Short answer: yes, Teachable is a legitimate course platform with real strengths — especially native mobile apps and affiliate marketing tools. But it has meaningful trade-offs around transaction fees, student limits, and the learning experience that are worth understanding before you commit. Here's an honest look at Teachable's pricing, features, and where it fits best in 2026.
What Is Teachable?
Teachable is a marketing-focused course platform founded in 2014 and acquired by Hotmart in 2020. It's designed for information marketers selling digital content products, and it's popular with creators who want affiliate tracking, sales funnels, and native iOS/Android apps for their students. If high-volume course sales are your primary goal, Teachable has built its toolset around that use case.
How Much Does Teachable Cost? Pricing and Transaction Fees (2026)
Teachable offers four paid plans ranging from $39/month to $399/month. The Starter plan includes a 7.5% transaction fee on every sale; the Builder plan and above charge 0% platform transaction fees.
Here's the current pricing breakdown as of early 2026:
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Transaction Fee | Products | Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $39/mo | $29/mo | 7.5% | 1 | 100 |
| Builder | $89/mo | $69/mo | 0% | 5 | 1,000 |
| Growth | $189/mo | $139/mo | 0% | 25 | 5,000 |
| Advanced | $399/mo | $309/mo | 0% | 100 | 5,000 |
What you'll actually pay: On the Starter plan, if you sell a $200 course to 10 students, Teachable takes $150 in transaction fees (7.5% × $2,000) on top of your $39 monthly fee. Standard payment processing fees (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction through Stripe) apply on all plans as well.
Note the student and product caps — Starter limits you to 1 published product and 100 students, which most creators outgrow quickly. For a complete pricing breakdown, see our detailed Teachable pricing guide.
Does Teachable Have a Mobile App?
Yes. Teachable offers native iOS and Android mobile apps where students can access course content on their phones. This is a genuine strength — most competing platforms (including Ruzuku) rely on mobile-responsive web browsers rather than dedicated apps.
The mobile app lets students watch videos, read lessons, and track their progress. It's well-suited for self-paced content consumption. If your students prefer learning on their phones during commutes or downtime, this is a real advantage worth considering.
Is Teachable Easy to Use? Learning Curve Review
Teachable is relatively easy to get started with for basic courses. The course builder uses a drag-and-drop interface, and you can upload videos, text, and files without technical knowledge. Most creators can publish a simple course within a few hours.
Where it gets more complex is with Teachable's marketing and sales features — building sales pages, setting up funnels, configuring order bumps, and managing automations. These are powerful tools, but they come with a learning curve that can take weeks to fully understand. If you mainly want to teach (not optimize sales funnels), you may find yourself paying for complexity you don't use.
What Are Teachable's Free Plan Limitations?
Teachable has historically offered a free tier, though it is no longer prominently featured on their pricing page as of early 2026. When available, the free plan included significant restrictions: a 10% + $1 transaction fee on every sale, only 1 course and 1 coaching product, a limit of 10 students, no custom domain, no coupons or promotions, and Teachable branding on your pages.
The transaction fee alone makes the free plan impractical for anything beyond testing the platform. On a $100 course sale, Teachable would take $11 before payment processing fees. For a deeper look at whether the free plan is viable, see our Teachable free plan review.
Does Teachable Have Attendance Tracking?
No. Teachable does not offer native attendance tracking for live sessions. If you run cohort-based courses, workshops, or corporate training programs that require attendance records, you would need to use external tools and manually reconcile the data.
This is particularly relevant for organizations using course platforms for internal staff training or compliance programs where attendance documentation is required.
What Is Teachable Best For? (And Where It Falls Short)
Teachable has genuine strengths worth considering:
- Native mobile apps — iOS and Android apps for students, a real advantage if your audience prefers learning on their phones.
- Strong affiliate marketing tools — If your growth strategy relies on affiliates promoting your courses, Teachable's built-in affiliate system is well-developed.
- Certificates on all paid plans — Course completion certificates are available without upgrading to the highest tier.
- Large integration marketplace — Teachable connects with many third-party tools for marketing, analytics, and automation.
And some notable limitations:
- Transaction fees on the Starter plan — 7.5% on every sale adds up quickly. You need the Builder plan ($89/mo) to eliminate them.
- No student tech support — When your students have trouble logging in or accessing content, you handle it yourself.
- Product and student limits — Starter allows just 1 product and 100 students. Even Builder caps you at 5 products and 1,000 students.
- No native live session tools — If you run cohort-based or live programs, you'll need external video conferencing tools and manual workarounds.
How Does Ruzuku Compare?
Where Teachable focuses on marketing and sales tooling, Ruzuku focuses on the learning experience itself. A few key differences:
- Zero transaction fees — Ruzuku charges a flat monthly fee with zero per-transaction fees on every plan. No percentage taken from your sales, ever.
- Student tech support included — When your students have login or access issues, Ruzuku's support team helps them directly, saving you time every week.
- Native Zoom integration — Schedule and run live sessions directly within your courses, with attendance tracking. No workarounds needed for cohort-based teaching.
- Unlimited courses and students — No product caps or student limits on any plan.
For the complete feature-by-feature comparison, see Ruzuku vs Teachable →
What Educators Tell Us
We talk with hundreds of course creators through our support conversations. Here's what educators who've used Teachable share with us.
What they like about Teachable: Native mobile apps, affiliate marketing tools, order bumps, and conversion tracking. Teachable has a strong marketing feature set for course sellers who prioritize sales optimization.
What frustrates them: Transaction fees are the single most common complaint we hear. Teachable also moved to Stripe Express, which shifts control of payment processing away from instructors. For educators who want to own their payment relationship, this is a significant concern.
The return pattern: We see educators who leave for Teachable and come back. The reasons are consistent — support quality and student experience. One educator who tried Teachable and returned told us: "Another reason I switched back is the excellent customer service." Another tried both Teachable and Thinkific and wasn't a fan of either, ultimately returning for simplicity and support.
Alternatives to Teachable
Teachable isn't the only option. Here are some other platforms worth exploring:
- Kajabi — All-in-one platform with built-in email marketing (full comparison)
- Thinkific — Feature-rich with deep customization options (full comparison)
- Podia — Simple and affordable for digital products (full comparison)
- Skool — Community-focused with gamification (full comparison)
For a detailed comparison of all the top alternatives, see our 7 Best Teachable Alternatives in 2026 or explore all platform comparisons.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Teachable legit?
Yes. Teachable is a legitimate course platform founded in 2014 and acquired by Hotmart in 2020. It hosts thousands of course creators and processes real payments through Stripe and PayPal. It is not a scam.
What percentage does Teachable take?
Teachable charges a 7.5% platform transaction fee on its Starter plan ($39/mo). The Builder plan ($89/mo) and above have 0% platform transaction fees. All plans still incur standard payment processing fees (2.9% + $0.30 for US credit cards through Stripe). For a full breakdown, see our Teachable pricing and fees guide.
Is Teachable worth it in 2026?
Teachable is worth it if you need native mobile apps, affiliate marketing tools, and are comfortable with their pricing structure. It is less ideal if you want zero transaction fees on lower plans, student tech support, or native live session tools. Your teaching style and business model should guide the decision.
Is Teachable beginner friendly?
Teachable is relatively easy to set up for basic courses — the drag-and-drop course builder is straightforward. However, its more advanced features (sales funnels, automations, custom checkout pages) have a steeper learning curve that can take weeks to master.
Does Teachable have attendance tracking?
No. Teachable does not have native attendance tracking for live sessions. If you need attendance records for cohort-based or corporate training programs, you would need external tools. Platforms like Ruzuku include native Zoom integration with built-in attendance tracking.
Bottom Line
Teachable is a good platform for marketing-focused course sellers who want native mobile apps, affiliate tools, and a large integration ecosystem. If you prioritize the teaching and learning experience — live sessions, community discussions, and having your students' tech issues handled for you — it may not be the best fit. Consider what matters most for your specific teaching style before deciding.