Teachable vs Podia (2026): Which Course Platform Fits a Small Creator?

Published 2026-10-17

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Quick verdict

Best for creators who want the lowest entry price and plan to grow into a bigger school: Teachable. Its Starter plan is $29/mo billed yearly, and the Builder plan drops Teachable's own transaction fee to 0% when you use Teachable Payments.

Best for solo creators who sell a mix of products in one place: Podia. Every plan lists courses, downloads, coaching, community, a website with a custom domain, and landing pages. The Shaker plan ($84/mo billed yearly) has no Podia transaction fee.

We haven't built a school on either platform. This comparison uses each company's official pricing page, checked October 12, 2026, not hands-on testing.

Comparison table

	Teachable	Podia
Entry plan	Starter: $29/mo billed yearly ($39/mo monthly)	Mover: $42/mo billed yearly
Mid plan	Builder: $69/mo billed yearly ($89/mo monthly)	Shaker: $84/mo billed yearly
Top self-serve plan	Growth: $139/mo billed yearly ($189/mo monthly)	Earthquaker: $150/mo billed yearly
Platform transaction fee	Starter 7.5%; Builder and Growth 0% with Teachable Payments	Mover 5%; Shaker and Earthquaker none
Product limits	5 / 10 / 50 products	50 / 150 / unlimited products
Students or customers	Unlimited students on every plan	Unlimited customers on every plan
Free plan	None	None
Trial	7 days listed on the plan cards; a pop-up showed 30 days (see below)	14 days, full access, no credit card up front

Prices are in USD. "Billed yearly" prices are shown per month. Podia's pricing page lists only the yearly rate, so we can't show its monthly-billing prices. Payment processor fees (such as Stripe or PayPal) are separate on both platforms and are not included in this article's math.

Teachable in detail

Teachable plans at a glance

Starter ($29/mo yearly, $39/mo monthly): 5 products, 1 admin user, unlimited students, up to 1 TB of video storage, and a 7.5% transaction fee. Includes AI creation tools, iOS and Android student apps, global payments and taxes, upsells, and cart recovery.
Builder ($69/mo yearly, $89/mo monthly): 10 products and 0% Teachable transaction fee with Teachable Payments. Adds an affiliate program and real-time support.
Growth ($139/mo yearly, $189/mo monthly): 50 products and 5 admin users. Adds course certificates, removal of Teachable branding, imported students, custom admin permissions, and free subtitles and translations.
Custom: contact sales.

Pros

Low entry price. Starter at $29/mo billed yearly is below Podia's cheapest plan.
Fee drops to 0% at Builder. If your sales grow, moving up a plan removes Teachable's cut.
Unlimited students on every plan. Your plan price doesn't rise with enrollment.
Growth has team features. Five admin users and custom permissions suit a small team.

Cons

Starter's 7.5% fee is high. At $2,000 a month in sales, that is $150 on top of the plan price.
Few products on the low plans. Starter allows 5 products and Builder allows 10.
No free plan. You pay from the first day after your trial.
Monthly billing costs more. Starter is $10/mo more than yearly billing, and Builder is $20/mo more.

Pricing gotchas

The 0% fee has a condition. The pricing page says 0% applies when you use Teachable Payments, and standard processing fees still apply (for example 2.9% + 30¢ for U.S. credit and debit card sales).
The trial length is unclear. The plan cards list a 7-day trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, while a promotional pop-up on the same page described a 30-day trial that rolls into a paid plan. Confirm the current trial length and when billing starts on the sign-up screen before you enter payment details. The pricing page doesn't say whether a card is required at sign-up or when the first charge happens, and its terms say plans auto-renew each billing cycle until you cancel.
Plan limits can sneak up on you. The product limit is the first thing most small catalogs hit.

Podia in detail

Podia plans at a glance

Mover ($42/mo billed yearly, $504/yr): up to 100 email subscribers, 50 products, 500 videos, 25 spaces, and a 5% Podia transaction fee.
Shaker ($84/mo billed yearly, $1,008/yr): no Podia transaction fee, up to 500 email subscribers, 150 products, 1,000 videos, 100 spaces, 1 assistant, an affiliate marketing tool, upsells, PayPal, and Zapier.
Earthquaker ($150/mo billed yearly, $1,800/yr): up to 1,000 email subscribers, unlimited products, videos and spaces, and unlimited assistants.

Every plan lists courses, digital downloads, coaching, events, community, a website and blog, a custom domain, landing pages, built-in checkout, sales tax handling in 230 countries, and email and chat support.

Pros

Everything in one place. Courses, downloads, coaching, community, and a website are on every plan, so you don't stitch several tools together.
Shaker has no Podia transaction fee. Your cost stays flat as sales grow.
A 14-day trial with full access. The pricing page says no credit card or plan selection is needed up front.
Custom domain on every plan.

Cons

The cheapest plan costs more than Teachable's. Mover is $42/mo yearly against Teachable Starter's $29/mo yearly.
Mover takes 5%. That is lower than Teachable Starter's 7.5%, but it still adds up as sales grow.
No free plan, and the page shows only yearly prices. We couldn't find monthly-billing prices.
Strict refund window. The pricing page says you must message Podia within 72 hours of your most recent payment, and partial refunds aren't offered on annual plans.

Pricing gotchas

Email limits are small on low plans. Mover includes up to 100 email subscribers and Shaker up to 500. A bigger list needs a higher plan or another email tool.
Processor fees are separate. Stripe or PayPal charge a standard 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction, which can vary by location. Podia doesn't set these fees.

Head-to-head: where each one wins

Price at the start

Teachable Starter ($29/mo yearly) is the cheaper entry point. Podia Mover ($42/mo yearly) costs $13 more a month but takes a smaller cut of sales (5% against 7.5%). At $500 a month in sales, the two come out almost even (see the scenarios below).

Fees as you grow

Teachable's Builder plan ($69/mo yearly) and Podia's Shaker plan ($84/mo yearly) both remove the platform's own transaction fee. Teachable Builder is $15/mo cheaper, but it allows 10 products against Podia Shaker's 150.

What's included

Podia lists a broad bundle on every plan: community, coaching, events, a website and blog, and landing pages. Teachable's plan cards list student apps, global payments and taxes, upsells, cart recovery, and AI creation tools. Teachable's feature matrix lists community on Builder, Growth, and Custom, but not on Starter. It also links to a site builder, but the pricing page doesn't say which plans include it, so we can't compare websites directly.

Team and scaling

Teachable Growth ($139/mo yearly) includes 5 admin users and custom admin permissions. Podia Shaker includes 1 assistant, and Earthquaker ($150/mo yearly) has unlimited assistants and unlimited products.

Cost scenarios: what you'd actually pay

These use yearly-billed prices and count only the platform plan and the platform's own transaction fee. Payment processor fees apply on top for both.

Scenario 1: Just starting, $500/mo in sales

Teachable Starter: $29 + 7.5% of $500 ($37.50) = $66.50/mo
Teachable Builder: $69/mo
Podia Mover: $42 + 5% of $500 ($25) = $67/mo

All three land within $2.50 of each other, so product limits and features should decide.

Scenario 2: Growing, $2,000/mo in sales

Teachable Starter: $29 + $150 = $179/mo
Teachable Builder: $69/mo (10 products)
Podia Mover: $42 + $100 = $142/mo
Podia Shaker: $84/mo (150 products)

Moving up a plan pays off on both platforms. Teachable Builder is cheapest, and Podia Shaker costs $15 more but allows many more products.

Scenario 3: Established, $8,000/mo in sales with a small team

Teachable Growth: $139/mo (5 admin users, 50 products)
Podia Earthquaker: $150/mo (unlimited products and assistants)

The price gap is small, so team size and product count decide.

Where plans flip

Teachable Starter becomes more expensive than Builder at about $533/mo in sales: ($69 − $29) ÷ 0.075.
Podia Mover becomes more expensive than Shaker at $840/mo in sales: ($84 − $42) ÷ 0.05.

What to test during your trial

Build one real course page and one digital product, and time how long it takes.
Check the checkout in the payment methods your buyers use (cards, PayPal).
Look at how the product limit counts your bundles and downloads.
Confirm exactly when your trial ends and what the first charge will be.
Find the refund policy and write down the deadline.

Who should choose which

Choose Teachable if…

You want the lowest monthly price now and expect your sales to move you into Builder.
Your catalog is a few courses, not many products.
You may need several admin users later (Growth).

Choose Podia if…

You want courses, downloads, coaching, community, and a website under one plan.
You'd rather have a flat plan price with no platform transaction fee from Shaker up.
You value a no-card trial with full access.

Consider neither (yet) if…

You haven't validated your idea. Test it with a small paid pilot first, because neither platform has a free plan.

FAQ

Is there a free plan on Teachable or Podia?

No. Neither pricing page lists a free plan. Teachable shows a trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, and Podia shows a 14-day trial.

Which is cheaper, Teachable or Podia?

At the entry level, Teachable Starter ($29/mo billed yearly) is cheaper than Podia Mover ($42/mo billed yearly). Once you count transaction fees at about $500 a month in sales, the two cost nearly the same.

Does Teachable charge transaction fees?

Starter charges 7.5%. Builder and Growth charge 0% when you use Teachable Payments. Standard processing fees still apply.

Does Podia charge transaction fees?

Mover charges a 5% Podia fee. Shaker and Earthquaker have no Podia transaction fee. Stripe or PayPal still charge their standard fees.

Can I switch platforms later?

Podia lists migration help on every plan. We haven't tested a migration, so check each platform's current import options before you commit. Teachable's pricing page lists bulk student imports and says its Custom plan includes migration assistance, but it doesn't say whether existing courses can be imported.

How we compared

We read each company's public pricing page on October 12, 2026 and recalculated every figure ourselves. We haven't used either platform, so we don't comment on ease of use or support quality. We'll update this page when prices change.

Sources & last updated

Last updated: October 12, 2026.

Teachable pricing: https://www.teachable.com/pricing (accessed 2026-10-12)
Podia pricing: https://www.podia.com/pricing (accessed 2026-10-12)

Prices and features change. Always confirm on the official site before you buy.