11 Best Online Course Platforms in 2025 (I’ve Tried Them All)

The best course platforms to choose

So, I’ve been searching for the best online course creation tool for my new coaching program.

After researching, testing, and comparing various options, I decided to go with Kajabi.

It had everything I needed:

  • An intuitive course builder
  • Native video hosting
  • Community-building tools
  • Email marketing and a funnel builder
  • And the ability to host live sessions which I could use to host live events or 1-on-1 coaching sessions without dealing with the pain of using Zoom.

But I’d be biased in claiming that Kajabi is the non-brainer solution for every creator. While it excels in many aspects, it’s not the best course software for everyone.

However, in my case Kajabi checked the boxes that mattered most to me, and I’ll explain why I chose it later in this post.

But for now, let’s find the right platform for you.

After testing over 20 tools, in this guide I’ll be reviewing the best online course platforms to show you where each excels and falls short so you make an informed decision.

What are the best online course platforms?

Course Platform

Best For

Pricing

Kajabi

Course creators and knowledge entrepreneurs who want an integrated platform for courses, marketing, and sales.

$89 – $399

Circle

Building engaged learning communities with interactive elements.

$99 – $399

Thinkific

Creators and coaches who need a robust, dedicated course hosting platform

$49 – $199

Systeme

Budget-conscious entrepreneurs needing comprehensive digital business tools

$0 – $97

Teachable

Beginners and non-technical course creators

$59 – $249

LearnWorlds

Interactive and SCORM compliant courses

$29 – $299

ThriveCart Learn

Course creators looking for one-time payment instead of subscriptions

One time: $495

Podia

Simplicity and affordability

$39 – $89

GroupApp

New coaches and creators looking to build and grow their knowledge business

$49 – $259

Kartra

Powerful marketing features

$89 – $549

LearnDash

WordPress users who want to keep their courses on their existing websites

$199/year per site

What makes the best platform to create & sell online courses? My research process.

To find the best online course platforms, I had to approach this research as if I were creating my own digital course business or coaching program.

This meant finding platforms that balance functionality, ease of use, and pricing, while also providing a smooth experience for students.

Because let’s be honest—as someone who’s taken plenty of courses myself, I’ve suffered through enough clunky learning systems to know what frustrates students.

For each platform, I set up a course from scratch, uploaded various content formats (videos, PDFs, quizzes), and simulated the enrollment process. 

To ensure a well-rounded analysis, I assessed each platform based on:

  • Course creation features – Does the platform support video hosting, quizzes, drip content, and student engagement tools?
  • Ease of use – How intuitive is the course builder? Can beginners navigate it without issues?
  • Monetization options – Can you sell one-time purchases, subscriptions, bundles, or memberships?
  • Marketing & sales tools – Does it offer built-in email marketing, affiliate programs, or landing pages?
  • Student experience – Is the learning environment smooth, interactive, and mobile-friendly?
  • Integrations – Can you connect it with other tools like payment processors, email marketing software, or analytics?
  • Pricing & transaction fees – What’s the actual cost after factoring in platform fees, payment processing, and add-ons?
  • Scalability – Will the platform still work if your business grows and you need more advanced features?

I tested free trials, reviewed documentation, and analyzed real user feedback to see how these platforms perform in real-world scenarios. 

However, it’s important to note that I didn’t consider platforms that fell under the following categories.

  • LMS platforms: Designed for corporate training or universities—too complex for solo digital creators or small education businesses.
  • Online course marketplaces (e.g., Udemy, Maven, Skillshare): These operate on a revenue-share model. Meaning, they provide a platform to host and sell your course and take a “small cut” of revenue generated. I put “small cut” in quotes because it’s rarely small—Udemy, for example, takes a whopping 63% of revenue for sales through its marketplace. No thank you!

Below is my detailed review for the best platforms to create and sell online courses.

#1: Kajabi

Best all-in-one course platform for coaches and knowledge entrepreneurs.

Kajabi website
  • Best for: knowledge entrepreneurs, creators and coaches.
  • Price: $89 – $399 per month (with annual discounts available)
  • Mobile app: yes (Android & iOS)

In my experience, Kajabi is by far the best online course platform because it offers all the tools you need to build, market, and grow your digital course business. 

Using it, you can create courses, start a community to engage your students, build a website, set up sales funnels, and manage email campaigns—all from a single platform. This eliminates the hassle and expense of relying on third-party tools.

The problem with many standalone course platforms like Thinkific and Teachable is that they focus primarily on course delivery, but lack well-polished sales and marketing tools.

That means, you’ll need additional tools like:

  • Kit for email marketing
  • ClickFunnels for landing page and sales funnel building
  • HubSpot for CRM and contacts management
  • Skool for community building where you can engage your students
  • Zoom for live sessions and group calls
  • Zapier for workflow automation

Over time, managing this software stack not only adds complexity but also increases your expenses. Meanwhile, Kajabi simplifies everything you need to build your digital business in one place.

In addition to courses, Kajabi lets you create and sell other digital products including coaching, digital downloads, community memberships, newsletters, and podcasts, giving you the flexibility to diversify your offerings.

various digital products you can build and sell in Kajabi

Overview of Kajabi’s course design interface and student experience

Kajabi maintains a user-friendly interface despite its comprehensive feature set. The clean layout with tools accessible from the left sidebar makes navigation intuitive.

Kajabi UI

Courses are structured into modules and lessons, with the option to create submodules for more detailed topics.

Modules can be drip-feed based on a student’s enrollment date, letting them learn at a more manageable pace.

In your course lessons you can include various content formats such as videos, audio, text, and downloadable resources. 

For videos, you can upload from your local storage, import from cloud storage (like Google Drive and Dropbox), or record directly within Kajabi.

Variouse ways to add content in Kajabi

Kajabi hosts your videos, eliminating the need for separate video hosting services.

And if your content is already on Wistia, Vimeo, or YouTube, you can add it via an embed code.

From a student’s experience the platform uses the standard course player design—featuring a prominent video at the top with a sidebar displaying the current module and lessons.

Course player design in Kajabi

Kajabi features

  • Live sessions: You can schedule and host live sessions directly within the platform, eliminating the need for Zoom. These sessions can be recorded and repurposed as course materials.
  • Course assessments and certification: Kajabi allows you to add quizzes, assessments, and surveys to your courses. This helps you gauge student progress and gather feedback. Once a student completes a course, you can automatically issue a completion certificate..
  • Full stack marketing tools: Kajabi is a marketing powerhouse which lets you build a sustainable brand around your digital business. You can build a professional website, launch end-to-end sales funnels, build workflows, send email campaigns, and even build checkout systems. It offers native Kajabi payments with the flexibility to integrate other payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal. You can also create an affiliate program for your digital offerings, create coupons, discounts, upsells, order bumps, and bundle various products.
  • Diverse digital products offerings: Kajabi isn’t limited to online courses. You can also sell coaching programs, digital downloads (ebooks, templates), community memberships, newsletters, and podcasts.
  • Creator Studio: Essentially it’s an AI tool that lets you repurpose existing video content into new formats like clips, social posts, transcripts, emails, blogs, and more, in a few clicks. For example, you can clip highlights from webinars or cohort sessions and share them as engaging short videos on social platforms like TikTok, boosting your visibility and extending your reach without extra work.

Kajabi pricing

Kajabi pricing page

Below is a simple price breakdown of Kajabi plans:

  • Kickstarter: $89 per month for 1 product and 1 community
  • Basic: $149 per month for up to 3 products
  • Growth: $199 per month for up to 15 products
  • Pro: $399 per month for up to 100 products

Kajabi pros and cons

Pros

  • Diverse digital product support
  • Comprehensive course assessments
  • Strong website builder and email marketing tools
  • Tons of course and landing page templates
  • Built-in sales funnel builder
  • In-course live streaming support
  • Mobile apps for creators and students
  • Integrated payments and secure transactions via Stripe, PayPal
  •  No transaction fees

Cons

  • Expensive for starters
  • Limited blogging capabilities
  • Limited field forms
  •  No central content library to manage your content

Bottom line: why choose Kajabi for online course creation

Kajabi isn’t the most budget-friendly online course creation platform you’ll find in the market. However, of all the tools I tested including those that claim to be all-in-one course platforms, none came close to the well-roundedness that Kajabi offers. Many of its tools are well-polished and it’s hard finding yourself reaching for third-party solutions to fill functionality gaps.

#2: Circle

Best online course creation platform for building​ community-centric learning experiences.

Circle community and course platform

A community is becoming part of many education businesses. That’s because students no longer want to take a course and get a certificate. 

Instead, they also want an online space where they can connect with like-minded course takers, learn together, and grow. That said, communities can encourage peer learning which can improve course completion rates and knowledge comprehension and application.

When it comes to building community-based learning experiences, no online course platform does better than CIrcle.

Circle is more of a community platform that enables you to create dedicated spaces for courses, live coaching, discussions and exclusive digital resources such as ebooks, templates, audio, and cheat sheets.

Unlike traditional online course platforms, Circle makes the community the central focus of its offerings. Inside your course membership community, you can engage students through discussion boards, group chats, gamified rewards, and live events. 

However, unlike dedicated online course platforms like Thinkific, Circle has limited student assessment tools. Its course builder only supports quizzes. But you won’t have to worry if issuing certificates or advanced student assessments isn’t something you’re looking to do in your courses.

Overview of Circle’s Course Design Interface and Student Experience

In Circle, courses are built around a community experience. Each course exists as its own “Space” within the larger community structure. You can choose from three main course formats:

Circle course types to choose from
  1. Self-Paced – students get immediate access to all course materials with no set start or end times. 
  2. Structured – content is released gradually based on each student’s enrollment date.
  3. Scheduled – content releases on set dates for all students at once. 

Once you choose a course structure, Circle allows you to organize the curriculum with “Sections” and “Lessons.”

example of a course lesson and section in Circle courses

In each lesson, you can upload video files (up to 4GB per file) or embed content from external content hosting platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, and Wistia. 

various ways to add video lessons to Circle courses

But it doesn’t stop there. Circle course builder allows you to add files such as PDFs, cheat sheets, and templates to your course lessons to enhance learning. 

You can also:

  • Enable comments for interaction within lessons.
  • Enforce video completion, requiring students to watch at least 90% of each video before marking it as complete.
  • Auto-advance students to the next lesson upon completion of the current one.
extra settings for Circle course lessons

From a student’s perspective — Circle’s course player is simple and clean, with a right sidebar that lists the curriculum for easy navigation. 

A preview of course lesson in Circle

Although it lacks the customizability of platforms like Kajabi, this minimalistic design reduces setup time making it ideal for quick course launches.

I’ve written a detailed Circle guide, so take a look to understand more about the platform.

Circle Features

  • Customizable community spaces
  • Paywalls
  • Native live streaming
  • Mobile apps for iOS and Android devices
  • Course quizzes 
  • Leaderboard and badges

Circle Pricing

Circle pricing

Circle has four plans that support course creation capabilities:

  • Professional: costs $99 per month
  • Business: $219 per month
  • Enterprise: $399 per month
  • Circle Plus: custom (white-label community app)

Circle Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Built-in community memberships
  • Native livestreaming
  • Robust student engagement via quizzes, gamification, and community discussions
  • iOS and Android mobile apps
  • Workflow automation builder
  • Powerful community moderation
  • Email marketing tool
  • 30+ native integrations, Zapier, API, and Webhooks

Cons

  • Limited marketing tools for course sales
  • No course completion certificates
  •  Basic plan lacks course creation features

Bottom Line: Why Choose Circle for Online Course Creation

Circle best suits educators and coaches focused on building interactive, community-based courses. It allows you to establish a peer learning environment which can improve knowledge comprehension and course completion rates. If your priority is to cultivate an active learning community rather than merely deliver content, Circle is solution to go with.

Also read: Circle vs Kajabi.

#3: Thinkific

Feature-rich and budget-friendly (best course platform for most creators and businesses)

Thinkific website
  • Best for: creators, eduprenuers, and coaches
  • Price: $49 /mon – $199/mon
  • Mobile app: yes (Android and iOS)

It was fun testing and reviewing Thinkific with fresh eyes, given its popularity as an online course platform. However, its average ratings on Trustpilot and G2 made me wonder—does it really live up to the hype?

Thinkific rating on Trustpilot

I’ve tested and used Thinkific before and I wasn’t impressed. It felt outdated, clunky, and difficult to customize. But the new interface is a major improvement. It’s minimalistic, clean, and easy to navigate.I hardly encountered any performance issues during my latest evaluation.

The product creation workflow is impressive. Thinkific integrates generative AI that simplifies course creation by helping you generate outlines, product pages, and quiz questions. 

The course builder is well-structured—you can design your curriculum on the left side of the interface while creating individual lessons on the right, all in the same tab. This beats the constant back-and-forth navigation I experienced with Kajabi and Circle.

Thinkific online course builder

Thinkific supports various content formats including videos, audio, text, PDFs, multimedia, and presentations, giving you flexibility in how you deliver content.

Lesson types you can create  in Thinkific

It also offers impressive student assessments tools. You can create quizzes, surveys, assignments, and exams to track progress and gather feedback. You can also issue course completion certificates—a big plus if you run certification programs.

However, its community builder is underwhelming. It lacks essential tools like a robust post editor, group chat, paywalls, and gamification. While it lets you schedule live events and webinars, you’ll need to rely on Zoom to livestream them.

Recently, Thinkific has also been investing in its sales and marketing tools. And let’s just say they are good enough to get the job done. 

Its sales page builder offers limited design flexibility and it’s hard to create a landing page or website that feels uniquely yours. Its marketing funnel builder limits you to upto 3 funnel steps and lacks advanced features like split-testing and conditional split paths. 

However, I did find its sales features pretty decent. It supports product bundling,order bumps, and coupons. A major plus is that Thinkific handles sales tax for US and Canada businesses and VAT for UK and EU customers—saving you significant headaches.

From my experience, Thinkific does well for what it’s built for. Online course building. It has excellent course creation tools and assessment features making an ideal solution for creators, educators and online trainers.

Thinkific Features

  • Full video content hosting
  • Supports various content formats including videos, text, PDFs, webinars, and multimedia files from software like Adobe Captivate and Articulate Storyline.
  • Student assessments and certification
  • Bulk content upload
  • Simple landing page and sales funnel builder
  • Course bundling
  • Integrations through Thinkific Apps
  • Affiliate program

Thinkific Pricing

Thinkific pricing page

Thinkific plans are competitively priced offering solutions for both small creators to large education businesses that want custom solutions. Starting at $49 per month, you can create unlimited courses, build a single community, and add up to five digital downloads, with no limit on the number of students. 

Thinkific previously offered a free plan, but it has since been discontinued. However, you can explore its features with a 14-day free trial to determine if it fits your needs. Here’s a simple breakdown of Thinkific’s pricing:

  • Basic: $49 per month
  • Start: $99 per month
  • Grow: $199 per month
  • Expand: $499 per month
  • Plus: Custom pricing

Thinkific Pros and Cons

Pros

  • User-friendly interface
  • Robust student assessment features
  • Certificate of completion
  • Ability to upload multiple file formats
  • Robust analytics and student tracking
  • Video library to organize your course materials
  • Supports both Stripe and PayPal but you can integrate other payment gateways
  •  Thinkific App Store

Cons

  • Basic online community builder
  • Sales funnels builder could be better
  • No native live streaming
  • Limited templates

Bottom Line: Why Choose Thinkific for Online Course Creation

Thinkific strikes an impressive balance when it comes to ease of use, affordability, and functionality. It enables you to create advanced courses and includes robust student engagement features that many online course creation tools struggle to match. It also supports multiple payment processors, including Stripe and PayPal, and integrates with third-party checkout systems like Checkoutjoy. Choose Thinkific if you’re looking for a dedicated online course platform that offers excellent value for money across all its plans.

Also read: Best Thinkific alternatives.

#4: Systeme.io

Affordable all-in-one digital business solution.

systeme io website

Systeme is more of an online marketing platform—but with course creation tools built-in. Similar to Kajabi it offers tools for building courses, email marketing, sales funnels and communities all in one place but at a fraction of the price. 

Infact, if you’re looking for an affordable Kajabi alternative to run your knowledge business, Systeme is an excellent choice. And the best of all, you can get started all for free. 

The platform includes a drag-and-drop course builder that supports various content formats, such as videos, PDFs, audio files, and presentations. You can also include quizzes in your course modules to assess learners and issue completion certificates to accredit them.

However, Systeme.io lacks more advanced student assessment options like surveys, exams, question banks, or gradebooks, which platforms like Thinkific and LearnWorlds  provide.

Systeme.io comes equipped with several marketing tools to help you sell and promote your courses. You can create email campaigns, build sales funnels, design a website, and set up automations. It also offers a basic community forum feature, though it’s less robust compared to Circle’s or Mighty Networks.

One thing loved more about Systeme.io is its extensive payment gateway support, which sets it apart from many competitors. For example, Circle supports only Stripe, while Thinkific supports Stripe, PayPal, and its native Thinkific Payments—these options are limited to specific regions like North America and Europe.

Systeme.io overcomes these barriers by integrating additional payment platforms such as Paystack (a Stripe extension for Africa), Flutterwave, and Razorpay. These options make Systeme.io more accessible for digital entrepreneurs in regions like Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

That said, Systeme is the ideal choice if you’re looking for an affordable online course software solution with sale and marketing tools built-in.

Overview of Systeme’s Course Design Interface and Student Experience

Systeme.io offers a simple online course builder that lets you organize content into Modules and Lessons.

drag and drop Systeme course builder

Within each lesson, you can include various types of course materials, such as video, text, audio, or carousel presentations. You can choose to upload your videos directly to the platform or embed from third parties like YouTube and Wistia via its embed features.

embedding content in Systeme course builder

Unlike platforms like Thinkific and Teachable, which rely on predefined templates,  Systeme lets you customize the course player design to match your aesthetics needs. You can use columns, rows and sections to layout your course player design and select from it pre built templates to help you get started first.

From a student’s view, the course player follows the classic appearance with a left sidebar featuring your course curriculum, instructor’s profile and a progress indicator.

Systeme course player

Systeme Features

  • Full video course hosting
  • Built-in landing page and website builder
  • Native email marketing tools
  • Course completion certificate
  • Workflow automation tools
  • Robust contact management tools
  • Affiliate program management
  • Sell physical products

Systeme Pricing

Systeme io pricing

Systeme.io offers some of the most competitive pricing in the market, including a generous free plan. The free plan lets you build one course, host unlimited students, create up to three sales funnels, and manage up to 2,000 contacts.

And if you’re looking to scale your digital business, Systeme.io provides three paid plans to choose from:

  • Startup: $27 per month
  • Webinar: $47 per month
  • Unlimited: $97 per month

Systeme Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Customizable course player
  • Generous free plan
  • Built-in sales and marketing tools, including sales funnels, email marketing, and checkout builder
  • Course completion certificate issuing
  • Robust landing page builder with customizable templates
  • Supports 8+ payment gateways
  • Start your own affiliate program
  • Build a community forum
  •  No transaction fees

Cons

  •  Doesn’t natively support live classes
  • Limited course assessment tools
  • Has a bit of a learning curve

Bottom Line:Why Choose Systeme to Build and Sell Online Courses

Systeme is the best online course software if you’re looking for an affordable solution with integrated marketing tools. It allows you to create a storefront for digital products, launch end-to-end sale funnels and even build email campaigns. Also, its additional payment processing options, including Paystack and Flutterwave, make it a practical solution for creators in regions where Stripe isn’t available.

#5: Teachable

Best online course platform for instructors​.

Teachable website

Teachable is one of the most popular online course platforms because it allows you to launch your first course for free. Many platforms like Kajabi don’t offer free plans, and others, like Thinkific, have phased out theirs. With Teachable, you can build your first digital product without upfront costs — which is ideal if you’re validating your online course idea.

In terms of functionality, Teachable is more comprehensive. It accommodates different course delivery methods, including self-paced and drip-fed content. 

Additionally, Teachable provides greater flexibility for each lecture, allowing various content types—such as text, video, quizzes, and assignments—within a single lesson

You’re also not limited to creating online courses as you can also sell other digital products like membership subscriptions and digital downloads like e-books, templates, and PDF files.

Teachable also includes website-building tools that are basic but functional to build a storefront for your digital products. You can customize essential branding elements like colors, fonts, and logos.  
And if you know a thing or two about coding you can use its Power Editor which allows for advanced customization using HTML, Liquid, and CSS.

Teachable Power Editor

Additionally, Teachable enables you to build sales funnels to boost conversions. While they’re not as sophisticated as what you’d find in Leadpages, or ClickFunnels they’re effective, especially if you’re on a tight budget and not ready to invest in more advanced funnel-building tools.

Overview of Teachable’s Course Design Interface and Student Experience

Teachable provides a straightforward course builder. After signing up, you enter your course title and description, then organize your curriculum manually or use its AI assistant to streamline the initial setup.

course outline creator in Teachable

Courses are structured in “Sections” and “Lessons.”

adding sections and lessons to your course

Each lesson can include various content formats like text, images, videos, PDFs, audio, code snippets, and embedded media. You can combine these media formats within a single lesson and even embed additional resources like PDFs or templates to aid further in learning. 

various content formats supported in Teachable

Once you’ve added your course materials you can add assessments in the form of quizzes and open-ended questions.

For open-ended responses, students can upload assignments directly through the platform — which is useful for instructors who want to assign tests and have students submit their work through the platform.

In addition to course content, Teachable enables other interactive features like student comments within lessons and live video sessions via Zoom integration. 

Like Thinkific, Teachable displays the curriculum in a classic sidebar layout in its course player that includes an active progress indicator. 

course player appearance from a students view

Teachable Features

  • Course Assessments
  • Diverse digital product delivery including courses, digital downloads, and live lessons.
  • Course bundling
  • Simple sales page and website  builder
  • Native email marketing tools
  • Robust checkout and payment processing
  • Affiliate program for course promotion

Teachable Pricing

Teachable pricing page

Teachable offers a free plan that allows you to launch an initial course without upfront costs. For advanced features like website customization and email marketing, Teachable requires upgrading to a paid plan:

  • Basic: costs $59 per month
  • Pro: costs $159 per month
  • Pro+: costs $249 per month
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing

Teachable Pros and Cons

ProsCons
✅ Intuitive user interface and course player❌ Limited website templates
✅ Robust course creation tools❌Basic email marketing and community tools
✅ Built-in course assessments❌ Transaction fees
✅ Built-in marketing tools
✅ Payment flexibility
✅ Automated tax calculations
✅ Course certifications

Bottom Line: Why Choose Teachable for Online Course Creation

Teachable offers an accessible solution for building and delivering online courses. Its intuitive interface allows creators to design structured content with diverse media types, assessments, and supplementary resources without needing extensive technical skills. The course platform is also scalable with pricing tiers that cater to beginners as well as experienced instructors and large education businesses.

#6: Mighty Networks

Best for building branded social communities for your digital courses.

Mighty Networks started as a community platform but has evolved to include online course creation tools. I’ve tested it myself, and the platform has impressed me continuously with its unique blend of community and course-building features. 

Mighty Networks provides more flexibility than most community-based course platforms. Within your main community, you can create a unified space for discussions, chats, events, and courses. 

Think of it as, a “mini-community” within the larger community, where each segment feels part of an interconnected experience rather than separate, compartmentalized sections. 

Inside your course spaces, you can directly engage members through community posts, polls, and quizzes, and even host live events like 1-on-1 coaching sessions, AMAs, and workshops.

content formats to engage your members in Mighty Networks.

This integration makes Mighty Networks a compelling course platform for building interactive, community-driven learning.

Overview of Mighty’s Course Design Interface and Student Experience

Mighty Networks has a simple online course creation tool. Similar to Circle, courses are part of a community space.

The platform offers two course templates — Cohort Course and Content-Only Course. Choose the Cohort Course if you’re looking to build a community-focused learning experience. But if you want to start with a standalone course and add community features later, go with the Content-Only option.

Mighty Networks course templates

Once you’ve selected your preferred template, you can then structure your course curriculum with Sections and Lessons. You can either create the outline manually or use its AI tools for faster setup.

manual and ai course outline generator

Within each lesson, Mighty Networks lets you add various media uploads (videos, images, PDFs) and external embeds (from platforms like Wistia, YouTube, and Vimeo).

content formats to add to mighty networks course builder

Mighty Networks offers several lesson delivery settings, including Sequential (drip scheduling), Timed, and Scheduled.

content delivery settings in mighty networks course builder

Additionally, you can control when a student can mark a lesson as complete. For instance, you can require students to watch at least 70% of a video before advancing to the next lesson.

auto advancing course lessons

You can then engage your students with quizzes and live sessions, and award custom badges as they hit milestones or complete courses.

Once you’ve added your video lesson, the course player will be displayed at the center with the course curriculum on the left sidebar—just like many course platforms we’ve covered here. 

student's view

Although the customization options aren’t as extensive as platforms like Kajabi, Mighty Networks’ course player is intuitive and user-friendly, ensuring a smooth learning experience without distractions.

Mighty Networks Features

  • Flexible and customizable community spaces
  • Native live streaming
  • Gamified learning
  • Ambassadors program
  • Drip courses
  • Run challenges
  • Community white-labelling 
  • Branded apps
  • Automations

Mighty Networks Pricing

mighty networks pricing

Mighty Networks offers four paid packages, with course creation available starting from the mid-tier plans. Note that the basic Community plan does not include course-building tools:

  • Community plan: $49 per month
  • Course Plan: $119 per month
  • Business Plan: $219 per month
  • Path-to-Pro Plan: $360 per month

Mighty Networks Pros and Cons

ProsCons
✅ Build courses and communities in one place❌ Limited sales and marketing features
✅ Natively host live events, cohorts, and AMAs ❌ No course-building features on the basic plan
✅ Gamify your learning experience via challenges, badges, and leaderboard❌ No student certification
✅ Flexible community spaces to match your needs
✅ Mobile apps for iOS and Android devices
✅ Build unlimited course spaces and host unlimited members across the board
✅ Assess students using quizzes

Bottom Line: Why Choose Mighty for Online Course Creation

Mighty Networks is an excellent platform for creators looking to build interactive and engaging learning environments. It offers an unmatched blend of community and courses. It’s also highly customizable and offers extensive engagement features including polls, icebreakers, group chats, and gamification.

Also read: Mighty Networks vs. Circle.

#7: Podia

Best for simplicity and affordability.

Podia website

Podia is a no-nonsense platform for creators who want to sell digital products, courses, and coaching without paying a fortune. Like Kajabi, it provides an all-in-one setup but is geared toward affordability and simplicity.

To start with, Podia is built for simplicity. The interface is clean and intuitive, focusing on essentials. Just hit “Add Products” choose what you’re selling (courses, downloads, webinars, or coaching), and you’re ready to go. 

digital products you can sell on podia

If you’re not sure where to start, Podia’s dashboard has a step-by-step tutorial pinned up top helping you quickly navigate the platform and launch your first product in no time.

product turtorial

What’s even better, you can bundle several products (say, a course, a free ebook, and a coaching session) and sell them as one allowing you to add value and increase your revenue per sale.

Podia includes email marketing right out of the gate. You can send broadcasts or set up automated sequences triggered by actions like new sign-ups, purchases, or tags. It’s simple and effective, letting you manage email marketing in one place.

action triggers on podia email marketing platforms

However, I didn’t love its website and landing page builders. They work fine but with limited customization options. If you want to build unique landing pages that feel uniquely yours, you’ll want to consider other options like Leadpages or Unbounce. 

basic podia website builder

Regardless you get access to built-in blogging, so you can create content to promote your products and establish some authority without extra tools.

Podia Features

  • Course assessments and certification
  • Simple online store builder
  • Built-in email marketing and blogging tools
  • Ability to bundle multiple digital products
  • Google analytics integration
  • Affiliate marketing 

Podia Pricing

Podia pricing

Podia is one of the most affordable online course platforms. Its entry-level plan (Mover) starts at $39 per month, covering website building, email marketing, digital product sales, and custom domain support. The Shaker plan which costs $89 per month adds advanced features, including affiliate program creation, PayPal integration, and free migration from other platforms.

Podia Pros and Cons

ProsCons
✅ Course bundling❌ Basic landing page builder
✅ Sell multiple digital products❌No native live streaming
✅ Simple and minimal interface❌ Basic community building feature set
✅ Flexible community spaces to match your needs❌ No mobile app
✅ Affordable
✅ Built-in email marketing and blogging tools
✅ Student assessments and certifications

Bottom Line: Why Choose Podia to Build and Sell Online Courses

Podia is perfect for creators who want a straightforward digital products online. It’s affordable, effective, and covers the essentials without complicated systems.

Which course platform should you choose? Decision guide.

Choosing the right online course platform depends on your goals, budget, and specific requirements.

Are you a first-time creator?

  • Go with Teachable or Thinkific if you need a robutst and intuitive platform to get started.

Do you plan to build a community around your course?

  • Choose Circle or Mighty Networks or Skool if community engagement is a priority, with interactive spaces, gamification and live events.

Are marketing tools a key consideration?

  • Opt for Kajabi for advanced email marketing, funnel building, and automation features.

Is budget a major constraint?

  • Consider Podia if you need an affordable solution with essential course and digital product features.

Do you need SCORM compliance and interactive video tools?

  • Go with LearnWorlds for compliance and multimedia tools suited for corporate training or high-engagement learning.

FAQs: Best Online Course Platforms

What is the best platform to sell online courses?

Kajabi and Thinkific are both excellent options depending on your budget and feature needs. Kajabi offers more advanced marketing features, while Thinkific is great for simplicity and ease of use.

Which platform is best for community-building?

Circle is ideal for fostering an engaged learning community. It includes interactive spaces, gamification, and live streaming options to keep learners connected.

Can I host live sessions on these platforms?

Yes, platforms like Circle and Kajabi support live sessions. Teachable also integrates with Zoom for live classes.

Which platform is the most affordable for beginners?

Podia and Fresh Learn both offer affordable entry-level plans, but Podia doesn’t have transaction fees, which can be a plus if you’re on a budget.