Skool Communities vs Beacon by Techne
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Skool Communities
Connect with your online communities from anywhere. Engage in discussions, access courses, stay updated on events, and directly message members. This app brings all the core functionalities of the platform to your mobile device.
- Community discussions
- Video and text courses
- Event calendar
- Direct messaging
- Push notifications
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The official Skool app. Stay connected to your communities on the go. All Skool's features + push notifications. • Community - group discussion with posts and comments • Courses - learn with video and text-based lessons • Calendar - see what community events are happening • Chat - DM anybody in your communities
Beacon by Techne
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Beacon is a map of what your friends are up to and what is happening around town. Light a beacon when you are heading somewhere: a run, a climb, a coffee, the farmers market. Share it with friends or a circle. They see it and can join you. Or share it as a public event, and anyone nearby can light their own beacon for it. - Circles: start a circle and invite friends into it with a link or QR code - Links: share any beacon with a link or QR code, and turn the link off when you like - The map: see who is lit near you and what is on in town - Join: tap a friend's beacon and you are in - Public events: repair cafes, markets and meetups, and who is going - Notifications when someone shares a beacon with you Sign in with your phone number. No ads and no tracking. Usage analytics only if you turn it on, and never shared with another company. Report, block and account deletion are built in. Beacon is made by Techne for Gitcoin and is for people 18 and older.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Beacon by Techne at 5.0 against Skool Communities's 3.8. Beacon by Techne also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 5 weeks). Skool Communities's advantage is ratings volume (713 vs 2) and chart position (#23 vs unranked). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Beacon by Techne holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Skool Communities has 713 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Skool Communities ships an update every 5 weeks, Beacon by Techne every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Skool Communities | Beacon by Techne |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (713 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 41.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 713 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Best chart rank | #23 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 56 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Skool.com, Inc. | Lucian Hymer |
Customer experience
Skool Communities
Beacon by Techne
Bugs and requests
Skool Communities
Reported bugs
5 issues- Unable to create account
- Stuck on login screen
- Videos not playing full screen
- Frequent log-outs
- Incompatibility with older devices
Requested features
5 requests- Dark mode option
- Ability to save posts
- Improved iPad support
- Better chat functionality
- Sync with calendar apps
Beacon by Techne
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Skool Communities
No in-app purchases
Beacon by Techne
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Skool Communities free?
Is Beacon by Techne free?
Which has better reviews, Skool Communities or Beacon by Techne?
Do Skool Communities or Beacon by Techne have ads?
Which is updated more often, Skool Communities or Beacon by Techne?
Other comparisons
