Best Teachable Alternatives for Selling Online Courses

People who look for a way off a course platform usually have students already, and a fee line on every payout that has started to look large. This page is for course creators comparing what they would pay elsewhere before they move a single student.

If Teachable's 7.5% Starter fee is the problem, the cheapest fix may be Teachable's own Builder plan, which drops the fee to 0% for $89 a month. If you want to leave, Thinkific and LearnWorlds are the closest course-first platforms, Podia and Kajabi add a website and email, and Systeme.io or Payhip cost the least for a first course.

This is a comparison of published features and prices from each company's own pages. Each product's prices sit under its section with the month they were checked and a source link. For the steps before choosing a platform (topic, demand and price), see our course creation guide.

What does Teachable cost?

• Starter: $39 a month, or $29 a month billed yearly, 5 products, 7.5% transaction fee
• Builder: $89 a month, or $69 billed yearly, 10 products, 0% transaction fee
• Growth: $189 a month, or $139 billed yearly, 50 products, 0% transaction fee
• The 0% applies with Teachable Payments; standard payment processing fees may still apply
• 7-day free trial and a 30-day guarantee

Prices as of November 2026, from Teachable's pricing page.

Two lines drive most departures. Starter charges 7.5% of every sale and caps you at 5 products. Builder removes the fee, and costs $50 more a month ($40 more billed yearly), so it is the cheaper plan once you sell about $667 a month, or $533 billed yearly. Below that, Starter's fee costs less than the upgrade.

Teachable's strengths are worth weighing before you leave. It handles US sales tax, VAT and GST through Teachable Payments, includes iOS and Android apps for students and upsells with cart recovery on every plan, and adds an affiliate program from Builder up.

Teachable alternatives compared

One creator selling 20 copies of a $99 course a month ($1,980 in revenue). The last column adds the plan, the platform's own fees and card processing, which we assumed at 2.9% + 30 cents on every platform ($63 on 20 sales).

All figures are our arithmetic from the published rates. At this size, staying on Teachable and moving up to Builder is cheaper than every alternative here except Systeme.io.

1. Thinkific: the like-for-like course platform

Thinkific is a course platform first, like Teachable, with its own payments product and a branded mobile app as an add-on.

• Start: $109 a month, or $82 a month billed yearly
• Grow: $219 a month, or $164 a month billed yearly
• Expand: $499 a month, or $374 a month billed yearly
• Thinkific Payments: 2.9%; using Stripe or PayPal adds a third-party gateway fee by plan
• No free plan; a 30-day free trial instead

Prices as of November 2026, from Thinkific's pricing page.

Who it suits: creators who want a course-first platform with no percentage on sales at any level. Start billed yearly is $82 a month, $13 more than Teachable Builder billed yearly.

Who should skip it: anyone who wanted to escape fees cheaply. On the numbers above, Thinkific Start costs more than Teachable Builder, so move for the features you need rather than for price. There is no free plan; the trial lasts 30 days.

2. LearnWorlds: for training with assessments and certificates

LearnWorlds is built for structured training: an AI course builder and quizzes on every plan, certificates and up to 20 SCORM uploads from Pro Trainer, and a built-in community.

• Starter: $49 a month, or $44 billed yearly, plus $5 per paid course enrollment
• Pro Trainer: $99 a month, or $79 billed yearly, no enrollment fees
• Learning Center: $299 a month, or $249 billed yearly, no enrollment fees
• You sell through your own Stripe or PayPal account, which charges its own fees

Prices as of November 2026, from LearnWorlds's pricing page.

Who it suits: trainers who sell certification-style courses, corporate training or programmes that need assessments. Pro Trainer has no enrollment fees and allows 2,000 active learners a month.

Who should skip it: sellers of one low-priced course. Starter's $5 per paid enrollment is 25% of a $20 course. The learner caps (1,000 active learners a month on Starter, 2,000 on Pro Trainer) matter if you run large free courses.

3. Kajabi: when you want the website and email too

Kajabi bundles courses with a website, unlimited landing pages, funnels, marketing emails and a community, and takes no revenue share beyond card processing.

• Basic: $179 a month, or $143 a month billed yearly ($1,716), 5 products, 2,500 contacts
• Growth: $249 a month, or $199 billed yearly ($2,388), 50 products, 25,000 contacts
• Pro: $499 a month, or $399 billed yearly ($4,788), unlimited products, 100,000 contacts
• Kajabi Payments (US): 2.9% + 30 cents on Basic, 2.8% on Growth, 2.7% on Pro
• Outside processor other than PayPal: 2% extra on Basic, 1% on Growth, 0.5% on Pro
• 14-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee

Prices as of November 2026, from Kajabi's pricing page.

Who it suits: creators who also pay for a website builder and an email tool alongside Teachable. Kajabi Basic billed yearly ($143) replaces all three, so compare it with your combined bills, not with Teachable alone.

Who should skip it: creators who only need the course. On course revenue alone, Kajabi Basic costs more than Teachable Builder at every size, because both charge no platform percentage and Kajabi's plan is $90 a month more ($74 billed yearly). Our Kajabi alternatives page covers the other direction.

4. Podia: courses plus downloads and coaching

Podia sells courses, downloads, coaching, events and a community from one site with a blog and built-in checkout.

• Mover: $49 a month, or $42 a month billed yearly ($504), with a 5% transaction fee
• Shaker: $99 a month, or $84 a month billed yearly ($1,008), no Podia transaction fee
• Earthquaker: $179 a month, or $150 a month billed yearly ($1,800), no Podia transaction fee
• Stripe or PayPal charge their own processing fee on every plan
• 14-day free trial, no card needed; no free plan

Prices as of November 2026, from Podia's pricing page.

Who it suits: creators who sell a course next to templates, ebooks or coaching calls. Shaker, at $84 a month billed yearly, has no Podia fee and lets one store carry all of it.

Who should skip it: course-only sellers who need certificates or SCORM, who should check Podia's course features against LearnWorlds first. Mover's 5% fee is cheaper than Shaker's extra $50 only below $1,000 a month in sales.

5. Systeme.io: the cheapest way to run a first course

Systeme.io combines courses with funnels, email marketing and a blog, with no transaction fee on any plan and a free plan that does not expire.

• Free: $0, never expires, 2,000 contacts and 1 course
• Startup: $17 a month, 5,000 contacts and 5 courses
• Webinar: $47 a month, 10,000 contacts and 20 courses
• Unlimited: $97 a month, unlimited contacts and courses
• 0% transaction fee on every plan; Stripe or PayPal processing applies; yearly billing gives 2 months free

Prices as of November 2026, from Systeme.io's pricing page.

Who it suits: first-time course creators testing whether anyone will buy, and creators who sell through email sequences. The free plan covers 1 course and 2,000 contacts. At $1,980 a month, Startup comes to $80 with processing, the lowest on this page.

Who should skip it: creators who care most about the student-side course experience. Compare its course features plan by plan against Teachable's before moving a paying audience.

6. Payhip: a course in a download store

Payhip sells courses, digital downloads, coaching and memberships with every feature on every plan, and collects digital VAT and sales tax for you.

• Free Forever: $0 a month plus a 5% transaction fee
• Pro: $99 a month, no transaction fee
• All features on both plans, unlimited products and revenue
• Stripe or PayPal charge their standard processing fees on every plan
• Collects and remits EU and UK VAT and US and Canadian sales tax on digital sales

Prices as of November 2026, from Payhip's pricing page.

Who it suits: creators who mostly sell downloads and have one course among them, and anyone who wants no monthly bill until sales arrive. The free plan's 5% fee matches Podia Mover's without the $49.

Who should skip it: creators building a course business. Payhip is a store with courses in it. Above about $1,980 a month, its free plan's 5% costs more than its $99 Pro plan, which removes the fee.

How to choose

• You like Teachable and only hate the fee: move up to Builder once you sell about $667 a month. It is the cheapest fix on this page for most course sellers past that point.
• You need assessments, SCORM or certificates: LearnWorlds Pro Trainer, or Teachable Growth for certificates.
• You also pay for a website and an email tool: price Kajabi Basic or Podia Shaker against the combined bills.
• You are testing a first course: Systeme.io's free plan, then Startup at $17.
• You sell downloads with a course on the side: Payhip or Podia.

Before you move, export your student list and check whether the new platform can import students with their progress, and whether active subscriptions or payment plans can move. Several platforms above offer migration help.