Want to find the best online course platform for you?
One of my online courses (Blog Growth Engine) has 4,200+ students enrolled and makes about $3 million a year.
My course business also has over 20 employees from all marketing, tech, and software backgrounds.
To reach these numbers, we spent hundreds of hours (and thousands of dollars) using different course platforms.
Here’s what I learned: Finding the right platform isn’t always easy.
Some platforms promise the world and don’t deliver. Some are just average at best.
However, there are a few online course platforms that really stand out.
And that’s exactly what I’ll share in this article.
By the way, the platform I used to host all my courses today is one I mention below. Curious to know which?
Keep on reading!
What Are the Best Online Course Platforms?
Here are my top picks for the best online course platforms this year.
1. Thinkific.
Best Overall Online Course Platform
I adore Thinkific and have used it to market my course, Blog Growth Engine, online. They provide a top-notch student experience, simple checkout provider and Stripe interfaces to streamline payment collection, and a knowledgeable support staff that has been quite helpful. All things considered, I heartily endorse Thinkific as my top pick for marketing online courses.
The greatest website overall for selling online courses is Thinkific.
It’s my top pick because it can provide a high-end course experience and the price is exactly in line with other reasonably priced options on this list.
Course websites can be customized, and you’d never guess they were Thinkific.
Sales pages have a beautiful design and are well optimized.
Student dashboards are well-designed and very customisable, allowing you to include text, videos, and any kind of downloadable resource on one page.
Your course can be sent all at once or in installments.
Free Wistia video hosting (an immense value).
Here’s a further perspective. “Thinkific literally has everything you need right out of the box, and the trial experience is probably the easiest I’ve come across,” said Andrew McGuire, President of Income Growth Engine and Former VP of Pipeline at Armorblox. “After starting my trial, I was able to upload about five course videos, which is really helpful for beginners,” the user said. Now, even major companies like Fiverr use Thinkific to provide online courses, despite the fact that Thinkific subscriptions only start at $40 per month.
Their best (and most popular) Pro Plan offers a one-month free trial to get started.
2. Kajabi.
Kajabi is one of the best platforms for professionals wanting to scale their businesses. With so many features in their plans, you can develop your online training just as you want and build as many features within your platform as needed. Whether you want to send newsletters, host podcasts, or build membership sites, Kajabi can work for your needs.
Kajabi is the best high-end course builder tailored toward information business, not tiny course creators.
It’s best when it comes to email marketing automation. Automation is a crucial component of pre-sale, pre-webinar, drip course, and upsell emails – and Kajabi does it best.
Their “Pipelines” feature lets you create fully-automated marketing campaigns and funnels.
These are pre-built frameworks for lead generation, with pre-written copy optimized for conversions.
It also features powerful course site themes, the ability to sell digital products, a customizable checkout, and blogging functionality.
Overall, it’s the best high-end course platform with more built-in tools and features, but it costs a little more than others on the list.
Key Features:
- Course Insights: Ever wondered what’s going on in your students’ heads? This feature gives you a peek behind the curtain, showing you how your learners are progressing.
- Unlimited Video Hosting: Got a lot to teach? No worries! You can create and host as many video courses as your heart desires.
- Quick Publishing: Ready to share your knowledge with the world? With just a few clicks, your course goes live. No need to wrestle with code – it’s smooth sailing all the way.
- SEO-Optimized: Want your courses to be the popular kids on the search engine block? This platform’s got you covered, helping your content climb those search result rankings.
- Unlimited Hosting: From classes to marketing materials, there’s room for it all. It’s like having a digital storage unit that never runs out of space.
- Safe and Secure: Rest easy knowing your data is locked up tighter than Fort Knox. Your information is treated like the treasure it is.
- One-Click Marketing: Promoting your courses doesn’t have to be a headache. With one-click marketing sequences, you can spread the word without breaking a sweat.
- Website Builder: No design degree? No problem! Create professional-looking website in minutes. It’s like having a personal web designer in your pocket.
Where Kajabi excels is in its marketing automation tools.
You can segment users in your list, send emails at specific times based on advanced triggers, and send professionally branded messages.
If you’re an established business and want to try one of the more advanced platforms on the market, Kajabi is a solid choice.
Start your free 14-day trial of Kajabi today.
3. LearnWorlds.
Best AI-Powered LMS for Students.
Adam’s Take
I think LearnWorlds is one of the best course platforms for interactivity. If you’re looking to give your students an engaging course with quizzes, interactive videos, surveys, and certificates, LearnWorlds is a good choice. While it doesn’t have the ease of use of Thinkific, it does have stronger student community features and lots of new AI features.
LearnWorlds is a platform that’s best for course creators looking to interact in unique ways with their students.
Think quizzes, gamification, interactive videos, etc.
While the student experience isn’t as nice looking as a Thinkific course, it’s unique in that it offers students more interactive eLearning content.
Key Features:
- Comprehensive Support: Stuck on something? The Learnworlds team has your back. From walkthrough videos to live chat, it’s like having a friendly tech wizard on speed dial.
- Mobile App Builder: Want your courses to fit in students’ pockets? Easily create a mobile app and let your learners take your wisdom on the go. Learning doesn’t have to stop at the desktop!
- Learning Community: Turn your course into a knowledge hub. Students can connect, share ideas, and learn together. It’s like creating your own mini social network for learning!
- Synchronized Transcript: Keep your finger on the pulse of your course. This feature lets you track who’s doing what and where.
- Branded Digital Certificates: Give your students something to brag about. These certificates aren’t just proof of completion – they’re digital trophies your learners can proudly display.
- Versatile Assessments: Measure understanding in ways that fit your teaching style and keep your students on their toes.
User Experience:
Customization is a great component of Learnworlds.
As soon as you start creating your course, you realize that the templates that are in place are easy to follow and you can quickly edit them to match your branding or the look of your website.
There’s also a focus on SEO, allowing you to optimize your courses for search engines so people can easily find them.
While it took some time to find a way to add media to specific lessons, once that was figured out it was a smooth process.
4. Teachable.
Best Simple Online Course Platform for Beginners
Want to sell any of your digital work online? Teachable is a platform to consider. With the ability to sell online courses, and digital downloads, host webinars, and even build a community, Teachable is a platform that can adapt based on your needs.
Teachable is an option if you want a fast and easy course builder.
I consider it the best for beginners getting their feet wet in the course world, as it’s one of the cheapest and easy to use.
You can use their free plan or select one of their three plans, ranging from just $39/month to $199/month.
I recommend their most popular Pro Plan at $119/month as it’s the first with zero transaction fees.
What I Like/Dislike About Teachable:
Like:
- Straightforward setup.
- Unlimited everything – as a coaching platform, it offers unlimited bandwidth, students, courses, and coaching services.
- One-click checkout.
- Optimized storefront and sales pages.
- Live Zoom courses on their pro plan.
- International payment plans in 130+ currencies.
- Graded quizzes.
- Custom course completion certificates.
- Website theme customization.
- They can have 5 user accounts on their pro plan.
Dislike:
- Support for individual cases is not dealt with in the same way as general platform issues.
- Website navigation is difficult to get used to at the start.
Product Updates:
- Course templates called ‘Simple’ and ‘Colossal’ were added to help you quickly create beautiful courses without any design or coding required.
- You can add lead capture forms directly to product pages, allowing you to grow your email list and increase conversions.
- Bundle functionality was added, so you can create a course package and offer it as a one-time purchase or subscription.
Get started with your Teachable Pro Plan and use my promo code PROSOCIATE1MFREE at checkout to get one month free.
5. Skool.
Best Simplified Experience.
Skool brings everything you need to teach online courses into one easy-to-use platform.
And that’s why this is the platform I use for all my online courses.
With Skool, you can create and sell courses on any topic, build a community, track your student’s progress, and more.
With its user-friendly interface and features, it’s easy to see why Skool has become one of the most popular online course platforms.
Offering much more than a Facebook group when it comes to building a community, Skool has dedicated forums for each course where students can interact with each other and the instructor.
Admins can easily create posts, ask questions through polls, share links and documents, and more.
If you’re looking for a simpler version of any current course platform out there, Skool is worth checking out.
Key Features:
- Community Feature: Imagine having your team’s “clubhouse” right in the platform. Skool’s community feature brings everyone together, making collaboration a breeze.
- Course Creation & Tracking: Got knowledge to share? Skool lets you create courses on just about anything. And keeping tabs on your students’ progress is a piece of cake.
- Calendar Feature: Never miss a beat with the handy calendar. Keep track of upcoming events, deadlines, or even that virtual pizza party you promised your students.
- Email Broadcasts: Need to spread the word? The email broadcast feature lets you update your students faster than you can say “pop quiz.”
- Chat, Notifications, and Profiles: Keeping track of your course community is a breeze. Chat, get notifications, and check profiles all in one place.
There is a 14 day free trial to get started. After that, there is a simple payment plan of $99/month that gives you access to all the features that Skool has to offer.
You can also book a demo to see if Skool is the right fit for you.
