How to Clone Teachable
All-in-one platform for creators to build, host and sell online courses
What is Teachable?
Teachable lets creators package their knowledge into online courses and sell them without touching code. A creator uploads videos, writes lessons, sets a price, and Teachable handles the hosting, the checkout, the student logins and the progress tracking. It's the 'Shopify for courses' - the boring infrastructure that turns an expert into a business.
The model is sticky because a course catalog is a real asset: once a creator has built their school, migrating off is painful, and every new course adds inventory that earns indefinitely. Teachable makes money two ways - a monthly subscription for the software, plus transaction fees on sales (lower or zero on higher plans). That combination of recurring SaaS and usage-based take rate is exactly why it's a great model to clone.
For a builder, the full Teachable is medium-difficulty - the surface area is large (course builder, video, payments, drip, quizzes, affiliates) but none of it is exotic. The smart clone goes vertical: a course platform for one niche - fitness coaches, music teachers, corporate compliance, a specific language - where tailored features and a curated marketplace beat a general-purpose tool. The cold-start is easier than a marketplace because a single creator can launch with their own audience on day one.
Who it's for: Subject-matter experts, coaches, YouTubers and educators who want to sell courses, plus the agencies and teams that build for them. The clone opportunity is a niche course platform tailored to one industry's content, compliance or community needs.
How Teachable makes money
- $ Monthly/annual subscriptions: tiered plans (roughly $40โ$200+/month) that unlock more students, admins, and advanced features.
- $ Transaction fees: a percentage of each course sale on lower tiers (e.g. ~5%), dropping to 0% on premium plans - a usage-based take rate.
- $ Payment processing: standard card-processing fees passed through, sometimes with a small spread.
- $ Upsells: paid add-ons like advanced analytics, additional admin seats, or done-for-you migration and onboarding.
- $ Marketplace/discovery (where offered): a cut of sales driven by the platform's own catalog or recommendations.
Rough estimate; Teachable is owned by Hotmart and does not publish standalone revenue. CloneMRR is not affiliated with Teachable; figures are for educational purposes.
Features to build
MVP ship this first
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โ Course builderCreators organize content into sections and lessons (video, text, downloads) with a simple drag-to-reorder curriculum editor.
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โ Video hosting & playerUpload lesson videos to a host (Mux/Cloudflare Stream) and play them in a clean, distraction-free lesson view.
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โ Checkout & paymentsStudents buy a course via Stripe; on success they're enrolled and gain access to the lessons.
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โ Student dashboard & progressEnrolled students see their courses, resume where they left off, and watch a progress bar fill as they complete lessons.
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โ Creator school pagesEach creator gets a branded landing page and per-course sales pages with description, curriculum preview and price.
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โ Accounts & rolesEmail/Google auth with creator (owner) and student roles; creators see only their own school.
Full version add later
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+ Drip schedulingRelease lessons or modules on a schedule (e.g. one module per week) after enrollment, instead of all at once.
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+ Quizzes & certificatesGraded quizzes, completion criteria, and auto-generated certificates students can share.
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+ Coupons & order bumpsDiscount codes, time-limited offers, upsells and bundles to lift average order value.
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+ Memberships & subscriptionsRecurring access to a content library or community, not just one-time course purchases.
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+ Affiliate programLet students/partners earn a commission for referring sales, tracked with referral links.
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+ Custom domain & brandingMap the school to the creator's own domain with their logo, colors and theme.
Recommended tech stack
| Layer | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Frontend | Next.js + Tailwind CSS | Public sales/landing pages need SEO and speed; the student app is a logged-in React surface. One framework covers both. |
| Backend | Node.js (Next.js API routes) | Mostly CRUD plus payment and enrollment orchestration - no need for a separate service early on. |
| Database | PostgreSQL (Supabase) | Courses, lessons, enrollments and progress are relational; row-level security keeps each creator's school isolated. |
| Video | Mux or Cloudflare Stream | Don't build video. A managed host gives you encoding, adaptive streaming, signed playback and thumbnails out of the box. |
| Payments | Stripe (Checkout + Billing) | One-time course sales, subscriptions/memberships, coupons and - with Connect - payouts to creators if you take a platform fee. |
| Hosting | Vercel or Cloudflare | Fast static sales pages worldwide, edge functions for auth-gated lesson access, easy image optimization. |
AI prompts to clone Teachable
Pick your builder, copy the prompt, paste it and iterate. Enter your email once to unlock all prompts on every page - we'll also send you this full prompt pack.
Build an online course platform web app called CourseForge, modeled on Teachable.
## Core concept
Creators build and sell online courses. Students buy a course, then watch video lessons and track their progress. The platform earns a monthly fee from creators and a small transaction fee on each sale.
## User roles
- Creator: builds courses, sets prices, sees sales and students
- Student: browses, buys, watches lessons, tracks progress
- Admin: sees all schools, total sales and platform revenue
Tools to build your Teachable clone
Describe your app in plain English and Lovable builds a full-stack web app with auth, database and deployment included.
Best for: Full-stack web apps without writing code
StackBlitz's AI builder. Prompt, run and edit full-stack apps directly in the browser, then deploy in one click.
Best for: Rapid prototypes and web apps
AI app builder with built-in database, auth and hosting. Strong for internal tools and CRUD-heavy products.
Best for: Dashboards, marketplaces and internal tools
The AI code editor. Full control over your codebase with AI agents that write and refactor code for you.
Best for: Developers who want full code ownership
Generates production-grade React + Tailwind UI from a prompt, deployable to Vercel instantly.
Best for: Polished UI and front-ends
Workers, Pages, R2 and D1 - host your clone on a global edge network with a generous free tier.
Best for: Serverless apps and APIs
Cheap VPS and managed hosting with an AI website builder. Easiest way to put a clone online on a budget.
Best for: Budget VPS and WordPress-style sites
How to make money with a Teachable clone
Go vertical, not general
A course platform built for one niche - fitness coaches, music teachers, corporate compliance - can ship tailored features (workout video tools, sheet-music players, audit logs) and charge more than a generic 'sell any course' tool.
Tune the take-rate by plan
Copy the proven mix: a low base subscription with a transaction fee that drops to zero on higher tiers. Small creators pay via the fee; big creators upgrade to escape it - both paths grow revenue.
Sell memberships, not just courses
One-time course sales are lumpy. Add recurring memberships (a content library + community) so creators - and therefore you - earn predictable monthly revenue instead of one-off spikes.
Done-for-you onboarding
Migrating a course catalog and videos is painful, which makes it a paid service. Charge for migration, course-page design and launch support - high-margin services that also reduce churn.
Frequently asked questions
How much money does Teachable make?
Teachable is owned by Hotmart and doesn't publish standalone figures; it was acquired for a reported ~$250M in 2020. Based on its scale of creators and the online-course market, a rough public estimate puts revenue in the $6Mโ$9M/month range. Treat this as an outside estimate, not an official number.
How hard is it to build a Teachable clone?
Medium. The surface area is large - course builder, video hosting, checkout, progress, drip, quizzes - but none of it is exotic; it's mostly CRUD plus payments and gated video. An MVP (build courses, sell, watch with progress) is a 2โ3 week build with AI tools. The hard parts are secure video access and clean creator UX.
Is it legal to clone Teachable?
Yes. Course platforms are a crowded, legitimate category - Thinkific, Podia, Kajabi and Gumroad all sell courses. You can copy the business model but not Teachable's name, logo, theme designs or code. Build your own brand and you're competing fairly.
What tech stack should I use for a Teachable clone?
A proven 2026 stack: Next.js + Tailwind for fast SEO sales pages and the student app, Supabase (Postgres) for data and auth, a managed video host like Mux or Cloudflare Stream with signed playback, and Stripe (Checkout for one-time sales, Connect if you pay creators out and keep a fee). Don't build video yourself.
How much does it cost to build and run a Teachable clone?
MVP tooling is under $100/month, but video hosting is the variable cost - Mux/Cloudflare Stream bill per minute stored and streamed, so costs scale with your library and viewers. A production build with custom development typically runs $15,000โ$60,000. Price your plans to cover storage and streaming.
How do I solve the chicken-and-egg problem on a course platform?
It's easier than a true marketplace: a course platform isn't blank on day one because a single creator launches to their own audience immediately. Recruit a handful of creators in one niche who already have followings, help them launch, and let their student traffic seed your catalog and reviews.
More apps to clone
CloneMRR is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Teachable. Revenue figures are rough estimates based on public reports and are provided for educational purposes only. "Cloning" here means building an original product inspired by a proven business model - never copy a brand's name, logo, content or code.