Skool Pricing vs Global Alternatives (Communi, Graphy, TagMango, Kajabi, Teachable, Thinkific) – Best Community Platform Comparison Worldwide Best Creator Platform 2025
Communi + Bunny secure video vs TagMango vs Graphy vs Skool vs Teachable vs Thinkific (USD)
This is a real-numbers, 5-year projection in dollars for high-PPP regions (US, Europe, Australia, Singapore). It shows what you actually keep after subscriptions, commissions, processing fees and secure video hosting.
Why saving early matters
In the first 12–24 months your revenue is small and fragile. Every fixed fee and commission compounds. Saving $100–$300 per month early is the difference between funding your next launch vs. stalling. Fast-forward to Year 4–5 and those same dollars become a tiny fraction of revenue—yet the early savings helped you get there.
What you’ll see (clearly, in tables)
- Platform fees (monthly/annual)
- Commission cuts (e.g. 5–10% on some platforms)
- Payment processing (assumed 2.9% + $0.30/txn)
- Secure video overhead with Bunny.net when using Communi
- Net take-home cash for each option, Year 1 → Year 5
Assumptions (USD, high-PPP)
- Courses priced at $99, $249, $999
- Buyers per year (across courses): 100, 250, 500, 1,000, 2,000
- Payment fees baseline: 2.9% + $0.30/transaction
- Skool fee model: $99/group/mo + 2.9% transaction (we don’t double-charge gateways for Skool)
- TagMango: Basic 10% commission; Pro ~$1,200/yr + 5%; Advanced ~$2,550/yr + 2.5%
- Graphy: Launch ~$300/yr + 10%; Rise ~$1,200/yr + 5%
- Teachable + Circle (community): ~$1,296/yr combined; Thinkific Grow: ~$1,188/yr
- Bunny.net hosting estimate for 10h HD course watched by all buyers: $30, $60, $90, $180, $300 across Years 1–5 (bandwidth heavy, still tiny vs revenue)
Why “save now, scale later” beats “overpay then cut costs”
Creators in the US/EU/AU/SG often start with a few dozen buyers. In that window, commission-heavy or per-group pricing models extract a disproportionate share of your earnings. Once you hit Year 4–5, revenue dwarfs software cost—but the reason you reached scale is because you kept more cash early for ads, freelancers, better curriculum, and community care.
Communi + Bunny gives you a tight control plane: unlimited groups/courses and secure video delivery with Bunny.net. In our USD model, Bunny’s overhead is roughly 0.1% of net—basically the price of peace-of-mind against casual ripping and hotlinking.
What competitors charge (at a glance)
Secure video for courses without breaking the bank
Communi currently embeds videos by URL (like many platforms). If your lessons live on public hosts (YouTube, Loom, etc.) they’re easy to share and rip. For paid programs, Bunny Stream adds signed URLs, hotlink protection, and optional DRM—keeping legit members in and casual piracy out.
What Bunny adds
- Signed delivery with token authentication docs
- Referrer/hotlink protection guide
- Stream security for paywalled content overview
- Media Cage DRM option feature
No platform fully blocks screen recording on a user’s device, but DRM + signed delivery reduces casual copying and deters mass theft.
Cost perspective
In this USD model, Bunny hosting is roughly $30 → $300/yr across Years 1–5—even with 10h HD content watched by everyone. That’s ~0.1% of net in our Communi scenarios—tiny compared to the safety it adds.
Two Communi options
Scenario A • Communi Lifetime
- One-time $495 (Year 1 only)
- No platform commission on sales
- Pair with Bunny for secure video
- Compounding advantage from Year 2 onward (fixed cost = $0)
Scenario B • Communi $99/mo
- $1,188/yr subscription
- No platform commission on sales
- Same Bunny overhead profile
- Still beats commission platforms at scale
Year-by-year numbers (USD)
Buyers per year across $99, $249, $999 courses: 100, 250, 500, 1,000, 2,000. Processing fee assumption = 2.9% + $0.30/txn. Skool’s 2.9% replaces gateway fees in our model to avoid double counting. Bunny hosting is applied to Communi scenarios only.
Year 1 • Starter: 100 buyers, first $23.4k test revenue
Gross course revenue
$23,400
Payment fees baseline
$708.60
2.9% of gross + $0.30 × 100 txns
| Platform | Gross | Static fees | Commission | Payment fees | Hosting | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communi Lifetime | $23,400 | $495 | $0 | $708.60 | $30 | $22,166.40 |
| Communi $99/mo | $23,400 | $1,188 | $0 | $708.60 | $30 | $21,473.40 |
| TagMango Basic (10%) | $23,400 | $0 | $2,340.00 | $0 | $0 | $21,060.00 |
| TagMango Pro ($1,200/yr + 5%) | $23,400 | $1,200 | $1,170.00 | $0 | $0 | $21,030.00 |
| TagMango Advanced ($2,550/yr + 2.5%) | $23,400 | $2,550 | $585.00 | $0 | $0 | $20,265.00 |
| Graphy Launch ($300/yr + 10%) | $23,400 | $300 | $2,340.00 | $708.60 | $0 | $20,051.40 |
| Graphy Rise ($1,200/yr + 5%) | $23,400 | $1,200 | $1,170.00 | $708.60 | $0 | $20,321.40 |
| Skool (3 groups) | $23,400 | $3,564 | $678.60 | $0 | $0 | $19,157.40 |
| Teachable + Circle | $23,400 | $1,296 | $0 | $708.60 | $0 | $21,395.40 |
| Thinkific Grow | $23,400 | $1,188 | $0 | $708.60 | $0 | $21,503.40 |
Year 2 • Momentum: 250 buyers, $58.5k revenue
Gross
$58,500
Payment fees
$1,771.50
2.9% + $0.30 × 250
| Platform | Gross | Static fees | Commission | Payment fees | Hosting | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communi Lifetime | $58,500 | $0 | $0 | $1,771.50 | $60 | $56,668.50 |
| Communi $99/mo | $58,500 | $1,188 | $0 | $1,771.50 | $60 | $55,480.50 |
| TagMango Basic (10%) | $58,500 | $0 | $5,850.00 | $0 | $0 | $52,650.00 |
| TagMango Pro ($1,200/yr + 5%) | $58,500 | $1,200 | $2,925.00 | $0 | $0 | $54,375.00 |
| TagMango Advanced ($2,550/yr + 2.5%) | $58,500 | $2,550 | $1,462.50 | $0 | $0 | $54,487.50 |
| Graphy Launch ($300/yr + 10%) | $58,500 | $300 | $5,850.00 | $1,771.50 | $0 | $50,578.50 |
| Graphy Rise ($1,200/yr + 5%) | $58,500 | $1,200 | $2,925.00 | $1,771.50 | $0 | $52,603.50 |
| Skool (3 groups) | $58,500 | $3,564 | $1,696.50 | $0 | $0 | $53,239.50 |
| Teachable + Circle | $58,500 | $1,296 | $0 | $1,771.50 | $0 | $55,432.50 |
| Thinkific Grow | $58,500 | $1,188 | $0 | $1,771.50 | $0 | $55,540.50 |
Year 3 • Product-market fit: 500 buyers, $117k revenue
Gross
$117,000
Payment fees
$3,543.00
2.9% + $0.30 × 500
| Platform | Gross | Static fees | Commission | Payment fees | Hosting | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communi Lifetime | $117,000 | $0 | $0 | $3,543.00 | $90 | $113,367.00 |
| Communi $99/mo | $117,000 | $1,188 | $0 | $3,543.00 | $90 | $112,179.00 |
| TagMango Basic (10%) | $117,000 | $0 | $11,700.00 | $0 | $0 | $105,300.00 |
| TagMango Pro ($1,200/yr + 5%) | $117,000 | $1,200 | $5,850.00 | $0 | $0 | $109,950.00 |
| TagMango Advanced ($2,550/yr + 2.5%) | $117,000 | $2,550 | $2,925.00 | $0 | $0 | $111,525.00 |
| Graphy Launch ($300/yr + 10%) | $117,000 | $300 | $11,700.00 | $3,543.00 | $0 | $101,457.00 |
| Graphy Rise ($1,200/yr + 5%) | $117,000 | $1,200 | $5,850.00 | $3,543.00 | $0 | $106,407.00 |
| Skool (3 groups) | $117,000 | $3,564 | $3,393.00 | $0 | $0 | $110,043.00 |
| Teachable + Circle | $117,000 | $1,296 | $0 | $3,543.00 | $0 | $112,161.00 |
| Thinkific Grow | $117,000 | $1,188 | $0 | $3,543.00 | $0 | $112,269.00 |
Year 4 • Scale: 1,000 buyers, $234k revenue
Gross
$234,000
Payment fees
$7,086.00
2.9% + $0.30 × 1,000
| Platform | Gross | Static fees | Commission | Payment fees | Hosting | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communi Lifetime | $234,000 | $0 | $0 | $7,086.00 | $180 | $226,734.00 |
| Communi $99/mo | $234,000 | $1,188 | $0 | $7,086.00 | $180 | $225,546.00 |
| TagMango Basic (10%) | $234,000 | $0 | $23,400.00 | $0 | $0 | $210,600.00 |
| TagMango Pro ($1,200/yr + 5%) | $234,000 | $1,200 | $11,700.00 | $0 | $0 | $221,100.00 |
| TagMango Advanced ($2,550/yr + 2.5%) | $234,000 | $2,550 | $5,850.00 | $0 | $0 | $225,600.00 |
| Graphy Launch ($300/yr + 10%) | $234,000 | $300 | $23,400.00 | $7,086.00 | $0 | $203,214.00 |
| Graphy Rise ($1,200/yr + 5%) | $234,000 | $1,200 | $11,700.00 | $7,086.00 | $0 | $214,014.00 |
| Skool (3 groups) | $234,000 | $3,564 | $6,786.00 | $0 | $0 | $223,650.00 |
| Teachable + Circle | $234,000 | $1,296 | $0 | $7,086.00 | $0 | $225,618.00 |
| Thinkific Grow | $234,000 | $1,188 | $0 | $7,086.00 | $0 | $225,726.00 |
Year 5 • Durable business: 2,000 buyers, $468k revenue
Gross
$468,000
Payment fees
$14,172.00
2.9% + $0.30 × 2,000
| Platform | Gross | Static fees | Commission | Payment fees | Hosting | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communi Lifetime | $468,000 | $0 | $0 | $14,172.00 | $300 | $453,528.00 |
| Communi $99/mo | $468,000 | $1,188 | $0 | $14,172.00 | $300 | $452,340.00 |
| TagMango Basic (10%) | $468,000 | $0 | $46,800.00 | $0 | $0 | $421,200.00 |
| TagMango Pro ($1,200/yr + 5%) | $468,000 | $1,200 | $23,400.00 | $0 | $0 | $443,400.00 |
| TagMango Advanced ($2,550/yr + 2.5%) | $468,000 | $2,550 | $11,700.00 | $0 | $0 | $453,750.00 |
| Graphy Launch ($300/yr + 10%) | $468,000 | $300 | $46,800.00 | $14,172.00 | $0 | $406,728.00 |
| Graphy Rise ($1,200/yr + 5%) | $468,000 | $1,200 | $23,400.00 | $14,172.00 | $0 | $429,228.00 |
| Skool (3 groups) | $468,000 | $3,564 | $13,572.00 | $0 | $0 | $450,864.00 |
| Teachable + Circle | $468,000 | $1,296 | $0 | $14,172.00 | $0 | $452,532.00 |
| Thinkific Grow | $468,000 | $1,188 | $0 | $14,172.00 | $0 | $452,640.00 |
Who takes the most from you over 5 years (fees only)
Totals below include platform subscriptions + commissions + processing + (for Communi) Bunny hosting. We don’t show revenue totals here—this is purely the drag on your business.
Takeaway: Communi Lifetime + Bunny has the lightest drag from Year 2 onward. Even the $99/mo plan competes closely with lean course-first stacks while giving you unlimited communities and courses in one place.
FAQ for US/EU/AU/SG creators
Is Communi the best community platform globally?
“Best” depends on your needs. This study shows Communi’s cost efficiency with unlimited groups/courses, plus how pairing with Bunny.net gives secure video without large bills.
Can I just use YouTube links?
Yes, and many do—just note unlisted links are easy to share. For paid programs, use Bunny’s signed URLs + hotlink protection and consider DRM.
Why not host video directly inside the platform?
Vendor-locked video is convenient but pricey. With Communi you keep control: choose Bunny today, and if native uploads arrive later, you can switch or mix.
Do I pay sales tax/VAT?
Local taxes vary by country/state. Always check your platform’s tax settings and your accountant for US/EU/AU/SG specifics.
Ready to build the lean way
Start with a free community, add a paid cohort when ready, and layer in secure video for premium lessons. Keep your stack simple, margins high, and control with you.
Disclaimer
This is an independent, informational case study using public pricing pages and simple assumptions. Numbers are examples, not promises of results.
We are not affiliated with Skool, TagMango, Graphy, Circle, Kajabi, Teachable, or Thinkific. Links to Communi and Bunny.net may be affiliate links; you pay the same price.
Pricing, features, tax rules, and payment fees change. Always confirm on the official pricing pages and with your accountant before deciding.
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