Teachable has been one of the oldest way to sell online courses. You upload videos, add some information, pay $99 and you are set to launch a business. But lately, Skool has offered a new way of promoting your online courses and events. Instead of offering your course you create an online community and offer online courses inside.
The question is, is Skool better than Teachable?
I will compare Teachable and Skool both for their pricing, features and some not-so-obvious aspects.
Whether you're an online course creator, a community builder, or a versatile entrepreneur looking to promote your digital products, here is everything you need to know about these platforms.
Full disclaimer: I used Teachable for 6 months in the past. I was hosting my marketing program on Teachable until I faced some issues. Some of my students were facing challenges in logging into the account. I tried reaching out to Teachable support and they did not respond. After 6 days I eventually moved to a completely different platform Podia.
Currently, I host my community and courses on Skool and I find it incredibly seamless in comparision to Teachable. However, the priority of Skool is on Community more than simply selling online courses.
If you don't want to read the full article, here is the quick summary for you:
- Skool is a community-first platform, Teachable is a course hosting platform.
- Skool offers much comprehensive education on making money online than Teachable.
- Skool costs $99/mo for everything. It has only one pricing system. However, Teachable has a multiple pricing options including $0+10% transaction fee version to $249/mo version. The best one is $149/mo with 0 transaction fee and affiliate program features.
- Skool runs a free 30-day challenge to support new creators generate their first dollar online in Skool Games. Teachable offers education through their email newsletters and YouTube videos.
- Teachable is more suitable for online courses while Skool is better for community-driven online business with embedded online courses.
Now if you wanna go deeper, let's talk about both of them one by one.
Skool: The Community Platform for Creators
As covered in the review, Skool was born from the vision of Sam Ovens, an entrepreneur who recognized the need for a platform that could foster engaged and thriving online communities.
At its core, Skool is designed to be a community-centric hub where creators can not only host courses but also nurture deep connections with their audience through gamification and social features.
Feature Comparison for Skool
- Course Hosting: Skool offers robust course hosting capabilities, allowing you to create and deliver engaging learning experiences for your community members.
- Personalized Leaderboards: Gamification is a key component of Skool. It uses personalized leaderboards as a powerful tool to incentivize engagement and create a sense of friendly competition among your members.
- Member Profiles: Skool's member profiles go beyond basic user accounts, enabling members to showcase their achievements, connect with others, and build a sense of belonging within your community.
- Chat and Follow System: Facilitate real-time communication and networking among your members with chat and follow features, fostering deeper connections and collaboration.
- Subscription Memberships: You can monetize your community and content by offering subscription-based memberships, providing your audience with exclusive access to premium features or courses.
Skool can be considered as the go-to platform for coaches, consultants, and information entrepreneurs who prioritize building engaged communities around their brands.
Teachable: The Course Creation Powerhouse
On the other hand, Teachable is a platform focusing on empowering online educators, experts, and influencers to create and sell quality courses. Think of it like Udemy but your own.
While community features are present, Teachable's true strength lies in its robust course creation and delivery capabilities.
Feature Comparison for Teachable
- Intuitive Course Builder: Teachable's user-friendly course builder makes it easy to create professional-looking courses, even for those with limited technical skills.
- Multimedia Support: Seamlessly integrate various content formats, including videos, PDFs, quizzes, and more, to create engaging and interactive learning experiences.
- Marketing and Sales Tools: Teachable provides a suite of marketing and sales tools, such as sales pages, payment gateways, and affiliate program integration, to help you promote and sell your courses effectively.
- Pricing Options: Choose from different pricing plans and payment models, including one-time payments, subscriptions, and payment plans, to cater to your audience's preferences.
- Instructor Resources: Access a wealth of resources, tutorials, and support to ensure your success as an online educator, from course creation to marketing and beyond.
Teachable's course creation tools and marketing features make it a better choice for those seeking to establish themselves as authorities in their respective fields.
My personal Experience with Teachable and Skool
You might say since I am using Skool I might be biased to lean towards the platform. And you will be fair with your point.
This is why as I was working on this article I did my own research. I found many similar incidents with Teachable. For example, Dreamglow writes the following about their experience:
On the other side, Skool also has it's own flaws. I have covered some in my Skool review on YouTube.
But again, I will encourage you to make a conscious choice by trying out the product yourself. Since you will be investing into your business it is vital to have the first hand experience. For now, let's get into further details on both platforms.
In-Depth Feature Comparison
Now that you have a high-level overview of both platforms, let's dive deeper into the key areas that will help you make an informed decision.
Course Creation and Delivery
When it comes to course creation and delivery, both Skool and Teachable offer powerful capabilities, but with distinct approaches.
Skool:
- Simplified course creation process
- Rich multimedia support (videos, audio, text)
- Drip-feed content and set access levels
- Student progress tracking and engagement analytics
Teachable:
- Intuitive and feature-rich course builder
- Comprehensive multimedia support, including quizzes and certifications
- Advanced curriculum management and content structuring
- Student engagement and assessment tools
While Skool provides a streamlined approach to course creation, Teachable offers more advanced features and granular control over the learning experience.
Community Engagement
Community engagement is where Skool truly shines, thanks to its gamification and social features.
Skool:
- Personalized leaderboards and achievement tracking
- Member profiles, chat, and follow system
- Discussion forums and feedback loops
- Gamification elements (points, levels, level-based feature unlocks)
Teachable:
- Basic commenting forum
- Student feedback and review systems
- Limited social and gamification features
If building a highly engaged and interactive community is your top priority, Skool's gamification and social features give it a significant advantage over Teachable's more basic community tools.
Sales and Marketing
Both platforms offer robust sales and marketing capabilities, but with slightly different approaches.
Skool:
- Subscription-based monetization model
- Integration with external sales funnel builders with Zapier.
- Email marketing integrations through Make and Zapier (e.g., ConvertKit)
- Limited native marketing and sales tools
Teachable:
- Multiple pricing options (one-time payments, subscriptions, payment plans)
- Built-in checkout processes, and affiliate program integration
- Powerful email marketing and automation tools
- Advanced marketing analytics and reporting
Monetization Models
The monetization strategies of Skool and Teachable differ significantly, catering to different business models.
Skool:
- Subscription-based model for community access and course content
- Ideal for recurring revenue and long-term customer relationships
- Embadded online courses inside the community.
Teachable:
- One-time course sales or subscription-based pricing
- Commission-based revenue model (Teachable takes a percentage of sales)
- Flexible pricing options for individual courses or course bundles
Skool's subscription model aligns well with community-focused businesses, while Teachable's pricing options cater more to traditional course creators and online educators.
User Experience and Support
Both platforms prioritize user-friendliness and provide dedicated support resources, but with slightly different approaches.
Skool:
- Clean, modern, and intuitive user interface
- Community-based support and knowledge sharing
- Personalized email support for customer inquiries
Teachable:
- User-friendly interface with a focus on course creation
- Comprehensive knowledge base and tutorial resources
- Direct email and chat support for instructors
As I said in the beginning, my experience with Teachable was very poor. However, this might be different now. While Skool leverages its community for support and knowledge sharing, Teachable offers more traditional support channels and extensive self-help resources. Skool has active community admins to answer any questions if asked.
Factors to Consider
As you weigh your options between Skool and Teachable, consider the following key factors to ensure you make the right choice for your specific needs:
- Primary Goal: Are you primarily focused on building an engaged community or creating and selling courses? Skool excels at community building and promoting courses within, while Teachable is tailored for course creation and delivery.
- Preferred Teaching/Learning Styles: Do you prefer an interactive, gamified learning experience, or a more traditional, self-paced approach? Skool's gamification features cater to the former, while Teachable aligns with the latter.
- Importance of Engagement Features: If creating discussions, social interactions, and gamification elements are crucial for your audience, Skool's community features may be a better fit.
- Budget and Long-Term Scalability Plans: Evaluate the pricing structures of both platforms and consider your long-term growth plans. Skool's flat monthly fee may be more cost-effective for larger communities, while Teachable's commission-based model could be better for individual course creators starting out.
- Education and support: If you are looking for a supportive space to build your information business, Skool games can be the right place to begin. If you are going for Teachable, then subscribing to their weekly newsletter is a good place to get the necessary education.
The Verdict: Which Platform is Right for You?
Now that we've explored the features, capabilities, and real-world use cases of Skool and Teachable, it's time to determine which platform is the better fit for your needs.
Skool is the Ideal Choice If:
- Your primary focus is building an engaged and thriving online community around your brand or expertise.
- You value gamification and social features to foster deeper connections and increase member retention.
- You plan to monetize through subscription-based memberships or tiered access levels.
- You prefer a streamlined, community-centric approach to course creation and delivery.
Teachable is the Ideal Choice If:
- Your primary goal is to create and sell high-quality online courses in your niche or area of expertise.
- You prioritize advanced course creation tools, multimedia support, and granular curriculum management.
- You require robust marketing and sales tools to promote and monetize your courses effectively.
- You prefer a platform tailored specifically for online educators and course creators.
Ultimately, both Skool and Teachable are powerful platforms, but they cater to different needs and business models.
The Bottom Line: Explore and Leverage Free Trials
Whichever platform piques your interest, the best way to truly evaluate its suitability for your business is to take advantage of their free trial periods.
Skool offers a 14-day free trial, while Teachable provides a 30-day trial, allowing you to experience the platforms firsthand and make an informed decision.
I would recommend playing Skool games for 30-days to see if it aligns with your goals. Meanwhile, you can also checkout Teachable's $0 plan to see how it feels.
In the end, Teachable and Skool are just tools. It is up to you to make use of them. If you want to learn more about Skool Games, you can watch my this video
Do you have any other questions on the topic?
Which platform you find is more suitable? Let me know in the comments and I will be happy to answer.
