If you've decided to cancel Teachable, this page covers what to do before you pull the trigger — exporting your content, communicating with students, and avoiding the common pitfalls that users report on review sites.
Before You Cancel: Export Everything
Once your Teachable subscription ends, you lose access to your school. Download everything first:
- Video files. Download your uploaded videos individually, or better yet, locate your original source files. If you uploaded directly to Teachable without keeping copies, download each one now.
- PDFs and downloadable files. Download any files you've attached to lessons.
- Student email list. Export your student list as CSV from your admin dashboard. On the Growth plan, you can do bulk exports. On Starter and Builder, options may be more limited.
- Lesson text. Copy any text-based lesson content you want to preserve. There's no bulk text export — it's manual copy-paste.
- Sales page copy. If you've written sales page content you want to reuse, copy it before cancelling. Sales page designs don't export.
What Users Report About Teachable Cancellation
Based on patterns from Teachable's Trustpilot reviews (3.1/5 from 1,046 reviews as of March 2026):
- Refund requests are typically declined. Multiple users report that refund requests — including for recent charges, billing errors, and extenuating circumstances — are denied with references to terms of service. If you're on an annual plan, expect to keep access until the end of the billing period but not receive a partial refund.
- Support may be slow to respond. Users report that reaching a human for billing issues can take days. Teachable's support now routes through an AI chatbot first, which many users find unhelpful for cancellation-specific questions.
- Check for withheld payouts. A cluster of Trustpilot reviews describes creator payouts being held for extended periods. Before cancelling, confirm that all your earnings have been disbursed to your bank account.
- Trial-to-paid conversion catches people. If you signed up through a free trial, make sure you've actually completed the cancellation before the trial ends. Users report the 7-day trial window passes quickly and cancellation confirmation isn't always clear.
Handle Student Subscriptions
If you have students on recurring billing through Teachable, they'll need to know about the switch. A few things to plan for:
- Communicate early. Give students at least 2 weeks notice before you cancel. Explain where they'll access your content going forward.
- Active subscriptions don't transfer. Students paying monthly through Teachable will need to cancel there and re-subscribe on your new platform. Make this as easy as possible with direct links and clear instructions.
- Stripe Express vs. your own Stripe. If Teachable manages your payments through Stripe Express, you don't have direct access to that Stripe account. Factor this into your transition plan — you'll need a separate Stripe account for your new platform.
What We Hear from Educators Who've Left Teachable
We've had hundreds of support conversations with course creators who mention Teachable. The most consistent pattern: educators who try Teachable often come back. One yoga teacher told us she did free trials with both Teachable and Thinkific and "wasn't a fan of either" — she returned because Ruzuku's course creation interface was more user-friendly. Another educator who was evaluating a switch asked specifically about seamless subscription migration — the biggest anxiety point for creators with active paying students.
The most common reason creators leave Teachable: the gap between what they're paying for and what they actually use. Teachable's marketing tools (order bumps, conversion tracking, sales funnels) are genuinely powerful — but if you're focused on teaching rather than sales optimization, you're paying for complexity you don't need. When creators with active students do decide to move, our team has helped with the migration directly — including importing student lists and setting up course structures.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I cancel my Teachable subscription?
Log in to your Teachable admin, go to Settings, then Billing. Look for the option to cancel or downgrade your plan. Export your content and student list before cancelling — access ends when the subscription lapses.
Will I lose my courses if I cancel Teachable?
Yes. When your subscription ends, you lose access to your school, courses, and student data. There's no way to recover content afterward. Export everything first.
Does Teachable offer refunds when you cancel?
Users consistently report that refund requests are declined, citing terms of service. If you're on an annual plan, cancelling mid-term typically means you keep access until the billing period ends but don't get money back.
What happens to my students when I cancel Teachable?
Students lose course access when your subscription ends. Communicate the switch before cancelling and export their email list so you can invite them to your new platform.
Can I export my content from Teachable?
You can download uploaded files (videos, PDFs) individually and export student email lists as CSV. Course structure, sales pages, and automations don't export — they'll need to be rebuilt.
Looking for Somewhere to Go Next?
If you're leaving Teachable and looking for a new home for your courses, our Teachable migration guide walks through what transfers, what needs rebuilding, and a realistic timeline. You can also see why course creators switch to Ruzuku — including zero transaction fees, student tech support, and a free plan with no time limit so you can set up everything before committing.