Teachable Review
Still the fastest way to publish a paid course, now without the free plan
Overview
Teachable is a course-hosting platform for creators and coaches who want a paid course or coaching product online quickly, with checkout, basic quizzes, and student management ready out of the box. In 2025 it eliminated its long-running free plan and restructured into a Starter/Builder/Growth ladder, with Starter still carrying a 7.5% transaction fee that only disappears on higher tiers. It trades some of the marketing depth of competitors like Kajabi for a noticeably faster setup process.
Who It's For
First-time course creators and coaches who want to publish and sell fast without wading through configuration.
Who Should Pass
Creators who want email marketing, funnels, and community features bundled into one platform should look at Kajabi instead.
Key Features
- Best for creators who want a first course live within a day, not a week of configuration
- Best for coaching businesses that need quizzes, completion certificates, and native affiliates without Zapier duct tape
- Best for sellers who'll outgrow the transaction fee quickly, since Builder and Growth drop it to 0%
Benchmarks
Scored against category peers using our standard 1–5 depth scales.
Works well for single-instructor businesses; scaling past Growth's limits pushes you to a custom-quote plan
Pros & Cons
What Works
- Course and checkout setup is the fastest among major platforms — a live course in under an hour is realistic
- Native engagement tools (compliance certificates, quizzes, discussions) beat Thinkific's baseline feature set
- Builder and Growth tiers remove transaction fees entirely, unlike many competitors' entry-level plans
What Doesn't
- The free plan is gone; Starter now costs $39/month and still carries a 7.5% transaction fee, an unusual combination
- Marketing automation and email sequencing are thinner than Kajabi's, so most sellers pair it with a separate ESP
- Community and cohort features remain more limited than platforms built around them, like Circle or Kajabi
Pricing
7-day free trial on every paid plan plus a 30-day money-back guarantee; the permanent free plan was discontinued in Teachable's 2025 pricing overhaul
7-day free trial on every paid plan plus a 30-day money-back guarantee; the permanent free plan was discontinued in Teachable's 2025 pricing overhaul via TechStack Authority
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Alternatives
Final Verdict
Teachable is still the quickest path from idea to a published, sellable course, but losing the free plan while keeping a 7.5% fee on Starter makes the entry tier a tougher sell than it used to be.