How should I price a paid online community?

I've gone back and forth on this while planning a paid community for media operators, so here's where I've landed and where I'm still unsure.

Why not start cheap?

"Your minimum price should be $300 a month. It was like when you go under that, you're going to get tire kickers, you're going to get people who will pay for a month and quit. By the way, it won't be monthly either. We got to charge at minimum quarterly, right? At minimum."

I was told about a creator who launched a community at $9 a month. People quit on day one. They relaunched at $98 a month. Cheap didn't make people stay.

Should there be a VIP tier?

Yes, but you don't have to build it yet. My plan: a main tier listed at $500 and marked down to around $200 to $250, going under $300 only for the short term, to land the first 10, 20 or 30 members. Right next to it, a VIP tier at $1,000 or $1,500 a month, application only.

The reason that's smart is you don't have to sell VIP. It doesn't have to exist. You wait until enough people apply, then start it. It also makes $200 look amazing when the VIP is $1,500. The VIP should always be application only. The lower tier shouldn't need an application at all.

Two tiers are usually enough. When a friend showed me a three-tier coaching program, I asked whether he needed three at all. You have your regular and your VIP.

Should you start with a free community?

I keep a free Discord. It stays free. In my newsletter, in the Discord and on the show, we tell people: if you want to learn how to use Claude for your media brand, automate social media or talk through Meta ads with us, it's $100 a month, jump in.

That $100 number is lower than my $300 floor, and I'll be honest that I'm still testing where the price belongs. What I'm sure of is the order. First YouTube, getting viewers and comments. Then a newsletter to push people to. Then the Discord.

I also don't want to pay $100 or more a month for Circle or Skool before there's anyone in it. Use the free tool until members justify the paid one.

Is a community or a membership the better product?

A pure community is hard. The value is in the other people, and one person can screw it up. If the connection isn't there, it's just so difficult.

"If all your focus is on people, you better make it damn good or it's gonna flop for sure."

I lean toward a membership, where the value is what you provide: information, perks, events. Meeting cool people is great, but it's not the reason you're there. And remember, you can spin up a Circle page in 30 minutes. That doesn't mean anyone will go to it. They won't unless you give them enough reason to.

Mitko warned me on my podcast that annual community subscriptions can see heavy churn at the end of the year, so don't treat an annual sale as a forever member.

Does charging make the room better?

Yes. There's a monthly party in Austin for internet marketers that charges about $40 a month for members or $70 to just show up, and it's been running for something like 15 years. When I went, there were about 80 people, all seemingly super smart. The paywall keeps away the non-serious people.

Justin Gordon told me on my podcast he polled readers on a $29, $49 or $99 monthly events membership. The biggest answer was "need more details," but a real chunk were interested at some price. Ask before you build.

For pricing a local reader or business membership instead, see how a local media brand should price a membership.