Teachable has been a reliable go-to for course creators since the early days of online education. With its simple course builder, built-in payment processing, and student engagement tools, it has helped thousands of creators launch and scale digital learning products.
But as your business grows, or your priorities shift, Teachable might start to feel limited or expensive. Maybe the transaction fees are cutting into your revenue, maybe the design flexibility isn’t what you need or maybe you just want more modern features, like advanced community spaces or better integrations.
If that sounds like you, this step-by-step guide will help you smoothly transition from Teachable to your next platform, without losing your content or your students.
Before diving into the “how,” let’s quickly cover the “why.” These are the most common reasons creators are moving away from Teachable this year:
- Transaction fees: The Starter plan has a hefty 7.5% fee that might be too much for some users.
- Limited community tools: You can add comments or discussions, but there’s no dynamic community experience.
- Design and customization limits: Teachable’s pages work, but you don’t get full control over branding or layout.
- Better platforms are now available: Tools like SchoolMaker, Circle and Skool offer more flexible course delivery, better communities, and less friction overall.
If you’re starting to feel boxed in, it might be time to switch to a platform that better fits your needs.
Best Platforms to Migrate to from Teachable
Depending on your business model, here are the top alternatives to Teachable to consider:
- SchoolMaker: Best for maximizing courses and coaching sales
- Circle.so: Best for community-first courses and memberships
- Podia: Best all-in-one alternative with simple pricing
- Skool: Best for combining courses and community in one place
- Kajabi: Best for all-in-one marketing automation
Step-by-Step Guide to Migrating from Teachable
Now let’s walk through the exact steps to move your content, students, and sales systems over to your new platform.
Step 1: Audit Your Teachable Setup
Start by taking stock of everything inside your Teachable account:
- Number of courses and lessons
- Videos, PDFs, quizzes, and attachments
- Student data and email list
- Sales pages and thank-you pages
- Email automations (if you used them)
Make a list of what you’ll need to move, and decide if some content needs to be removed or updated during the switch.
Pro tip: This is a great chance to simplify your offers or reorganize your product structure.
Step 2: Export Your Content
Teachable doesn’t offer one-click exports, but you can still manually pull everything out:
- Videos: Download your video files or re-upload them from your host (Vimeo, YouTube, etc.)
- Text and lessons: Copy and paste content into a doc or Notion for easier transfer
- Students: Export your student data via CSV from the “Users” tab
- Email list: If you used Teachable’s email tool, export your subscribers and tags
- Sales reports: Grab copies of your earnings and sales history if needed for bookkeeping
You don’t need to move everything at once, but back everything up so nothing gets lost.
Step 3: Set Up Your New Platform
Once you’ve chosen your new platform, go ahead and build the foundation:
- Create your courses and upload lessons
- Add your videos, quizzes, PDFs, and links
- Customize branding (logos, colors, fonts)
- Rebuild sales pages and checkout flows
- Connect Stripe or PayPal for payments
- Set up email integrations or marketing automations
Most modern platforms make onboarding easy with templates and guides. Don’t rush, focus on getting your best course up and running first, then build from there.
Step 4: Migrate Your Students
Once your new site is ready, it's time to bring your students along.
Here are two main ways to do it:
Option 1: Invite students to sign up manually
Send an email with a special link and instructions for creating a new account. If you’re moving to a paid platform, consider giving them a discount or free access for a smooth transition.
Option 2: Bulk upload student data
Some platforms allow CSV uploads so you can import users and assign them to courses directly.
Either way, keep communication clear and offer support if they have any issues.
Step 5: Redirect Your Traffic
Update all your public-facing links so that traffic flows to your new platform instead of Teachable.
- Swap out course links in your website, social bios, and email templates
- Redirect old landing pages (if your new platform supports it)
- Update affiliate links or promotional content
- Inform partners or sponsors of the move
This is also a great time to do a soft re-launch of your course with new branding or a limited-time offer.
Step 6: Keep Your Audience in the Loop
Migration isn’t just a technical change, it’s a relationship moment.
Use this opportunity to tell your audience:
- Why you’re making the move
- How it will improve their learning experience
- What they need to do (create a new login, bookmark the new site, etc.)
- Who to contact if they have issues
Send multiple reminders and follow-ups to make sure nobody gets left behind.
Step 7: Cancel Teachable (Once Everything’s Stable)
Resist the urge to cancel Teachable the moment you launch your new site. Give yourself a buffer period of 2–4 weeks where both platforms run in parallel.
This gives you time to:
- Catch missing content
- Troubleshoot access issues
- Handle support tickets
- Ensure all revenue systems are working
Once you’re confident everything’s running smoothly, go ahead and cancel your Teachable subscription.
Get a Done-For-You Migration Service
Some platforms offer a done-for-you migration service which means that you don’t have to go through the stress and technical complexity of migrating from Teachable to another platform. Some of these services are free while some are paid.
SchoolMaker for example has a free migration offer for users who subscribe to a yearly subscription on the Starter pricing plan that costs $99/month or higher plans. See more details here
Bonus Tips for a Smooth Switch
- Start with your most popular course first. Get it live and iron out the process before migrating everything.
- Offer early access or launch perks to incentivize your audience to move quickly.
- Use a checklist or Trello board to track your migration tasks (content, students, pages, links, etc.)
- Test your new setup with a few friendly users before making it public.
- Stay available to answer questions or troubleshoot during launch week.
Conclusion
Moving platforms can feel overwhelming, but it can be the best option for you depending on your needs. Migrating from Teachable in 2025 gives you a chance to reimagine your learning experience, simplify your tech stack, and level up your brand.
Whichever platform you choose to move to, the key is to plan ahead and move with intention. Your goal should not be just switching tools, you should aim to build a better experience for yourself and your students.