What the Top 10% Have on Skool and Whop

system paper from the socialgood index, 2026-09-14.

system-paper · 2026-09-14 · 36 numbers checked against the index

This paper covers 900 Skool communities in the top 10% by member count against 8,100 more, and 325 Whop rooms in the top 10% by member count against 2,922 more. Every figure below is a measured pair, top decile against the rest, printed as read.

Skool: 900 in the top 10%, 8,100 in the rest

The top decile averages 5,031 members; the rest average 158. The top decile is 94% free to join; the rest are 91% free to join. The top decile charges $37 a month when it charges at all; the rest charge $67. The top decile shows a revenue badge on 30% of pages; the rest show one on 15%. The top decile is 576 days old on average; the rest are 350 days old. The top decile runs a YouTube channel upstream on 47% of pages; the rest run one on 40%. The top decile holds an X account on 11% of pages; the rest hold one on 7%. The top decile runs Instagram on 54% of pages; the rest run it on 49%. The top decile lists 15.2 courses; the rest list 11.

Two things do not move between the tiers. 89% of the top decile is face-forward, and 89% of the rest is face-forward too. The rating sits at 4.94 in both tiers.

The archetype at the top of Skool: a community 576 days old, 5,031 members, 94% free to join, $37 a month on the tiers that charge, a revenue badge on 30% of pages, a YouTube channel upstream on 47%, an X account on 11%, Instagram on 54%, 15.2 courses listed, face-forward on 89% of pages, 4.94 stars.

Whop: 325 in the top 10%, 2,922 in the rest

The top decile averages 38,184 members; the rest average 751. The top decile charges $138 a month when paid; the rest charge $246. 52% of the top decile is free to join; 74% of the rest is free to join. The top decile runs a YouTube channel upstream on 43% of pages; the rest run one on 24%. The top decile holds an X account on 52% of pages; the rest hold one on 22%.

Two things do not move between the tiers. 36% of the top decile shows a face on the listing; 31% of the rest does. The rating sits at 4.71 for the top decile and 4.78 for the rest.

The archetype at the top of Whop: a room with 38,184 members, 52% free to join, $138 a month on the tiers that charge, a YouTube channel upstream on 43% of pages, an X account on 52%, a face on the listing 36% of the time, 4.71 stars.

Both platforms move on the same two rails and stall on the same two. Members and an X account separate the top decile from the rest everywhere measured: 5,031 against 158 on Skool, 11% against 7% for an X account on Skool, 38,184 against 751 on Whop, 52% against 22% for an X account on Whop. Price runs the other way on both: $37 against $67 on Skool, $138 against $246 on Whop — the top decile charges less, not more. Free-to-join moves in opposite directions across the two platforms: Skool's top decile is 94% free against 91% for the rest, Whop's top decile is 52% free against 74% for the rest. A face on the page and the star rating hold flat regardless of tier: 89% face-forward in both tiers of Skool, 4.94 stars in both tiers of Skool; 36% against 31% face-forward on Whop, 4.71 against 4.78 stars on Whop. Whichever platform, whoever is reading this document to decide what to build next: members and an X account are where the tiers split, price runs opposite the assumption, and a face on the listing plus the star rating are not the difference.