Teachable keeps the core job of a course platform simple: build lessons, set a price, and get paid, without a steep setup curve getting in the way. The platform has built its reputation on a clean course builder and reliable checkout, making it a popular first stop for creators selling their first digital course.
Plans start at $39 a month, dropping to $29 a month billed annually, and Teachable backs new signups with a 7-day free trial and a 30-day guarantee.
Who is Teachable?
Teachable has been one of the standard names in online course hosting since the mid-2010s, built around the idea that creators shouldn’t need technical skills to turn knowledge into a sellable product. The platform is now part of Hotmart, a larger digital-products company, giving it backing while keeping its focus on course creators and coaches.
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Where some competitors have expanded into full marketing suites, Teachable has stayed closer to its original strength: a clean, dependable course builder and checkout experience that creators can set up quickly without a long onboarding process.
That focus has made Teachable a common first platform for creators testing whether a course idea will actually sell, since the setup overhead is low enough to go from idea to a live, sellable course in a single afternoon rather than a multi-week project.
What Teachable does best
A handful of strengths explain why Teachable remains a go-to choice for creators launching their first course.
A genuinely simple course builder
Creating lessons, quizzes, and modules is built to be approachable for non-technical creators, with a clean editor that doesn’t require design or development skills to produce a polished course. Most first-time creators report publishing their initial course within days rather than weeks, since there’s no theme to configure or page builder to learn before content can go live.
0% transaction fees past the entry plan
Unlike many entry-level course tools, Builder, Growth, and Custom plans charge no platform transaction fee on sales, so revenue isn’t quietly eaten by per-sale commissions as a course scales.
AI-assisted content creation
Built-in AI tools help speed up drafting lesson outlines, quizzes, and course copy, cutting down the time it takes to go from an idea to a published course.
Global payments and mobile apps
Every plan supports global payment processing and mobile apps for students, so courses are sellable and accessible internationally from day one.
Built-in upsells and cart recovery
Order bumps, upsells, and abandoned-cart recovery are included from the entry plan, giving even a first-time creator a few of the revenue tools that would otherwise require a separate checkout app.
Products and pricing at a glance
Teachable runs four plans, scaling on product limits, transaction fees, and support options.
| Plan | Price | Transaction fee | Key limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $39/mo ($29/mo annually) | 7.5% | 5 products, AI tools, mobile apps |
| Builder | $89/mo ($69/mo annually) | 0%* | 10 products, affiliate program, real-time support |
| Growth | $189/mo ($139/mo annually) | 0%* | 50 products, certificates, white-label options |
| Custom | Contact sales | 0%* | Dedicated success manager, priority support |
*Standard payment-processing fees still apply (around 2.9% + 30 cents for US cards, more internationally or via PayPal). A 7-day free trial and 30-day guarantee apply across plans, making it easy to test before committing, and there’s no long-term contract locking a creator into a tier they’ve outgrown.
What creators say
Teachable has built a long track record among course creators, and feedback consistently highlights how quickly a new user can go from signing up to publishing a first course without getting stuck on technical setup. The checkout experience in particular draws praise, with creators noting that global payment support and a straightforward cart process make selling internationally far less complicated than building a custom solution.
Creators who’ve compared Teachable against heavier all-in-one platforms often mention choosing it specifically because they didn’t need the extra marketing-automation layer — just a dependable place to host and sell a course without paying for tools they wouldn’t use.
Support responsiveness is another recurring theme, with Builder-plan and above users specifically calling out real-time support as a meaningful upgrade over the slower ticket queues some competing platforms rely on.
Who Teachable is best for
Teachable is an excellent fit for solo creators and coaches who want to launch a course quickly without a steep learning curve, especially those who already have their own email and marketing tools and don’t need an all-in-one platform. The Builder plan’s 0% transaction fee makes it a particularly strong value once a course starts generating consistent sales, and the AI-assisted content tools help first-time creators get past a blank page faster.
It’s a lighter fit for creators who specifically want native email marketing, a CRM, or built-in community tools bundled into the same subscription — for that, a broader all-in-one platform may be worth the higher price.
Price and value
At $29 a month on the annual Starter plan, Teachable is priced accessibly for a first course, and moving up to Builder at $69 a month annually removes the transaction fee entirely — a calculation worth running as soon as course sales pick up. Compared to platforms that bundle in marketing tools at a much higher price point, Teachable stays a cost-efficient choice for creators who just need reliable course hosting, and the 7-day trial plus 30-day guarantee leave little financial risk in testing it first.
Verdict
Teachable’s clean builder, dependable checkout, and fee-free growth plans make it one of the easiest ways to get a first course selling without unnecessary complexity, and it scales cleanly as that course turns into a real catalog.
Frequently asked questions
For creators who want a clean, reliable place to host and sell courses without a steep learning curve, Teachable is a strong value, especially on the Builder plan where transaction fees drop to 0%.
The entry Starter plan carries a 7.5% transaction fee, while Builder, Growth, and Custom plans charge 0% beyond standard payment-processor fees.
Yes, Teachable offers a 7-day free trial along with a 30-day guarantee, giving new users time to test the platform risk-free.
The Starter plan supports 5 products, Builder supports 10, and Growth expands to 50 products, with Custom plans built for larger catalogs.
Yes, course completion certificates are available starting on the Growth plan, along with white-label options and custom permissions.
Kajabi bundles in email marketing and a CRM as part of a broader all-in-one platform, while Teachable stays more focused on course hosting and checkout at a lower starting price.
Beyond the plan's transaction fee, standard card processing runs 2.9% + 30 cents for US cards and 3.9% + 30 cents internationally, plus separate PayPal rates.
Solo creators and coaches who want a dependable, easy-to-use course platform without needing the full marketing-automation suite that comes with heavier all-in-one tools.
