Sam Ovens Skool Review: Worth It for Course Creators?
Online Courses · 2022-03-10
When I first reviewed Skool it was the new course platform on the block. Since then it has grown into one of the better-known community-plus-courses platforms in this space. The walkthrough and screenshots below are from my original 2022 hands-on review. No fresh test has been run since. I rechecked selected product facts against Skool’s official docs on October 6, 2026, and noted those updates below.
It was created by Sam Ovens. He is a popular marketer that was able to scale some of his courses with FB ads by playing a guru role a few years back. His play was to dispute all of the most common knowledge of how to sell things online.
It worked.
He created a 7 figure business selling high ticket courses on “how to start an agency” and “how to create a profitable course”.
The most popular one was called the “Consulting Accelerator” and sold for around $2k.
Not bad huh?
For me, he sometimes went too far playing the contrarian but since it worked I can’t blame him for doubling down on that persona.
Then he disappeared and it looks like he wanted to create something much more scalable. With the recent 20-30x valuations everybody wants to get into the Saas business. Ovens is no different and with the following he had, it was worth giving it a shot. Especially since course platforms are going public and getting some nice valuations.
Since the start of the pandemic, many have seen a 2000%+ growth.
Introducing the Skool Course Platform
The main differentiator with school is that it tries to combine the elements of an LMS, FB Group and Google Calendar in one place.
You can see the layout of that below:
There’s also a form of gamification introduced via Leaderboards. You can assign different tasks to the students and let them battle it out for top positions.
Another useful function is the ability to track each user’s activity.
This is what the classroom looks like from a students perspective. I haven’t found a way yet to download all of the lessons onto your laptop and take them on the go. Maybe that’s coming or this is supposed to stay online only.
What’s the Price?
The platform allows for a 14 day free test drive. As of October 2026 there are two plans: a $9/month Hobby tier and a $99/month Pro plan, both with unlimited members and courses. Transaction fees are where it gets more involved. Hobby takes 10% plus a flat 30c per sale, while Pro’s base rate is 2.9% plus 30c and climbs to a higher rate (3.9% plus 30c) on larger charges. Skool’s Payments FAQ lists the full fee schedule, including where that higher Pro rate starts (near $900, though the docs aren’t exact on the cutoff). Either way, the real question is how much you sell through it.
(The pricing screenshot above is from the original 2022 review and shows the old numbers.)
Is the Skool Online Course Platform worth a look?
Skool is still very fresh but I’ve already given it a spin. Here are my initial thoughts on it and as you can see its a mixed bag.
These lists are my notes from that original 2022 look. Where I rechecked something against Skool’s current docs, I’ve flagged the update.
Positives of the platform:
- can easily create different skools
- can use Zapier and the Skool webhook to grant access
- Simple, effective, and a very clean and crisp user experience
- Gamifies student engagement and rewards with spots on leaderboards
- Fast customer support
- Actively adding features
Negatives of the platform:
- branded URLs not possible
- Only 2,000 characters limit for a description of a course
- lack of proper payment processing
- no printer-friendly layouts yet
- English only
A couple of those 2022 negatives have since changed. Skool now hosts video natively… you upload straight to Classroom pages or to Community posts and comments, and it still supports YouTube, Vimeo, Loom and Wistia embeds (per Skool’s Help Center guide on adding videos). The Pro plan also includes a custom group URL on skool.com, with the first change included (per Skool’s Help Center guide on changing your group URL). On payments, Skool now runs its own built-in checkout, with the fees in the pricing section above, so read the old “lack of proper payment processing” line as a 2022 impression… I haven’t re-tested it hands-on. These updates reflect Skool’s official docs as of October 6, 2026.
Summary
Skool is a digital learning platform that offers a variety of courses, including online courses, video courses, and self-paced courses. The platform also offers a variety of features, such as a course library, leaderboards, a calendar, and a community.
The platform has a user-friendly interface and is easy to use. Back when I first reviewed it in 2022 it was still riddled with bugs and had some problems around the payment system. I haven’t re-tested those issues hands-on since, so that stands as my 2022 impression rather than a current verdict.
Alternatives to Skool
- Teachable + Circle combination
- Discord + MightyNetworks