Teachable

Teachable positions itself as the platform for experts who take education seriously. The numbers bear that out: more than 100 million students have taken courses on Teachable, more than 150,000 educators and businesses use it, and creators on Teachable have earned over $10 billion collectively. Operating in 180 countries, the platform is engineered to handle the complexity of global education at scale, which shapes its feature set and philosophy. Teachable is built for instructors who want to reach large audiences and manage the operational complexity that comes with that growth.

The core of Teachable is the course builder. You create courses with video lessons, audio, images, text, and downloadable resources. Quizzes test student understanding at key points and can trigger branching logic (different paths based on quiz results). The platform includes drip-release scheduling, letting you control when students access each lesson, which works well for paced cohort courses or for spacing out student engagement over time. Student progress tracking shows instructors exactly where students are in the course, how long they spend on each lesson, and which questions give them trouble. Mobile apps on iOS and Android let students learn on their phones, and Teachable reports that the mobile-native experience improves completion rates by about 40% compared to browser-only access. Unlimited video hosting is included on the higher pricing tiers, and international creators benefit from Teachable's automatic subtitle and translation features, which generate captions and translations in 70+ languages. This infrastructure is particularly valuable for instructors selling to audiences across multiple countries without doing translation work manually.

Beyond courses, Teachable supports memberships for recurring revenue. A membership charges subscribers regularly (monthly, quarterly, or annually) for ongoing access to your content library and any new materials you release. You can tier memberships at different price points with different access levels. The platform integrates membership payments into the same dashboard where course payments live, so you are managing one income stream rather than multiple payment sources.

Coaching and one-on-one services can be sold through Teachable as well, though the platform is less specialized in this area than some competitors. You can create coaching packages, schedule sessions, and process payments, though you would likely use a third-party calendar tool like Calendly for scheduling rather than native booking.

Teachable also sells digital downloads: templates, guides, workbooks, spreadsheets, audio files, or any asset you want to deliver digitally as a one-time purchase. Downloads can be bundled with courses or sold standalone, and there is no per-download limit.

The affiliate program built into Teachable lets students and partners earn commissions by referring customers. You set the commission rate, and referrers get a unique tracking link. The platform handles tracking and payouts automatically, which can meaningfully extend your reach if you have an audience of people motivated to refer.

Pricing on Teachable is structured around student count rather than feature limits. The Starter plan costs $39 per month and allows 5 products (courses, downloads, memberships, or coaching packages) and 100 active students. It carries a 7.5% Teachable transaction fee on top of payment processor fees. Moving to the Builder plan at $89 per month removes the Teachable transaction fee entirely, doubles the product limit to 10, and allows up to 1,000 active students. The Growth plan at $189 per month (marked as "Popular" on the site) eliminates transaction fees, allows 50 products and 5,000 active students, and adds features like white-label options and custom permissions. An Enterprise tier at Custom pricing serves high-volume organizations with dedicated support. Teachable also offers annual billing, which saves 22% over monthly: the three main tiers cost $29, $69, and $139 per month respectively when paid yearly. Payment processor fees on top of Teachable's tier fees are 2.9% plus 30 cents for U.S. credit cards and 3.9% plus 30 cents for international cards. There is also a $15 chargeback fee. Like all plans, Teachable includes a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can test the platform with real content before committing.

Teachable's international payment infrastructure is designed for global operations. The platform handles tax compliance across 45+ countries, which saves educators from manually calculating and filing taxes on sales. It supports 35+ local payment methods and 140+ currencies, so students can pay in their own currency and local method. The "Buy Now, Pay Later" option (powered by Affirm or similar providers) lets students split payments, which can increase conversion for higher-priced courses. Tax-inclusive pricing handles the differences in how VAT works across regions, so you can set one price and Teachable automatically calculates what to charge in each location.

The AI tools built into Teachable help course creators save time. You can generate course outlines and overviews in seconds rather than starting from scratch. The quiz generator helps you create assessments quickly. Automatic subtitle and translation features mean a course filmed in one language can be captioned and translated into dozens more without hiring translators. For creators building multiple courses or constantly refreshing content, this automation meaningfully reduces the work.

One meaningful limitation of Teachable is that the platform does not publish minimum payout amounts, payout schedules, or withdrawal methods. The company does not specify how often creators get paid or which payment methods are available for withdrawals. This is a gap if you are evaluating based on cash flow or payment reliability; you would need to contact Teachable directly to understand payout timing and methods before relying on the platform for income.

Teachable works best for educators building courses intended for large audiences. The mobile-first design, international payment infrastructure, and AI-powered content tools are all built to support scale. If you are teaching a highly specialized topic to a small number of students, or if you prioritize simplicity over features, you might find Teachable over-featured. But for established educators who want to scale existing knowledge to thousands of students globally, with the operational tooling to manage that growth, Teachable is a mature platform with proven results. The $10 billion in creator earnings is not just marketing language; it reflects years of educators building real income on this platform. The 100+ million student base means the system is stress-tested at a scale few alternatives can claim. For instructors serious about education as a primary income source, Teachable deserves consideration.