Teachable Pricing Update: Navigating New Plans Amid Controversial Price Hikes

Teachable Pricing Update: Navigating New Plans Amid Controversial Price Hikes

Teachable has always aimed to empower course creators, but the recent pricing update is sparking serious debate. With the retiring of the old Basic, Pro, and Pro+ plans in June 2025, Teachable is introducing four new tiers—Starter, Builder, Growth, and Advanced—to address evolving market demands. However, for many in our community, especially those dependent on high-volume, low-cost courses, these changes pose major challenges.

For a breakdown of the break-even points when selling courses using the new Teachable pricing plans, have a look at my post titled, Profitability Journey: When do Creators become Profitable

So, What’s Changing?

Teachable now offers a clear and structured pricing model:

• Starter: Designed for early-stage creators, but carries a 7.5% transaction fee.
• Builder, Growth, and Advanced: Now with 0% base transaction fees, offering a promise of more advanced features.

Below is the new pricing snapshot for an annual billing cycle compared to monthly:

My Take: The student limits and product limits are simply awful. With only 100 students allowed on the Starter plan and such low product limits across the board, small creators are being boxed into a restrictive model that doesn’t support growth or innovation. This approach feels like a step backward for those of us trying to scale our businesses without being penalized. Why limit published products to only a 100 even on the most expensive plans? It’s not like it’s saving database or bandwidth space since the products are already in the system.

Transitioning from the Old to the New

For many creators, the jump in pricing and features is more than just a number change—it’s a fundamental shift in the business model:

• Basic to Builder:
  Old Pricing: $39/mo annually / $59/mo monthly with a 5% transaction fee.
  New Pricing: $69/mo annually / $89/mo monthly with 0% transaction fee.
  Gain: Upsells, enhanced course compliance tools (course completion certificates, abandoned cart emails), affiliate management, and unlimited abandoned cart email sends.

• Basic to Growth:
  Old Pricing: Also $39/mo annually / $59/mo monthly at 5% transaction fee for smaller schools.
  New Pricing: $139/mo annually / $189/mo monthly with 0% transaction fee.
  Gain: Multiple choice quizzes with automatic grading, detailed student reporting, additional apps and admin roles, and full Zapier access plus developer hub features.

• Basic to Advanced:
  Old Pricing: $39/mo annually / $59/mo monthly with a 5% fee.
  New Pricing: $309/mo annually / $399/mo monthly with 0% transaction fee.
  Gain: All the benefits of the Growth plan plus further advanced features like white labeling and high limits.

• Pro / Pro+ Transitions:
  For users on the Pro plans, the changes are similar. Pro plan users move to the Growth plan (upgraded features with zero transaction fees), and Pro+ plan users transition to Advanced. This ramp-up in pricing can be pivotal for those who are not yet scaling to the higher thresholds needed to justify increased monthly costs.

The Impact on High-Volume, Low-Cost Sellers

Many of our Facebook group members rely on selling hundreds of courses priced around $5 each. With increased subscription fees and, in some cases, the need to upgrade to tiers that may not reflect their current scale, the economics of their business models are deeply affected.

For instance, while the Builder tier offers 0% transaction fees compared to the basic 5-7.5% in previous plans, the jump from $39 to $69 (annually billed) or from $59 to $89 (monthly billed) represents a significant increase in fixed costs. This change can strain intently optimized low-margin strategies. The higher-tier plans—in particular Growth and Advanced—come with features that small creators might never fully utilize, making the cost upgrade feel disproportionate.

Beyond Costs: Feature Enhancements and Their Associated Price

Teachable isn’t just raising prices—they’re also elevating the feature set:

• Elevated Student Experience: All plans now include course drip content, certificates, and enhanced student reporting.
• Enhanced Sales & Marketing Tools: Abandoned cart emails, coupons, order bumps, upsell funnels, and affiliate tools are now more accessible.
• AI-Powered Enhancements: Growth and Advanced plans now offer unlimited free AI-powered caption and subtitle generation, whereas Starter and Builder come with these as add-ons.

These enhancements might sound attractive to larger creators, but for many small-scale educators, they add little immediate value relative to their increased costs.

Community Voices and Growing Dissatisfaction

It’s clear from community discussions that not everyone is on board with these changes. Many feel that while advanced tools and integrations are valuable, the significant jump in subscription rates is a heavy burden for businesses operating on razor-thin margins. Creators selling 200+ courses on a low-cost model now face a stark choice:

• Absorb the increased subscription costs, potentially eroding profits.
• Look for alternative platforms that cater more affordably to high-volume, low-cost sales.

Final Thoughts: A Call for a More Creator-Friendly Future

Teachable’s new pricing structure, with its increased costs and advanced features, represents a decisive move towards supporting larger-scale operations. While these changes may drive innovation and a premium experience for some, they risk alienating a crucial segment of the community—those small creators who fueled the platform’s early growth.

If you’re affected by these changes, it’s important to engage in the discussion, share your concerns in communities, and explore strategies that maintain your competitive edge. Are these new fees sustainable for your business model? Or do you need to consider alternative platforms that offer a more favorable cost structure for low-cost, high-volume sales?

Join our conversation in our Facebook group and let’s continue to support one another in navigating these challenging times. Your feedback and strategic insight are vital in shaping a more balanced future for all Teachable creators.