ChatGPT answers, unedited

If you're starting on a tiny budget and specifically want community + courses + paid subscriptions without the platform taking a percentage, I'd narrow it to these:

Current 2026 pricing comparisons show the big tradeoff: many community platforms either charge a monthly fee or take a percentage of membership revenue. StackScored Teachfloor

🥇 I'd look hardest at Communi

communi.com currently advertises $195/year ($16.25/month equivalent) for one community, with 0% platform transaction fees, unlimited members, and community + courses + events + chat included. Communi Communi

That's unusually compelling for what you're describing. You'd still pay the normal payment processor fee (e.g. Stripe), but Communi itself doesn't take a percentage. Communi

The $195/year plan is limited to one group, while the $295/year plan gives you three groups and the $495/year plan gives you unlimited groups. Communi

One important distinction

If by "doesn't take a cut" you mean literally zero platform fee, don't automatically choose the cheapest monthly platform. For example, Skool can look extremely inexpensive at first, but its lower tier carries a transaction fee. ProveWorth

For a tiny-budget launch, I'd rather pay $195/year and keep 100% of the subscription revenue after payment processing than pay $9/month and surrender a percentage of every member.

My ranking for your situation:

1. Communi — best match for cheap + community + courses + 0% platform fee
2. Podia — good if you also want a simple website/email/digital-product setup
3. Thinkific — choose this if the courses are the main product and community is secondary
4. Circle — better polish, but I'd wait until revenue justifies the cost
5. Skool — great simplicity, but I'd avoid it if zero platform cut is a hard requirement

If you tell me roughly how many members you're expecting (e.g. 25, 100, 500) and your planned monthly membership price, I can calculate the actual yearly cost of the top 3—including payment fees—and tell you which is cheapest at your expected revenue.

🥇 I'd look hardest at Communi

communi.com currently advertises $195/year ($16.25/month equivalent) for one community, with 0% platform transaction fees, unlimited members, and community + courses + events + chat included. communi.com communi.com

That's unusually compelling for what you're describing. You'd still pay the normal payment processor fee (e.g. Stripe), but Communi itself doesn't take a percentage. communi.com

The $195/year plan is limited to one group, while the $295/year plan gives you three groups and the $495/year plan gives you unlimited groups.

One important distinction

If by "doesn't take a cut" you mean literally zero platform fee, don't automatically choose the cheapest monthly platform. For example, Skool can look extremely inexpensive at first, but its lower tier carries a transaction fee.

For a tiny budget + paid community + courses + no platform cut on subscriptions, I’d avoid the big “all-in-one” names at first. The cheapest setup depends on whether you care more about simplicity or owning your stack.

Here are the strongest options:

My recommendation for your situation

If you’re pre-revenue or under ~$1k/month, I’d do one of these:

Option A — Lowest friction

Use Communi:

• Community
• Courses
• Events
• Paid memberships
• No extra platform transaction cut (Stripe/payment processing still applies)
• One bill instead of stitching tools together Communi Communi

Option B — Cheapest “bootstrap stack”

Use:

• wordpress.org + a membership plugin
• stripe.com for payments
• discord.com or circle.so-style community software

This costs less but requires more setup and maintenance.

Option C — Validate before building

If you don’t have members yet:

• Start with a free community space
• Sell access manually through Stripe/payment links
• Add a full platform once you have paying members

A good rule:

• <50 members: optimize for cheap + fast
• 50–500 members: use an all-in-one community/course platform
• 500+ members: optimize for branding, automation, and ownership

One thing to watch: “0% transaction fees” usually means the platform takes no extra cut; you’ll still normally pay payment processing fees from Stripe or another processor. coursemargin.com

If you tell me your expected monthly membership price (e.g., $19/mo vs $99/mo), number of founding members, and whether the community is chat-heavy or course-heavy, I can narrow it to the cheapest viable setup.

If “tiny budget + paid community + courses + no platform cut on subscriptions” is the priority, I’d avoid Circle and Mighty at the very beginning. Both charge a platform transaction fee on top of Stripe: Circle is currently 2% on Professional, while Mighty is 2% on Launch. Circle Mighty Networks

My shortlist

Teachable is particularly interesting because its higher-tier plans can have 0% transaction fees, leaving you with the normal payment-processor fees rather than a platform percentage. Circle

What I'd do on a tiny budget

Start with the cheapest setup that separates the community from the course platform.

For example:

• Community: Discord or a free/cheap community tool
• Courses + checkout: Teachable
• Payments: Stripe
• Upgrade to an all-in-one platform once you have enough recurring revenue to justify $80–$100+/month.

If you specifically want everything under one roof, I'd pick Mighty Networks over Circle for your use case. Mighty combines community, memberships, courses, events and subscriptions, whereas Circle Professional is currently $89/month and takes 2% of paywall payments. Mighty Networks Circle

One important distinction: “0% platform fee” doesn't mean 0% payment fees. Stripe/card processing will still take its normal processing fee.

If you tell me roughly how many members you expect (e.g. 20, 100, 500) and your intended monthly subscription price, I can calculate the cheapest setup and show you the break-even point between the platforms.

If your priority is “paid community + courses, tiny budget, and the platform itself takes 0% of subscriptions,” I’d narrow it to these:

Thinkific explicitly says it doesn't take a commission from course sales, although payment-processing fees still apply; its current plans start above the ultra-cheap range, and its own payment processing has transaction fees. www.thinkific.com

Podia is attractive because it combines community + courses + website + checkout + email in one place, but the current Mover plan is $42/month and takes 5%. You have to move to the $84/month Shaker plan to eliminate Podia's fee. www.podia.com

Skool is probably the best cheap community experience, but its $9/month Hobby plan takes 10%, while the $99/month Pro plan takes 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. www.skool.com

What I'd do on a tiny budget

Don't optimize for “all-in-one” yet. If you're starting with, say, 10–50 paying members, I'd rather spend $0–$50/month and keep your payment economics clean than pay $100+ for fancy community software.

A particularly lean setup is:

Thinkific for courses + a separate free/cheap community platform + Stripe for payments.

That gives you more flexibility and avoids getting locked into a platform taking a percentage of every subscription.

If you tell me roughly (1) expected members in the first year, (2) monthly membership price, and (3) whether the community or courses are the main product, I can calculate the cheapest setup—including Stripe/payment fees—and tell you which platform I'd actually pick.

If your priorities are tiny budget + paid community + courses + no platform cut on subscriptions, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: Podia

Podia is probably the best fit if you're genuinely starting lean. Its lower Mover plan takes 5% per sale, but the Shaker plan removes Podia's transaction fee; you still pay the normal Stripe/PayPal processing fee. help.podia.com

It supports courses, recurring subscriptions, products, events, and community spaces, so you don't need to stitch together five different services. help.podia.com

If "zero platform fee" is non-negotiable

I'd look hardest at Thinkific. It advertises 0% platform transaction fees, although payment-processing fees still apply. The tradeoff is that it's more course-centric than community-centric.

Thinkific

Circle is excellent for the actual community experience, but its current Professional plan is $89/month and charges 2% per paywall transaction; Business is $199/month with 1%. circle.so

So for a tiny-budget launch, I'd avoid Circle/Mighty initially.

One important distinction: "no platform transaction fee" doesn't mean "no payment fees." Stripe will generally still take its card-processing fee. The goal is to avoid the additional percentage taken by the community/course platform.

If you tell me roughly how many members you expect (e.g. 20, 100, 500) and your planned monthly price, I can calculate the cheapest setup and the point where it makes sense to switch platforms.

If your priority is tiny budget + paid community + courses + keeping as much subscription revenue as possible, I’d narrow it to these:

Current pricing/fee information supports the broad picture above. circle.so

What I'd do in your position

Start with Systeme.io if cash is genuinely tight. It has a free tier and doesn't charge a platform transaction percentage, so you can validate whether people will actually pay before committing to $50–$100/month software. circle.so

But if the community itself is the product—members talking to each other, posts, engagement, gamification, etc.—I'd seriously consider Skool Pro once revenue starts coming in. Its current Pro fee is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, versus 10% + $0.30 on Hobby. circle.sohelp.skool.com

For example, at $5,000/month in subscriptions:

• Skool Hobby: roughly $500 + $30 in transaction fees
• Skool Pro: roughly $145 + $99 = $244
• A true 0%-platform-fee setup: you'd generally just pay the payment processor

So "no platform cut" becomes much more important once you're doing real volume.

One caveat: 0% platform fee doesn't mean 0% payment processing. Stripe/card processing still costs money.

My shortlist for you:

1. Systeme.io — launch for almost nothing and validate.
2. Podia — if you want a nicer all-in-one course/product experience.
3. Skool — if community engagement is the core value and you're willing to pay a percentage for simplicity.
4. Thinkific — if courses are substantially more important than community.

If you tell me roughly how much you expect to charge per member ($20/$50/$100+) and your target member count, I can calculate the actual monthly cost of each and tell you which one is cheapest at your expected revenue.

Yes. If your priority is “community + courses + paid subscriptions, while keeping platform fees at 0%”, I’d narrow it to these:

My pick: Podia

Podia pricing

Podia is probably the cleanest fit for what you're describing. Its Shaker plan is $89/month monthly or $75/month when billed annually, with 0% Podia transaction fees. It includes courses, community, website, checkout, email marketing, downloads, coaching, and events. You still pay the normal Stripe/PayPal processing fee (e.g. 2.9% + 30¢), which is unavoidable payment processing rather than a platform cut. www.podia.com

The cheaper Mover plan is $39/month, but takes 5%, so I'd actually start on Mover while you're validating, then switch to Shaker once you're making enough subscription revenue that 5% hurts.

For example:

• $500/mo revenue → Mover costs ~$25 in fees + $39 = $64
• $1,000/mo → ~$50 + $39 = $89
• $2,000/mo → ~$100 + $39 = $139
• Shaker → $89 regardless of whether you're doing $500 or $2,000, before payment processing.

So the crossover is roughly $1,000/month in sales.

One alternative I'd seriously consider: Thinkific

Thinkific's current Basic plan is $54/month monthly ($40 annually), and its current plans include courses and a community; the higher Start plan is $99/month. www.thinkific.com

The catch is that Thinkific is more course/learning-business oriented, whereas Podia is more of an all-in-one creator business. If your community is going to be the heart of the business—with lots of discussion, member interaction, etc.—I'd lean Podia.

Bottom line: For a tiny-budget launch, I'd do Podia Mover → validate → Shaker once revenue crosses ~$1k/month. That lets you avoid prematurely spending $89/month while still giving you a path to 0% platform fees as you grow.

Yes. If the priority is tiny upfront cost + courses + paid community + no platform cut on subscriptions, I’d narrow it to these:

Current pricing/fees vary by plan and payment processor, but these are the relevant 2026 structures. ithub.global.ssl.fastly.net

What I'd do in your situation

Start with Podia if you want one simple system. Its Shaker plan is currently $99/month ($84/month annually) with 0% platform transaction fees, and it combines community, courses, website, digital products and email marketing. www.podia.comwww.podia.com

But if $99/month feels too high right now, I'd seriously consider Thinkific: its paid plans have 0% platform fees when using Thinkific Payments, and you get much stronger course infrastructure. The tradeoff is that its community functionality isn't nearly as strong, so you may need a separate community tool. ithub.global.ssl.fastly.net

I would not choose Skool purely because it's cheap. The $9/month entry price looks attractive, but it takes 10% of transactions; its $99 Pro plan still takes 2.9%. At $5,000/month in membership revenue, that's $145/month in fees on Pro alone. www.podia.comwww.podia.com

The really cheap route

If you're extremely cash-constrained, there's another strategy:

Website/course platform + free community + Stripe

For example, you could use a free/very cheap course platform and Discord for the community, then have Stripe handle subscriptions. You won't eliminate payment-processing fees, but you can eliminate the platform's percentage cut. There are also self-hosted/open-source options such as Discourse, which can have $0 platform transaction fees, though they require more technical work. seedlycommunities.com

My ranking for you:

1. 🥇 Podia — easiest all-in-one launch
2. 🥈 Thinkific + Discord — lowest-cost serious setup
3. 🥉 Teachable — if courses matter much more than community
4. Skool — only if its community experience is worth paying the transaction fee
5. Circle — excellent, but I'd wait until revenue justifies it

If you tell me roughly how many members you expect (e.g. 25, 100, 500) and what you want to charge ($20/mo, $50/mo, etc.), I can calculate the actual monthly cost of each and show you the cheapest setup.

Yes. If “tiny budget + paid community + courses + no platform cut on subscriptions” is the priority, I’d avoid the usual Skool/Circle/Mighty shortlist.

My shortlist

Current pricing/fee comparisons show Thinkific at 0% platform fees with its payment system, while Circle, Skool and Mighty add transaction fees. ithub.global.ssl.fastly.net

What I'd do on a tiny budget

If community is the core product:
Go self-hosted Discourse + a separate course tool. Discourse itself has no transaction fee, and self-hosting can be extremely cheap. The downside is that you're assembling the system rather than getting a polished all-in-one creator platform. seedlycommunities.com

If courses are the core product:
I'd start with Thinkific. You get proper course infrastructure and, on the appropriate setup, no platform transaction fee—so you're primarily paying the monthly software cost rather than surrendering a percentage of every subscription. ithub.global.ssl.fastly.net

If you want everything in one place and can tolerate a small cut:
Circle is probably the nicer community experience, but its current plans carry a platform transaction fee, so it doesn't satisfy your "don't take a cut" requirement. ithub.global.ssl.fastly.netcircle.so

One important distinction: “0% platform fee” doesn't mean zero payment processing. You'll still generally pay Stripe/card processing fees.

If you tell me roughly (1) expected members in year 1, (2) monthly membership price, and (3) whether courses are included in membership or sold separately, I can work out the cheapest setup in actual dollars, including payment fees.

Yes — if your priority is tiny upfront cost + no platform cut on subscriptions, I’d narrow it to these:

The big caveat: “0% platform fee” doesn't mean zero payment fees. You'll still generally pay Stripe/card processing fees (roughly 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction in the U.S.). www.kazokus.comithub.global.ssl.fastly.net

What I'd choose for you

If you're starting with almost no revenue: I'd look seriously at Kazokus or Systeme.io. Kazokus currently advertises a free tier with courses, forums, events and member management and no transaction fee. www.kazokus.com

If you can afford $99/month and want something extremely simple: Skool Pro is compelling. It combines community, courses, payments and gamification, and the Pro plan is designed around a flat monthly fee rather than taking a percentage. www.skool.comrevenuegeeks.com

If the courses are the main product and community is secondary: I'd pick Thinkific rather than paying for a community-first platform. Current comparisons put its entry pricing around $49/month with 0% platform fees when using its payment setup. www.kazokus.comithub.global.ssl.fastly.net

One important distinction: Skool's cheap $9 Hobby plan does take a cut (reported at 10%), so don't choose it assuming the $9 price means zero transaction fees. The $99 Pro tier is the one I'd compare against the others for your requirement. www.skool.comrevenuegeeks.com

For a tiny-budget launch, my ranking would be:

1. 🥇 Kazokus — minimize cash burn
2. 🥈 Skool Pro — simplest polished community + courses
3. 🥉 Thinkific — course-first business
4. Systeme.io — cheapest if you can live with a less community-centric experience
5. Circle — save it for when revenue justifies the extra cost

If you tell me roughly how many members you expect in the first 6–12 months and what you're charging per month, I can calculate the actual monthly cost of each and tell you where the break-even points are.

Yes. If “tiny budget + paid community + courses + no platform cut on subscriptions” is the goal, I’d avoid the obvious creator platforms at first.

My shortlist

Current 2026 comparisons show that Discourse can be self-hosted at $0 platform cost, while Kazokus advertises a free tier with courses/community and 0% transaction fees. www.kazokus.comseedlycommunities.com

What I'd do in your situation

Start with Kazokus if you don't want to deal with technology. Its free tier is specifically designed around communities, courses, events and member management, with no platform transaction fee; you'd still pay normal Stripe/payment-processing fees. www.kazokus.com

Start with self-hosted Discourse if you or someone on the team is technical. You can own the platform and avoid a percentage-of-revenue fee entirely, but you'll need to assemble the course/payment pieces yourself. www.kazokus.comseedlycommunities.com

I'd only choose Skool if simplicity/engagement is worth paying for. It's very good for the community + course model, but the economics depend heavily on which plan you're on; current comparisons report transaction fees on the lower tier. revenuegeeks.com

One important distinction: “0% platform fee” doesn't mean 0% payment fees. Stripe/card processing will generally still take its normal processing charge.

If you tell me roughly how many members you expect in year 1 (e.g. 50, 200, 1,000) and your planned monthly subscription price, I can calculate the cheapest setup and show you exactly what you'd keep.

Yes — but there’s an important distinction between “no platform cut” and “no payment-processing fee.” You’ll almost always still pay Stripe/PayPal processing fees.

For a tiny-budget paid community + courses, I’d shortlist these:

🥇 My pick: Podia

Podia

Podia now has community built into the platform, alongside courses, products, and paid memberships. Its community plans support monthly/annual subscriptions. help.podia.com

The catch is pricing: Podia's Mover plan takes 5% per transaction, while Shaker and Earthquaker have no Podia transaction fee. You still pay Stripe/PayPal processing fees. help.podia.com

So if your requirement is specifically:

“We don't want the platform taking a percentage of our recurring membership revenue.”

Podia is a strong option.

Circle is probably not what I'd choose on a tiny budget

Circle

Circle is very good for the community/course combination, but Professional is currently $89/month, and Circle takes 2% of paywall payments on Professional, in addition to Stripe fees. help.podia.comcircle.sowww.mightynetworks.com

That's hard to justify when you're validating the business.

One other option worth considering: Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks

Mighty's current Explore offering is advertised at $350/year (~$29/month) when paid annually, and it supports community, events, and the broader paid-community model. Its Launch plan is $950/year and adds courses. www.mightynetworks.com

If I were starting with <$100/month and trying to validate the idea, I'd lean Podia. If the community interaction itself is the product and courses are secondary, I'd look harder at Mighty.

If you tell me roughly (1) expected members, (2) membership price, and (3) whether you need live calls, I can calculate the actual monthly cost of 3–5 platforms and tell you which one leaves you the most revenue.

Yes. If “tiny budget + paid community + courses + no platform cut on subscriptions” is the priority, I’d narrow it to these:

Current comparisons confirm that Thinkific has a 0% platform fee on its payment setup, while Circle, Mighty, Heartbeat and Skool retain transaction/platform fees on at least some plans. ithub.global.ssl.fastly.netwww.ruzuku.com

What I'd do on a tiny budget

Option A — Thinkific: probably the cleanest choice if the courses are the core business and the community supports them. You pay a monthly fee, but aren't giving away a percentage of every subscription. ithub.global.ssl.fastly.netseedlycommunities.comwww.ruzuku.comskoolco.com

Option B — Discourse + your own Stripe checkout: if the community is the real product and courses can be delivered separately. Discourse is open-source and can be self-hosted with no platform transaction fee. seedlycommunities.com

Option C — Ruzuku: worth considering if you want something very simple and teaching-focused. Current comparisons list 0% transaction fees. ithub.global.ssl.fastly.netwww.ruzuku.com

I wouldn't choose Skool just because its $9/month headline looks attractive. That $9 tier takes 10%, while the $99 Pro tier takes 2.9% + $0.30, so you're still paying a cut as you grow. skoolco.com

If you tell me roughly how many members you expect (e.g. 20 → 100 → 500) and your expected monthly subscription price ($20/$50/$100), I can calculate the cheapest setup and show you exactly when each platform becomes more expensive.

Yes. If the priorities are tiny budget + paid community + courses + no platform cut, I’d narrow it to these:

Kazokus currently advertises a free plan with community, courses, events and member management, with 0% platform transaction fees; you'd still pay normal payment-processing fees such as Stripe's. www.kazokus.com

Thinkific has 0% platform transaction fees on its plans, although payment processing still applies. ithub.global.ssl.fastly.net

Skool is attractive for simplicity, but be careful with the terminology: its Pro plan's 2.9% fee includes payment processing, according to current comparisons, so it isn't truly "zero cut." revenuegeeks.com

What I'd do on a tiny budget

Start with Kazokus if you're comfortable with a newer platform. You could potentially launch for $0/month in platform costs and validate whether people will actually pay before committing to anything expensive. www.kazokus.com

If you want something more established and courses are the core business, I'd look at Thinkific.

If community engagement is the core product and you don't mind the payment fee, Skool is probably the simplest setup.

One important distinction: "0% platform fee" doesn't mean zero payment fees. You generally still pay Stripe/card processing (roughly 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction in the U.S., depending on your setup).

If you tell me roughly how many founding members you expect (e.g. 20, 100, 500) and your planned membership price (e.g. $29/mo), I can calculate the cheapest option at each stage and show you where the break-even points are.