There’s a better home for your academy.
A community platform disguised as a course platform — with high transaction fees, no custom domain, and no real learning tools.
Get early access to Achene0%
vs 10% on Skool Hobby — the plan most people start on
Commission on every student payment
Your domain
vs skool.com/yourbrand on every Skool plan
Where your students' academy lives
£19/mo
vs $99/mo for Skool Pro (still charges 2.9% per sale)
Full course platform, 0% fees, your own brand
Feature by feature
How Achene and Skool stack up on the things that matter most to independent educators.
| Feature | Achene | Skool |
|---|---|---|
| Commission on sales | 0% on all tiers | 10% (Hobby) · 2.9% (Pro) |
| Custom domain | All paid plans — youracademy.com | None — your community is at skool.com/yourbrand on every plan |
| Email broadcasts | Included on all tiers | Not included |
| Progress tracking | Included — per lesson & course | Not available |
| Student analytics | Per-lesson progress, completion tracking | Binary only — started or not started |
| Student notes | Timestamp-linked notes in lesson player | Not available |
| Community | Global + per-course forums | Community feed, gamification |
| Video hosting | Included on all tiers | Included (added mid-2025) |
| Student limit | Unlimited on all tiers | Unlimited on all tiers |
Pricing, side by side
Skool prices in USD. Achene prices in GBP — no commission on student payments on any tier.
Skool plans
Achene plans
See what you’d save
Enter your current plan and revenue to see your estimated annual saving with Achene.
Estimates only. Achene prices in GBP; competitor prices in USD. Conversion at £1 ≈ $1.26. Does not include standard Stripe processing fees (2.9% + $0.30), which apply to all platforms.
Why educators move away from Skool
Skool Hobby looks cheap at $9/month — but the 10% transaction fee means at $1,000/month revenue your total bill is already $109. At $1,300/month it costs more than the $99 Pro plan. Most creators don't realise this until they're already paying.
Skool Pro still charges 2.9% on every sale on top of the $99/month plan fee. On $5,000/month revenue that's $244/month all-in — compared to Achene's £19/month with 0% commission.
There is no real custom domain on any Skool plan. The Pro plan's 'custom URL' is simply skool.com/yourbrand — your community lives on Skool's domain, not yours. Your brand is their marketing.
Skool has no email marketing whatsoever. Every update, announcement, and re-engagement campaign requires a separate tool — Mailchimp, ConvertKit, or similar — adding both cost and complexity.
No progress tracking means students have no way to see how far through a course they are, and you have no way to see who's engaged and who's at risk of dropping out.
Skool's single community feed becomes unmanageable as your group grows — beginners, advanced members, paying clients, and free users all mix in one stream. Serious educators predictably outgrow it.
Skool scores 1.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot, with multiple complaints about charges continuing after cancellation, no accessible customer support, and accounts banned without explanation or appeal.
Ready to make the move?
Achene lets you import your existing students via CSV — migration is straightforward. Get early access below.
Get early access
We’re launching soon. Leave your details and we’ll let you know when you can get started. There will be a generous free trial for early access users.