Fee-first verdict
Gumroad wins the first few sales. Teachable wins when the course becomes a system.
Gumroad charges 10% plus $0.50 on a direct sale before processing and has no subscription. Teachable Starter costs $29 per month on annual billing plus 7.5% of sales. At a $100 price, Starter becomes slightly cheaper at ten monthly sales.
Published pricing
The entry options both use variable fees—but only one has a subscription
| Option | Subscription | Platform charge | Important condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gumroad direct sale | $0 | 10% + $0.50 per sale | Processing is additional |
| Gumroad Discover | $0 | 30% per sale | Processing is included |
| Teachable Starter | $29/month billed annually | 7.5% | Entry plan has product and active-student limits |
| Teachable Builder | $69/month billed annually | 0% | Higher limits and affiliate tools |
Pricing checked against official vendor pages on August 17, 2026. Normal payment processing, refunds, taxes, chargebacks, and currency conversion are separate.
Original break-even math
At a $100 course price, Teachable Starter catches Gumroad at ten sales
Gumroad costs $10.50 per $100 direct sale. Teachable Starter costs $29 plus $7.50 per sale. The difference disappears at roughly 9.7 sales, making Starter slightly cheaper from the tenth sale.
| Monthly sales | Monthly gross | Gumroad direct fees | Teachable Starter | Teachable Builder |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | $500 | $52.50 | $66.50 | $69 |
| 10 | $1,000 | $105 | $104 | $69 |
| 30 | $3,000 | $315 | $254 | $69 |
Builder is already cheapest in the ten- and thirty-sale examples. Within Teachable, Builder overtakes Starter above about $533 in monthly gross revenue because it removes the 7.5% platform fee.
Product experience
Gumroad sells access; Teachable manages more of the student journey
Gumroad may fit when
- You want the fastest path to a paid validation.
- The course is simple enough for basic content delivery.
- You sell downloads alongside the course.
- A fixed monthly expense would add unnecessary risk.
Teachable may fit when
- The learner experience needs more structure.
- Certificates, student apps, upsells, and recovery tools matter.
- You plan to grow a catalog rather than validate one file.
- The available payment and payout route works for your account.
Migration trigger
Move for a better business system—not only a one-dollar fee difference
At ten $100 sales, Starter is only $1 cheaper than Gumroad before processing. That is not enough to justify migration by itself. Move when structured learning, branded delivery, student management, and the next sales tools are worth the operational change.
Official sources and next step
Check current limits, then model the complete launch
Vendor links are currently direct and non-affiliate.