What OpenEscool costs: $0 software, about the price of a small VPS
No plans, no seats, no per-community price, no platform fee. Your costs are hosting, a domain and your payment processor's fee.
What you pay for
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| OpenEscool software | $0, every feature |
| VPS (Ubuntu 24.04) | About $5 to $15 a month for a small plan |
| Domain | About $10 to $15 a year |
| Email (Brevo) | Free plan to start; paid plans for high volume |
| Payments | Stripe or Razorpay's normal fees, nothing added |
Which server size?
Start small. A 1 vCPU, 4 GB RAM class plan (Hostinger's KVM 1, for example) is enough for a new install. Move up to a 2 vCPU, 8 GB class plan (KVM 2) if you expect thousands of members or host many video lessons yourself. Hosting videos on YouTube, Vimeo or Loom keeps server needs low.
Check current Hostinger VPS prices, or use any provider that offers Ubuntu 24.04.
Calculator
Platform cost only. Card fees are left out on both sides, since Stripe's standard rate is close to Skool Pro's fee. For Hobby we add the extra 7.1% (10% minus about 2.9%) on your sales.
Skool's pricing at the time of writing
| Plan | Per month, per group | Transaction fee |
|---|---|---|
| Hobby | $9 | 10% + 30¢ |
| Pro | $99 | 2.9% + 30¢ up to $899; 3.9% + 30¢ above $900 |
Skool prices and features are from Skool's public pricing page and help centre at the time of writing (November 2026) and may change. Skool is a trademark of its owner. OpenEscool is an independent open-source project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Skool.
Processor fees apply either way
When members pay, Stripe or Razorpay charge their standard fee. OpenEscool adds nothing on top. Check Stripe pricing and Razorpay pricing for your country.
Questions
Is there a paid version of OpenEscool?
No. There is one version, it is free, and it includes every feature.
How many communities does one VPS handle?
There is no limit in the software. A small VPS runs several active communities; upgrade the server as members grow.
Does OpenEscool take a cut of my sales?
No. Money goes straight from members to your Stripe or Razorpay account.
Can I host it on shared hosting?
A VPS is recommended. OpenEscool needs PHP 8.3, MySQL, Node for the build, and a cron entry, which most shared hosting doesn't fully allow.
Run it on your own server
Free, open source, and live in about 30 minutes.