E-learning does nothing but grow these days. Reports from Allied Market Research say the global e-learning industry is expected to gather a revenue of $840.11 billion by 2030.
So if you haven’t climbed on board to this trend, I don’t know what you’re expecting.
Today, we’re going to take a look at two big learning management systems (LMS) that any online teacher needs. Because selling your courses online should always be hassle-free!
So join us in this comparison, where we’ll confront Podia and Teachable. We’ll see their key features, pricing and more.
Podia vs Teachable
Podia
Launched in 2014, Podia is a platform where you can sell digital goods as well as courses and build your online community. Since its early days, it has been building creator-friendly tools that are fun to use.
When you sign up on Podia you can start by simply setting up an email list or opening an affiliate program.
Podia has a demo site where you can check out what the Podia experience will look like for both you and your customers.
Teachable
Teachable is an online course platform that has existed since 2015. Its predecessor, Fedora, a place to sell online courses, was born in 2013 when a recent graduate of UC Berkeley decided to build his course platform.
Teachable is currently home to more than 100,000 creators that use it either to sell courses, coaching sessions or digital downloads.
Key features
What can you sell?
So obviously, both Podia and Teachable let you sell online courses. But there’s more than that.
They also let you sell coaching sessions and even digital downloads. You can upload any type of file to sell: ebooks, videos, etc. And even launch your own affiliate program!
Builder
Both Podia and Teachable have drag-and-drop builders that allow you to easily create websites where you can showcase your products.
Teachable has page revisions, so every time you save, a revision is created and you can take a step back if you don’t like where you’re heading. If you’ve ever done something similar with your Google Docs, you know how useful it is.
It also has Unsplash integrated into its page builder, so you can access its whole library and use it on your online course.
If you don’t have the time to build your sales page, you can also get in touch with Teachable and let them build one for you. The process typically takes a week.
Podia, on the other hand, doesn’t offer professionals to handle your website, because you won’t need them. Its builder offers a great balance between customization and simplicity.
You just click on the type of section you want (from over a dozen sections) and they add a pre-made, customizable block to your website.
Automation
Since both platforms integrate with Zapier, you can access different automations, for example, engagement triggers which allow you to automate responses to a learner’s specific action.
Once set, Podia or Teachable can open a live chat each time someone fails a quiz. Or you can automatically send a specific email as soon as someone completes a lesson.
Private lessons
Both Podia and Teachable offer coaching sessions on all their plans. They integrate with Calendly, so your clients can easily schedule calls.
Teachable also comes with built-in video conferencing functionality, which means you don’t need to rely on Zoom or any other external tool to teach your students.
Selling
Both Teachable and Podia let you connect your account with PayPal and Stripe to receive payments
Teachable, however, also has two native payment getaways. One is teachable:pay, which automatically handles US sales taxes, EU VAT tax and other digital content taxes outside of US and EU. The other is called Monthly Payment Gateway.
Schools that are unable to set up teachable:pay are eligible for the Monthly Payment Gateway.
Both platforms come with several features to help you engage your audience, such as certificates of completion and quizzes.
Email marketing
Teachable offers email marketing with popular email service providers like Mailchimp.
Although Podia also lets you connect with Mailchimp, they also offer their own email marketing service. Forget about paying extra money to launch campaigns. With them, you can capture emails, automate campaigns, embed forms and more.
Analytics
On Teachable, on the Pro plan and up, schools can access course reporting tools. They provide detailed information about students’ lecture completion rates, quiz scores, video stats and student leaderboards.
You can also filter course reports by user tags. This allows you to segment your reports by specific cohorts or groups of students.
Podia, on the other hand, lacks advanced analytics. If you want to understand your performance, you’ll need to integrate with Google Analytics.
Integrations
Podia lets you connect your website with tons of tools. For example, you can embed Spotify to your website and show your playlists, connect with GoogleAds and Zapier.
Teachable integrates with Zapier, ConvertKit, Google Analytics, Segment and more. They also have a public API which makes integrating apps a lot easier.
Other features
Podia can be used as a Patreon alternative because it helps you build online communities. You can make a free group that’s open to all or create private groups and masterminds.
This feature is great for creators looking to connect directly with their fans and/or get paid by their supporters. You don’t need to keep fighting with the algorithm!
Meanwhile, Teachable offers AI technology as a course curriculum generator. You just simply enter a brief description of your course and the generator will create an outline for you in just a few moments.
The cool thing about this AI generator is you can use it for free right from their free plan.
Languages and currencies
Currently, Podia supports 11 languages, including English, Russian, Dutch and Italian. However, they are planning to add more languages. They also support over 40 currencies, but you can add more as long as Stripe also supports it. PayPal’s currency support is more limited.
As to Teachable, it only supports the English languages and lets you translate text fields. But they support over 120 currencies!
Support and resources
Podia has a Help Center, webinars, a YouTube channel full of tutorials and a Creator community with exclusive courses.
Teachable, on the other hand, has workbooks, checklists, a blog and a podcast. They also have a Community but it’s not on Facebook. You’ll have to pay a membership to be a part of it.
Podia and Teachable’s support is available via email. If you’re already using Teachable, you can also chat with support or manage a support ticket.
Pricing
Podia has a free plan with an 8% transactional fee and all its paid plans have no transaction fees at all:
- Mover: $39 per month. Includes unlimited emails per campaign and advanced integrations.
- Shaker: $89 per month. Turn off Podia branding and offer affiliate marketing.
- Earthquaker: $166 per month. Access priority support and onboarding calls.
You can also add teammates to your Podia account for $20 per user per month.
Podia used to offer a 14-day free trial for its paid plans, however, it was replaced by the free plan. This plan is limited and doesn’t let you sell unlimited products. You can only sell 1 download and 1 coaching product.
Teachable has a free plan that lets you have unlimited students, but users have to pay $1 + 10% of transaction fees
Then it has three premium plans:
- Basic: $59 per month. The transactional fee is 5% and it comes with coupons and integrated email marketing.
- Pro: $159 per month. No transactional fees, a public API and affiliate marketing features.
- Pro+: $249 per month. Custom user roles and offer up to 200 courses.
- Business: $499 per month. Includes 20 admin users, advanced theme customization and migration services.
Podia Pros and Cons
Pros
- Community features.
- More built-in features.
- Supports more languages.
Cons
- Doesn’t have advanced analytics.
Teachable Pros and Cons
Pros
- AI technology.
- It supports more currencies.
- It has a public API.
Cons
- Its website builder is not that simple.
- Higher transaction fees.
Verdict
I really like both Podia and Teachable.
I think they are great options for any teacher or coach who wants to start dipping their toes in the e-learning industry. Like we were saying earlier, this is the time to do it. And platforms like Podia and Teachable allow you to begin with no risk since they offer free plans.
However, very quickly we see that Podia is more friendly with beginners. Its paid plans don’t include fees, and even its free plan has lower fees than Teachable.
Moreover, Podia has built-in features that save you the trouble of paying for third-party apps. And its community feature allows you to take back control from social media’s algorithm to better connect with your audience.
For all those reasons, Podia stands as the winner.
Do you agree with my take?
Please tell us your experience with these LMS in the comments!
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