Podia vs Teachable: Which One Should You Use For Your Online Courses?

Are you looking to take your online business to the next level?

Then it might be time to share your expertise with your loyal following.

In this post, we will put two prominent SaaS providers for online learning in a Podia vs Teachable battle. 

Creating online courses is a fantastic method to share your knowledge and experience while also establishing your brand’s authority.

As people seek to learn new skills cost-effectively and efficiently, online learning is becoming increasingly popular.

Many SaaS companies can give you the tools you need to create, market, and sell online courses.

Podia and Teachable are two such services.

That’s why we’ll be looking at both providers in depth. 

By the end of this article, you should have a clear answer to the question: which tool should you use to create and sell your course? 

Podia vs Teachable

Teachable has long been the industry leader in the online course platform space.

On the other hand, Podia is a newcomer that has grown in popularity over the last few years. 

While these platforms are frequently juxtaposed, there are few in-depth blog posts on the subject.

That’s why most course authors are stumped when it comes to answering the Podia vs Teachable question.

That’s why I’ve put up this Teachable vs Podia comparison, in which we’ll go further into the two platforms and highlight the key differences.

Podia 101

Podia 101

Podia was launched in 2014.

While being the smaller platform of the two, it is unquestionably one of the most creator-friendly tools on the market.

Over 25,000 creators utilize its services. 

Building and selling online courses, membership subscriptions, and other digital downloads products is a breeze with Podia.

Their objective is to prioritize creators by providing an open platform that anybody may use.

They want to be approachable, entertaining, and innovative, leading the way for future content makers.

Podia gives course designers the tools they need to make their sales process more efficient.

They include features for everything from website construction to blogging to creating and selling online courses.

Podia also includes a slew of marketing options, such as off-site buttons, email marketing tools, and affiliate marketing tools.

All these are useful for spreading the word about your online course business.

Teachable 101

Teachable 101

Teachable is a platform that will assist you in creating and establishing an online school.

Its capabilities allow you to produce and distribute engaging content for your students, such as webinars, video tutorials, step-by-step guides, quizzes, and more.

More than 83k teachers sell over 275k active courses on the site right now.

There are over 23 million students in their whole student population.

Teachable offers cross-platform access, allowing your students to participate in your online courses from any device.

Smartphones, tablets, laptops, and PCs are all included. 

It’s a valuable tool for any course creator who wants to make sure their material is available to everyone.

Teachable’s customization capabilities are nearly identical to Podia’s.

You can create and edit your own website and blog, brand your content, and design your courses using a simple drag-and-drop editor.

Teachable also features a coding power editor that allows you to change any component of your website.

So, if you’re a programmer who wants to put your skills to use, there’s room for you too!

Related Reading: Learnworlds vs Teachable vs Thinkific – Check Out The Comparison Here.

Podia vs Teachable – A Comparison By Features 

It’s not going to be a fair Podia vs Teachable comparison if we don’t scrutinize all the features.

In this section, let’s compare both services by their prominent features.

Course Creation 

Naturally, the course builder is a crucial feature because it allows you to enter your content and establish a structure for your online courses.

Both course builders are simple to use and allow you to create an online course quickly.

Both allow you to bulk upload content and drag-and-drop your lessons and modules to reorder them.

If you look at the details, though, you’ll notice some significant differences between the two.

It’s evident that the Teachable course builder is both easier to use and more customizable.

For starters, the Teachable course builder allows for cloud importation.

As a result, you can immediately import content into your course from Google Drive/Dropbox, which is currently unavailable on Podia.

Cloud importing is significantly faster than uploading from your device, and it’s a great function to have when creating courses.

Another distinction is that Teachable Builder is easier to use. Let’s have a look at an example.

Let’s say you want to delete or change the settings of specific courses (for example, published/draft, preview, etc.).

You’ll have to do so one by one with Podia.

On Teachable, on the other hand, you can simply choose numerous lessons and delete or update their settings all at once.

However, the most significant contrast between the two-course designers is that one supports numerous content kinds while the other does not.

Teachable allows you to include several videos, quizzes, text, PDFs, and other elements in a single lesson.

You can arrange them in whatever sequence you prefer.

You don’t get this kind of freedom with the Podia course builder.

There can only be one content type per lesson.

For example, you can’t have PDF files and videos in the same session or a video and a quiz in the same lesson.

Aside from that, there are a few minor distinctions.

On Teachable, for example, you can make your videos downloadable, but you can’t do so on Podia.

Overall, the Teachable versus Podia course builder is simpler to use, more flexible and offers more features.

video about best online course platforms

Engagement and Learning Tools 

Engagement and Learning Tools

Both platforms differ the most in terms of learning and engagement features. 

You may drip your material with Teachable and Podia.

As a result, you may create a drip plan and send emails automatically when new information is available.

Quizzes are the only additional learning tool provided by Podia.

Moreover, the quizzing feature is somewhat lacking, as you do not have the opportunity to evaluate your students automatically.

Podia also does not allow you to produce completion certificates or lock your content.

Teachable now has a lot more to offer in this area.

For starters, you’ll be able to design graded quizzes with a limited number of attempts.

You also have the option of creating completion certificates.

Finally, Teachable includes some advantageous capabilities for course compliance.

You can either require your pupils to go through the lectures in order or pass the quiz before moving on to the following lecture.

There is also a Video Watch compliance requirement, which requires your students to watch at least 90% of a video before moving on to further classes.

Teachable also provides a valuable collection of tools for course reporting and analytics.

You may obtain reports for completion, quiz results, video analytics, and more with Teachable.

The good news is that you can examine these statistics at the level of individual students.

You can also track aggregated metrics at the course level.

There are no actual course reporting features available with Podia.

The only thing you can track is specific pupils’ progress in class.

You can’t see clustered completion rates or quiz results at the course level.

Moreover, you lack video analytics, which is a significant disadvantage.

Related Reading: Best Online Course Platforms – Click Here To Read More.

Course Player (Content Delivery) 

Your students will spend the majority of their time in the course player watching your content.

As a result, the course player design has a significant impact on their experience.

Both Podia and Teachable now have a course player that is well-designed and pleasant from a user experience standpoint.

In fact, the designs are remarkably similar in both cases.

On the left is the course navigation, and on the right is the content area.

Moreover, the embedded comments appear underneath your lesson content, allowing students to participate in a debate easily.

However, one feature of the Podia course player that students enjoy is hiding the navigation sidebar and going full-screen.

This is particularly useful for distraction-free studying.

Additionally, the Podia course player has a crisper design that’s a little more current. 

However, there are no significant design or user experience variations between the two-course players.

Both course players are mobile-friendly when it comes to learning.

The only difference (and it’s a big one) is that Teachable also has an iOS app with extra features like offline viewing and so on.

Finally, there’s something else to consider if you’re planning to develop a membership site rather than an online course.

Teachable’s memberships feature allows you to bundle your courses and sell them as a monthly or annual subscription. 

Podia, on the other hand, allows you to do more than just create product bundles.

It enables you to generate unique “Posts” for your users that are distinct from your courses and ideal for regularly giving one-time information. 

Third-party Integrations – Podia vs Teachable

Third-party Integrations

Only MailChimp and ConvertKit have direct connectivity with Teachable.

On the other hand, Podia works with MailChimp, ConvertKit, Drip, Aweber, ActiveCampaign, GetResponse, and MailerLite natively.

As a result, Podia works with the majority of effective digital marketing systems, whereas Teachable only works with two.

Integrated email marketing is crucial if you want to save time.

Teachable and Podia now offer Zapier integrations, allowing you to transfer your students’ data to thousands of third-party apps when they purchase something.

Similarly, if you take payments using a third-party platform like ClickFunnels or ThriveCart, you can automatically use Zapier to add users to your Podia/Teachable school.

Teachable’s Zapier integration, on the other hand, is more robust and offers more possibilities.

You might have triggers like Course Completion, Lecture Completion, Quiz Result, and so on that aren’t supported by Podia’s Zapier interface.

Lastly, both platforms allow you to add third-party scripts to your website, enabling you to interface with analytics tools quickly.

Some of these tools are Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel. 

You can also integrate with popup solutions such as ConvertBox and Sumo and conversion tools such as Deadline Funnel and Proof. 

Website Customization Features

Website Customization Features -  Podia vs Teachable

Both Podia and Teachable give you the option of creating a website for your online school.

In reality, the two systems have a lot in common when it comes to site-building capabilities.

For starters, your subscription includes free hosting and SSL.

Moreover, you won’t have to worry about security, backups, or maintenance because their team will handle everything.

Second, by default, every school receives a free subdomain.

If you like, you can even use a custom domain. 

There are no theme alternatives accessible on either platform when it comes to site themes.

Each website made on these platforms comes with a basic template, and you can construct and edit your pages using their page builder.

Only the text fonts and colors of various elements are controllable at the site level in both Teachable and Podia.

As a result, you have no say over the style of your header, navigation menu, or other features such as buttons.

Both page builders are simple to use and come with pre-built parts that you can add to your page with a single click.

You may also utilize page builders to create bespoke pages or sales pages.

The capabilities of both page builders are pretty similar, with only slight variances. 

Teachable, for example, features a more advanced text editor with more formatting options.

As a result, you can alter the font style, font size, include an image between your text, and so on.

Podia’s page builder, likewise, features a higher number of pre-built components. 

So you have pre-built sections for FAQs, testimonials, author bios, and other things that Teachable doesn’t have.

However, neither of the page builders is exceptionally adaptable.

They don’t let you change the width of different sections or their paddings, and you can’t make any unique layouts.

Plus, you can’t do things like add animations or show/hide particular sections on mobile.

So, both systems are adequate for site and course creation.

However, neither platform allows you to create a truly unique website.

Processing Payments and Setting Prices 

podia vs teachable - Processing Payments and Setting Prices

You may price your courses and digital downloads in a variety of ways with Podia and Teachable.

As a result, you can charge a one-time fee, set up a payment plan, or set up a regular subscription.

Pricing in Teachable has the advantage of being able to have pricing in many currencies for the same product.

There is no way to have multi-currency pricing for your products with Podia because you can only choose the currency at default levels. 

Both platforms allow you to set up monthly or annual memberships in terms of recurring billing. 

Both, however, are inflexible when it comes to creating subscriptions with custom durations.

A monthly or quarterly subscription, for example, is not possible.

One distinction between the two is that Podia allows you to establish a free trial of any period between 1 and 365 days, whereas Teachable does not.

Coupons can be used as a workaround, although they aren’t very effective.

Another notable feature of Podia pricing is the ability to choose which “Posts” and “Products” are included in certain membership tiers.

Teachable doesn’t offer this feature, so you’ll have to come up with a workaround to create several membership tiers and assign them separate materials. 

Both platforms take a completely different approach to payment processing.

With Podia, everything is simple.

You link your Stripe/PayPal account, and all funds are transferred directly to your account.

Teachable now has a couple of choices.

The first is the “Custom Gateway,” which allows you to process payments using your own Stripe/PayPal account and receive instant payouts.

This is similar to how Podia handles payment processing.

“Teachable Gateway” is the second choice.

If you’re outside of the United States or Canada, you’ll have to wait 30-60 days for payment if you choose this option.

If you reside in the US or Canada, you will get paid right away.

Customer Support – Podia vs Teachable

When it comes to customer service, Teachable offers email assistance on the free and basic plans.

You also get live chat support if you’re on the Professional Plan or higher.

Customers on all Podia plans, on the other hand, get access to chat assistance.

While it isn’t technically live chat support, you may get a response from their personnel within 5-10 minutes during business hours.

This level of attention isn’t usually available on a basic plan for other platforms.

Podia customer care is more responsive and friendly, and this still applies to lower-priced tiers. 

Another aspect of Podia’s customer service that is pretty awesome is the free migration that they provide to new creators.

Therefore, if you’re migrating from another platform to Podia, their team will free move your content and users.

Aside from that, both platforms include a robust knowledge library where you can search through a variety of how-to articles.

Some users prefer looking for answers on their own instead of relying on live chat support.

Finally, there is something noteworthy about Teachable: their Facebook community for users.

They have a very active Facebook Group where users can ask questions and receive answers from their team and other Teachable users.

Online course creation is a booming industry, and it’s advantageous to connect with like-minded folks.

Podia currently lacks a similar community for its users. 

Plans 

Plans 

To determine the winner for Podia vs Teachable, a crucial factor is how much it will cost. 

Let’s start with the pricing of Podia.

The Mover Plan, which costs $39 a month and includes most of Podia’s services except Memberships, Affiliate Marketing, and Free Migration, is the first tier.

To get these features, you’ll need to subscribe to their Shaker Plan, which costs $79 per month.

The good news is that neither plan requires you to pay a transaction fee, and both offer fast payouts.

In addition, if you upgrade to either plan within the first five days of your trial, Podia will give you a 15% discount.

Teachable’s pricing works in a very different way.

The first is their lifetime free plan, which allows you to perform only the minimum, such as creating an online course, setting up a sales page, and processing payments.

Moreover, the free plan only allows you to have up to 10 students, which is fine for creating an online school but not for actively selling your courses.

The next tier is the Basic Plan, which costs $39 a month plus a 5% Teachable transaction fee.

With this tier, you may employ your own domain, drip your material, handle affiliate marketing, and more. 

The Professional Plan costs $119 a month and includes access to almost all Teachable features.

This is the third and most popular plan on Teachable.

Podia, unlike Teachable, does not offer a free plan.

If you’re still growing your business, you may start with Teachable’s Free Plan.

Then you can upgrade to the Basic Plan once you’re ready to sell.

On the other hand, Podia has no transaction fees on any of its plans, whereas Teachable charges a 5% transaction fee on the Basic Plan.

Moreover, the Shaker plan from Podia is less expensive than the Professional plan from Teachable.

If you want to sell your online course actively, Podia is a better deal than Teachable.

Related Reading: Thinkific vs Teachable – Read The Full Comparison Here.

Podia vs Teachable: A Quick View of Their Pros and Cons 

Podia vs Teachable: A Quick View of Their Pros and Cons

Podia Pros

Straightforward pricing with no transaction fees 

Podia keeps more of your revenues because there are no transaction costs for a lower monthly subscription.

In contrast, Teachable’s Basic plan ($119 a month) has a 5% transaction fee.

In short, Podia has the potential to increase your earnings.

Podia’s pricing is straightforward and capped at a low price, allowing you to grow your business without having to worry about monthly subscription payments.

Instant payouts 

Podia pays you immediately for the money you earn from selling courses — there is no waiting time.

Simply link your Stripe or PayPal account to Podia, and the payments will be transferred automatically. 

Teachable, on the other hand, only guarantees immediate reimbursements if you utilize Teachable Payments.

All other payment methods may take a month to reach your account.

Students have access to course collections through memberships. 

If you have a number of courses, your students may opt to purchase a membership that allows them to access all of them.

This course bundling strategy, along with a subscription-based pricing mechanism, is a great way to generate recurring monthly income.

video about laptop lifestyle

Podia Cons 

No course completion certificates 

Podia provides memberships and digital downloads, but it does not allow you to create graded quizzes or provide completion certificates.

This makes it challenging to give your courses an official appeal. 

It could also be a stumbling block for students who wish to demonstrate their commitment to professional growth.

Limited email marketing tools 

Podia has a good email marketing feature that allows you to drip-feed your email campaigns to an unlimited number of users and subscribers.

Still, it’s a limited tool.

You’ll need to combine Podia with third-party software to design and operate more elaborate campaigns.

Customization options could be better. 

Podia’s customization capabilities, both in terms of course creation and website creation, are pretty limited.

Podia’s templates are also criticized by some users as being too similar to one another. 

Podia may be too limiting for those with specific brand requirements; for complete creative freedom, go elsewhere.

Even simple adjustments like removing blank spaces between parts and adjusting font sizes have proven problematic for some users.

Teachable Pros 

Teachable Pros 

Free plan

Teachable has a fantastic free package where you can try out the platform and see how it works.

This is an excellent opportunity if you’re not sure if it’s right for you.

However, its free plan limits you to ten pupils and charges a $1 + 10% processing fee on all transactions, which is a steep price.

However, if you just want to experiment with the tools, this is a valuable aspect to consider.

Course completion certificates 

Teachable, unlike Podia, provides course completion certificates.

This is especially significant if you’re teaching in a formal setting because students can use these credentials as proof of their efforts.

Teachable also has higher standards for course compliance.

Your pupils will be able to meet milestones and meet particular requirements in order to complete the course.

This is a must-have for any organization that offers officially recognized credentials.

Courses on all devices 

With Podia, students can access your course content from anywhere and on any device, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and PCs.

This is all thanks to Teachable’s mobile app.

This is a great way to entice students to enroll because you’ll be able to give a more flexible learning environment.

Teachable Cons 

Limited selling variety 

Podia beats Teachable when it comes to selling variety.

You can’t sell memberships on Teachable. Digital downloads are likewise can’t be sold.

This may limit your prospects and prevent you from earning from a recurring monthly income, depending on your niche.

Better customer support is exclusive to higher tiers. 

Teachable provides live webchat assistance, and many of its users are pleased with it.

Live chat, on the other hand, is only available if you upgrade to the Professional subscription (or higher). 

Live chat support will cost $99 per month as a result of this.

Teachable can only be contacted through support tickets and email in the lower tiers. 

Less economical 

Teachable appears to offer worse value for money than Podia.

When you consider the high transaction costs that come with Teachable’s most basic paid-for plan, Podia is a far better deal.

Podia’s Mover and Shaker plans provide you access to all of Podia’s capabilities at a fraction of the cost of Teachable.

Podia’s $79 Shaker level, for example, includes affiliate marketing.

Teachable’s Professional plan costs $99 per month and doesn’t include it.

Related Reading: Thinkific Vs Kajabi – Check Out The Review Here.

Podia vs Teachable – Quick FAQs

What are the transaction fees associated with Podia?

Unlike Teachable, users don’t have to worry about transaction fees with Podia.

This is a crucial distinction if you’re trying to be more economical with your choice.

Transaction fees tend to add up and eat up a sizable portion of your earnings over time.

If you want to avoid paying Teachable’s transaction fees, consider upgrading to its Professional Plan.

It looks like this is Teachable’s most popular plan because most users don’t want to pay transaction fees.

Which platform allows you to create unlimited courses?

Podia lets users publish unlimited courses that can accommodate unlimited students.

Unlimited courses may not matter for most individual online educators, but it’s crucial for developing businesses.

As your business grows, you want the option to create unlimited courses to expand your student’s knowledge base.

Which platform offers a free plan?

Teachable offers a free plan. You may opt for it before you start marketing courses.

This free plan is highly appreciated by those who want to try out the service before committing.

Are course completion certificates important?

Yes, if you want to give your students a sense of achievement.

While some might not like this type of hand-holding, others need course completion certifications to keep them accountable for their learning.

How can you promote your online courses through these platforms?

Email marketing is an excellent tool for promoting products online.

Fortunately, both Podia and Teachable have email marketing integrations built into their systems.

Teachers can use email marketing to keep their students informed on promotions, announcements, and reminders.

Related Reading: Podia vs Kajabi – Check Out The Full Comparison Here.

Final Thoughts 

So, who emerges as the victor in this Podia vs Teachable battle? Of course, it depends.

Teachable is the best option for online educators who simply need to create courses and want the most robust course design tools.

With it, you get enhanced course compliance, certification, stats, and analytics. 

Podia is the way to go if you want an all-in-one platform to sell memberships, digital downloads, and more robust email marketing.

However, there are several limits with Podia, such as the lack of course completion certificates, superior reporting, and course compliance.

These aren’t a big deal if you’re all for student accountability. 

As far as online course creation tools go, these two are relatively comparable.

Either option will assist you in starting to sell instructional stuff online and displaying it professionally.

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Brooks Conkle Banner Image
Brooks Conkle

Brooks is an entrepreneur, father, husband, & follower of the golden rule. He has over 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur after graduating with a Finance degree from Auburn University. Addicted to starting new business projects, he believes in creating multiple income streams and a life of flexibility. Business should work around your life, not the other way around. He creates content on his website, sharing his projects to help other hustlers in marketing, personal finance, and online business.