HONEST COMPARISON
Podia vs Stan Store vs Skool.Which one is right for a beginner?
Three popular, beginner-friendly ways to sell what you know without building a website. Here’s what each does best, what it really costs, and how to choose.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Choose Stan Store if you want to sell a few things from one link as fast as possible. Choose Podia if you want a fuller storefront for downloads, workshops and courses, with email built in. Choose Skool if your offer is a community, with lessons and live calls inside it. All three let you start without a website, and all three have free trials.
At a glance
| Podia | Stan Store | Skool | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Selling downloads, workshops, courses and coaching from one storefront, with email built in | Selling a few things fast from a single link, often shared on social media | A paid community with courses and live calls |
| Starting price | Mover plan, about $42 a month billed yearly or $49 month to month | Creator plan, $29 a month ($300 a year) | Hobby plan, $9 a month |
| Platform fee per sale | 5% on Mover; 0% on Shaker and up | 0% on both plans | 10% on Hobby; 2.9% on Pro ($99 a month) |
| Payment processing | Stripe or PayPal fees on top, typically about 2.9% + 30¢ | Stripe fees on top, typically about 2.9% + 30¢ | Included in Skool’s fee, plus 30¢ per transaction |
| Free trial | 30 days, no credit card | 14 days | 14 days |
| Email marketing | Included | Basic email capture; full email tools on Creator Pro ($99) | Not a newsletter tool; pair it with one |
| Community | Yes | No | Yes, it’s the heart of Skool |
| Your page | A simple website and storefront | stan.store/yourname, with “Powered by Stan” on Creator | Your group on Skool |
| Beginner ease | Easy, with a little more to set up | Easiest | Easy for communities |
Try Podia free ↗Try Stan Store free ↗Try Skool free ↗
Prices and fees as listed on each company’s site and in independent reviews as of October 2026. Podia raised its prices in June 2026, and all three change their plans from time to time, so check the pricing page before you commit.
How to choose
Choose Stan Store if you mostly want to sell one or two things, like a guide, a coaching call or a short course, and you’ll share the link from social media, email or a text. It’s the quickest to set up, and there’s no fee on each sale.
Choose Podia if you want to sell several kinds of things from one place, such as a downloadable guide, a live workshop, a course and coaching, and you’d like your email list in the same tool. It’s a good long-term home that you won’t outgrow quickly.
Choose Skool if the heart of what you’re building is a group of people learning together. Skool combines a community, courses and live calls, and it’s simple to run. It’s not designed for selling a single download.
Decide in five minutes
- Write down your first offer in one sentence
- Circle the format: a download, a session, a workshop, a course or a community
- Match it to the tool above, and start a free trial
What it really costs at small sales
Monthly prices only tell part of the story, because some plans take a cut of every sale. Here’s a rough example: ten sales of a $50 workshop in a month, $500 in total.
| Plan | Monthly price | Platform fee | Card processing | Roughly in total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stan Store Creator | $29 | $0 | about $17.50 | about $47 |
| Podia Mover (month to month) | $49 | $25 (5%) | about $17.50 | about $92 |
| Skool Hobby | $9 | $50 (10%, includes processing) | $3 (30¢ each) | about $62 |
These are estimates to show the shape of the costs, not quotes. As sales grow, higher plans with lower or no per-sale fees, like Podia Shaker or Skool Pro, often become cheaper overall. Many creators start on the entry plan and upgrade once the per-sale fees add up to more than the difference.
Honest downsides
Podia: the entry plan takes 5% of each sale, and its monthly price is higher than Stan Store’s. There’s a bit more to set up because it does more.
Stan Store: there’s no free plan, your store lives at a stan.store address, and the entry plan shows Stan branding. The fuller email tools need the $99 Creator Pro plan.
Skool: the $9 Hobby plan takes 10% of every payment, which adds up quickly as you grow. It’s built for communities, so it’s not the best fit for selling a one-off download, and you’ll want a separate email newsletter.
Our take
For most people sharing what they know for the first time, we’d start with the tool that matches the first offer, not the biggest one. A first workshop or guide fits Stan Store or Podia. A first paid group fits Skool. Pair Stan Store or Skool with a free beehiiv newsletter so you own your audience.
Not sure what your first offer is? The Business Builder suggests one in about five minutes. Ready to set up? Our storefront walkthrough takes you through it in an afternoon.
Know + Tell is free. Some tool links pay us a commission; here’s how we choose. Podia and Skool pay us a commission; Stan Store doesn’t.
Ask Claude
I want to sell [describe your first offer: a guide, workshop, coaching, course or community] to [who]. I expect about [number] sales a month at about $[price]. Compare Podia, Stan Store and Skool for my situation: setup effort, monthly cost including per-sale fees, and anything I’d outgrow in the first year. Then recommend one, and tell me what to check on their pricing pages before I sign up.
Paste the prompt into Claude and fill in the [brackets] with your own details.QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK
Questions people ask.
Which is cheapest to start: Podia, Stan Store or Skool?
Skool’s Hobby plan has the lowest monthly price at $9, but it takes 10% of each sale. Stan Store’s Creator plan is $29 a month with no platform fee. Podia’s Mover plan costs more each month and takes 5% of each sale. At small sales volumes they can end up close; check each pricing page, since prices change.
Which is easiest for a beginner?
Stan Store is usually the quickest to set up: one link, a few products, done. Podia takes a little longer but gives you a fuller storefront and built-in email. Skool is easy if your offer is a community; it’s less suited to selling single downloads.
Do I need a website if I use one of these?
No. Each gives you a page you can share. Podia includes a simple website, Stan Store gives you a one-link storefront, and Skool hosts your community and courses.
Can I switch later?
Yes, though moving customers and content takes some work. Start with the tool that fits your first offer, and switch when you outgrow it.
Does Know + Tell earn money if I choose one?
Podia and Skool pay us a commission if you sign up through our links and later pay. Stan Store doesn’t. We’ve tried to recommend each where it genuinely fits.
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