Ted's Woodworking vs Woodworkers Guild (2026): Which is right for a new woodworker?

Quick verdict

Choose Ted's Woodworking if: you want a one-time purchase, you have many project ideas already, and you prefer browsing PDFs to watching videos. The advertised 16,000+ plans are a breadth play; you will spend time sorting through them.

Choose Woodworkers Guild of America if: you want video instruction alongside plans, prefer a smaller curated library, and are willing to pay a recurring membership for ongoing learning and community access.

Neither is a substitute for basic safety instruction. Pair either with manufacturer tool manuals, a free printable planner, and a willingness to start with a small build.

Side-by-side comparison

What Ted's Woodworking is actually selling

Ted's Woodworking is a ClickBank product — a single digital purchase that gives you access to a downloadable library of plans. The marketing emphasizes the plan count (16,000+), the breadth of categories (furniture, outdoor, sheds, indoor projects, workshop), and the price (frequently discounted). The product is sold and fulfilled through ClickBank, which means the refund and support terms are partly mediated by ClickBank policies.

What the product does NOT include: live instruction, video walkthroughs, a community of other builders, or ongoing updates. Once you have downloaded the library, you have it. If the vendor updates the library in the future, you typically do not get the new plans automatically.

What to look for in any large plan library: (1) Are the plans dimensioned clearly? (2) Do they include a materials list? (3) Do they explain joinery or just show it? (4) Are safety considerations addressed? (5) Is the file format readable on your devices and printable? A 16,000-plan library is only useful if its plans answer these questions well.

What Woodworkers Guild of America is actually selling

Woodworkers Guild of America (WGA) is a membership site. You pay a monthly or annual fee, and you get access to a curated library of plans, videos, and the member community. The library is much smaller than Ted's in raw count, but each project typically comes with video instruction that walks you through the build.

The pitch is the opposite of Ted's: instead of "16,000 plans for a one-time price," WGA says "a curated, instructional library plus ongoing community for a recurring fee." For a beginner, the video component is often more valuable than a larger plan library, because you can see the technique as it happens rather than trying to decode a diagram.

What WGA does NOT include: lifetime access after you cancel. When you stop paying, you lose access to the live site. The plans you've downloaded locally are yours, but the videos and ongoing projects are gated by the membership.

Cost comparison over time

At promotional prices, Ted's Woodworking is around $67 — a one-time fee. Woodworkers Guild is typically $39-$49 per month, or $179-$299 per year. Over a two-year horizon, the membership is more expensive unless you actively use it. Over a one-year horizon with light use, the one-time purchase is significantly cheaper.

The cost equation depends on how you actually use the product. If you buy Ted's and then forget about it, the per-use cost is high. If you pay WGA monthly and learn one project per month, the per-use cost is reasonable. Trust the math, not the marketing.

Which one is better for a beginner?

For a true beginner, the answer is honestly: neither is a substitute for learning safety basics and getting hands-on practice. With that caveat, the better choice for most beginners is the one that matches your learning style.

If you are a visual learner who benefits from watching a technique before trying it, Woodworkers Guild's video-first approach is probably a better fit. If you already have a clear first project in mind and want to skip the videos, Ted's gives you a one-time purchase with many plans to choose from.

For an absolute first project, consider downloading our free First Project Planner first. It walks you through choosing a manageable build, listing materials, checking tools, and pausing for safety. About ten minutes of planning before the purchase can save you from buying a library that's wrong for your skill level.

Refund and support realities

Ted's Woodworking is sold via ClickBank. ClickBank's standard refund window is 60 days from purchase, but the actual policy is set by the vendor. Read the checkout page's terms carefully before buying. If you do not see the refund terms clearly stated, contact the vendor's support before purchase. Customer support for large one-time-purchase plan libraries is typically email-based and can be slow.

Woodworkers Guild memberships are typically cancellable at any time, and the vendor's terms govern any prorated refund. Customer support is usually more responsive because the business model depends on retaining members. If ongoing support matters to you, the membership model is structurally more accountable than the one-time-purchase model.

What to do before you buy either one

Step 1. Download the free First Project Planner and use it to define your first build. About ten minutes of planning prevents you from buying a library for a project you will never start.

Step 2. Decide whether you learn better from PDFs or videos. If you do not know yet, this is a personal preference that matters more than plan count.

Step 3. Read the current pricing and terms on each vendor's checkout page before purchasing. Do not trust the price in any review or comparison — prices change frequently.

Step 4. Read the vendor's refund policy. If you cannot find it on the checkout page, ask the vendor directly before purchase.

Step 5. Start with one project, not the whole library. A 16,000-plan library is a search engine for ideas, not a build queue. Pick one. Build it. Then decide if you need more.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ted's Woodworking better than Woodworkers Guild?

Neither is universally better. They are different products for different use cases. Ted's is a one-time purchase with a large plan library; Woodworkers Guild is a recurring membership with videos and a smaller curated library. Match the product to your learning style and project goals.

Which is cheaper?

At promotional one-time pricing, Ted's Woodworking is around $67. Woodworkers Guild is a recurring membership, typically $39-$49 per month or $179-$299 per year. For light use, Ted's is cheaper. For ongoing learning, the membership can be more expensive over time but more useful.

Does Woodworkers Guild have 16,000 plans?

No. Woodworkers Guild of America has a much smaller curated library plus member videos. The 16,000-plan figure is exclusive to Ted's Woodworking (as a vendor claim — verify on the checkout page).

Can I get a refund on Ted's Woodworking?

Refund terms are set by the vendor and ClickBank. ClickBank's standard window is 60 days, but verify the current policy on the vendor's checkout page before purchase.

Which is better for a beginner?

For a true beginner, neither is a substitute for basic instruction. Among the two, Woodworkers Guild's video-first approach is generally easier to learn from than a PDF plan library. But a beginner who already has a specific first project in mind may get more value from Ted's one-time purchase.

Which has better customer support?

Woodworkers Guild offers ongoing member support through its community and customer service channels. Ted's Woodworking is a digital download with limited ongoing support. Membership products typically outperform one-time-purchase digital products on support.

Can I use these plans to sell furniture?

Both products are sold for personal use. Many plan libraries restrict commercial use of the included projects. Read the vendor's license terms before building for sale.

Make a decision, not a purchase

The best plan library is the one that matches the build you actually want to do. Spend ten minutes planning with the free First Project Planner before you spend money on either library. Once you know your first build, pick the library that gives you the best resources for that specific project — whether that is a single detailed PDF (Ted's) or a video walkthrough (WGA).

Whichever library you choose, start with one project. Do not let 16,000 plans become a reason to never build anything.

Sell what you build

If you finish a project and want to sell it, the natural next step is an online store. The first question most woodworkers ask is which platform to use. After a few hundred hours of building, the practical answer for most is Shopify — it handles the inventory, payments, shipping, and tax calculations that would otherwise eat a weekend every time you make a sale.

Why woodworkers tend to choose Shopify

• Built for product sales. Each build is a SKU with variants (size, finish, wood species) that Shopify tracks automatically.
• Payments and tax handled. Shopify Payments supports all major processors, calculates sales tax by destination, and integrates with most shipping carriers for label printing.
• Theme ecosystem. Pre-built themes designed for handmade goods, with mobile-first checkout and product photography layouts.
• Integrations. Easy connections to email marketing, print-on-demand, and marketplace sync (Etsy, Amazon Handmade).

What it costs

Shopify offers a free trial, then paid plans starting around $39/month. If you are selling fewer than a few pieces a month, the cost is worth it because the alternative — building your own e-commerce stack — is a full-time job. The platform pays for itself the first time a customer finds your store on Google, places an order, and you ship it without manually writing an invoice.

If you want to start a free trial

You can start a free Shopify trial through this link (affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you, see our disclosure). The trial gives you full access to the platform for the trial period so you can build a store, set up a product, and decide whether it is worth the monthly fee.

Further reading

• Full Ted's Woodworking review — fit, limitations, and the five questions to ask before checkout.
• Free First Project Planner — five printable worksheets for a calmer first build.
• Affiliate disclosure — how we handle affiliate links.
• Contact — flag an accuracy issue or ask a question.