Table of Contents
- Quick Answer: How Much Can You Make With an Online Community?
- What Actually Drives Paid Community Revenue?
- Realistic Revenue Scenarios (With Transparent Math)
- 1. Starter Community: 20–50 Members
- 2. Side Income to Full-Time: 75–200 Members
- 3. Scaling to a Serious Asset: 250–500+ Members
- Community Pricing: How Much Should You Charge?
- 1. Accessible Membership ($15–$39/month)
- 2. Serious Practitioner Tier ($39–$99/month)
- 3. Premium / Inner Circle ($99–$500+/month)
- How Many Members Do You Actually Need?
- The Hidden Lever: Retention & Lifetime Value
- Using Courses + Community Together (Why This Multiplies Income)
- Common Online Community Income Models (With Math)
- 1. Single-Tier Membership
- 2. Membership + Premium Inner Circle
- 3. Course + Community Bundle
- 4. Cohort-Based + Evergreen Community
- Step-by-Step: How to Design Your Community to Hit an Income Goal
- Step 1: Choose Your Income Target (12 Months From Now)
- Step 2: Pick a Price That Matches Your Promise
- Step 3: Do the Simple Math
- Step 4: Design the Minimum Viable Offer
- Step 5: Launch on Skool (and Keep It Simple)
- Why Skool Is a Great Platform for Courses + Communities
- Common Mistakes That Kill Community Income (And How to Avoid Them)
- Mistake 1: Pricing Too Low Out of Fear
- Mistake 2: Trying to Serve “Everyone”
- Mistake 3: Overbuilding Before Launch
- Mistake 4: No Onboarding or Engagement Plan
- Is Online Community Income “Passive”? (Honest Answer)
- FAQ: Online Community Income & Skool
- 1. How long does it usually take to make $1,000/month from a community?
- 2. Do I need a big audience to start a paid community?
- 3. Can I host both my course and my community on Skool?
- 4. What should I offer inside the community to justify the price?
- 5. How does Skool help me actually make more money, not just host content?
- 6. What’s the first step if I want to build a paid community on Skool?
- Want more tools, tactics, and leverage?
Do not index
Do not index
If you’ve ever asked, “How much money can you realistically make with an online community?” you’re not alone.
The honest answer: you can make anywhere from a few hundred dollars per month to multiple six figures per year—but only if you understand the math, pricing, and structure behind profitable communities.
This guide breaks it all down with transparent numbers, realistic scenarios, and clear steps. You’ll see how a small, focused community on Skool can replace or exceed a full-time income without needing tens of thousands of followers.
If you’re serious about turning your expertise into a paid community, you can start building on Skool using this link while you read. It’s built for creators who want courses, community, and recurring revenue in one place.
Quick Answer: How Much Can You Make With an Online Community?
Let’s start with the numbers most people are looking for.
Here are typical monthly revenue ranges for small to mid-sized communities:
- 50 members at $29/month → $1,450/month
- 100 members at $39/month → $3,900/month
- 150 members at $49/month → $7,350/month
- 200 members at $59/month → $11,800/month
- 300 members at $79/month → $23,700/month
These are realistic price points and member counts for niche, high-value communities hosted on platforms like Skool.
Most people overestimate the audience size they need and underestimate what they can charge. A highly focused, helpful community of 50–150 people can absolutely be a $2k–$10k/month asset.
Next, we’ll walk through:
- How to think about online community income realistically
- The pricing tiers that actually work
- How to structure paid community revenue to grow over time
- Why Skool is one of the most efficient tools to do it without tech overwhelm
What Actually Drives Paid Community Revenue?
The revenue from your online community comes down to four levers:
- Number of members (M)
- Price per month (P)
- Average retention (months) (R)
- Upsells or add-ons (U)
Simplified monthly revenue formula:
Monthly Revenue = M × P (+ any Upsells)
But long-term income is really about retention and lifetime value:
Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) ≈ P × R
If your average member stays 6 months at $49/month:
- LTV ≈ 49 × 6 = $294 per member
Now 100 members doesn’t just mean $4,900/month—it also means almost $30,000 in lifetime revenue from that cohort if you maintain that retention.
That’s why platforms like Skool, which are designed to keep people engaged (courses, community, calendar, gamification all in one place), are a big advantage. They naturally improve retention and LTV.
Realistic Revenue Scenarios (With Transparent Math)
Let’s walk through three common stages of community income:
- Starter: Validating your idea
- Side income → Full-time: Replacing a job
- Scaling up: Building a serious recurring-revenue asset
1. Starter Community: 20–50 Members
This is where you prove your idea works.
Typical range:
- Price: $19–$49/month
- Members: 20–50
- Revenue: $380–$2,450/month
Example setups:
- 20 members × $29/month = $580/month
- 35 members × $39/month = $1,365/month
- 50 members × $29/month = $1,450/month
At this stage, your main goal is validation, not perfection:
- Confirm people will pay to be part of your community
- Learn what content, calls, and support they value most
- Keep your tech simple so you can focus on relationships
Why Skool helps here:
- You get community + courses + calendar + DMs in one place
- No need to duct-tape tools together, which is a common reason people never launch
- You can spin up a paid community quickly, then refine your offer as you learn
You can open your first Skool community using this affiliate link: Start your Skool community.
2. Side Income to Full-Time: 75–200 Members
This is where your community starts to feel like a serious business.
Typical range:
- Price: $39–$79/month
- Members: 75–200
- Revenue: $2,900–$15,800+/month
Common setups:
- 75 members × $39/month = $2,925/month
- 100 members × $49/month = $4,900/month
- 150 members × $59/month = $8,850/month
- 200 members × $59/month = $11,800/month
This is often when:
- The community becomes your primary source of income
- You invest more seriously in onboarding, member experience, and content
- You start layering on group calls, office hours, or live workshops
At this stage, small improvements in retention matter a lot.
For example:
- 150 members at $59/month = $8,850
- If average retention increases from 4 to 7 months:
- LTV jumps from $236 to $413/member
- That’s a 75% increase in lifetime revenue per person
Again, this is where Skool’s design helps:
- Members can see courses, community discussions, events, and leaderboards in one interface
- Gamification gives people a reason to log in repeatedly
- Better engagement → better retention → higher lifetime value
3. Scaling to a Serious Asset: 250–500+ Members
This is where you start building a predictable, compounding revenue engine.
Typical range:
- Price: $49–$149/month (depending on niche and access)
- Members: 250–500+
- Revenue: $12,250–$74,500+/month
Scenarios:
- 250 members × $59/month = $14,750/month
- 300 members × $79/month = $23,700/month
- 400 members × $99/month = $39,600/month
- 500 members × $99/month = $49,500/month
At this scale, you’re usually:
- Hiring support, moderators, or coaches
- Building out structured curriculum alongside the community
- Introducing tiers, cohorts, or higher-ticket offers
A big platform advantage at this level: you want simplicity for both you and members. Skool is intentionally minimal and social—more like a focused, private app than a cluttered LMS.
You can move your existing audience or community structure onto Skool here and start treating it like a real business asset.
Community Pricing: How Much Should You Charge?
Your membership pricing is one of the most important levers for your online community income.
There are three common pricing bands that work well:
1. Accessible Membership ($15–$39/month)
Best for:
- Broad topics or big audiences
- Beginners or hobbyist markets
- “Practise and accountability” groups
Pros:
- Easier to sell in volume
- Great for building wide reach
- Lower expectations for 1:1 access
Cons:
- You need more members to hit income goals
- Low price can attract less committed members
Example math:
- 150 members × $29/month = $4,350/month
2. Serious Practitioner Tier ($39–$99/month)
Best for:
- People who want real results and support
- Niche skills or business-related topics
- Communities that include calls, Q&A, or live support
Pros:
- Attractive middle ground for serious members
- Strong income potential even with modest member counts
- Room for upsells to intensives or 1:1 offers
Cons:
- You need to deliver clear, tangible value
- Members expect good moderation and structured content
Example math:
- 100 members × $49/month = $4,900/month
- 200 members × $79/month = $15,800/month
3. Premium / Inner Circle ($99–$500+/month)
Best for:
- Specialized, high-value topics
- Direct access, coaching, or small groups
- People with a financial upside from joining (e.g., business owners)
Pros:
- You can hit high revenue with smaller groups
- Members are usually committed and proactive
- Easier to overdeliver to a small, serious group
Cons:
- You need strong positioning and proof of value
- Requires more involvement from you or coaches
Example math:
- 30 members × $199/month = $5,970/month
- 50 members × $249/month = $12,450/month
Where Skool fits in:
Skool works extremely well for $39–$199/month communities that combine:
- A core course or curriculum
- A private community
- A call schedule (office hours, Q&A, workshops)
All in one place, using one login—members don’t feel like they’re jumping between five different tools.
How Many Members Do You Actually Need?
Instead of aiming for vague goals like “I want 1,000 members,” work backwards from income and price.
Here’s a simple comparison table:
Monthly Income Goal | Price / Month | Members Needed |
$1,000 | $29 | 35 |
$3,000 | $39 | 77 |
$5,000 | $49 | 102 |
$10,000 | $59 | 170 |
$15,000 | $79 | 190 |
$20,000 | $99 | 202 |
Notice how quickly the numbers drop as your price and value increase.
Instead of thinking “How do I get 1,000 members?”, you might ask:
- How can I make this worth $49–$99/month to 100–200 people?
- What support, content, and structure makes that an easy yes?
When your offer is tight, focused, and delivered cleanly inside a platform like Skool, those numbers are far more achievable than people think.
The Hidden Lever: Retention & Lifetime Value
One of the biggest mistakes community builders make is focusing only on new sales.
Two communities with the same price and new members can earn very different amounts depending on retention.
Example:
- Community A: $49/month, average retention = 3 months → LTV ≈ $147
- Community B: $49/month, average retention = 9 months → LTV ≈ $441
If they both sign up 40 new members a month:
- Community A: 40 × $147 = $5,880 LTV added per month
- Community B: 40 × $441 = $17,640 LTV added per month
Same sales effort. 3x more long-term income.
How Skool helps with retention:
- The community feed encourages daily engagement
- Courses and lessons give members a structured path
- Events keep people showing up live
- Levels & gamification reward engagement and progress
Good tech doesn’t replace leadership, but it amplifies it. If your members log in often and feel at home, they’ll stay longer—and your income becomes more stable and predictable.
Using Courses + Community Together (Why This Multiplies Income)
The best-performing Skool communities usually combine:
- A structured course or curriculum (to solve a clear problem)
- A community (for accountability, support, and network)
- Live calls/events (for implementation and feedback)
That combination lets you charge more than “just a Discord server” and keeps people around longer.
How this looks in practice on Skool:
- You host core lessons inside Skool’s Classroom
- The Community tab handles posts, questions, wins, and discussions
- You list upcoming calls and replays in the Calendar
- You can unlock lessons or groups as members level up or stay longer
This structure supports multiple income streams:
- Recurring membership revenue
- Live workshops or intensives for members
- Higher-ticket group or 1:1 programs as an upsell
By starting your membership on Skool, you don’t need 4–5 separate tools to support that model. It’s all in one place, which reduces churn and confusion.
Common Online Community Income Models (With Math)
Here are four practical models you can run on Skool, including rough numbers.
1. Single-Tier Membership
- One price, one community, one value proposition
- Simple to sell and easy to manage
Example:
- $49/month
- 120 members
- ≈ $5,880/month recurring revenue
2. Membership + Premium Inner Circle
- Base tier with community + content
- Premium tier with more access, coaching, or small group calls
Example:
- Base: 120 members × $49/month = $5,880/month
- Premium: 25 members × $199/month = $4,975/month
Total: $10,855/month
On Skool, you can manage multiple communities or use group structure to differentiate access while still keeping everything organized.
3. Course + Community Bundle
- One-time course fee + ongoing community subscription
- Great if you already have a course but want recurring revenue
Example:
- Course: $297 one-time → 20 sales/month = $5,940/month
- Community: $39/month → 100 members = $3,900/month
Total: $9,840/month (blend of cash injections + recurring income)
Skool’s Classroom + Community setup makes this frictionless: people enroll, unlock the course, and immediately see the community.
4. Cohort-Based + Evergreen Community
- Time-bound cohorts for implementation
- An evergreen, ongoing community as “home base”
Example:
- Cohort: $497 for 30 people (4x/year) = $14,910/year
- Ongoing community at $49/month with 150 members = $7,350/month
Annualized:
- Community: $7,350 × 12 = $88,200/year
- Cohorts: $14,910/year
- Total ≈ $103,110/year
You’re not guessing at “community income”—you’re combining predictable membership with strategic launches.
Step-by-Step: How to Design Your Community to Hit an Income Goal
Here’s a practical way to approach this.
Step 1: Choose Your Income Target (12 Months From Now)
Pick a number that matters to you:
- Replace a side job → maybe $1,500–$3,000/month
- Replace a full-time job → maybe $5,000–$8,000/month
- Build a serious asset → $10,000+/month
Write that number down.
Step 2: Pick a Price That Matches Your Promise
Ask:
- What specific outcome or transformation does this community help with?
- What is that worth to members over a year?
Rough guidance:
- Accountability / practise / peer support → $19–$39/month
- Skill-building with Q&A and support → $39–$79/month
- High-touch, direct access, specialized → $99–$299+/month
Step 3: Do the Simple Math
Use the formula:
Members Needed = Income Goal ÷ Price
Example:
- Goal: $5,000/month
- Price: $49/month
- Members Needed ≈ 5,000 ÷ 49 ≈ 102 members
That’s less than 9 new members per month across a year.
Step 4: Design the Minimum Viable Offer
You do not need a giant library of content. You need:
- A clear promise: “Join to achieve X in Y time.”
- A simple structure:
- 1–3 core modules hosted in Skool’s Classroom
- Weekly or bi-weekly live call (Q&A, feedback, or implementation)
- A focused community with clear posting norms
Launch small, then refine based on what members actually use.
Step 5: Launch on Skool (and Keep It Simple)
Instead of wrestling with 5 tools, open your community with Skool:
- Create your Skool community
- Set price and onboarding questions
- Add your core lessons to the Classroom
- Schedule your first 4–8 weeks of calls in the Calendar
You now have:
- A clear offer
- A clean, professional home for your members
- The ability to collect recurring revenue from day one
Why Skool Is a Great Platform for Courses + Communities
When you’re building recurring income, complexity is the enemy.
Most people quit because they get buried under:
- Zapier workflows
- Multiple subscription tools
- Confusing member experiences
Skool solves this by bringing together the pieces that matter for a paid community:
- Courses (Classroom): host your entire curriculum with progress tracking
- Community (Feed): keep all discussions and questions in one place
- Calendar: schedule live calls, events, and replays so people show up
- Gamification: levels, points, and rewards to keep members engaged
- Messaging: DM and notifications so people remember to log in
That combination is ideal if you want to:
- Sell online community income instead of one-off course sales
- Offer paid community revenue streams with little tech overhead
- Package membership pricing in a way that feels clean and premium
You can open your Skool account and start experimenting with your own community idea using this link: Start on Skool now.
Common Mistakes That Kill Community Income (And How to Avoid Them)
Mistake 1: Pricing Too Low Out of Fear
Many creators price at $10–$15/month “just to get people in.”
Problem:
- You need a huge member base to earn real income
- Low price often attracts low-commitment members
Fix:
- Anchor your pricing to the outcome, not the content volume
- Ask what a real result is worth over a year, then price accordingly
Mistake 2: Trying to Serve “Everyone”
If your community could be “for anyone,” it usually ends up being for no one.
Fix:
- Target a specific group with a specific goal
- Example: “freelance designers landing consistent clients” is better than “creative entrepreneurs”
Mistake 3: Overbuilding Before Launch
Spending months recording 50+ lessons before you have your first member is a trap.
Fix:
- Load a minimal curriculum into Skool’s Classroom
- Let real member questions guide future content
Mistake 4: No Onboarding or Engagement Plan
Even a great platform can’t help if members don’t know what to do when they join.
Fix:
- Welcome video pinned in the community
- A simple “first week” checklist
- Introduce yourself and invite members to post their first win or question
Skool’s layout makes it easy to pin key posts and show people where to go from day one.
Is Online Community Income “Passive”? (Honest Answer)
An online community is not fully passive income.
However, it is one of the most leveraged models because:
- Your effort scales across many people
- Live calls help dozens or hundreds at once
- Members help each other (once culture is set)
You’re moving from 1:1 work (time-for-money) to 1:many (leverage), with:
- Recurring revenue instead of one-off payments
- Compounding retention instead of constant re-selling
Platforms like Skool increase that leverage by removing the tech drag so you can spend your energy on:
- Leading
- Teaching
- Coaching
- Improving the experience
Not wrestling with software.
FAQ: Online Community Income & Skool
1. How long does it usually take to make $1,000/month from a community?
It depends on your audience and offer, but a common path is:
- Month 1–2: Validate with 10–20 members
- Month 3–6: Grow to 30–50 members
At $29–$49/month, that’s typically where you pass $1,000/month. If you already have an audience, it can be much faster. What matters most is a clear promise and consistent promotion, not having everything perfectly built from day one.
2. Do I need a big audience to start a paid community?
No. In fact, many profitable communities start with small, warm audiences (email list, clients, followers of a specific content niche). With a dialed-in offer and pricing in the $39–$99/month range, even 30–50 members can create meaningful side income.
Skool is built to help you deliver value to a small, serious group without needing massive reach.
3. Can I host both my course and my community on Skool?
Yes. This is where Skool shines. You can:
- Host your lessons in the Classroom
- Run your community feed in the same interface
- Use the Calendar for live calls and events
Members log into one place, see everything they need, and stay engaged longer—this is exactly what improves retention and lifetime value.
4. What should I offer inside the community to justify the price?
You don’t need endless content. For most profitable communities, this is enough:
- 1–3 core outcomes or problems you help members solve
- A small but focused curriculum in the Classroom
- Weekly or bi-weekly live calls for Q&A/feedback
- Active community moderation and helpful responses
At $39–$99/month, people are paying to implement faster and feel supported, not just to watch more videos.
5. How does Skool help me actually make more money, not just host content?
Skool supports revenue in a few direct ways:
- Makes your offer clearer: courses + community + calls in one place
- Increases member engagement, which boosts retention
- Reduces tech friction so you can focus on sales, content, and leadership
More engagement and lower tech headaches almost always lead to better member results and longer subscriptions—which is where serious online community income comes from.
6. What’s the first step if I want to build a paid community on Skool?
Start simple:
- Define a specific group and outcome
- Choose a realistic price (often $39–$79/month to start)
- Create a Skool account using this link: Start your Skool community
- Add a minimal curriculum and your first 4–8 weeks of calls
- Invite your warmest audience first (clients, email list, social followers)
You can refine everything else once you have people inside and you’re earning your first recurring dollars.
Want more tools, tactics, and leverage?
If you’re building, ranking, or monetising online, you might also want to check these out:
Outrank
AI-powered SEO content designed to rank fast without bloated workflows.
CodeFast
Learn to build real products fast, even if you’re starting from zero.
Trust Traffic
The leaderboard of verified startup traffic. Increase your DR and get discovered.
Feather
Turn Notion into a fast, SEO-optimsed blog for organic traffic growth.
Super X
The fastest way to grow on X.
Post Syncer
Automatically post content across 10 platforms.
Written by
