Systeme.io vs Teachable: How to Sell Digital Courses Without Transaction Fees

Building an online course takes weeks of hard work, and watching a platform take a cut of every sale hurts. When you sell on Teachable’s entry plan, the platform pockets 7.5% of your gross sales on top of credit card processing fees.

The Hidden Bite of Course Platform Fees

Every time a buyer purchases your course, credit card companies take a fee. They charge around three percent to process the payment. That’s normal for any online shop.

The real trouble begins when your course host takes an extra cut. Teachable takes a steep 7.5% fee on its $39 monthly Starter plan. Sell a course for $100, and you lose $7.50 to Teachable plus $3.20 to Stripe. That leaves you with under $90 from your work.

Make twenty sales a month, and that fee burns $150 out of your pocket. Add the $39 monthly subscription, and you pay Teachable $189 each month just to host five products. You can easily sell digital downloads without expensive storefront fees instead of handing over a fat cut of every sale.

Systeme.io vs Teachable: The Real Cost of Selling Digital Courses

Comparing these tools comes down to your take-home cash. You want money in your account as your student list grows. Teachable looks clean, but its low-tier plans cut deep into your profits.

To remove the extra sales fee on Teachable, you must buy the Builder plan for $89 a month. That runs you over $1,000 every year just to keep your own earnings. Even then, the plan caps you at ten products.

Systeme.io takes a different path with its pricing tiers. You get zero platform fees on every plan, including the free account. If you host one course and teach a thousand students, you pay zero dollars a month.

Need up to five courses? The Startup plan on Systeme.io costs just $17 a month. You get video hosting, five thousand email contacts, and no extra fees on checkout.

The table below shows how the key features and monthly prices compare across both tools.

Course Delivery and Video Hosting Mechanics

When you teach online, your students need a smooth experience without technical headaches. Both platforms give you clean portals where learners log in and watch lessons. You upload your videos, write lesson notes, and organize your modules.

Teachable gives you a polished hub with progress bars and quizzes. It also includes mobile apps for iOS and Android. If having an app icon on your students’ phones is your main goal, Teachable does that well.

Systeme.io runs a lightweight web portal that loads fast on mobile browsers without forcing app downloads. You upload videos straight to the dashboard without paying for Vimeo or Wistia. Students log in, track their progress, and download class files on any phone or laptop.

You can drip modules out weekly or unlock the whole course on day one. Check out my guide on how to host and sell an online course on a shoestring budget. It shows you don’t need pricey tools to deliver great training.

Automated Student Follow-Up and Dropout Prevention

Making a course sale is only half the battle. The harder task is getting students to log in, watch the videos, and finish the lessons.

With online course dropout rates hovering between 40% and 80%, most students quit before finishing your lessons. When learners drop out, they don’t get results and won’t buy your next offer.

Keeping students engaged takes quick email check-ins that cheer them on. Teachable falls short here for solo builders because it only sends basic notices without a real email marketing engine. If you want a welcome sequence, you must connect outside email tools through Zapier, which adds another monthly bill to your stack.

Systeme.io links course access directly to your email list. When a student buys, a tag attaches to their profile right away. That tag kicks off an onboarding sequence, sends login details, and schedules weekly check-ins without extra tools. The Systeme.io free plan gives you full access to these tag automations so you can guide your students easily.

Higher Sales per Student with Native Funnels and Bumps

Older course platforms treat your site like a bookstore with a plain catalog. A visitor views a page, reads the pitch, and either buys or leaves. If they leave, they’re gone for good.

You can build simple sales funnels instead of flat shop pages. Inside Systeme.io, your checkout page connects directly to order bumps. You can offer a twenty-dollar workbook or a checklist right on the order form with one click.

After checkout, you can present a one-click upsell for a coaching call or a bonus module. Doing this on Teachable requires outside cart software or costly add-ons. Choosing a dedicated sales funnel builder lets you capture leads, sell courses, and raise customer value in one dashboard.

Keep Your Course Profits and Keep Your Tech Simple

Choosing between these tools comes down to your budget. Think about your real business goals. If you have deep pockets and prefer native phone apps above all else, Teachable provides a polished setup.

If you want to keep your profit and drop monthly bills, Systeme.io is the clear winner. You dodge the 7.5% transaction fee and skip the $89 monthly upgrade bill. Your course hosting and emails run together in one place.

Outline your modules first and record your core lessons. Create a free account to upload your content, set up your checkout page, and connect your payment processor. Launch your course without platform fees, and keep what you earn from day one.

Frequently Asked Questions About Systeme.io and Teachable