Igor BokyAlexey Kramin
9 minutes read
December 10, 2024
Published: July 16, 2024

The Best Platform for Selling Online Courses for Different Niches

Looking to sell online courses? Here's a quick comparison of top platforms:

Platform Best For Key Features Pricing
Kajabi All-in-one solution Marketing tools, email, community $119-$319/mo
Teachable Beginners Easy to use, AI tools, tax handling $0-$299/mo
Thinkific Course variety No limits, customizable $0-$499/mo
Udemy Reaching new students Large marketplace, free hosting Revenue share
LearnWorlds Interactive courses Video tools, mobile apps $24-$299/mo

Choose based on:

  • Ease of use
  • Course creation tools
  • Marketing features
  • Cost
  • Scalability

Each platform has strengths for different course types and business needs. Consider your budget, features needed, and growth plans when deciding.

1. Kajabi

Kajabi

Kajabi is a platform for making, selling, and promoting online courses and digital products. It has many tools to help different types of businesses.

Pricing

Kajabi has three main plans:

Plan Monthly Price Yearly Price (per month)
Basic $149 $119
Growth $199 $159
Pro $399 $319

All plans include:

  • No limits on bandwidth
  • Video hosting
  • No extra fees on sales

Yearly plans cost less than monthly plans.

Features

Kajabi offers these tools on all plans:

  • Course creation
  • Website building
  • Email marketing
  • Sales funnels
  • Quizzes
  • Landing pages
  • Reports on how you're doing

Growth and Pro plans have more tools, like:

Who It's Good For

Kajabi works well for:

  • People who want one tool for everything
  • Those building a brand around their courses
  • Coaches and consultants selling digital products
  • Content makers in business, tech, self-help, and creative fields

Help and Support

The help you get depends on your plan:

Plan Support Type
Basic Chat support
Growth 24/7 chat support
Pro 24/7 chat support with faster help

All plans come with Kajabi University, which has guides to help you use the platform.

2. Teachable

Teachable

Teachable is a platform for making and selling online courses. It works well for different types of courses and businesses.

Pricing

Teachable has four plans:

Plan Monthly Cost Yearly Cost
Free $0 $0
Basic $39 $29/month
Pro $119 $99/month
Business $299 $249/month

The Free plan lets you make and sell courses, but takes $1 + 10% of each sale. Basic plan takes 5% of sales. Pro and Business plans don't take extra fees.

Features

Teachable offers these tools:

  • Course making tools
  • Website builder you can change
  • Payment handling
  • Student management
  • Basic marketing tools

Higher plans also have:

  • Affiliate marketing
  • Better reports
  • Faster help
  • Custom user roles
  • More website design options

Who It's Good For

Teachable works well for:

  • Online teachers
  • Coaches and advisors
  • Experts in a subject
  • Small business owners
  • People in creative jobs

It's good for beginners and big brands alike.

Help and Support

The help you get depends on your plan:

Plan Type of Help
Free and Basic Email help
Pro Chat help
Business More help options

Everyone can use Teachable's help guides and community forums.

3. Thinkific

Thinkific

Thinkific is a platform for making and selling online courses. It works for many types of courses and businesses.

Pricing

Thinkific has five plans:

Plan Monthly Cost Yearly Cost
Free $0 $0
Basic $49 $36/month
Start $99 $74/month
Grow $199 $149/month
Expand $499 $374/month

All plans have no extra fees on sales.

Features

Thinkific offers these tools:

  • Course making tools
  • Community building
  • Video, audio, and file hosting
  • Different payment options
  • Scheduled content release
  • Marketing tools
  • Affiliate program
  • Reports on how you're doing

Who It's Good For

Thinkific works well for:

  • Online teachers
  • Coaches and advisors
  • Experts in a subject
  • Small business owners
  • People in creative jobs

It's good for both new and experienced course makers.

Help and Support

Plan Type of Help
All plans Email help
Higher plans Chat help

Everyone can use:

  • Thinkific Academy (learning guides)
  • Help articles
  • Community forums

Thinkific is known for good help when you need it.

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4. Udemy

Udemy

Udemy is a big online learning platform where people can teach and take courses. It helps teachers reach many students worldwide and make money from their knowledge.

Pricing

Udemy splits money with teachers:

Where the sale comes from Teacher's share
Udemy website 37%
Teacher's own promotion 97%
Udemy Business 20% of total money

Teachers don't pay to make or publish courses on Udemy.

Features

  • Easy tools to make courses
  • Help with marketing
  • Lots of possible students
  • Help for teachers
  • Courses in many languages
  • Phone app for learning
  • Reports on how courses are doing

Good for these topics

Udemy works well for:

  • Computer and coding classes
  • Business classes
  • Self-improvement
  • Art skills (drawing, taking photos, etc.)
  • Learning new languages

It's good for new teachers who want to start teaching online.

Help

Udemy helps teachers in these ways:

  • Online group for teachers
  • Guides on how to teach
  • Email help
  • Feedback on test videos

Udemy has many students, but teachers should know that Udemy controls prices and often has sales. This can affect how much money teachers make.

5. LearnWorlds

LearnWorlds

LearnWorlds is a platform for making and selling online courses. It's good for teachers, business trainers, and experts.

Pricing

LearnWorlds has three main plans:

Plan Monthly Price Yearly Price Extra Fee
Starter $29 $24 $5 per course sale
Pro Trainer $99 $79 No fee
Learning Center $299 $249 No fee

You can try any plan free for 30 days.

Features

LearnWorlds has these tools:

  • Video player with extras like quizzes
  • Works with other course-making tools
  • Make your own phone app
  • Set rules for finishing courses
  • Build a community and add game-like elements
  • Make e-books
  • Change how your courses look

Good For

LearnWorlds works well for:

  • Training workers
  • Schools and online classes
  • Job skills courses
  • Computer and software training
  • Health and fitness coaching
  • Teaching art and creative skills

Help

LearnWorlds offers these types of help:

Type of Help What You Get
Customer Support Highly rated team
Learning Resources Help center, daily online classes
LearnWorlds Academy Learn how to use the platform
Company Blog Tips and updates

Strengths and Weaknesses

When picking an online course platform, it's important to know what each one does well and not so well. Here's a look at the main options:

Platform Good Points Not-So-Good Points
Kajabi - Has everything in one place
- Strong marketing tools
- Good email system
- Community features
- Costs more
- Takes time to learn
- Less flexible
Teachable - Easy to use
- AI tools
- Handles taxes
- Works for teams
- Fees on cheaper plans
- Basic quiz options
- Lacks some student engagement tools
Thinkific - Cheaper plans
- No limits on courses or students
- Can change how site looks
- Free plan option
- Fewer features overall
- Basic selling tools
- Limited marketing options
Udemy - Big marketplace
- Free to host courses
- Students can find you easily
- Basic course-making tools
- Can't set your own prices
- Share money with Udemy
LearnWorlds - Fun video tools
- Can make phone apps
- Protects your work
- Many certificate options
- Clumsy e-book maker
- Fee on cheapest plan
- Can be messy to use

Kajabi is good if you want everything in one place, but it costs more and takes time to learn. Teachable is easier to use and good for teams, but it doesn't have as many ways to engage students.

Thinkific is cheaper and lets you have as many courses as you want, but it doesn't have as many tools as some others. Udemy helps you reach lots of students, but you can't control your prices as much.

LearnWorlds has cool video tools and lets you make phone apps, but its e-book maker isn't great, and it can be hard to find things.

When choosing, think about:

  • How easy it is to use
  • What features you need
  • How much you want to spend
  • How big you want your course business to grow

Pick the one that fits what you need and can afford.

Summary

Here's a simple overview of the main online course platforms:

Platform Good For Main Features Cost
Kajabi All-in-one solution Marketing tools, email, community More expensive
Teachable Easy course creation AI tools, tax help, team-friendly Free plan, some fees on cheaper plans
Thinkific Customizing courses No limits on courses, own branding Free plan, cheaper paid options
Udemy Getting more students Big student base, free hosting Share money with Udemy
LearnWorlds Interactive courses Video tools, mobile apps, content protection Fee on cheapest plan

When picking a platform, think about:

  1. How easy it is to use
  2. What tools you need for your course
  3. How much you can spend
  4. Room to grow your business
  5. Ways to market and sell
  6. How to keep students interested

For new teachers or those with less money, Teachable or Thinkific are good choices. They're easy to use and have free plans to start. Kajabi works well for experienced teachers who want everything in one place. LearnWorlds is great for courses with lots of videos and interactive parts. Udemy helps you reach many students, but you can't set your own prices.

FAQs

What is the best website to create an online course?

The best website for creating an online course depends on what you need. Here are some top choices:

Platform Best for
Udemy First-time course creators, reaching many students
Teachable Building an online school, good marketing tools
Thinkific Easy-to-use interface, many add-ons
Kajabi All-in-one platform, strong marketing features
Podia Selling courses, digital products, and memberships

Which online course platform is the best?

The best platform varies based on your needs. Here are some top options:

Platform Known for
LearnWorlds Interactive features, video tools
Thinkific Many customization options
Teachable User-friendly, AI course creation tools
Kajabi All-in-one solution, strong marketing
Udemy Large marketplace, ready audience

What is the best website to sell online courses?

For selling online courses, consider these popular platforms:

Platform Key features
Thinkific No extra fees, unlimited courses
Teachable Easy to use, free plan to start
Udemy Millions of potential students
Skillshare Good for creative courses
Podia Courses, downloads, and memberships

Pick a platform based on your subject, budget, and needed features to find the best fit for your online course business.

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