Best LMS for Memberships & Communities: Recurring Revenue Through Community-Based Learning
Thinkific is the best platform for combining courses with community in 2026 — native community features alongside a mature course builder, with no transaction fees and strong membership commerce tools. Skool is the best choice if community is the primary product and courses are supplementary. Mighty Networks offers the most comprehensive community-first platform with courses built in, but at a higher price point.
Key Takeaways
- The standalone online course model is declining — completion rates sit at 5-15%. Membership models with community drive 2-3x higher retention.
- Thinkific: best for course-first memberships with community as the engagement layer. No transaction fees. $49-$199/month.
- Skool: best for community-first memberships. Dead-simple pricing ($99/month flat), gamification that works, native mobile app. But course features are basic.
- Mighty Networks: most comprehensive community platform with branded native app. But 2-3% transaction fees and $119-$360/month.
- Circle: best standalone community (pair with your existing LMS). Beautiful UX, but no courses — two-platform complexity.
- The economics matter: at 300 members × $49/month, platform costs range from $99/month (Skool) to $660/month (Mighty Networks with fees).
The Best Platforms
1. Thinkific — Best for Course-First Memberships
Courses + community in one platform, same login, same interface. No transaction fees on paid plans. Community Spaces with topics, posts, and reactions tied to courses or tiers. Flexible subscription commerce, learning paths, site builder. Thinkific Plus for 1,000+ members adds SSO and API access. Limitations: Community features are newer than pure community platforms, no native mobile app (mobile web), live events need Zoom. Best for $29-$149/month memberships with 100-5,000 members.
2. Skool — Best for Community-First Memberships
Clean community feed that feels like a social network, gamification with points/levels/leaderboards that genuinely drives engagement, native mobile app, built-in calendar and events. $99/month flat — no tiers, no transaction fees, no per-member charges. Built-in discovery network for lead generation. Limitations: Basic course features (no SCORM, no certificates, no learning paths), one price point per group, limited customization, no email marketing. Best for coaching communities and masterminds at $29-$99/month.
3. Mighty Networks — Best All-in-One Community Platform
Branded native app (your name in the App Store), Spaces architecture for organizing content/discussions/events, native courses, live streaming, rich member profiles, AI features. Limitations: Aggressive pricing ($119-$360/month), 2-3% transaction fees, steep learning curve, no discovery network. Best for premium memberships above $49/month where the branded app justifies the cost.
4. Circle — Best Standalone Community (Pair with LMS)
The most polished community UX — beautiful, modern interface with spaces/channels, rich content, events, workflows, and automation. Custom domain and branding. Limitations: No course hosting, no built-in commerce, requires a separate LMS (two platforms to manage). $89-$360/month based on member count. Best for experts who already have courses on Thinkific, Teachable, or Kajabi and want to add premium community.
Building a membership community?
Get a platform recommendation based on whether courses or community is your centerpiece — and your target price point and member count.
The Membership Revenue Math
At 300 members paying $49/month ($14,700/month revenue):
| Platform | Monthly Cost | Transaction Fees | % of Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skool | $99 | $0 | 0.7% |
| Thinkific Grow | $199 | $0 | 1.4% |
| Circle Business | $199 | N/A (external) | ~1.5% |
| Kajabi Growth | $299 | $0 | 2.0% |
| Mighty Networks | $219 | $294–$441 | 3.5–4.5% |
All platforms also incur Stripe/payment processing fees (~2.9% + $0.30).
Building a Membership That Retains
First 48 hours determine everything. Members who post in the community within 48 hours are 4-5x more likely to stay past month three. Weekly rhythm creates habit — Monday content, Wednesday live session, Friday challenge. Show progress with learning paths and completion badges. Celebrate members — feature wins, spotlight contributors. Create peer connections — the secret to retention isn't your content, it's relationships between members.
Building a membership community?
Get a recommendation based on your membership model.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best platform for course + community memberships?
How much does it cost to run a membership on each platform?
Should I use one platform or pair an LMS with a community tool?
How do I keep members from canceling?
Sources & Further Reading
- Thinkific — Course platform with community features
- Skool — Community platform for creators
- Skool Pricing — $99/month flat pricing
- Mighty Networks — Community platform with courses
- Mighty Networks Pricing — Plans and transaction fees
- Circle — Community platform for creators
- Circle Pricing — Community plans and features
- Kajabi — All-in-one platform with community
Related Pages
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By the LMS Guide editorial team