Teachable
A weekend of work, and real gaps remain.
A platform for selling online courses: lessons, video hosting, payments, student accounts and completion tracking in one product.
Build a course site. Video hosting is the decision that matters. STACK - Astro with a Node adapter, Postgres, Stripe, and a video host THE VIDEO DECISION - Self-hosting video is where this becomes expensive and slow - Use a paid video host and self-host everything else. That split saves most of the fee and none of the reliability COURSES - Modules and lessons as Markdown with front matter, in your repository - Progress per student per lesson as rows; completion computed, never stored ACCESS - Entitlement read from the Stripe subscription or payment by webhook, never a local flag - Video URLs signed per request and short-lived, so a shared link expires DRIP - A lesson unlocks N days after enrolment, computed at request time from the enrolment date Include the entitlement check, the signed video URLs and the drip rule.
What you lose
- Video hosting and adaptive delivery, which is the expensive half of a course platform
- Payments, tax and payouts without you arranging any of it
- A student experience that already works on a phone
If you would rather not build
- A static site plus Stripe plus a video host
- Podia or Gumroad, for something simpler
The escape hatch
open source · no votes, no paid placement
Moodle
$0A mature open learning platform with enrolment and assessment.
moodle/moodlefree · open source
Why this verdict
our own opinion · changed only by a person
60/100
Verdict kinda at 60. Everything except video is a weekend; self-hosting the video is what turns a cheap build into an expensive one.
History
tracked since 10 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten
Nothing recorded yet. This chart fills in once the page has visitors, votes or prompt copies — it will not draw a flat line to look busy.
Questions about Teachable
answered from the record above
Is Teachable free?
No — the plan we track is $59 a month. Basic at around $59/month billed monthly, cheaper annually, plus transaction fees on lower tiers.
Can you replace Teachable by building your own?
ALMOST. A weekend of work, and real gaps remain. Replacement score 60 out of 100, build time a weekend. Read what you lose before you decide.
How much does Teachable cost?
$59 a month on Basic — $708 a year. Recorded 10 Aug 2026.
What do you lose by replacing Teachable?
Video hosting and adaptive delivery, which is the expensive half of a course platform; Payments, tax and payouts without you arranging any of it; A student experience that already works on a phone. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Teachable?
Yes: Moodle, Medusa. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.
Related entries
same category first, most replaced first
Documenso
SendOwl
Memberstack
RewardfulEvery week, something stops being worth paying for.
New verdicts, prices that moved, entries added. One email a week. Unsubscribe in one click.
free forever · no tracking pixel · every prompt stays free on the site