Teachable vs. Podia Comparison 2025: Which Online Course Platform is Best for Creators?

In the booming creator economy, choosing the right platform to host and sell your online courses can make or break your business. Two popular options are Teachable and Podia. Both platforms enable you to create, market, and deliver digital courses and digital products, but they cater to slightly different audiences and have distinct feature sets. In this comparison, we’ll look at their ease of use, pricing, features, marketing tools, and support so you can decide which platform aligns with your goals.

Overview and Ease of Use

Teachable and Podia are both cloud-based platforms designed to help creators build and sell courses without needing technical skills. Teachable has been around since 2013 and focuses primarily on course creation and student management. Podia, launched in 2014, positions itself as an all-in-one digital storefront where you can sell courses, webinars, downloads, and memberships. Both platforms offer intuitive drag-and-drop builders and host your content for you, so you don’t need to worry about servers or coding.

Teachable

• Course builder: Teachable’s course builder lets you upload videos, PDFs, audio files, quizzes and text lessons. You can organise content into sections and lectures, drip content on a schedule, and offer graded quizzes. The interface feels modern and polished.
• Student dashboard: Students get a clean dashboard where they can track progress and resume where they left off. Teachable offers native comment threads inside lessons so students can ask questions.
• Customization: You can customise the look of your school with your logo, colours and fonts. Teachable also allows custom domains so your courses live on your own branded URL.

Podia

• Product builder: Podia uses a simple workflow for creating courses, downloads, webinars and community spaces. You drag lessons into place and choose from video, audio, PDF, text and more. There’s also a built-in community feature where members can discuss topics and support each other.
• All-in-one storefront: Unlike Teachable, Podia bundles email marketing, sales pages, upsells, and messaging into one subscription. You can create landing pages and product bundles quickly.
• Design: Podia has fewer visual customisation options than Teachable, but the designs are clean and responsive out of the box.

Pricing and Plans (2025)

Pricing is always evolving, so always check the official websites for current deals. As of September 2025, here’s how the platforms compare:

• Teachable Free Plan: 0% monthly fee plus $1 + 10% per transaction. Limited to one course and basic quizzes.
• Teachable Basic ($39/mo): 5% transaction fee plus integrated payment processing, unlimited courses, custom domain, coupon codes, and email support.
• Teachable Pro ($119/mo): No transaction fees, built-in graded quizzes, course completion certificates, and priority support.
• Teachable Pro+ ($299/mo): Adds coaching products, advanced developer customisation, and group coaching capabilities.
• Podia Free Plan: $0/month with 10% transaction fee and limited features. You can sell one coaching product and host one course.
• Podia Mover ($33/mo): No transaction fees, unlimited courses, downloads and webinars, email marketing up to 5k subscribers, and community features.
• Podia Shaker ($75/mo): Adds affiliate marketing, offsite buy buttons, and up to 15k email subscribers.
• Podia Earthquake ($166/mo): Adds priority support, custom onboarding, and up to 50k email subscribers.

When calculating total cost, consider the transaction fees (especially if you have high revenue), and whether you need features like affiliate management (only included on Podia Shaker) or graded quizzes (only included on Teachable Pro).

Marketing and Sales Features

Teachable

• Affiliate program: Teachable includes affiliate management starting with the Pro plan. You can invite partners to promote your courses and set custom commission rates. Affiliates get unique referral links and can track their earnings.
• Course completion certificates: You can automatically issue certificates to students who finish your course, which encourages completion and builds social proof.
• Upsells: You can offer order bumps and one-click upsells at checkout to increase average order value.
• Third-party integrations: Teachable integrates with Zapier, MailChimp, ConvertKit and more, so you can connect your email marketing or CRM tools.

Podia

• All-in-one email marketing: Podia includes email marketing with broadcast emails, campaigns and automations. You can segment subscribers, schedule newsletters, and embed opt-in forms. This removes the need for a separate email provider.
• Webinars and memberships: You can sell live or pre-recorded webinars and charge recurring fees for membership communities. The community feature helps you build a long-term relationship with your students.
• Offsite widgets: You can embed buy buttons on any website, so you can sell courses from your WordPress site or other blogs.
• Affiliate system: Available on the Shaker plan, Podia’s affiliate system is similar to Teachable’s but is integrated with the email marketing tools.

Pros and Cons

Teachable Pros

• Polished course builder with more advanced quiz and grading options.
• Better customisation and branding capabilities, including custom CSS on higher plans.
• Certificates and compliance features (e.g., VAT handling for EU customers) built in.
• Strong analytics dashboard for tracking student progress.

Teachable Cons

• Transaction fees on lower plans can add up quickly.
• Affiliate management only available on higher priced plans.
• No built-in email marketing; you need to integrate a third-party tool.

Podia Pros

• True all-in-one platform: courses, digital downloads, webinars, community, and email marketing.
• No transaction fees on paid plans; predictable monthly cost.
• Simpler pricing tiers; easier to budget.
• Built-in affiliate program starting on Shaker plan.

Podia Cons

• Limited course customization; fewer design options for course player and landing pages.
• No certificates or advanced quiz features.
• Some features (affiliate, offsite buttons) locked behind higher-tier plans.

Verdict: Which Platform Should You Choose?

Ultimately, your decision should align with your business model and budget. If you want a highly customisable course experience, need graded quizzes or certificates, and are willing to integrate with external tools for email marketing, Teachable may be the better fit. On the other hand, if you prefer an all-in-one solution that includes email marketing, webinars, and community features at a predictable monthly price, Podia is an excellent choice.

At ToolCompass, we recommend starting with a platform that scales with your needs. If your priority is speed and simplicity, Podia’s free plan or Mover plan can help you launch quickly. If you already have an email list and want more control over course design, Teachable’s Pro plan may offer the depth you need.

Ready to Get Started?

If you’re ready to try Teachable or Podia, visit our Recommended Tools page to sign up through our partner links and unlock exclusive bonuses. We only recommend products we believe in and may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

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