Key Takeaways
- Limitations of Teachable: Teachable is easy to use but falls short for advanced educational needs due to limited customization, weak email functionality, poor mobile experience, and scalability restrictions.
- Top Alternatives Identified: Platforms like EdisonOS, Thinkific, Podia, Kajabi, and LearnDash provide superior features such as advanced customization, robust learner management, and better live session handling.
- EdisonOS as a Strong Contender: EdisonOS excels with advanced drip scheduling, interactive learning tools, white-label capabilities, and seamless integration, making it ideal for scaling businesses.
- Customizable and Versatile Tools: Alternatives like Thinkific and Kajabi offer drag-and-drop editors, flexible course bundling, and built-in community features, catering to diverse creator needs.
- Advanced Integrations and Scalability: Platforms like Podia and LearnDash integrate with tools like Zoom, Stripe, and WooCommerce, providing flexibility for growing educational ventures.
“Teachable used to be great, but now it just doesn't meet the needs of modern educators anymore," comments a frustrated user.
This sentiment isn't uncommon among Teachable’s long-time users, who have frequently pointed out the platform’s growing limitations in handling complex teaching needs. Whether it’s managing multiple tutors, hosting large-scale live sessions, or offering deep customization, Teachable seems to fall short.
For institutions, tutoring businesses, and educators with more sophisticated demands, these shortcomings highlight the need to explore better alternatives. If you’re looking to scale your online teaching platform, offer more personalized learning experiences, or manage large classes with multiple educators, Teachable might not be the best fit anymore. You seriously need to look for other Teachable alternatives.
In this blog, we’ll explore the real use cases that Teachable struggles to accommodate and show you why platforms like EdisonOS may be the perfect Teachable alternative for businesses with advanced educational needs.
What is Teachable?
Teachable is a user-friendly platform that helps creators and entrepreneurs build and sell online courses and coaching services. It offers easy-to-use tools for creating online courses, hosting workshops, and selling coaching, all without the need for technical skills. Users can manage payments, handle taxes, and track sales through a centralized dashboard, making it a great choice for beginners.
Reasons to Look for Teachable Alternatives
Teachable may be an easy platform to start with, but several limitations could push course creators to look for better Teachable alternatives. Based on user experiences, here are some key reasons why Teachable might not be the best long-term choice:
Reason 1: Customization Restrictions
For many creators, the lack of deep customization options is a major drawback. Teachable offers very limited design flexibility, making it difficult to truly personalize your online school or build engaging, unique landing pages without advanced coding.
Reason 2: Frustrating Customer Support
Users frequently mention the slow and ineffective customer service. Delays in response times and the need for creators to troubleshoot their own issues leave many feeling unsupported. This becomes especially frustrating when technical problems affect course delivery or student experience.
Reason 3: Limited Growth Potential
For creators who want to scale their business or add more advanced features (like community building, live classes, or detailed analytics), Teachable’s limitations become more apparent. As your course grows, you may find the platform restricting your ability to offer the best experience for your audience.
Reason 4: Weak Email Functionality
Teachable’s built-in email tool has been criticized for being unreliable and difficult to use. Customizing emails, scheduling them, and ensuring they reach students without being marked as spam can be challenging. This makes it harder for creators to maintain effective communication with their students.
Reason 5: Poor Mobile Experience
The Teachable mobile app is often described as non-functional, with users finding it impossible to perform even basic tasks. If you or your students prefer accessing courses on mobile devices, the lack of functionality in the app can be a deal-breaker.
Reason 6: High Costs and Hidden Fees
Teachable’s pricing is another point of frustration, with additional fees like transaction charges adding up quickly. Recent changes, such as introducing limits on video file sizes (now capped at 2GB), mean creators may have to spend extra on third-party services like Vimeo, making Teachable less cost-effective.
Reason 7: System Glitches and Bugs
Teachable’s platform is prone to bugs and glitches, such as issues with autosave features, broken integrations, or login difficulties. These problems not only waste time but also impact the quality of your course, leading to potential dissatisfaction among students.
If you’re looking for a more customizable and reliable platform with better support and fewer limitations, exploring Teachable alternatives could be a smart move.
As we dive deeper into this blog post, we'll evaluate various alternatives to Teachable that excel in different areas, offering a comprehensive overview of what each of these online course creation platforms has to offer.
Top 5 Teachable Alternatives for 2024
We have thoroughly analyzed numerous Teachable alternatives, considering factors like customization, pricing, transaction fees, and product flexibility. Based on our review, we have compiled a list of the best Teachable alternatives for 2024 that cater to different needs and offer unique advantages.
1. EdisonOS: One Platform, Endless Solutions
EdisonOS is an all-in-one ed-tech platform designed to help educators, coaching institutes, and training centers efficiently bring their businesses online. As a versatile and scalable learning management system, EdisonOS offers advanced tools for course creation, assessments, e-commerce, community engagement, and in-depth analytics.
It provides solutions for every stage of the online course journey—whether you’re developing a tutoring platform, building a community of learners, creating interactive learning applications, or facilitating online assessments. EdisonOS gives you the flexibility to manage all these needs, making it an ideal choice for creators who require more control compared to Teachable.
Key Features
Advanced Customization with Page Blocks
EdisonOS allows you to design and customize your course pages with ease using page blocks. You can add text, images, videos, quizzes, and interactive elements directly to your course pages, ensuring every section is engaging and informative. Unlike Teachable, where customization is limited, EdisonOS provides you with a variety of content blocks that can be tailored to your specific needs, offering much more creative freedom.
Robust Drip Schedule Settings
One of the most powerful features of EdisonOS is its drip scheduling. You can control when your learners receive content by setting drip schedules based on a calendar date or a specific number of days after a learner enrolls. This level of flexibility allows you to release content exactly when it’s most relevant, ensuring students stay on track. Teachable offers a basic drip feature and doesn’t allow for highly specific release conditions. Content can only be released based on a set number of days after enrollment rather than custom triggers or learner progress. But EdisonOS takes it further by giving you more precise control over how and when your content is delivered.
Seamless Learner Management
EdisonOS excels in managing student enrollments and access, including manual enrollments and the ability to offer free trials or full-access programs. Although Teachable has a more powerful student categorization method for enrollment, EdisonOS allows you to organize courses by categories and tailor access based on enrollment type. This gives educators greater control over how students access content through trial or paid plans, offering flexibility to suit various learning environments.
Interactive and Engaging Learning Tools
EdisonOS provides a variety of interactive features to keep learners engaged, such as multiple-choice questions (MCQs), dialogue cards, and various content blocks. These interactive elements allow course creators to build dynamic and immersive learning experiences, enhancing student engagement and retention. Teachable’s limited block options don’t offer the same level of interactivity or customization.
Assessment Capabilities
EdisonOS features a robust assessment system with detailed reporting tools that track student progress and performance. Educators can create tailored assessments and view analytics to gain insights into learning outcomes. In comparison, Teachable’s assessment options are basic and lack reporting features, making EdisonOS a stronger choice for data-driven instruction.
Flexible Access and Product Enrollment
EdisonOS provides flexible access options, allowing learners full access to a product with or without direct enrollment. This feature is particularly helpful for offering varied access levels, such as trial versions, without committing students to full enrollment immediately. While Teachable also offers enrollment control, EdisonOS adds more advanced options for segmenting access, making it a suitable choice for creators seeking extra flexibility.
White-Label Solution
EdisonOS offers a white-labeled solution, allowing users to package and sell courses under their brand. Users can design unique landing pages, use custom domains, issue course completion certificates, and create branded mobile apps—all without coding. While Teachable also offers white labeling for the web, it lacks a fully branded mobile app, giving EdisonOS a distinct edge for those looking for a complete, customizable mobile presence.
Pros
- EdisonOS offers far more customization options compared to Teachable, allowing creators to organize content, set tags, and customize learning experiences.
- Interactive elements like MCQs and dialogue cards create a more engaging learning experience, improving student interaction.
- The ability to set drip schedules by specific dates offers creators more control over how and when content is delivered.
- You can manually enroll learners, track progress, and offer detailed assessments with reporting tools that go beyond Teachable’s capabilities.
- Manage access based on different enrollment types (full access or free trials) to fit various learner needs.
Cons
- Subscription plans can be relatively high, starting at $159 per month.
- For some, the variety of features might take time to fully explore and utilize effectively.
Integrations
- Manage virtual classes and live sessions effortlessly.
- Allows real-time data updates and integration with other external applications.
Ratings: 4.4/5
Customer Reviews
Pricing
EdisonOS operates on a subscription-based model with pricing starting at $159 per month, with more advanced features available at $369 per month. Enterprise solutions are also available for larger institutions requiring additional customization, scalability, and security features.
Edison vs. Teachable
2. Thinkific
If you're looking for a robust Teachable alternative, Thinkific stands out with its extensive customization options, powerful course management features, and enhanced student engagement tools.
Thinkific is a powerful course creation platform offering advanced customization, flexible drip scheduling, and robust learner management features. With its intuitive drag-and-drop editor, users can easily design branded courses, integrate multimedia, and engage students through tools like webinars and community spaces.
Thinkific also supports various payment models and offers advanced reporting to track student progress, making it an ideal alternative to Teachable for creators seeking more control and scalability.
Key features
- Thinkific offers more flexibility with its drag-and-drop editor and customizable templates, supporting multimedia integration like videos and quizzes. Teachable has limited customization with pre-defined templates.
- Thinkific supports coaching, webinars, group sessions, and student messaging. While Teachable also offers a community feature, Thinkific’s options for webinars and group sessions provide additional flexibility for community building.
- Both support quizzes, but Thinkific includes advanced tools like surveys and assignments, offering more dynamic assessments than Teachable.
- Thinkific integrates with tools like Zoom, MailChimp, and Salesforce through its App Store, while Teachable’s integrations are more limited.
- Thinkific offers a fully responsive mobile experience and a dedicated app, while Teachable’s mobile functionality, especially on Android, is inconsistent.
Pros
- Simple for beginners to set up courses without technical expertise.
- Affordable pricing for small businesses and new creators.
- Centralized course management with completion tracking and certificates.
- Enhanced visual functionality.
- Allows anyone to create and sell courses.
Cons
- Changes publish immediately; no option for "private" or "password-protected.
- Advanced customization requires coding skills or a costly Pro plan upgrade.
- Limited native features require costly third-party integrations.
- No built-in blog; must use expensive third-party providers.
Integrations
- Supports Zoom, Salesforce, MailChimp, Zapier, and more through the App Store.
- API available for advanced integrations with external systems.
- Supports social media sharing, allowing students to share achievements on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter
Ratings: 4.4/5
Customer Reviews
Pricing
Thinkific offers a range of subscription plans suitable for various needs:
Thinkific vs. Teachable
3. Podia
Podia is another alternative to Teachable, offering an easy-to-use website builder, email marketing, and affiliate marketing features. The platform's array of tools allows course creators to manage and promote their online courses effectively without the hassle of juggling multiple software solutions.
In addition, Podia's white-label features enable individual branding, and its advanced email marketing capabilities, such as email broadcasting and drip campaigns, make it a strong contender in the online course creation space.
If you're searching for a versatile alternative to Teachable, Podia is a standout option with its streamlined course creation process, comprehensive product offerings, and all-in-one platform approach.
Here's why Podia might be a better fit for your needs and how it compares to Teachable:
Key Features
- Podia is a versatile platform supporting course creation, digital downloads, webinars, and coaching from one dashboard, eliminating third-party tools. Teachable focus more on online courses with fewer options for selling non-course products.
- Podia’s drag-and-drop builder makes it flexible for selling digital downloads and coaching, including waitlists and pre-launches. Teachable’s editor is similar but less flexible for non-course products.
- Both support drip content, but Podia simplifies scheduling, while Teachable’s setup is more complex.
- Podia allows you to set up pre-launch landing pages with email capture forms, helping you build an audience and generate excitement before your product officially launches. This feature is perfect for creators looking to gather leads and build anticipation for upcoming products.
- Podia’s built-in upsell functionality, you can suggest related products to customers during checkout, encouraging them to add more items to their purchase. This feature is a valuable tool for boosting revenue and enhancing the customer’s buying experience.
- Podia’s built-in email marketing and live chat enhance student engagement, while Teachable offers basic email features but lacks live chat.
Pros
- Simple and user-friendly for both beginners and experienced users.
- Combines course creation, email marketing, community building, and webinars in one platform.
- Highly responsive support team.
Cons
- Limited customization options make personalizing sales pages challenging for users.
- The editor lacks media integration options, such as countdown timers and styling.
- Limited Zapier integration prevents creating trigger-based emails for specific lectures.
- Analytics are basic; tracking student progress by cohorts is unavailable.
Integrations
- Integrates with Stripe, PayPal, ConvertKit, Mailchimp, Zoom, YouTube Live, and Calendly for payments, email, and webinars.
Ratings: 4.3/5
Customer Reviews
Pricing
Podia offers three pricing plans:
Podia vs. Teachable
4. Kajabi
If you're seeking an alternative to Teachable, Kajabi offers an all-in-one solution with more comprehensive tools for building and managing your entire online business.
Kajabi stands out among Teachable alternatives, providing course creation tools, marketing features, and pricing considerations. The platform offers a seamless experience for creating online courses, constructing landing pages, launching marketing campaigns, and developing websites, all from a single interface.
Here’s a deeper look into how Kajabi stacks up against Teachable and why it might be the better choice.
Key Features
- Kajabi offers advanced course creation with full branding control, supporting multimedia courses, coaching, and memberships. Its drag-and-drop editor includes webinars, while Teachable offers fewer customization options and can feel restrictive without coding.
- Kajabi excels with built-in automation for email campaigns, sales funnels, and landing pages, while Teachable lacks automation and often requires external tools.
- Kajabi provides flexible drip scheduling with customizable automation. Teachable’s drip scheduling is more basic with limited control.
- Kajabi’s full website builder allows for creating custom websites and landing pages, while Teachable focuses mainly on course pages.
- Kajabi supports diverse payment options without transaction fees, offering upsells and cross-sells. Teachable charges transaction fees on lower plans and has basic payment processing.
- Kajabi includes community features like forums and webinars. Teachable lacks these and relies on external platforms for community engagement.
Pros
- Easy for beginners and experienced creators, with a simple interface.
- Offers a wide range of tools like funnels, course creation, and landing pages in one platform.
- Hosts videos, simplifying course management.
Cons
- High cost makes it expensive for new creators.
- Limited flexibility in customizing membership areas, checkout pages, and large course libraries.
- Navigation can be clunky with multiple clicks required to access key features.
Integrations
- Integrates with Stripe and PayPal for payments.
- Supports integrations with Zapier, ConvertKit, Mailchimp, and other popular marketing tools.
- Connects with Zapier for enhanced workflow automation.
Ratings: 4/5
Customer Reviews
Pricing
Kajabi offers four pricing plans:
Kajabi vs. Teachable
5. LearnDash
LearnDash is a powerful WordPress-based learning management system (LMS) designed for creating and managing online courses. It offers advanced features like course cloning, bulk editing, detailed quizzes, drip content, and group management.
Known for its flexibility, LearnDash integrates seamlessly with WordPress and popular tools like WooCommerce, making it ideal for scaling courses and managing complex educational environments. However, its customization often requires developer support, and it can have compatibility issues with some plugins.
Here is why LearnDash is a superior alternative to Teachable and explore the key differences between the two platforms.
Key Features
- LearnDash offers course cloning and bulk editing, making it efficient for managing multiple courses. Teachable's drag-and-drop builder is simple but limited in customization.
- LearnDash supports flexible drip scheduling with conditional access, enabling personalized learning paths. Teachable offers basic drip features without advanced conditions.
- LearnDash excels with advanced quizzes, assignments, and automated emails, while Teachable provides only basic quiz functionality with fewer assessment options.
- LearnDash supports group and cohort management, allowing progress tracking, whereas Teachable lacks group management tools, limiting its corporate use.
- LearnDash is mobile-responsive via WordPress themes, while Teachable offers a dedicated mobile app for enhanced mobile learning.
- ProPanel 3.0 in LearnDash offers detailed student performance reporting, compared to Teachable’s basic reporting features.
Pros
- Robust features like multi-tier courses, quizzes, assignments, drip content, and certifications.
- Seamless WordPress integration, compatible with plugins like WooCommerce and MemberPress.
- Responsive and helpful support team.
Cons
- Plain UI, requiring developers for customization.
- Quiz results are not clearly displayed for students.
- Compatibility issues with some WordPress plugins or custom themes.
Integrations
- Supports eCommerce for selling courses and payment plans.
- Allows memberships and restricted content access.
- Connects with Zapier, Mailchimp, and other marketing tools for automation.
Ratings: 3.8/5
Customer Reviews
Pricing
LearnDash offers three annual pricing plans:
These plans allow for unlimited courses, lessons, and students across all tiers.
LearnDash vs. Teachable
What to Look for in Teachable Alternatives?
If you're exploring Teachable alternatives, it's crucial to find a platform that offers the right mix of features, flexibility, and ease of use. Here are key factors to consider:
Customization and Branding
One of Teachable’s main drawbacks is its limited customization options. A good alternative should offer extensive control over the look and feel of your course pages, allowing you to fully brand your online school.
Features like customizable themes, page blocks, and drag-and-drop builders are essential for personalizing your platform without coding.
Interactive Learning Tools
While Teachable provides basic quiz templates, it lacks more advanced assessment tools. Look for alternatives that offer a variety of interactive elements, such as multiple-choice questions (MCQs), dialogue cards, polls, and gamification options.
These tools enhance learner engagement and improve retention.
Drip Scheduling
Drip content is crucial for pacing learning and keeping students engaged. Teachable’s drip scheduling is limited, so an ideal alternative should offer flexible drip scheduling options based on specific calendar dates or enrollment milestones. This ensures you can release content exactly when needed.
Learner Management and Enrollment
Managing your students effectively is a priority. Alternatives should offer robust learner management features, such as manual enrollments, free trial options, automated workflows, and progress tracking. The ability to group students into categories or segments can also make course management easier.
Mobile Functionality
Many users have criticized Teachable’s mobile app for being non-functional. A good alternative should offer a seamless mobile experience, allowing students to access courses on any device.
Look for platforms with native mobile apps that support all functionalities offered on the web.
Advanced Integrations
Integration with third-party tools can make your life easier by automating processes. Teachable supports basic integrations, but many alternatives offer more advanced options, such as built-in payment gateways, marketing tools, Google Single Sign-On, and more.
Check for platforms that allow smooth integration with tools you’re already using, like email marketing software, CRM systems, and webinar platforms.
Video Hosting and File Storage
If you host a lot of video content, look for a platform that offers ample file storage without restrictions. Teachable recently reduced its video file size limit, frustrating many creators. A better alternative will offer generous storage and the ability to upload large, high-quality videos without additional fees.
Why Should You Choose EdisonOS as an Alternative to Teachable?
Both EdisonOS and Teachable have their strengths, but if you're looking for more than just basic course creation, EdisonOS offers a range of advanced features designed for institutions, individual tutors, content creators, or anyone starting their online education business with more complex needs.
Let’s take a look:
1. Managing Courses and Automating Tasks
Teachable is great for creating courses and managing students, but when it comes to automating complex tasks, EdisonOS goes further. For example, if you’re managing multiple batches of students, EdisonOS automates Zoom link creation and recording workflows. This is a huge advantage for tutoring businesses that need to manage live sessions and post-class recordings across different teachers and classes. Teachable, while great for pre-recorded content, lacks this level of automation.
2. Support Features for Cohort-Based Learning
If you’re running a structured program like SAT tutoring, you need a platform that supports cohort-based learning. EdisonOS allows you to break your curriculum into gamified blocks, drip content based on learner progress, and track student performance closely. While Teachable offers basic course content delivery, EdisonOS offers more interactive and personalized learning paths.
3. Course Monetization Flexibility
Both platforms allow you to sell courses, but EdisonOS offers more flexibility in how you price and control access. With EdisonOS, you can create bundles, set regional pricing, and limit course access based on custom rules. You also have the option to list or delist courses, giving you control over which courses are publicly visible and which remain private for specific audiences.
4. Live Sessions and Scheduling
While Teachable excels in delivering pre-recorded content, its live session management features are limited. EdisonOS allows you to host and schedule live sessions for single classes or in bulk. You can plan sessions for weeks, months, or even the entire year, and sync these schedules with both teachers and students. This level of live session management is ideal for businesses that rely on real-time learning.
5. White labelling and Branding
EdisonOS gives you full branding options, blog settings, and even device restrictions so you can fully tailor the experience for your learners. Teachable has customization features, but EdisonOS lets you go deeper—ensuring every touchpoint aligns with your brand and how you want to run your platform.
Summary
Choosing the best Teachable alternatives depends on your online business goals. Whether you're looking for an online course platform with strong marketing and sales tools or one that offers better community engagement and customization, there's an option for you.
For example, EdisonOS offers an all-in-one platform with robust features to build and scale your courses effectively. As you consider alternatives, focus on aspects like pricing, course creation flexibility, support, and payment options.
The right platform will empower you to design, market, and sell your online courses while providing a seamless learning experience for your audience. By carefully evaluating each platform's features, benefits, and limitations, course creators can make an informed decision and select the best Teachable alternative to suit their unique requirements and ensure their online courses flourish.
FAQ's
What is comparable Teachable?
For those looking for a comparable alternative to Teachable, EdisonOS is the best overall option. It offers a free plan and plenty of features that make it a great choice for course creators.
Podia is another great alternative that provides an all-in-one platform to sell courses and other types of products. Both options are worth exploring and can help you find the right solution for your needs.
Is there a free version of Teachable?
Yes, there is a free version of Teachable available. The Free Plan allows users to create and build a School without having to select a Paid Plan.
With this plan, you will have access to Teachable's core features including hosting, security, checkout page, payment processing, and customer support.
.webp)
.png)
