Podia takes 5% of every sale on Mover.
Simplero takes nothing.
Podia keeps it simple — but the simplicity comes with a 5% transaction fee on the Mover plan ($33/mo annual), no native automations beyond email, no real CRM, and no affiliate management until you upgrade to Shaker ($75/mo annual). Simplero replaces Podia plus the tools you'll need around it — with 0% transaction fees on every plan.
The fee math.
5% adds up faster than you think.
At $3,000/month in revenue:
At $10,000/month in revenue:
Sources: podia.com/pricing. Mover $33/mo annual + 5% fee · Shaker $75/mo annual + 0% fee. Email is free for 100 subscribers, then billed separately. Stripe processing (~2.9% + 30¢) charged on top of any Podia fee.
What Podia doesn't do.
5% transaction fee on the entry plan.
Mover ($33/mo annual) charges 5% on every course, coaching session, download, and membership renewal. The only way out is upgrading to Shaker ($75/mo annual). Past about $840/mo in revenue, the 5% fee on Mover already costs more than the difference to Shaker. Simplero is 0% on every plan, every processor, every sale.
No real CRM, no real automations.
Podia has tagging and segmentation in its email tool, plus basic email automation. But there's no real CRM (no pipelines, no deals, no notes, no full contact view), no behavior-based automations, no help desk, no A/B testing. For anything beyond a welcome sequence, you'll Zapier your way out — and Zapier actions are Shaker-only.
Affiliate marketing locked behind Shaker.
Podia's affiliate program is only available on the Shaker plan ($75/mo annual). PayPal too. So is Zapier-as-action. If you're on Mover and want to run an affiliate launch, you'll either upgrade or duct-tape a third-party tool. Simplero's native affiliate management is on Scale ($149/mo) — with full tracking, payouts, and tiers.
Podia + email overage + affiliate tool + CRM + Zapier = $130–$200/mo and 4 logins.
Simplero replaces all of them. One platform. $59/month, 0% fees.
In their own words.
“I regret ever signing up. The platform is buggy, the support is dismissive, and when I tried to cancel they kept charging me for two more months.”
“I lost my entire course because of a glitch on their end. Support said it was my responsibility to back up.”
“They eliminated the free plan in October 2024 and forced everyone onto paid tiers. No grandfathering. Just an email.”
“No quizzes. No graded assignments. No drip content. No native Zoom. It's a selling tool, not a teaching tool.”
“The Mover plan looks cheap until you do the math. 5% on every sale plus the monthly fee added up to more than I was paying on Teachable.”
“The email tool is basic. The automations are almost non-existent. You'll need three other tools alongside it.”
Side by side.
Whole platform vs whole platform.
| Podia Mover $33/mo annual |
Podia Shaker $75/mo annual |
Simplero $59–$249/mo |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Transaction fees | 5% on every sale | 0% | 0% on every plan, every processor, every sale |
| Unlimited products / courses | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ (10 each on Starter, unlimited on Scale & up) |
| Quizzes & graded assignments | — | — | ✓ |
| Drip / scheduled content | — | — | ✓ |
| Native Zoom integration | — | — | ✓ |
| Email marketing included | Basic, free up to 100 subscribers — paid add-on above that | Basic, free up to 100 subscribers — paid add-on above that | Full email + automations + segmentation on every plan |
| Marketing automations | Limited (basic email sequences) | Limited (basic email sequences + Zapier actions) | Full visual automation builder on every plan |
| CRM | — | — | Full native CRM on every plan |
| Sales funnels & pipelines | — | — | ✓ (pipelines on Skyrocket) |
| Affiliate management | — | ✓ | ✓ on Scale and above |
| Community | Basic | Basic | Full community + courses + email in one |
| Live chat support | — | ✓ | ✓ on every plan |
| A/B testing | — | — | ✓ on Scale and above |
| Helpdesk & ticketing | — | — | ✓ on Scale and above |
| Multi-site / multi-language | — | — | ✓ (multi-site on Scale and above) |
| Track record | Founded 2014 | Founded 2014 | 17 years · $912M+ in customer revenue |
| Ownership | VC-backed | VC-backed | Bootstrapped · founder still answers email |
Podia eliminated its Free plan in October 2024. Email is free up to 100 subscribers, then a paid add-on whose cost scales with list size. Sources: podia.com/pricing.
The difference that doesn't
fit in a feature matrix.
Simple is not the same as complete.
No quizzes, no drip, no Zoom, no real automation, no CRM, no funnels, no A/B, no helpdesk. Podia gives you a clean storefront — then you stitch together email tools, affiliate platforms, CRMs, and Zapier to actually run a business.
5% on every sale, on the cheap plan, forever.
Podia Mover is $33/mo — plus a 5% transaction fee on every course, coaching session, download, and membership renewal. The fee disappears on Shaker ($75/mo). Simplero charges 0% on every plan, every processor, every sale. Always has.
Bootstrapped, 17 years, still here.
Podia is VC-backed, founded 2014. Simplero is bootstrapped, founded 2009, with $912M+ generated through it by customers. We haven't raised prices in years. We haven't been acquired. The founder still answers email.
What Simplero
customers say.
“I thoroughly evaluated Simplero against several other platforms. I put a spreadsheet together with 20 different features. Simplero won on the scores. The support team is fast, courteous, and they know what they're talking about.”
“Simplero replaced four tools for me. Email, courses, scheduling, and checkout — all in one, all talking to each other, no Zapier glue holding it together.”
“I moved off a popular course platform after a billing mess took two weeks to sort out. Simplero support replied in under an hour. Different planet.”
“You get a real human, fast, every time. No chatbot gates. No 'we'll get back to you in 48 hours.' It's the way support used to be.”
Three flat tiers.
Pick one, get everything.
Starter
$59 /mo
billed annually · or $70/mo monthly
10 products, 10 courses, 2 sites, 500 contacts. Email, courses, payments, website, automations — all in one place from day one. 0% transaction fees.
Choose StarterScale ✦
$149 /mo
billed annually · or $179/mo monthly
Unlimited products, courses, and sites. Affiliates, help desk, upsells, text messages, API, multi-site, A/B testing. Where most growing businesses land. 0% transaction fees.
Choose ScaleSkyrocket
$249 /mo
billed annually · or $299/mo monthly
Everything in Scale plus unlimited storage, AI transcripts, AI bots, split testing, sales pipelines. The full power of the platform. 0% transaction fees.
Choose SkyrocketAll plans include email delivery, video hosting, and zero transaction fees. Pay annually, save 17%. Need more contacts? Add them in blocks — $15/mo per 2,500 above 10K. See full pricing →
Keep what you earn.
Keep your tools in one place.
14 days. Every feature unlocked. No credit card. We'll help you migrate from Podia, answer questions in plain English, and won't charge you a dime if it's not a fit. And we'll never take a percentage of your revenue.
Founded 2009 · Bootstrapped · 17 years in business · Proud of it.
Make it simplero™
