Easiest Ways to Accept Online Payments for Coaching Courses in 2026

Let’s Define What “Easy” Means for Coaching Course Payments

Coaching course payments involve two distinct layers that are often conflated: the payment collection layer (how clients actually pay you) and the course delivery layer (how clients access what they paid for). Choosing a platform that bundles both can be convenient but also more expensive and less flexible than handling them separately.

The Two Layers of Coaching Course Business

• Payment collection: Accepting the client’s money via card, PayPal, ACH, or BNPL. Issuing a receipt. Settling funds into your bank account. This is what payment processors and gateways do.
• Course delivery: Giving the client access to video lessons, workbooks, live calls, community access, or coaching sessions after they pay. This is what course platforms like Teachable, Kajabi, and Podia do.

Not every coaching business needs a full platform. A coach who sells 1:1 sessions or group live calls does not need a course delivery platform – they just need reliable payment collection. A course creator selling pre-recorded video libraries needs both layers. Understanding which you need prevents overpaying for features you are not using.

What “Easiest” Looks Like at Each Stage

• Getting first clients this week (0 to $1,000/month): Payment link from Coastal Pay, Stripe, or PayPal. Zero setup time beyond account creation. No platform subscription needed.
• Launching a course (1 to 10 paying students): Teachable free plan with Stripe payments, or Coastal Pay payment link plus a simple Google Drive or Notion delivery setup. Lowest cost path to first sales.
• Scaling an established course ($5,000 to $20,000+/month): Kajabi or ThriveCart for conversion-optimized checkout, connected to Coastal Pay for lower processing fees where the integration allows. Focus on rate at this volume – every 0.1% matters.

Here’s How Each Option Handles Payments for Coaching Courses

Option 1: Coastal Pay Payment Links and Invoicing

What it is: A payment gateway and processor that generates shareable payment links and email invoices. No course delivery features – payment collection only.

Setup time: Approximately 2 minutes for account approval. 1 minute per payment link created.

Rate: Flat 2.5% + $0.15 per transaction. $0 monthly gateway fee.

What you can do:

• Create a payment link for your course price (e.g., $497 for “Your Course Name”) and share anywhere
• Client pays via card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, ACH, Klarna, or Afterpay
• Send Coastal Pay email invoices for one-time or installment billing
• Set up recurring monthly billing for ongoing group programs or memberships

What it does not include: Course delivery (video hosting, student progress tracking, community). You would pair this with Google Drive, a Notion workspace, an unlisted YouTube playlist, or a course delivery platform.

Best for: Coaches selling 1:1 programs, group live calls, and masterminds. Also best for course creators who already use Kajabi or Teachable but want lower processing fees on checkout.

Option 2: Stripe Payment Links

What it is: Stripe’s payment link product – a shareable URL that opens a Stripe-hosted checkout page. No course delivery features.

Setup time: 10 to 20 minutes.

Rate: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

Best for: Course creators who expect to scale into Stripe’s broader ecosystem. Acceptable for early-stage; becomes meaningfully more expensive than Coastal Pay above $5,000/month.

Option 3: Teachable

What it is: An all-in-one course platform handling video hosting, student progress tracking, quizzes, certificates, and payment collection via Stripe.

Setup time: 1 to 3 hours for a simple course.

Cost:

• Free plan: 5% transaction fee + Stripe’s 2.9% + $0.30 per sale
• Basic plan ($59/month): 5% transaction fee for cards eliminated
• Pro plan ($119/month): No transaction fee, Stripe rate only (2.9% + $0.30)

Best for: Course creators who need video delivery, student management, and payment in one tool. The free plan’s 5% fee makes it expensive at meaningful revenue – the Pro plan is when Teachable becomes cost-effective.

Option 4: Kajabi

What it is: The most feature-complete all-in-one coaching and course business platform – courses, memberships, email marketing, landing pages, pipelines, podcasts, and community.

Setup time: Days to weeks for a full Kajabi build.

Cost: Plans start at $149/month. Payment processing via Stripe (2.9% + $0.30) or PayPal.

Best for: Established course creators and coaches who want everything in one place and generate enough revenue that $149+/month in platform fees is a small percentage of total revenue.

Option 5: ThriveCart

What it is: A high-converting shopping cart and checkout platform for course and digital product creators. One-time purchase (lifetime license, approximately $495) rather than monthly subscription. Processes through Stripe or PayPal.

Setup time: A few hours to set up your first product checkout.

Best for: Course creators who want ThriveCart’s conversion-optimized checkout pages (order bumps, upsells, A/B testing) and prefer a one-time payment to ongoing platform subscriptions.

What’s the Real Fee Difference on Course Revenue?

Scenario: Self-Paced Course at $297, 50 Students/Month

Monthly revenue: $14,850

• Coastal Pay (2.5% + $0.15): $371.25 + $7.50 = $378.75/month
• Stripe / Teachable Pro (2.9% + $0.30): $430.65 + $15 = $445.65/month
• Teachable Free Plan (5% + 2.9% + $0.30): approximately $1,188/month
• Annual savings vs Stripe/Teachable Pro: approximately $800
• Annual savings vs Teachable Free: approximately $9,714

Scenario: Group Coaching Program at $1,500, 20 Students/Month

Monthly revenue: $30,000

• Coastal Pay (2.5% + $0.15): $750 + $3 = $753/month
• Stripe (2.9% + $0.30): $870 + $6 = $876/month
• Kajabi platform ($149) + Stripe: $1,025/month
• Annual savings vs Kajabi + Stripe: approximately $3,264

Scenario: High-Ticket Mastermind at $10,000, 3 New Students/Month

Monthly revenue: $30,000

• Coastal Pay (2.5% + $0.15): $750.45/month
• Stripe (2.9% + $0.30): $870.90/month
• Annual savings vs Stripe: approximately $1,445
• With 2 of 3 clients paying via ACH at $1.00 each: additional annual savings of approximately $5,980

The Teachable Free Plan math is striking: A creator making $14,850/month pays approximately $1,188/month in combined fees – nearly $14,300/year, almost one full month of revenue consumed by fees. Coastal Pay payment links for the same volume: approximately $4,545/year.

Get Approved at 2.5% + $0.15 in 2 Minutes

Here’s How to Accept Coaching Course Payments Without a Website

Path 1: Coastal Pay Payment Link (Fastest, Lowest Fee)

1. Apply at coastalpay.com – approximately 2 minutes for approval
2. Create a payment link in the Coastal Pay Gateway: name “6-Week Business Coaching Course – $997,” enter the amount
3. Put the link in your Instagram bio, email signature, LinkedIn, or anywhere
4. Client clicks, pays with card, Apple Pay, Klarna, or ACH on Coastal Pay’s hosted checkout page
5. You receive a confirmation. Client receives a receipt. Funds arrive in 1 to 2 business days.

Path 2: Gumroad or Lemon Squeezy (Built-In for Digital Products)

Gumroad and Lemon Squeezy are digital product platforms that handle both payment and basic file delivery – perfect if your course is a downloadable workbook, video file, or PDF guide. The storefront page is hosted for you. No separate website needed. Fees: Gumroad at 10% (free plan) or $10/month flat. Lemon Squeezy at 5% + $0.50. Both are more expensive than Coastal Pay at scale but require zero technical setup.

Path 3: Course Platform With Hosted Page

Teachable and Podia both host your course sales page. Your course URL is your storefront – no separate website. Payment and delivery handled together. Works for pre-recorded course content with structured lesson delivery.

What About Recurring Billing for Membership-Style Coaching Programs?

Coastal Pay Recurring Billing for Course Memberships

• Client enrolls via payment link and provides card or ACH details at first payment
• Coastal Pay stores payment details securely via tokenization
• The configured monthly amount charges automatically on the billing date
• Failed charges retry on day 3, 7, and 14 with automated client notification
• Card updater service refreshes expired or replaced cards before they fail

Platform Recurring Billing Costs Compared

• Coastal Pay: 2.5% + $0.15 per monthly charge. $0 platform fee. ACH option at flat per-item rate.
• Kajabi memberships: 2.9% + $0.30 per monthly charge, plus $149+/month Kajabi platform fee.
• Teachable memberships: 2.9% + $0.30 per charge plus the applicable Teachable plan fee.
• Stripe Billing directly: 2.9% + $0.30 per charge plus 0.5% to 0.8% subscription billing overhead on some plans.

How Do These Options Compare Side by Side?

Two Best Combinations for Course Creators

• Lowest cost for live/group coaching: Coastal Pay payment links + Notion/Google Drive delivery + Zoom for live calls. $0 monthly overhead, 2.5% + $0.15 processing. Total monthly cost at $10,000 revenue: approximately $253.
• Best all-in for pre-recorded course delivery: Teachable Pro ($119/month) for video delivery + Coastal Pay payment links for high-ticket coaching add-ons, upsells, and recurring retainer billing outside the Teachable flow.

Which Setup Is Right for Your Coaching Course Business Right Now?

Decision Framework

• First 1 to 5 clients, want to get paid this week: Coastal Pay payment links. 2 minutes to approve. Clients pay your first invoice today.
• Launching a pre-recorded course for the first time: Teachable Basic or Free. Build, launch to a small audience, validate – then switch to a lower-fee setup once revenue justifies it.
• Generating $5,000+/month and want to reduce fees: Compare your current Teachable or Kajabi + Stripe cost against Coastal Pay’s flat 2.5% + $0.15. Savings at this volume likely justify the switch or supplement.
• High-ticket masterminds ($5,000 to $25,000 per client): Coastal Pay is the clear winner on cost. Payment link for enrollment, ACH for clients who prefer bank transfer, card-on-file for installment plans.
• Want one platform for everything: Kajabi. Use Coastal Pay as an add-on for high-ticket sales outside Kajabi’s standard checkout.

If you are not yet using Coastal Pay, apply at coastalpay.com. Most standard-risk coaching businesses are approved in approximately 2 minutes. Create a payment link for your current program and compare your first month’s processing fees to what you are paying now.

Explore Coastal Pay’s coaching payment solutions, alternative payment methods including ACH and BNPL, and integrations with Kajabi, Teachable, and course delivery platforms.

Get Approved in 2 Minutes

Or call: 888-266-1715

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the easiest way to accept online payments for coaching courses?

If you only need payment collection (no course delivery): Coastal Pay payment links are the simplest option – apply in 2 minutes, generate a link for your course price, share via email or social. Client pays on a hosted checkout page. If you need course delivery plus payment: Teachable or Kajabi are easier all-in-one setups, though they process through Stripe at 2.9% + $0.30. For the lowest processing fee with no monthly platform cost, Coastal Pay at 2.5% + $0.15 with $0 gateway fee is the best option for coaches handling delivery separately.

Can I sell coaching courses without a website or platform in 2026?

Yes. Coastal Pay payment links require no website – generate a URL, share it anywhere (email, Instagram bio, LinkedIn, text), client pays on a Coastal Pay-hosted page. For basic course delivery without a website, Gumroad or Lemon Squeezy host your product page and handle payment and file delivery. Teachable and Podia also host your course sales page so you do not need a separate website.

What is the cheapest way to accept payments for online courses in 2026?

For payment processing only: Coastal Pay at flat 2.5% + $0.15 with $0 gateway fee is the lowest all-in cost – below Stripe (2.9% + $0.30) and PayPal (2.99% + $0.49). For all-in-one course platform: Teachable Pro at $119/month with Stripe at 2.9% + $0.30 is the cheapest fully featured option. Teachable’s free plan is one of the most expensive setups at scale due to the 5% transaction fee stacked on top of Stripe’s rate.