Selling Programming Courses: Teachable, Thinkific, Podia Compared
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This is a plain plan-and-limits comparison of three course platforms: Teachable, Thinkific and Podia. The vendors’ pages say little about coding-specific needs, so we cover what is sourced (pricing, fees, trials, video limits, drip scheduling) and list the gaps below. Figures were checked on 2026-10-28 and can change.
Plans and prices at a glance
| Plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing | Platform transaction fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teachable Starter | $39/month | $29/month billed annually | 7.5% |
| Teachable Builder | $89/month | $69/month billed annually | 0%* |
| Thinkific Start | €107/month | €79/month billed annually | Not stated on the page |
| Podia Mover | Not stated here | $42/month billed annually | 5% |
Podia’s higher plans, Shaker and Earthquaker, have no Podia transaction fee, according to Podia’s pricing page. We do not give Podia’s monthly prices because they do not appear in the visible pricing table. We also do not give prices for the other plans of any vendor beyond those above.
Teachable
Teachable’s pricing page lists Starter and Builder with the prices above. Builder shows a 0% transaction fee, but the asterisk matters: the page’s FAQ says this applies when you use Teachable Payments, and standard processing fees may still apply. Those processing fees are separate from the plan fee: U.S. cards are 2.9% + 30¢, international cards 3.9% + 30¢, U.S. PayPal 3.49% + 49¢, international PayPal 4.99% + 49¢, and a chargeback costs $15.
Video storage is listed as up to 1TB on Starter, Builder and Growth. The page mentions a 7-day free trial on the plan cards, while a pop-up says the trial was extended from 7 to 30 days. The page is inconsistent, so check the current length before signing up. A 30-day money-back guarantee is also listed.
Thinkific
Thinkific has no free plan but offers a 30-day free trial. Its Start plan is priced above. Video bandwidth is capped per month: 200 GB on Start, 400 GB on Grow and 1000 GB on Expand. Drip scheduling, which releases lessons over time, is included on all plans. That suits a course taught in a set order.
On payments, Thinkific Payments is listed at 2.9%. The third-party gateway fee varies by plan and is waived when you use Thinkific Payments, while Stripe and PayPal standard fees apply. The page does not state the gateway fee amounts, a fixed per-transaction fee, or a refund policy.
Podia
Podia offers a 14-day free trial with no card needed. Its payment processing fee is 2.9% + 30¢ via Stripe or PayPal, and may vary by location. Refunds are available if requested within 72 hours of the most recent payment, with no partial refunds on annual plans. The page gives video counts per plan but no storage or bandwidth limits, and it does not say whether drip scheduling is included.
Coding-course fit: what we could not verify
None of the three pages states the coding-specific features we looked for. Specifically, we could not verify:
- Teachable live classes or coding-specific features.
- Thinkific coding-course features (only CSS/HTML site customization is mentioned).
- Podia drip scheduling or coding features, or its video storage and bandwidth limits.
- VAT or sales-tax handling and payout methods for any of the three vendors.
Kajabi, Udemy, Skillshare and others are not covered here.
Who it suits / who should look elsewhere
- Teachable suits sellers who want a listed video storage figure of up to 1TB and a clear fee list. Weigh the 7.5% Starter transaction fee against the Builder plan’s higher monthly price.
- Thinkific suits sellers who want lessons released on a schedule. The monthly bandwidth caps and unstated gateway fees are the drawbacks.
- Podia suits sellers who want a 14-day trial with no card needed. Look elsewhere if you need confirmed drip scheduling or documented video limits, since the page does not state them.
If you need live coding sessions, built-in code exercises or automatic tax handling, none of these pages confirms them, so ask each vendor before committing.