Disco vs Skool
We give Disco a 2.0 GPA and Skool a 2.4, out of 4.0. Skool grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Disco
Branded learning academy for cohort courses, community and AI help
Skool
Community platform with courses, events and paid memberships
How we grade them
| 2.0GPADiscoFair | 2.4GPASkoolFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DOrganization is $399 a month billed yearly, with no transaction fee, so $2,000 of sales costs $399 a month. That's in this category's dearest tenth and nearly ten times its middle figure of $42. It's priced for training firms with up to 500 members. | BGraded against its alternatives, community platforms. Pro is $99 a month, $82.50 with yearly billing's 2 months free, and its 2.9% + 30 cents is card processing; Hobby's 10% would add $200 on $2,000 of sales. $82.50 beats Mighty ($119), Circle ($129) and Heartbeat ($140). |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a free trial with no card needed: 14 days on the pricing page, 7 in the billing help docs. | CNo free plan. There's a 14-day trial of either plan, and the listing doesn't say it needs a card. Skool's payment policy gives no refunds on its fees after that. |
| Features | CPrograms with quizzes, assignments, surveys and pathways, chat and events, Disco AI, unlimited automations and revenue reports. A full kit, but the listing names a gap: discount codes and sales tax are set up in Stripe, not in Disco. | CA feed, chat, a classroom of courses, a calendar, unlimited live calls on Skool itself, points and levels, payments with EU VAT and a discovery directory. It does the community job fully, but it's a smaller kit: no email, landing pages or quizzes in the listing. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record. AI drafts courses and quizzes, but setting up an academy with programs, groups and automations is real work. | C3.84 from 782 App Store ratings, just inside the C band. Starting a group looks simple, with a feed, a classroom and a calendar and nothing to wire up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Stripe, Zoom, Slack, Zapier, Google Analytics and Tag Manager. The API and webhooks need Enterprise. No desktop app, which an A needs. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, so members can join from anywhere. Integrations are thin, though: Zapier only, and only on Pro. No desktop app, which an A needs. |
| Best for | branded academies for training businesses | a paid community with courses inside |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Disco and Skool. How we grade
Price against what you get
Disco starts at $399 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Skool starts at $9 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Skool starts $390 a month lower. Of the other course and community platforms on the chart, 10 score higher than Disco for less, and none scores higher than Skool for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Disco starts at $399 per month, billed annually ($499 billed monthly). Skool starts at $9 per month, billed monthly.
- Disco also covers surveys.
At a glance
| Disco | Skool | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $399 per month, billed annually ($499 billed monthly) | $9 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free trial with no card required: 14 days on the pricing page, 7 days in the billing help docs | 14-day free trial of either plan |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Disco Inc. | Skool.com, Inc. |
| Price read from | disco.co | skool.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Disco
- Training businesses running live cohorts with a community around them
- Companies teaching customers, partners or employees in a branded academy
- Programs that split large cohorts into groups and subgroups
Skool
- Creators building a paid community around a topic, with courses inside
- Coaches running group programs with live calls
- Owners who want members to find them through Skool's own directory
Worth knowing
Disco
- There is no free plan; the one self-serve plan is $399 a month billed annually and covers up to 500 members.
- More than 500 members, the API and webhooks, SAML SSO and a branded mobile app all need the custom-priced Enterprise plan.
- 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.
Skool
- Hobby keeps 10% plus 30 cents of every sale. Payments go through Skool only; your own Stripe account cannot be connected.
- Growth Boost is on by default and takes 30% of recurring charges from members Skool brings in; it can be turned off.
- A custom URL, the affiliate program and the Zapier integration need the Pro plan.
- Skool's payment policy gives no refunds on its subscription fees.
Key features
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 Organization, 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 an Enterprise option.
Skool
- Community feed and chat
- A discussion feed organized by categories, with group rules, moderation tools, membership questions and member chat.
- Classroom
- Courses inside the group, which can be included in a membership, sold as one-time purchases, or unlocked as members reach a level.
- Calendar and live calls
- A group calendar of events and unlimited live calls hosted on Skool itself, from the browser or the mobile app.
- Points, levels and leaderboards
- Members earn a point for each like their posts and comments get, and climb levels and leaderboards; owners can lock courses until a level.
- Payments and payouts
- Monthly, annual, freemium or one-time pricing. Skool processes cards, adds and remits EU VAT, and pays out weekly in local currency.
- Discovery and Growth Boost
- Groups can appear in Skool's discovery search. Growth Boost promotes a group and runs ads for it in exchange for a cut of members it brings.
Plans
Disco
Organization$399
per month for up to 500 members, billed annually ($499 monthly)
1 branded academy on your own domain, unlimited learning products, AI tools, 100 hours of video storage and onboarding office hours. No transaction fee.
EnterpriseCustom
100,000+ members, a branded iOS and Android app on request, API and webhooks, SAML SSO and a dedicated success manager. Billed annually.
Skool
Hobby$9
per month, billed monthly
Unlimited members, courses, videos and live calls. Skool keeps 10% plus 30 cents of each sale. No custom URL, affiliates or Zapier.
Pro$99
per month, billed monthly
Adds a custom URL, affiliates and Zapier. Fees fall to 2.9% plus 30 cents a sale up to $899, and 3.9% plus 30 cents above $900.
Ways to pay less
Disco
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
Disco's pricing page lists Organization at $399 a month billed annually against $499 billed monthly.
- Nonprofit
Nonprofit discount on Organization
Disco's pricing page and billing docs say nonprofits get a discount on the Organization plan, applied for by writing to support.
Skool
- Annual discount
2 months free with yearly billing
Skool's pricing page has a monthly and yearly switch and says yearly billing gives 2 months free.
