Three levers that actually move MRR
Pricing power, annual-mix shift, and churn reduction. Acquisition gets all the attention but moves the needle slowest. Raising price 10% and shifting annual mix from 25% → 45% typically lifts effective MRR 30–40% with zero new signups.
- • Annual plans cut churn 3–4x vs monthly.
- • A 'founding member' lifetime deal at 2x annual price seeds 6–9 months of runway.
- • Trial-to-paid conversion is more about onboarding than pricing — fix the first session experience first.
Pricing tier design
Three tiers outperform two and four by a wide margin. Anchor with a high tier (3–5× middle), make the middle tier the obvious 'most popular' (price-bolded, highlighted), and use the bottom tier to capture price-sensitive buyers without cannibalizing. Course communities consistently see 60–70% of revenue from the middle tier.
What variable cost actually includes
Payment processor (Stripe 2.9% + $0.30 → ~3.5% blended), platform fee (Kajabi $159/mo flat, Circle $89–$199/mo + 0% rev share, Mighty $99 + 0%, Teachable Pro 5%, Podia 0%), video CDN (Mux, Bunny, Wistia: 1–4% of revenue at scale), email infra (~1%), customer support tooling. Add it all up before you call yourself 80% gross margin.
Churn segmentation
Look at churn by month-of-tenure — most communities churn 25–35% in month 1, then drop to 3–6% steady-state by month 6. If your steady-state is above 8%, the problem is the product, not the funnel. Onboarding fixes month-1; product-market-fit fixes the floor.
Related guides
Long-form playbooks on the same topic, written by the RevenueLab editorial team.
FAQ
What's a healthy churn rate for a paid community?
Steady-state under 6%/month is solid, under 4% is excellent. The first month always runs 20–35% across the industry — don't conflate the two.
Monthly or annual pricing?
Offer both, push annual hard with a 15–20% discount, and aim for 30–50% of new signups on annual. Annual cuts churn ~3–4x and improves cash flow.
What platform fees should I expect?
Kajabi $159–$399/mo flat, no rev share. Circle $89–$199/mo, no rev share. Mighty $99/mo, no rev share. Skool 0% but processor adds 2.9%. Teachable Pro 5% transaction. Substack 10%.
How do I price a course (one-time) vs membership?
One-time courses: $97–497 entry, $997–2,997 premium. Memberships: $19–49 community, $99–199 pro, $399+ mastermind. Recurring almost always beats one-time at LTV — even at half the headline price.
What's a reasonable CAC for a $39/mo membership?
Aim for CAC payback under 6 months: at $39 × ~33% contribution margin = $13 contribution/mo, target CAC under $78. Most memberships sit at $50–100 CAC profitably.
Should I do free trials or money-back guarantee?
Money-back guarantees outperform free trials for paid communities — they pre-qualify intent. Free trials work for product-led apps where the value is obvious in the first session.
How fast can I raise prices on existing members?
Grandfather existing members forever, or for at least 12 months. Email + grandfather + 30-day notice for new pricing. Expect 2–6% churn bump on the announcement, recovered within 60 days.
What's the difference between gross margin and contribution margin?
Gross margin = revenue − COGS (hosting, processing, platform fees). Contribution margin = gross margin − variable acquisition cost. LTV should use contribution margin if you want it to actually mean something.
How this calculator is built
Independently maintained
Written by Sam Doshi and the RevenueLab editorial team. We don't sell the data feeds this tool is built on.
Sourced from primary data
Benchmarks come from public AdSense / Stripe / IRS disclosures and reader-submitted data — never third-party "$X per view" claims. Full methodology.
Last reviewed
June 2026. We re-check every figure on the platform on a rolling quarterly cycle.
Editorial standards
See our editorial policy and disclaimer. Results are estimates, not advice.