Course Creators: The Platform Switch That Saved Me $4,788\/Year

1. Polish and aesthetics

• Teachable: More visually polished course player

• Systeme.io: More basic interface

• Impact: Minimal—students care more about content

• Rating: 7/10 vs. 9/10 (not a dealbreaker)

2. Advanced reporting

• Teachable: More sophisticated analytics dashboards

• Systeme.io: Simpler reporting

• Impact: Moderate—I built custom tracking in spreadsheets

• Rating: 7/10 vs. 9/10

3. Course completion tracking

• Teachable: Detailed progress metrics per student

• Systeme.io: Basic completion tracking

• Impact: Low—core functionality preserved

• Rating: 8/10 vs. 9/10

4. Student discussion boards

• Teachable: Built-in community features

• Systeme.io: Basic discussion area

• Impact: None—I use Facebook Group instead

• Rating: 6/10 vs. 8/10 (supplemented externally)

5. Mobile app

• Teachable: Dedicated iOS/Android app

• Systeme.io: Mobile-responsive web only

• Impact: Low—mobile web works well

• Rating: 7/10 vs. 9/10

Total features lost: 5
Critical losses: 0
Work-aroundable losses: 5

1. Email marketing platform

• Previous: ConvertKit ( $ 79/month additional)

• Now: Fully integrated

• Impact: Massive—unified system

• Value: $ 948/year + integration time

2. Sales funnel builder

• Previous: ClickFunnels ( $ 97/month additional)

• Now: Fully integrated

• Impact: Game-changing

• Value: $ 1,164/year + integration time

3. Webinar hosting

• Previous: Zoom ( 15/month)+WebinarJam( 41/month)

• Now: Built-in live and automated webinars

• Impact: Significant

• Value: $ 672/year

4. Automation workflows

• Previous: Limited to course delivery

• Now: Full business automation

• Impact: Transformative

• Examples:

  • Welcome sequences

  • Upsell automation

  • Re-engagement campaigns

  • Abandoned cart recovery

5. Affiliate program management

• Previous: Teachable's built-in (good)

• Now: Systeme.io's built-in (equally good)

• Impact: Neutral—same capability

• Bonus: Now tracks affiliate performance across entire ecosystem

6. Blog platform

• Previous: Separate WordPress ( $ 30/month hosting)

• Now: Built-in blog

• Impact: Moderate

• Value: $ 360/year + maintenance time

7. Zero transaction fees

• Previous: 5% on Teachable

• Now: 0% on Systeme.io

• Impact: Enormous

• Value: $ 7,366/year at my volume

8. Calendar/scheduling

• Previous: Would need Calendly ( $ 15/month)

• Now: Built-in appointment booking

• Impact: Helpful for coaching clients

• Value: $ 180/year

9. Membership site capabilities

• Previous: Teachable had this

• Now: Systeme.io has it better

• Impact: Improved experience

• Features: Better content organization

10. Unlimited students (no scaling costs)

• Previous: Included on Pro+ plan

• Now: Included even on $ 27/month plan

• Impact: Future-proofing

• Value: As I scale, this becomes massive

Total features gained: 10
Critical gains: 4 (email, funnels, automation, zero fees)
Value-added gains: 6

Features lost value: Approximately 500−800/year(supplementing with other tools)

Features gained value:Approximately 10,690/year (would cost this separately)

Net feature value gain: $ 9,890-10,190/year

Plus intangibles:

• Unified system (time savings)

• Single support channel

• No integration headaches

• Mental clarity

Verdict: Lost 5 minor features, gained 10 major ones. Massive net positive.

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Previous annual costs (Teachable ecosystem):

• Teachable Pro+: $ 2,388

• Transaction fees (5% of 147,320): 7,366

• ConvertKit: $ 948

• ClickFunnels: $ 1,164

• Webinar tools: $ 672

• WordPress hosting: $ 360

• Total: $ 12,898

New annual costs (Systeme.io):

• Webinar plan: $ 564

• Additional tools: $ 0

• Total: $ 564

Year 1 savings: $ 12,334

But factor in migration:

• Migration time: 174 hours

• My hourly rate: $ 85 (based on revenue/hours)

• Migration opportunity cost: $ 14,790

• Net Year 1: - $ 2,456 (investment year)

Costs (Systeme.io): 564

Savings vs. old system:12,334
No migration costs
Net Year 2: + $ 12,334

Break-even point: Month 2 of Year 2

Cumulative after Year 2: + $ 9,878

My business has grown:

• Course revenue: $ 189,500 (28.7% increase)

• Students: 1,094 (29.2% increase)

• Email list: 18,400 (54.7% increase)

What this would cost on Teachable:

• Base subscription: $ 2,388

• Transaction fees (5% of 189,500): 9,475

• ConvertKit (18,400 subscribers): $ 1,788

• ClickFunnels: $ 1,164

• Other tools: $ 1,032

• Total: $ 15,847

What I'm paying on Systeme.io: $ 564

Year 3 savings: $ 15,283

Cumulative savings after 3 years: $ 37,495

Time savings:

• No integration management: 8 hours/month

• Single dashboard checking: 30 min/day = 15 hours/month

• Unified support channel: 4 hours/month

• Total time saved: 27 hours/month = 324 hours/year

Value of saved time:

• 324 hours × 85/hour= 27,540 annual value

• Used for content creation and business development

Revenue increase (attributed to better tools):

• Improved funnel conversions: 34% increase

• Better email automation: More consistent engagement

• Faster iteration: Launch courses quicker

• Estimated impact: 15-20% of revenue growth

• Value: $ 6,350-8,467 additional revenue

Total savings (costs): 37,495∗∗Time value recovered:∗∗ 82,620 (324 hours × 3 years × 85/hour)∗∗Additional revenue (conservative 15 19,050
Total value created: $ 139,165

Investment (migration time): $ 14,790

Net ROI: $ 124,375
ROI percentage: 841%

Per year average: $ 41,458 in value created

If you're making $ 50,000/year in courses:

• Teachable ecosystem cost: $ 5,948

• Systeme.io cost: $ 564

• Annual savings: $ 5,384

• Migration time: 100-150 hours

• Break-even: 3-4 months

If you're making $ 100,000/year in courses:

• Teachable ecosystem cost: $ 8,948

• Systeme.io cost: $ 564

• Annual savings: $ 8,384

• Migration time: 120-174 hours

• Break-even: 2-3 months

If you're making $ 200,000/year in courses:

• Teachable ecosystem cost: $ 14,948

• Systeme.io cost: $ 564

• Annual savings: $ 14,384

• Migration time: 150-200 hours

• Break-even: 1-2 months

Conclusion: The higher your revenue, the faster the ROI. But even at lower volumes, you break even within first year.

Get the Systeme.io courses PLR package (thousands of dollars worth) for FREE. Use these materials for your education or sell them and keep 100% profit for yourself with a full resell license.

Course completion rates:

• Teachable: 34% average

• Systeme.io: 41% average

• Improvement: 20.6%

Why the improvement:

• Faster video loading

• Simpler navigation

• Better mobile experience

• Integrated email reminders

Student satisfaction scores:

• Teachable: 8.7/10 average

• Systeme.io: 9.1/10 average

• Improvement: 4.6%

Student testimonials mentioning platform:

• Before: 3% mentioned platform positively

• After: 12% mentioned platform positively

• Common feedback: "Love the new interface"

Email engagement:

• Open rates: 31% → 38% (+22.6%)

• Click rates: 4.3% → 6.2% (+44.2%)

• Reason: Better segmentation and automation

Funnel conversion rates:

• Lead magnet → email: 47% → 52% (+10.6%)

• Email → course purchase: 4.7% → 6.3% (+34%)

• Overall funnel: 2.2% → 3.3% (+50%)

Customer acquisition cost:

• Before: $ 47 per customer

• After: $ 31 per customer

• Reduction: 34%

Lifetime customer value:

• Before: $ 312 average

• After: $ 389 average

• Increase: 24.7%

Why the improvement:

• Better upsell automation

• More effective email sequences

• Easier customer journey

Weekly hours spent on platform management:

• Before: 12-15 hours

• After: 2-3 hours

• Time saved: 10-12 hours weekly

Course launch timeline:

• Before: 6-8 weeks (building + integration)

• After: 3-4 weeks (unified system)

• Speed increase: 50-60%

Support ticket resolution:

• Before: 3-5 days average (coordinating platforms)

• After: 4-12 hours average (single platform)

• Improvement: 90% faster

1. Phased migration approach
Migrating one course at a time as test was smart decision. Allowed learning and adjustment.

2. Over-communication with students
Sent three emails preparing students. Result: 99.6% smooth transitions.

3. Keeping both platforms active
Running both platforms during 8-week transition eliminated pressure and stress.

4. Building better funnels during migration
Used migration as opportunity to optimize. Result: 34% better conversions.

1. Underestimated migration time
Planned for 120 hours, took 174 hours. Add 30% buffer to time estimates.

2. Should have batch-recorded video tutorials
Created migration instructions on the fly. Should have pre-recorded everything.

3. Waited too long to switch
Lost 18 months of savings. Should have switched in Year 1.

4. Could have used migration service

Systeme.io offers migration help. I did it manually. Could have saved 40-50 hours.

Do switch if:

• Paying high platform fees

• Using multiple tools (email, funnels, etc.)

• Want simplified tech stack

• Making $ 20,000+ annually in courses

Don't switch if:

• Need highly specialized features Teachable offers

• Have custom integrations that can't migrate

• Business under $ 10,000/year (free plan might work)

• Happy with current setup and have budget

Timeline recommendation:

• Under 500 students: 4-6 weeks

• 500-1,000 students: 6-8 weeks

• 1,000+ students: 8-12 weeks

Budget for:

• Your time (100-200 hours)

• Support resources (minimal)

• Overlap period (1-2 months both platforms)

After 18 months on Systeme.io, my answer is unequivocally yes.

Financial impact:

• Saved $ 24,901 in direct costs

• Generated $ 12,700 in additional revenue

• Created $ 55,080 in time value

• Total value: $ 92,681 (and counting)

Operational impact:

• 10-12 hours weekly saved

• Simplified tech stack

• Faster course launches

• Better student experience

Mental impact:

• Eliminated integration anxiety

• Single platform to master

• Clearer business operations

• More focus on teaching

The investment: 174 hours of migration work

The return: $ 92,681 in 18 months (so far)

ROI: 841%

Would I do it again? Absolutely. Would do it sooner.

Would I recommend it? To 95% of course creators, yes. The 5% who need ultra-specialized features might be exceptions, but for most of us building and scaling online courses, Systeme.io delivers everything we need at a fraction of the cost.

Get the Systeme.io courses PLR package (thousands of dollars worth) for FREE. Use these materials for your education or sell them and keep 100% profit for yourself with a full resell license.