If you’re looking to sell online courses, digital products, or memberships, Podia and Teachable are two popular platforms on the market.
Each offers unique tools and features designed to help turn your expertise into a profitable business, but their approaches differ in key ways.
Podia offers a well-rounded approach that lets users sell courses, memberships, digital downloads, and coaching services. It integrates essential tools, like email marketing and an online store, into a single platform, which appeals to creators who want everything in one place.
Teachable focuses on course creation and offers advanced tools like progress tracking, detailed analytics, and customizable course certificates. These features are useful for educators who are looking to develop a structured learning experience.
In this article, we will break down the key differences between Podia and Teachable, examining factors like pricing, product flexibility, course creation features, and support for memberships.
If you’re new to online course platforms or looking to refine your current setup, this guide will help you decide which platform is best suited for your unique needs.
What is Podia?
Podia is a platform for creators to build and sell online courses, memberships, and digital downloads. It combines tools like a website builder, online store, and email marketing into one system.
Podia includes built-in email marketing tools for sending newsletters, automated campaigns, and promotional emails.
Key features of Podia:
- Sell courses, memberships, and digital products
- Connect newsletters and marketing emails
- Built-in affiliate marketing tools
- Simple interface designed for beginners
- Customize professional website templates
What is Teachable?
Teachable is another course platform offering a system for creating, hosting, and marketing online courses. It’s known for its advanced customization options and scalability for larger businesses.
Key features of Teachable:
- Generate course outlines and overviews
- Create quizzes to engage and test students
- Add subtitles and translations automatically
- Offer flexible payments like Buy Now, Pay Later
- Sell globally with tax-inclusive pricing
- Use digital downloads to attract leads
- Boost sales with affiliate marketing tools
What is CustomerHub?
CustomerHub is a platform designed for knowledge entrepreneurs such as coaches, consultants, and course creators. It simplifies the process of building scalable sites so users can monetize their expertise through memberships, online courses, and digital products.
Its key features include intuitive plug-and-play functionality that lets users launch products without technical expertise. It offers personalized onboarding experiences and a comprehensive product library that serves as a central hub for managing unlimited courses and delivering digital offerings.
CustomerHub provides a private customer feed to engage members and improve retention and integration with tools like CRMs and email platforms. It also provides responsive customer service and optional Done-for-You services for a smoother setup process.
If you’re ready to create a scalable, community-focused business, CustomerHub is the superior choice.
Start your 14-day free trial today!
Features Comparison: Podia vs Teachable
When deciding between Podia and Teachable, it's important to understand their features and how they align with your goals. Here’s a detailed comparison across key areas:
Ease of Use
Ease of use is an essential consideration, especially for creators who want a platform that allows them to focus on their content rather than spending hours learning the system.
Podia's design makes it an excellent choice for beginners and non-technical users. Setting up a course, membership, or digital product is easier, with clear steps guiding you through the process.
It also includes built-in tools such as email marketing and affiliate management to reduce the need for external integrations.
Teachable, while still user-friendly, offers more advanced features that may take longer to master. Its platform is designed to accommodate creators with larger-scale operations or more complex needs.
It provides a drag-and-drop course builder for greater flexibility in customizing layouts and content presentation. However, this flexibility can feel overwhelming for beginners.
The reliance on third-party tools for features like email marketing and analytics adds another layer of complexity. While Teachable supports advanced customization options, such as the use of custom code, this feature may not appeal to users who lack technical skills.
Pricing and Transaction Fees
Podia offers two subscription plans, each tailored to different stages of business growth. However, transaction fees apply to the Mover Plan, which is Podia’s entry-level tier.
- Mover Plan: $39/month with 5% transaction fees
- Shaker Plan: $89/month includes memberships and affiliate marketing
Teachable's free plan includes transaction fees of $1 + 10% per sale. It also provides a tiered pricing model that caters to different organizational needs.
- Basic Plan: $59/month for beginners with a 5% transaction fee
- Pro Plan: $159/month, which includes advanced features like certificates, affiliate marketing, and priority support
- Pro+ Plan: $249/month, ideal for larger-scale creators with more products and custom user roles
- Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing and offers advanced features for large-scale businesses
Podia is best for creators who plan to upgrade to a higher-tier plan to avoid transaction fees. Teachable is better for those who want to start small with the Basic Plan while accepting transaction fees.Though Teachable's Pro Plan is more expensive than Podia’s Shaker Plan, it offers advanced customization and analytics.
Course Creation Tools
Podia provides a simple course editor with essential tools for creators who want to get started. The platform allows users to build courses without requiring technical expertise.
Podia features the following:
- Course editor to upload videos, PDFs, audio files, and quizzes
- Schedule lessons to be released at specific intervals
- Allows creators to build as many courses as they want
- Sell downloadable products alongside your courses, such as templates, eBooks, or guides
Teachable offers more advanced tools for building and managing courses, which can be appealing for creators who want greater control and flexibility.Teachable includes key features such as:
- Drag-and-drop editor to customize course pages and layouts
- Engage students with quizzes, assignments, and course completion certificates
- Group multiple courses into bundles and offer them as a package
- Supports HTML and CSS customization for advanced users
- Track individual student progress with graded quizzes
While Teachable’s tools are more feature-rich, they come with a steeper learning curve, especially for beginners.
Marketing Features
Marketing tools help with attracting and retaining students, promoting courses, and growing your revenue.
Podia allows you to create email campaigns, schedule newsletters, and segment your audience. While not as advanced as dedicated email platforms, it’s sufficient for basic marketing needs.
You can also set up an affiliate program to encourage others to promote your courses. Affiliates have access to a dedicated dashboard to track their commissions.
Teachable takes a more integration-focused approach to provide you with basic built-in tools while encouraging the use of third-party services for advanced marketing needs.
Similar to Podia, Teachable includes an affiliate program where you recruit partners and track performance. It also integrates with email marketing platforms like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and ActiveCampaign to provide advanced segmentation and automation features.
Teachable’s reliance on external tools can be a drawback for creators who want an all-in-one platform, but it offers more flexibility and scalability for advanced marketing strategies.
Customer Support
If you’re setting up your first course or troubleshooting an issue, the quality of support can make a difference in your experience.
Podia offers 7-day-a-week support for all users, even on the Mover Plan, to make sure you get immediate assistance. They also have a comprehensive library of guides, how-to articles, and video demos to help you resolve common issues.
Teachable provides a range of support options, but access to some features depends on your subscription plan. While the platform’s help center and email support are available to all users, live chat support is restricted to Pro and Pro+ plans.
Teachable’s support is generally helpful, but the restriction of live chat to premium plans is often cited as a downside for users on lower-tier plans.
Customization and Branding
The ability to customize your course platform and maintain consistent branding is important for creating a professional and memorable experience for your audience.
Podia extends to its customization options. You can connect your own domain to tie your courses and membership site directly to your brand.
You can also add your logo, brand colors, and custom copy to create a cohesive look. But Podia’s templates don’t allow for advanced modifications or custom coding.
Teachable offers more flexible customization options where you can build personalized course pages and portals. Its tools cater to users who want to align your courses closely with your brand.
Its drag-and-drop editor lets you adjust layouts, content blocks, and design elements with ease. Like Podia, Teachable allows you to use your custom domain for a professional look.
Teachable supports custom coding for unlimited design possibilities, which can be beneficial for tech-savvy creators or those with developers.
Payment and Monetization Options
Podia allows you to offer products with installment-based pricing. You can choose to offer only a payment plan or both payment options to let customers decide between paying in full or through installments.
Podia integrates with Stripe and PayPal. Payments are processed and delivered to your account immediately after a sale.
Teachable supports one-time payments, subscriptions, payment plans, and course bundles. It also integrates with Stripe and PayPal for easy payment processing.
Teachable Payments (available in select countries) allows daily payouts, while PayPal or Stripe payouts may take longer. It handles EU VAT and other tax-related details automatically, which makes it easier for creators to comply with regional laws.
Analytics and Reporting
Podia offers a basic sales dashboard where you can view revenue trends, individual product performance, and overall sales data. Customer insights are also available so you can track purchase history and identify popular products.
Teachable delivers a better set of analytics tools if you want to optimize your courses and understand your audience better. Course reports provide insights into how students are interacting with your content, including stats on lecture and video completion, quiz scores, and course leaderboards.
Teachable’s sales reports also offer detailed tracking of total sales, earnings, refunds, chargebacks, affiliate commissions, and payouts.
Why is CustomerHub Better Than Podia and Teachable?
CustomerHub stands out by offering a membership-focused platform designed for ease of use, scalability, and exceptional user experience.
While Podia and Teachable cater to course creators, CustomerHub takes a more holistic approach by integrating memberships, community-building tools, and personalized services.
Plug-and-Play Simplicity
CustomerHub is designed for ease of use, offering a true plug-and-play experience that lets you launch memberships, courses, or digital products. The platform eliminates the need for extensive setup or technical expertise. Therefore, you spend less time managing tools and more time sharing your expertise.
While Podia and Teachable are user-friendly, their setup processes can feel more time-intensive, especially for those new to creating digital products.
Personalized Support and Done-for-You Services
CustomerHub differentiates itself with unmatched personalized support and optional DFY services.
The platform provides unlimited chat support so users get real-time help whenever they need it. Also, CustomerHub offers DFY services, where their team assists with complex setup tasks, including migrating content from another platform.
In comparison, Podia offers responsive support but lacks the advanced assistance of DFY services, and Teachable primarily relies on self-service resources, with live chat restricted to higher-tier plans.
This level of support makes CustomerHub especially appealing to creators who find the idea of switching platforms or setting up memberships daunting.
Integrated Membership and Community Tools
Unlike Podia and Teachable, which treat community features as secondary add-ons, CustomerHub integrates membership and community-building tools into one platform.
Features like private member feeds and personalized experiences help foster engagement and promote a high level of satisfaction and retention among customers.
CustomerHub’s tighter integration of these features gives you the tools you need to build stronger relationships with your audience.
Seamless Integration with Existing Tools
CustomerHub connects with existing workflows by integrating with CRMs, email platforms, payment processors, and over 7,000 apps via Zapier to automate tasks and manage your operations.
Both Podia and Teachable support integrations but lack the flexibility that CustomerHub offers. For businesses with complex workflows or niche software needs, CustomerHub’s integration capabilities provide a clear advantage.
Simplicity for Scalability
Unlike Teachable, which can feel overly complex for those who want a simplified, scalable solution, CustomerHub provides the flexibility needed for growth without unnecessary complications.
As your businesses grow, your platform needs often become more complex. CustomerHub offers a balance between simplicity and scalability so you can expand offerings without sacrificing ease of use.
Exceptional User Experience
CustomerHub prioritizes both the creator and customer experience. Features like private customer feeds, progress tracking, and simple onboarding deliver a polished and professional experience.
Customers benefit from a user-friendly portal, while creators enjoy tools that make delivering content simple and efficient.
Sign up with a 14-day free trial today and transform how you manage memberships and engage your audience!
Take Control of Your Memberships and Content with CustomerHub
Choosing between Podia and Teachable can be overwhelming, especially when both platforms seem to offer similar features.
However, if you’re looking for a solution that goes beyond basic course creation and prioritizes community engagement and flexibility, CustomerHub is the clear choice.
Designed for creators, CustomerHub offers a unified platform for managing memberships, delivering content, and creating strong relationships with your audience.
What sets CustomerHub apart is its ability to combine plug-and-play simplicity with sophisticated tools for long-term scalability. While Podia and Teachable have their strengths, they often require more time for setup or lack the integrated community-building features that drive retention.
CustomerHub provides private member portals, personalized feeds, and progress tracking to keep your members engaged, all while integrating with multiple apps to automate and scale your workflows.
Don’t settle for platforms that treat memberships as an afterthought. CustomerHub is built for creators who want personalized support and need a platform that adapts to business processes.
Start your 14-day free trial and see how CustomerHub makes it easier to manage memberships, engage your audience, and grow your revenue!
FAQs About Podia vs Teachable
Which platform is best for beginners?
Podia is the most beginner-friendly platform, with its simple interface and all-in-one tools to set up courses, memberships, or digital products.
CustomerHub also provides a plug-and-play experience, especially for membership businesses, with no coding skills required.
Teachable is more feature-rich but has a steeper learning curve, which is better suited for creators who want advanced customization and are comfortable with some technical setup.
What types of products can I sell on each platform?
Podia allows you to sell courses, memberships, downloads, coaching services, and tickets for events. Teachable is tailored to online course sales, with tools to create and manage individual lessons, quizzes, and student progress.
CustomerHub focuses on memberships and digital content delivery, which makes it ideal for recurring revenue models.
Which platform has better marketing tools?
Podia includes built-in email marketing and affiliate management, which is ideal for creators who want an all-in-one solution. Teachable offers more integrations with third-party tools like Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign, which have advanced options for marketing but require additional setup.
