SchoolMaker
SchoolMaker is a Teachable alternative for course creators who need students to finish and put the lessons into practice. You get courses, community, coaching, and practical steps in one school, and SchoolMaker does not take a cut of your sales. Stay on Teachable if you mainly sell downloads or want its built-in sales and tax tools.
14-day free trial. All core features included.
Reviewed September 8, 2026 · By the SchoolMaker team
You want a Teachable alternative that treats practice as part of the course. Give students steps to complete, feedback when they need it, and milestones that make progress visible. Keep courses, community, and coaching in the same school.
Teachable combines course hosting, digital downloads, memberships, and coaching with payment, tax, and sales tools. It has no free plan: a 7-day trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, as published on Teachable’s pricing page on 14 September 2026.
Compare the features that make a difference for your students. Green checks are verified; a red X means the feature is not confirmed in current official documentation.
Scroll sideways to compare both platforms.
| Feature |
SchoolMaker
|
Teachable
|
|---|---|---|
| Practical steps inside lessons Give students an action to complete after a lesson: tick a checkbox, write an answer, or submit a link or file. They know what to do next. |
Available
|
Available
Short answers and quizzes
|
| Quizzes Check what students have understood with questions inside the course. They can spot gaps in their knowledge before moving on. |
Available
|
Available
|
| Community posts as course steps Make sharing in the community part of a lesson. Send students to a specific discussion with a template so they know what to post. |
Available
|
Not confirmed
|
| Central correction dashboard Find submitted work from all your programs in one place. You can review answers and give feedback without opening each student’s profile. |
Available
|
Not confirmed
|
| Student progress tracking See which steps each student has completed and what they have submitted. Spot where someone is stuck so you can offer relevant help. |
Available
|
Available
|
| Milestones tied to real outcomes Mark achievements such as landing a first client or finishing a project. Students can see how the work they do brings them closer to their goal. |
Available
|
Not confirmed
|
| Unlocking the next lesson Release lessons gradually or require earlier steps to be completed first. Give students a manageable pace and a clear order to follow. |
Available
|
Available
|
| Built-in community Bring discussions, member profiles and private messages into your school. Students can ask for help and meet peers alongside their courses. |
Available
|
Available
|
| Questions connected to lessons Keep questions linked to the lesson they concern and connected to the community. Students can find relevant answers where they are learning. |
Available
|
Available
|
| Community gamification Recognize participation with levels and rewards. Give members a reason to join discussions and keep contributing to the community. |
Available
|
Not confirmed
|
| Batch video answers Collect student questions and answer several in one video. Set aside one recording session to help multiple people. |
Available
|
Not confirmed
|
| Automatic answer timecodes Send each student a link to the exact moment their question is answered. They can jump straight to the help they need. |
Available
|
Not confirmed
|
| Searchable Q&A archive Keep previous video answers in a searchable, tagged library. New students can find useful advice without asking the same question again. |
Available
|
Not confirmed
|
| Live calendar and replays Put upcoming live sessions and their replays in your school. Students can see what is coming up and catch up on sessions they missed. |
Available
|
Not confirmed
|
| Individual coaching Offer one-to-one sessions alongside your courses and track each client’s sessions. Give students personal guidance when they need more support. |
Available
|
Available
|
| AI assistant for students Let students ask an AI coach questions about selected courses and documents. They can get help while studying, even when you are unavailable. |
Available
AI add-on
|
Not confirmed
|
| Custom AI knowledge files Add PDF or Markdown documents to an AI coach’s knowledge. Give it reference material beyond your lessons so its answers cover more of your teaching. |
Available
AI add-on
|
Not confirmed
|
| Shared memory between AI coaches Choose which student information AI coaches remember and share. Students can continue with another coach without repeating the same background. |
Available
AI add-on
|
Not confirmed
|
| Bring your own AI API key Connect your own OpenAI or OpenRouter API key to power your AI coaches. Manage AI usage through your provider account, where usage is billed separately. |
Available
OpenAI or OpenRouter
|
Not confirmed
|
| Milestone-triggered testimonial requests Ask for a testimonial automatically when a student reaches a chosen milestone. Collect their story while the achievement is still fresh. |
Available
|
Not confirmed
|
| Rewards for testimonials Unlock a course bonus when a student shares their feedback. Give them a reason to take the time to tell you about their experience. |
Available
|
Not confirmed
|
| Hosted course content Organize videos, audio, text and downloads into lessons and programs. Give students one place to find your teaching materials. |
Available
|
Available
|
| Bundles and payments Sell courses, community access and coaching together in one offer. Build packages that match the amount of support your customers want. |
Available
|
Available
|
| Different access durations in one offer Set a separate access duration for each part of a package. For example, include lifetime lessons with 30 days of Q&A support. |
Available
|
Not confirmed
|
| Lesson access by offer Choose which lessons each offer includes. Sell starter and premium versions of a course while maintaining a single set of lessons. |
Available
|
Not confirmed
|
| Public lesson previews Let visitors try selected lessons without creating an account. Show how you teach so they can decide whether the course is right for them. |
Available
|
Available
Public preview lessons
|
| Integrations Connect your school to the tools you already use. Move information between systems and reduce repetitive admin work. |
Available
Zapier, Make, API
|
Available
|
| Learning activity triggers Use completed steps, new levels or inactivity to start an automation. For example, send a follow-up when a student stops making progress. |
Available
|
Available
Zapier and webhooks
|
| See detailed pricing | SchoolMaker pricing | Teachable pricing |
SchoolMaker is a Teachable alternative if you want students to practice, get feedback, and stay in one school for the course, the community, and coaching. Thinkific is the usual like-for-like swap when you mainly want self-paced courses. Kajabi is the usual pick when marketing automation matters more than the classroom. Podia is the usual pick when you sell downloads and courses from one storefront.
This page is the SchoolMaker versus Teachable comparison, not another eight-platform list. Use it to decide whether to switch, then look at https://schoolmaker.com/alternatives/thinkific or https://schoolmaker.com/alternatives/kajabi if SchoolMaker is not the fit.
Teachable still wins on the sales stack. It is built to sell a mix of courses, digital downloads, memberships, and coaching, with checkout, tax handling, and student apps on the same platform. If that storefront is the job, stay. Teachable also documents AI tools for creating courses and quizzes. SchoolMaker’s AI is a student coach on your selected courses and documents (AI add-on). It helps learners between sessions; it does not write the course for you.
Switching has a cost. Your students already know Teachable. Affiliates, tax settings, and mobile apps may already work. If you only wanted a lower fee, do the fee math on https://www.teachable.com/pricing and https://schoolmaker.com/pricing before you move anyone.
SchoolMaker does not charge a platform transaction fee. Stripe still takes its cut if you use SchoolMaker checkout. Teachable’s Starter plan, as published on 14 September 2026, lists a 7.5% transaction fee. Builder, Growth, and Custom list 0% when you use teachable:pay. Teachable has no free plan: a 7-day trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. SchoolMaker has a 14-day trial and a 30-day refund after the first payment.
A video explains what to do. A practical step gets your student to do it. Add written answers, quizzes or work to submit, then see their progress and give feedback where it helps.
The Momentum Method / Lesson 3
Maya · 18 min
What if my week never looks the same twice?
2 repliesNoah · 34 min
How small should I make my first action?
2 repliesNora · 51 min
Should I use the same cue every day?
3 repliesBring discussions and lesson questions into your school. Students can share their work, learn from one another and return to the answers they need without searching a separate group.
Name one small outcome you can finish by Friday. Keep it specific enough to celebrate.
Three 30-minute focus blocks before lunch. Starting tiny this time.
One finished lesson by Friday is my goal. Keeping it concrete.
Three mornings in a row. It is modest, but it finally feels repeatable.
That is the kind of streak worth protecting. Nice work.
Small enough to repeat tomorrow—that is the real win.
I lost the rhythm yesterday. What helps you restart without trying to catch up?
I restart with the smallest version of today’s habit—no catching up.
Collect questions and answer them in one video. SchoolMaker adds timecodes and sends each student their answer. Add live sessions and individual coaching for the conversations that need more time.
Recording in progress… Recording…
Hi,
I’ve been keeping the weekly rhythm, but I lose steam by Wednesday. Two things I keep getting stuck on:
Hi,
I’ve been keeping the weekly rhythm, but I lose steam by Wednesday. Two things I keep getting stuck on:
Hi,
I keep setting weekly goals that still feel too big by Thursday.
Hi,
Weekday mornings work as a cue, but weekends throw me off.
Thu 24 Sep, 18:00 – 19:00 | Group coaching
Mon 28 Sep, 18:00 – 19:00 | Habits
19:00 – 19:30 | Habits
Wed 30 Sep, 18:00 – 19:00 | Group coaching
Thu 1 Oct, 18:00 – 19:00 | Group coaching
Sun 4 Oct, 17:00 – 18:00 | Habits
Thu 8 Oct, 18:00 – 19:00 | Group coaching
Thu 15 Oct, 18:00 – 18:45 | Habits
You can book a coaching on this page.
You have 2 sessions left
Noah Pierre · Mon 5 Oct, 10:30 · 30 min
Elena Vargas · Tue 22 Sep, 14:00 · 30 min
Noah Pierre · Tue 15 Sep, 11:00 · 30 min
Elena Vargas · Mon 7 Sep, 16:30 · 30 min
Noah Pierre · Mon 31 Aug, 10:00 · 30 min
Elena Vargas · Wed 19 Aug, 15:00 · 30 min
Noah Pierre · Mon 10 Aug, 09:30 · 30 min
Select a coaching offer to purchase.
Choose a coach and a time.
Coaches
Give students an AI coach that uses your selected courses and documents. Set its instructions, choose who can access it and review conversations to see where students get stuck. Available with the AI add-on.
The Momentum Method / Lesson 3
A few answers to help you choose your course platform.
Yes, if you want every lesson to lead to a concrete action, with community and coaching in the same school. SchoolMaker fits independent experts and small course businesses who need students to finish, practice, and come back. It is a weaker swap if you mainly sell digital downloads or need Teachable’s tax and sales toolkit more than the classroom.
Teachable hosts courses, digital downloads, memberships, and coaching, with payment, tax, and sales tools in the same product. It also documents AI tools for creating course content. Review the current plan limits, product caps, and transaction fees on Teachable’s pricing page before you compare it with another platform.
On 14 September 2026, Teachable listed Starter at $39 a month ($29 billed annually) with a 7.5% transaction fee, and Builder, Growth, and Custom at 0% transaction fees when you use teachable:pay. SchoolMaker does not add a platform transaction fee; Stripe fees still apply if you use SchoolMaker checkout. Compare a realistic month of sales, including refunds and recurring payments, not only the headline subscription.
Yes. Connect your checkout and business tools through Zapier, Make, or the SchoolMaker API. You can also sell directly with SchoolMaker’s Stripe checkout. That matters if you already run ThriveCart or another cart and do not want to move payments on day one.
No. Teachable’s pricing page on 14 September 2026 described a paid service with a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. SchoolMaker also has no free plan: a 14-day trial, then paid plans, with a 30-day refund after the first payment.
It depends on the job. SchoolMaker if you want practice, community, and coaching in one school. Thinkific if you want a close self-paced course swap. Kajabi if marketing automation is the priority. Podia if you sell downloads and courses from one storefront. Compare the two that match your offer instead of collecting a list of eight logos.
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