Answers that do not mention Thinkific

If you’re starting your first course with almost no budget, I’d prioritize $0/month + easy setup + a way to collect payments. The best choice depends on whether you care more about keeping every dollar or getting the simplest launch.

Here are the strongest beginner options:

CourseProfit Lab Don't Do It Yourself### My pick for a first-time creator

Start with Payhip if you want your own mini course business. It gives you a place to host the course, sell it, and avoid a monthly subscription while you validate demand. Don't Do It Yourself

Start with Gumroad if your course is very simple (for example: a short video series, templates, a workshop recording, or a beginner guide). It’s fast to set up, but the tradeoff is that you give up a cut of each sale. CourseProfit Lab

I’d avoid paying for these at the beginning

• Kajabi — excellent, but built for established businesses with marketing budgets.
• Expensive LMS subscriptions — useful later, but usually unnecessary before you have students.
• Building a custom website — spend your first dollars on content quality or audience growth instead.

A shoestring launch could look like:

1. Record lessons with your phone or basic screen recorder.
2. Host the course on a free platform.
3. Sell to your first 10–50 students.
4. Upgrade only when revenue justifies it.

One thing to check before choosing: Are you planning to sell a video course, a live cohort/class, or a self-paced PDF/templates course? The best free option changes depending on the format.

I’d avoid paying for these at the beginning

If you mean literally $0/month in platform fees, your best options are mostly open-source + self-hosted. The tradeoff is that you become responsible for hosting, setup, backups, and maintenance.

For a solo creator starting from zero, I'd look at these:

1. Moodle — probably your best starting point

Moodle is genuinely free/open source. You can install it on your own server with no license fee and no percentage of your course revenue. Moodle Services knowledge base Moodle

It gives you:

• Video/text lessons
• Courses and modules
• Quizzes
• Assignments
• Progress tracking
• Certificates
• Student accounts
• Discussion forums
• Drip/restricted content
• Plugins and themes
• Your own branding and domain

The important distinction is MoodleCloud isn't free—that's Moodle's managed hosting service. Self-hosted Moodle is the $0-software route. MoodleCloud Moodle Services knowledge base

2. Discourse — if community is the core product

Discourse is excellent for building a paid/free membership community.

It's GPL-licensed, self-hostable, and lets you own/export your community data. Official hosted plans start at $20/month, but self-hosting the software itself doesn't require a platform fee. Discourse - Civilized Discussion

You could structure it like:

Course → Community → Office hours → Resources → Member discussions

It's much better at community than Moodle, but it isn't really a course platform.

3. WordPress + an LMS

This is probably the most creator-friendly long-term architecture.

You can run:

WordPress → LMS plugin → Stripe/PayPal → community plugin

and own the whole stack.

The software can be free, although you'll eventually need hosting and potentially paid plugins. The advantage is that WordPress gives you an enormous ecosystem for landing pages, SEO, email capture, memberships, payments, etc.

What I would NOT use if you're truly starting at $0

Teachable currently starts at $39/month monthly ($29/month annually), and its Starter plan takes 7.5% per transaction. The higher tiers eliminate the platform transaction fee but cost substantially more. Teachable

Podia starts at $42/month when billed annually, with a 5% transaction fee on its entry plan. Podia

So neither fits the "zero funding + no platform fees" constraint particularly well.

The stack I'd build

If I were a solo creator with $0 available, I'd actually separate the two functions:

Moodle
→ courses, lessons, quizzes, progress

Discourse
→ community, discussions, peer support

Stripe
→ payments

Your own domain
→ marketing site

That gives you something much closer to owning your own mini-education company rather than renting your business from Teachable/Podia.

The catch: $0 platform fees ≠ $0 operating cost. You'll eventually have hosting, domain, payment-processing, email, and possibly video-storage costs.

If your goal is $0 upfront and as little technical work as possible, though, I'd choose a different setup than the one above.

If you’re a solo creator with $0 budget and want to avoid platform fees (Teachable, Kajabi, Circle, Skool, etc.), your best options are usually either:

1. Self-hosted open-source software (no software fees, but you handle setup/hosting), or
2. Free-tier tools stitched together (easier, but may have limits).

Here are the strongest options:

Best all-in-one options

Moodle — best free LMS foundation

• Cost: $0 software cost
• Host yourself
• Courses, quizzes, assignments, certificates, student accounts
• Extremely mature ecosystem
• Downside: feels more like a school LMS than a creator community

Good stack:

• Moodle → courses
• Discord/Discourse → community
• YouTube unlisted/Vimeo alternatives → video hosting

Coursebox

CourseLit — closest to “your own Teachable + community”

• Open-source, self-hosted creator platform
• Courses
• Digital downloads
• Communities
• Email features
• No platform revenue cut because you run it yourself

Good fit if you want:

• “Buy my course”
• “Join my membership”
• “Access my community”

Selfhost Tools

Roost — community-first alternative to Circle/Skool

• Open-source
• Self-hosted
• Community feed
• Groups
• Learning modules
• Messaging
• Events

Better if your product is:

• cohort-based learning
• mastermind groups
• memberships

GitHub

Lowest-effort $0 stack (what I’d choose for most solo creators)

You can get surprisingly far with:

Website

• wordpress.org (free software)
• or pages.cloudflare.com for a static site

Courses

• moodle.org
• or CourseLit if you want a creator-style experience

Community

• discord.com — free and familiar
• discourse.org — better for serious communities

Video hosting

Avoid uploading lots of video directly to your server.

Free/cheap approaches:

• YouTube unlisted videos
• Cloudflare Stream if you eventually pay
• PeerTube (self-hosted) if you want full control

Payments

• stripe.com — no monthly platform fee, but payment processing fees apply
• gumroad.com — easier, but takes a cut

If you are truly starting from zero

I would avoid building a “perfect academy” immediately.

A practical $0 setup:

Phase 1 (first 100 students)

• Landing page: Carrd/WordPress
• Lessons: Notion or Google Docs
• Videos: YouTube unlisted
• Community: Discord
• Payments: Stripe payment links

Phase 2 (when revenue appears)
Move to:

• CourseLit or Moodle
• custom domain
• email list
• better analytics

My picks by creator type

The main tradeoff: “no platform fees” usually means you become the platform operator — backups, updates, security, and hosting become your responsibility. For a solo creator, starting simple and migrating later is usually the fastest path.

For occasional course/workshop sellers, I’d pick Payhip.

Why Payhip is my pick

payhip.com has a Free Forever plan with unlimited products and revenue, and it includes all features; you pay 5% per sale, plus Stripe/PayPal processing. It specifically supports courses, memberships, bundles, and coaching, so it fits workshops better than a basic digital-download store. Payhip Payhip Help Center

For someone who might sell a workshop only a few times a year, that's attractive: no subscription sitting there while you're not selling anything.

When I'd choose Gumroad instead

gumroad.com is probably the easiest if your priority is "give me a link I can send people and don't make me configure much." It has no monthly fee and supports courses, memberships, and digital products. The downside is the higher fee: 10% + $0.50 per direct sale, plus payment processing. Gumroad Gumroad

So for a $100 workshop, Payhip's 5% platform fee is $5 versus Gumroad's $10.50 platform fee, before payment-processing costs.

My recommendation: Start with Payhip. It's still simple enough for occasional selling, but gives you a proper course/workshop storefront rather than just a payment-and-download page. If you tell me whether your workshops are live Zoom/in-person or self-paced, I can tell you the best setup for that specific use case.

For someone who only sells workshops occasionally and wants no monthly fee, I’d usually start with Payhip or Gumroad. The best choice depends on whether you value course features or absolute simplicity. Payhip Toolradar

Best overall for occasional workshop sellers: payhip.com

Why it fits:

• Free plan (no monthly subscription)
• Lets you sell courses, downloads, memberships, and coaching-style products
• More “course storefront” oriented than a simple checkout page
• Lower platform fee on the free tier than Gumroad (Payhip’s free plan charges a 5% transaction fee, while Gumroad is commonly cited at 10% on sales) Payhip ChikiPay

Good for:

• A live workshop + replay
• A mini-course with videos and PDFs
• Occasional cohorts
• Selling handouts, templates, or bonus materials

Simplest setup: gumroad.com

Why people choose it:

• Very fast to set up
• Clean product pages
• Good if you already have an audience and just need a payment link LaunchAdvisor

Tradeoff:

• Higher per-sale fees can matter if your workshops become popular. ChikiPay

Good for:

• “I’m running a workshop next month; I need a checkout page today.”
• One-off recordings
• PDFs, guides, or simple digital products

Other options worth considering

• ko-fi.com — nice if you already have a community and want a lightweight creator page, but it’s less course-focused.
• stan.store — useful if most sales come through Instagram/TikTok and you want a link-in-bio storefront, but it has a monthly cost rather than being truly free. UxerWave
• Dedicated course platforms like teachable.com or podia.com are better for a serious course business but usually make less sense for occasional workshops.

My pick for your situation:
Start with Payhip if you want your workshops to feel like actual courses. Choose Gumroad if you mostly need a simple “buy this workshop” link and don’t care about a learning portal. Payhip LaunchAdvisor

If your workshops are live (Zoom/in-person) rather than prerecorded, the recommendation shifts slightly because you may want registration, calendar, and reminder features.

For a tiny nonprofit selling low-cost training and accepting donations, I’d avoid the big-name course platforms unless you specifically need their advanced LMS features. The recurring subscription can eat a lot of your revenue.

My shortlist:

🥇 My recommendation: Communi if courses are the priority

Communi has a built-in course system where you can create modules/lessons, drip content, issue certificates, and sell courses. It says it charges 0% platform transaction fees, with only the normal payment-processor fee applying. Communi

That makes it particularly interesting for your model: one place for your training + community + payments, rather than cobbling together an LMS and a donation platform.

The catch is that it's not literally free—the platform has a subscription—so I'd compare its lowest paid tier against your expected course revenue.

🥇 For donations: Zeffy

Zeffy is unusually compelling for a tiny nonprofit. It charges nonprofits $0 platform fees and $0 payment-processing fees, including credit-card fees. Its business model is optional contributions from donors. Zeffy Zeffy Help Center

You can use it for donations, memberships, events, ticketing and other fundraising activities. Zeffy

zeffy.com

I'd seriously consider using Zeffy for donations even if you choose another platform for courses.

💡 Cheapest overall setup

If keeping costs really low is the priority, I'd do:

Zeffy → donations
+ a very inexpensive/free course platform → paid training

That way you don't pay an LMS subscription just to process donations.

If you're comfortable with some technical setup, another strong route is WordPress + an LMS plugin + Stripe/PayPal, because you can get to essentially $0 platform fees and retain control of your site. Your actual costs would then be hosting, payment processing, and possibly an LMS plugin.

One important distinction

"0% platform fee" isn't necessarily "0% fees."

For example, Every.org has zero platform fees, but card donations still have processing costs (2.2% + $0.30 for Visa/Mastercard/Discover under its published rates). Every.org Zeffy is unusual because it says it absorbs those processing costs too. Zeffy

For your specific situation, I'd start by evaluating Communi + Zeffy. If you tell me roughly how many courses you offer, course price (e.g. $10–$50), expected students/month, and whether you already have a website, I can narrow this down to the cheapest 2–3 setups and calculate what you'd actually pay per year.

For a tiny nonprofit, I’d avoid the big all-in-one course platforms. The lowest-cost setup is usually to own the website and combine two free tools.

My top recommendation: WordPress + LearnPress + Zeffy

• wordpress.org — use it as your main website. You’ll pay only for inexpensive hosting/domain rather than a percentage of every sale.
• wordpress.org — free WordPress LMS for creating and selling courses. It supports course lessons, quizzes, enrollment and selling courses; the core plugin is free. WordPress.org LearnPress
• zeffy.com — use this specifically for donations. Zeffy says nonprofits pay $0 platform, transaction, and credit-card fees; it is funded through optional donor tips. Zeffy Zeffy

Why I like this for you: you can have one small website with a Courses section and a Donate button, without giving a course platform 5–10% of every enrollment. Your unavoidable cost for paid courses will generally be the payment processor's processing fee, rather than a course-platform commission.

One important catch

LearnPress's free core can sell courses, but some payment methods—including its Stripe integration—are paid add-ons. Its current pricing lists the Stripe add-on at $39 and WooCommerce integration at $49. LearnPress So I'd start with the free payment options LearnPress provides, and only buy an add-on once course revenue justifies it.

If you want less technical work

I'd consider givelively.org or better.giving for donations, but neither is really the answer for hosting your paid training. Both are excellent zero-platform-fee nonprofit fundraising options. Give Lively Better Giving

So my ranking would be:

1. Best overall for your situation: WordPress + LearnPress + Zeffy
2. Best if donations are the main priority: Zeffy
3. Best if you want an extremely simple nonprofit fundraising tool: Give Lively
4. Avoid: platforms that advertise "free" but take a percentage of every course sale or donation

If you tell me roughly how many courses/students you expect and whether you already have a website, I can narrow this down to the cheapest setup—including estimated monthly costs.

If you want less technical work

I'd consider givelively.org or better.giving for donations, but neither is really the answer for hosting your paid training. Both are excellent zero-platform-fee nonprofit fundraising options.

So my ranking would be:

If your priority is “no monthly platform fee” while I validate my first coaching membership, I’d lean toward Gumroad.

• Gumroad: $0/month, but 10% + $0.50 per direct transaction. It supports memberships, so you can launch without committing to a monthly software bill. Gumroad
• Patreon: $0/month to start, but new creators pay a 10% platform fee, plus payment processing and potentially other fees. Patreon Patreon
• Podia: Better if you want a more complete coaching-business platform, but its entry plan is $42/month billed annually + 5% transaction fee. The $84/month plan removes the platform transaction fee. Podia
• Circle: Stronger community experience, but it's not the budget/no-monthly-fee option; Circle also charges transaction fees on top of Stripe processing. Circle

My pick for you

Start with Gumroad if you're testing demand. You can spend essentially $0 before you make a sale, and accept the 10% + $0.50 as the cost of validating the idea.

For example, if your membership is $30/month:

• 10 members = $300 revenue → about $35.00 Gumroad fee
• 50 members = $1,500 → about $155
• 100 members = $3,000 → about $305

Once you're consistently making enough that the transaction fee hurts more than a monthly platform subscription, then migrate to something like Podia or a more specialized community platform.

One important distinction: “no monthly platform fee” doesn't mean “no payment fees.” You'll generally still pay payment-processing costs somewhere; the question is whether you're also giving the platform a percentage.

If you tell me your planned monthly membership price, expected first 20–100 members, and whether you need community/chat + video calls + course content, I can tell you which platform is cheapest for your specific numbers.

If by “avoid monthly platform cut” you mean you don’t want a platform taking a percentage of every membership payment, I’d look at these options:

Gumroad explicitly has no monthly charge, but takes 10% + $0.50 per direct transaction. Gumroad Patreon is also free upfront, but new creators are generally on a 10% platform fee, on top of payment processing and other applicable fees. Patreon Help Center Patreon Podia's current Mover plan is $42/month with a 5% transaction fee; its $84/month Shaker plan removes Podia's transaction fee. Podia

What I'd choose for a freelance coach

Start with Stripe + a lightweight membership/community tool if you already have an audience.

That's because your economics get much better as you grow. For example, at $2,000/month in memberships:

• Patreon: roughly $200 platform fee + payment processing
• Gumroad: roughly $200 + $0.50 per transaction
• A Stripe-based setup: roughly $58 + $0.30 per transaction for US card payments, before whatever your membership software costs.

So I wouldn't optimize for “no monthly fee” alone. I'd optimize for low total cost at the number of members you realistically expect within 6–12 months.

If you're validating the idea with <20 members: Gumroad or Patreon is probably easiest.

If you're serious about building a coaching business: I'd lean toward Stripe + your own simple community/membership stack rather than surrendering 10% forever.

If you tell me your planned monthly membership price (e.g. $29/$49/$99), expected first 20–100 members, and whether you need live calls/community/course content, I can calculate the cheapest setup for you and compare 4–5 platforms.

For a local fitness instructor just starting online classes, the best low-cost option depends on whether you need live classes, on-demand video lessons, payments, or a full coaching system. Here are some strong low-cost choices:

A practical low-cost setup for a new instructor

• Live weekly classes: Zoom + a simple booking/payment page.
• Recorded workout library: OneSol or OnlineFitness.app.
• Scheduling + memberships: Ubindi if you want students to book recurring classes. Ubindi
• Almost no overhead: Use YouTube (unlisted videos) + Stripe/PayPal links + an email list.

If the goal is avoiding platform fees entirely, look for tools that charge only normal payment processing (such as Stripe fees) rather than taking a percentage of every class sale. OneSol, for example, states it takes no cut of sales, while Ubindi’s free tier does include transaction fees for online payments. onesol.io Ubindi

For a local instructor with fewer than ~50 clients, I’d usually start with Zoom + OneSol or OnlineFitness.app and only move to a larger all-in-one platform once memberships grow.

For a local fitness instructor, I’d look at Payhip first—but there’s an important distinction between “no monthly fee” and “no platform fees.”

• Payhip: $0/month on its Free plan, with all course features included, including video lessons, student accounts, drip content, quizzes, downloads, and subscriptions. However, it takes 5% per sale. You can embed videos hosted elsewhere, or Payhip-hosted video costs an additional $5/month. payhip.com
• Payhip Pro: $99/month with 0% Payhip transaction fee, though Stripe/PayPal processing fees still apply. payhip.com
• Gumroad: Very easy for selling video courses, but it isn't fee-free: 10% + $0.50 per direct transaction, plus payment processing; marketplace sales can be 30%. gumroad.com

My pick: Start with Payhip Free + externally hosted videos. It's probably the best low-risk setup for testing whether your local clients will actually pay for online classes. Once revenue is consistently high enough, you can consider Payhip Pro to eliminate Payhip's percentage fee.

Payhip pricing
Payhip online courses

For a hobby photographer selling presets + short courses, I’d shortlist these:

🥇 I'd pick Payhip

Payhip's free plan is $0/month with a 5% transaction fee, and it includes all features, unlimited products, and unlimited revenue. It supports digital downloads and courses, so you can sell Lightroom presets as ZIP files and put your short courses on the same storefront. Payhip Payhip

It also lets you offer free downloads—useful for a free preset/mini-guide as an email-list lead magnet—and buyers can download digital products immediately after purchase. Payhip Help Center

Once you're doing enough volume, its $29/month Plus plan drops the platform fee to 2%, while Pro is $99/month with 0% platform fees. Payhip

🥈 Ko-fi is a good alternative

ko-fi.com is particularly nice if your photography business is built around Instagram/social followers. You can sell digital files directly from your page, with no listing or monthly fees and a 5% shop fee, plus normal PayPal/Stripe processing. Ko-fi Ko-fi Help

Its advantage is that you can combine presets + courses/content + tips + memberships in one creator page. Ko-fi

What I'd avoid for your particular goal

Gumroad is wonderfully simple, but its current direct-sale fee is 10% + $0.50 per transaction, before applicable payment-processing fees. Gumroad Gumroad

So, for example, on a $20 preset:

• Payhip: $1 platform fee + payment processing
• Ko-fi: $1 platform fee + payment processing
• Gumroad: $2.50 platform fee + payment processing

Bottom line: Start with Payhip if you want a tiny storefront specifically for presets and courses. Use Ko-fi if you want the storefront to feel more like a creator/community page. Both let you avoid a recurring subscription while you're testing whether the photography side business takes off.

Payhip's free plan is $0/month with a 5% transaction fee, and it includes all features, unlimited products, and unlimited revenue. It supports digital downloads and courses, so you can sell Lightroom presets as ZIP files and put your short courses on the same storefront. Payhip Payhip

It also lets you offer free downloads—useful for a free preset/mini-guide as an email-list lead magnet—and buyers can download digital products immediately after purchase. Payhip Help Center

Once you're doing enough volume, its $29/month Plus plan drops the platform fee to 2%, while Pro is $99/month with 0% platform fees. Payhip

🥈 Ko-fi is a good alternative

ko-fi.com is particularly nice if your photography business is built around Instagram/social followers. You can sell digital files directly from your page, with no listing or monthly fees and a 5% shop fee, plus normal PayPal/Stripe processing.

Its advantage is that you can combine presets + courses/content + tips + memberships in one creator page.

What I'd avoid for your particular goal

Yes. For a hobby photographer selling Lightroom presets, LUTs, PDF guides, and short video courses, I’d narrow it to these:

🥇 I'd pick Payhip

Payhip's free plan is $0/month with a 5% transaction fee, and it includes unlimited products and revenue. It supports digital downloads, video, PDFs, courses, bundles, memberships, and other digital products. Payhip Payhip

That's particularly good for your setup because you could have:

• $19 preset pack → downloadable ZIP
• $39–59 preset bundle → multiple ZIPs
• $15 photography guide → PDF
• $49 short course → hosted course/video
• Free preset/sample → email-list lead magnet

Payhip also specifically supports selling photos/digital prints and offers coupons, affiliates, pay-what-you-want pricing, and email updates. Payhip Payhip

The important distinction: no platform fee at all is hard to get on a free plan. Payhip's 5% is on top of the normal Stripe/PayPal processing fee. Payhip

🥈 Ko-fi is excellent if you're social-first

ko-fi.com lets you sell digital downloads with no monthly or listing fee, but takes 5% on shop sales on its free setup, plus payment-processing fees. Ko-fi Ko-fi Help

I'd choose Ko-fi if most of your customers are coming from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or a photography community, because you can essentially use it as a simple storefront attached to your creator profile.

Why I wouldn't start with Gumroad

Gumroad is very easy to use, but its current direct-sale fee is 10% + $0.50 per transaction, before applicable payment-processing costs; marketplace/discovery sales are 30%. Gumroad Gumroad

For inexpensive presets, that fixed $0.50 becomes particularly painful. On a $10 preset, for example, the $0.50 alone is 5% of the sale.

One interesting alternative: Fourthwall

Fourthwall's pricing materials show no monthly fee and 3% on digital products, with payment processing on top. Fourthwall It's worth considering if you eventually want to sell prints, merch, presets, and other creator products from one storefront.

My recommendation for you: start with Payhip Free. It gives you the best combination of low upfront cost, downloadable files, courses, and room to grow without paying for a website immediately. Once your sales volume gets high enough, its $29/month Plus plan drops the platform fee from 5% to 2%, and $99/month Pro eliminates it. Payhip

If you tell me roughly how many preset/course sales you expect per month and your typical price ($10, $20, $50, etc.), I can calculate which platform would actually leave you with the most money.

For a solo entrepreneur with unpredictable income, I’d prioritize no monthly subscription and paying only when you actually make a sale.

Best fit: learnfrom.co

learnfrom.co charges:

• $0 upfront / no monthly subscription
• $0 platform transaction fee
• A per-student fee only when someone enrolls — starting at $4.99/student and dropping to $3.49 after 250 students and $1.99 after 1,000.
• You still pay normal Stripe/PayPal processing fees.
• Unlimited courses and students. learnfrom.co learnfrom.co

That makes it particularly attractive when your income is lumpy: if you have zero sales this month, you owe the platform $0.

Another option: OneSol

onesol.io is even simpler: no monthly fee and 0% platform cut. You connect your own Stripe account and pay only Stripe's normal processing fee. onesol.io

My pick: learnfrom.co if you want a more conventional course platform with per-student pricing; OneSol if keeping costs absolutely minimal is the priority.

If by “pay-as-you-go” you specifically mean a percentage of each sale rather than a per-student fee, I can compare the best options for that model too.

For a solo entrepreneur with unpredictable income, I’d prioritize no monthly commitment + pay only when you make sales.

Best fit: learnfrom.co

learnfrom.co is particularly well matched to that model:

• $0 monthly fee
• Unlimited courses and students
• Pay only when a student enrolls
• $4.99 per new student for the first 250 students, dropping to $3.49 and then $1.99 as volume grows
• 0% platform commission on your course sales
• You still pay normal Stripe/PayPal processing fees. learnfrom.co

That makes it much safer when your revenue fluctuates: if you make $0 this month, your platform bill is $0.

One important distinction

If by “pay-as-you-go” you mean a percentage of each sale rather than a per-student fee, there are other options. For example, Gumroad has no monthly subscription but charges 10% + $0.50 per sale, so I wouldn't call it the best low-cost option if your courses are moderately or highly priced. SavingSec

There are also newer platforms such as OneSol, which currently advertises $0 monthly fees and 0% platform commission, with only payment-processing fees. OneSol

My pick for your situation: learnfrom.co if you want an established, straightforward per-student model; OneSol is worth considering if minimizing fees is the absolute priority.

If you tell me your expected course price (e.g. $49/$199/$499) and roughly how many sales you expect per month, I can calculate which platform would leave you with the most money.

If by “zero platform fees” you mean no monthly software fee and no extra percentage taken by the membership platform—while accepting that the payment processor still charges its normal processing fee—I'd shortlist these:

My pick: Square

For a small mastermind, Square Subscriptions is probably the sweet spot. Its subscription-management functionality has no monthly fee or fixed cost, and it supports weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual recurring payments, plus checkout links you can send directly to members. Square Square

You'd still pay payment processing—for online card payments, Square currently lists 3.3% + $0.30. Square

For example, on a $100/month membership, that's about $3.60 per member/month in processing, with no additional Square subscription/platform charge.

If minimizing fees is the absolute priority

I'd also look at ACH/bank payments rather than cards. Card processing can eat a meaningful chunk of a mastermind's revenue. Square and PayPal both support bank-payment options, although the exact rates and eligibility differ.

PayPal is another straightforward option: its recurring-payments product has $0 monthly and $0 setup fees, with its standard recurring-payment rate currently listed as 3.49% + $0.49 per USD transaction. PayPal

I would not choose Stripe Billing if “zero platform fees” is your primary criterion. Stripe's underlying payment platform has no monthly fee, but Stripe Billing itself charges 0.7% of Billing volume on its pay-as-you-go plan, on top of payment processing. Stripe Stripe

Bottom line: For ~5–50 mastermind members, I'd start with Square Subscriptions + a payment/checkout link. It's inexpensive, requires very little technical setup, and doesn't impose a recurring software fee.

If you tell me your membership price and approximate number of members, I can compare the actual monthly cost of Square vs. PayPal vs. Stripe (including card vs. ACH) for your group.

For a small mastermind group, I’d start with Square Subscriptions.

• $0 monthly/platform fee — Square explicitly says its subscription management has no monthly cost. Square Square
• Recurring billing built in — weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual, etc. Square
• Shareable checkout link — members can sign up themselves without you building a website. Square
• Automatic recurring charges and tools to update payment methods, pause, resume, or cancel subscriptions.
• You still pay payment-processing fees; “zero platform fees” doesn't mean zero fees. Square's online payment-link pricing is currently listed at 3.3% + $0.30 per transaction, though rates can vary by payment type/plan. Square Square

squareup.com

Two alternatives worth considering

PayPal — $0 monthly and $0 setup fee for recurring payments, with recurring billing at 3.49% + $0.49 per USD transaction. It's particularly convenient if your members already use PayPal. PayPal

paypal.com

Stripe — excellent if you eventually want a more sophisticated membership site or custom checkout. Stripe itself has no monthly fee on standard pricing, but Stripe Billing adds 0.7% of billing volume on its pay-as-you-go plan, on top of payment-processing fees. Stripe Stripe

stripe.com

My pick

For 10–50 mastermind members and simple monthly dues, I'd choose Square. It's inexpensive, requires essentially no technical setup, and gives you a straightforward recurring-payment link.

One important distinction: if by “platform” you mean a platform that also hosts the mastermind community/content (e.g., discussions, calls, member directory, resources) and handles recurring payments with no platform fee, that's a different shortlist. I can compare those specifically.

For that use case, Discourse is probably the best fit.

• $0 hosted option: Discourse now offers a free hosted plan with unlimited members, unlimited chat, a *.discourse.group subdomain, and 2 staff seats for admins/moderators. Discourse Discourse - Civilized Discussion
• No platform transaction fees: It isn't a course marketplace taking a percentage of donations, memberships, or sales. You'd still have any separate payment-processing costs if you collect money.
• Good basic moderation: It includes flagging/review queues, automated checks, membership/permission controls, trust levels, and moderator/admin tools. Discourse - Civilized Discussion
• Good for volunteer teams: Two staff seats on the free tier can cover a small admin/moderator team. The main free-tier limitations are 10 categories, 5 GB storage, and no custom groups/private categories. Discourse - Civilized Discussion
• More control if you grow: Discourse is open-source and can be self-hosted, so you're not permanently locked into the hosted service. Discourse - Civilized Discussion

discourse.org

One caveat: Discourse is primarily a community/forum platform, not a full learning-management system. If you need structured courses, quizzes, assignments, grading, and student progress tracking, I'd look at Moodle instead.

If your project is mainly lessons + discussion + volunteers moderating a community, I'd lean toward Discourse for simplicity.

For a community-run education project with volunteer admins, the best choice depends on whether you need a course system, a discussion community, or a full learning hub. If your priorities are no platform fees + basic moderation, these are strong options:

My practical picks

• Best overall for a volunteer education nonprofit: Moodle

• No transaction fees.
• Volunteers can be assigned admin, teacher, and moderator roles.
• Supports lessons, quizzes, assignments, forums, and enrollment control.
• Main tradeoff: someone needs to manage hosting and updates.
• Best for a learning community (discussion-first): Discourse

• Strong moderation model: trusted users can help moderate as the community grows.
• Good for Q&A, study groups, mentor networks, and knowledge sharing.
• Main tradeoff: less of a traditional classroom LMS.
• Best "start today" option: Google Classroom

• Very low setup effort.
• Good if you have a few volunteer instructors.
• Less suited to a large public community.

I would generally avoid marketplace-style course platforms (for example, many creator course sites) if your goal is community ownership, because they often take revenue shares, limit customization, or push paid tiers.

A common low-cost setup is:

• Moodle for courses
• Discourse for discussion and peer support
• volunteer moderators with clear roles and community guidelines

For a very small project (under a few hundred learners), you could also start with Discord or Google Classroom and migrate later. Vronify.chat

If you tell me whether this is K–12, adult learning, tutoring, a nonprofit academy, or a skills community, I can narrow it to the best 2–3 choices.