Alex Hermosi decided to break some world records related to selling the MOST BOOKS in one day ever.. His goal was to get people to join SKOOL and get more people to start profitable communities.
Personally I have built a few communities on the platform and I really love the technology and how easy it is to use.
One of my communities has over 1200 members and is thriving.
But its always good to see what the communities are doing to get an idea of the most successful communities.
So I deployed an agent to do the work for me, let me know if you actually want the full list of communities, I can make them available to you if you ask nicely and are interested in learning more about evyAI
Based on my analysis of your 1,000 Skool communities dataset, here are the key insights:
🏆 Largest Communities: AI Automation dominates with 3 of the top 10 communities, all free and totaling 443k+ members
💰 Most Expensive: Premium communities charge up to $10,000/month but maintain smaller, exclusive memberships (200-1,200 members)
💎 Best Value: Communities priced at $1-2/month offer exceptional value with 6,000-27,000 members per dollar
🆓 Free Giants: 15 largest free communities have 1.7M+ combined members, with AI/automation and business education leading
🔗 LinkedIn Gap: Only 1 LinkedIn-focused community exists (1.2k members) - major opportunity!
🤖 AI/Automation Insights: 94 communities (9.4% of total) with 800k+ combined members, 97% are free
📚 Themes Identified: 16 distinct categories, with Education (152), AI/Automation (94), and Finance (50) being the largest defined themes
🎯 Market Opportunities: LinkedIn professional development, real estate education, and culinary skills are significantly underserved niches
Analysis of 1,000 Skool communities reveals a diverse ecosystem with 400 free communities (40%) and 600 paid communities (60%). The average community has 5,315 members, while paid communities average $376.77 in pricing.
🏆 Top Communities by Member Count
Key Insight: The top 10 communities are predominantly FREE, with AI/Automation themes dominating the largest communities.
💰 Most Expensive Communities
Key Insight: Premium communities ($10,000/month) typically have 200-1,200 members, suggesting exclusivity as a value driver.
📊 Best Value Paid Communities (Members per Dollar)
1 Trading Tribe 27.2k $1/month 27,200 members/$
2 Top Chess Gang 17.7k $2/month 8,850 members/$
3 Online Business Friends 83.6k $10/month 8,360 members/$
4 The Screenwriters Social 6.9k $1/month 6,900 members/$
5 Agency World 6.5k $1 (one-time) 6,500 members/$
Key Insight: Communities priced at $1-2/month offer exceptional value with large, engaged audiences.
🎯 Top Free Communities by Membership
The 15 largest free communities collectively have 1.7 million members, with AI/Automation representing 4 of the top 15:
AI Automation Agency Hub - 230.4k members
Max Business School™ - 228.8k members
Adonis Gang - 188.5k members (fitness)
Skoolers - 171.2k members (platform community)
AI Automation Society - 121.7k members
🤖 AI & Automation Communities Deep Dive
Total AI/Automation Communities: 94 (9.4% of all communities)
Community Builder Insights Framework
Here is what I want to ask myself if I am building a skool community. Like before I start building a community, I want to answer these questions.
Key Questions for Community Analysis
🎯 Engagement & Activity Metrics
Online Member Ratio: What percentage of total members are typically online?
Activity Correlation: How does online activity correlate with community size and pricing?
Engagement Sweet Spot: What member count ranges show highest engagement rates?
👥 Community Management Structure
Admin-to-Member Ratios: What's the optimal admin-to-member ratio for different community sizes?
Management Scalability: How does admin count scale with community growth?
Moderation Patterns: Do paid communities require more or fewer admins per member?
💰 Monetization Insights
Price vs. Engagement: Do higher-priced communities have better engagement?
Free vs. Paid Activity: How do engagement patterns differ between free and paid communities?
Value Perception: Which communities charge premium prices with high engagement?
🏗️ Community Structure Analysis
Successful Community Types: What community structures (status, links, descriptions) correlate with success?
Owner Branding: How important is personal branding of community owners?
Multi-Link Strategy: Do communities with more external links perform better?
📈 Growth & Success Factors
Founder Patterns: What characteristics do successful community owners share?
Content Strategy: How do 'About' descriptions correlate with community success?
Cross-Promotion: Which communities effectively leverage multiple platforms?
🎨 Community Positioning
Niche vs. Broad: Do specialized communities outperform generalist ones?
Status Impact: How does community status (Public vs. Private) affect growth?
Social Proof Elements: What elements in descriptions drive conversion?
🔍 Competitive Intelligence
Market Gaps: Which successful models have low competition?
Saturation Analysis: Which niches are oversaturated vs. underserved?
Best Practices: What patterns do the most successful communities share?
These insights will help community builders understand what drives engagement, optimal pricing strategies, management requirements, and positioning tactics for maximum growth and monetization.
Top 15 AI/Automation Communities:
AI Automation Agency Hub - 230.4k members (Free)
AI Automation Society - 121.7k members (Free)
AI Automation (A-Z) - 91.1k members (Free)
THP Jump Training - 78k members (Free)
Automation Incubator™ - 39.5k members (Free)
Key Insights:
97% of AI/Automation communities are FREE
Combined membership exceeds 800,000+ members across top AI communities
AI/Automation is the 3rd largest theme after Other/Miscellaneous and Education
Focus areas include agency building, automation tools, and AI implementation
💼 LinkedIn-Related Communities
Total LinkedIn Communities: 1
AI for LinkedIn - evyAI.com - 1.2k members (Free)
Key Insight: Surprisingly few LinkedIn-focused communities, suggesting an underserved niche opportunity.
📈 Theme Analysis - Community Categories
Other/Miscellaneous56356.3%Diverse specialized topics
Education & Learning15215.2%Schools, courses, training
AI & Automation949.4%AI tools, automation agencies
Finance & Investment505.0%Trading, crypto, wealth building
Creative & Arts363.6%Design, writing, photography
Business & Entrepreneurship363.6%Startups, agencies, founders
Marketing & Sales363.6%Advertising, copywriting, SEO
Technology & Development353.5%Coding, software, web development
Fitness & Health262.6%Workout, nutrition, wellness
Personal Development262.6%Coaching, mindset, growth
E-commerce222.2%Shopify, Amazon, dropshipping
Gaming & Entertainment101.0%Games, entertainment
Sports & Recreation80.8%Pickleball, chess, athletics
Fashion & Beauty60.6%Style, beauty, scents
Real Estate40.4%Property investment
Food & Cooking20.2%Culinary arts
Total Unique Themes: 16
🔍 Key Market Insights
1. The Free Community Dominance
40% of all communities are completely free
Free communities tend to have significantly larger memberships
Top 5 largest communities are all free
2. AI/Automation Market Leadership
94 AI/Automation communities make it the 3rd largest category
3 of top 10 largest communities are AI-focused
Market shows strong demand for AI education and tools
3. Premium Pricing Strategy
Communities charging $10,000/month successfully maintain 200-1,200 members
Best value communities price at $1-2/month with large audiences
Average paid community price: $376.77
4. Education & Learning Dominance
152 educational communities (15.2% of total)
Strong demand for skill development and training
Mix of free and paid models successful
5. Underserved Markets
LinkedIn professionals (only 1 community)
Real Estate (only 4 communities)
Food & Cooking (only 2 communities)
These represent potential growth opportunities
💡 Strategic Recommendations
For Community Creators:
AI/Automation niche shows massive demand but high competition
$1-2/month pricing offers best member-to-price ratio
Free communities can build large audiences for future monetization
LinkedIn professional development is an underserved opportunity
For Platform Growth:
56% of communities don't fit standard categories - suggests diverse, niche demand
Premium communities ($10k/month) prove high-value segments exist
Educational content drives significant engagement across price points
Market Opportunities:
LinkedIn professional networking and growth
Real estate investment education
Cooking and culinary skills
Industry-specific automation solutions
📊 Summary Statistics
Total Communities Analyzed: 1,000
Free Communities: 400 (40%)
Paid Communities: 600 (60%)
AI/Automation Communities: 94 (9.4%)
Average Member Count: 5,315
Average Paid Community Price: $376.77
Largest Community: AI Automation Agency Hub (230.4k members)
Most Expensive: Multiple at $10,000/month
Best Value: Trading Tribe (27,200 members per dollar)
They lowered the price to 9 dollars a month with a 90 day trial so there are now 170,000 communities inside skool. That is a massive increase by about 120k new communities in the platform that were not there before.
Just incredible how quickly they grew it. Imagine what would happen to the platform of many more communities grow inside the skool platform to the level of the top 10 communities.
I would recommend checking it out when you have a moment.
I've analyzed your detailed Skool communities data and uncovered game-changing insights for community builders. Here are the most important findings:
🔥 The Size Paradox - Smaller is Better
Small communities (<1k members) achieve 2.10% engagement vs. 0.23% for large communities (10k+). This means a 500-member community often outperforms a 50,000-member one in actual activity and monetization potential.
💰 The $1-10 Sweet Spot
Communities priced between $1-10/month achieve the highest engagement rates at 1.71% - double that of free communities (0.84%). This price point creates investment mindset without barriers.
👥 The 120-Member Rule
Optimal admin ratio for small communities is ~120 members per admin. As communities scale past 1k members, this grows to 1,170 members per admin, requiring more systems and automation.
🔗 External Links Hurt Engagement
Counterintuitively, communities with external links show 0.90% engagement vs. 1.49% for those without. Focus on internal value before directing members elsewhere.
🏆 Success Pattern: Specialized + Paid + Small
The highest-performing communities (>2% engagement) are typically:
100-1,000 members
$5-50/month pricing
Highly specialized niches
Strong owner presence
👑 Portfolio Strategy Works
Top community owners run multiple specialized communities, diversifying risk while leveraging expertise across different niches and price points.
Bottom Line: The winning formula is Small + Paid + Specialized + Engaged rather than Large + Free + General + Passive. Start with 50-200 highly engaged members at $5-15/month, focusing on engagement over growth initially.
This data revolutionizes conventional wisdom about community building - intimate, paid communities significantly outperform massive free ones in both member satisfaction and revenue potential.
If you want the full list of the top communities, let me know :)
Great working session today @Joe Apfelbaum !
Hi Joe. Fascinated by your insights and work here. Any chance you could email me the full report? Thank you