skip to content

11 Best Online Course Platforms (Ultimate Guide for 2024)

Online learning is a new trend that we have encountered nowadays. Learning a new skill is no challenge anymore, thanks to all the best online course platforms that open up a whole world of new things to learn. The new lifestyle that we experienced during the Covid years has taught us a lot, and picking up a new skill surely tops the list. Online learning and courses are expected to rise with time and see a figure of $325 billion by 2025. This is why so many people nowadays are looking for the best online course platforms either to upskill or sell their courses to millions of people.

Now imagine, if you as a trainer or course creator can add 0.01% of that value to your number. This is close to 32.5 million U.S. dollars. Well, that’s enough to motivate you to start creating your first course using the best online course platforms.

Choose The Best Online Course Platform

Tool NamePricingFree TrialWebsite
Thinkific$49/month1 Free Account. Visit Here
Teachable$39/month30 days money backVisit Here
Kajabi$149/month14-day free trialVisit Here
Learnworlds$29/month30 days money backVisit Here
Podia$39/month14 days free trialVisit Here
Learndash$159/monthOne time costVisit Here
Ruzuku$99/month14-day unlimited-useVisit Here
Udemy$30/mo7-Days Visit Here
SkillShare$15/mo3 month Visit Here
Linkedin$26.99/mo1 month Visit Here
Shaw Academy$49.00/mo1 monthVisit Here

If you believe that you are an expert in a skill or niche, this is the right time to transform your talent into your profession. And it is so easy! All you need to do is come out of your comfort zone, choose the best online course platform, and create your course outline for people who are ready to learn something that you already know.

The top 7 best online course platforms are good for those who wish to build their courses and allow students to learn from them. In this way, these platforms will help you become an educational entrepreneur.

In this blog, we are also going to suggest mostly student-friendly best online course platforms to help students pick out suitable courses for themselves within their budget. Not only can students learn new skills from these platforms, but also earn certifications to prove their skillset. If you are a student and looking for the best online course platform to learn new skills and technology, we have listed some of the best below.

What Are Online Course Platforms?

Online course platforms are the new technology for creating an online learning experience using a learning management system. Using these best online course platforms, you can share your knowledge and expertise with enthusiastic learners in different formats like video, images, audio, and text.

These platforms will help students learn, take notes, engage with mentors who will make learning easy and fun, and gain skills certification. The course software includes a dedicated fully responsive website experience, easy content uploads, the ability to edit the look and feel of the class, marketing features, course completion certificates, a sales funnel, and more.

Any course creator can sign up on these platforms and create their own courses. Students can enroll in these different courses by paying the fee and starting learning.

Why Choose an Online Course Platform?

As a course creator, you are going to be a mentor to a lot of learners. Your training will reduce their hustling by learning the right path from your course.

Similarly, when you choose these best online course platforms, you will save your time and money in creating your online infrastructure and focus on creating your course. Some other benefits are

  1. You can create your online course website or integrate your course website with these platforms.
  2. Your course gets the advantage of getting promoted in these online course platform marketplaces.
  3. Your course video uploading and management are much easier and less costly than compared to hosting cost that you will have to pay for your own video hosting website.
  4. Collecting payments and setting up membership is much easier when you choose to run your course through these online course platforms.

So, are you confident about choosing a platform? To make this easy for you and to have my personal experience of being a user of such a platform, I have complied and reviewed the world’s 11 best online course platforms for you to get started.

What Are The Types of Online Course Platforms?

Before we talk about the best online course platforms, it is very important to understand the different types of these platforms. Let’s give a quick check.

  • Dedicated Course platform.
  • Online Course Marketplace.
  • All in one Course platform.
  • E-Learning WordPress Plugins or Themes
  • Enterprise LMS Platforms.

Let’s understand these individually

Dedicated Course platform.

These platforms are only meant for the purpose of creating your own online courses. You may use this with the option as a subdomain to your website where you can offer users to log in and browse your learning modules. Online course platforms like Thinkific, Teachable, Teachery, and Learnworlds are some good examples.

Online Course Marketplaces

In a course marketplace, the course you create becomes part of a catalog and you get an existing student base to sell online courses to. This includes Udemy, Skillshare, Coursera, and LinkedIn Learning.

All in one Course platform.

These are online business platforms that go beyond simple course creation functionality.  With platforms like this, you’ll be able to create courses but also run webinars, developer email sequences, and more.   These include Podia, Systeme.io, Kartra, and Kajabi.

E-Learning WordPress Plugins or Themes

Online course WordPress platforms are ideal options for anyone who wants to keep all of their course content within WordPress and these are for folks who likely already have a website.  These include Learndash and Zippy Courses.

Enterprise LMS Platforms.

These are the types of platforms that would be used to help businesses roll out training materials to their staff and are less focused on individual small course creators.  These include Academy of Mine and Wiz IQ.

Plans for the different platforms range from a free plan to about $499 per month and are generally based on the level of features like the number of courses, students, storage space, and so on.  

Some of these course platforms have fees per month, while others have transaction fees for each course sold, and some have a combination of both.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to finding the right software to market and sell online courses, it depends solely on your situation.

What Are the Best Online Course Platforms?

Finding the best online course platforms require a lot of decision-making checks before you choose one. We have made your work easier by listing out the best in the market.

These are some of the best online course platforms to teach your skills to interested students. Here, you can organize and deliver your content and build your student base. Also, you can create membership plans, integrate CMS like WordPress, and e-commerce options, and sell your courses efficiently.

Here are our recommendations in detail for you to choose your best online course platforms.

1

Udemy

Udemy

With over 25 million students already enrolled in over 35,000 mentored courses, Udemy is considered one of the best online course platforms to learn or share learning. If you are planning to be a trainer, then you need to first register as an instructor.

11 Best Online Course Platforms (Ultimate Guide for 2024)

As an instructor, you can start for free, but make sure that your course has a minimum of five lectures with 30 minutes of teaching in each lecture.

Features of Udemy Online Course Platform

Pros and Cons of Udemy

Positive
  • Easy to use and set up for new users.
  • You get access to a huge audience spread across the world.
  • Udemy helps promote and market your courses so that they reach a larger audience.
  • You can get valuable insights about your course.
  • It is very easy to set up and manage your courses and customize your page to attract students.
  • There are a lot of ways to engage your students and keep them interested.
  • Excellent community support and customer support.
Negatives
  • You need to invest in good technical devices.
  • Anyone can create a course on Udemy, so there is a lot of competition as you need to stand out.
  • A fraction of your course fees goes to Udemy, so you do not receive 100% of your revenue.

Pricing

SubscriptionPricing
Personal Plan$9/month
Team Plan$14/person/mo
Enterprise planCustom
2

Thinkific

Thinkific

Thinkfic is a suitable place to be if you wish to start for FREE. It allows you to start with their 30 days free trial with all features to offer, so you can test it out before investing in it.

11 Best Online Course Platforms (Ultimate Guide for 2024)

This is definitely a good start for beginner mentors who wish to start with testing in launching their courses.

In the FREE plan, you get to upload and manage your content hosting. [Audio, video, and PDF]. If you go with building that content course with your own hosting, it would be a huge investment. We would recommend considering Thinkific to start.

With unlimited students, content hosting, and instant access to your funds at zero transaction cost, it is the perfect time to get started for FREE with Thinkific.This is why it is so popular and is considered one of the best online course platforms.

We strongly recommend you give a one-month free trial before you set up your entire course on Thinkific. This is the best option for entrepreneurs, marketers, trainers, and corporate trainers who are willing to create some serious course-selling business. Also, let’s find more of the best online course platforms below to choose from.

Features of Thinkific Premium?

Though you get a bundle of packages with a free plan, it’s obvious that there are a few features that you would love to have. Let’s see what Thinkific has to offer in premium plans.

Pros and Cons of Thinkific

Positive
  • Offers free trial and Freemium model.
  • Provides you with an excellent course builder to curate your course with ease.
  • You can create sales pages simply with drag-and-drop builder.
  • You can enroll unlimited number of students to your courses and also some premium plan lets you create unlimited number of courses.
  • Ample customer support through phone and email.
  • Offers lots of payment methods and subscription options to choose from.
Negatives
  • Does not have its own email marketing platform and relies on third-party integrations.
  • Does not have its own marketplace to help you sell your course.
  • Does not offer a sales funnel builder platforms, you have to rely on other tools and integrations for the same.

Pricing and Plans

SubscriptionPricing monthlyPricing (Annually)
Basic$49/mo$36/mo
Start$99/mo$74/mo
Grow$199/mo$149/mo
3

Teachable

Teachable

Teachable is definitely our top choice for an e-learning course platform. One of the best features that Teachable offers is its Free plan which does not require any card details, and you can get access to a lot of its features for absolutely free. This is what makes Teachable one of the most popular and best online course platforms for selling courses.

11 Best Online Course Platforms (Ultimate Guide for 2024)

Through Teachable, you can join more than 100k+ course creators and start your wonderful knowledge-sharing journey for a large and eager audience.

Features of Teachable Course Learning Platform.

Teachable focuses on telling that this is your show. Just get started without thinking about building infrastructure instead create your course content.

Pros and Cons of Teachable

Positive
  • Beginner-friendly and easy to use.
  • Offers lots of platform support to get your course up and running.
  • Lots of flexibility in payment models and subscription options.
  • You can add enriching features like quizzes, assessments and more to engage your students.
  • Provides you with easy affiliate, coupons, and analytics features.
Negatives
  • Premium plans are more expensive compared to competitors who offer more features.
  • Charges transaction fees on every sale made.
  • Teachers face a lot of trouble in case of platform glitches or internet connectivity issues.

Pricing

SubscriptionPricing (monthly)Pricing (annually)
Free$0$0
Basic$59/mo$39/mo
Pro$159/mo$119/mo
Pro+$249/mo$199/mo
Business$499/mo$400/mo
4

Kajabi

Kajabi

Kajabi is one of the best online course platforms to build a place for selling your course and a few of its smart features make it different from other peers in the same industry. It costs more because you get a complete bundle of core tools and packages in a single dashboard of Kajabi to create your first course.

11 Best Online Course Platforms (Ultimate Guide for 2024)

With more than 18,000 course creators earning almost $957 million through their platform, it is pointless to say that you will not get the worth of your course if done right.

The marketing automation of Kajabi is incomparable. If you are serious about selling your course, Kajabi is one of the leading and best online course platforms to build your course training and entrepreneur lifestyle.

Let’s find out the features it offers.

Features of the Kajabi Online Course Platform

Here are some of the amazing features of Kajabi that make it an awesome online course-learning platform.

Pros and Cons

Positive
  • You can customize the look and feel of your website through drag-and-drop page builder.
  • You can access integrated tools for email marketing and sales funnel.
  • Offers analytics reports to track your progress and growth.
  • Offers various checkout options and payment gateways.
  • You can engage with students through the community platform.
Negatives
  • There are no free plans or trial options.
  • It is a little expensive compared to other platforms.
  • The course marketplace is quite small.

Pricing

SubscriptionPricing (monthly)Pricing (annually)
Basic$149/mo$119/mo
Growth$199/mo$159/mo
Pro$399/mo$319/mo
5

Learnworlds

Learnworlds

Learnworlds is one of the most popular and best online course platforms. You can start selling quickly and monetize your skills.

Learnworlds is the best creative platform for generating engaging student-friendly course content, but if you are looking for a free platform, then Learn Worlds will not fulfill your goal since it starts with a price of 24 USD/month. The first plan has a 5 USD transaction cost on each sale, of course, but plans beyond that have no transactional cost.

11 Best Online Course Platforms (Ultimate Guide for 2024)

You can utilize their sales and landing page builders to create convincing web pages to generate sales from your custom domain websites.

They have easy page builders to customize from the pre-available template that needs no coding knowledge to get your course-selling website live.

Let us look at all the features offered by Learnworlds to know why it is one of the best online course platforms.

Features of Learnworlds Online course platform.

Knowing an overview, it must have compelled you to know about all the features that it offers. Let’s look at them one by one

  1. Get unlimited admin and mentor management systems with higher plans.
  2. No transaction fee for sales that happen.
  3. You get a complete website builder with a blog section.
  4. Unlimited sales page creation.
  5. White label solutions.
  6. Auto transcript and captions for your video tutorial will be present.
  7. Manage your course affiliate.
  8. Single Sign-On (SSO)
  9. With an extra fee, you can get a Mobile app for IOS and Android.
  10. Question bank management.
  11. Scheduled Automated Reports.
  12. Flexible invoicing option.

Pros and Cons

Positive
  • No transaction fees for making sales.
  • Offers a mobile app for iOS and Android with some extra fee.
  • Get unlimited admin and mentor management systems with premium plans.
  • Manage your course affiliate.
  • Scheduled Automated Reports.
  • Provides copyright protection to your course resources.
  • Offers multiple payment gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Shopify, and more.
Negatives
  • Cheaper plans have limited features.
  • The reports and analytics are not very detailed.

Pricing

SubscriptionPricing (monthly)Pricing (annually)
Starter$29/mo$24/mo
Pro Trainer$99/mo$79/mo
Learning Center$299/mo$249/mo
High Volume & CorporateCUSTOMCUSTOM
6

Podia Online Course Platform

Podia

To introduce Podia as the best online course platforms, it is amazing SAAS to get started with no transactional cost and 3 steps easy process to take your course to live.

Learn about SAAS marketing here

Podia is one of the best online course platforms for you if you wish to create a great community along with a membership platform. Also, it offers a powerful affiliate sales system that lets you market your course by approving course-selling affiliate marketers. Managing webinar-based courses is possible with podia which makes it a unique place for living class-based courses, to begin with.

11 Best Online Course Platforms (Ultimate Guide for 2024)

Let’s check out the complete features of Podia.

Features of Podia Online Course platform.

Podia comes with a bundle of features to offer its users. let’s mention all of them for you to choose if it fits best for you.

Pros and Cons

Positive
  • You can manage unlimited number of students and customers.
  • Offers complete website hosting under their plan, so you do not need to buy a separate hosting.
  • Manage any format of course content like video, audio, text, etc.
  • Easy integration with third party tools like Google Analytics, Facebook, Pixel, and more.
  • Get mobile-friendly responsive design customization options.
  • Manage any format of course content like video, audio, text, etc.
  • Supports 11 languages with 22 currency options so you can take your course to international learners.
Negatives
  • Limited customization options.
  • Does not support physical products.
  • Lacks advanced features.

Pricing

SubscriptionPricing (monthly)Pricing (annually)
Free$0$0
Starter$9/mo$4/mo
Mover $39/mo$33/mo
Shaker$89/mo$59/mo
7

Learndash

Learndash

Learndash is a WordPress Plugin that helps you create a learning management system using the WordPress CMS. Some of the big and renowned universities and businesses, like the University of Michigan and Yoast. No wonder it is made a place in our list of the best online course platforms.

11 Best Online Course Platforms (Ultimate Guide for 2024)

Learndash integrates with a Drip email campaign that helps the course creators to push the scheduled course according to your program.

Also, check Best Website Development Software [No Coding Needed]

Let’s look at the key features of Learndash

Features of Learndash Online Course Platform.

Learndash is an amazing, flexible WordPress plugin to create your course platform using WordPress. This CMS itself is so flexible, and using a plugin like Learndash adds more flexible options to create one of the best online course platforms. Let’s see what features it offers.

Pros and Cons

Positive
  • You can use the drag and drop builder to curate your course page.
  • Use advanced quizzing methods to engage your students.
  • Create badges and certification for your students and an awarding system when they complete the course.
  • You can set up one-time purchase with free sample course videos.
  • Learndash offers smart integrations with the best tools to automate your course training program.
  • You can use Learndash across multi-site network.
Negatives
  • Since it is a WordPress plugin, you must be familiar with how WordPress works.
  • No built-in marketing strategy to promote your courses.
  • No free trial.

Pricing

Subscription1 Site10 SitesUnlimited
Learndash Plugin$199/yr$399/yr$799/yr
Memberdash Plugin$199/yr$399/yr$799/yr
Learndash Cloud$299/yr$499/yr$999/yr
8

Ruzuku Online Course Platform

Ruzuku

Ruzuku is not only one of the best online course platforms for helping you create a course for your students, but it is more than a team for them.

11 Best Online Course Platforms (Ultimate Guide for 2024)

With smart features of integration and course creation, it is one of the kind to manage your course content in the video, audio, or text format for learners.

Let’s learn why Ruzuku is one of the best online course platforms.

Features of Ruzuku Online Course Platform.

Pros and Cons

Positive
  • You can schedule free courses.
  • Offers an impressive feature of scheduling courses according to the calendar.
  • Allows email marketing integrations for better promotion of your course.
  • Drip content course management is available.
  • Accept payments from gateways like PayPal and Stripe.
  • Easy hosting of video and audio content.
Negatives
  • Offers limited customization options.
  • Yiu can host telecommunications and webinars with only a limited number of students.

Pricing

SubscriptionPricing
Free$0
Core$99/mo
Pro$199/mo
9

Skillshare

Skillshare

Skillshare is the most creative and one of the best online course platforms to teach or learn anything. Here you can find courses from any field and industry. Fine arts, cooking, technology, anything that you can think of learning.

With over 6 million registered students, skillshare is loved both by learners as well as mentors.

11 Best Online Course Platforms (Ultimate Guide for 2024)

Skillshare is a free platform for course creators. They have a revenue-sharing model for mentors when their courses reach a defined number of watch minutes. They also pay 10 USD for premium membership referrals.

Features of Skillshare

Skillshare is unique in offering services and support to course creators as well as buyers. If you have a unique concept, course, or subject to teach your learners then Skillshare is best for you.

Skillshare is best for you only if you have an out of box concept of course to teach as the revenue sharing model for beginner mentors can be very less.

Pros and Cons

Positive
  • You can reach a large audience of vivid learners
  • It is easy to create your account and get started with, no need of any application or approvals.
  • Provides free course hosting.
  • Lots of plan models to choose from.
  • Instructors can earn through royalties and referral programmes.
  • Allows you to share a free access link to others to watch your course for free.
Negatives
  • Does not provide any automation and marketing tools.
  • Instructors have to abide by several strict rules failing which their account can get terminated.
  • Limited options of earning through courses.

Pricing

SubscriptionPricing
Skillshare for Teams (2-49 seats)$159/seat annually
Skillshare for Teams (50 or more seats)Custom
10

LinkedIn Learning Online Course Platform

LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn is considered a social media platform for professionals by a lot of people, but this is way beyond just social media. If you don’t know about LinkedIn learning which is one of the best online course platforms, then go ahead and see what you are missing.

11 Best Online Course Platforms (Ultimate Guide for 2024)

LinkedIn Learning is tailored for business and professional learners. With a full learning path and courses to cover top-demand skills like data science, digital marketing, etc, LinkedIn is one of the best online course platforms to opt for courses, and learn and enhance your professional skill sets.

Features of LinkedIn Learning

Pros and Cons

Positive
  • You can reach a huge audience base spread worldwide.
  • Easy to build your course through customizable templates.
  • Constant support and insights from the LinkedIn team.
  • Lots of tools and features to engage with and keep them interested.
  • It is an excellent platform for learners to pick up a new skill and earn certification.
Negatives
  • Very limited course options and most courses are focused in professional development.
  • Video autoplay function glitches sometimes.
  • There are some outdated content on the platform.

Pricing

SubscriptionPricing
Individual (1 course)$20-$50
Monthly Subscription$39.99
Annual Subscription$328.88
11

Simplero

Simplero

Simplero is an all-in-one platform that provides several services like marketing, website building, sales funnel, and more. Through Simplero, you can build your website, market and sell products, build your courses, create an online community, and many more things to simplify and manage your business.

11 Best Online Course Platforms (Ultimate Guide for 2024)

Besides physical products, you can sell digital products through Simplero as well. From online courses, audio recordings, and downloadable PDFs, you can sell them all online. Such a model can benefit people from various industries, like health and fitness trainers, life coaches, course teachers, and spirituality and wellness coaches. Through Simplero, you can educate, engage, and attract your clients simply and create a profitable business. This is why it is considered one of the best online course platforms and is preferred by several learners and instructors worldwide.

Key Features of Simplero

Pros and Cons

Positive
  • You can build your website and get started easily.
  • Build your landing pages and blog with customizable templates.
  • Additional email marketing and automation tools.
  • Customer insights provide you with a better understanding of your target clients, their expectations, and preferences.
  • Excellent customer support.
Negatives
  • Steep learning curve for beginners.
  • Templates could be better and more customizable.

Pricing

SubscriptionPricing
Starter$59/mo
Scale$149/mo
Skyrocket$249/mo

Frequently Asked Questions About Best Online Course Platforms

Which are the best online course platforms in 2024?

In this blog, we have especially focused on the 11 best online course platforms of 2024 that are suitable for both learners as well as instructors to sell their courses. These platforms are Udemy, Thinkific, Teachable, Kajabi, Learnworlds, Podia, Learndash, Ruzuku, Skillshare, LinkedIn Learning, and Simplero.

How much money do online courses make?

Your online course could earn anywhere from $0 – $50k+ per month. Many course creators will earn $1 – 5k/month and there are numerous examples of online course teachers earning $10k – $50k per month.. There are lots of factors that will determine how much you can earn by selling online courses.

Do you need a business license to sell online courses?

When you have started new and testing your market with the course you created, you won’t need a license but if you are showing yourself as a business entity then do get your business license.

Final Thought

The best online course platform has to be good for both students and creators. These platforms are like big marketplaces for educators, where everyone is exchanging knowledge. It has to be good from both ends.

We reviewed 11 online course platforms and found that these places have distinct features and benefits for both learners and teachers. For students, it is important to choose a platform that is more recognized and offers certification of courses that are internationally accredited. Meanwhile, course creators should choose an online course platform that allows them flexibility in creating their courses.

Our recommendation for creators: the best 3 are Thinkific, Teachable, and Kajabi to begin and enjoy the big opportunities, but the other 4 recommendations on the list are equally good.

Our recommendation for students is to start with Udemy as it is very student-friendly and affordable.

In the end, we can only say, look for what you want and choose the one that fits your needs. Happy Learning!

Chief Saasologist
Chief Saasologist

Myself Snehil Prakash aka Chief Saasologist of Howtobuysaas. I am a saas marketer, who loves studying evolving software that is bringing change to the world. Share the same with people via howtobuysaas platform.

2 Comments
Show all Most Helpful Highest Rating Lowest Rating Add your review
  1. What’s up, yeah this post is actually good
    and I have learned lot of things from it on the topic
    of blogging. thanks.

Leave a reply

How To Buy SaaS
Logo
Compare items
  • Total (0)
Compare
0
Shopping cart