When searching for online learning courses, it can be difficult to decide which one is suited best for you, and which one is optimized for your profession for desired skill set.
Numerous eLearning platforms are available and each one varies in course programs, pricing, instructors, formatting, and so much more.
How do you choose the one tailor-fitted for you? What is the best way to get started with course creation content as an instructor or finding the best online course platform for new students?
Let’s begin with two popular options that both students and teachers enjoy: Teachable and Udemy.
Take a look at our detailed guide below to understand how each of these online course platforms works, what the differences are, and which one would be ideal for you.
What is Teachable?
Teachable is an online course creation platform and learning experience like you’ve probably never seen before. It’s made by creatives for creatives.
With a broad range of expertise, Teachable is packed full of various courses that anyone can try their hand at. Anything from piano lessons to piloting drones to photography and social media marketing, the instructors for Teachable love knowledge of all sorts and want to help their learning communities grow in whatever profession or hobby they like.
Teachable is for both instructors and students — it provides a niche for either one! We must note, though, that Teachable is a domain designed more for the instructors. Students will find Teachable’s courses through another domain, i.e., ‘discover.’
On this webpage, students will find courses that Teachable developers and instructors have made.
The main focus of Teachable’s webpage is to bring in professional instructors who can link their website to Teachable’s domain and use the tools available through Teachable to create online content for their students such as instructional videos, chats, and live sessions about their topic.
Teachable is optimal for instructors who want to reach a wider audience, giving them the freedom to create their own online schooling experience using Teachable’s unique customization tools. Teachable is better used for running an online course business.
Students who apply will be engrossed in engaging courses and lessons that are easy to use, versatile, and taught by professionals of their craft.
What is Udemy?
Udemy is a creative online platform that offers the world’s largest selection of courses where everyone is bound to find a topic or subject they enjoy learning about.
The library of courses is endless, offering several categories with all types of courses. Whether you enjoy drawing, web development, graphic design, or making classic Italian cuisine, there is a course on Udemy for you!
The instructors are knowledgeable and want each student to work at his or her own pace, giving them the freedom to learn when they want to, how they want to.
Professionals have the opportunity to create their own content and structure each course to provide a personal learning experience for each student.
The main difference between Teachable and Udemy is that Teachable targets instructors more. Because Teachable is a course creating tool, students will not actually use its webpage to find courses. They will use the “discover” domain to find courses taught by Teachable instructors.
Udemy links everything on their website. Instructors create courses from their Udemy account and students choose courses from the webpage directly.
What are the Specific Differences Between Teachable and Udemy?
Both of these online course programs are specialized for lovers of knowledge and give both students and every course creator a unique platform to listen and teach.
How different are they, though? How do you know which one is the best choice?
Let’s identify the specifics of each, and you decide which one is best for you.
How do the topics differ?
Teachable and Udemy each offer a vast range of topics to peak someone’s interest. Here is a list of the topics each online course portal offers:
Teachable
- art
- careers
- marketing
- music
- food & drink
- photo & video
- home & garden
- design
- productivity
- travel & languages
- hobbies
- free for limited time courses
- course creation
- business
- tech & programming
- health & fitness
Further Teachable Comparisons
Udemy
- development
- business
- finance & accounting
- IT & software
- office productivity
- personal development
- design
- marketing
- lifestyle
- photography & video
- health & fitness
- music
- teaching & academics
Now, Teachable and Udemy have similar topics, but there are also subtopics for each category above, meaning these online courses on each list also have subsequent courses that are more specialized. We will not list these because there are just too many to count!
Pricing Differences?
Teachable and Udemy both have free courses that students can take, but the main portion of offered courses must be paid for.
Udemy has a larger library of free choices, but with either domain, a student could find a free online course that would be beneficial to them.
Bear in mind, though, that the best courses are the ones that cost money. The free courses would be fun and might provide useful information, but to get the best results, paying for a course would most likely reward a better quality learning experience.
Udemy courses might cost anywhere from $10 to $200. Depending on the type of course, it could be more. One of the best perks about Udemy is that some courses go on sale, so one course that was originally $150 could sell for $10. It is very common to find Udemy courses with discounted prices — you just have to keep your eye open for them!
Teachable courses are generally higher priced than Udemy’s. Teachable also requires every instructor to choose a payment plan so that they can utilize the website. Therefore, both students and instructors pay for Teachable’s services.
The Teachable pricing structure offers three plans for instructors to choose from on Teachable. They include the following: Basic, which is $29 per month, Pro, which is $99 per month, and Business, which is $249 per month.
For each Teachable plan, instructors receive all-inclusive access to:
- unlimited video
- unlimited courses
- unlimited hosting
- Teachable app for students
- integrated payment processing
- student management
- lecture comments
- basic quizzes
- no fees on free courses
- VAT (value-added tax) for EU
The biggest differences between the plans are the advanced features that are included only in the Pro and Business options.
Student prices vary depending on the type of course, just like Udemy, but the course prices are generally anywhere between $100 to $500.
Instructor Differences?
Teachable’s instructors encompass a group of more than 100,000 creators who share what they know with curious students.
The Teachable platform is an all-in-one coaching business where anyone can bring a subject or topic to the table. If you are looking to sell online courses through Teachable, simply contact them with your ideas or questions.
Udemy also allows anyone to become a course instructor but without paying anything to the Udemy company upfront. Whoever can bring a level of professionalism and passion to the course creation platform is a great fit for Udemy, especially because they have such a large marketplace for selling online courses.
What is the Method of Payment for Instructors?
For Teachable:
Instructors receive money whenever a course is purchased by a student, and they are paid through an electronic payment plan such as PayPal.
Teachable requires its instructors to choose a payment plan before they can teach.
For Udemy:
Instructors earn money every time a student purchases a course. They are paid monthly either through PayPal or Payoneer.
Udemy instructors (see also ‘How Much Do Udemy Instructors Make‘) are paid according to a shared revenue between them and the Udemy company.
What is the Quality Difference Between Teachable and Udemy Classes?
Since both of these online course platforms allow anyone to become an instructor, students will find classes varying in overall quality.
The instructors for Teachable and Udemy are meant to have a given level of knowledge about their subject and be engaging in every course, but sometimes the course creator is not this up to par.
This can happen on both ends, but generally speaking, it occurs more on Udemy’s course platform because there are so many class options and Udemy does not require a fee for instructors, meaning just about anyone can be a teacher.
Special features of Teachable and Udemy
The course creators for both Teachable and Udemy work hard to promote the best content they can, and each one has specific course tools and core features to bring each student a fresh, entertaining, and successful online course every time.
Udemy Course Browsing
Searching for a course on Udemy might begin with the student selecting a category, choosing a course from the product page they are interested in, and then reading through the description to make sure the course is what they are looking for.
Because Udemy has thousands of courses, there are so many ways a student could go when searching for a subject.
To give an example, if someone is interested in travel, they would choose the travel category, and then they might have courses pop up such as ‘Ultimate Guide to Traveling the World,’ ‘How to Journal Your Travels,’ or ‘Complete Guide to Living like a True Woodsman.’
For each Udemy class, there will be ratings, reviews, outlines for what the student will learn, descriptions of course content, and a brief bio about the instructor.
There are also options to “share” a course with someone else, add a class to one’s wishlist, or even give a course as a gift to someone else.
Udemy is one of the easiest online course platforms one could invest in. It includes lifetime access to any course you buy, giving you the freedom to work at your own convenience.
Teachable Course Browsing
On Teachable, a student would follow the same basic principles. They would select a category and browse through the course list available, choose one they find interesting, and be introduced to specific information about the class’s structure, the chapter list of videos, and the instructor.
Teachable also offers lifetime access to any class chosen so a student can go at his or her own pace, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
The main difference between Teachable’s course structure and Udemy’s is that the design and layout of Teachable’s courses are more user-friendly even though they do not offer as many classes.
Teachable is also thought to bring more in-depth content than Udemy even though they have a more narrow selection of courses.
Because Teachable is so focused on the instructors, there are several customization tools and tricks for teachers to use. For example, they can talk to their students live, track their sales easily, and have one-on-one sessions with students. Teachable even offers training for them, so they can succeed as instructors. If you are an aspiring teacher and want to create a course with the best marketing tools on a membership site, then Teachable is one of the best online platforms to promote your course.
Overall Advantages and Disadvantages
Teachable
The main advantages of Teachable are:
- there are hundreds of courses to choose from
- instructors are more specialized and the quality of information is most likely better
- platform is sleek, unique, and user-friendly
- offers live workshops and one-on-one sessions with students
- modern customization tools and marketing features for selling online courses
- ensures the security of both instructors and students through a fraud team that monitors suspicious activity
The main disadvantages of Teachable are:
- course pricing more expensive
- not as many instructors
- not as many course options
Udemy
The main advantages of Udemy are:
- course pricing is lower
- the largest collection of online courses
- offers more instructors
- reaches a broader audience due to having more teachers
- easiest access available
The main disadvantages of Udemy are:
- quality of courses are not always the best
- is not as user-friendly
- not as many special features or customization tools for creating a course
Further Comparisons that may be of Interest
- Udemy Vs Coursea
- Udemy Vs Udacity
- Udemy Vs Plurasight
- Udemy Vs Treehouse
- Udemy Vs Lynda
- Udemy Vs Skillshare
Conclusion
Udemy and Teachable are both designed to give students and instructors a place to learn, teach, and create through online courses.
Teachable is a course website that is driven by creative developers and is focused on giving professionals a place to create and sell content. Even so, through its sister domain (discover), students can watch high-quality instruction on many subjects.
Udemy is an online marketplace where instructors can promote their courses as well, but Udemy is geared more towards the number of classes and teachers. This provides students with numerous course options where nearly any subject or idea has a class.
With either of these course websites, pros and cons exist, but what it really boils down to is your preference. Some people love chocolate cake, others love vanilla — it just depends on which of these online learning and teaching websites are better suited for you.
We hope that this guide helps you understand more about Udemy and Teachable, and perhaps it has given you more indication about which you would prefer more. Platforms like Teachable and Udemy are ideal for creating and selling content as well as giving new students a place to dive into knowledge.
Whether you are a professional looking to sell your course or a student wanting to learn a particular skill set, these platforms are wonderful options to get you on your way!
