13 Best Online Course Platforms in 2024 (plus user reviews)
Choosing the best online course platform for your business can be an intimidating task. There are many different options to choose from and it’s hard to know where you should start.
You want to make sure you have a platform that’s not only easy to use for you as a course creator but one that easy to navigate and intuitive for your students.
In this article, I’m going to walk you through some of the options and the best online course platforms available in the marketplace based on my 16+ years of experience as a college marketing professor and online course creator just like you.
Disclaimer: Some of these links are affiliate links, which means I may get a commission if you try them and purchase. However, none of the fees have been increased to compensate me.
What is an Online Course Platform?
An online course platform is a Learning Management System (LMS) that allows course creators (aka teachers) to create, host, and deliver their content to their students.
At the university or high school level, you may be familiar with platforms such as Brightspace, Canvas, or Blackboard.
For online entrepreneurs, the marketplace is full of options where a business owner can host their online course or membership and I will walk you through all your options below.
But, first, let’s talk about the types of online course platforms in this market.
Types of Online Course Platforms
Standalone Course Platform
A standalone course platform is the best option for 90% of online entrepreneurs.
This is a learning management system (LMS) where you create your online course and upload your content to the LMS. You pay a monthly or annual fee for the LMS and you have full control over your course and your marketing.
The primary disadvantage of using an LMS is that you're responsible for marketing your course. That means you need to have a website or simple landing page with your lead magnet and an email service provider to collect names and email addresses.
You will be responsible for building your email list and audience. This can be done through a private Facebook group, social media, and content marketing such as blog posts and podcasting.
The benefits of using an LMS far outweigh the cons especially if you plan to have a sustainable business selling your online course. Outside of your increased profit margin, you also have far more control over your course and branding.
Online Course Marketplace
An online course marketplace is where you upload your course content on someone else’s platform. In this model, you’re just creating the course videos and any supplemental teaching material.
The benefit of launching your course on a marketplace platform is that, for the most part, all marketing is done by the marketplace provider. It’s also a good way to validate a course idea and to build awareness around your course.
The cons of launching your course on a marketplace platform include:
Little to no control over the price of the course could dilute the value of your offering in the market and lower your profit margin.
Instead of the course being associated with your brand and name, it is marketed and branded by the marketplace provider.
You have no access to your customer list or emails which do not allow you to market to them in the future.
Often, there are strict guidelines for course publishing.
You are often only paid a small percentage of the course sale (or none in some cases).
WordPress Plugins
You can also self-host your course on your website with a Wordpress plugin such as AccessAlley.
In this option, you’re not only responsible for creating your course and marketing your course, you’re also responsible for the tech side of hosting your course and anything that goes wrong from a technical perspective.
13 Best Online Course Platforms in 2024:
ThriveCart Learn
ThriveCart Learn is a flexible course platform that is available for free directly within ThriveCart.
It’s easy to connect new students to your course after they have purchased through your sales funnel and they offer unlimited courses and students which many of the other platforms do not.
This past year, I migrated all of my online courses from Kajabi to ThriveCart Learn.
It was a relatively smooth process and allowed me to host my courses and digital products directly in the software I was using as my cart checkout and funnel builder.
The one downside to using ThriveCart Learn is that you will need to host your videos on another platform like Vimeo.
The reviews below are related to ThriveCart cart because ThriveCart Learn that is included for free is a relatively new add on to the product.
But based on my experience in using it for the past year, I highly recommend ThriveCart cart checkout, funnel builder, affiliate platform, and their Learn platform for online courses and memberships.
Kajabi
Kajabi allows course creators to get their course online without the huge learning curve or all of the technical overwhelm.
Kajabi provides a professional platform for you to deliver your online courses and memberships. The biggest downside is the limits they put at the lower plans on the numbers of courses you have (only three products).
There have been complaints about their email system so I recommend using an email service provider like ConvertKit if you use Kajabi as your course platform.
There are three pricing levels for Kajabi:
Basic: $149 per month
- 0% transaction fee
- 3 products
- 3 funnels
- Unlimited landing pages
- Unlimited marketing emails
- 10,000 contacts
- 1,000 active customers
- 1 website
- 1 admin user
Growth Plan: $199 per month
- 0% transaction fee
- 15 products
- 15 funnels
- Unlimited landing pages
- Unlimited marketing emails
- 25,000 contacts
- 10,000 active customers
- 1 website
- 10 admin users
All Basic features, plus
- Affiliate program
- 24/7 Chat support
- Advanced automations
- Ability to remove Kajabi branding
Pro Plan: $499 per month
- 0% transaction fee
- 100 products
- 100 funnels
- Unlimited landing pages
- Unlimited marketing emails
- 100,000 contacts
- 20,000 active customers
- 3 websites
- 25 admin users
All Growth features, plus
- Custom Code Editor
Capterra User Reviews/Pros and Cons
Teachable
Teachable is popular online course platform that allows you to take what you know and share it with others. This online platform is simple to use both as a course creator and a student.
Teachable provides a webinar that shows you exactly how to build your online school and craft your course to sell.
Teachable offers a free plan that you can try it out and start earning before you pay. This plan includes:
- $1 + 10% transaction fee
- 1 published product of each type (course, coaching, downloads)
- No-code course builder and web pages
- Student referrals
- teachable:pay with integrated payment processing
- 1 admin & author seat
In addition to their free plan, they offer three other plans that can grow with your online course business.
Capterra User Reviews/Pros and Cons
Thinkific
Thinkific is great for beginner course creator and they offer a free plan which allows you to play around with their platform and learn how it works. Thinkific provides users with an opportunity to craft their content, tailor it to their brand, upload and sell with ease.
You can test-drive Thinkific for free and begin building your first online course and community today!
Thinkific offers four pricing tiers:
$0 Free
Basic -$49
Start - $99
Grow - $199
Capterra User Reviews/Pros and Cons
LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds' course platform is affordable, and the basic features are numerous. They include unlimited courses, branded themes, coupons and upsells, video library, quizzes, assignments, exams, many others. To make the platform even more useful, LearnWorlds has added four new incredible features that include the following:
- Payment Sections
- Popup Builder
- Boosted Email Integrations
- Bulk User Actions
Capterra User Reviews/Pros and Cons
Podia
Podia makes getting your online course set up and ready for selling easy. It is an all-in-one platform and makes it easy for you to replace the following:
- Website
- Blog
- Landing Pages
- Digital Downloads
- Online Courses
- Community
- Email Platform
- Affiliate Marketing
- Messaging
Podia has three pricing tiers and the best news is you can get started for free with a website, a community, one download and one coaching product. You can then get started with creating a draft online course so you can upgrade your account when you’re ready to sell.
Their next level pricing is $39 per month and includes no transaction fees, unlimited downloads, unlimited coaching, and unlimited courses.
Capterra User Reviews/Pros and Cons
MemberVault
MemberVault is an all-in-one place access online course platform with the only exception of needing an email provider. They make it easy to start selling your course from the beginning. You can test out their software with a 14-day free trial offer.
Starting Out Option: $19/Month
5 available products
Unlimited members
Unlimited pages/posts
0% transaction fees
100% ownership of content
Room to Grow Option: $49/Month
15 available products
Unlimited members
Unlimited pages/posts
0% transaction fees
100% ownership of content
Grow Together Option: $99/Month
Unlimited available products
Access to all Action Labs
Access to all Sprints
Access to private behind/the/scenes podcast
Priority support
User Reviews/Pros and Cons
Kartra
Kartra is an all-in-one-place course platform with landing pages and websites, webinars, email marketing, funnels and campaigns, affiliate marketing platform, customer help desk, and much more.
They offer three pricing tiers: Starter, Growth, and Professional.
The Starter package is $99 per month when billed annually. It includes:
Contacts (Up to 2,500)
1 language
1 domain
5 team members
The Growth package is $189 per month when billed annually and includes:
Contacts (Up to 12,500)
3 Domains
Unlimited languages
10 team members
The Professional package is $429 per month when billed annually and includes:
Contacts (Up to 25,000)
Unlimited languages
5 Domains
20 team members
Capterra User Reviews/Pros and Cons
Best Options for Using a Course Marketplace
Udemy
Whether you're an entrepreneur, teacher, or someone who likes sharing their knowledge, Udemy is a great place to get started. Their platform is a global learning marketplace and makes it possible for people worldwide to view your course and likewise for you.
It's a place where others can gain skills in business, technology, web development, finance, etc. As a matter of fact, Udemy is the leading platform for learning and acquiring new skills. For example, more than 64 million individuals have enrolled in courses from Udemy.
There is no fee to create and host a course on Udemy, and you can publish as many free and paid courses as you like.
It doesn't cost anything to get started on Udemy. Every time someone enrolls in your course, Udemy takes a percentage cut.
Instructor Promotion
If the instructor promotes her course and the sale is referred by the course creator, she will receive 97% of the sale.
Organic Traffic or Paid Acquisition
When a student finds a course and enrolls without being promoted by the course creator, the instructor will receive 37% of the sale.
Skillshare
Skillshare is a course platform that gives ordinary people who have a passion for teaching an opportunity to share their knowledge. They guide you every step of the way and help you build your first course and grow your audience while you earn money from everyone who watches your training. To make money, you need a minimum of 30 minutes of watched video, and you can only get this through premium membership.
You do not make money from free classes. In the Skillshare model, you get paid when someone watches your training.
Pros
Skillshare is great for course creators who do not have the time to market their online course. To succeed on Skillshare, you’ll need engaging, netflix-like course content so your students watch your videos and complete your course content.
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning is a course platform that has over 21,000 courses from which to choose. When you’re a LinkedIn instructor, your course will be highlighted on their platform to thousands of learners.
To become a learning instructor on LinkedIn, you would need to fill out an application. For more details on how to apply, go here.
You are required to send in a sample video so they can get a feel for your teaching style and presentation. They handle all production for your course and you will be flown to their offices to record your course.
Best Options for Self-Hosting
LearnDash
LearnDash is a WordPress plugin learning management system created by e-learning professionals. They also offer MemberDash which is a WordPress plugin for memberships.
LearnDash offers a drag and drop course builder, course cloning, course creation wizard, badges & certificates, drip feed lessons, and so much more.
The LearnDash plugin has three pricing tiers:
$199 per year for 1 site, #399 per year for 10 sites, and $799 per year for unlimited sites.
The MemberDash plugin pricing is the same and is based on the number of sites you need.
Pros
LearnDash is a WordPress plugin that easy to use, simple to update, add courses, content, and easy on the pocket.
Cons
If you have a membership in addition to your course offers, you will need a MemberDash plugin.
Capterra User Reviews/Pros and Cons
AccessAlley
For those who use WordPress, AccessAlley is a powerful WordPress plugin for scaling online businesses through courses, group coaching, and memberships.
It provides a way to increase engagement, tracks conversions and affiliates, various payment gateways, abandoned cart follow up, cross-selling, tax tracking, coupons, and the ability to set up recurring payments.
They have three pricing tiers can be paid monthly or annually. When paid annually, you get additional savings depending on the plan you choose.
The following payment plans are based on a yearly plan:
1st tier or AccessAlley Essentials is $82 monthly.
2nd tier or AccessAlley Pro is $108 monthly.
3rd tier or AccessAlley Community is $124 monthly.
AccessAlley provides weekly tune-up calls.
In-House Customer Support Team
Step-By-Step Tutorials
Facebook Group
Experts for Hire (Certified)
Capterra User Reviews/Pros and Cons
Choosing the Best Online Course Platform
When choosing the best online course platform for your business, be sure to conduct your research. Consider pricing, functionality, peer reviews, and business needs.
Most course creators select a standalone platform. This allows you to stay in control of your course content and customer information, but at the same time offload the tech headaches to your platform provider.
All of the online standalone platforms allow you to upload video content and supplemental material so you can deliver your course to your students.
Remember this:
“An online course business is 90% marketing and only 10% product creation. ”
This means that your online course platform will not attribute to your success. It will come down to the transformations you provide your students and how well you market yourself and your business.
