Create, publish, manage and monetize online teaching courses
4.6/5 (58 reviews)Pros
My favourite thing about Teachable is it 'just works' out of the box. Most of its functionality is intuitive and it doesn't try to add a million features that most people won't use. It's a software tool that knows what it is and who it's for. It makes it very easy to make a good looking site and get a course up for sale. Anyone can get started and be able to do most of what they need to be able to do to create a profitable online course business easily.
Cons
The drawback is in that final 5%. It's easy to make a good looking site, but not easy to make an amazing looking site. I have in the past had some issues with their affiliate system and with their support staff, but to be fair this was in late 2016 and they have made big improvements since then. I would like to see them roll out new features more consistently so that their users are on the cutting edge of online course technology rather than just slightly behind. Teachable is also best for people that don't want to integrate multiple tools. This is also a good thing as it stays focused, but I think it's worth noting here as a potential user should consider that what they get with Teachable is what they get. Don't start using it expecting to link it with a forum later if you don't love how their commenting system works (for example).
Leadership of the company tends to focus on the money angle but I guess that's to be expected. ("You can make mega-$$$ with your courses!" and some have.) You won't find information on crafting your course but you will find plenty on how to give it a high price tag. If you can avoid the hype and have a third party email app you like to use, then Teachable is a good option. I've found it to be affordable and profitable in spite of the email problems.
Pros
The teaching platform (curriculum videos, PDFs, etc.) is good and uploads are easy. I found that building a sales page was not difficult and sending people to the sales page with discount coupons was a smooth process. Payments were collected and paid out promptly at the end of the month (for my plan). Support is by email only (no chat) and took a couple days but the answers were helpful. The plans are reasonably priced for individual teachers and consultant.
Cons
I have experienced serious problems with their built-in email application. Since this is the primary way teachers communicate with students, it should be a priority for them. There were days when it wasn't working when I needed to send links to live classes and webinars. It's difficult to customize "Welcome" emails and there's no way to schedule sends or save drafts. They recently announced that all emails would come from a strange looking email address that belongs to them (and has been labeled "spam" by my email hosting service). I've drawn their attention to these problems several times. The response is polite but there has been no move to improve the service. It's a very amateurish response. I would recommend looking at other services first OR be prepared to use a third party email service every time you want to reach your students, including new sign-ups.
Teachable has solved the problem I was having using self-hosted WordPress with WooCommerce's suite of very expensive plugins that are continually updated with breaking changes that they often had to be resolved by tinkering with PHP code. Having my school hosted in the cloud takes care of all of the software and security headaches.
I do feel bad leaving a lukewarm review for the product, as the customer service is extraordinarily nice and has bent over backwards to help me overcome some of the limitations.
Also worth noting that perhaps my situation is unique, in that I am mostly using Teachable as sort of online school with content from other authors, as opposed to just being a place for me to sell my own courses without involving anyone else.
Right now, there doesn't seem to be a platform that's super-focused on creating your own online school with multiple teachers (or is there?), so Teachable is getting the job done, but I regret not having done a bit more research on the front end, as some other solutions might have offered me more of what I was looking for.
Pros
* Customer Service
* Ease of use
* Pretty nice admin interface
* Although there is not much you can do to theme your school without getting into code, what they have out of the box is pretty tasteful in terms of typography and layout
Cons
* No built-in contact form capabilities, and I don't know that you could code your own (if you're tech savvy enough), so that leaves you with a cheesy free embed form that will have someone else's branding on it, or paying at least $10 a month for a white-labeled contact form. I mean, what sort of paid online school doesn't have a "Contact Us" page with a form (as opposed to just an email address)?
* Hefty fees if you want to have payments automatically sent out to other authors automatically (wish I knew this before I signed up!).
* No ability to sell gift certificates without going through a very manual convoluted process
I was able to create my own online school, website, landing pages and payment portal with ease. I highly recommend Teachable .
Pros
Easy to set up, very reasonably priced and great tutorials and advice for marketing your courses. If you have online curriculum you'd like to share with the world, this is a very seamless process.
Cons
Unable to add HTML features within the curriculum itself. They do not do any marketing (like Udemy), whereas they would market globally and the school owner would get a smaller percentage of the sales. I think this is good for reaching a larger audience.
Teachable allows me to quickly and easily organize my video course content in a logical manner. This makes course deployment simple and my courses still retain a professional look/feel.
Pros
Teachable is very user friendly and they offer an intuitive user interface. They have features like drag and drop or duplicate that make creating training courses a breeze. I've used other course creation software and I find that Teachable is easier to understand. They also have a lot of documentation and offer support. Also, check out their facebook group...there's lots of valuable info exchanged there about course creation.
Cons
I'm on the basic plan and I think it's a little pricey, but I get it; they're in business to make money. I wish they had a plan between the free plan and the basic plan with less features than the basic as this would probably be a better fit for me.
Pros
Teachable offers all the essential features one needs to create and deliver an online course. The platform is super easy to use and it allows you to get started quickly. The pricing is beginner friendly and they even have a free plan.
Cons
Teachable's website building capabilities are really limited at this point. So, unlike their competitors, they don't offer site themes and the page builder has limited customization options as well.
Self hosting from Teachable. You don't need to have your own sites, which saved a lot of time in putting up a course online to start marketing and selling.
Pros
Modern and simple interface to work with. Everything is self-explanatory. But there are also plenty of help links and tips in the interfaces to guide you as well. You can also email support for help.
You can create an online course hosted on Teachable servers once you have all your content readily created and uploaded. By content, I mean docs, guides, links to videos or actual videos to be uploaded themselves and images.
Everything is intuitive for me to explore and experiment. Teachable has got a standard templating system which I found to be simple and easy for me to set up a course at my own time own target.
Cons
The only con is the pricing! It's going to be expensive to sustain for a year which you can get all the premium features plus all the bundle up training courses that Teachable offers. To maximise your value for money, you may sign up for a paid account during their promotional period, which are usually from the free webinars.
I am still using Teachable and like their plans for upgrading to professional use. However i am not impressed with the feautures nor the quality of work. Though it fit my needs as a first time online course creator.
Pros
Easy to use. A simple framework to set up a complete curriculum. Fine sales pages and features to give students access by drip function. So they have to work their way through before accessing the whole course.
One can also make a great Curriculum framework and reuse for the next and the next. By the function og duplicating a whole course.
Cons
The inflexibility to make the page look and design in a way that fit the needs for ones own creativity is limited. Also the integrations with other software, landingpages, Eventbrite, Facebook is quite lowkey and can need an upgrade soon.
There is very few options for making the page look great in the GUI. But one can use own html to code if so desired.
Overall, a really great solution for hosting your training materials.
Pros
Have a couple of trainings hosted on Teachable and have found it to be great software. Easy to set up and pretty flexible. I like that it's hosted, meaning I don't have the pressure of worrying with the security and uptime of using my own host.
Cons
Wish the first level had more features, like being able to integrate with Zapier in the way that I need it to, which is automatically adding people who buy via my shopping cart.
Pros
No two courses need look the same in Teachable -- this software provides excellent and robust options for designing course layout, modules, accessibility, focus areas, and more, while remaining quick to learn and use, which is a plus for busy instructors.
Cons
Not as many students arrive to the class with prior experience using a Teachable-hosted course. The software learning curve is quick and easy, but a bit of learning time is helpful to include.
Pros
I am a language teacher so I need a platform to teach without any worry, Teachable gave me the chance to do it. The first time I used this software was amazing and I fall instantly in love with it because I can have everything organized when I teach my courses. A good thing about this is that you can create all the online courses you want to, even can create some free courses. This allows you to share all the content you need for your classes, you can use GoogleDrive or any other cloud storage site. Also you can create quizzes and evaluations for your classes, forums and give certificates to the participants. The feature that I liked the most is that you have your own domain with the name you select. This is perfect to me!
Cons
The thing that I didn't like is the payment. At the beginning I thought it was a little expensive, but then I realized that it totally worth it so is not an issue anymore.
Pros
What I like most about Teachable is that this platform is well organized and its structure courses so simple that couldn't be down in any other way better. I like that it counts my learning progress in the upper left corner. And I like that Teacher lessons show what data it contains like video, a document to download, pictures etc. Nice feature when I'm going through the course the lessons that I went through I marked completed and that's why I know exactly where I left my learning process. Also, one of the greatest differences of the platform is that interface which allows you to focus on the main thing - learning the course and there is nothing that will bother you or took your intention away from it. Just press the fullscreen button and start learning. No interfering elements are involved.
Cons
Cons... I cannot think of any of it right now, because I don't see them. I don't use Teachable platform for distributing my own content just as a learner when I enrolled in somebody else course, but I know for a fact that Teachable despite its simplicity and well-organized structure also provides its own web host, payment processor and if you will put your free course on teachable it will not take any fees from you for peoples enrollments.
If you’re a teacher or if you want to share your knowledge you’ll love Teachable. The main objective of the platform is to create content to share and sell that knowledge.
Pros
You can start making money by generating slides, videos or material. Has PayPal integrations so you can connect directly to your PayPal account. As a teacher or content creator for education you can categorize content, view learners progress and even detect each one's grades. Has a lot of management tools for large groups of people.
You can create a landing page for every course and let the students apply for your courses.
Cons
If you're looking for an internal LMS Teachable is not the solution. But that will be a great opportunity for Teachable to configure and make some updates for a Company LMS product. For sure another business model.
Pros
Good structure to course, nice layout. Good analytics. We have not launched our course yet but have been using it to set up for the past month.
Cons
Video uploads take forever. Like 10 times what it take to upload to Youtube. One video of 150 MB can take 1.5-2 hours to upload on extremely high speed internet. (17mb per sec download speed).
We have talked to support and they say if our videos are over 500MB then it can take a long time. And if your computer falls asleep it will stop...or it can just stop anyways and you have to start to whole process over again. The bulk uploader is a joke. If you want to upload 10 video plan on staying on your computer for 15 hours.
The only reason we have stuck with it is that once you invest 100 hours you hate to throw it away. Also, thinkific doesn't have great analytics, so we feel there is no better option at the moment. If only Google would create good platform.
In my experience it is a great teaching platforms, because it allows me to concentrate only on the part of teaching because I do not know much about programming or program updates since the same tool takes care of that and I can concentrate only on the knowledge that they want to give. Can be flexibility for the different audiencia nivel.
Pros
It has several important features but among the most outstanding is very easy to use since the platform is very intuitive and does not correspond a great challenge to use it, besides having a large number of tools from which I can attend the student as for example the power create blogs and finally their different forms of payment gateways can affiliate with different accounts being an excellent option.
Cons
It is an excellent platform because it is simple for both the teacher and the student, adapting to the preferences of the author of the course giving a great capacity for organization over the various contents.
This software helps me have a modern and useful course for my users. It takes out the management of affiliates, authentication, and other essential components that would be a pain to build.
Pros
Teachable has so much functionality I expect from my Learning Management System. And the support/team behind it empowers me to provide beautiful courses to my users. Its coupon functionality, homepage design, and course builder are intuitive and powerful. Just recently they have made it possible to give students a certificate for completing the course, which has long been a request of our users.
Cons
I wish there was more API functionality through Teachable. There are useful webhooks, but manipulating data within the platform is limited.
I love the webinars; they keep me motivated. You won't receive as much one on one unless you choose the more expensive platform.
Pros
It is easy to use and they provide lots of webinars and training. The training is not only focused on user interface, but also entrepreneurial skills.
Cons
Not much. It could be cheaper. I like that they have a three-tiered program but even these could each be cheaper. Maybe a payoff in the end for the company would be a better strategy.
Could easily create a beautiful online course and immediately start capitalising on the creation.
Pros
The free version is pretty darn cool, the paid versions are way better. Payment options are a breeze and the platform is beautiful and easy to use. So many features and functions and add-ins are available to make a beautiful online school.
Cons
Not as customisable as many other online course platforms. Difficult to brand properly unless you know how to delve into the code and edit it properly without breaking something.
Pros
It's really easy to get up and started on Teachable - it's possible if you're not tech savvy (I got my cousin to try it) and really fast & simple if you are. Now that they're adding features comparable with more premium tools - like in affiliate management and customizable checkout pages, it's great to have everything in one spot.
Cons
Its all-in-one nature does mean that sometimes you have a few things - like instant payouts - that are only on the largest plan/more expensive than with a niche tool's plan, but then you'd need to use multiple niche tools.
I'm able to offer two online courses for my blog audience and create a new revenue stream for my business.
Pros
I love that Teachable handles all of the online payments, accepts all major credit cards, and handles any taxes necessary. I also love that they not only offer a platform to host your sites, but also include sales pages, check out pages, and thank you pages.
Cons
I wish some of the reporting was easier to find and understand. It can be pretty difficult to break down income streams within the program. It can also be difficult to maneuver the backend of the site in general. I always struggle to find how to change preset text, as well as find more information about my students (like who completed the course and when, etc).
Pros
Offers a free plan to try the basic features .
The interface is very intuitive and with supporting docs and responsive customer support , the learning curve is not steep at all . The course making interface is simple drag and drop editor and very easy to use .
The aesthetic look of the front end can be made as good as your creativity can take you .
Cons
The content types that can be added are files , videos , quizzes , etc . Just like Udemy by and large . Nothing built on authoring tools like say, articulate can be hosted here . That's a big let down .
Pros
The two LMS platforms I recommend to entrepreneurs are Teachable/Thinkific. Everything around a online course can be built on Teachable. That way, you can focus on making course content and teaching your students.
Cons
The lack of mobile responsiveness, and embedded content is hit or miss. I had trouble embedding a online form for quiz taking, and the workaround didn't work.
I've tried out Ruzuku, Thinkific, Kajabi (Abnormally expensive), and a ZippyCourses, along with a couple more wordpress plugins. Teachable is hands down THE BEST platform I've found (and it's oddly cheaper). The team is great, agile, and when you join you become part of the teachable community, that is ALWAYS there for you. It's not just the software that makes Teachable so great, but the connections and information you get as well. They work with a huge network of incredible influencers and entrepreneurs that I've personally networked with and now worked with, and their information is top notch.
Pros
Incredible customer service, drip content, beautiful platform, awesome reporting, great editing features, and a bunch of integrations.
Cons
Ankur sometimes takes a while to get back to you. But he IS the CEO. I'm surprised he even answers our questions.
They have a lot to offer for anyone building courses, from solopreneurs who teach to large companies who provide internal training. It's also pretty affordable overall.
Pros
There's a lot of things to like about Teachable. You can host your content, have it locked for only paid customers, and lots of reporting tools to see how your students are doing. There's plenty of integrations as well, and you can modify the landing pages/sales pages/course pages. It's awesome.
Cons
There's not really much that I don't like about Teachable. I do wish they offered some features like free trials of our courses, but it's not a major con. The work around would be to provide a free course, that funnels into a paid course.