SchoolMaker vs Teachable (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Teachable grades higher than SchoolMaker: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Teachable grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
SchoolMaker
Course platform with milestones, community, coaching and AI coaches
Teachable
Online course, coaching and membership platform with its own checkout
Which one is for you
Pick SchoolMaker if
- Fits if you coach in steps and want a community inside the same product
- Works for course makers who want AI coaches for their students
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you grow, because plans cap members from 100 to 5,000 and above that you contact the vendor
- Skip it if you want no badge on the cheapest plan, as Lite keeps a SchoolMaker badge
- Watch out: Lite is only open to new customers
- Watch out: extra member packs come only with Business, and the page offers annual billing but the monthly price is the one recorded here
Pick Teachable if
- Fits if your students are in many countries and you don't want to deal with VAT yourself
- Works for schools whose students learn on their phones, with apps on every plan
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if an active community is the point, since it's a student community on Builder at most
- Tight if you want certificates or a second admin, which need Growth at $139 a month
- Pricey if you stay on Starter once sales pick up, as 7.5% of every sale goes to Teachable
- Watch out: products are capped at 5, 10 and 50 by plan
- Watch out: there's no free plan, only a 7-day trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee
How we grade them
| 2.2GPASchoolMakerFair | 2.4GPATeachableFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CLite is $29 a month, inside the cheaper quarter, but it has a badge, 100 members and is for new customers only. Starter is $99, Pro $165 and Business $249. | CStarter is $29 a month billed yearly, but its 7.5% fee adds $150 on $2,000 of sales, making $179. Builder at $69 takes no fee with Teachable Payments, so $69 a month is what you'd pay: above this category's dearer quarter ($59), well short of its dearest tenth. |
| Free plan and trial | C14-day free trial. No free plan, and the listing does not say a card is needed. | CNo free plan. There's a 7-day free trial, and the listing doesn't say it needs a card, then a 30-day money-back guarantee once you've paid. |
| Features | CSteps and milestones, community, live sessions, AI coaches, checkout, referrals, an API and webhooks. Members and courses are capped on every plan. | CCourses with drip, quizzes and graded short answers, coaching, downloads, memberships, upsells, cart recovery and email. The course job is covered; the gap is community, which is a student community on Builder rather than the spaces and events rivals offer. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You build the school and its steps yourself. | B4.62 from about 9,400 App Store ratings, a little under the 4.7 an A needs. The AI course starter drafts a curriculum, so you're not starting from a blank page. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with 8 integrations and an API on record. | BWeb, iPhone and Android for students, with Zapier and webhooks on every plan and a public API on Growth. No desktop app, which an A needs. |
| Best for | a coach selling a course with community and AI coaches | selling courses to students around the world |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: SchoolMaker and Teachable. How we grade
Price against what you get
SchoolMaker starts at $29 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Teachable starts at $29 a month and scores 2.7.
Teachable scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other course and community platforms on the chart, 2 score higher than SchoolMaker for less, and none scores higher than Teachable for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- SchoolMaker also covers community and webinars.
- Teachable also covers email campaigns.
At a glance
| SchoolMaker | Teachable | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $29 per month, billed monthly | $29 per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial | 7-day free trial, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | SchoolMaker | Teachable, Inc. |
| Price read from | schoolmaker.com | teachable.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
SchoolMaker
- Plans cap members (100 to 5,000) and courses; above 5,000 members the vendor asks you to contact it.
- The Lite plan keeps a SchoolMaker badge on and is only open to new customers.
- The page offers annual billing with a stated saving, but the monthly price is the one recorded here.
- Business is the only plan that includes extra member packs.
Teachable
- Starter takes 7.5% of each sale on top of processing fees: 2.9% + 30 cents for US cards, 3.9% + 30 cents for international cards.
- There is no free plan, only a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Certificates, removing Teachable branding and more than 1 admin user all need Growth at $139 a month billed annually.
- Products are capped at 5, 10 and 50 by plan; memberships, bundles and drafts do not count.
Key features
SchoolMaker
- Steps and milestones
- Courses are built as step-by-step journeys with milestones that students work through.
- Built-in community
- A community space for students inside the school, on every plan.
- Live sessions and coaching
- Consultations, live sessions and coaching, with Zoom or Google Meet links.
- AI coaches
- AI coaches that answer from course content: 10 on Lite, up to 30 on Business.
- Checkout and referrals
- Native checkout through Stripe, with no transaction fee from SchoolMaker.
- API, MCP and webhooks
- API, MCP server and webhooks on every plan, plus Zapier and Make.
Teachable
- Courses, coaching and downloads
- Video and text courses with drip content, auto-graded quizzes and short-answer assessments, plus 1:1 or group coaching, digital downloads and memberships.
- Teachable Payments
- Built-in checkout with 35+ local payment methods that collects and remits sales tax, VAT and GST in 45+ countries, with daily payouts.
- Sales tools
- Coupons, upsells, order bumps, bundles, abandoned cart emails and built-in email marketing. The affiliate program starts on Builder.
- AI course tools
- An AI course starter drafts a curriculum, a generator turns lessons into quizzes, and videos get subtitles translated into 70+ languages on Growth.
- Student apps
- Students reach their courses on the web or in Teachable's iOS and Android apps, which are included on every plan.
- Integrations and API
- Zapier and webhooks on every plan, and a public API on Growth with 10,000 requests a month.
Plans
SchoolMaker
Lite$29
per month for up to 100 members, billed monthly
1 course, 1 owner account, 100 GB storage and a SchoolMaker badge that stays on. Only for new customers.
Starter$99
per month for up to 500 members, billed monthly
15 courses, 5 team accounts, unlimited storage and free migration.
Pro$165
per month for up to 2,500 members, billed monthly
30 courses, 10 team accounts, priority support and free migration.
Business$249
per month for up to 5,000 members, billed monthly
Unlimited courses and team accounts, extra member packs, priority support and free migration.
Teachable
Starter$29
per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly)
5 products, 1 admin user, AI tools, student apps, upsells and cart recovery. Teachable takes a 7.5% transaction fee on each sale.
Builder$69
per month, billed annually ($89 billed monthly)
10 products, 1 admin user, no transaction fee with Teachable Payments, a student community, an affiliate program and real-time support.
Growth$139
per month, billed annually ($189 billed monthly)
50 products, 5 admin users, certificates, no Teachable branding, student imports, custom admin permissions, subtitles and translations.
CustomCustom
For high-volume schools: flexible product and admin seats, a sandbox school, a success manager, priority support and migration help.
Ways to pay less
SchoolMaker
- Annual discount
Annual billing saving
The page lists a saving with annual billing: $120 a year on Lite, $240 on Starter, $408 on Pro and $600 on Business.
Teachable
- Annual discount
Save 22% with yearly billing
Teachable's pricing page says yearly billing saves 22%: Starter $29 a month instead of $39, Builder $69 instead of $89, Growth $139 instead of $189.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, SchoolMaker or Teachable?
As of Nov 12, 2026, they start at the same price. SchoolMaker starts at $29 per month, billed monthly, and Teachable starts at $29 per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, SchoolMaker or Teachable?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither SchoolMaker nor Teachable has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do SchoolMaker and Teachable run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Teachable lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.