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Teachable Pricing (2026): Starter vs Builder vs Growth, and What the Fees Really Cost

Quick verdict: Teachable's sticker prices look simple, but the real cost depends on one thing: how much you sell each month. On the cheapest plan, Starter, Teachable keeps 7.5% of every sale on top of card processing. On Builder and Growth, that 7.5% drops to 0%, but only when you use Teachable Payments. If you sell less than about $530 a month, Starter is usually cheaper. Above that, Builder wins. Best for first-time course sellers: Starter. Best for creators with steady sales: Builder. Best for teams and branded schools: Growth.

We did not use Teachable's paid plans for this article. Everything below comes from Teachable's public pricing page, fetched on October 10, 2026. Prices change, so check the current Teachable pricing page before you buy.

What Teachable is

Teachable is a hosted platform for selling online courses, coaching, and digital downloads. You build a school, upload lessons, set a price, and Teachable handles checkout, student logins, and mobile apps.

It is a paid service. The pricing page does not list a permanent free plan, only a trial. That is different from some rivals, so budget for it from day one.

Teachable focuses on courses. It is not an all-in-one marketing suite. If you also need email, funnels, and a blog in one login, a tool like Systeme.io covers more ground, and we compare its tiers in our Systeme.io pricing guide.

Teachable pricing at a glance

Teachable lists prices in USD. The page offers a toggle between yearly and monthly billing, and it shows both. The table below uses both so you can compare.

	Starter	Builder	Growth
Monthly billing	$39/mo	$89/mo	$189/mo
Yearly billing (per month)	$29/mo	$69/mo	$139/mo
Yearly total	$348	$828	$1,668
Yearly saving vs monthly	$120	$240	$600
Transaction fee	7.5%	0%*	0%*
Products	5	10	50
Admin-level users	1	1	5
Students	Unlimited via Teachable checkout	Same	Same
Video storage	Up to 1 TB	Same	Same
Affiliate program for your own course	No	Yes	Yes
Teachable branding removed	No	No	Yes
Certificates, imported students, custom admin permissions	No	No	Yes

*The page marks the 0% fee with an asterisk. According to the page's FAQ, it applies when you use Teachable Payments. Standard processing fees may still apply.

There is also a Custom tier for larger schools. It has no public price, so you have to talk to sales. We leave it out of the comparisons below.

Source: teachable.com/pricing, fetched October 10, 2026.

The fee that matters most: the 7.5% transaction fee

The cheapest plan has a catch. Starter costs $29/mo on yearly billing, but Teachable also takes 7.5% of each sale. That fee is separate from card processing.

Here is what that looks like on a $100 course sale paid by a US credit card:

• Teachable transaction fee (Starter): $7.50
• Card processing (2.9% + 30¢): $3.20
• Total fees: $10.70
• You keep: $89.30

On Builder or Growth with Teachable Payments, the transaction fee is 0%, so the same sale costs you $3.20 in processing and you keep $96.80.

Where Builder becomes cheaper than Starter

The upgrade from Starter to Builder costs $40 more per month on yearly billing ($69 vs $29), or $50 more on monthly billing ($89 vs $39). Builder saves you 7.5% of sales. So the break-even point is:

• Yearly billing: $40 ÷ 0.075 ≈ $533 in monthly sales
• Monthly billing: $50 ÷ 0.075 ≈ $667 in monthly sales

This is our own arithmetic from the page's published prices, not a Teachable claim. It also ignores that Builder adds extra features. If you sell less than about $530 a month, Starter costs less. If you sell more, Builder is cheaper even before you count the extra features.

Card and PayPal processing fees

Teachable lists these processing fees separately from the plan fee:

Payment type	Fee
US credit/debit card	2.9% + 30¢
International credit/debit card	3.9% + 30¢
US PayPal	3.49% + 49¢
International PayPal	4.99% + 49¢
Chargeback	$15

The page also mentions an optional BackOffice service at 2–2.8%. We did not find details on what it covers, so we do not evaluate it here.

Two things stand out. First, international cards and PayPal cost about one percentage point more than US ones. If most of your students live outside the US, your effective cost is higher than the headline numbers suggest. Second, PayPal is the most expensive way for a student to pay. On a $100 sale, an international PayPal payment costs $5.48 in processing, against $3.20 for a US card.

A worked example for an international audience

Say you sell a $100 course on Starter, and the buyer pays with an international card:

• Transaction fee: $7.50
• Card processing (3.9% + 30¢): $4.20
• Total fees: $11.70
• You keep: $88.30

On Builder with the same sale, you pay only the $4.20 in processing and keep $95.80.

What you get on each plan

Starter ($29/mo yearly, $39/mo monthly)

Best for: testing your first course with a small audience.

Starter includes the core course tools: AI-assisted course creation, iOS and Android student apps, global payments and taxes, and upsells with cart recovery. You get 5 products and one admin-level user.

Pros

• The lowest entry price on the page.
• Unlimited students through Teachable checkout.
• Covers the basics: apps, checkout upsells, and cart recovery.

Cons

• The 7.5% transaction fee grows quickly once sales pick up.
• No affiliate program for your own students and partners to promote your course.
• Only 5 products and a single admin user.

Pricing gotcha: the headline $29 requires yearly billing. Paying monthly puts it at $39, which is $120 more over a year.

Builder ($69/mo yearly, $89/mo monthly)

Best for: creators who already make steady sales and want to stop paying a cut of each one.

Builder adds a built-in affiliate program for your own course, real-time support, and 10 products. The transaction fee drops to 0% with Teachable Payments.

Pros

• 0% transaction fee, which pays for itself at moderate sales volumes.
• A built-in affiliate program lets your own audience promote your course.
• Real-time support is included.

Cons

• Still just one admin-level user.
• Teachable branding stays on your school.
• The jump from Starter more than doubles the monthly price on yearly billing ($29 to $69).

Pricing gotcha: the 0% fee depends on Teachable Payments. Standard processing fees still apply.

Growth ($139/mo yearly, $189/mo monthly)

Best for: teams, bigger catalogs, and schools that need a branded look.

Growth removes Teachable branding and adds course certificates, student imports, custom admin permissions, and free subtitles and translations. You get 50 products and five admin-level users. It also lists a public API with limits of 10,000 requests per month and 100 per minute.

Pros

• Five admin users and 50 products.
• Branding removal and certificates suit a professional school.
• Importing existing students helps when you move from another platform.

Cons

• At $1,668 a year, it is hard to justify for a solo creator with a small audience.
• The transaction fee is already 0% on Builder, so the extra spend buys features, not lower fees.
• The API has rate limits that may matter for heavier integrations.

Trial, refund, and promotions

The page offers a 7-day trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee on each plan. A pop-up on the page also mentions a 30-day trial followed by Builder billed monthly, with the option to cancel at any time. We could not confirm the full terms of that offer, including whether a card is required. A banner promotes "3 months for the price of 1," but the page does not explain its terms. Read the checkout page carefully before you start, and note the date your trial ends. After a trial, billing starts automatically unless you cancel.

Payouts, currencies, and creators outside the US

The page says prices are in USD, students can pay in their local currency, and creators in 180 countries use Teachable. It also says Teachable Payments pays out daily, while the optional monthly payment gateway pays out monthly.

What we could not confirm: which countries Teachable Payments supports for payouts, and which payout methods (bank transfer, PayPal) are available to a creator who lives outside the US. The official help page we tried to read returned an error, so we do not guess. If you live outside the US, check the supported-country list in Teachable's help center before you pick a plan. This matters because the 0% transaction fee on Builder and Growth depends on Teachable Payments.

Teachable vs the alternatives, briefly

We have not tested Teachable against other platforms, so this is a pricing-level comparison only.

• If you want one tool for courses, email, and funnels: compare Systeme.io. Check its current free and paid tiers on its own page.
• If you are choosing between course-first platforms: our Podia vs Thinkific comparison covers two of Teachable's closest competitors.
• If you mainly send a newsletter and sell a little on the side: an email tool may be enough. See our Kit vs MailerLite guide.

Who should choose which

• You have never sold a course: start on Starter with yearly billing only if you are sure you will stay. Otherwise pay monthly for a few months first. At $39/mo, a bad bet costs less than the $348 yearly commitment.
• You sell about $500 a month or less: Starter is cheaper, even with the 7.5% fee.
• You sell $700 a month or more: Builder is cheaper once you count the fee. It also unlocks the affiliate program for your own course.
• Most of your students pay with PayPal or international cards: budget for higher processing costs and use the worked example above.
• You run a team or want your own branding: Growth is the only plan that removes Teachable branding.
• You live outside the US: confirm payout support before you pay for anything.

FAQ

Does Teachable have a free plan? The pricing page says Teachable is a paid service and does not list a free plan. It offers a 7-day trial on each plan.

How much does Teachable cost per month? On yearly billing: $29 (Starter), $69 (Builder), or $139 (Growth). On monthly billing: $39, $89, or $189.

Does Teachable take a percentage of sales? On Starter, yes: a 7.5% transaction fee. On Builder and Growth the fee is 0% when you use Teachable Payments. Card processing fees apply on every plan.

Can I get a refund? The page lists a 30-day money-back guarantee on each plan. Read the full terms before you rely on it.

Does Teachable work for creators outside the US? The page says creators in 180 countries use it, prices are in USD, and students can pay in local currency. We could not confirm the list of countries supported for payouts, so check Teachable's help center first.

Can I switch plans later? The pricing page does not describe the upgrade process, so we cannot say. Check with Teachable support before you commit.

Sources and last updated

• Teachable pricing page: https://www.teachable.com/pricing (fetched October 10, 2026)
• All prices are in USD and may change. Plan names, limits, and fees were taken from the page on that date.
• Break-even and example figures are our own calculations from those published numbers.
• This article is research-based. We did not use Teachable's paid plans.

Last updated: October 10, 2026.