Teachable vs Udemy | Podcastbricks

Teachable is a platform designed for entrepreneurs and creators who want to build and sell online courses under their own brand. Launched in 2014, it offers robust tools for creating, hosting, and marketing courses, with a focus on customization and control. Teachable is ideal for those who prioritize building a unique brand identity and want flexibility in how they structure and sell their content.

Udemy, founded in 2010, is a massive online learning marketplace hosting millions of students and thousands of courses across diverse topics. It’s a go-to platform for both learners and instructors, offering a built-in audience and a straightforward way to publish courses. Udemy emphasizes accessibility and affordability, making it attractive for instructors who want to reach a large audience without heavy marketing efforts.

Key Differences in Business Models

Teachable: Your Brand, Your Rules

Teachable operates as a course-building platform, giving creators full control over their content, branding, and pricing. You own your audience data, including student emails, and can customize your course website to align with your brand. This makes Teachable ideal for creators aiming to establish a long-term business, as it supports building a loyal customer base independent of the platform.

Teachable’s model is subscription-based for its core features, with optional add-ons for advanced functionality. Creators set their own course prices and keep a higher percentage of revenue compared to Udemy, though they’re responsible for driving traffic to their courses.

Udemy: Marketplace Convenience

Udemy functions as a marketplace, where instructors upload courses to a platform that already attracts millions of learners. This built-in audience is a major advantage for new instructors who lack an existing following. However, Udemy controls pricing to an extent, often offering steep discounts to attract students, which can reduce instructor earnings.

Udemy takes a significant revenue share, especially for sales driven by its marketing efforts, and instructors have limited control over branding. Courses on Udemy feel like part of the platform’s ecosystem rather than a standalone brand, which may not suit creators seeking a unique identity.

Feature Comparison

Course Creation and Customization

Teachable excels in providing a flexible course-building experience. Its drag-and-drop interface allows creators to upload videos, PDFs, quizzes, and other content types with ease. You can design a fully branded course website, including custom domains, logos, and color schemes. Teachable also supports advanced features like drip content (releasing lessons over time) and integrations with tools like Zapier for automation.

Udemy offers a simpler course creation process tailored for quick publishing. Instructors upload content following Udemy’s guidelines, which emphasize video-based lessons (at least 30 minutes of video content per course). Customization is limited—you can’t create a branded website or use a custom domain. Udemy’s focus is on uniformity, ensuring all courses fit its marketplace aesthetic, which may feel restrictive for some creators.

Monetization and Pricing Control

Teachable gives creators full control over pricing. You can sell courses as one-time purchases, subscriptions, or bundles, and even offer upsells like coaching or additional resources. Teachable’s payment structure is straightforward: after platform fees (which vary by plan), you keep most of the revenue. For example, the Basic plan charges a 5% transaction fee per sale, while higher tiers eliminate this fee.

Udemy uses a revenue-sharing model that can be less lucrative. If you drive a sale (e.g., through your own marketing), you keep 97% of the revenue (after a 3% processing fee). However, for sales through Udemy’s promotions or marketplace, instructors typically earn only 37% of the revenue, with Udemy taking the rest. Additionally, Udemy frequently discounts courses (sometimes to as low as $10), which can erode earnings and devalue content in the eyes of students.

Marketing and Audience Reach

Teachable requires creators to handle their own marketing. While it offers tools like landing pages, email integrations, and affiliate programs, you’ll need to invest time or money to drive traffic. This can be a challenge for beginners but rewarding for those with an existing audience or marketing skills.

Udemy shines in audience reach, leveraging its massive user base (over 70 million students as of 2025). Its search algorithm and promotional campaigns expose courses to learners actively seeking content. For instructors with niche topics, this visibility is invaluable. However, competition is fierce, with over 250,000 courses on the platform, making it harder to stand out without strategic optimization (e.g., targeting trending topics).

Student Experience

Teachable allows creators to craft a tailored student experience. You can integrate discussion forums, live webinars, or third-party tools to enhance engagement. Since you control the platform, you can prioritize student support and build communities around your courses.

Udemy provides a standardized student experience, with a clean interface for accessing video lessons, quizzes, and Q&A sections. Students benefit from lifetime access to courses and a mobile-friendly app, but instructors have less control over how content is presented. Udemy’s focus on affordability means students expect low prices, which can attract bargain-hunters rather than committed learners.

Analytics and Insights

Teachable offers detailed analytics, including student progress, completion rates, and revenue breakdowns. Higher-tier plans unlock advanced reporting, helping creators optimize their courses and marketing strategies. You also own student data, enabling targeted email campaigns.

Udemy provides basic analytics, such as enrollment numbers and revenue reports, but insights are less granular. Since Udemy owns student data, you can’t directly email your students without their opt-in, limiting your ability to build relationships outside the platform.

Pricing and Costs

Teachable Pricing

Teachable offers multiple plans, with pricing as of 2025 starting at:

Free Plan: $0/month, but with high transaction fees (10% + $1 per sale) and limited features.
Basic Plan: ~$39/month (billed annually), with a 5% transaction fee, custom domain, and affiliate marketing tools.
Pro Plan: ~$119/month (billed annually), no transaction fees, advanced reporting, and group coaching features.
Business Plan: ~$499/month (billed annually), for large-scale creators with bulk student imports and priority support.

Teachable’s costs can add up, especially for beginners, but the lack of revenue sharing makes it more profitable for successful courses.

Udemy Pricing

Udemy has no upfront costs for instructors—you can create and publish courses for free. Instead, Udemy earns through its revenue-sharing model. This makes it accessible for new instructors but less predictable for long-term earnings. Optional paid tools, like Udemy Business (for corporate clients), can boost revenue but require approval and additional effort.

Pros and Cons

Teachable Pros

Full branding control and custom domains.
Flexible pricing and monetization options.
Ownership of student data for direct marketing.
No revenue sharing on higher plans.
Advanced features like drip content and integrations.

Teachable Cons

Requires marketing effort to drive traffic.
Subscription costs can be high for beginners.
Less built-in audience compared to marketplaces.

Udemy Pros

Massive built-in audience for instant visibility.
No upfront costs to publish courses.
Easy-to-use platform for quick course creation.
Strong mobile app and student accessibility.

Udemy Cons

Limited branding and customization.
High revenue share reduces earnings.
Frequent discounts can devalue courses.
Less control over student data and engagement.

Which Platform is Right for You?

Choose Teachable If:

You want to build a branded online school with a unique identity.
You’re comfortable marketing your courses or have an existing audience.
You value control over pricing, student data, and course structure.
You’re planning a long-term business with multiple revenue streams (e.g., memberships, coaching).

Teachable is perfect for entrepreneurs, coaches, or businesses aiming to create a premium learning experience. For example, a fitness coach could use Teachable to sell high-ticket courses and memberships, leveraging their personal brand to attract loyal clients.

Choose Udemy If:

You’re new to course creation and want to test ideas without upfront costs.
You lack an audience and need a platform with built-in traffic.
You’re comfortable with less control in exchange for convenience.
You want to focus on teaching rather than marketing.

Udemy suits instructors who prioritize reach over revenue control. A data science expert, for instance, could publish a Python course on Udemy to tap into its tech-savvy audience, even if it means lower per-sale earnings.

Hybrid Approach

Some creators use both platforms strategically. For example, you could publish introductory courses on Udemy to attract students, then funnel them to a premium, branded course on Teachable. This hybrid model leverages Udemy’s audience while building your own ecosystem on Teachable.

Future Trends and Considerations

As of 2025, the e-learning market continues to grow, with trends like micro-learning, AI-driven personalization, and interactive content shaping the industry. Teachable is well-positioned for creators who want to adopt these trends, offering flexibility to integrate new tools and formats. Udemy, with its marketplace dominance, is likely to remain a leader for accessible education but may lag in customization as competitors innovate.

When choosing, consider your long-term goals. If scalability and brand ownership matter most, Teachable’s infrastructure supports growth. If speed and reach are priorities, Udemy’s plug-and-play model delivers.

Conclusion

Teachable and Udemy serve distinct purposes in the online course landscape. Teachable empowers creators to build independent businesses with full control, ideal for those willing to invest in marketing and branding. Udemy offers unmatched visibility and ease, perfect for beginners or those focused on volume over customization.