Idun Blue vs Skool — the whole business, not just the community
Skool takes 10% + $0.30 per sale on Hobby and 2.9% + $0.30 on Pro at $99/mo. Idun Blue takes 0% and brings community, courses, website, email and bookings into one workspace.
Checked Aug 20, 2026
The Verdict
Skool brings community, courses, video and live calls together in two plans with the same features. What separates them is price and fee: Hobby costs $9/mo but takes 10% + $0.30 of every sale, Pro costs $99/mo and takes 2.9% + $0.30. Idun Blue takes a 0% platform fee and brings the whole business into one workspace: courses, community, website, email, checkout, bookings and automations, with podcast, events and invoices when you need them. Idun AI works directly in your material, and Studio is available in Swedish with servers in the EU. Skool's figures come from its pricing page on 20 August 2026.
Skool pricing and plans last checked Aug 20, 2026 against Skool's own pages. Skool's pricing page does not state the length of any free trial, so we make no claim about it. Rows that Skool's pricing page does not address were left out of the table instead of guessed. A feature missing from the table does not mean Skool lacks it.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | Idun Blue | Skool |
|---|---|---|
| Online courses | ✓ | ✓ |
| Video hosting | ✓ | ✓ |
| Community | ✓ | ✓ |
| 0% platform fee | ✓ | ✗ |
| Member mobile app | ✓ | ✓ |
A ~ in the Idun Blue column means the feature is in the platform but switched off by default — you turn it on under Settings → Features. Rows where Skool's own pricing page neither confirms nor denies a feature have been left out entirely.
The short version
Skool is built around a community where the courses sit in the same room as the conversation. The pricing page lists two plans, Hobby and Pro, with the same core: unlimited members, unlimited courses, videos and live calls, and a custom URL. What separates the plans is the price and the transaction fee.
Idun Blue is built for the whole creator business. Courses, community, website and pages, email and automations, checkout, bookings and Instagram planning sit in the same workspace. Podcast, events and webinars and invoices are switched on when you need them. Idun AI works in what you already have, and payments go to your own Stripe account with no platform fee.
Pricing
The figures below come from Skool’s own pricing page and were checked on 20 August 2026. Prices change, so always check skool.com/pricing.
| Plan | Price per month | Transaction fee |
|---|---|---|
| Hobby | $9 | 10% + $0.30 |
| Pro | $99 | 2.9% + $0.30 |
On annual billing Skool states “2 months free”. Both plans include unlimited members, unlimited courses, videos and live calls, and a custom URL.
Count the fee, not just the subscription. At $2,000 in monthly sales, Hobby’s percentage component is $200 and Pro’s is $58, and both add $0.30 per transaction. The break-even between Hobby and Pro lands around $1,270 in monthly sales.
Idun Blue is free during the beta and then costs SEK 1,000 a month excl. VAT, for the whole platform. The platform fee is 0%: payments go to your own Stripe account and you pay only Stripe’s fees. Skool bills in dollars and Idun Blue in kronor, so compare the converted price on the day you choose.
Where the platforms differ
Fees
10% + $0.30 on Hobby and 2.9% + $0.30 on Pro are Skool’s own numbers. With Idun Blue the platform fee is 0%, and the only deduction is Stripe’s ordinary fees. Sell $2,000 a month and $200 goes to Skool on Hobby. With Idun Blue, nothing goes to us.
Community
Skool builds the whole product around the feed, the points and the levels. Idun Blue’s community is organised in rooms with different purposes: discussion, announcements, events and resources. A room can be open, limited to the students of a particular course or private, and course buyers are added automatically. There are no points and no leaderboards. Open a member’s profile and you see her course progress, purchases and emails in one place.
More than a community
Skool’s pricing page describes a bounded product: community, courses, video and live calls. Idun Blue also includes a website and sales pages, a mailing list with broadcasts, sequences and automations, checkout and subscriptions, bookings and Instagram planning. A podcast with its own RSS feed, events with their own live room and replay, and invoices are switched on under Settings → Features. Everything lives in the same system, so a purchase or a finished module can start an email straight away.
AI that does the work
Idun AI is included and works with what is in your workspace. Ask it to turn your notes into a course outline, write a sales page or prepare a welcome sequence. The result is saved as a draft in Studio, and you decide what gets published or sent. If you would rather use your own ChatGPT or Claude, connect it through Studio for Mac or as an MCP client.
Mobile
Skool has a mobile app. With Idun Blue, members use the Idun Blue app for iPhone and iPad, or the web app in the browser on your own domain. An app under your own brand is not included.
Swedish and the EU
Studio is available in Swedish and English, and Idun Blue runs on servers in the EU.
What is included in Idun Blue
- Courses, offers, email and people are always on. Pages, blog, community, automations, coupons, bookings, social media and link in bio are on from the start.
- Live events and webinars, podcast, coaching, invoices, physical products and course certificates are switched on under Settings → Features. Lesson quizzes and attachments are part of the course tools.
- Members use the Idun Blue app for iPhone and iPad, or the web app on your own domain.
- Card payments run through your connected Stripe account. Free offers work without it, and selling on invoice works once invoicing is switched on.
- Servers in the EU and Studio in Swedish and English. AI and email delivery use external providers, and your provider choices affect where data is processed.
- Free during the beta, then SEK 1,000 a month excl. VAT.
Switch to Idun Blue if
- you sell on Hobby and pay 10% + $0.30 of every sale. Idun Blue takes 0%.
- you want a website, mailing list, checkout and bookings in the same workspace as your community and courses.
- you want podcast, events and invoices without adding more tools.
- you want AI to do the work inside the business, with Idun AI or your own ChatGPT or Claude.
- you want Studio in Swedish and your data on servers in the EU.
Idun Blue opens to more creators as the beta grows. Join the waitlist and we will be in touch.
Keep reading
- FeatureCommunityRooms, posts and moderation in the same place as the courses your members bought — not in a Facebook group you don't own.
- FeatureCoursesModules and lessons with video, audio and text, content released over time, quizzes inside the lessons, and progress that follows the member between devices.
- Who it is forIdun Blue for membership sitesRun subscriptions, protected content, community, member records and retention email from one connected workspace.
- GuideSkool alternatives in 2026: choose by the missing jobA verified comparison framework for Circle, course-first platforms, broader all-in-ones and Idun Blue when Skool's community-first boundary no longer fits.
- GuideCommunity or course first? Choose by the jobA grounded way to decide whether your first paid product should be a structured course, a recurring community or a smaller pilot that tests both.
Thinking about moving from Skool?
Moving courses, members and content is real work, and we do it together with you. Get in touch and we'll walk through what your move would actually involve before you decide anything.
Want to see Idun Blue from the inside?
We'll show you the platform and be clear about what Skool does better. Join the waitlist for the first external workspaces.
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