Keep the community. Keep the fees.
AXL takes 0% of revenue. Space permissions are CRM filters: “paid members only” stays a segment, not a role to maintain.
Community, courses, payments and email share the contact record that controls every space.
Start free
One subscription rule controls who can view, like, comment, and publish.
A percentage of every payment, for a feed and a leaderboard.
“I can see who posted, but not who bought, churned, or went quiet.”
| Tool | Rough monthly | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Skool Pro | $99/mo plus 2.9% of transactions; Hobby is $9/mo plus 10% (their pricing page) | Feed and leaderboard |
| or Circle Business | $199/mo plus 1%; Professional is $89/mo plus 2%; Circle Plus is custom-priced at 0.5% (circle.so/pricing) | Spaces and events |
| AXL | from $49/month, with included usage and published overage rates | All of it, 0% of your revenue |
What a rake costs
At $10,000 monthly revenue, Skool Hobby's 10% is $1,000 plus its $9 subscription. AXL takes zero. Neither vendor says whether card processing is included. Stripe or PayPal processing still applies on every platform.
AXL Starter is $49 a month, with every feature included and published usage allowances. Estimate your bill →
A permission is a filter. A badge is a trigger.
| You pay for | Same job, here |
|---|---|
| The community app | Unlimited spaces grouped into sections. See spaces and badges → |
| Paid-tier gating | Four permission filters: view, like, comment and publish. For example, view requires an active Studio Membership; publish requires the advanced course. A lapsed subscription stops matching, relocking the space behind a “Get access” button linked to checkout. |
| Engagement gimmicks | Badges trigger at thresholds, such as 10 post likes or 20 member comments. Badge earned and member joined start scenarios. |
| Member analytics | The CRM's same 61-condition segmentation. See the record → |
| A separate course platform | Graded tests, homework and certificates use those filters. See courses and grading → |
| Transaction fees | 0%. Your payment provider still charges its own processing fee. |
Shape, money, retention, in that order.
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0 to 30 min
The shape
Create sections and spaces, set four permissions, and mark paid spaces private. Close open registration for invite-only entry.
Community → Sections, then Space → Permissions -
30 to 60 min
The money
Connect a payment provider first. Then set the subscription's trial price, renewal caps, retries, grace period and Sites checkout.
Products → Subscription -
60 to 90 min
The retention loop
Two scenarios: badge earned → tag and congratulate; a community-activity segment starts the silence check-in.
Scenarios
Permissions and broadcasts share one filter builder.
Describe the rooms and the rules once.
Use Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor over MCP, or the built-in AI.
Same job, one prompt
Create Lobby for everyone, Members for active subscribers and Alumni for “Foundations” graduates. Add a $29/month membership with a 7-day $1 trial and checkout. Show permission filters before saving.
What a human still does
Connect the gateway, publish and activate, then write the first posts.
Where the line sits
Billing, API tokens, roles and admin creation are among 21 server-blocked sensitive operations. The guardrails →
The room, from the other side of the lock.
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The feed
Sort by latest, most liked or most commented. Posts support text, images, video and audio; comments support likes and threaded replies.
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Moderation
Reports enter a queue with reasons. Hide the post or dismiss the report; assign moderators or restrict a member's liking, commenting and publishing.
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How they get in
Members register on your branded domain and use one login across community and purchases. That contact record powers permissions.
What community owners ask before they move.
One per account, with unlimited spaces in sections. Separate brands without shared members need separate accounts.
No. Skool Discover provides built-in distribution; AXL does not. Bring your audience, then run its funnel, CRM, courses and fee-free community together. If discovery matters most, staying is fair.
Yes. Each of 20+ providers has its own currency; cash and bank transfer also work. AXL owns subscription periods, trial prices and caps.
Contacts import from TXT, CSV or XLSX through mapping and validation. Post and comment-thread migration is undocumented, so we do not claim it.
No. The member portal is a branded web app on your domain. If native is required, AXL is not it yet.
Move your community. Keep the percentage.
Create spaces, gate them with filters, and put a subscription behind the lock.
Start free · no cut