Online course platform for independent teachers
Your own online teaching platform, with 0% commission.
Create and sell courses, host video, teach live and build a community under your own brand and domain. Everything in one place, with straightforward monthly pricing and no commission from us on your sales.
Built, running and inviting teachers now
Join the first teachers on Achene
We invite teachers in small groups and help each one set up. No payment or commitment.
Built around your teaching. Not a cut of your income.
- 0% commission
- On student payments. Stripe’s processing fees still apply.
- From $14 / month
- Straightforward monthly plans. No annual lock-in.
- Your own domain
- Your identity, on every paid plan.
- Room to grow
- Unlimited students, courses and bandwidth.
Who it is for
Made for people with something worth teaching.
Whether you teach a skill, share professional knowledge or run structured learning, Achene gives you your own place to teach online.
Coaches and instructors
Build structured programmes, run live sessions and stay in touch with students as they progress.
Creative professionals
Turn your craft into courses, tutorials and workshops under your own brand.
Independent educators and trainers
Run your own academy: manage students, take payments and teach directly.
Create
Build a professional course without code.
Write naturally, add images, attach video and arrange lessons until the course feels like you.
Drag to reorder. Keep a draft. Publish on your schedule.
Explore authoring tools
Get paid
Sell directly, with no commission from us.
Students pay you directly through your own Stripe account. No commission, no payout holds, no surprises. Stripe's own processing fees still apply. Sell free, one-time or subscription courses, offer free trials, and bundle courses together.
Explore payments
A little care, on repeat
Spend less time on student admin.
Connect your contacts, broadcasts and automations. Build a thoughtful welcome once, then let your workflow carry it forward.
Less repetitive admin. More space for the human side of teaching.
Explore workflows
Bring what you have
Bring your existing course with you.
Upload videos in a batch, then bring them into your lessons. Hosted video lives alongside your words, images and files, right where learning happens.
Already have students? Bring your audience over with a bulk CSV import.
Explore video & imports
Teach live
Teach face to face, on your own site.
Run live video classes inside your own site, with a monthly allowance of live minutes on every plan. Students RSVP, get reminders and calendar links, and the recording lands in your library afterwards.
Explore live classes
A home for the learning, too
Give your students a place to belong.
A focused lesson experience, a place for questions, and a community that stays close to the course. All under your own name.
Explore the learner experience
Learn at your own pace
Progress, bookmarks and notes tied to video timestamps.
Keep the conversation close
Global and per-course forums, without sending learners elsewhere.
Take the lesson with you
A mobile-friendly experience for learning beyond the desk.
And plenty more, all on every plan.
- Community and leaderboard
- Automatic transcripts
- Five interface languages
- Your own domain
- GDPR tools built in
- Bulk student import
Why I built Achene
Built to be affordable from the very first student.
Achene started with friends and family who wanted to teach online but found the cost of getting started too high. A low starting price isn’t always a low cost: fees on sales, limits on students and features reserved for bigger plans can add up quickly.
So I built the platform I wanted to hand them. There’s no commission on your sales and no cap on students or courses. Every plan has the same core tools, so starting small never means missing out. As you grow, you pick the allowance of storage, email and live class time that fits. Achene is independently funded, which lets me keep decisions simple: if it’s good for the teachers I built it for, it’s good for Achene.
Pete Stewart, founder of Achene
Seed
$14/ month
For your first course and the ideas that follow.
- Video & file storage
- 100 GB
- Emails / month
- 2,000
Taking Root
14-day free trial$70/ month
For a growing library and an active community.
- Video & file storage
- 500 GB
- Emails / month
- 10,000
Thriving
$140/ month
For a fuller teaching practice, with room to expand.
- Video & file storage
- 1 TB
- Emails / month
- 20,000
Every plan includes unlimited students and courses, and no commission on student payments.
No annual lock-in. No platform commission. Student payments go to you via Stripe Connect; Stripe processing fees still apply.
Early access, with a say in what’s next
What an invitation gets you.
Your invitation to try Achene
We invite teachers in small groups, and we will email you when yours is ready.
A say in what we build
Vote on the roadmap and answer a short survey once you have confirmed your email.
Honest updates
Occasional progress emails from the person building it. Unsubscribe any time.
A few things worth knowing.
What happens when I request an invitation?
Achene is built and running, and we are inviting teachers in small groups so each one gets help setting up. Asking for an invitation is not buying a plan: there is no payment and no commitment. We'll email you when yours is ready.
What does 0% commission mean?
Achene takes no percentage of your student payments. Students pay through your own Stripe account, and Stripe's processing fees still apply.
What is included in each plan?
Every feature is on every plan, with unlimited students and courses. Plans differ by capacity: storage, email sends and live class minutes. The pricing page lists the allowances.
What happens if I go over my plan allowance?
Nothing breaks. Plans are designed so you can grow past your allowance naturally, then move up a tier when it makes sense. We warn you at 80% of an allowance, and anything over is billed at the end of the month at a small per-unit rate, the same on every plan. The pricing page lists the rates. If you would rather have a hard limit, you can switch overage off in your billing settings.
Can I use my own domain and branding?
Yes. A custom domain is included on every paid plan, along with your own logo and colours.
Can I bring my existing teaching with me?
Bring your videos into your course library and your students over with a CSV import.
Can I teach live?
Yes. Live video classes are built in and included on every plan, with a monthly allowance of live class minutes. Students get reminders and calendar links, and recordings are saved to your library.
What is available now, and what is still coming?
The roadmap shows what is available, in progress and planned. Early-access members can vote on what we build next.
A proper home for independent teaching
Be part of the beginning.
Tell us where to send your invitation, and help shape what we build next. There is no payment and no commitment. We’ll be in touch with your invitation, not a checkout page.
Your teaching. Your people. Your brand.