Are you looking for the best platform to create and sell your courses? I have got you covered. In this blog, I have listed the top platforms for creating and selling online courses, along with their key features and pricing.
Online learning is booming, and more people are creating and selling their own courses online.
Let's take a closer look at the platform list.
List of Platforms to Sell Tech Courses
So, to sell a course, you need the right platform that supports high-definition video, text, PDF downloads, code highlighting, and more.
Also, you need a good payment gateway integration, email marketing, good user experience, etc. This way, you can actually focus on actual content creation and not worry about managing the platform itself.
Trust me on this. I have tried running my self-managed learning platform, and most of the time it ended up in the administrative aspects rather than in actual course creation.
Considering all the above, I have listed the top managed platforms you can use to host and monetize your courses.
Here is the list.
Nlet'sets look at each platform in a little detail so that you will know which platform suits you the best.
1. Teachable
Teachable is one of the top platforms for creating and selling online courses. In fact, I host all my DevOps courses (DevOpsCube courses ) on the Teachable platform. The ease of use and every feature in this platform are very satisfactory for me.
You can add video, text content, code blocks with syntax highlighting, images, and more.
Overall, here is what you can sell through this platform.
- Online Courses - You can sell online courses in text and video format. Also, you can provide quizzes, and learners will get mobile access.
- Coaching - You can coach anyone on a one-on-one call or in group sessions. You can schedule the call and manage payments directly within the platform.
- Digital Downloads - You can sell templates, guides, and resource materials.
- Membership - Start your community with subscription models.
According to the Teachable report, this platform is used in over 180 countries, serving more than 100 million students, and with Teachable and Hotmart, overall creators have earned over $ 10 billion.
Key Features of Teachable
The following are the features you will get on Teachable.
- You can publish 5-100 products based on the plan you choose.
- You can create unlimited product drafts.
- You will get support from Teachable AI to create your products a little faster.
- Students or learners will get access to iOS & Android apps.
- Available for global payments and taxes.
- You can provide an affiliate program for your product.
- Provide course certification for completion.
- You will get live chat support.
- Get custom domain permissions.
- Get free subtitles and translations and unlimited integrations.
Teachable Pricing Plans
The table below contains the monthly and annual pricing of Teachable.
| Plan | Monthly Plan | Annual Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Builder | $29 | $69/Month |
| Growth | $63 | $139/Month |
| Advanced | $133 | $309/Month |
2. Thinkific
Thinkific is an online hosting platform offering a range of solutions to sell online. Unlike LearnDash, you can host and handle everything in it.
This is also called an all-in-one platform. In this platform, you can create courses, host videos, accept payments, manage students, and maintain your entire learning academy in one place.
This platform is best for non-tech people, coaches, educators, creators, and businesses.
Thinkific Features
Let's look into what features you will get on this platform.
- You will get unlimited live events and coaching sessions with Zoom integration.
- Get unlimited courses with video lessons, quizzes, and student discussions.
- Includes five digital downloads, which may be e-books, templates, etc.
- You can customize the site design using HTML and CSS.
- Get advanced sales tools to improve the purchase of your course.
- You will get a reporting and analytics dashboard.
- You can create a custom domain for your brand, and more.
Thinkific Pricing
The table below contains the monthly and annual pricing plans offered by Thinkific.
| Plan | Monthly Plan | Annual Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $49/Month | $36/Month |
| Start | $99/Month | $74/Month |
| Grow | $199/Month | $149/Month |
| Thinkific Plus | Custom | custom |
3. Podia
Podia is an all-in-one platform for creating and selling digital products, including courses, digital downloads, coaching, services, webinars, community, and an online store.
On this platform, you can host, do email marketing, and use the site builder to make the process of selling your products easy.
If you are a coach, creator, or educator who doesn't want to manage multiple tools, but only wants to focus on content, then this platform will suit you.
Podia Pricing
Here are the pricing and plans of Podia. You will also get a 30-day free trial for both plans.
| Plan | Monthly Plan | Annual Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Mover | $39/month | $33/Month |
| Shaker | $89/month | $75/Month |
4. Kajabi
Kajabi is also an all-in-one platform where you can create and sell digital products such as, courses, coaching, podcasts, memberships, communities, newsletters, and digital downloads.
On this platform, you will also get a website builder, course delivery system, email marketing, sales funnels, and payments.
Also, get Kajabi AI features to reduce your creation time and get 24/7 customer support
Kajabi Pricings
Here are the monthly and annual pricing of Kajabi. I recommend you choose Kickstarter if you are new to online business.
| Plan | Monthly Plan | Annual Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Kickstarter | $89/Month | $71/Month |
| Basic | $179/Month | $143/Month |
| Growth | $249/Month | $199/Month |
| Pro | $499/Month | $399/Month |
5. LearnWorlds
Source: LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds is a cloud-based learning management system (LMS), and it is an online course platform to create, sell, build a website, and manage students.
You can also provide videos, quizzes, and assignments, and you can brand your site rather than just hosting the course.
It is built specifically for course creators with an AI-powered LMS.
LearnWorlds Features
Lets look into the best features of LearnWorlds.
- You can create unlimited paid courses.
- You will get to create an eBook page builder.
- Get the option to conduct exams and quizzes for the learners.
- You can schedule or conduct 1:1 and group sessions.
- You can conduct live classes and webinars.
- Get interactive videos with AI, and more
LearnWorlds Pricing
The following table contains the pricing plans of the LearnWorlds platform. Note that, for High volume & Corporate plans, you need to contact their sales team.
| Plan | Monthly Plan | Annual Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $29/Month | $24/Month |
| Pro Trainer | $79/Month | $143/Month |
| Learning Center | $299/Month | $249/Month |
| High Volume & Corporate | Custom | Custom |
6. Udemy
Udemy is free to create and host your course online. You don't need to pay any cost to publish your course. You can upload videos, quizzes, and other materials.
So, Udemy will handle the hosting, and it also provides the built-in marketing and promotion tools. You just focus on managing and creating content.
If you publish a paid course, then some percentage of the sales revenue will go to Udemy. (You can publish a free course as well)
But in the free course, you can upload only 2 hours of video course, students won't get a completion certificate, and access to the Q&A function.
If you want to know more about Udemy, here is the official document on why to teach online with Udemy.
7. BuddyBoss
BuddyBoss is a WordPress platform which will helps you to build online communities, membership sites, and online courses. Also, it is a cloud-based platform.
Many creators, coaches, course builders, and community brands use BuddyBoss because it lets you create a private social space without depending on platforms like Facebook Groups.
BuddyBoss is known for four things:
- Community Features: You will get activity feeds, profiles, private messaging, member connections, groups, and forums.
- Course & Membership Integration: It will work with LearnDash, LifterLMS, TutorLMS, MemberPress, and WooCommerce.
- Customization: You will get total control over themes, layouts, branding, and design.
- Mobile App: BuddyBoss App lets you publish your own branded mobile app for iOS & Android.
BuddyBoss Pricing
BuddyBoss offers six plans in total, three for the web and three for the mobile app. Let’s break down the pricing and plans in a separate table.
First, lets look into web plans.
| Plan | Pricing |
|---|---|
| Pro | $399/Year |
| Plus | $599/Year |
| All-In-One Bundle | $4,999/Year |
Now, the following table contains the mobile app plans and pricing.
| Plan | Pricing |
|---|---|
| App Monthly | $219/Month |
| App Annual | $179/Month |
| All-In-One Bundle | $4,999/Year |
If you want to know the features of each plan, here is the detailed pricing and features of BuddyBoss
8. LearnDash
LearnDash is a premium WordPress plugin that functions as a learning management system (LMS) for creating and selling online courses. You can create a course in it, only if you use WordPress, and it is a cloud-based hosting solution.
Features of LearnDash LMS
- You will get a drag-and-drop course builder.
- Get the AI course builder outline and quiz builder.
- You can easily manage the assignments
- You will get team collaboration tools.
- Get to sell course subscriptions, memberships, bundles, and one-time purchases.
- You will get the integration of PayPal and Stripe.
- Add-on marketplace and more.
LearnDash LMS Pricing
LearnDash LMS does not offer a monthly plan. So, lets look into the annual plan of it.
- For 1 site - $199/year
- For 10 Sites - $399/year
- Unlimited - $799/year
If you plan to use the LearnDash plugin on a single site, the $199 plan is sufficient. If you have multiple sites, consider opting for 10-site or unlimited plans.
FAQs
The following are the common questions people often ask about platforms for hosting online courses.
1. Which platform is best for beginners to sell courses?
Teachable and Thinkific are the best for beginners to create and sell online courses and digital products.
2. Where can I host my own online courses?
You can host an online course on Teachable, LearnDash, Thinkific, Podia, Kajabi, or LearnWorlds. These are the best platforms that I personally know for hosting online courses.
3. What is the best platform for creating and selling online courses for creators?
Teachable is the best platform for creators to create online courses. We created DevOpsCube courses on Teachable. We find this to be a definitely worthwhile platform for creating and selling courses.
Conclusion
The global creator-economy market is expected to grow around US$528.39 billion by 2030 (CAGR ~22.5%)
You can be a part of it by monetizing your skills through courses.
The platforms listed in this guide will help you with that. You create the content, and let the platform handle hosting, payment, etc.
If you are looking for content creation tools, here are some of the best options for engineers.