Teachable vs Kourze: how much you actually lose to fees (2026)
Honest breakdown with real numbers: how much Teachable keeps from each sale vs Kourze, and at what monthly volume migrating actually pays off per plan.
The direct question
If you sell courses on Teachable, Podia, or any percentage-based platform, when does it pay to move to Kourze? No fluff. Here are the real numbers — you decide.
What the major US platforms charge (2026)
- Teachable Free: 10% + $1 per sale
- Teachable Basic ($39/mo): 5% per sale
- Podia Mover ($39/mo): 5% on memberships
- Thinkific Basic ($36/mo): 0% commission but limited features
The hidden trap: most starter plans still charge 5% per sale on top of the monthly fee. For low-ticket products ($19–49) that effective rate is brutal.
What Kourze charges (2026)
| Plan | Monthly | Commission |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 9% |
| Starter | $25 | 5% |
| Growth | $49 | 3% |
| Pro | $119 | 1% |
| Scale | $229 | 0% |
No fixed per-transaction fee. You charge your price, Stripe processing (~2.9% + $0.30) is passed through transparently, and Kourze takes the commission shown in the table.
Founding Creators (first 50) get an extra −2% lifetime discount on any plan. That makes Free 7%, Starter 3%, Growth 1%, and on Pro/Scale your Kourze commission hits 0% — 100% of the ticket is yours, with only the real Stripe fee (~2.9% + $0.30) passed through at cost, no margin to us.
Break-even: when each plan pays off
The math, concrete. Assume an average course price of $97 (swap the numbers if yours differs).
Selling $500/month ($5,000/year)
- Teachable Basic: $39 + $25 (5%) = $64/mo = $768/yr
- Kourze Free: $45/mo = $540/yr
- Winner: Kourze Free. Saves $228/year. Small but free is free.
Selling $2,000/month ($24,000/year)
- Teachable Basic: $39 + $100 = $139/mo = $1,668/yr
- Kourze Starter: $25 + $100 (5%) = $125/mo = $1,500/yr
- Winner: Kourze Starter. Saves $168/year, plus you get drip content, per-course community, and AI tutor.
Selling $5,000/month ($60,000/year)
- Teachable Pro ($119/mo): $119 + $250 = $369/mo = $4,428/yr
- Kourze Growth: $49 + $150 = $199/mo = $2,388/yr
- Winner: Kourze Growth. Saves $2,040/year, plus drip content, multi-instructor, custom domain (courses.yourbrand.com), email automation.
Selling $10,000/month ($120,000/year)
- Teachable Pro: $119 + $500 = $619/mo = $7,428/yr
- Kourze Pro: $119 + $100 = $219/mo = $2,628/yr
- Winner: Kourze Pro. Saves $4,800/year. That is a year of a part-time VA or a real vacation.
Selling $25,000/month ($300,000/year)
- Teachable Business ($299/mo): $299 + $1,250 = $1,549/mo = $18,588/yr
- Kourze Scale: $229 + $0 = $229/mo = $2,748/yr
- Winner: Kourze Scale. Saves $15,840/year. Life-changing territory.
What Kourze does better (beyond price)
- Automatic PPP: price adjustment by country (200+ countries). Doubles conversion in emerging markets if you sell globally.
- Claude AI tutor: answers your students 24/7 using your transcripts. Teachable and Podia do not ship this natively.
- Your brand front and center: kourze.com/c/your- handle or courses.yourbrand.com (custom domain on Growth+). No marketplace that dilutes your brand.
- No shadow-bans for trading, health, or coaching niches. Most US platforms tightened restrictions in 2024.
Next step
If you sell more than $2,000/month on Teachable or Podia, run the exact calculation at kourze.com/calculator with your real numbers.
If you want the founder (me) to walk you through the migration 1-on-1 for free, Founding Creators get that perk. Seats: kourze.com/founding.