Online course market is growing year after year and it is estimated that by 2025, it will be worth $325 billion.
Due to social distancing, there’s a huge demand for online learning platforms and online courses.
If you’re ready to tap into this growing market and sell online courses, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, I will explain how to find the best online learning platforms for your digital content and how to start creating and selling your own online courses.
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links for products I use and love. This means if you click on such a link and take action (like subscribe, or make a purchase), I may receive some coffee money at no extra cost to you. This helps me create more content free of charge for you. And, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks for your support!
There are three basic ways to get your digital content online:
- use existing marketplaces like Skillshare or Udemy
- utilize existing learning platforms like Teachable or Kajabi
- start your own learning platforms with LearnPress or LifterLMS
Each of these solutions has its own advantages and disadvantages that I will discuss later, but in any case, online course platforms are browser-based web applications that allow you to:
- create online course landing pages and curriculums
- upload video files and images
- add text and quizzes
- set the price for your courses
- collect payments (one-time or subscription-based fees)
- interact with your students
- provide certificates of completion
In this comprehensive list of 24 best online learning platforms, you will learn how they rank based on:
- features
- pricing
- student experience
- user-friendliness
- customer support
What Are the Best Online Learning Platforms for 2022?
Here are the best online learning platforms for this year:
- Skillshare
- Teachable
- Udemy
- Gumroad
- Podia
- Thinkific
- Kajabi
- LearnWorlds
- LearnDash
- LearnPress
- Ruzuku
- Academy of Mine
- WizIQ
- StackCommerce
- Educative
- LifterLMS
- Udacity
- Treehouse
- Coursera
- PluralSight
- LinkedIn Learning
- Uplyrn
- TutorialsPoint
- Curious
1. Skillshare
Skillshare Pricing:
- Free for teachers who publish their classes to the platform
- Students pay for premium content $8.25/mo with annual plan or $15.00/mo with monthly plan
Pros of Skillshare:
- Active promotion of your content by marketplace itself
- Royalty fee paid each month
- Affiliate fee for every new student you bring to Skillshare
- No upfront payments – free to use
- Teachers do not need to pay for premium account
2. Teachable
Teachable Pricing:
- Free Plan for $0/mo: unlimited students, unlimited courses, $1 + 10% transaction fees
- Basic Plan for $29/mo: 5% transaction fees, 2 admin users, drip content, course builder, members-only community
- Pro Plan for $99/mo: Includes everything from Basic Plan, plus no transaction fees, 5 admin users, advanced reports, and course certificates
- Business Plan for $249/mo: Includes everything from Pro Plan, plus advanced coding customizations, 20 admins, bulk student enrollments, and group coaching calls
Pros of Teachable:
- Unlimited students, courses, bandwidth
- Quizzes
- Custom certificates for course completion
- Custom website themes
3. Udemy
Udemy Pricing:
- Free for instructors who publish their content on platform
- Individual prices for each course for students
- Udemy keeps 63% of revenue if you don’t opt into Promotional Program
- If student uses your coupon code or referral link, you get 97% revenue
Pros of Udemy:
- No upfront cost
- Courses are actively marketed by the marketplace itself
- Affiliate program with 15% commission
- Huge target audience you can tap into
4. Gumroad
Gumroad Pricing:
- 30 cents on each transaction
- the overall fee goes down as your sales grow
Pros of Gumroad:
- No monthly charges, only a small cut of every sale
- Free to start, more you sell, less you pay
- No limit to what you can sell
- No tiered subscriptions, access to all features
5. Podia
Podia Pricing:
- Mover Plan for $39/mo: Unlimited products, customers, sales and files, no transaction fees, 7-days-a-week support via live chat or email
- Shaker Plan for $79/mo: Includes everything from Mover Plan plus 15K community members, certificates and affiliate marketing
- Earthquaker Plan for $179/mo: Includes everything from Shaker Plan plus 100K community members, dedicated support agent and other professional perks
Pros of Podia:
- Unlimited everything
- Zero transaction fees
- Free migration from other platforms
- Custom website on your own domain
6. Thinkific
Thinkific Pricing
- Free Plan for $0/mo: Limited courses, unlimited students, website templates, full e-commerce
- Basic Plan for $49/mo: Unlimited courses, students and content, custom domain, drip content, coupons & promotions, one-to-one student emails
- Pro Plan for $99/mo: Includes everything from Basic Plan plus subscriptions and flexible pricing, certificates, live lessons
- Premier Plan for $499/mo: Includes everything from Pro Plan plus groups, onboarding package, single sign on
Pros of Thinkific
- Free plan for beginners
- Customizable course certificates
- Custom domains
7. Kajabi
Kajabi Pricing
- Basic Plan for $119/mo: 3 products, unlimited landing pages and marketing emails, 10,000 contacts, and 1,000 active members.
- Growth Plan for $159/mo: Includes everything from Basic Plan plus 15 products, 25,000 contacts, and 10,000 active members.
- Pro Plan for $319/mo: Includes everything from Growth Plan plus 100 products, 100,000 contacts, and 20,000 active members.
Pros of Kajabi
- Superb video hosting
- Amazing sales and marketing tools
- Wide variety of built-in features
- Stripe and PayPal integration
8. LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds Pricing
- Starter Plan for $24/mo: $5 fee per course sale, custom domain, unlimited paid courses
- Pro Trainer Plan for $79/mo: Includes everything from Starter Plan plus no transaction fees, unlimited courses and landing pages
- Learning Center Plan for $249/mo: Includes everything from Pro Trainer Plan plus full white-label options, bulk user actions
- High volume & Corporate: If you have special requirements, you can contact sales department and discuss a deal with custom features
Pros of LearnWorlds
- Interactive videos
- Downloadable attachments
- Custom domain and white-labeled content
- Certificates of completion
- Integration with social media
9. LearnDash
LearnDash Pricing
- Basic Plan for $159: 1 site license, unlimited courses and users, drip-feed lessons, advanced quizzing, certificates and badges, course forums, 1-year support and updates
- Plus Package for $189: Includes everything from Basic Plan plus 10 sites licenses and ProPanel
- Pro Package for $329: Includes everything from Plus Package plus 25 sites licenses
Pros of LearnDash
- Sell courses on your WordPress website
- Unlimited everything
- One-time price
- Demo site templates
10. LearnPress
LearnPress Pricing
- Free version: unlimited courses and students, course reviews, BuddyPress integration, offline payments
- Pro Bundle for $249.99: Includes everything from free version plus premium add-ons like frontend editor, assignments, gradebook, drip content, WooCommerce integration, certificates, paid memberships
Pros of LearnPress
- high-quality, yet always free plugin
- most important features included in free version
- 8 free add-ons
- 17 paid add-ons in Pro Bundle for one-time payment
- 14 languages
11. Ruzuku
Ruzuku Pricing
- Bootstrapper Plan for $74.75/mo: single instructor, unlimited courses, students, videos, audio and data hosting, 0% transaction fees, PayPal and Stripe support, basic commerce with coupons.
- Up-and-Comer Plan for $83.08/mo: Includes everything from Bootstrapper Plan plus unlimited webinars, polls & quizzes, subscriptions & payment plans.
- University Plan for $125/mo: Includes everything from Up-and-Comer Plan plus multiple instructors and site managers, your own domain, dedicated account manager.
Pros of Ruzuku
- Unlimited everything (students, courses, videos, audio, hosting data, webinars, polls, quizzes)
- 0% transaction fees
- Comprehensive support
- Your own domain and multiple instructors (with University plan)
12. Academy of Mine
Academy of Mine Pricing
- Essentials Plan for $599/mo: Custom domain, 250 monthly active users, 500 GB storage, 25 B2B groups portal, quizzes, integrated eCommerce, webpage builder
- Professional Plan for $899/mo: Includes everything from Essentials Plan plus 1000 monthly active users, 1 TB storage, unlimited B2B groups portals, single sign-on
- Enterprise Plan for custom price: Includes everything from Professional Plan plus unlimited custom features on demand, full scale migration from existing LMS, dedicated account manager
Pros of Academy of Mine
- Custom domain
- Quizzes, assignments, surveys and evaluations
- Integrated eCommerce
- Live webinars
- Webpage builder
13. WizIQ
WizIQ Pricing
- Starts from $25/mo when billed annually
- All plans priced individually
- Pay-per-Use: per minute pricing
- Enterprise: for institutions
- Professional: for individuals
Pros of WizIQ
- Dedicated classroom for each teacher
- Audio and video communication
- Chat, whiteboard and content library
- Screensharing and polling
14. StackCommerce
StackCommerce Pricing
- Individual vendor agreement for promoting content on their multiple online outlets
Pros of StackCommerce
- Tools for publishers, media sites and influencers
- Custom commerce content
- Paids ads and shoppable emails managed by Stack
- Expert guidance and exclusive offers
15. Educative
Educative Pricing
- Free content creation tools for authors, no charge for publishing the course
- 30% sales revenue share
- Students have three plans to choose from, Monthly Plan for $47/mo, Annual Plan for $13.32/mo and Holiday Plan for $11.10/mo
Pros of Educative
- Two ways to publish the course: Created by Contract Author or Managed by Educative
- Early access to upcoming courses
- Completion certificates
- Unlimited access to all content
16. LifterLMS
17. Udacity
18. Treehouse
19. Coursera
20. PluralSight
21. LinkedIn Learning
22. Uplyrn
23. TutorialsPoint
24. Curious
