How to Run a Paid Mastermind on Skool: Small Group, High Ticket, Fees Worked Out
A mastermind lives or dies on who's in the room and how the hour runs. Skool can hold the room. Here's how to set it up, and what it costs at a high price.
This guide has paid links: if you sign up through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes what I write. How I test.
You've been in rooms like this. Six or seven people who each run something, one of them describing a problem they haven't told anyone else, and the others asking the questions that crack it open. An hour later, three people leave with a decision they'd been putting off for months.
That's what people pay a mastermind for. Not content. The room.
This guide is for coaches, consultants and business owners who want to host that room online and charge for it. It covers the decisions that make a mastermind work, how to set one up on Skool, and what Skool takes from a high-ticket payment, because at mastermind prices the plan you pick matters a lot.
Get these four decisions right first
1. Keep it small
The group is the product, and a big group means less airtime for everyone. Karyn Greenstreet, who has run mastermind groups for over 20 years, looks for 5 to 8 members per group. Other hosts go up to about 10.
If you get more interested people than seats, open a second group instead of growing the first. Two groups of seven beat one group of fourteen.
2. Choose people who can help each other
Members should be at a similar stage, so everyone has something to give and something to gain. A group where one person is far ahead becomes a free consulting session for the others. Different industries are fine, and often better, as long as the size of their problems is similar.
3. Set the rhythm before the price
Decide how often you'll meet, for how long, and for how many months. A fixed slot, the same day and time every time, works better than finding a date each month. It's also what members are really buying: a protected hour that the rest of their week can't take.
4. Price it as a commitment
A mastermind isn't a casual subscription. A fixed term (six or twelve months) gives the group time to build trust, and it lets members plan around it. You can still collect monthly, or offer a discount for paying upfront.
How the hour runs: the hot seat format
Most masterminds use some version of this. It works because everyone talks, but one or two people get the group's full attention.
- Wins and updates (10 minutes). Each member shares one win and where they stand on last time's commitment.
- Hot seat one (20 to 25 minutes). One member brings a real problem. The group asks questions first, then offers ideas. The member listens, then says what they'll do.
- Hot seat two (20 to 25 minutes). Same format, a different member.
- Commitments (5 to 10 minutes). Everyone states one thing they'll do before the next call.
Rotate the hot seats so every member gets one on a predictable schedule. Members who know their turn is coming prepare better.
Setting it up on Skool
Make joining an application
Turn on membership questions and use them as your application. In my own group, this plugin works on the $9 plan. Ask about:
- What they run and roughly what stage it's at
- The biggest problem they want help with this year
- What they could offer the other members
- Whether they'll keep what's shared in the group confidential
On the Hobby plan, every new member is approved by hand, because instant approval is a Pro plugin. For a mastermind that's a feature: no one gets in without you reading their answers first.
Put the calls on the calendar
Create the meeting as a repeat event. Skool's event form handles time zones and sends a reminder email the day before. Run it on Skool Call, which supports screen sharing and recording, or paste in a Zoom link if your members prefer it.
Skool's help center says call recordings can be downloaded for 14 days, so move each one into the classroom as a replay. Members who miss a call can catch up, and the hot seat member can rewatch their own session.
Use the classroom as the group's memory
The classroom isn't just for courses. In a mastermind it holds:
- A "Start here" lesson with the ground rules and the meeting format
- A hot seat prep lesson: what to bring and how to frame the problem
- Call replays, one lesson per meeting
- A running commitments lesson, so everyone can see what they said they'd do
Give the feed a job between calls
Masterminds that only exist on call day lose momentum. Set up a few categories:
- Asks: quick questions that can't wait for the next call
- Wins: so members see each other's progress
- Commitment check-in: a pinned post halfway between calls
If you offer more than one level
Skool's tiers let you offer more than one paid plan in the same group, for example the group alone, and the group plus a monthly one-to-one session with you. Events and courses can be limited to a tier, so the one-to-one booking details only show up for the people paying for them.
What Skool takes at mastermind prices
At a high price, the percentage Skool takes matters far more than the plan fee. Skool's payments help article lists:
| Per payment | Hobby ($9 a month) | Pro ($99 a month) |
|---|---|---|
| Under $900 | 10% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| $900 or more | 10% + 30¢ | 3.9% + 30¢ |
Monthly payments. Eight members at $500 a month is $4,000.
- Hobby: $9 + $400 + $2.40 = $411.40 a month
- Pro: $99 + $116 + $2.40 = $217.40 a month
Pro saves about $194 a month, or about $2,330 a year.
Paid upfront. One member pays $5,000 for the year.
- Hobby takes $500.30 of that payment
- Pro takes $195.30, because the payment is over $900
For almost any paid mastermind, Pro is the cheaper plan. Hobby only makes sense for a free pilot group, where there are no payments for Skool to take a cut from. Check your own numbers in the Skool fee calculator.
One more cut to switch off: Skool's Growth boost sends you members from its directory in exchange for 30% to 70% of what they pay, which were the options in my settings. A hand-picked mastermind doesn't need strangers from a directory, so it's worth leaving off.
Start your Skool group Paid link: I earn a commission if you sign up, at no extra cost to you. Skool starts with a free trial.
What Skool won't do for a mastermind
- No contracts. If you want members to sign an agreement for a fixed term, use a separate e-signature tool. The confidentiality question in your application is a promise, not a contract.
- No co-host on the $9 plan. Extra admins need Pro.
- No in-person events. Skool's calendar can list a retreat, but tickets, venues and travel are handled elsewhere.
- Your brand sits on Skool. The group lives on skool.com, and a custom group URL needs Pro.
If any of those are dealbreakers, I compare other platforms in Skool alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
Is Skool good for a mastermind group?
Yes, for an online mastermind. It gives you a private group, an application step, recurring calls with recording, a place for replays and member commitments, and payments. It doesn't handle contracts or in-person events.
How many people should be in a mastermind?
Most experienced hosts keep groups small. Karyn Greenstreet, who has run mastermind groups for over 20 years, looks for 5 to 8 members per group; others recommend up to about 10.
What does Skool charge on a high-ticket mastermind?
On Pro, 2.9% plus 30 cents per payment, rising to 3.9% plus 30 cents on payments of $900 or more. On Hobby, 10% plus 30 cents on every payment. On a $5,000 payment that's $195.30 on Pro and $500.30 on Hobby.
Can I screen applicants before they join?
Yes. Membership questions let you ask applicants questions before you approve them. In my own group this works on the $9 Hobby plan, and on Hobby every member is approved by hand.
Can a co-host help run the group?
Giving a co-host admin rights needs the $99 Pro plan. When I checked the plans in my group, extra admins were a Pro feature.
Sources
Skool fees, events, call recordings and pricing models come from Skool's help center, checked November 11, 2026. Membership questions, approval, admin limits and Growth boost options are from my own tests inside my Skool group. Group size guidance is from Karyn Greenstreet's article "How Many Members Should Be in Mastermind Groups?" on Passion for Business.
For everything else about Skool's plans and fees, see my Skool review.