As the e-learning market continues to explode, many educators, entrepreneurs, and coaches are seeking reliable Learning Management Systems (LMS) to deliver their courses. Teachable has become a prominent player in this space, thanks to its easy-to-use platform, customization options, and strong feature set. In this detailed review, we’ll dive deep into Teachable’s strengths and weaknesses, compare it with other top LMS platforms, and help you decide if it’s the right choice for your digital coaching or online education business.
Overview of Teachable
Teachable is an all-in-one platform that helps users create, host, and sell online courses. Launched in 2014, it quickly grew in popularity due to its beginner-friendly interface and powerful customization tools. It caters to creators of all levels, from individuals launching their first course to established educators or businesses looking to scale their offerings.
Key Features:
- Course Creation Tools: Drag-and-drop builder, multimedia lessons, quizzes, and advanced reporting.
- Monetization Options: One-time payments, subscription models, memberships, and upsells.
- Student Engagement: Community forums, certificates, completion rates, and drip content.
- Marketing and Sales: Custom sales pages, integrated affiliate marketing, and advanced email marketing options.
- Integrations: Payment gateways, email service providers, analytics, and more.
Link to check the product: Teachable.
Table of Contents:
- Features in Detail
- Course Builder
- Multimedia Support
- Customization & Branding
- Student Engagement Tools
- Quizzes & Certifications
- Monetization Features
- Pricing Plans & Models
- Upsells and Cross-sells
- Affiliate Marketing
- Subscriptions & Memberships
- Ease of Use
- Setup Process
- Dashboard Overview
- Learning Curve
- Marketing & Sales Tools
- Sales Funnels
- Email Marketing & Automations
- Affiliate Management
- Customer Support & Community
- Support Options
- Online Community
- Pricing Plans
- Free vs Paid Plans
- Which Plan is Right for You?
- Teachable vs Competitors
- Teachable vs Thinkific
- Teachable vs Kajabi
- Teachable vs Podia
- Final Thoughts: Is Teachable Right for You?
1. Features in Detail
Course Builder
Teachable’s course creation tools are designed to be intuitive, even for beginners. The drag-and-drop functionality allows you to build courses with little technical knowledge.
- Lesson Types: You can include videos, text, quizzes, PDFs, audio files, and more.
- Multimedia Support: It supports all types of media files (images, audio, and video), providing a versatile platform for various learning styles.
- Drip Content: You can schedule content releases, keeping students engaged with structured, time-released lessons.
Multimedia Support
Teachable supports a wide variety of multimedia formats, allowing for video lectures, audio courses, and downloadable PDFs. This is particularly useful for coaches or educators who want to diversify their lesson formats to engage learners in different ways.
Supported Media Types:
| Media Type | File Format |
|---|---|
| Video | MP4 |
| Audio | MP3, WAV |
| Documents | PDF, PPT, DOC |
| Images | JPEG, PNG |
Customization & Branding
Teachable allows you to fully customize the look and feel of your course pages. It offers a range of templates that you can tweak to match your brand’s colors and fonts. For those with more technical skills, you can also add custom code via HTML/CSS.
- Themes: Customizable themes to match your brand.
- Domain Customization: Use your own domain or Teachable’s subdomain.
- Page Builder: Teachable offers an easy-to-use page builder for creating sales pages and landing pages.
Student Engagement Tools
Teachable offers several ways to keep students engaged with your content.
- Comments: Students can engage in threaded discussions under each lesson.
- Completion Certificates: Award certificates of completion to encourage course completion and acknowledge students’ achievements.
- Community Building: Teachable lacks built-in community features like forums, but you can integrate Facebook Groups or Slack for community interaction.
Quizzes & Certifications
Quizzes are a great way to test your students’ knowledge and reinforce learning. Teachable offers basic quiz functionality, though it’s not as advanced as some competitors like Thinkific, which provides a broader range of question types and assessments.
- Certificates: Teachable allows you to issue completion certificates for your students.
2. Monetization Features
Pricing Plans & Models
Teachable provides several ways to monetize your courses. You can sell courses as one-time purchases, offer memberships, or create a subscription model.
Monetization Options:
| Pricing Model | Description |
|---|---|
| One-Time Payment | Charge a single price for lifetime access to a course. |
| Subscription | Charge students on a recurring basis (weekly, monthly). |
| Memberships | Offer access to multiple courses under a membership plan. |
| Upsells/Cross-sells | Sell additional products or services during the checkout process. |
Upsells and Cross-sells
Teachable makes it easy to increase your average order value through upselling and cross-selling. After a student purchases one course, you can automatically offer them a discount on another related product.
Affiliate Marketing
You can also set up an affiliate program, allowing others to promote your courses for a commission. Teachable tracks these sales automatically, and you can customize the commission structure.
3. Ease of Use
Setup Process
One of Teachable’s biggest strengths is its ease of use. The setup process is streamlined, and the platform offers clear step-by-step guidance for everything from uploading your first course to setting up your payment gateway.
Dashboard Overview
The Teachable dashboard is clean, intuitive, and user-friendly. You can easily navigate between courses, students, sales, and marketing tools.
Learning Curve
While Teachable is generally easy to use, more advanced users may find that some features, like custom coding and sales funnel integrations, have a slight learning curve. For beginners, however, the basic functionalities are very accessible.
4. Marketing & Sales Tools
Sales Funnels
Teachable provides basic sales funnel functionality. You can create custom landing pages for your courses and optimize them for conversions with built-in analytics tools.
Email Marketing & Automations
Teachable allows you to send email updates to your students, though it lacks advanced email marketing automation. For more complex automations (such as sending segmented emails based on student behavior), you may need to integrate third-party tools like MailChimp or ConvertKit.
Affiliate Management
With Teachable’s affiliate management system, you can track affiliate sales, set custom commission rates, and view affiliate performance in real time. This makes it easier to leverage the power of word-of-mouth marketing.
5. Customer Support & Community
Support Options
Teachable offers robust support options for both free and paid users, including:
- Knowledge Base: A comprehensive library of articles and tutorials.
- Email Support: 24/7 email support is available, though response times may vary.
- Live Chat: Available for Pro and Business plan users.
Online Community
Teachable also has a strong online community where course creators share tips, strategies, and feedback. While Teachable doesn’t have a built-in community feature, many course creators use Facebook Groups or Slack to foster student interaction.
6. Pricing Plans
Teachable offers several pricing tiers, each with different features and transaction fees.
| Plan | Price (Per Month) | Transaction Fees | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $1 + 10% per sale | Basic course creation tools |
| Basic | $39 | 5% | Integrated affiliate marketing, coupon codes |
| Pro | $119 | 0% | Priority support, advanced analytics |
| Business | $299 | 0% | Custom user roles, bulk student enrollments |
7. Teachable vs Competitors
Teachable vs Thinkific
Both Teachable and Thinkific are popular LMS platforms, but they differ in certain key areas:
| Feature | Teachable | Thinkific |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | More affordable starter plans | Slightly pricier, but no transaction fees |
| Quizzes | Basic quiz functionality | Advanced quizzes and assessments |
| Community Tools | Lacks built-in community feature | Offers built-in communities |
| Customization | Strong branding options | More flexibility for advanced customization |
| Affiliate Marketing | Built-in affiliate management | Built-in affiliate management |
Teachable vs Kajabi
Kajabi is often compared to Teachable due to its all-in-one capabilities, but it comes with a heftier price tag.
| Feature | Teachable | Kajabi |
|---|---|---|
| Price | More affordable | Higher cost |
| All-in-One | Focused primarily on course creation | Full-fledged marketing platform |
| Email Marketing | Basic email marketing | Advanced automations and funnels |
| Affiliate Program | Built-in | Built-in, with more advanced features |
Teachable vs Podia
Podia### Teachable: A Comprehensive LMS Review (2024 Edition)
Teachable is an all-in-one Learning Management System (LMS) designed to help course creators build, host, and sell their online courses effortlessly. From entrepreneurs and digital coaches to educators, Teachable is a preferred platform because of its ease of use, flexibility, and powerful marketing tools.
Overview of Teachable
Launched in 2014, Teachable is widely popular among online educators due to its intuitive course-building tools, robust customization features, and seamless integration with marketing solutions. Whether you are a beginner or an established digital coach, Teachable helps you scale your business with ease.
Key Features:
- Course Creation: Drag-and-drop builder, quizzes, certificates.
- Monetization: Subscription models, memberships, upsells, and affiliate marketing.
- Engagement: Drip content, discussion threads, quizzes, certificates.
- Marketing Tools: Custom sales pages, email marketing, integrated affiliate programs.
1. Course Builder
Teachable’s course builder is one of its standout features, offering an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. Even if you’re not tech-savvy, you can easily structure and build lessons with diverse media types, including video, audio, PDF, and quizzes.
- Lesson Types: You can include various media formats like videos, images, quizzes, and downloadable files.
- Drip Content: You can schedule content to be delivered at specific intervals, keeping learners engaged over time.
Media Support:
| Media Type | Supported Formats |
|---|---|
| Video | MP4 |
| Audio | MP3, WAV |
| Documents | PDF, PPT, DOCX |
| Images | PNG, JPG |
The ease of integrating multimedia formats makes it ideal for users who want to offer varied learning experiences. Whether you’re using instructional videos, presentations, or written content, Teachable supports it all seamlessly.
Course Customization
Teachable offers an extensive range of customization options to reflect your brand’s identity:
- Custom Branding: Modify fonts, colors, and even add your logo.
- Domain Customization: Connect your domain, giving the platform a more professional look.
- Custom Code: For those with coding skills, there is flexibility to add custom HTML/CSS for even more personalized designs.
Advanced Engagement Tools
One of the biggest challenges for course creators is student engagement. Teachable offers:
- Completion Certificates: You can provide students with customizable certificates upon completion of your course, which can boost completion rates and create a sense of achievement.
- Quizzes: Incorporate quizzes to reinforce learning and assess student comprehension. While the quiz function is somewhat basic compared to other platforms like Thinkific, it’s sufficient for many users’ needs.
2. Monetization Features
Teachable gives course creators a variety of monetization options, including:
- One-time Payments: Charge students a single fee for lifetime access.
- Subscriptions: Set up recurring billing for ongoing memberships.
- Course Bundles: Bundle courses together for a higher value offering.
- Upsells and Cross-Sells: Offer additional courses or services during the checkout process to boost average order value.
Pricing Flexibility
The flexibility in setting up your pricing models allows you to cater to different audience preferences. Whether you’re offering a high-ticket coaching program or lower-cost self-paced courses, Teachable supports it.
Monetization Methods:
| Pricing Model | Description |
|---|---|
| One-Time Payment | Charge a flat fee for lifetime access. |
| Subscriptions | Recurring monthly/annual charges for course access. |
| Memberships | Access to multiple courses under a subscription. |
| Upsells/Cross-sells | Offers additional products or services during checkout. |
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is another strong selling point for Teachable. You can easily create an affiliate program, allowing others to promote your courses in exchange for commissions. This feature can be particularly useful if you want to scale your business without spending extra on marketing.
3. Marketing & Sales Tools
Teachable’s marketing suite helps course creators promote their courses and generate sales through multiple strategies:
- Custom Sales Pages: Use the built-in page builder to create landing pages tailored to your audience. These pages are optimized for conversions, helping you turn visitors into paying customers.
- Email Marketing: Teachable offers basic email marketing tools, allowing you to send course updates or promotions to students directly. For more advanced automations (segmentation, drip sequences, etc.), integrations with platforms like MailChimp or ConvertKit are available.
- Affiliate Program: Built-in affiliate management system that tracks sales, calculates commissions, and provides an easy way to boost reach.
Upsells and Cross-sells
After a customer purchases a course, Teachable allows you to display additional offers, making it easy to increase the average order value with upsells or cross-sells. For instance, you can offer discounts on another course during the checkout process or provide bundled services for a higher price.
4. Ease of Use
Teachable is known for its user-friendly interface, making it a great choice for educators who aren’t particularly tech-savvy. The setup process is straightforward, and you can have your course ready for sale within hours, thanks to the platform’s intuitive dashboard.
Dashboard Navigation
The Teachable dashboard is simple and well-organized, offering easy access to your courses, sales, students, and reports. Here’s what the setup looks like:
- Course Creation Tools: Easy drag-and-drop builder for fast course setup.
- Analytics and Reporting: Keep track of student performance and sales data in real-time.
Pros:
- Beginner-friendly with minimal learning curve.
- Well-organized course creation and sales funnel tools.
Cons:
- Limited advanced features without integrations.
5. Customer Support
Teachable offers a variety of support options to ensure course creators have access to help when they need it:
- Email Support: Available for all users, with higher priority given to paid plans.
- Live Chat: Available for Pro and Business users.
- Knowledge Base: Extensive library of tutorials, guides, and video walkthroughs.
- Online Community: A helpful community of other course creators.
6. Pricing
Teachable offers several pricing tiers, each designed to cater to different business needs. Even the free plan provides enough functionality to create and sell courses, but the paid plans unlock more advanced features.
| Plan | Monthly Price | Transaction Fee | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $1 + 10% per sale | Basic course creation tools, limited features. |
| Basic | $39 | 5% | Affiliate marketing, email integrations. |
| Pro | $119 | 0% | Advanced reporting, quizzes, completion certificates. |
| Business | $299 | 0% | Bulk student enrollments, priority support, custom user roles. |
7. Teachable vs Competitors
Teachable vs Thinkific
Thinkific and Teachable are often compared because they cater to a similar market. While both offer solid course creation tools, there are a few differences:
- Pricing: Teachable offers a more affordable free plan, but Thinkific has more advanced quiz functionality.
- Customization: Thinkific allows more flexibility with custom themes and designs.
- Community Features: Thinkific has built-in community tools, whereas Teachable relies on integrations like Facebook or Slack.
Teachable vs Kajabi
Kajabi is an all-in-one platform that offers more than just course creation—it’s designed for businesses looking for advanced marketing and sales automation tools. However, Kajabi is significantly more expensive, making it less accessible for smaller creators.
Comparison Table:
| Feature | Teachable | Kajabi |
|---|---|---|
| Course Creation | Drag-and-drop builder | Advanced customization |
| Pricing | Affordable | Premium pricing |
| Marketing Automation | Basic email options | Advanced sales funnels |
| Affiliate Program | Built-in | Built-in |
8. Final Thoughts
Teachable is an excellent platform for course creators and digital coaches, especially those who are new to online education. Its user-friendly design, powerful monetization options, and customization tools make it an ideal choice for growing your online education business.
Pros:
- Easy to use for beginners.
- Extensive course creation options.
- Strong affiliate management and upselling features.
Cons:
- Limited advanced features without third-party integrations.
- Basic quiz and student engagement tools.
For digital coaches looking for an affordable, easy-to-use platform that scales with your business, Teachable is a top contender.
Check Teachable out here: Teachable.