Podia vs. Thinkific vs. Teachable
Why I chose Podia as my online course and digital download platform
Looking for an all-in-one online course hosting platform?
You’re in the right place.
If you’re like me, you probably have a few pros/cons lists going, comparing features, cost, accessibility, and customer service. But you still have some questions.
That’s why I put together this comparison of three popular course-hosting platforms: Thinkific, Teachable, and Podia. Read on for all the details!
Disclosure:
I get commissions for purchases made through links on this page. This commission comes at no additional cost to you and helps to support my business. Please note that I only recommend products and services that I personally use and trust.
Thinkific
free 30-day trial
paid plans start at $74/mo + no transaction fee
unlimited courses (starting at a limit of 200 GB/mo. in course video bandwidth)
sell courses, webinars, and digital products
upsells
ability to host free courses
affiliate program
coupons & promos + payment plans
drip content
course certificates
customizable site design (Thinkific-branded)
custom domain
email automation
community
memberships & subscriptions
*available with Grow plan or above
Podia
free 30-day trial
paid plans start at $42/mo + 5% transaction fee
plans start at 50 products, 500 videos
live-chat feature
sell courses, webinars, and digital products
upsells*
ability to host free courses
affiliate program*
coupons & promos + payment plans
drip content + drip emails
customizable site design
custom domain
integrated email marketing (free for up to 100 subscribers, then plans starting at $8/mo.)
free migration
free or paid private community or membership
*available with Shaker plan or above
Teachable
free 7-day trial
paid plans start at $29/mo + 7.5% transaction fee
instant payout
plans start at 5 products + 100 active students
upsells
ability to host free courses
free subtitles and translations*
affiliate program*
iOS and student apps
coupons & promos + payment plans
drip content
course certificates
customizable site design (Teachable-branded)
custom domain
integrated email marketing*
*available with Builder plan or above
Podia vs. Thinkific
Let’s break it downCost
Thinkific’s Start plan includes unlimited courses (200 GB/mo. in course video bandwidth) for $74/month (annual plan).
Podia’s consistent monthly fee of $42/month + 5% transaction fees (Mover, annual plan) ends up being a better deal than Thinkific, especially as you continue to create new courses and digital products to sell.
Both of these platforms offer free 30-day trials.
Thinkific has two other plan options:
Grow: $149/month (annual plan) + no transaction fees
Expand: $374/month (annual plan) + no transaction fees
Podia has two additional plans:
Shaker: $84/month (annual plan) + no transaction fees
Earthquaker: $150/month (annual plan) + no transaction fees
Features
The Thinkific Start plan includes unlimited courses and students, while the Podia Mover plan includes a limit of 50 products and 500 videos.
Both platforms let you customize the branding of your storefront by uploading your logo and setting a primary color. With Podia, you can also customize the primary branding color for each product.
Podia includes hosting for online courses, digital products, and live or recorded webinars, all in one place. You can also host free downloads, live or recorded webinars, and courses on their platform. Webinar replays are available to purchase (or access for free, however you have it set). I love that all my free and paid content is hosted in one place.
Email marketing integration is built in with Podia, and it’s completely free for up to 100 subscribers. This is great for walking students through a course (you can write and schedule all the emails in advance) or following up with people who download or purchase one of your products. There are a dozen pre-made email templates, or you can build your own with the drag-and-drop visual builder. Podia Email includes advanced features to make the most of your email marketing such as segments, tags, automation, robust analytics, and more.
Thinkific includes bulk student emailing in the Grow plan. The Start plan includes affiliate reporting, which Podia provides at the Shaker level and above.
Thinkific (Start plan) and Podia both include:
use of coupons & promos
ability to drip content
custom domain integration
Looking for more? Both platforms also include a private community. No more linking and managing private Facebook groups. You can also sell monthly or annual access to a private community.
Support
Thinkific offers email and phone support. Podia offers email and live chat support (and they are super-responsive!) for all customers.
User Experience
Podia offers a very simple checkout process, meaning more conversions from potential customers. They also have a live chat feature (on all plans) so prospective students and customers can ask questions and interact with you before they buy.
Both plans include quizzes and comment sections so students can ask questions, leave comments, and interact with each other. You can track individual student progress and provide more tailored support and guidance if needed.
Think Podia might be the right fit for you?
Cost
Teachable has a 7-day free trial and a low-cost Starter plan at $29/mo. (annual plan), but they charge 7.5% on every transaction. Podia has a 30-day free trial with 0% transaction fees, then $42/month (Mover, annual plan), with a 5% transaction fee.
Teachable’s next higher plan of $69/month (Builder, annual plan) comes with a 0% transaction fee on every sale.
Teachable has two other plans beyond this:
Growth: $139/month (annual plan), no transaction fees
Advanced: $199/month (annual plan), no transaction fees
Podia has two other plans:
Shaker: $84/month (annual plan), no transaction fees
Earthquaker: $150/month (annual plan), no transaction fees
Podia vs. Teachable
Let’s break it downFeatures
Both platforms limit the number of products you can have on entry-level plans: Podia’s Mover plan includes 50 products and 500 videos; Teachable’s Starter plan includes 5 products and 100 active students.
Podia lets you customize branding—uploading your logo and setting a primary color to match your website. They also offer the option of hosting both online courses, digital products, and webinars in one storefront (and you can customize the primary branding color for each product). You can host free downloads, courses, and webinars on Podia and free courses on Teachable.
Setting brand colors and fonts in the Podia Site Editor
Email marketing integration is built-in with Podia, and it’s free for up to 100 subscribers. This is great for walking students through a course (you can write and schedule all the emails in advance) or following up with people who download or purchase one of your products. There are a dozen pre-made email templates, or you can build your own with the drag-and-drop visual builder. Podia Email includes advanced features to make the most of your email marketing, such as segments, tags, automation, robust analytics, and more.
Teachable includes email marketing integration in its Builder plan. They also include affiliate marketing in their Builder plan, which Podia provides with their Shaker and Earthquaker plans.
Podia offers the ability to host free and paid webinars on all three plans. Webinar replays are also available to purchase (or access for free).
Teachable (Starter plan) and Podia both include:
use of coupon codes
ability to drip content
custom domain integration
Looking for more? Podia also includes a private community feature inside the platform. No more linking and managing private Facebook groups. You can also sell monthly or annual access to a private community to create a paid membership or subscription.
Support
Teachable offers email support at the Starter level and live chat at the Builder and Growth levels. Podia offers email and live chat support (and they are super-responsive!) for all customers.
User Experience
Podia offers a very simple 2-step, checkout process, meaning more conversions from potential customers. They also have a live chat feature (on all plans) so prospective students and customers can ask questions and interact with you before they buy.
Teachable offers the ability for students to take basic quizzes and interact in a live comments section, which helps build community and a structured learning environment.
Podia also includes quizzes and the ability for students to comment on course content (ask questions, leave comments, and interact with each other in the community section). You can track individual student progress and provide more tailored support and guidance if needed.
Ready to try it for yourself?
Have I convinced you?These are the questions I asked
before choosing Podia:
If you’re like me, you have a long list of questions for any potential course platform.
After researching and comparing Podia, Thinkific, and Teachable, I made a list of all the questions I had for Podia about their Mover plan and sent them a long email.
I received a reply from Spencer, the CEO, within 15 minutes. I was impressed! Here are my questions and their answers:
Email Marketing
Are there any limits on the number of subscribers I can have or the number of emails I can send?
Podia Email is completely free for up to 100 subscribers (unlimited sends). After that, you can upgrade to a paid plan.
Can I import my current subscriber list? Can I have multiple lists/ways of tagging or segmenting people?
Yes, and we offer free migration (including tags and existing automation) with any paid plan! You can segment, tag, automate, and more.
Is there a way to set up email automation and drip campaigns for new subscribers (customers who buy courses or products and people who download free things)?
Yup! You can set up drips.
Are there embeddable forms I can use on my website to collect emails?
Yes, you can embed a general email capture form. You can style it as well.
Courses
Does this come with a custom domain or a way to attach it to my existing domain? How does this work with Squarespace?
Yup, you can add it to your custom domain e.g. https://learn.ashleydanyew.com/ We have lots of Squarespace customers.
What video player do you use inside courses?
We use a combo of Amazon and Wistia for hosting and Wistia for the player.
Is there a limit on how many students can access to a given course? This wouldn’t affect the individual experience, right?
No limits on anything.
For self-paced courses, do customers have instant access to the course once setting up an account? Is there anything I have to do from my end to give them access?
Yup, they'd have instant access after buying.
Products
How do digital downloads work: is it an instant access link?
You just create the product and then the person purchases and then can download it. They'll have an account so that they can always go back.
Do customers have to create an account to access products? What about free things?
Yes, they always have to create an account. Helps to prevent SPAM.
How long do customers have access to digital downloads/links?
Forever.
5 Things I Love About Podia
01 | Amazing customer service
From before I started my free trial in 2017 to now, Podia has continued to impress me with its customer service. They truly go above and beyond. Between email inquiries and live chat questions, they are extremely responsive and helpful and go out of their way to handle the back-end of my storefront, help me manage my products, and ensure my students have a great experience.
02 | Great analytics
I love being able to track my students’ progress in my courses and see stats on sales and customers. Podia offers great analytics reporting for email campaigns, as well as useful information like top customers (in terms of revenue and products).
03 | One digital storefront for all my products, courses, and downloads
I think this sets Podia apart from its competitors. Most platforms are limited to courses, leaving you to host other products (digital downloads, eBooks, free resources, webinars, communities) on your website, on other platforms like Facebook or YouTube, or in a digital storage space like Dropbox. I love having a digital storefront that features all my products (free and paid) in one place. Want to see what this looks like? Take a look at my storefront here.
And with the built-in community feature, it’s easy to create a space for students to connect, share, and learn from one another. Whether you’re looking to host a course community or a paid membership (or both!), you can do it with Podia.
04 | Added value, education, and resources
Every month, Podia sends out articles on a topic related to my business—marketing online courses, copywriting, course design, creating customer personas, and affiliate marketing, just to name a few. Podia continues to add value by providing high-quality, educational research and insights, week after week.
05 | Extremely easy to use
The Podia platform is extremely easy to use and set up. They offer lots of customization options to design a storefront, sales pages, product listings, and course dashboards that match the look and feel of my site without getting stuck in HTML coding and endless menus. I love the drag-and-drop functionality for setting up courses and laying out sales pages. See an example here.
Ready to get started?
Today’s the day.