Teachable
Build, sell, and grow your own online courses and coaching business.
By Sher Min · Co-founder · Editorial & Technical SEO
Quick Verdict
Teachable is a course creation and sales platform — not a learner marketplace. If you want to build and sell your own online courses, coaching packages, or digital downloads, Teachable gives you a clean, fast setup with solid built-in payment processing. The honest caveat: the entry-level Starter plan charges a 7.5% transaction fee on every sale. Move to Builder ($69/mo billed annually) to eliminate that fee. Suited to creators who are serious about monetising their expertise, not learners looking for courses to take.
Teachable is a course-creation platform — you build your own courses and sell them to your own students. It is not a learner marketplace like Udemy or Coursera, and it does not offer a catalogue of courses for learners to browse. If you are an entrepreneur, coach, or subject-matter expert who wants to package your knowledge and sell it online, Teachable provides the tools to build the course, host it, handle payments globally, and issue completion certificates to your students. Used by 150,000+ creators across 180 countries who have collectively generated over $10 billion in sales (combined with parent company Hotmart), it is one of the most established independent course-hosting platforms available. The pricing model is creator-centric: plans are priced around the size of your student base and the number of products you sell, not the number of courses you can take.
Our Rating
8.2/10
Pricing
Starter $39/mo · Builder $69/mo (annual) · Growth $139/mo (annual)
Best For
Entrepreneurs, coaches, and creators building their own course-based business
Category
Courses
Key Facts
| Tool | Teachable |
| Company | Teachable (part of Hotmart Company) |
| Type | Course creation platform (not a learner marketplace) |
| Best for | Creators, coaches, and entrepreneurs selling their own online courses |
| Starting price | Starter $39/mo or $29/mo billed annually; 7.5% transaction fee on Starter |
| No transaction fees | Builder plan and above ($69/mo annually) |
| Certificates | Creator-issued completion certificates to students (not accredited degrees) |
| Last verified | June 30, 2026 |
Pros & Cons
What works
- Clean, fast course builder — drag-and-drop content organisation, video hosting, quizzes, and drip scheduling included
- Built-in payment processing — accepts global payments without requiring a third-party gateway setup
- Creators issue their own branded completion certificates to students — white-labelled on paid plans
- AI creation tools included across all plans — generate outlines, quizzes, and translated subtitles
- Coaching, digital downloads, and membership products supported alongside courses
- Mobile apps (iOS and Android) give students access on any device
What doesn't
- 7.5% transaction fee on every sale at the Starter tier — significant at scale; moves to $0 on Builder and above
- Starter plan limits you to 5 products and 100 active students — restrictive for growing businesses
- Platform is for creators selling courses, not for learners looking for a course catalogue to browse
- Certificates are creator-issued completion records — not accredited qualifications
- Advanced analytics and custom permissions are only available on Growth ($189/mo) and above
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $39/mo (or $29/mo billed annually) | First-time creators launching their first product — note the 7.5% transaction fee on all sales |
| Builder | $89/mo (or $69/mo billed annually) | Creators ready to scale past 5 products or 100 students — 0% transaction fees, 10 products, 1,000 active students |
| Growth | $189/mo (or $139/mo billed annually) | Established course businesses needing affiliate program, 50 products, 5,000 active students |
| Advanced | $399/mo (or $309/mo billed annually) | High-volume creators with 100 products and up to 10,000 active students |
| Enterprise (Core) | From $6,000/year | Organisations deploying internal training with SSO, dedicated account management |
Who It's For
Purpose-built for packaging and selling your own courses — clean UX, built-in payments, and creator-first tools
Supports one-on-one and group coaching alongside courses — useful if your offer mixes live and recorded content
Teachable is not a learner marketplace — you cannot browse or buy courses on teachable.com; you access a specific creator's school
Enterprise plans exist but purpose-built LMS platforms (Thinkific Plus, TalentLMS) are usually better fit for large org training
Supports digital downloads and memberships in addition to courses — solid if bundling multiple product types
How It Compares
| Dimension | Teachable | Thinkific | Udemy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transaction Fees | 7.5% (Starter) / 0% (Builder+) | 2.9% (Thinkific Payments) | N/A (marketplace, not creator platform) |
| Course Builder UX | Excellent | Excellent | N/A |
| Student Limit (entry) | 100 active students (Starter) | 10,000 students (all plans) | N/A |
| Certificates | Creator-issued completion certificates | Creator-issued on Start and above | Completion certificates (not accredited) |
| Type | Course creation platform | Course creation platform | Learner marketplace |
Our Rating
Our Verdict
Teachable earns an 8.2 rating as a well-designed, creator-focused platform for building and selling online courses. The 8.8 on UX reflects a genuinely clean course-building and student management experience. The 7.8 on Value reflects a real friction point: the 7.5% transaction fee on the Starter plan is meaningful at any real sales volume, and the 100-active-student cap is restrictive for a growing business. Upgrading to Builder at $69/month annually removes both constraints and is the more honest starting point for a creator serious about monetisation. The 7.5 on Certification reflects the nature of the product: certificates here are creator-issued completion records — suitable for signalling course completion to your students, but not accredited qualifications. Use Teachable if you are a creator selling your own expertise. Use Udemy or Coursera if you are a learner looking for a course catalogue to learn from.
Visit TeachableFrequently Asked Questions
Is Teachable a marketplace where I can buy courses?
No — Teachable is a platform for creators to build and sell their own courses. It is not a learner marketplace like Udemy. As a learner, you cannot browse courses on teachable.com; you access a specific creator's school through their individual link. If you are looking for a catalogue of courses to browse and buy, Udemy or Coursera are the appropriate platforms.
Does Teachable charge transaction fees?
Yes, on the Starter plan: 7.5% per sale. This is significant if your courses are priced at $100+ and you are doing meaningful volume. The fee drops to 0% on Builder ($69/mo billed annually) and all higher plans. For any creator who expects to generate real revenue, Builder is the more practical starting point despite the higher monthly cost.
Do Teachable certificates have any formal value?
Teachable certificates are completion records issued by the course creator — not accredited qualifications. The creator designs and issues them to students who complete the course. They signal course completion but carry no formal academic or industry accreditation. If a recognised credential is your goal, Coursera (university-backed Professional Certificates) or edX (MicroMasters, Professional Certificates) are more appropriate platforms.
Teachable vs Thinkific — which course creation platform is better?
Both are strong course creation platforms. The key differences: Teachable charges 7.5% transaction fees on its Starter plan (0% from Builder); Thinkific charges 2.9% on its built-in payment processor but no per-transaction fee on its plans beyond that. Thinkific's entry plans also allow up to 10,000 students without the 100-student cap Teachable's Starter imposes. Feature parity is broadly similar — the right choice typically comes down to pricing structure and which UX you find more intuitive after a free trial.
Is Teachable good for beginners?
Yes for first-time course creators — the course builder is clean and the onboarding is approachable. The honest caveat is that the Starter plan's 7.5% transaction fee and 100-student cap mean you will likely outgrow it quickly if your course gains traction. Budget for Builder ($69/mo billed annually) as your practical starting plan once you are ready to sell seriously.
How many creators use Teachable?
Teachable reports 150,000+ creators using the platform across 180 countries. Combined with parent company Hotmart's network, creators have generated over $10 billion in sales — though Hotmart's Brazilian market is a significant portion of that figure. These figures were reported on Teachable's website as of June 2026.
Ready to try Teachable?
Visit TeachableSources Checked