The e-learning market is booming. Since the global isolation, online education experienced a growth that has continued. For example, only in 2022, 66% of people in the US felt motivated to do virtual learning.
With the increasing demand for online courses, platforms offering proper website-building services have also diversified. Teachable, which also has a free trial, is one of those reliable and well-known names used by over 100.000 creators. However, it has limitations, such as a lack of customization options.
Stay longer if you are looking for a platform with more robust features at a lower price. We will show you 3 Teachable alternatives to selling courses like a pro in 2023.
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Teachable is a platform designed to help individuals create and sell their courses. Its user-friendly interface allows users to set up lessons without coding quickly. The platform provides essential features such as video uploading, quiz creation, and content organization.
Originally known as Fedora, Ankur Nagpal created Teachable in 2013, focusing on serving course developers. Since then, it has become one of the most popular systems for hosting online courses, offering various reasonably priced tools.
Teachable handles various aspects of course management, including server management, sales tracking, and payment processing, and offers a free trial with limited features like
When it comes to pricing, Teachable offers several plans to cater to different needs:
It's important to note that on Teachable's Basic plan, transaction fees can add up to over $100 per month for the average creator, which might be a consideration when choosing the right plan.
If you want to avoid transaction fees without paying $119/month or have additional needs, such as building a community or a custom website, Teachable may not be the ideal fit. In such cases, other platforms can better suit your requirements.
Before exploring some alternatives to Teachable, we recommend evaluating the platform to make an informed comparison and choose the best online course builder for your needs. So, here are its pros and cons:
| Pros | Cons |
| ✓ User-Friendly Interface: Teachable makes course creation hassle-free for beginners. | − Teachable has limited native integrations with third-party tools, which may require additional features. |
| ✓ Regardless of the plan, Teachable allows unlimited students, courses, and video bandwidth. | − Non-US, Canadian, and UK Basic Plan users may incur extra transaction fees when using PayPal as a payment option. |
| ✓ The platform offers a robust course builder that allows the creation and launch of online courses. | − Teachable charges transaction fees on its Basic Plan, which may impact profitability. |
| ✓ Teachable offers impressive tracking and reporting capabilities, including the Video Heatmap feature. | − The platform discontinued its free plan, offering only a trial period for testing it. |
| ✓ Building visually appealing and functional websites is easy with Teachable's drag-and-drop site builder. | − While Teachable offers customer support, it prioritizes higher-tier plan subscribers. Contacting the support team is limited to email and live chat, which is unavailable on the basic plan. |
| ✓ Teachable supports faster conversions with its one-page checkout feature, streamlining the purchasing process. | − Teachable can’t organize students into groups, which may be a drawback for some course creators. |
| ✓ Teachable provides excellent customer support, a comprehensive knowledge base, and free training programs for course creators. | − Creating and selling courses in multiple languages can be challenging on Teachable. |
| ✓ Alongside online courses, Teachable offers coaching services, expanding revenue opportunities. | − Teachable does not support importing courses created using Articulate Storyline and Adobe Captivate, limiting compatibility with certain e-learning specifications. |
| ✓ The platform enables upselling courses on the Thank You page, maximizing revenue potential. |
Now that you have been able to have a more direct approach to Teachable and you have seen what it can do and its limitations, we'll show you 3 Teachable Alternatives to create your website and manage your digital sales from one place.
Thinkific is a leading online course creation platform that empowers individuals and businesses to create, sell, and market online courses. Founded in 2012 by brothers Greg and Matt Smith, with Thinkific, you can create engaging and interactive courses using multimedia elements like videos, quizzes, and surveys to educate and captivate your students.
The platform offers a user-friendly interface, making designing and customizing courses according to your specific needs and preferences easy, and goes beyond course creation, serving as a comprehensive learning management system (LMS). It supports live interactions and virtual classrooms.
Additionally, it integrates with third-party tools such as payment gateways, email marketing platforms, and analytics tools, providing a more robust course creation and management experience.
To get started, Thinkific offers a free trial, and its paid plans start at $49 per month, coming with additional features, including:
Thinkific offers a free plan that is a fantastic option for those venturing into online course creation and sales without needing an initial financial commitment. However, it's important to note that the free plan has certain limitations.
For those seeking to expand their course offerings and reach a wider audience, the Thinkific Basic Plan is a compelling choice. With its affordable price point, this plan offers a comprehensive set of features that empower course creators to deliver a high-quality learning experience and unlock the full potential of their online courses.
Learnyst is a popular Indian Learning Management System (LMS) platform with a solid following, serving over 2000+ customers. One of its notable strengths is its wide range of payment options (Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay, Instamojo, CCAvenue, and HDFC), offering flexibility to both creators and learners, coupled with a 0% transaction fee.
Learnyst's feature-rich free plan is a standout feature, making it an excellent choice for beginners starting online schools, remaining a solid option for those explicitly seeking DRM encryption for their video content.
Learnyst offers:
This platform also provides innovative marketing features, such as a wallet and referral system, allowing enrolled students to earn points in their wallets by referring others to the platform to purchase other courses, fostering engagement and driving organic growth.
While Learnyst offers a comprehensive set of features, it is essential to note its limitations:
Learnyst's pricing structure includes a 14-day free trial and three tiers:
Overall, Learnyst presents a viable option for those seeking an LMS platform with solid security measures, Indian payment options, and the potential for organic growth through its referral system. However, potential users should consider the UI limitations and the cost of accessing premium features when deciding.
Founded in 2014 by Panos Siozos, Dimitris Tsapis, and Fanis Despotakis, LearnWorlds provides comprehensive tools and features to design and deliver interactive online courses, engage with students, and monetize expertise effectively, offering options such as selling courses, subscriptions, and memberships, allowing creators to generate revenue from their educational content.
The platform enables users to build and manage their virtual learning environment, offering a user-friendly interface and extensive customization options. With LearnWorlds, student engagement is facilitated through various features, including
LearnWorlds offers a range of features to support course creation, content hosting, interactive content delivery, student engagement, and monetization. It also includes
To track student progress and performance, LearnWorlds offers analytics and reporting tools. This feature lets instructors gain insights into learners' engagement and make data-driven decisions to improve the effectiveness of their courses.
This platform offers various pricing plans to cater to different needs, from beginner course creators to large corporations. The plans range in price from $29/month to $299/month, with annual billing options available for additional savings.
The Starter Plan, for example, is an excellent option for new course creators or those starting online courses because it provides a comprehensive set of tools, customization options, and the ability to create coupon codes for marketing purposes. This budget-friendly plan suits creative entrepreneurs who want to create, sell, and market quality courses to their students or employees.
However, to help users make an informed decision, LearnWorlds offers a 30-day free trial, allowing them to explore the platform and its features before committing to a plan.
When considering whether Teachable is worthwhile for creating online courses, weighing the platform's features, pricing, and associated costs is essential. That said, Teachable can be a viable option, but it's important to understand the financial implications involved. While Teachable offers a decent online course creation experience, there may be better choices for some, especially if budget constraints are a concern.
Teachable's pricing structure can be relatively expensive compared to other alternatives, with costs exceeding $100 monthly for basic plans. Additionally, transaction fees can impact your earnings, as Teachable takes a 5% cut from every sale on top of payment processing fees. These fees can accumulate quickly, affecting your overall profitability.
However, Teachable offers a Pro plan that eliminates transaction fees, which may be advantageous if you anticipate a high sales volume. While the Pro plan comes at a higher monthly cost, it can save you money in the long run.
Consider the features and pricing carefully, and compare Teachable with other platforms to determine which aligns best with your goals and provides the most value for your investment.
