Teachable for Selling Online Courses: Detailed Overview

Teachable is a popular platform for creating, marketing, and selling online courses. It’s designed to help creators monetize their expertise without needing advanced technical skills. Here’s a detailed look at its pros, cons, and competitors.

Does Teachable market my course?

No. Teachable gives you the tools to sell a course, not the audience to sell it to. It will host your videos, take payments, run your sales pages and send your emails, but it does not put your course in front of new students for you. The marketing is your job: you bring the traffic, Teachable handles the checkout and the classroom.

If you’re looking for a platform to bring students to you, you will want to look into a marketplace platform like Udemy, rather than a platform like Teachable. If you’re looking to do your own marketing and are looking for a clean place to host your content and sell it, Teachable is a good platform for you.

Pros of Teachable:

1. Ease of Use: Teachable offers a simple, user-friendly interface for creating courses, making it easy to upload content, create quizzes, and manage students.
2. Customization: Offers flexible course templates, allowing creators to customize their course pages to fit their brand.
3. Payment Options: Teachable handles payment processing, allowing creators to focus on content. You can set up one-time payments, subscriptions, or payment plans.
4. Analytics and Tracking: Detailed reports on student progress, revenue, and engagement help creators improve their content and marketing efforts.
5. Integrated Marketing Tools: Includes built-in sales pages, email marketing tools, and affiliate marketing options to promote courses and boost sales.
6. Mobile App: Allows students to access content on the go, improving accessibility for users.

Cons of Teachable:

1. Transaction Fees: The Starter plan includes a 7.5% transaction fee on every sale, which can add up for high-volume courses.
2. Limited Customization: Some advanced customization features are only available on the higher-tier plans, which can be limiting for users on a budget.
3. No Direct Student Communication: The platform lacks features like live chat or direct messaging with students, which can be a disadvantage for creators looking for more engagement.
4. Limited Design Options: While customizable, the course templates are somewhat restrictive, especially compared to other platforms that offer full design flexibility.

Competitors of Teachable:

1. Thinkific:
   • Thinkific has no free plan; check Thinkific’s current pricing plans before comparing costs. Thinkific also has strong customization features, though Teachable has a slight edge in ease of use and integrated marketing tools.
2. Kajabi:
   • A more comprehensive platform that includes not only course creation but also website building, email marketing, and sales funnels. However, Kajabi is significantly more expensive than Teachable, making it ideal for established businesses.
3. Podia:
   • A simpler alternative to Teachable, Podia offers courses, digital downloads, and membership options. Product limits and transaction fees depend on the plan; check Podia’s current pricing plans before choosing. While it’s less feature-rich in terms of analytics and customization, Podia’s all-in-one simplicity appeals to creators focused on affordability and ease.
4. Udemy:
   • A marketplace model where courses are hosted on Udemy’s platform, offering built-in visibility to a massive audience. However, course creators have less control over pricing and branding, as Udemy heavily discounts courses.

Who brings the students: a quick comparison

Pricing for Teachable:

Teachable’s Starter plan charges a 7.5% transaction fee on sales. Include that fee when comparing costs. Check Teachable’s current pricing plans for the subscription price and included features before you choose.

Is Teachable Right for You?

Teachable is a great platform for creators who want to focus on course content and marketing without diving into complex technical details. It’s ideal for beginners looking for simplicity and ease, but the platform’s scalability and integration with marketing tools make it suitable for experienced course creators as well. However, if you’re seeking more customization, a marketplace audience (as with Udemy), or an all-in-one business platform (like Kajabi), you may want to explore other options. Udemy’s marketplace visibility comes with less control over pricing and branding.

If your course grows out of design work, turning your design skills into online sales is the natural next read. And if you would rather build the course site yourself, these no-code AI tools let you do it without writing code.