Teachable is a dependable choice for structured, self-paced courses and a small digital-product catalog, once you sell enough to justify the Builder plan. Its biggest change this year is payments: the new Teachable Payments gateway handles tax and runs a Stripe-built checkout, but its bundles add per-transaction fees you should read before you set prices.
We assessed Teachable alongside the rest of our monetization reviews, including Linktree, Buy Me a Coffee and Komi, so the score below is relative to that field.
What it does well
The course basics are mature: drip content, auto-graded quizzes, lesson comments, certificates (Growth and up) and iOS and Android student apps, per Teachable's pricing page. Builder and up include an integrated affiliate program, and every plan lists upsells and cart recovery. Teachable Payments, which Teachable says is built on Stripe's infrastructure, calculates, collects and remits tax in 45+ markets, offers 35+ local payment methods on its Global bundle, and gives students a Stripe customer portal for managing subscriptions.
Where it falls short
Storefront design options are limited next to newer tools, and community and cohort features are limited. Starter's 7.5% fee gets expensive fast. Students who buy through Teachable's checkout are unlimited on every plan, but Teachable's Usage Fees page (updated Sep 28, 2026) charges for students added any other way, such as imports, manual enrollments, free or 100%-coupon enrollments and buyers from another platform: each school includes 100, then it's $0.50 per student per month on every plan. That applies to schools created on or after Sep 3, 2026. Older schools stay on legacy fees, including $1.50, $1.00 or $0.75 a month per imported student over plan limits on Starter, Builder or Growth, until their first renewal on or after Apr 30, 2027. That matters if you're moving an existing student list in.
Pricing in practice
There's no free plan; you get a 7-day trial and a 30-day guarantee. Starter is $29 a month billed annually ($39 monthly) with a 7.5% transaction fee and 5 products. Builder is $69 billed annually ($89 monthly) with 0% and 10 products. Growth is $139 billed annually ($189 monthly) with 0%, 50 products and 5 admins. Custom is quoted.
Processing is extra. On Teachable Payments, US domestic cards cost 2.9% + 30 cents, and international cards cost more (Teachable's pricing page and its fee article list different rates). The default Standard bundle adds 0.5% where tax is assessed and 0.7% on recurring charges. The Global bundle adds 2.8% on every transaction instead, waives those two fees, and adds local payment methods.
Example. Assumptions: 100 one-time sales of a $50 course a month ($5,000), US cards, Teachable Payments Standard bundle, annual billing, no tax assessed. Starter costs $29 + $375 (7.5%) + $175 processing = $579. Builder costs $69 + $175 = $244. At annual prices, Builder pays for itself once you sell more than about $533 a month (the $40 plan difference divided by 7.5%).
Can you take your students with you?
Your data, mostly. Teachable lets you export users and transactions as CSVs, but says there's no way to export a course as one unit, so you download videos, PDFs and files piece by piece. On payments you choose between Teachable Payments (a Stripe Express account set up through Teachable) and a Custom Payment Gateway that connects your own Stripe Standard account on any plan, without Teachable's tax handling and with subscriptions run by Teachable's own system. We found no Teachable documentation on moving active student subscriptions to another platform, so plan a re-enrollment campaign if you leave with recurring members.
Content and AI-training terms
Teachable's Terms of Use (last updated 04/20/2026, read Nov 7, 2026) say you own your User Content and give Teachable a worldwide licence to display, transmit and use it for operating the service, such as storing it on its servers. Section 8.2 says its AI features, for example AI-generated course outlines, run through third-party AI providers that may include OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, and that by using them you agree to those providers' terms. These Terms contain no clause about training models on your content, so ask Teachable directly if that matters for your material.
Who should pick it (and who shouldn't)
Pick Teachable for structured courses when you want tax handled for you and you'll sell more than a few hundred dollars a month. Skip it if community is the product, or if you'd stay on Starter while sales grow.
Alternatives worth comparing
- Thinkific: similar pricing, plus a documented path to move subscriptions to your own Stripe account.
- LearnWorlds: interactive video, assessments, and payments through your own Stripe or PayPal. Read our LearnWorlds review or try LearnWorldsAFFILIATE (affiliate link).
- Kajabi if you want email and funnels in the same login.
- Teachable alternatives, and Skool vs Circle vs Kajabi for community-led setups.
What changed (Oct 7, 2026)
- Plan names, prices and limits now match Teachable's official pricing page as checked on Oct 7, 2026.
- We revised the pros and cons to match current features and pricing.
- We corrected the integrations and platforms listed.
- We noted that Teachable has no free plan, only a free trial.
What changed (Oct 31, 2026)
- Re-checked Teachable's pricing page, fee article and Usage Fees page on Oct 31, 2026. Plan prices, the 7.5% Starter fee and US card rates are unchanged.
- Replaced the old imported-student limits with Teachable's current usage fee: each school includes 100 students added without a paid checkout, then $0.50 per student per month on every plan. This applies to schools created on or after Sep 3, 2026. Older schools keep legacy fees until their first renewal on or after Apr 30, 2027.
- The score and verdict are unchanged.
SOURCES (CHECKED OCT 31, 2026)
| Claim | Source URL | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Plans, prices and plan limits in the pricing table: Starter $39/mo or $29/mo billed annually (7.5% fee, 5 products), Builder $89 or $69 (0%, 10 products), Growth $189 or $139 (0%, 50 products, 5 admins), Custom by quote; 7-day free trial, 30-day guarantee; unlimited students who buy through Teachable checkout | https://teachable.com/pricing | 2026-10-31 |
| Usage fees: 100 students added without a paid checkout included per school, then $0.50 per student per month on every plan, for schools created on or after Sep 3, 2026; legacy imported-student fees over plan limits ($1.50, $1.00, $0.75 a month on Starter, Builder, Growth) until the first renewal on or after Apr 30, 2027 (page updated Sep 28, 2026) | https://www.teachable.com/legal/usage-fees | 2026-10-31 |
| Starter 7.5% plan fee; Teachable Payments US domestic cards 2.9% + $0.30; Standard bundle +0.5% where tax is assessed and +0.7% on recurring charges; Global bundle +2.8% | https://support.teachable.com/en/articles/15661316-understand-your-transaction-fees-and-bundles | 2026-10-31 |
| Official product site | https://teachable.com | 2026-10-19 |
| Terms of Use (last updated 04/20/2026): User Content licence and Section 8.2 third-party AI providers | https://www.teachable.com/terms-of-use (curl and Chrome) | 2026-11-07 |
| PLAN | PRICE | WHAT YOU GET |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $39 /mo monthly or $29 /mo billed annually | 7.5% transaction fee, 5 products, 1 admin, no affiliate program |
| Builder | $89 /mo monthly or $69 /mo billed annually | 0% transaction fee, 10 products, 1 admin, integrated affiliate program |
| Growth | $189 /mo monthly or $139 /mo billed annually | 0% transaction fee, 50 products, 5 admins, integrated affiliate program |
| Custom | contact sales | 0% transaction fee, custom product count, flexible admin seats |
Creators launching structured paid courses.
You want cohort-based live courses or deep community features baked in. — if that's a dealbreaker, see every monetization tool we've reviewed.
- Is Teachable worth it in 2026?
A reliable, unglamorous course platform that gets out of the way and lets you sell. We rate it 7.4/10, and it's the strongest pick for creators launching structured paid courses.
- How much does Teachable cost?
Teachable lists Starter at $39/mo ($29/mo billed annually) with a 7.5% transaction fee, Builder at $89/mo ($69/mo annually) and Growth at $189/mo ($139/mo annually) with 0% transaction fees, plus a Custom plan through sales. There is a 7-day free trial, no free plan. List prices change often, so confirm with the vendor before you buy.
- What are the downsides of Teachable?
The 7.5% transaction fee on the Starter plan adds up. Limited community/cohort features. Customization of the storefront is fairly rigid.
- How did BestCreates review Teachable?
Editorially reviewed: An editorial evaluation of verified product information, official documentation, pricing and features, informed by Carlos Gil's professional experience. Available demos and screenshots may inform the review; documented product use is required for a hands-on label. The score is relative to the other tools we cover in this category.
A reliable, unglamorous course platform that gets out of the way and lets you sell.
Editorially reviewed. An editorial evaluation of verified product information, official documentation, pricing and features, informed by Carlos Gil's professional experience. Available demos and screenshots may inform the review; documented product use is required for a hands-on label. Read our review standards.
BestCreates is written and edited by Carlos Gil. Every tool is assessed against the same documented framework — the jobs creators hire it for, ease of use, pricing accuracy, support and integrations — and each review states in the open how it was assessed.
LAST UPDATED OCT 31, 2026
SIGNED BY CARLOS GIL · FOUNDER & EDITOR, THE BEST NETWORK · OUR DISCLOSURE POLICY