Stripe's own rates (typically 2.9% + 30 cents).
• Discount codes and sales tax are set up in Stripe, not in Disco.

Pathwright

• Plans include 1,000 members; beyond that, extra member blocks are added to the monthly bill automatically.
• Cohorts per course are limited to 1 on Starter and 3 on Essentials; unlimited cohorts start on Complete.
• Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction on course sales, according to the vendor's help center.
• The public pricing page loads its figures with JavaScript, so these prices come from the vendor's help center.

Disco

Cohort and self-paced programs

Build programs from modules and lessons with video, quizzes, assignments, surveys, prerequisites and learning pathways, with templates for cohorts.

Community chat and events

Channels, threads, DMs, feeds, a member directory and leaderboards sit beside live and in-person events with calendar invites.

Disco AI

Generates course outlines, quizzes and images, adds transcripts and summaries to video, and Ask AI answers members from your own content.

Memberships and checkout

Sell programs at one-time prices and memberships billed weekly, monthly or yearly through your own Stripe account, with Stripe discount codes.

Automations and reporting

Unlimited automations on Create, plus course progress, engagement, event attendance and revenue reports with CSV export.

Mobile app

Members use Disco's iOS and Android app for lessons, events and chat; a custom branded app is a Scale option.

Pathwright

Path Designer

Lay out a course visually as a Path of Steps, with a source Path that new cohorts start from.

Interactive blocks

More than 30 block types for media, text, questions, quizzes and project uploads.

Cohorts

Teach one Path to several groups, each with its own teachers, schedule, discussions and price.

Discussion inside Steps

Discussion prompts sit within each Step instead of a separate forum.

Progress tracking

A per-learner view of where each person stopped, and CSV exports of progress and grades.

Selling

Sell publicly or privately through Stripe, with no fee from Pathwright on course sales.

Disco

• Create$399

  per month for up to 250 active members, billed annually ($499 monthly)

  1 branded academy, unlimited learning products, Disco AI and MCP, automations, reporting, 100 hours of video storage and weekly office hours. No transaction fee.

• Scale$999

  per month and up, billed annually

  Priced by members, academies, branded apps and migration help. 100,000+ members, multiple academies, API and webhooks, SAML SSO, a branded app and a success manager.

Pathwright

• Starter$89

  per month for up to 1,000 members, billed annually ($99 monthly)

  1 administrator, unlimited courses with 1 active cohort each, 1 Mentor Group. Extra staff $2 a month each; extra members from $49 per 500.

• Essentials$179

  per month for up to 1,000 members, billed annually ($199 monthly)

  5 staff. Adds custom domain, Zapier, 1 subscription plan, 3 active cohorts per course, 5 Mentor Groups. Extra staff $4 a month each.

• Complete$449

  per month for up to 1,000 members, billed annually ($499 monthly)

  20 staff. Unlimited cohorts, several subscription plans, certificates, 20 Mentor Groups. Extra staff $9 a month each.

• Enterprise$1,349

  per month and up for 1,000 members, billed annually ($1,499 monthly)

  50 staff. Adds single sign-on, GraphQL API access, priority support and custom integrations. Extra staff $12 a month each.

Disco

• Annual discount

  Save 20% with annual billing

  Create is $399 a month billed annually against $499 billed monthly, which the pricing page says saves $1,200 a year.

Pathwright

• Annual discount

  10% off with annual payment

  Paying 12 months up front takes 10% off the standard plan price.

• Education

  Scholarships

  Classroom teachers, parents teaching at home and nonprofits can apply for a scholarship on Starter, Essentials or Complete; it does not stack with the annual discount.