The creator economy is booming, and monetizing your knowledge through online courses is one of the most powerful ways to build a business. But the technical hurdles of hosting video, building a website, and processing payments can be daunting.
Teachable aims to eliminate these barriers. It’s an all-in-one platform that provides everything you need to create, market, and sell your own online courses and digital products. Known for its user-friendly interface, it’s a popular choice for first-time creators.
But is it the right platform for you in 2025? In this detailed Teachable review, we’ll analyze its features, pricing, and how it stacks up against the competition.
What is Teachable?
Teachable is a hosted online course platform. This means it handles all the technical heavy lifting including hosting your website and content, providing a course player for students, and managing payment processing. You don’t need to worry about servers, plugins, or security.
Founded in 2014 and now part of the Hotmart ecosystem, Teachable empowers you to sell not just courses, but also coaching services and digital downloads. You can even use a tool from our Designrr review to create the eBooks and lead magnets you plan to sell.
Key Features: A Creator’s Toolkit
Let’s break down the core features that Teachable offers.
1. Course Creation & Student Experience
Teachable’s drag-and-drop course builder is its standout feature. You can easily structure your course into sections and lectures, and upload various content types, including videos, PDFs, audio, and text. Key features include:
- Drip Content: Release course modules over time to guide students and prevent content overwhelm.
- Quizzes: Create simple multiple-choice quizzes to test student knowledge.
- Course Completion Certificates: Automatically issue certificates to students who finish your course (available on paid plans).
2. Website & Page Building
Every Teachable account comes with a website for your “school.” You can create key pages like a homepage, about page, and, most importantly, sales pages for your courses. The page builder is simple and block-based, allowing you to create professional-looking pages without any code.
3. Sales & Marketing Tools
Getting students is just as important as creating the course. Teachable provides built-in tools to help you sell:
- Coupons & Discounts: Create flexible discount codes to run promotions.
- Order Bumps: Offer an additional, related product on the checkout page to increase the average order value.
- Affiliate Marketing: Recruit partners from the top affiliate marketing programs to promote your course in exchange for a commission, all managed within Teachable.
- Integrated Email Marketing: While Teachable allows you to send basic broadcasts, many creators integrate it with one of the best email marketing tools for more advanced automation and segmentation.
4. Monetization & Payments
Teachable makes getting paid simple. You can offer various pricing options:
- One-time payments
- Payment plans
- Recurring subscriptions
With Teachable Payments, their native payment gateway, you can accept payments via credit/debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay without needing to set up your own separate Stripe or PayPal account.
Teachable Pricing
Teachable’s pricing has a crucial detail to consider: transaction fees.
| Plan | Price (Annual Billing) | Transaction Fees | Key Features |
| Free | $0/month | 10% + $1 per transaction | 1 published course, 1 admin user |
| Basic | $39/month | 5% per transaction | Unlimited courses, 5 products, custom domain |
| Pro | $119/month | 0% per transaction | Unlimited products, affiliate marketing, certificates |
| Pro+ | $199/month | 0% per transaction | 25 admin users, advanced customization |
Expert Take: The Free and Basic plans are excellent for validating your course idea. However, the transaction fees can add up quickly. Once you start making consistent sales, upgrading to the Pro plan is a financially smart move, as the savings from the 0% transaction fee will often cover the higher subscription cost.
Teachable vs. Thinkific: A Quick Comparison
Thinkific is Teachable’s closest competitor. Here’s how they stack up on key points:
| Feature | Teachable | Thinkific | Winner |
| Free Plan | 10% transaction fee | 0% transaction fee | Thinkific |
| Ease of Use | Extremely beginner-friendly | Very user-friendly, slightly more options | Teachable (for simplicity) |
| Sales Tools | Built-in order bumps, affiliate marketing | Requires app integrations for some features | Teachable |
| Site Design | Simple, clean templates | More advanced site design flexibility | Thinkific |
Who is Teachable Best For?
- First-Time Course Creators: Teachable’s simplicity and all-in-one nature make it the easiest platform to get started with.
- Creative Professionals: Artists, musicians, and designers who want to focus on creating content, not on tech.
- Coaches and Consultants: The platform makes it easy to sell coaching sessions alongside courses and digital downloads.
- Anyone Prioritizing Speed to Market: You can go from idea to a fully functional, sellable course faster on Teachable than on almost any other platform.
Final Verdict: Is Teachable Worth It in 2025?
Yes, for the right person. Teachable is arguably the most user-friendly and fastest way to create and sell your first online course. It removes technical friction and provides all the essential tools you need in one clean package.
While power users might eventually explore other Teachable alternatives for more advanced features, the platform’s focus on simplicity is its greatest strength. The platform’s free plan provides a no-risk way to build your course, and its paid plans offer a scalable path to grow your knowledge business.
If you want to transform your expertise into income without getting lost in technology, Teachable is an excellent place to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use my own domain name with Teachable?
Yes, you can connect a custom domain on all paid plans (e.g.,
courses.yourwebsite.com).Does Teachable handle EU VAT taxes?
Yes, if you use Teachable Payments, Teachable will automatically collect and remit EU VAT taxes on your behalf, which is a huge administrative relief.
Who owns the content I upload to Teachable?
You do. You retain 100% ownership of all the content you create and upload to the Teachable platform.
