You’ve got a great idea for a course, but how do you get potential students to find it? You need to start looking at online course platforms that are best suited for your particular course and type and style of teaching.
Some of the main features to consider include learning and engagement tools, marketing tools, supported media types, integrations with third-party platforms, discoverability, and price.
In this post, we’ll go over some of the best online course platforms for creators to get their work out in front of people.
14 best online course platforms for creators
Let’s go over some of the best online course platforms for creators.
#1: LifterLMS
LifterLMS is a popular WordPress learning management system that helps you start, run, and grow your business. It’s the perfect online course platform for creators that want full control over their websites.
Pros:
- Comes with a robust course builder.
- Integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce.
- Direct support from the LifterLMS team.
Cons:
- WordPress is a prerequisite.
- You will need to market and promote your courses.
- The core plugin is free but you need paid add-ons for advanced features.
LifterLMS offers three pricing tiers. One site license will cost you $149 per year.
#2: LearnDash
LearnDash is a learning management system (LMS) for WordPress that lets you create and sell courses right from your WordPress website. It has a solid feature set for building online courses and also integrates with lots of add-ons for more functionality.
Pros:
- Open source platform.
- Built-in tools for creating and selling courses.
- Access to metrics and analytics.
- Compatibility with a wide range of themes, page builders, and media types.
- Community support and first-party customer service.
Cons:
- WordPress is a prerequisite.
- You will need to market and promote your courses.
LearnDash has different pricing tiers. One site license will cost you $199 per year.
#3: SkillShare
SkillShare is an online learning platform that provides thousands of online classes across a wide variety of fields. You can share your course and skills with the large number of members that have joined SkillShare and are interested in the topics you cover.
Pros:
- Simple and easy to use.
- Established market with a large user base.
- Support for new users on the platform.
- A large community of creators and users.
Cons:
- Highly competitive market.
- Lack of pricing flexibility. Watch time will determine your total revenue.
You can learn more about teaching on SkillShare from this page.
#4: Udemy
Udemy is one of the largest online learning platforms in the world, with over 50 million students that use the site to learn various topics through different courses. This makes it a great place to list your course as a creator.
Pros:
- One of the largest online learning communities.
- Simple and easy to use.
- Large collection of information on how to create and list a course.
- Marketplace insights on the best-selling courses across different niches.
- Built-in marketing and promotion tools for reaching out to new potential customers.
Cons:
- Courses and lectures must adhere to Udemy’s rules and minimum requirements.
- Revenue generated through Udemy’s marketing promotions has a high-profit cut.
While you can list your courses for free on Udemy, the platform takes a cut from all profits that are generated through the sales of your course. If a sale is made by you directly, Udemy takes a 3% fee. For a regular sale made through the platform, Udemy charges a 63% fee. Here is a detailed breakdown of Udemy’s profit-sharing model.
#5: Podia
If you want all your options in one single platform, then Podia is one of the best solutions available. It includes a website builder, community features, course builders, chat widget, and email and affiliate marketing tools all in one package.
Pros:
- Complete all-in-one solution right out of the box.
- Direct unlimited video hosting.
- Automatic tax collection feature.
- Ability to sell multiple digital products.
- Unlimited courses and no subscriber limits.
Cons:
- No open API for easy integrations with third-party solutions.
- Learning curve and limits of built-in website page builder.
You can list and sell courses on Podia for free, but you’ll be charged 8% on each transaction. You can see additional pricing plans here.
#6: Thinkific
Thinkific is an online platform that specializes in building and selling courses. It has plenty of customization options to ensure that your course matches your brand and also allows complete control over each course and its pricing.
Pros:
- Pre-built customizable templates for building websites and courses.
- Integration with additional tools.
- Ability to create community spaces.
- Easy and simple to get started.
- Assessments and completion certificates.
Cons:
- Cannot sell multiple digital products (online courses only).
- Community features are lackluster.
You can start selling your first course for free with all the core features available to up to 1,000 students. You can check out the pricing plans here.
#7: LearnWorlds
With an intuitive course builder and customizable templates, LearnWorlds is one of the easiest platforms designed to help you create and sell your online course. It helps boost engagement by adding video hotspots, overlays, quizzes, content tables, and other interactive features that let students engage with the course.
Pros:
- Fully SCORM-compliant platform.
- Interactive courses for your students.
- Built-in marketing and sales tools.
- Ability to create an app for Android and iOS.
Cons:
- No free plans are available.
- The learning curve for mastering the platform can be a bit steep.
LearnWorlds starts at $24 per month for starters. You can find additional pricing details for LearnWorlds here.
#8: Teachable
An easy-to-use drag-and-drop course builder paired with an intuitive and flexible page builder, Teachable makes it very easy to set up your knowledge business online. It also has features like certificates, quizzes, and other interactive elements to keep your students motivated and engaged.
Pros:
- Easy to set up and use out of the box.
- Built-in email and affiliate marketing tools.
- Integration with third-party tools.
- Interactive features for students.
- Tax management features.
Cons:
- No community features.
- No live-streaming support.
You can get started with Teachable for free, and the premium plans start at $29 per month.
#9: Kajabi
Kajabi is one of the most powerful solutions for selling online courses that comes with a number of built-in tools and automation features. It has many templates for different product types that act as blueprints for developing your unique offering.
Pros:
- Email marketing automation for sales funnels and marketing campaigns.
- Variety of product types, e.g., memberships, podcasts, paid communities, etc….
- Well-designed powerful templates.
- Good payment method integration.
- CRM and analytics.
Cons:
- No free price tier.
- Premium plans are expensive compared to other solutions.
Kajabi starts at $149 per month, and you can view additional price plans here.
#10: LearnPress
If you aren’t ready to invest money in your online course-selling business yet and want to opt for WordPress, then LearnPress is one of the best options out there. It is a free learning management system (LMS) plugin for WordPress.
Pros:
- All core features are free.
- Payments integration with WooCommerce, PayPal, Stripe, etc….
- Built-in communication tools.
- Course builder and course management tools.
Cons:
- A WordPress site is a prerequisite.
- For more advanced features, paid add-ons are required.
If the free version doesn’t fit your requirements, you can check here if any of the other plans are more suited to your needs.
#11: Ruzuku
Ruzuku offers one of the most simple-to-use online course builders in the market. Add to that the sales pages, course management tools, flexible delivery options, and community support, and you’ve got yourself a robust online course-selling platform.
Pros:
- Support for live courses.
- Content delivery network (CDN) with video and audio hosting options.
- Support for self-directed courses and content drips.
- Online community forums.
Cons:
- The feature list is not as extensive as some of the other entries on this list.
- Premium plans are on the costly side.
You can try Ruzuku for free, but the premium plans start at $99 a month, and there are some additional pricing plans, as well.
#12: Mighty Networks
As its name implies, Mighty Networks’ main focus is its rich community features and emphasis on building networks. It also has a course builder that you can use to create interactive courses for your students.
Pros:
- Affiliate tools for increasing sales potential.
- Support for customized content.
- Analytics dashboard for monitoring course performance and member activity.
Cons:
- Not as feature-rich as some other entries.
- No free plan.
Mighty Network’s pricing starts at $33 per month (when paid annually); you can see additional pricing plans here.
#13: Thrive Apprentice
A great option for WordPress websites is the Thrive Apprentice plugin. This will allow you to build your course from the WordPress back end with an easy drag-and-drop course builder.
Pros:
- Built-in automation tools.
- Customizable templates and multimedia format support.
- Flexible delivery options for your course.
- Conditional display options.
Cons:
- Needs to be self-hosted.
- WordPress is a prerequisite.
Thrive Apprentice starts at $99 per quarter, with other pricing options based on your requirements.
#14: Systeme
If you’re looking for an all-in-one marketing solution that you can also use to build and create your online course then Systeme fits that bill quite well. Pair that with Systeme’s powerful funnel builder features and you’ve got a pretty decent overall package.
Pros:
- Robust tools for marketing and sales.
- Feature-rich funnel builder.
- Drip courses and automation tools.
Cons:
- Performance in the app can be improved.
- Course-building features are quite basic.
You can get started with Systeme for free and get additional functionality starting at $27 per month.
Conclusion
When choosing an online platform, you as a creator must evaluate the learning and engagement tools offered, support for different types of media, marketing tools, integrations, and discoverability of the platform, in addition to the price and usage caps.
What are some of the features you look for in an online course platform? Let us know in the comments below!
