Teachable
Online course platform for creators and entrepreneurs
What it does
Teachable is a hosted course and coaching platform. Upload videos, set prices, publish a course, take payments, and Teachable handles the student portal, checkout, tax, and drip scheduling. Coaching sessions, digital downloads, and bundles are supported. It's the "just launch the course" pick for creators who don't want to run a Kajabi-tier all-in-one or wire together a WordPress plugin stack. Native affiliate program, quizzes and certificates, and a decent authoring editor.
Free tier
Yes
Starts at
$39/mo
Setup
easy
Key features
Integrates with
Zapier, Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Google Analytics
Who this fits
- Solo course creators and coaches launching their first paid program
- Consultants and coaches turning a signature framework into an evergreen offer
- Small teams selling niche training (real estate agents training brokers, trades certifications)
- Creators who want checkout + course + affiliate in one place without a site build
- Businesses adding a course as a secondary revenue stream, not the whole business
Who it does NOT fit
- Course businesses that want the entire funnel (site, email, community, courses) in one tool (Kajabi wins)
- Enterprise L&D teams needing SCORM and SSO (Docebo, Litmos)
- High-touch cohort-based programs with live cohorts (Circle or Mighty Networks + Zoom)
- Users who need heavy design customization (Thinkific's builder is more flexible)
- Businesses that already have a full website and just need a checkout gate on video (MemberSpace)
Pricing
Real gotchas
- Free plan's 10% transaction fee is a soft trap. Almost nobody should be on it past testing
- Payment processing runs through Teachable Payments (Stripe rails, ~2.9% + $0.30). No direct Stripe on Basic
- Affiliate program is Pro-tier only
- Email marketing is functional but not the reason to pick Teachable. Keep a real ESP
- Community features are lightweight compared to Circle or Mighty Networks
- Custom design is CSS-injection light. Not Webflow-caliber freedom
- Sales tax collection (US, EU VAT) requires third-party or Pro+ features
Integrations that matter
Otto’s take on this tool
Recommend Teachable when: user is a solo creator, coach, or small team; pain_point is "I want to launch a course without a tech stack"; and they don't need a full-brand website or high-touch cohort. Pairs with ConvertKit/Kit for nurture, Calendly for coaching calls, Stripe for one-offs, Circle if community matters. Do NOT recommend for creators who need one platform for site + email + course + community (Kajabi), enterprise training (Docebo), or businesses whose course is the whole business at scale (Kajabi or a custom stack). Flag transaction fees on Basic proactively.
Affiliate disclosure: if you sign up through the link above, Ottomately may earn a referral commission at no cost to you. We only feature tools we have actually used or vetted through our recommendation engine.Partnership: 30% recurring for 12 months via Impact.
Editor's curated reviews
1,101 reviews across TrustPilot - avg 3.3/5Curated by Otto from TrustPilot public reviews (fetched 2026-08-31). G2 and Capterra were consulted for aggregate context but not directly cited. Not user-submitted on Ottomately.
“After nine years with the platform, I have seen significant changes. The platform has declined in several important areas.”
TrustPilot2.0/5“Overall the product is great. I, however, would like to see more flexibility when creating a course certificate.”
TrustPilot4.0/5“I love teachable and I am very happy to have a chatbot now that can give me quick answers instead of searching help files.”
TrustPilot5.0/5“All these reviews are run by BOTS. FAKE REVIEWS. this company is a SCAM. charging you for students that don't use their payment system.”
TrustPilot1.0/5“As a course creator I spent 7 years at teachable. Poor software, skyrocketing prices, no support.”
TrustPilot1.0/5“It's like an old, powerful friend. Not one holds a candle to the power and support of Teachable.”
TrustPilot5.0/5
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