Community feed
Posts, categories, likes, pins, comments, photos and GIFs.
The open-source Skool alternativeYour community,
on your own server
OpenEscool is a free, open-source Skool alternative. Feed, courses, calendar, leaderboards and paid memberships, on your own domain. One install runs every community you'll ever start.
git clone https://github.com/amanverma-gh/openescoolUnlimitedcommunities on one server, for one VPS bill
0%platform fee on your sales. Only Stripe or Razorpay fees apply
$ + ₹get paid worldwide with Stripe, and by UPI in India with Razorpay
100%yours: the code, the database, the domain and the members
Everything a community needs
Classroom
Courses, modules, lessons, videos, files and progress tracking.
Calendar
One-off and weekly events in each member's time zone, with email reminders.
Leaderboards
Points, levels and 7-day, 30-day and all-time boards.
About page and reviews
A sales page with a gallery, star ratings and reviews from real members.
Chat with the teamNo member-to-member DMs
Team chat
Members message you and your moderators. Members can't DM each other.
One install.
Unlimited communities.
Hosted platforms bill you per group. Here, a second community, or a fiftieth, runs on the same server for the same price. Members of one never see the others.
Creator AcademyMorning Yoga CircleFounders ClubPython for KidsYour next idea
Your brand
Your domain. Your name. Your logo.
The whole platform runs on your own address, like community.yourbrand.com. Your site name and logo show in the top bar, on sign-in pages, in browser tabs and in every email.
yourbrand.com/c/morning-yoga-circle
No skool.com in your linksMembers bookmark your site, not a marketplace.
Free SSLHTTPS with Let's Encrypt, covered in the install guide.
Emails from your addressSign-up, digests and notifications through your Brevo account.
Your discovery page
A Discover page with only your communities
Your home page can open one community directly, or show your own Discover page: your heading, your text, your button, and the communities you choose, in your order. Nobody else's groups are ever listed next to yours.
Pick and orderTick the communities to show; the rest stay off the list.
Ratings includedMember reviews and stars show on each card.
Or skip itSend visitors straight to one community's About page.
Payments
Stripe for the world. Razorpay and UPI for India.
Sell monthly, yearly or one-time access in USD, EUR, GBP, INR, AUD, CAD, SGD or AED. INR plans go through Razorpay, so Indian members can pay with UPI, cards, netbanking or wallets. Money goes straight to your own accounts.
No platform cutOpenEscool takes nothing. You pay only the processor's fee.
Access is automaticWebhooks grant and end access, with a 3-day grace period for failed renewals.
Revenue at a glanceMRR, last 30 days and paying members per community.
An admin panel for the whole site
Branding, home page, SEO, email, upload limits, GIFs and updates are all set in the browser. Only payment keys go in the server file, once.
Search engines, your call
One switch for the site, then per community and per post. Private communities are never indexed. robots.txt and sitemap.xml follow your settings.
Email that just needs a key
Paste a Brevo API key and every email works: sign-ups, digests, reminders and broadcasts. New members can join your Brevo list.
Upload limits
Set photo, lesson file and video sizes for the whole site.
Updates in one command
The panel tells you when a new version is out. Run php artisan app:update.
Your team
Add admins and moderators per community. Roles decide who can do what.
Moderation and spam guard
Sign-up honeypot and rate limits, a content filter for links and blocked phrases, chat blast detection, member reports and an admin review queue. Restrict or ban in one click.
Categories
Emoji categories, with admin-only ones for announcements.
Built to keep members coming back
The habits that make paid communities stick, switched on from day one.
Weekly
Digest emails
The best new posts and upcoming events, weekly or daily. Members choose.
1 click
Email a post to everyone
Tick a box when posting and every member gets it by email.
Level 3
Unlock courses with levels
Keep advanced courses for members who take part.
Event reminders
Members get a reminder before each call, shown in their own time zone.
Progress you can see
Lesson checklists and course progress keep people moving.
What you'd pay
Skool bills each group on its own plan. Here is that against one VPS, using Skool's public prices at the time of writing.
3
Card fees are left out on both sides: Stripe's standard rate is close to Skool Pro's 2.9% + 30¢. On Hobby we count the extra above that (10% vs about 2.9%). See the full cost breakdown.
Skool, per group plans$297/mo
OpenEscool on your VPS$10/mo
You keep every year$3,444
Stripe or Razorpay fees apply either way. OpenEscool adds no platform fee on top.
| OpenEscool | Skool* | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free software. You pay for your server | Hobby $9 or Pro $99 a month, per group |
| Communities | Unlimited on one server | Each group has its own plan |
| Fee on your sales | No platform fee on top of Stripe or Razorpay | Hobby 10% + 30¢, Pro 2.9% + 30¢ (card processing included) |
| Address | Your own domain, name and logo | Custom URL on skool.com (skool.com/your-name) |
| Other creators' groups shown | Never | Skool's Discovery page |
| UPI and Razorpay | Yes, built in | Not listed on Skool's pricing page |
| Own the code and data | Yes, AGPL-3.0 | No |
| Courses, events, levels, leaderboards | Yes | Yes |
* Based on Skool's public pricing page and help centre at the time of writing (November 2026); they 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. Full comparison.
Install
Live in about
Live in about
30 minutes
Get a VPSA small Ubuntu 24.04 server is enough. Point your domain at it.
Clone and installPHP, MySQL, Nginx and Node, then OpenEscool. Copy-paste commands.
Sign up and add your keysThe first account becomes the admin. Add Stripe, Razorpay and Brevo.
$ git clone https://github.com/amanverma-gh/openescool
$ composer install --no-dev && npm ci && npm run build
$ php artisan migrate --force
✓ OpenEscool is running
Questions
Is OpenEscool really free?
Yes. The software is open source under AGPL-3.0, so you can use and change it at no cost. You pay for your server and domain, plus Stripe or Razorpay fees when members pay you.
How many communities can I run?
As many as your server handles. There is no limit in the software, and every community runs from the same install.
Can I use my own domain?
Yes. The whole platform runs on your domain, with your site name and logo. Each community gets its own address on it, like yourbrand.com/c/yoga.
Do I need to code?
No. The install guide is copy and paste. After that, everything is set in the browser from Admin settings.
Which payments are supported?
Stripe for USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, SGD, AED and INR, and Razorpay for INR, which adds UPI, Indian cards, netbanking and wallets. Plans can be monthly, yearly or one-time.
Can members message each other?
No, by design. Members can chat with you and your team only. That keeps spam and poaching out of your community.
How do updates work?
Admin settings shows when a new version is out. Back up, then run php artisan app:update on your server.
Where do I get help?
Ask questions and share ideas at openescool.userjot.com, or open an issue on GitHub.