7 Best Platforms To Create and Sell Online Courses Reviewed

Have you been searching for the best platform to create and sell your online courses? I do not envy your situation because there are so many solutions available, it feels overwhelming. 

As someone who has been trying to catch up with them, I created a list of top course platforms. To give you a well-rounded review, I also interviewed real creators who use these platforms daily. For years, at that! They shared unique insights on what they love, what frustrates them, and what they wish they knew before getting started.

Plus, the article includes reviews from other users to cover every perspective. So, set up your timer; we will find you the best course platform for your needs in less than 15 minutes. 

What makes an online course platform best 

When it comes to online course platforms, you can never find one solution that fits everybody’s needs. Some of us prioritize the ease of use, and some others pay more attention to functionality. But you can find too many online course platforms that share the main features, right? 

That is why you also want a platform where you can not only sell online courses but enjoy the experience with the tool as well. For this exact reason, when narrowing down the initial list of “best online course platforms,” I selected the following judgment criteria:

• What kind of experience do users share when they speak about that platform?
• Do reviewers think that the platform is the best value for its money?
• Are there many options for you to make your course content diverse (not to make it just video, or add a quiz that can be limited to just multiple choice)
• What opportunities are there for you to market your course easily? 
• Can you scale with the tools provided and the limitations imposed? 

If you have never previously tested any of the online course platforms, I recommend checking out this video, where we discuss what you should pay more attention to. 

In case you want to see how these course platforms compare, Uteach has created a comprehensive resource. On the comparison page you can pick your favorites among 50+ platforms available and see which option wins. 

These are the nine best I picked for today’s article based on the criteria mentioned above:

Uteach 

If you decide to start your course business where your income is not limited to just selling online courses, Uteach is all you need. Here, you can also sell coaching programs, digital downloads, communities, and physical products like your books. You can even bundle everything up and sell together. 

Once you join Uteach, you can choose many of the available website templates for your specific niche and customize every detail. This is a 100% white-label course platform, meaning that you can establish your own brand, and no one will ever know you build it with Uteach. 

To help you create courses easily, the platform suggests you start with AI tools. You can generate your course by starting from the course idea itself and moving to the outline and course description. Creators can make their courses interactive by including multimedia like videos, texts, audio, files, forms, quizzes, etc. There is also an opportunity to customize the learning experience as you control how the students can interact with your course content. After the students successfully pass the course, they can receive automatically generated certificates. 

Connection with students is easy as well. You have your CRM system at your disposal and can send automatic messages and reminders to your students or engage with them in communities. 

Creators at Uteach can sell their courses due to

• Integrated tools for email marketing
• Built-in SEO functionality
• Offers like coupons, bundles, memberships 
• Sales pages and landing pages
• Flexible pricing options, like charging a one-time fee, creating plans, making a discount
• Affiliate Program

Among online course platforms (not only the ones included in this list), Uteach also has the most options for payment gateways. This means that creators are not limited to popular methods and can find a payment provider commonly used by them and their students. 

Also check: Uteach Review

What users think 

I interviewed one of the creators at Uteach, Angel Rodriguez, who is the founder of Alliance Training and Testing. This is what he shared:

“I've used other popular platforms. I've used at least five of them, and I can tell you that Uteach is by far my favorite. One of the biggest things for me that brought me to Uteach was the ability to blog right there on the site. That is a huge difference-maker. A lot of the other platforms don't offer that at all, and the social aspect is the way that you bring your customers into your particular online course that you're trying to create.”

Angel Rodriguez

Trainer, creator

Uteach has a rating of 4.7 on Capterra, where it is mostly described as an affordable solution with a clean UI.

Pricing 

Speaking of affordability, you can start building courses on Uteach on the free plan. The first paid plan starts at $39. The pricing is flexible, as all the features are included in all the plans. So, you do not have limitations based on the plan you are using. 

Teachable 

Teachable is another popular solution among course creators that is worth the hype. It allows users to create and sell coaching, courses, and digital downloads. You can also monetize your knowledge by setting up memberships and communities. 

The type of course content creators can add to make the curriculum diverse includes images, videos, banners, code embeds, resources, and PDF files. As the course is created, it allows you to completely customize the checkout experience. 

With Teachable, you can have flexible pricing and set your course as free, one-time-fee, plan-based, or subscription-based. Also, if you happen to already have a website elsewhere, Teachable allows you to sell the courses created there on the external website. 

With the Teachable sales funnels, users can upsell and use order bumps to the course purchases. So, when students are at checkout, there is an opportunity to add additional products or be directed to your post-purchase offer. 

Teachable has native email features so the users can email the students directly. 

Pros

• Automatic tax handling for countries like the US, Canada
• Buy Now Pay Later payment options
• Integrations with popular third-party tools, like marketing, CRM, and analytics tools

Cons

• No branded mobile app is available
• Limited design options for the website

Also check: Teachable Review

What users think 

I also happened to interview one of the former Teachable users, Auret Esselen. She is the founder of Essetino Media. Here is a snippet of an experience she shared in a private interview:

“Teachable is super limited with customization - that's why we ditched it a while back and moved to Kajabi. Not sure if they've changed since then, but I know a lot of people aren't happy with Teachable because they recently changed their payment plans, offering you to have fewer products for a higher price.”

Auret Esselen

Creator, YouTuber

And when I checked review platforms like G2 and Capterra, most of the reviewers found the solution flexible. They think starting to create online courses with Teachable is easy. 

Pricing 

Teachable has a free plan available. The Basic plan starts at $59/month. It includes 5% commission fees. You can only create five courses or products within the Basic plan. For its price, the plans include too many limits. 

Udemy 

For creators looking for simplicity, a broad audience, and minimal upfront investment, Udemy is a top choice. Why? Because Udemy is a huge marketplace for online courses. Udemy now has over 75000 instructors that offer courses in about 75 languages. 

If you want to test the waters, you can start selling courses on this marketplace. Creators who sell courses via Udemy can sell pre-recorded video courses. There are course guidelines you need to follow regarding the content quality, length, and pricing for your course to be approved for sale.  As part of the curriculum, it is possible to include Q&As, quizzes, and lectures. 

At first glance, marketplaces seem more appealing than self-hosted platforms (like the other ones we have on the list). You have access to a large student base, after all. The catch is you have no access to their contacts. 

Also, Udemy also has an internal course promotion system. During the first 60 days, your course will appear on the Insights page or on the search list. But you also do not know how the algorithms actually work. 

The way you earn money from your course sales on Udemy depends on how the student found the course. For example, Udemy keeps 63% of the commissions if you do not sell it via the referral link. 

Pros 

• Access to an already interested audience
• Flexibility to set the course price (unlike other similar marketplaces)
• Opportunities to create certificates

Cons

• No control over your online course business
• Difficult to sell because of high competition
• Not so many opportunities for course content 

Also check: Udemy Review

What users think 

Udemy users are both students and individual instructors. Some of the reviews by students mentioned that finding the course they need is actually not easy because there is just a lot of minimum-quality content.

As for the instructors, it is, in fact, easy to use. However, they mention you have to sell really lots of courses to make a decent amount on Udemy. 

Pricing 

When students find a course through a direct link from the instructor, creators keep 97% of the revenue, with a 3% transaction fee deducted. For sales generated through Udemy’s marketplace or promotional channels, Udemy gets a 63% commission.

LearnWorlds 

Are you planning to create courses where interactivity and engaging learning experiences are key? 

Then LearnWorlds is the best at that. One of my favorite features is adding interactive elements directly into the video content. You can add questions, buttons, and links that pop up as the video plays, which makes it highly engaging for the students (especially for the younger ones). 

The available course formats help to maintain diversity as well. For example, you can have self-paced courses, drip-feed courses, where content is released gradually, and live classes.

To create an online course, you can use the AI assistant. It does work well when you want to 

• plan the course (you choose the type of content you want to include in there)
• edit content (for example, you have a piece of text that you can generate and rewrite)
• create quizzes (you set the assessment type and details)

Speaking of quizzes, with LearnWorlds, there are so many question types and formats. There is a whole 16 of them. This is great because you do not create multiple-choice or text answers all the time. 

When it comes to selling courses, LearnWorlds does not disappoint. It offers robust e-commerce tools, including customizable sales pages, upselling options, coupons, and affiliate marketing support. 

Pros 

• Opportunities for interactive learning experience
• Around 4000 integrations with popular tools
• Opportunity to have a complete while-label website

Cons

• Basic analytics for student progress and sales tracking
• Only 4 payment gateways
• Email marketing tools are not native

Also check: LearnWorlds Review

What users think 

Remember Auret Esselen from Essetino Media? Well, she had many years of experience not only with Teachable. She shared her experience with LearnWorlds in our interview as well. She also happened to love the website builder and customization options.  

“With LearnWorlds, you can pretty much customize both platforms to your brand easily. I would say LearnWorlds makes it easier because you can set your brand palette in one place, like typography, colors, and spacing. And then use their dynamic templates to create a pro & gorgeous looking site.”

Auret Esselen

Creator, YouTuber 

As for the reviewers (the ones who shared opinions on review platforms), LearnWorlds was a nice solution for hosting online courses. However, some of them did not find community features sufficient. 

Pricing 

At the moment of writing, LearnWorlds offers four pricing options. Their lowest-priced plan starts at $29 per month. It includes unlimited courses, a 3-page website, one admin, and marketing tool integrations. 

Kajabi 

Kajabi claims to be an all-in-one solution for creators. And it really is. On Kajabi, you can create and sell courses, coaching, podcasts, memberships, communities, and newsletters. 

The types of content you can have as part of your curriculum include video, text, quizzes, surveys, and downloads. And the course building is like with most of the platforms. You just use the drag-and-drop builder. Also, there is an AI builder that can create the outline. 

The platform supports self-paced courses, drip-feed content, and memberships. You can also build communities with built-in forums. However, forums are basic compared to dedicated community platforms.

But, this platform is popular mostly because of the marketing and automation functionality. 

Users can build sales funnels and email sequences, which work well if you understand marketing workflows. You build funnels for the specific type of product you want to sell. For example, you could set up a mini course funnel to upsell a premium course. 

For selling courses, Kajabi offers customizable checkout pages, one-click upsells, and coupon codes. On one hand, there is the convenience of having everything under one roof. On the other hand, it costs an arm and leg. But about pricing later. 

Pros

• Ready Marketplace and Kajabi University
• Built-in sales funnels
• Communities to connect with students

Cons

• No branded mobile app
• Not real white-labeling options
• Way pricier than alternatives with similar functionality 

Also check: Kajabi Review

What users think 

Now, let’s hand the microphone to a current Kajabi user who I interviewed, Lauren Wireman. Besides being a coach, Lauren also teaches visual arts. So, you can imagine how much the website’s UI and customization opportunities mean to her. Here is a small snippet of what she shared:

“I like that Kajabi is super customizable for web design. However, I cannot see cover photos on modules in the Kajabi app. That really matters when you teach visual arts.”

Lauren Wireman 

Course creator, coach

And what about other users? Most reviewers mention they are satisfied with their experience with Kajabi. There are even functionalities they keep on discovering after months of use. 

Pricing 

True Kajabi fans say the platform is fairly priced. But let’s look deeper into that first plan. You pay $69/month and are only allowed to sell only one course (or any other digital product). And then you have $149 for just 3 products. 

Thinkific  

Thinkific mostly focuses on online courses. And if you plan to offer pre-recorded courses, you have just that. It offers pre-built course templates for different types, which saves time. Apparently, you can have cohort experiences, live courses, and drip-scheduling. 

Thinkific provides customizable landing pages, checkout pages, and pricing options. It has a good website builder, so you can choose any of the themes and customize pretty much everything. 

When it comes to opportunities to sell the course, Thinkific has order bumps, group orders, and Buy Now Pay Later functionality. It also helps to automate sales flows with emails on abandoned card reminders.

Speaking of emails, email marketing on Thinkific is AI-supported. You can choose the email type, generate it, and set up the sales sequence. 

Pros 

• Intuitive interface for admins and students
• Thinkific app store with 80+ apps (free and paid)
• Automated sales funnels

Cons 

• No blogging functionality
• Most integrations are paid

Also check: Thinkific Review

What users think 

Again, let’s hear from Lauren Wireman, who has been using Kajabi and Thinkific for a while and shared her experience in our interview: 

“I think it's fairly easy to run my coaching business on both platforms.  I actually prefer having separate systems that I can link or plug into my LMS.  It gives me more options to choose what works best for me. As for Thinkific, I like that it has built-in reviews. But, I’m frustrated that I can not customize the Thinkific app more……  I find both Kajabi and Thinkific have things tucked away in hard-to-find places sometimes, and that can be annoying.”

Lauren Wireman 

Course creator, coach 

Let’s see if the reviewers agree with Lauren on this. They describe it as a fun and flexible platform. Reviewers find that the integrations with other software and tools make the platform really efficient. However, the costs are getting higher. Some of them even switched to other solutions with similar functionality. 

Pricing 

Lauren Wireman agreed with most creators, mentioning that Thinkific is “overpriced.” It does not currently offer a free plan. The first paid plan starts at $49/month. It includes unlimited courses, five digital products, coaching, and basic sales tools. 

Podia 

The last platform on our list of best platforms to create and sell online courses is Podia. Podia lets you sell more than just courses. You can offer webinars, coaching, digital products like eBooks, and subscription-based memberships.

If there is one thing everyone likes about Podia, it is the simple design and easy-to-use course-builder. Like many other platforms, Podia supports multiple content types, including video, audio, PDFs, and quizzes. 

Not recently, Podia has put much effort into strengthening its email marketing functionalities. Now, they even have a separate plan for email automation. It has all the features built-in. So you can do the segmentation, use the email templates, include your lead magnets, automate the process, and track the results. 

It also offers flexible pricing, including one-time payments, monthly subscriptions, and installment plans. Creators can earn more on Podia using upsells, bundles, discounts, and affiliate marketing functionality. 

Pros

• Integrations with social media and built-in email marketing
• Easy to create courses according to some users
• Simple UI

Cons

• No branded mobile app is available
• It is not a complete white-label solution

Also check: Podia Review

What users think 

Danie Jay sums up what most reviewers experienced with Podia really well. She has tried Kajabi, Thinkific, and Teachable, and here is what she thought about Podia:

“Podia offers a lot fewer features than Kajabi; for some people, that’s the appeal. It is less overwhelming and a lot more straightforward. What it lacks in features, it makes up for in affordability and simplicity”.  

Danie Jay

YouTube coach 

In fact, most reviewers appreciate Podia for its ease of use. They think the design looks nice and modern. Reviewers also mention it takes less than an hour to launch the course. 

Pricing 

Podia offers three pricing options. Technically, they withdrew their free plan last year. But if you use the Podia Email, you can have it free for up to 100 subscribers. The paid plans start at $39/month, which is relatively affordable. 

Did you make up your mind yet? 

Here you go with the list of best platforms to create and sell online courses. But deciding on which can fit your needs the best is, indeed, a tough decision. To make that decision easier, here is a small checklist for you. 

• When we want to purchase something, no matter what it is, one of the first things we consider is usually the budget. The most budget-friendly and affordable solutions in our list are Uteach and Podia. 
• But it is not only the budget. You want a solution that is also fully functional. From all types of digital products to creating and tools to market and sell them, Uteach provides everything you need. So, Uteach is an all-in-one solution. 
• Next is how you can actually scale with that platform. It is because almost all the platforms price according to how many courses, pages, and products you can have. If you want to create and sell more courses, you have to upgrade the plan. But this is not the case, Uteach. Here, you have unlimited courses and products, and the features are not limited to the plan you use. 
• Also, let’s not forget how you can get paid. You want to start on a platform that has the payment gateway you and your potential students commonly use. Uteach integrates with 30+ payment gateways so that you can easily find what you need. 

If you already have courses elsewhere or need help with setting up, Uteach can help with migration and setup as well. 

Curious to learn more? Book your free demo with our specialist, who will help you start your online course business at the right place.