Fees by plan, from each pricing page
Monthly prices are for monthly billing, with the annual-billing monthly equivalent after the slash. Processing fees are for US cards through the platform’s own payments product unless noted.
| Platform and plan | Price per month | Platform transaction fee | Processing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teachable Starter | $39 / $29 | 7.5% | US cards 2.9% + 30¢; international 3.9% + 30¢; US PayPal 3.49% + 49¢ |
| Teachable Builder | $89 / $69 | 0% with Teachable Payments | Same |
| Teachable Growth | $189 / $139 | 0% with Teachable Payments | Same |
| Podia Mover | $49 / $42 | 5% | Stripe or PayPal, 2.9% + 30¢ (may vary by location) |
| Podia Shaker | $99 / $84 | None | Same |
| Podia Earthquaker | $179 / $150 | None | Same |
| Kajabi Basic | $179 / $143 | No revenue share; 2% fee on third-party payment providers | Kajabi Payments 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Kajabi Growth | $249 / $199 | 1% on third-party providers | Kajabi Payments 2.8% + 30¢ |
| Kajabi Pro | $499 / $399 | 0.5% on third-party providers | Kajabi Payments 2.7% + 30¢ |
| Thinkific Start / Grow / Expand | $109 / $82, $219 / $164, $499 / $374 | Third-party gateway fee varies by plan; amounts not on the pricing page | Thinkific Payments described as in line with other processors at 2.9% |
WordPress: processor fees only
On WordPress, LearnDash and similar plugins hand payment to Stripe or PayPal, and no platform takes a percentage. Stripe’s US pricing lists 2.9% plus 30 cents for domestic cards, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% when currency conversion is needed, and a $15 dispute fee. If your plugin creates subscriptions in Stripe Billing, Stripe’s pay-as-you-go Billing fee of 0.7% of Billing volume also applies; check how your plugin implements recurring payments.
The fixed costs move elsewhere. LearnDash is listed at $350 per year for one site, and hosting is a separate bill: Kinsta’s Single 35k plan, for example, is $35 per month on monthly billing. Add a theme, any membership or checkout add-ons and an email platform for a fair comparison.
Break-even points within a platform
The useful question is the monthly sales level at which the next plan up pays for itself. Divide the price difference by the fee you would stop paying.
| Upgrade | Price difference (monthly / annual billing) | Fee removed | Break-even monthly sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teachable Starter to Builder | $50 / $40 | 7.5% | $667 / $533 |
| Podia Mover to Shaker | $50 / $42 | 5% | $1,000 / $840 |
| Kajabi Basic to Growth, third-party processor | $70 / $56 | 1 percentage point | $7,000 / $5,600 |
| Kajabi Basic to Growth, Kajabi Payments | $70 / $56 | 0.1 percentage point of processing | $70,000 / $56,000; upgrade for limits, not fees |
Monthly cost at three revenue levels
Assumptions: monthly billing, a $100 average order, all US cards, no refunds or taxes, and for WordPress, LearnDash at $350 a year (about $29.17 a month) plus Kinsta Single 35k at $35 a month and Stripe. Each figure is plan price plus platform fee plus processing. Platform plans include hosting, checkout and often email; the WordPress line does not include a theme, add-ons, an email tool or your time.
| Option | $1,000 per month (10 orders) | $3,000 (30 orders) | $10,000 (100 orders) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teachable Starter | $146 | $360 | $1,109 |
| Teachable Builder | $121 | $185 | $409 |
| Podia Mover | $131 | $295 | $869 |
| Podia Shaker | $131 | $195 | $419 |
| Kajabi Basic, Kajabi Payments | $211 | $275 | $499 |
| WordPress, LearnDash, Kinsta and Stripe | $96 | $160 | $384 |
| Same, if Stripe Billing 0.7% applies | $103 | $181 | $454 |
Reading the numbers honestly
At low revenue the differences are small and the hosted platforms buy you time: no updates, no hosting and an integrated checkout. Above a few thousand dollars a month, the percentage fee on entry plans dominates, and staying on Teachable Starter or Podia Mover is the most expensive choice in the table.
WordPress looks cheapest in the table because the costs it leaves out are real but not on a price list: setup, maintenance, plugin renewals and fixing things when they break. If you would pay a developer to do that work, add the monthly cost to the WordPress line before comparing.
Thinkific is left out of the cost table because its pricing page does not list per-plan third-party gateway fees or a per-transaction fixed fee for Thinkific Payments. Ask Thinkific for both before modelling it.
Checklist before choosing on fees
- Use your real average order value: the 30-cent fixed fee matters more on small orders.
- Check the share of international buyers; Stripe adds 1.5% for international cards and Teachable lists 3.9% + 30¢.
- Model subscriptions separately if a Billing-type fee applies.
- Compare annual billing once revenue is stable; every platform here discounts it.
- Recalculate when you cross a break-even point rather than waiting for renewal.
Questions before you decide
Which course platforms charge a transaction fee?
On the pricing pages we checked, Teachable Starter charges 7.5% and Podia Mover 5%. Kajabi takes no revenue share but adds 0.5% to 2% when you use a third-party payment provider, and Thinkific charges a plan-dependent fee on third-party gateways.
Does WordPress charge a transaction fee?
WordPress and LearnDash do not take a percentage of sales; you pay your payment processor, such as Stripe at 2.9% plus 30 cents for US cards.
When should I leave Teachable Starter?
With monthly billing, Builder becomes cheaper than Starter once sales pass about $667 per month, because the $50 price difference is less than 7.5% of sales.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- Teachable: Pricing Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Podia: Pricing Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Kajabi: Pricing Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Thinkific: Pricing Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Stripe: Pricing Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- LearnDash: Pricing on liquidweb.com Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Kinsta: Pricing Accessed 29 Oct 2026
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.