Teachable vs. Udemy – Platforms for Selling Online Courses

When choosing an online course platform, there are many different factors that one should consider.

For one, you should check its features for creating courses. Teachable is a well-known platform for its useful tools for designing an online course.

Another factor that users typically consider when choosing their platform is cost. Udemy has this nailed down because it’s popular for being a cost-free platform.

This Teachable vs. Udemy review will explore the similarities and differences between the two. By the end, we hope to help you choose which one suits you best.

Overview of Teachable

Teachable is a popular all-in-one online course platform. Many course creators and students love it for its useful features.

The platform interface is simple enough even for first-time creators to understand and use. In a handful of steps, you’ll get to create a fully-working course and website.

Subscribers can also access a variety of customization options for their site. Some pre-made layouts and templates are ready on Teachable.

As for course and student management, Teachable gives all its creators the benefit of monitoring analytics. They can view students’ grades, as well as their overall revenue in real-time.

And once you’ve finalized your online course, you can immediately put it up for sale on Teachable. There are also email marketing options that you can use to extend your audience reach.

If you’re a student, you’ll enjoy all the different course subjects on the platform as well. These usually even have added visual resources like videos and PDFs for a better understanding of the topic.

You’re entitled to a free trial on Teachable when you get started. Once it expires, there are three paid plans that you can opt from to continue access to the platform.

Standout Features of Teachable

Easy-to-Use Interface

Teachable is well-known for its easy-to-use interface. It doesn’t matter if you’re experienced or not with web design and course creation.

The dashboard shows you everything that you’ll need to get started on your Teachable courses. For each course you make, you can add other files and sections as well.

Teachable uses a drag-and-drop page builder so that it’s easy for users to add elements to their pages. It also simplifies the process of arranging the layout of their website.

Aside from course creation tools, you can also access course marketing and analytics settings right on your Teachable dashboard.

Customization Options

As mentioned, Teachable’s page builder is extremely user-friendly. You can use it to design your official website since it also comes with built-in templates and layouts.

Other aspects that you can customize on Teachable are color schemes and fonts. You can choose a specific look for your overall theme so that your brand is more memorable to students. You can even upload personal logos and graphics for more authenticity.

If you’re a more experienced course creator, you might already know more ways to personalize your page. Teachable allows users to use its Power Editor to edit the CSS and HTML codes for better designs and complete control of the overall look.

File Management

Teachable lets you upload files to enrich your online courses. You can add videos, images, and audio files, as well as other documents like PDFs and Word files.

Also, whatever you upload on Teachable will automatically get optimized for viewing on every device. The quality will stay intact whether you open it on your computer or your smartphone.

Sales Features

Once you’re done creating your online course, you can immediately put it up for sale on Teachable. The sales features include the option to create bundles for the products you offer.

You can send your current students special coupons and discounts to encourage them to stay subscribed. The same can be done for potential users so that they’re enticed to register.

Course creators can also set a payment collection process for all their courses. They can instantly view their earnings on Teachable once the subscribers settle the payment.

Something called affiliate marketing can also be done on Teachable. You can partner up with affiliates to promote your online course and gain new students from an otherwise unreachable audience for you.

And if you need any guidance on how marketing processes work, Teachable has a helpful database right on the site. You can access guide articles and FAQs to enrich your knowledge.

Email Features

There are email marketing features on Teachable as well. It’s what will allow you to send out the freebies and special coupons, that we just mentioned, to your students.

You can easily send out new course updates and content to your students via email list. In turn, your students can reply and send you a message as well. They can ask questions regarding the course.

And the email features aren’t limited to just your current students. You can send out promotional emails even to students who aren’t enrolled in your course yet. It’s a great marketing tactic.

But if Teachable’s email marketing tools still aren’t quite enough for you, the platform also allows third-party app integration. You can sync an email app like MailChimp to your account and create a bigger email list.

Account Analytics

Another thing you can access on Teachable is analytics for your online courses. Every course creator can check their total revenues in real-time.

Aside from total earnings, you can also view how well your enrolled students are doing in their courses. Their grades will appear in real-time as well, based on how they did on their assessments.

But just like the email marketing tools, if you’re still dissatisfied with the built-in analytics features on Teachable, then you can integrate third-party apps as well. Most users use Google Analytics for their accounts.

Customer Support

Should you encounter any issues while using Teachable, you can always rely on their customer support team to help you out.

Teachable has a live chat feature for users of its paid plans. You can begin a chat with the support team anytime you need something urgent resolved.

There’s also an option to place a ticket for matters that aren’t too urgent if you’re subscribed to the free trial. It’ll take about 24 hours for the Teachable team to get back to you if you use this method.

And if you explore the official Teachable website, you’ll see that there’s a Knowledge Base. On it, all users can access guide articles on how to use Teachable.

Teachable Pricing

Upon registering, users are entitled to the free trial for a month. They’ll be able to use essential features for course creation and marketing.

Though you can create a fully-functioning course with the trial, the overall features are still limited. There will be several tools that will remain locked until you opt for one of the paid plans.

Also, even though the free trial is “free”, there will be a $1 + 10% transaction fee for every sale you make. And then if you use a payment processor, there’s an additional 2.9% + 30 cents transaction fee.

And if you’re planning to opt out of using a payment processor, the downside is that your payout will be delayed for a month.

Teachable Basic Plan

Teachable Basic is the most affordable plan and it costs $39 per month. When billed annually, it costs $29 per month.

When subscribed to this, users can access all the tools they need to create an online course. They can also upload an unlimited number of files.

Drip content can also be done with this plan. Instructors can set a specific day for when new content is released to their students so that they learn at a reasonable pace.

Users can also customize their website using built-in templates on the platform. They can even set a custom domain name.

You can also have a maximum of 2 authors for your website. And you can automate your student sign-ups to speed up enrollment.

As for marketing, this plan allows creators to run an affiliate program for their online courses. It’s a good strategy for reaching more students.

Like the free trial though, the Basic Plan charges a transaction fee. Teachable will ask for a 5% charge for every sale you make and when you use a payment processor, there’s an additional 2.9% + 30 cents fee.

And like in the free trial, your payout will get delayed by a month if you choose to not use a third-party payment processor.

Teachable Professional Plan

Teachable Professional is the mid-tier plan and it costs $119 per month. When billed annually, it costs $99 per month.

This is the most popular plan because it has advanced features at a still reasonable price.

When you’re subscribed, you get all the same features that you’d get with the Basic Plan but with a few more advanced settings.

It lets you send certificates to your students for every course they finish. You can also view your students’ progress reports in real-time. Plus, you can turn on the automatic grading feature.

And unlike the Basic Plan, you can have up to 5 authors when you’re subscribed to this. You’ll also get prioritized responses from the support team.

Finally, this plan won’t ask for transaction fees. But if you use third-party payment processors, then their 2.9% + 40 cents fees still apply.

Teachable Professional doesn’t require you to follow a payout schedule either. You can monitor your total earnings the moment you receive them.

Teachable Business Plan

Teachable Professional is the most expensive plan and it costs $299 per month. When billed annually, it costs $249 per month.

You will get all the same features that the Basic and Professional plans have, as well as other tools.

For one, you can authorize up to 20 authors. You can also enroll students in bulk to create larger classes.

Just like the Professional Plan, you won’t be asked to pay transaction fees but the third-party payment processor fees will remain.

This plan also doesn’t follow a payout schedule so you have free reign over your total revenues.

Overview of Udemy

Udemy is another good option for online learning. Creators and students alike have expressed their approval for this competent online course platform.

With an easy-to-use interface, Udemy creators won’t find any trouble with getting started on their courses and then eventually selling them. Udemy has all the tools you need if you want to create your course.

Udemy course creators can access advanced features to enhance the e-learning experience.

And for students, they’ll get just as much satisfaction as their instructors do. The variety of courses on Udemy will never leave them bored.

Plus, the moment that you enroll in a course on Udemy, you get access to it forever. No expiration dates or anything. It’s really good value for your money.

Udemy’s customer support team is also available for all its users who might encounter issues while using it. You can contact them in just a few simple steps.

Finally, perhaps the best thing about Udemy is that it is completely free. There are no pricing or subscription plans that you have to pay for.

Standout Features of Udemy

User-Friendly Interface

Udemy has a simple interface that lets you do course creation as soon as you verify your account.

For students, you can select a course by either typing a keyword into Udemy’s search bar or by browsing the different categories on the Udemy drop-down menu.

And once you’ve found the course you like, you can simply add it to your virtual cart and purchase it.

For course creators, the interface is pretty straightforward as well. You can easily access all the tools you’ll need to design a fully-working course on Udemy.

Instructors can even upload extra content to their courses to enhance their learning experience. Files like PDFs, videos, and images can accompany the course to serve as visual aids.

And once your students have finished, you can create a certificate to send to them.

We also love that Udemy goes the extra mile to help you out with research before you even create your course. It compiles current course trends on the platform and then offers you suggestions based on them.

You’ll have a general feel of what kinds of topics and subjects the students on Udemy tend to engage with the most.

Course Marketplace

Udemy has a course marketplace right on the platform where you can market your courses. And for every course you sell through it, you receive 50% of the total profit.

If you end up selling your online course directly to your student, you get a higher percentage of profit. For every direct sale on Udemy, a creator receives 97% of the profit.

You should note that there is also a price cap for the courses that you sell on Udemy. You can sell a course for free or up to as high as $200.

Course Variety

There are plenty of course categories that you can choose from on Udemy. The most popular ones are:

• Design
• Development
• Marketing
• IT & Software
• Personal Development
• Business
• Photography
• Music

The categories range from professional to more creative subjects. Surely, there is a course category for you once you explore Udemy’s complete catalog.

Udemy’s categories are even further broken down into subcategories for an easier search. Some popular subcategories are:

Development:

• Python
• Web Development
• Machine Learning

Business:

• Financial Analysis
• SQL
• PMP

IT & Software:

• AWS Certification
• Ethical Hacking
• Cyber Security

Music:

• Photoshop
• Graphic Design
• Drawing

Money-Back Guarantee

While we can vouch for Udemy’s competence as an online course platform, it still offers a cash-back guarantee to all its users.

In case you’re dissatisfied with any Udemy courses, you can ask for a refund. This is as long as you send the request within the 30-day cutoff.

Just go to the specific course and then select the “Request a Refund” option from the Udemy drop-down menu. You’ll get redirected to the refund form. Just fill it out and submit to begin the process.

One thing you should note about Udemy’s money-back guarantee is that it isn’t automatically granted to everyone though. The Udemy team will still have to discern whether your request is valid or not.

For example, if it’s obvious that you’ve been getting refunds for multiple online courses, then that’s suspicious. Udemy will not grant the refund.

Also, some online courses have downloadable files and content. If you have already downloaded them, then you cannot get a refund because you’ve already accessed premium Udemy content.

But other than those cases, Udemy’s refund process is pretty quick and efficient.

Udemy Pricing

For Udemy Creators

On Udemy, creating online courses will cost you absolutely nothing. Unlike other course platforms that have multi-tiered pricing schemes, Udemy won’t charge you a single cent.

Udemy can stay free for all creators because it earns its profit from each digital sale you make. It has something called a Revenue Share scheme for dividing profit between themselves and the Udemy course creator.

As mentioned, creators gain 97% of the revenue share for every direct sale they make. Udemy takes the remaining 3%. And since creators earn 50% for every sale they make on the course marketplace, Udemy takes the other 50% revenue share.

There also no hidden charges on Udemy, if that’s what you’re worried about. Creators on a budget can breathe much easier when subscribed to this platform.

For Udemy Students

If you’re a student, the courses on Udemy range from $0 (free) to about $200. The pricing of each course depends on the complexity, length, and duration of the course.

And once you’ve paid for your Udemy course, you get access to it forever or as long as you continue to use Udemy.

Teachable vs. Udemy

Now it’s finally time to put Teachable vs. Udemy. Keep reading to find out our final verdict.

Similarities

The most blatant similarity between Teachable and Udemy is that they both have simple interfaces. Upon registering, you can already build a fully-functional course.

And like Teachable, Udemy lets creators upload additional content to the courses. These can be files like videos and images that serve as visual aids for students or extra readings for a better understanding of the topic.

Both platforms are also good choices if you want to create quizzes for your courses. The assessment creation features let you add different quiz types.

Course instructors can send their students certificates for every lesson they accomplish on both Teachable and Udemy as well.

Just like Teachable, Udemy allows its instructors to view their account analytics as well. You can monitor your overall revenue and earnings on both platforms.

Plus, both Teachable and Udemy allow their creators to send out coupons and discounts to their students. It’s a good tactic for enticing them to keep subscribing to their courses.

You can also integrate a third-party application like Google Analytics to both Teachable and Udemy if you need more reporting options.

Differences

The biggest difference between Teachable and Udemy is the pricing scheme for each platform.

Teachable offers three paid plans and a free trial upon sign-up. On the other hand, Udemy doesn’t require its users to pay for a subscription at all.

Also, when putting Teachable vs. Udemy, we found that Udemy has more transparent pricing and profit breakdown.

Creators on Udemy will receive a 97% profit from every direct sale they make. For sales they make via the Udemy marketplace, they receive 50%.

Plus, when we look at Teachable vs. Udemy in terms of access to courses, Udemy has a stronger edge. This is since students get lifetime access to courses.

But when we think about Teachable vs. Udemy in terms of course creation, Teachable is a stronger platform. The customization, assessment, and marketing tools are more advanced.

Plus, when putting Teachable vs. Udemy in terms of emailing, Teachable wins.

You can’t send bulk emails to promote your Udemy course. Teachable, on the other hand, has great email advertising tools.

Even custom domain creation is different when you look at Teachable vs. Udemy. Udemy doesn’t allow you to create custom domains for courses but Teachable does.

And when pitting Teachable vs. Udemy in terms of content management, Teachable is better. This is because it lets you do drip content.

Overall, when you look at Teachable vs. Udemy, Teachable has better features for course creation. But Udemy’s strength is that it has a better pricing scheme since it costs nothing.

Conclusion

To sum up our Teachable vs. Udemy review, we find that each platform has its strengths in terms of creating and marketing courses.

If pricing is an issue for you because you’re on a tight budget, then opt for Udemy. It costs nothing to stay subscribed and create courses on the platform.

And if you’re a student, there’s a wide variety of categories for the courses. Plus, you get lifetime access to the courses you buy.

But if you’re looking for an all-in-one platform for creating and marketing courses, then we recommend Teachable. There are three pricing schemes to choose from, depending on your budget and needs.

Teachable also has more advanced course creation settings compared to Udemy. Udemy doesn’t offer much in terms of personalization. If you’re planning to strengthen your branding, then Teachable is a good platform for you.

Our final verdict for this Teachable vs. Udemy review is that we’re leaning more towards Teachable. Though Udemy is free, it still can’t beat the all-in-one features on Teachable.

You can also check out our reviews of Teachable and Udemy in our Best Online Course Platforms article.