Can I vibecode Teachable?

KINDA · weekend project
price $39/moyou'd save $468/yrbuild time multi-daycategory 🛍️ creator commercereplaced by 0 people

A basic course site with Stripe can be built, but student apps, tax/payments, course compliance, certificates, upsells, affiliates, and support make full parity hard.

the prompt
Build me a single-course sales site to replace Teachable, for one course of mine. Requirements:

- Node + Express + better-sqlite3 on my VPS behind Caddy. Course content is Markdown
  in content/: one folder per module, one file per lesson, front matter points at an
  optional video file.
- Public landing page: course outline, price, and a Buy button that goes to Stripe
  Checkout (keys in .env). The Stripe webhook marks the buyer's email as enrolled.
- Student login by magic link: enter email, receive a signed login link via SMTP
  creds in .env. No passwords, no OAuth.
- Lesson pages are gated by enrollment; videos are MP4s served through the app with
  short-lived signed URLs so direct links expire.
- Progress: a mark-complete button per lesson and a progress bar per module, stored
  per student in SQLite.
- Receipts come from Stripe; do not build invoicing or tax logic (turn on Stripe Tax
  if needed).
- Out of scope: multiple courses, affiliates, certificates, upsells, coupons, and
  mobile apps. This sells and delivers one course.
- README: Stripe webhook setup, Caddy snippet, where videos live on disk, and an
  honest note that a VPS handles a small audience fine but a big launch needs real
  video hosting like Bunny.net.

$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter) or copy it raw · this prompt is generated from the build plan · improve it via PR

why people still pay

They pay because course businesses need checkout, access, progress, and support to just work.

what you lose

xstudent apps

xpayments/tax workflows

xcertificates

xupsells

xaffiliates

xsupport

xcourse compliance features

share on X ↗"I just replaced Teachable ($39/mo) with one prompt"
the escape hatch

Don't feel like building it? These folks already made it free.

Odoo CommunityA website, course catalog, forums and payments inside an ERP; subtle it is not.54kaug 2026open sourceMoodleThe most complete free LMS here, with the least creator-friendly first impression.7.3kaug 2026open sourceFrappe LearningCourses, cohorts, assignments, quizzes, certificates and payments in a modern UI; coaching workflows are lighter.3.1kjul 2026open source

all 6 free alternatives to Teachable →· no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real

the numbers

Teachable pricing

planmonthlyannual (per mo)what you get
starter$39/workspace$29/workspace5 published products; 1 admin; 100 active students; 5 imported students; 1 TB video storage
builder$89/workspace$69/workspace10 published products; 1 admin; 1,000 active students; 50 imported students; 1 TB video storage
growth$189/workspace$139/workspace50 published products; 5 admins; 5,000 active students; 1,000 imported students; 1 TB video storage
customcustomCustom product, student, admin, support, and service limits

free tierno free tier; 7-day trial only

billingmonthly + annual (annual prices shown as effective monthly rates; about 22% lower)

hidden costsStarter adds a 7.5% platform fee; payment processing is 2.9%+$0.30 US cards, 3.9%+$0.30 international cards, 3.49%+$0.49 US PayPal, and 4.99%+$0.49 international PayPal; $15 chargebacks; optional BackOffice adds 2%–2.8%. Student caps are removed only after $10,000 in direct annual sales.

verified 2026-08-10 · source ↗

questions
Can I vibecode Teachable?

Kinda. The core of Teachable is buildable in a weekend with the prompt on this page, but there are real gaps: student apps, payments/tax workflows. Read the honest list above before committing.

How much does Teachable cost?

Teachable costs about $39/month (Starter, checked 2026-07-30), which is $468 per year.

What do I lose by replacing Teachable?

Honestly: student apps; payments/tax workflows; certificates; upsells; affiliates; support; course compliance features. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.

Is there an open-source alternative to Teachable?

Yes: Odoo Community (A website, course catalog, forums and payments inside an ERP; subtle it is not.) Moodle (The most complete free LMS here, with the least creator-friendly first impression.) Frappe Learning (Courses, cohorts, assignments, quizzes, certificates and payments in a modern UI; coaching workflows are lighter.) All 6 curated free alternatives are at canivibecodeit.com/teachable/alternatives. The prompt is for when you want it exactly your way.

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