Teachable Fees at a Glance
Teachable charges its fees on the course price.
| Fee | Percentage | Flat | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transaction fee (Basic) | 5% | — | 0% on Pro and above |
| Payment processing | 2.9% | $0.30 | — |
What You Keep
The flat component is what makes small sales expensive. The same fee schedule costs a very different effective rate depending on the order size:
| Sale | Fees | You receive | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5.00 | $0.70 | $4.31 | 13.90% |
| $20.00 | $1.88 | $18.12 | 9.40% |
| $50.00 | $4.25 | $45.75 | 8.50% |
| $100.00 | $8.20 | $91.80 | 8.20% |
| $500.00 | $39.80 | $460.20 | 7.96% |
The Transaction Fee Is a Plan Feature
Teachable's plans trade a monthly subscription against a per-sale transaction fee. The Basic plan is cheap monthly and takes 5% of every sale; higher plans cost more and take nothing.
| Plan | Monthly | Transaction fee |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $1 + 10% |
| Basic | Low | 5% |
| Pro | Higher | 0% |
Where Upgrading Pays
Divide the monthly difference between two plans by the transaction-fee difference, and you get the monthly course revenue at which the upgrade breaks even. Below that number the cheaper plan wins; above it, every additional sale is pure saving.
For a 5-point fee difference, each $1,000 of monthly sales is worth $50. So a plan that costs $60 more per month pays for itself somewhere around $1,200 of monthly revenue — comfortably inside the first successful launch for most creators, and out of reach for a course selling two copies a month.
Payment Processing Is Separate
The transaction fee sits on top of card processing, which is charged whichever plan you are on. A "0% transaction fee" plan is not a 0% cost plan.
Refunds Return the Fee Unevenly
Course refunds are common in the first 30 days. Check which components come back to you on a refund and which do not: processing flat fees usually stay gone, which makes a high refund rate more expensive than the headline rate suggests.
Charging to Hit a Target Payout
Adding 7.90% to your price under-recovers, because the percentage then applies to the larger amount as well. The correct gross-up divides:
``
charge = (target + flat fees) ÷ (1 − percentage rate)
``
| To receive | Charge |
|---|---|
| $100.00 | $108.90 |
| $1,000.00 | $1,086.10 |
Reducing What You Pay
- Raise average order value. The flat fee is fixed, so bundling two $20.00 orders
- Watch the optional surcharges. International and currency-conversion fees stack on top
- Negotiate at volume. Most processors will discuss custom rates once you are processing
- Do not migrate for 0.2%. The engineering and support cost of changing platforms
Basic-plan rate. Higher plans remove the transaction fee but cost more monthly.