Teachable alternatives in 2026: 7 course platforms compared
Teachable's Starter plan takes 7.5% per sale and skips affiliates, email, and a custom domain. Here are 7 Teachable alternatives with prices checked September 2026.
Teachable's $39 Starter plan takes 7.5% of every sale and leaves out email marketing, an affiliate program, and a custom domain. Getting 0% fees and those tools means the $89 Builder plan. The best Teachable alternative for creators who sell from social media is Eden: courses, cohorts, coaching, and an AI tutor for $29 a month plus 5%. Thinkific is the closest like-for-like swap, LearnWorlds is best for interactive lessons, Podia keeps it simple, and Maven is the pick for live cohort courses.
Full disclosure: we make Eden, which is first on this list. Every price was checked on each company's own site in September 2026. Payment processing (usually 2.9% + 30¢ per US card sale) applies everywhere.
What Teachable costs now
Teachable replaced its old Basic, Pro, and Pro+ plans in mid-2025.
| Plan | Monthly | Billed yearly | Transaction fee | Products | Admins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $39 | $29/mo | 7.5% | 5 | 1 |
| Builder | $89 | $69/mo | 0% | 10 | 1 |
| Growth | $189 | $139/mo | 0% | 50 | 5 |
| Custom | Custom | Custom | 0% | Custom | Custom |
Starter includes coupons, order bumps, upsells, abandoned-cart emails, bundles, memberships, drip content, quizzes, and student apps for iPhone and Android.
Builder adds email marketing, an affiliate program, a community, and a custom domain. Certificates, removing Teachable's branding, and bulk student imports start on Growth.
On processing, Teachable charges 3.9% + 30¢ for international cards and a $15 chargeback fee. It has a 7-day trial and averages 3.3 out of 5 on Trustpilot, where reviews praise the course setup and complain about the fees, support, and a confusing dashboard.
The short version
| Platform | Best for | Price from | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eden | Courses with an AI tutor, plus coaching | $29/mo | 5% |
| Thinkific | Unlimited courses, long trial | $54/mo ($40 yearly) | 0% on Thinkific Payments |
| LearnWorlds | Interactive video and quizzes | $29/mo ($24 yearly) | $5 per sale on Starter |
| Podia | Simple all-in-one | $49/mo ($42 yearly) | 5% on Mover |
| Kajabi | Everything in one suite | $179/mo | 0% |
| Maven | Live cohort courses with a marketplace | $0 | 10% |
| Payhip | No monthly bill | Free | 5% on Free |
1. Eden
Eden is a creator workspace with a store. You write lessons as documents, add video, and sell the course from your own link-in-bio page.
What it does well:
- Courses with an AI tutor. A course can come with an AI that knows which lesson the buyer has open. It explains, runs the exercise, and checks their work. See how to sell a custom AI.
- Cohorts built in. Dated runs with seats, a waitlist, live sessions, lessons that open week by week, and reminder emails before each call.
- Coaching next to your course. Applications, packages of calls, and booking on your Google Calendar.
- What Teachable saves for Builder, for less. Discount codes and order bumps on $29. An affiliate program and upsells on Pro at $79, still under Builder's $89.
- See who's stuck. The Customers tab shows each buyer's progress.
Where it falls short: no built-in email marketing (buyers go to Kit, beehiiv, GoHighLevel, or Substack instead), no certificates or quizzes, no community space, and no custom domain. Eden takes 5% per sale.
The fee math: at the same $29 to $39 monthly price, Eden's 5% is lower than Teachable Starter's 7.5%. Teachable Builder ($89, 0%) becomes cheaper than Eden Starter once you sell about $1,200 a month. If you need affiliates, compare Builder with Eden Pro ($79 + 5%): Builder gets cheaper past about $200 a month.
Price: selling from $29/mo (Starter), 5% per sale.
Best for: creators who want buyers to finish the course, not just buy it.
2. Thinkific
Thinkific has unlimited courses on every plan and a 30-day trial. Its Basic plan includes a community, digital products, abandoned-cart emails, and a custom domain, which Teachable saves for Builder.
Where it falls short: live cohorts, certificates, graded quizzes, memberships, and bundles need the Start plan. Using Stripe or PayPal instead of Thinkific Payments adds a fee that varies by plan. See Thinkific alternatives.
Price: Basic $54/mo ($40 yearly), Start $109/mo ($82 yearly), Grow $219/mo ($164 yearly).
Best for: creators with several courses who want room to grow.
3. LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds is built for interactive learning: video with questions inside it, quizzes, certificates, and assessments.
Where it falls short: the Starter plan charges $5 per paid enrollment and doesn't allow free courses or certificates. That fee is 10% on a $50 course.
Price: Starter $29/mo ($24 yearly), Pro Trainer $99/mo ($79 yearly) with no enrollment fee. 30-day trial.
Best for: educators who want tests, certificates, and interactive video.
4. Podia
Podia puts courses, downloads, coaching, community, and webinars on every plan with a clean, simple dashboard.
Where it falls short: very low email caps (100 to 1,000 subscribers) and a 5% fee on Mover. See Podia alternatives.
Price: Mover $49/mo (5%), Shaker $99/mo (0%), Earthquaker $179/mo (0%). Cheaper billed yearly.
Best for: small creators who want everything simple.
5. Kajabi
Kajabi is the full suite: website, funnels, unlimited email, community, cohorts, and a branded app, with 0% platform fees.
Where it falls short: Basic is $179 a month with a 2,500 contact cap. See Kajabi alternatives.
Price: Basic $179/mo, Growth $249/mo, Pro $499/mo.
Best for: large course businesses that use every tool.
6. Maven
Maven is built for live cohort courses and workshops, and it has a marketplace of learners looking for courses. There's no monthly fee.
Where it falls short: Maven keeps 10% of every sale, plus Stripe's fee. It's built for live, dated courses, not self-paced ones.
Price: free to use, 10% per sale.
Best for: experts who teach live and want Maven's audience. More in how to run a cohort-based course.
7. Payhip
Payhip sells courses, downloads, and memberships, and collects and pays VAT and US sales tax for you.
Where it falls short: the course player and community tools are basic.
Price: Free (5%), Plus $29/mo (2%), Pro $99/mo (0%).
Best for: a first course with no monthly bill.
Which one should you pick?
- Choose Eden if you want an AI tutor, cohorts, and coaching next to your course for $29.
- Choose Thinkific if you have many courses and want a long trial.
- Choose LearnWorlds if you need quizzes, certificates, and interactive video.
- Choose Podia if you want the simplest all-in-one.
- Choose Maven if you teach live and want a marketplace.
- Stay on Teachable if you're on Builder or above, use its email and affiliates, and your students like the app.
Frequently asked questions
Does Teachable take a percentage of sales?
Yes, 7.5% on the Starter plan. Builder, Growth, and Custom plans have 0% transaction fees. Payment processing applies on every plan.
What is cheaper than Teachable?
Payhip (free with 5%) and Maven (no monthly fee, 10%) have no monthly bill. LearnWorlds Starter is $29 a month plus $5 per sale. Eden is $29 a month plus 5%, with lower fees than Teachable Starter.
What's the best Teachable alternative for cohort courses?
Maven if you want its marketplace, Eden if you want cohorts with an AI tutor on your own page, and Kajabi or Circle if you need a full community.
Can I move my Teachable students?
Yes. Export your students from Teachable, rebuild the course, then import the list. On Eden, import your customers and email them their access link so they don't pay twice.
Want students to finish what they buy? Start Eden free and build your course with an AI tutor inside it.