V1 Sports Grow vs Skillest: The 0% Revenue Share Alternative
A marketplace rents you an audience and bills you a percentage forever. A branded academy is an asset you own — at 0% revenue share.
The short answer
Skillest is a coaching marketplace: golfers browse a shared roster of coaches and Skillest takes a percentage of each transaction. V1 Sports Grow is business infrastructure: you launch your own branded golf academy, own the student relationship and the list, set your own pricing, and pay 0% revenue share on lessons, memberships, and programs. Instructors who want reach without giving up a cut of every payment typically use V1's PAIRED program, which matches them 1:1 with golfers already in the V1 app at no commission.
V1 Sports Grow vs Skillest, Feature by Feature
| Skillest | V1 Sports Grow | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue share | Percentage cut of every lesson | ✓0% — you keep 100% |
| Branding | Coach profile inside Skillest's brand | ✓Your own branded academy and app |
| Student ownership | Students belong to the marketplace | ✓Students are yours, list included |
| Pricing control | Marketplace norms and comparison shopping | ✓You set prices with no side-by-side undercutting |
| Business model | Per-transaction lessons | ✓Recurring memberships, programs, per-analysis |
| Demand generation | Marketplace visibility, shared with rivals | ✓PAIRED 1:1 golfer matching, commission-free |
| Video analysis | Built for online lesson delivery | ✓30 years of golf-specific analysis tooling |
| Facility / team use | Individual coach accounts | ✓Multi-instructor facility tools |
Skillest is a marketplace. V1 Sports Grow is your business infrastructure.
The Branded Academy Difference
On a marketplace, your profile sits beside every competing coach and price. In a V1 academy, golfers arrive at your brand: your logo, your programs, your pricing, your app. You can sell recurring memberships and online programs instead of one-off lessons, and the audience you build stays with you.
The economics compound. At a 20% marketplace cut, a coach earning $3,000/month in online coaching hands over $7,200 a year. At 0% revenue share, that stays in the business.
I was skeptical — I'd tried online coaching before and it never stuck. Within 60 days of setting up my V1 academy, I had $2,000 in new monthly recurring revenue from students I was already teaching in person.
Ron isn't alone. The average instructor in our PAIRED program is now earning $400/month in supplemental income — and we paid out over $5,000 to pros last month, a number that's growing fast.
Skillest Alternatives: FAQ
What is the best Skillest alternative for golf instructors?
V1 Sports Grow is the closest direct alternative for golf coaches who want to keep 100% of their revenue. Unlike Skillest's marketplace model, V1 charges a flat software subscription with 0% revenue share and gives each instructor a branded academy and app instead of a profile inside a shared platform.
How much does Skillest take from coaches?
Marketplace platforms like Skillest earn by taking a percentage of coaching transactions, commonly around 20%. V1 Sports takes 0% — you pay a flat subscription and keep every dollar your students pay, minus standard payment processing.
Do I keep my students if I leave the platform?
On a marketplace, the students are the platform's audience. In a V1 academy, the students signed up to your brand and your list, so the relationship stays with you.
Can V1 send me new students like a marketplace does?
Yes, through PAIRED. V1 matches enrolled instructors 1:1 with golfers already using the V1 app who are looking for coaching. The average enrolled pro earns $400/month from V1-sourced golfers, and V1 takes no commission on it.
Related reading: how 0% commission billing works, white-label golf academy apps, and golf instructor marketing.
Stop Paying a Percentage of Every Lesson.
Book a free 15-minute call and see what your coaching income looks like at 0% revenue share.
No pressure. No obligation. A real conversation about your practice.