Udemy is one of the most popular platforms for online course creators. It is popular due to its ease of use, no upfront costs, and other benefits.
However, it still has certain limitations, such as branding and flexibility. Thus, throughout this article, we will review the top 11 Best Udemy Alternatives to help you find the best match for your needs in 2023.
So, if you are ready, let’s start!
The following article covers:
Udemy in a nutshell
First of all, let’s review Udemy in a nutshell.
Who is Udemy suitable for?
Udemy is suitable for online course creators selling pre-recorded courses online. It offers enough flexibility. However, it is limited. For instance, you can’t host live sessions. Thus, it is not suitable for trainers and coaches.
Udemy pros and cons
Let’s briefly overview the main pros and cons of Udemy.
Pros
- Access to a large audience.
- Ease of use. You can easily upload the course you created on the platform and track sales.
- Passive income opportunity, as the courses are pre-recorded.
- Support & resources that allow instructors to create and promote their courses.
Cons
- High competition. Many online couple creators offer courses in similar niches and topics.
- Revenue share. Udemy will take a significant amount from the revenue earned, usually 50% per sale.
- Lack of control. As an instructor, you have limited control over the platform. Thus, any algorithm changes may affect your course visibility and sales.
#1 Uteach
The number one alternative to Udemy is Uteach. Uteach is a potent LMS platform that offers instructors, trainers, coaches, and online course creators various features to start and expand their eLearning business.
Pros
- Flexibility & control over your business. It offers white labeling features, built-in SEO, and others that allow you to be an independent creator.
- Automation features such as attendance checking, e-mail notifications, messaging, etc., save lots of time.
- Feature-rich. Uteach offers features such as website & course builder, live functionality, local patent gateway, marketing, certification & quiz builder, and integrations with your favorite tools.
- Allows you to sell both physical and digital products.
- You get to keep all your income.
- Free 14-day trial run period available.
- Mobile app.
Cons
- No free plan available.
- No gamification feature available.
Best for
Uteach is incredible automation for everyone in the eLearning industry. It is a perfect fit for online course creators who aim for passive income and for coaches and trainers who host live sessions.
#2 Thinkific
Another alternative to Udemy is Thinkific. It is an online learning management system that comes in handy with useful features for instructors and course creators.
Pros
- Lots of customization options. You can build and design your own website and course layouts and, of course, take advantage of branding functionalities.
- Flexibility
- Competitive revenue share, as Thinkific does not take a percentage from course sales
- Offers a range of advanced features to improve instructors’ and learners’ experience. These features include quizzes, gamification, and certification.
Cons
- Higher pricing than other platforms for course creators
- Limited marketing support
Best for
Thinkific is a perfect fit for instructors who wish for customization options over their courses and those who are willing to invest in their website and marketing.
#3 LearnWorlds
One more good platform for creators is LearnWorlds. It is a feature-rich learning management system. That offers a wide range of features for creators.
Pros
- Branding & white labeling features allow instructors to customize their website fully
- Interactive video player feature that allows instructors to create interactive experiences for students. For instance, you can add clickable links, quizzes, and even pop-ups to the video
- Automated sales funnel feature that allows creators to automate the process of converting leads into real-time paying clients.
Cons
- Pricing plans are costly. Thus, it may not suit beginners in the industry.
- Limited student feedback options are available
Best for
LearnWorlds is perfectly suitable for course creators, trainers, and coaches as well. It offers live functionality within the virtual classroom feature. Its customization and management options allow for a hands-on approach to eLearning materials.
#4 Teachable
Next alternative to Udemy is Teachable. Teachable is an online platform for course creators that offers benefits and features to improve user experience.
Pros
- User-friendly and clean interface that is good for beginner course creators. It also improves the overall student learning experience.
- Marketing tools that allow for better promotion. For instance, instructors can take advantage of affiliate marketing to increase sales of their courses.
- Good customer support
- Variety of learning tools that allow instructors to sell off-the-shelve course content, coaching sessions, one-on-one training programs, and group sessions or programs
- Integrations with various useful tools such as Calednly, Zapier, and Zoom.
Cons
- Limited customization options in terms of branding and design
- Limited support options; for certain plans, there is no phone or live chat support available
- Student engagement tools are also limited compared to other platforms.
Best for
Teachable is a good fit for instructors, coaches, trainers, or course creators looking for a beginner-friendly platform with good marketing features. However, if you are looking for a high level of support and customization options, consider Uteach or Thinkific.
#5 Kajabi
Kajabi is an all-in-one learning platform allowing instructors to convert their knowledge into income. It comes in handy with many useful features that benefit learners and instructors.
Pros
- Many student engagement tools contribute to high knowledge retention and customer satisfaction rates. You can create interactive quizzes, discussion forums, and assessments.
- Powerful analytics and reporting tool, which provides insights into the performance of the courses or other materials, also allows for tracking student progress.
- All-in-one platform, which comes in handy with a range of advanced functionality for course creators
- Automation saves your time on routine and repetitive tasks.
Cons
- Requires a bit more time on the learning curve compared to other platforms due to advances in functionality
- Limited integrations as well as limited payment options.
Best for
Kajabi is a perfect platform for creators who want to monetize their expertise and knowledge. It will allow creating a branded website and start monetization of your skills rights way. However, due to requiring a longer learning curve, it may not be well suited for individuals with no technical skills.
#6 Skillshare
One of the closest to Udemy platforms is Skillshare. However, it also has similar limitations to Udemy. Let’s briefly overview the pros & cons of Skillshare.
Pros
- Emphasis on community-based learning
- Affordable pricing compared to other platforms
- Revenue-based sharing model (instructors earn money depending on how much time premium users spend watching their courses)
Cons
- Course formats are limited. Also, you gain limited control over pricing as it operates similarly to Udemy.
- Revenue sharing model limits your income potential
- Most courses being unaccredited decreases the trust factor
Best for
If you are looking for a platform close to Udemy, then Skillshare is the best alternative. It is best suitable for course creators who earn revenue on passive income and pre-recorded educational content.
#7 Coursera
Coursera is a popular eLearning platform among creators and students. It has a fast loading speed and a good user interface that allows for easy navigation, and it also comes in handy with affordable prices.
Let’s review the primary Pros and Cons of this platform, to better understand whether or not you need it.
Pros
- High trust factor and credibility. It is one of the platforms students & learners worldwide trust most for receiving appropriate and credible training.
- You can create a variety of course formats for your students
- As an instructor, you will gain access to a large student base
- Access to a variety of tools and resources to create and successfully manage courses
Cons
- Limited customization options
- Unsatisfactory revenue sharing model for creators
- High competition on the platform
Best for
Due to offering a variety of course formats, including live sessions and webinars, Coursera is one of the platforms that is ultimately good for trainers, coaches, and course creators. It will allow you to easily start our eLearning business, scale, and reach global audiences.
#8 Podia
Easy to use, a unique and feature-rich platform for course creators. Podia will allow you to manage and sell various digital eLearning-related content easily.
Pros
- All-in-one platform that offers a wide variety of features allowing creators to manage every aspect of their business from one single space
- Wide range of marketing and sales features for better optimization of the processes and higher profit margins
- Affordable pricing for plans
- Lots of customization options
Cons
- Limited analytics
- Not as many integrations with other tools as anticipated
Best for
If you are a creator or a coach looking for an all-in-one solution, then Podia can be a good fit. Its features are enough to start and expand your business while staying in control over every aspect from one dashboard.
#9 TalentLMS
As a cloud-based learning management system, with TalentLMS, you won’t experience any speed-related issues. Let’s review the main pros and cons of this platform.
Pros
- Come in handy with a mobile app, which allows you to provide a learning experience for the student
- Offers a variety of gamification features to take students’ learning experience to a whole new level and increase engagement rates
- Advanced reporting and analytics features will provide useful insights for further improvements
Cons
- Limited community features
- Limited customization features
Best for
TalentLMS is best for employee training. Thus, if you are a career executive or business coach, or trainer, you can consider this platform to sell your training programs.
#10 EasyLMS
Another learning management system you can consider as an alternative to Udemy is EasyLMS. It focuses on simplicity and ease of use. Well, let’s review the pros and cons to understand how suitable it might be for you.
Pros
- Easy to navigate through
- Comes in handy with top-notch features allowing you to provide up-to-date learning experiences for the students
- Easy to use and has an excellent customer support
- Offers branding features that allow you to customize your courses with your brand’s logos and colors
- Powerful analytics and reporting that allow tracking learners’ progress as well as the performance of the course overall
Cons
- Limited support
- Limited customization options for courses
- Not as many integrations as in other platforms
Best for
Course creators, coaches, and trainers who want to set up and start running their businesses quickly will be satisfied with the functionality EasyLMS offers.
#11 eFront
Finally, the last platform we decided to include in our list is eFront. It is a flexible and feature-rich LMS system that provides creators with all the necessary features for managing their courses.
Pros
- Wide range of customization options
- Features such as gamification, quizzes, surveys assignments, and others to create personalized learning experiences
- Secure platform
Cons
- Outdated user interface
- Lack of curriculum enrollment
Best for
If you are a trainer who is looking for a comprehensive platform with a short learning curve, then consider eFront. It is an ideal platform for trainers who want to create engaging and interactive training programs easily.
The best Udemy alternative to consider
These platforms are great. However, if you want to gain the most out of the LMS platform of your choice while the platform is at an affordable price range, then Uteach is the best choice for you.
It comes in handy with lots of automation and marketing features that allow for easy promotion and saves time. With Uteach, you can start and expand your eLearning business in a matter of minutes. So, stop hesitating and get started now.
