The short answer
New schools choose between a managed route and a connected Stripe route.
Teachable Payments is the managed Stripe-powered gateway in 41 supported creator countries. The Custom Payment Gateway connects a creator's Stripe Standard account and leaves more payment, tax, payout, refund, and affiliate operations with the creator. Check the route available to the real account before paying annually.
Gateway comparison
Teachable Payments vs Custom Payment Gateway
| Question | Teachable Payments | Custom Payment Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Who can activate it? | Creators in 41 listed countries | Creators able to connect a valid Stripe Standard account |
| Where do payouts go? | Bank account through Stripe Express | Creator's connected Stripe account |
| Payout schedule | Latest payout guide: daily cadence, about two business days; see the source discrepancy below | Controlled by the connected Stripe account |
| Checkout | Stripe-powered checkout with cards and wallets; bundle can expand local methods | Teachable checkout with card, Stripe Link, and eligible connected PayPal use |
| Tax operation | Teachable calculates, collects, and remits covered marketplace taxes | Creator remains responsible |
| Affiliate and author payouts | Automation depends on the selected payment bundle | Manual |
| Refund and dispute operation | Managed through Teachable Payments and the embedded Stripe experience | Managed by the creator through connected services |
Payout-source discrepancy
Do not promise a two-day first payout.
The current payout guide describes daily processing at about two business days, excluding weekends and bank holidays. Initial account verification can take longer. The setup guide still lists daily, weekly and monthly options. Those public pages do not fully agree: confirm the schedule actually offered in the school and do not treat an estimate as a guaranteed bank-arrival date.
| Stage | Published boundary | Record to compare |
|---|---|---|
| First payout | Teachable says initial verification may take up to 4–6 weeks. This is its estimate, not a universal Stripe timeline. | Verification status and the account's expected payout date. |
| In transit | The payout guide allows another 1–2 business days for bank arrival. In transit is not money already available in the bank. | Payout ID, status, amount and bank entry. |
| Negative balance | New sales first offset a negative balance from refunds or disputes before payouts resume. | Opening balance, deductions and the resulting available balance. |
The payout guide describes no routine reserve. However, section 10.1.2(c) of Teachable's terms, dated April 20, 2026, retains discretion to impose reserves. That distinction does not prove a reserve is being held on any particular account, or guarantee that funds can never be held.
Keep the platform-specific scope: Stripe's Connect guide explains that platforms can control Express payout schedules. A general Stripe timing estimate does not settle a Teachable school's timing. Compare existing payout and bank records manually before buying reconciliation software; a sales total alone is not a cash-availability record.
Does no reserve mean every sale is immediately spendable?
No. Verification, payout transit and negative-balance offsets are separate from a routine reserve. Check the actual balance and payout status; the terms also retain reserve discretion.
Does switching gateways accelerate earlier payouts?
Teachable says sales made before a switch keep the previous gateway's payout schedule. A new checkout route does not establish a new arrival date for old sales.
Scoped public-document review on October 5, 2026. No account or money-transfer test was performed. The cadence discrepancy remains unresolved, and the September 2 full pricing audit date is unchanged.
Eligibility reality
“Available in all countries” is not the same as “every creator can get paid.”
Teachable describes the Custom Payment Gateway as available across countries and plans, but the route requires Stripe Standard. Stripe still decides whether the creator's country, entity, identity documents, bank account, business model, and settlement currency are eligible. Teachable cannot override those processor rules.
Creator-side check
Confirm account country, legal name or entity, accepted identity and address evidence, tax form, bank destination, settlement currency, reserve, and payout schedule.
Buyer-side check
Confirm cards, wallets, PayPal, local methods, supported currencies, subscriptions, refunds, invoices, and the checkout shown to the target customer.
Fee check
Separate the school subscription, plan transaction fee, processor fee, payment-bundle fee, recurring-plan fee, tax, conversion, refund, and dispute costs.
Operations check
Assign responsibility for tax, refunds, chargebacks, affiliate payouts, failed-payment recovery, reconciliation, and customer support.
Fee stack
Do not compress four different charges into one “transaction fee.”
| Cost layer | What it means | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| School subscription | The recurring Starter, Builder, Growth, or higher plan price | Monthly billing versus annual commitment |
| Plan transaction fee | Starter publishes 7.5%; Builder and higher current standard plans publish 0% | Percentage base and whether taxes are included |
| Payment processing | The Stripe, card, wallet, PayPal, or local-method charge | Seller country, buyer country, method, currency, and cross-border treatment |
| Payment bundle | Standard: tax handling +0.5%, recurring +0.7%; Go Global +2.8% with those two additions waived | Bundle, taxable status and transaction type; these are separate from processing and the plan fee |
| Custom gateway integration | US-based CPG schools: 2% per transaction, plus Stripe processing | US-only scope, not a universal Teachable charge |
| Usage and exceptions | Active students, imported students, products, refunds, disputes, or conversion can create more cost | The school's actual expected volume and workflow |
For the plan-only break-even, read the Teachable pricing and fee guide. Its calculator intentionally keeps payment processing editable because no single rate is accurate for every account and transaction. See the published payment-charge examples before treating 0% as a total cost.
Currency and recurring payments
Test the exact product price—not just a one-time USD purchase.
Teachable Payments prices products in the school's settlement currency and can show eligible buyers localized prices through Adaptive Pricing. The Custom Payment Gateway uses the currency set on each price. Payment plans and subscriptions introduce recurring transaction behavior, failed-payment recovery, buyer self-service, and possible route or bundle charges that a one-time test cannot reveal.
- Create one low-value one-time price and one recurring test price.
- View checkout from the target buyer country and on a mobile device.
- Record the displayed currency, tax line, payment methods, and final total.
- Complete a real purchase, refund it, and reconcile the payout entry.
- Verify how a failed recurring payment, cancellation, and invoice appear.
Legacy documentation warning
Monthly Payment Gateway and BackOffice articles can mislead a new school.
Teachable's help center still contains documentation for legacy schools using the Monthly Payment Gateway, Teachable Pay, or BackOffice. Its current transition notice says the Monthly Payment Gateway is no longer available to new schools and Teachable Payments replaces the older native model. Check the publication date and the account's actual Payment Settings screen before applying a fee or payout rule from an older article.
Before committing
A ten-step Teachable payment test
- Choose the real creator country and entity type in the school settings.
- Record which gateway the account offers.
- Finish processor identity and bank verification.
- Confirm the settlement currency and payout schedule.
- List the plan, processor, bundle, recurring, tax, refund, and dispute charges separately.
- Create representative one-time, payment-plan, and subscription prices.
- Test the target buyer's currency, payment method, tax, and invoice.
- Run a real low-value purchase and refund.
- Reconcile the gross sale, deductions, reserve or delay, and bank payout.
- Only then compare annual-plan savings or migrate existing subscriptions.
Frequently asked
Teachable gateway questions
Which payment gateway does a new Teachable school get?
Teachable Payments is offered in its supported creator countries. Other schools are routed to a Custom Payment Gateway, which requires the creator to connect an eligible Stripe Standard account.
Can a Custom Payment Gateway bypass Stripe country restrictions?
No. It is a Stripe connection, so Stripe's country, business, identity, banking, and product rules still apply.
Does Teachable support PayPal?
It can, but availability depends on the gateway, payment bundle, currency, and purchase type. Under the Custom Payment Gateway documentation, connected PayPal is described for eligible one-time USD purchases.
Is the old Monthly Payment Gateway still relevant?
Only for legacy schools that already use it. Teachable says it is no longer available to new schools.
Affiliate offer
Does Teachable fit your course business?
Check current plans, payment eligibility, and the tools your course needs before committing.
Affiliate disclosure: if you purchase through this link, CourseProfit Lab may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Affiliate link. Eligibility, pricing, attribution, and commission decisions are controlled by Teachable and PartnerStack.
Official sources
Fee and payout sources rechecked October 4, 2026
This scoped fee, setup, transition and payout check does not complete the full cross-platform audit. Payment products are changing quickly. Recheck these primary sources and the gateway offered inside the real school account before making a financial commitment.
The official source links above are direct and non-affiliate. Any separate Teachable partner offer is explicitly labeled.