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A course platform for teachers selling lesson plans, units and study guides, as opposed to a platform for taking professional development courses, needs to host PDFs and Slides links, take payment, deliver automatically and let a set of lessons be sold as one unit. systeme.io does that on a free plan at 0% platform fee. Teachers Pay Teachers stays the place buyers browse; the maths below shows why the second sale to the same buyer belongs on your own store.
Marketplace or your own store: what a $4 resource pays
| Route | Fee structure | You keep on a $4 resource |
|---|---|---|
| TPT Basic seller | $29 one-time fee; earn 55%; $0.30 per resource | $1.90 |
| TPT Premium seller | $59.95 a year; earn 80%; $0.15 per resource on orders under $3 | $3.20 |
| Gumroad | 10% + 50c per sale | $3.10 |
| systeme.io Free | 0% platform fee; card processing only | about $3.58 |
TPT figures from teacherspayteachers.com/become-a-seller and Gumroad’s from its pricing page, both read on 2026-09-23; systeme.io’s figure assumes Stripe at 2.9% plus 30 cents. TPT brings the buyers; the table is about what happens after they know you.
How to sell lesson plans online from your own site
- Upload the PDF, or the Google Slides share link, as a digital product.
- One sales page per resource, or one per unit: what is covered, grade level, preview images, price.
- Connect Stripe or PayPal; the order form delivers the file on the thank-you page and by email.
- Put a freebie in every TPT download with a link to your store, in exchange for an email. Check TPT’s current rules on external links.
Bundling a unit as a course
A six-lesson unit sells better as one product. On systeme.io it can be a course with one lesson per module, which keeps the files behind a login and lets you update a lesson without re-sending files, or a single product with several files delivered at once. Price the unit at 60 to 70% of the sum of the parts.
Who owns your lesson plans (check before you sell)
Materials made on district time or with district tools may belong to the district under a work-for-hire clause. Read your contract and the district policy before listing anything, and make your sold versions on your own time and equipment. Clip art, fonts and stock images in the files need commercial licences.
Delivery: PDFs, Slides links, updates
PDFs deliver as downloads. Google Slides and Docs deliver as a “make a copy” link on the thank-you page. Updates: in a course, replace the file and every buyer sees the new one; as a download, email the tag of buyers with the new link. Buyers’ emails stay in your list either way, which is the point of leaving the marketplace for the repeat sale.
Free plan, no card. Affiliate link; we earn a commission on paid plans.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best course platform for teachers selling lesson plans?
systeme.io: PDFs and Slides links as products or a unit as a course, automatic delivery, 0% platform fee, free plan. TPT stays for discovery.
How much does Teachers Pay Teachers keep?
Basic sellers earn 55% after a $29 one-time fee, with $0.30 per resource; Premium sellers earn 80% for $59.95 a year, with $0.15 per resource on orders under $3, as of September 2026.
Can I sell Google Slides lessons?
Yes. Deliver a make-a-copy share link on the thank-you page and in the confirmation email.
Do I own the lesson plans I made for my class?
Not always. District contracts often claim work made on district time or tools. Check the policy, and make sold versions on your own time.
Related: how to sell a bundle of digital products, how to sell printables online, simple email marketing tool for beginners.