Teachable Review: Is It Worth It In 2026?

Teachable is one of the most established course hosting platforms — used by over 100,000 creators to sell digital courses, coaching, and digital downloads. Unlike marketplace platforms like Udemy or Skillshare (where the platform brings students to you), Teachable is infrastructure: you build the course, you bring the traffic, and you keep the revenue.

That distinction is everything. Teachable gives you full control over pricing, branding, and student relationships. But it also means you’re responsible for marketing — the hardest part of selling courses online.

Here’s the complete review.

First A Quick Reality Check…

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But first — the full Teachable assessment.

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What Teachable Is

Teachable is a SaaS platform for creating, hosting, and selling online courses, coaching products, and digital downloads. You build your course within Teachable’s interface, set your price, and sell through your own branded storefront.

Founded: 2014 Headquarters: New York, NY Creators on platform: 100,000+ Students served: 25+ million

Teachable handles: course hosting, video delivery, payment processing, student management, and basic marketing tools (landing pages, email, coupons).

You handle: course creation, marketing, traffic generation, and customer acquisition.

Pricing Breakdown

Plan	Monthly Price	Annual Price	Transaction Fee	Key Features
Free	$0	$0	$1 + 10% per transaction	1 course, basic features
Basic	$39/month	$39/month (billed annually)	5% per transaction	Unlimited courses, custom domain, coupons
Pro	$119/month	$119/month (billed annually)	0%	Affiliate marketing, graded quizzes, certificates
Pro+	$199/month	$199/month (billed annually)	0%	Custom user roles, advanced reporting
Enterprise	Custom	Custom	0%	Dedicated support, custom features

The transaction fee issue: Teachable’s free and Basic plans charge transaction fees on top of standard payment processing. On the free plan, selling a $100 course costs you $1 + $10 (10%) + ~$3.20 (payment processing) = $14.20 in total fees. On Basic, it’s $5 (5%) + ~$3.20 = $8.20 per $100 sale. The Pro plan eliminates Teachable’s transaction fee, leaving only payment processing (~3.2%).

Break-even calculation: If you sell $2,380+/month in courses, the Pro plan ($119/month with 0% transaction fee) costs less than the Basic plan ($39/month + 5% transaction fee). Below $2,380/month in sales, Basic is cheaper despite the transaction fee.

Features

Course builder: Drag-and-drop curriculum builder. Upload videos, PDFs, quizzes, assignments, and text content. Drip content (release modules on a schedule). Completion certificates.

Sales pages: Built-in landing page builder for course sales pages. Checkout pages with customisable elements. Coupon and promotion tools. Bundle pricing.

Student management: Enrollment tracking, progress monitoring, completion rates. Student communication tools. Bulk enrollment for teams/corporate.

Payment options: One-time payments, subscriptions, and payment plans. Multi-currency support. Tax handling for international sales.

Marketing tools: Basic email (limited compared to dedicated email platforms). Affiliate programme (Pro plan and above). Integrations with external email tools.

Pros

Clean, professional course experience. Students get a polished learning interface. Course navigation, progress tracking, and video playback are well-designed.

Full pricing control. You set your prices — $10 or $10,000. No platform-imposed discounting like Udemy.

You own the student relationship. Unlike marketplace platforms, you get student email addresses and can build direct relationships.

Reliable infrastructure. Video hosting, payment processing, and course delivery work reliably. Minimal technical issues.

Brand customisation. Custom domain, logo, colours, and styling. Your course looks like your brand, not Teachable’s.

Cons

Transaction fees on lower plans. 5–10% transaction fees on Free and Basic plans significantly impact margins, especially at lower price points.

No built-in audience. Unlike Udemy (70M+ students) or Skillshare (12M+ members), Teachable provides zero traffic. Every student must be acquired through your own marketing.

Basic marketing tools. Email marketing, analytics, and sales tools are functional but limited compared to dedicated platforms. Most serious creators integrate external tools (ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign, Google Analytics).

Course sales page builder is limited. The built-in page builder works for basic sales pages but lacks the sophistication of dedicated landing page tools.

Monthly cost adds up without sales. Paying $39–$199/month for course infrastructure before generating course revenue creates financial pressure for new creators.

For understanding online businesses with no inventory, course creation is one of the purest digital product models — zero physical overhead.

Teachable vs. Marketplace Platforms

Factor	Teachable	Udemy	Skillshare
Pricing control	Full	Limited (heavy discounting)	N/A (royalty pool)
Traffic provided	None	70M+ students	12M+ members
Revenue share	0–10% + processing	37–97% depending on source	Royalty pool
Branding	Fully custom	Udemy-branded	Skillshare-branded
Student data	You own it	Limited access	Limited access
Marketing required	You do everything	Platform helps	Platform helps
Best for	Creators with audiences	Creators wanting built-in traffic	Prolific creators

The fundamental trade-off: Teachable gives you control and margins but no audience. Marketplace platforms give you audience but take control and margins. If you already have an audience (email list, YouTube channel, social following), Teachable is almost always better. If you have no audience, marketplace platforms provide a starting point.

For how digital assets pay monthly, courses on Teachable can become genuine recurring revenue assets — but only with consistent marketing.

Who Teachable Is For

Creators with existing audiences (email list, YouTube, blog, social media) who want to monetise expertise through courses.

Professionals selling premium courses ($200+) where full pricing control and brand ownership justify the platform cost.

Coaches and consultants who want to package their methodology into scalable, deliverable courses.

Businesses offering training as a product or service extension.

Who Teachable Is NOT For

If you have no audience and no marketing skills, Teachable provides zero student acquisition. You’ll pay $39–$199/month for an empty course platform.

If you’re testing whether anyone will buy your course, Udemy’s built-in audience provides validation without monthly platform costs.

If you’re selling low-price courses ($10–$30), Teachable’s transaction fees and monthly cost eat significant margin.

For the best online business to start, course creation is excellent — but choosing the right platform depends on whether you have an audience (Teachable) or need one (marketplace). For realistic online income expectations, most course creators on self-hosted platforms earn $0–$500/month in the first year due to the marketing challenge.

Verdict

Teachable is excellent course infrastructure for creators who already have traffic and an audience. The Pro plan (0% transaction fees) is the sweet spot for serious sellers. The platform is reliable, professional, and gives you full ownership of your student relationships and pricing.

However, Teachable doesn’t solve the hardest problem in course selling: finding students. If you don’t have a marketing strategy, no amount of polished course infrastructure generates sales.

Alternatives

Platform	Starting Price	Transaction Fee	Best For
Teachable	$0 (with fees)	0–10%	Established creators
Thinkific	$0 (with limits)	0% on paid plans	Brand-focused creators
Systeme.io	$0	0%	Budget all-in-one
Kajabi	$149/month	0%	Premium course businesses
Udemy	$0	37–63% revenue share	Creators seeking marketplace traffic
Podia	$39/month	0%	Simple course + download sellers

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Teachable free? There’s a free plan, but it charges $1 + 10% per transaction. Most serious creators use the Basic ($39/month) or Pro ($119/month) plans.

Does Teachable bring students? No — you’re responsible for all marketing and student acquisition.

How much can you earn on Teachable? Depends entirely on your audience and marketing. Range: $0 to $100,000+/month. Median for active creators: $200–$2,000/month.

Is Teachable better than Udemy? For creators with audiences: yes (better margins, full control). For creators without audiences: Udemy’s marketplace provides student discovery that Teachable cannot.

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The Bottom Line

Teachable is the right choice for course creators who already have an audience and want full control over pricing, branding, and student relationships. It’s the wrong choice for beginners hoping the platform will find students for them. The platform is the easy part. Marketing is the hard part. Solve the marketing problem first, then pick the infrastructure.

What Successful Teachable Creators Do Differently

The creators earning $5,000+/month on Teachable almost universally share these characteristics.

They built an audience first. Email list, YouTube channel, blog, or social following established before launching on Teachable. The course is a monetisation layer on an existing audience — not a cold start.

They price at $100–$500+. Low-price courses ($10–$30) require massive volume to generate meaningful income. At $200/course with Teachable’s 0% fee (Pro plan), 25 sales/month = $5,000/month. That’s achievable with an engaged audience of 2,000–5,000 people.

They use external email marketing. Teachable’s built-in email is basic. Successful creators integrate ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign, or Mailchimp for sophisticated launch sequences, automated follow-ups, and audience nurturing.

They treat courses as living products. Regular updates, new modules, student Q&A, and community engagement increase completion rates, drive referrals, and justify premium pricing.

Teachable’s Transaction Fee Impact

The fee structure significantly impacts your bottom line on lower-tier plans.

Example: Selling a $100 course on Free plan: $1 flat fee + $10 (10%) + $3.20 (payment processing) = $14.20 in total fees (14.2%)

Same course on Basic plan ($39/month): $5 (5%) + $3.20 (processing) = $8.20 per sale (8.2%) plus $39 monthly platform fee

Same course on Pro plan ($119/month): $3.20 (processing only) = $3.20 per sale (3.2%) plus $119 monthly platform fee

Break-even between Basic and Pro: If you sell more than ~16 courses/month at $100, Pro saves money. Below 16 sales, Basic is cheaper despite higher per-sale fees.

Teachable’s Course Builder: Detailed Walkthrough

The course builder is the core of the platform and deserves a thorough examination.

Creating your first course: Click “Create New Course” → Enter title and subtitle → Choose pricing (free, one-time, subscription, or payment plan) → Start adding sections and lessons. The interface is clean and intuitive — most creators have their course structure built within 30 minutes.

Content types supported: Video lessons (uploaded directly or via URL), text lessons, quizzes, code blocks, file attachments (PDFs, workbooks, templates), and embedded content (Typeform, Google Slides, etc.).

Video hosting: Teachable hosts your videos directly — no need for Vimeo, Wistia, or YouTube. Upload resolution options up to 4K. Videos stream to students through Teachable’s player with progress tracking built in. No bandwidth limits on any paid plan.

Drip content: Schedule lesson releases over time. Release Module 2 one week after enrollment, Module 3 two weeks after, and so on. This keeps students engaged over time rather than binge-watching and forgetting.

Completion certificates: Available on Pro plan and above. Automatically generated when students complete all required lessons. Customisable with your branding. A genuine value-add for professional development and training courses.

Course compliance: Track lesson completion, quiz scores, and engagement metrics per student. Useful for creators who need to demonstrate learning outcomes (corporate training, continuing education).

Teachable’s Payment Processing

Teachable offers two payment processing options, and the choice between them matters.

Teachable Payments (powered by Stripe): Teachable handles payment processing directly. Funds are deposited to your bank account monthly (Pro plan) or monthly with a 30-day delay (Basic plan). Transaction fees: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, plus Teachable’s plan-specific fees.

Custom payment gateways (PayPal, Stripe direct): Available on Pro plan and above. Connect your own Stripe or PayPal account. Funds go directly to your payment processor account (typically 2-day deposit with Stripe). This gives you faster access to revenue and more control over the payment experience.

International payments: Teachable supports 130+ currencies and handles VAT/tax calculations for EU customers (on Pro plan and above). For creators selling internationally, this removes significant administrative complexity.

Payment plans and subscriptions: Available on all paid plans. Offer students the option to pay in installments (e.g., 3 payments of $67 instead of $197 upfront). Subscription courses charge monthly or annually. Both options increase accessibility and can boost total enrollment.

Building a Sales Funnel on Teachable

Teachable includes basic sales page building, but serious sellers typically build more sophisticated funnels.

Teachable’s built-in sales pages: Each course includes a customisable sales page with sections for course curriculum, instructor bio, testimonials, pricing, and FAQ. The editor handles basic customisation (text, images, colours) but lacks the flexibility of dedicated landing page builders.

The typical Teachable sales setup: Landing page (built in Teachable or external tool) → Email capture (connected to ConvertKit, Mailchimp, or similar) → Nurture sequence (3–7 emails building value and trust) → Sales page (Teachable) → Checkout (Teachable) → Course delivery (Teachable).

Integration options: Teachable connects with Zapier (2,000+ app integrations), Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, and popular email marketing tools. Most successful Teachable creators use these integrations extensively — the platform’s native marketing tools are insufficient for serious sales operations.

Upsells and order bumps: Available on Pro plan and above. Add complementary products at checkout (workbooks, coaching sessions, premium modules). Order bumps typically increase average order value by 10–25% when implemented well.

Teachable for Different Price Points

Your course price significantly impacts which Teachable plan makes sense.

Free courses ($0): Used for lead generation — attracting students who may purchase premium courses later. Teachable’s free plan works for this, though the transaction fee structure means you pay nothing (no transaction on $0 courses).

Low-price courses ($10–$50): Transaction fees on Basic plan (5%) consume a meaningful percentage. A $20 course yields $20 – $1.00 (5% Teachable fee) – $0.88 (payment processing) = $18.12. Margin is acceptable but thin. Volume is essential.

Mid-price courses ($100–$500): This is where Teachable shines. A $200 course on Pro plan: $200 – $6.10 (payment processing only) = $193.90. With $119/month platform cost, you break even at just 1 sale/month and profit quickly at 2+. This price range delivers the best unit economics on Teachable.

Premium courses ($500–$5,000): Excellent margins. A $1,000 course on Pro plan: $1,000 – $29.30 (processing) = $970.70. The $119/month platform cost becomes negligible. At 2–3 sales/month, you’re generating $1,800–$2,800/month with minimal platform cost relative to revenue.

The pricing takeaway: Teachable is optimised for courses priced $100+. Below that, the combination of transaction fees and monthly platform cost reduces margins. Above $100, the fixed monthly cost becomes increasingly insignificant relative to per-sale revenue.

Common Teachable Mistakes

Mistake 1: Building the course before validating demand. Spending 3 months creating a comprehensive course, then discovering nobody will pay for it. Better approach: pre-sell the course with a landing page and email capture before building content. If 10+ people pre-purchase, build it. If nobody does, pivot.

Mistake 2: Using Teachable’s email for primary marketing. Teachable’s email features handle transactional communications (enrollment confirmations, lesson reminders) adequately. They cannot replace a dedicated email marketing platform for launches, nurture sequences, and ongoing engagement.

Mistake 3: Underpricing courses. New creators often price courses at $19–$29 out of fear that nobody will pay more. At those prices, you need massive volume to cover platform costs and generate meaningful income. A well-structured $197 course with the same content needs far fewer students to be profitable.

Mistake 4: Ignoring the marketing challenge. “Build it and they will come” does not apply to online courses. Teachable provides zero organic traffic. Creators who succeed allocate 50%+ of their time to marketing (content creation, email list building, social media, partnerships) and 50% or less to course creation and platform management.

Mistake 5: Neglecting course updates. Courses that haven’t been updated in 12+ months feel stale. Students notice outdated statistics, deprecated tools, and missing current developments. Regular updates (quarterly review, annual refresh) maintain course value and justify ongoing sales.