The 40 best online course platforms in 2026 (compared and reviewed)

The best online course platforms

Here's every platform I reviewed, each with its full review below:

1. Thinkific – best for courses
2. Skool – best for a community
3. Whop – best with no monthly fee
4. ThriveCart Academy – best with a checkout
5. HighLevel – best all-in-one
6. Circle – a community under your own brand
7. Kajabi – courses, email and funnels under one plan
8. Systeme.io – a free plan with funnels and email
9. LearnWorlds – the most teaching tools
10. Teachable – courses with student apps
11. Podia – courses, a community and email for starters
12. Kartra – funnels, email and courses
13. ClickFunnels – courses behind a funnel
14. Mighty Networks – a community with native apps
15. SamCart – a checkout built to convert
16. Stan – a store behind your link in bio
17. Uscreen – video memberships and apps
18. Kourses – a light course and community platform
19. New Zenler – courses, email and funnels for less
20. Payhip – a free plan for downloads and courses
21. Gumroad – no monthly fee, a cut of each sale
22. Lemon Squeezy – a checkout with sales tax handled
23. SendOwl – a checkout priced by your sales
24. Beacons – a link in bio with brand deals
25. Eden – Custom AIs next to your courses
26. Maven – live cohort courses
27. Disco – a branded learning academy
28. LearnDash – courses on your own WordPress site
29. MemberPress – memberships on WordPress
30. Tutor LMS – a free course plugin for WordPress
31. FluentCommunity – a community and courses on WordPress
32. SureDash – a free community plugin for WordPress
33. SureCart – a WordPress checkout for courses
34. FluentCart – a WordPress checkout with no fees
35. CartFlows – funnels and upsells for WooCommerce
36. Teachery – a course platform you pay once for
37. Xperiencify – courses students finish
38. Shopify – a store that sells a course through an app
39. WooCommerce – a free WordPress store with a course plugin
40. Fourthwall – merch, digital products and memberships

1. Thinkific

Thinkific is a course platform: video lessons, quizzes and discussions, a community with a private feed and DMs, and a checkout with order bumps and coupon codes, all on your own domain.

It's rated 4.5 out of 5 from over 405 reviews on G2.

There's no free plan: every account starts with a 30-day free trial. The plans run from $54 to $219 a month, or $40 to $164 a month billed yearly, and every plan comes with up to 10,000 current students and unlimited courses.

Thinkific takes no cut when you sell through Thinkific Payments, which charges 2.9% + $0.30 a card payment in the US.

But if you sell through Stripe instead, Thinkific adds a gateway fee: 5% on Basic, 2% on Start and 1% on Grow.

Who is Thinkific for?

Thinkific is for experts and course businesses that want the course itself done well: lessons, quizzes, certificates, a community and a checkout, without stitching separate tools together.

Key features

• Video lessons, quizzes and student discussions
• A community with a private feed, DMs and weekly digests
• Checkout, order bumps, gifting and coupon codes
• Abandoned checkout recovery
• Your school on your own domain
• Certificates, graded work, bundles, upsells and payment plans, from Start
• Memberships and subscriptions, from Start
• Your own iOS and Android app, on select Plus plans

Pricing

Thinkific has three plans, each with a 30-day free trial, from its pricing page as saved on September 8, 2026:

• Basic – $54 a month, or $40 a month billed yearly, with 100 GB of video bandwidth a month and five digital downloads.
• Start – $109 a month, or $82 billed yearly, with certificates, payment plans, memberships and 200 GB a month.
• Grow – $219 a month, or $164 billed yearly, with bulk seats for companies, B2B invoicing and phone support.

Best for courses

Thinkific

4.5From $54 a month, after a 30-day free trial

Lessons, quizzes, a community and a checkout, with up to 10,000 students on every plan.

Try Thinkific free for 30 days

I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

2. Skool

Skool puts your community, courses and events in one place, and lets you charge for it with a monthly membership or a one-time course price.

It's simple on purpose. Skool says you can set it up in less than 30 minutes.

Both plans come with unlimited members, courses, videos and live calls. The difference is what Skool keeps from each sale.

On Hobby, at $9 a month, Skool keeps 10% of each sale. On Pro, at $99 a month, it keeps 2.9%, and you get your own URL and an affiliate program.

So Hobby is cheap to start, and Pro pays for itself once you sell more than about $1,300 a month.

Who is Skool for?

Skool is for creators and coaches whose course lives inside a community, where members talk, learn and show up for live calls.

Key features

• A community, courses and events in one place
• Unlimited members, courses, videos and live calls on both plans
• Subscription memberships or one-time course purchases
• Run your community from your phone, too
• Your own URL and an affiliate program, on Pro

Pricing

Skool has two plans, and yearly billing gives you two months free:

• Hobby – $9 a month, with a 10% transaction fee.
• Pro – $99 a month, with a 2.9% transaction fee, your own URL and affiliates.

Best for a community

Skool

4.6From $9 a month

A community with courses and events inside, with unlimited members on both plans.

Try Skool for free

I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

3. Whop

Whop is where you sell and run a community, courses, memberships, downloads, coaching and services, with the checkout and payouts built in.

It says sellers earned over $300 million on Whop last month.

There's no setup fee and no monthly cost. Whop charges 2.7% + $0.30 for every successful card payment, and nothing more until you turn on extras.

The extras are 0.8% for payment orchestration, which sends each payment to the provider most likely to approve it, 0.5% for billing and 2% for tax handling. With all of them on and tax collected, a sale costs 6% + $0.30.

Whop takes 0% on sales that come through its Discover marketplace, and pays out to over 240 territories by bank transfer, crypto and other methods.

Who is Whop for?

Whop is for creators who want to start selling a community or a course without a monthly plan, and pay only when they make a sale.

Key features

• No monthly fee, only a fee on each sale
• A community and courses in one place
• Memberships and subscriptions
• Its Discover marketplace, where buyers can find you
• An affiliate program and coupon codes
• A mobile app for your members
• Payouts to over 240 territories

Pricing

Whop has no plan to pay for. These are its fees, from its fee docs:

• Card processing – 2.7% + $0.30 for every successful card payment.
• Orchestration – 0.8%, when you turn it on.
• Billing – 0.5%, when you turn it on.
• Tax and remittance – 2%, when you turn it on and tax is collected.

Best with no monthly fee

Whop

4.6No monthly fee

A community, courses and payments in one place, for 2.7% + $0.30 a sale.

Start selling on Whop

I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

4. ThriveCart Academy

ThriveCart Academy is ThriveCart's course and community platform, launched in May 2026. It replaced ThriveCart Learn: every Learn and Learn+ creator was moved over, with their courses, student progress, drip schedules, certificates and billing kept.

Your courses sit inside a branded community, with quizzes, certificates, points, badges and leaderboards. And every plan includes ThriveCart's checkout: order bumps, one-click upsells, subscriptions and an affiliate center, with sales going through your own Stripe, PayPal or Authorize.Net.

ThriveCart takes 0% of your sales on every plan. It says sellers have processed over $8 billion through it.

I'm one of them. I processed millions of dollars through ThriveCart, and Virtual Summit Mastery alone brought in $882,739 from 1,483 customers there:

Who is ThriveCart Academy for?

ThriveCart Academy is for creators who want their courses and community in the same account as a strong checkout: upsells, order bumps, payment plans and affiliates.

Key features

• Custom checkout and cart pages, in 100+ countries
• One-click upsells and downsells, order bumps and A/B split testing
• Abandoned cart recovery and sales tax automation
• Buy now pay later, split pay, pay-what-you-like and subscription billing
• ThriveCart Academy: unlimited courses and students, communities, quizzes, certificates and gamification
• An affiliate center with automated payouts, on Pro+

Pricing

ThriveCart Academy comes with every ThriveCart plan, with a 30-day free trial, and Enterprise on request:

• Standard – $47 a month, with ThriveCart Academy Starter: unlimited courses and students, up to 2,000 community members and 10 communities, and 100 GB of video.
• Pro+ – $87 a month, with multiple order bumps, the affiliate center, coupons, custom domains and ThriveCart Academy Growth: up to 10,000 members and unlimited communities.

Best with a checkout

ThriveCart Academy

4.5From $47 a month

Courses inside a community, with ThriveCart's checkout and upsells, and 0% fees on sales.

Try ThriveCart Academy free for 30 days

I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

5. HighLevel

HighLevel is an all-in-one platform for marketing and selling: a CRM, funnels and websites, email and SMS, calendars, payments, and courses and communities for your members.

It says most users replace their CRM, funnel builder, email tool, scheduler and SMS tools with it.

Every plan has unlimited contacts and unlimited users, and HighLevel takes no cut of your sales. Payments go through Stripe, PayPal, NMI and others.

What you do pay on top is usage: phone numbers, SMS, emails, calls and AI are charged as you use them.

Its plans go by sub-accounts, one per business or client, the way an agency runs it. Starter includes three, and Unlimited as many as you need.

Who is HighLevel for?

HighLevel is for creators and agencies who want their marketing and their courses in one place: capture leads, follow up by email and SMS, book calls and sell, instead of paying for five tools.

Key features

• A CRM with unlimited contacts and users
• Funnels and websites on your own domains
• Email and SMS marketing
• Calendars and bookings
• Courses and communities for your members
• Payments through Stripe, PayPal, NMI and others
• An affiliate program and a mobile app
• White label, and SaaS mode on Pro

Pricing

HighLevel has three plans, each with a 14-day free trial, month to month, and Enterprise on request:

• Starter – $97 a month, with three sub-accounts.
• Unlimited – $297 a month, with unlimited sub-accounts.
• Pro – $497 a month, with SaaS mode, to sell HighLevel as your own software.

Best all-in-one

HighLevel

4.7From $97 a month

A CRM, funnels, email, SMS, calendars and courses, with unlimited contacts on every plan.

Try HighLevel free for 14 days

I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

6. Circle

Circle is a platform for your community, events and courses, all under your own brand.

Its plans start at $89 a month, billed yearly, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card needed.

Circle keeps a small share of each sale, on top of Stripe's fee: 2% on Professional, 1% on Business and Scale, and 0.5% on Circle Plus.

Who is Circle for?

Circle is for creators and brands that want a polished community with courses and events on their own brand, and are ready to pay a plan for it.

Key features

• Community spaces, courses and live events
• Payments and paywalls
• Workflows, APIs and an MCP
• Circle AI credits on every plan
• Email Hub, as an add-on
• Your own branded app, on Circle Plus

Pricing

Circle has four plans, with prices billed yearly and a 14-day free trial:

• Professional – $89 a month, keeping 2% of each sale.
• Business – $199 a month, keeping 1%.
• Scale – $419 a month, keeping 1%.
• Circle Plus – on request, keeping 0.5%, with your own branded app.

Best for a branded community

Circle

4.4From $89 a month, after a 14-day free trial

Your community, events and courses, all under your own brand.

Try Circle free for 14 days

I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

7. Kajabi

Kajabi is an all-in-one platform for courses, coaching, memberships and a community, with your website, email, funnels and checkout built in.

By Kajabi's own count, experts on it have earned over $12 billion since 2010.

What sets it apart is that it takes no cut of your sales on any plan. You pay the plan, and Kajabi Payments charges card fees, which differ by country.

The catch is the price. Basic starts at $179 a month, or $143 billed yearly, and it caps you at 2,500 contacts.

So if you only need somewhere to host a course, that's a lot to pay. It makes more sense when it also replaces your email tool, your website and your checkout.

Who is Kajabi for?

Kajabi is for experts who want their course, coaching, community, email and website in one place, and would rather pay one plan than connect five tools.

Kajabi itself suggests Basic until you're making sales, and Growth once revenue comes in and your list passes a few thousand people.

Key features

• Courses, coaching and memberships
• A private community with multiple groups
• Your own website and custom domain
• Unlimited emails, landing pages and funnels
• Checkout and payments built in
• Your courses and community in a mobile app on iPhone and Android
• Your own affiliate program and live cohort courses, from Growth
• Your own branded app in the App Store, on Pro

Pricing

Kajabi has three plans, each with 14 days free:

• Basic – $179 a month, or $143 a month billed yearly ($1,716 a year), with 2,500 contacts.
• Growth – $249 a month, or $199 billed yearly ($2,388), with 25,000 contacts, your own affiliate program and no Kajabi branding.
• Pro – $499 a month, or $399 billed yearly ($4,788), with 100,000 contacts and your own branded app.

Best for courses, email and funnels

Kajabi

4.5From $179 a month, after 14 days free

Courses, coaching, memberships, email and funnels under one plan.

Try Kajabi free for 14 days

8. Systeme.io

Systeme.io is an all-in-one platform with a free plan that never expires: funnels, email, a blog, courses, a community and your own affiliate program, with payments through Stripe or PayPal.

It says over 500,000 entrepreneurs use it.

The free plan needs no credit card. It gives you three funnels, one course, one blog, one custom domain and up to 2,000 contacts, with unlimited emails.

And it takes no transaction fees on any plan, free or paid. Stripe or PayPal charge their usual card fees.

Where it pinches is the count of contacts. Your plan goes by the size of your list, so a growing audience moves you up a plan, even if you sell nothing more.

Who is Systeme.io for?

Systeme.io is for anyone selling a first course who doesn't want a monthly bill yet, and for anyone who wants funnels, email and courses in one place for less than one of those tools costs elsewhere.

Key features

• Sales funnels and a website builder
• Unlimited email sends on every plan
• Courses and a community
• A blog
• Your own affiliate program
• Evergreen webinars, from the Webinar plan
• Payments through Stripe or PayPal

Pricing

Systeme.io has a free plan and three paid ones, billed monthly:

• Free – $0, with three funnels, one course, 500 students, one custom domain and 2,000 contacts.
• Startup – $17 a month, with 10 funnels, five courses, three custom domains and 5,000 contacts.
• Webinar – $47 a month, with 50 funnels, evergreen webinars, 10 custom domains and 10,000 contacts.
• Unlimited – $97 a month, with unlimited funnels, contacts and custom domains.

Best free plan

Systeme.io

4.3Free plan, or from $17 a month

Funnels, email and courses, with a free plan that never expires.

Start on Systeme.io's free plan

I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

9. LearnWorlds

LearnWorlds is a course platform built around the course itself: an AI course builder, quizzes, certificates, learning paths, live sessions and a website on your own domain.

Over 13,000 learning businesses use it, it says, and it's rated 4.7 out of 5 from over 388 reviews on G2.

The Starter plan is $29 a month, but it charges $5 for every paid enrollment. From Pro Trainer, at $99 a month, there are no enrollment fees.

You sell with your own Stripe or PayPal, so card fees come from them.

Who is LearnWorlds for?

LearnWorlds is for trainers and course businesses that want the most tools for teaching: assessments, certificates, learning paths and reports on how students are doing.

Key features

• An AI course builder and quizzes
• Courses and a website on your own domain
• Live 1:1 and group sessions
• Certificates and SCORM uploads, from Pro Trainer
• Subscriptions, memberships and payment plans, from Pro Trainer
• Full white label and training for client groups, on Learning Center

Pricing

LearnWorlds has three plans, with a free trial, and Corporate on request:

• Starter – $29 a month, or $24 billed yearly, plus $5 per paid enrollment, for 1,000 active learners a month.
• Pro Trainer – $99 a month, or $79 billed yearly, with no enrollment fees, 2,000 active learners and five admins.
• Learning Center – $299 a month, or $249 billed yearly, with full white label and 25 admins.

Best for teaching tools

LearnWorlds

4.4From $29 a month, after a free trial

A course platform built around the course itself, with the most teaching tools.

Start a LearnWorlds free trial

10. Teachable

Teachable is a course platform for courses, coaching and digital downloads, used by creators in 180 countries.

It hosts your lessons, takes the payment, and gives your students apps on iOS and Android.

The Starter plan is $39 a month, but it keeps 7.5% of each sale. From Builder, at $89 a month, there are no transaction fees when you sell through teachable:pay.

Every plan also caps how many products you can publish: five on Starter, 10 on Builder and 50 on Growth.

Who is Teachable for?

Teachable is for course creators who want a proven course platform with student apps, and who sell a handful of products rather than a large catalog.

Key features

• Courses, coaching and digital downloads
• Quizzes, certificates and drip lessons
• Student apps on iOS and Android
• Checkout with upsells
• Sales tax handling
• An affiliate program, from Builder
• Free subtitles and translations, on Growth

Pricing

Teachable has three plans, with a 7-day free trial, and Custom on request:

• Starter – $39 a month, or $29 billed yearly, with a 7.5% transaction fee and five products.
• Builder – $89 a month, or $69 billed yearly, with no transaction fee and 10 products.
• Growth – $189 a month, or $139 billed yearly, with 50 products and free subtitles and translations.

Best for student apps

Teachable

4.3From $39 a month, after a 7-day free trial

Courses, coaching and digital downloads, with apps for your students.

Try Teachable free for 7 days

I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

11. Podia

Podia puts your courses, community, coaching, digital downloads and email in one place.

Over 15,000 creators have earned more than $900 million on it, Podia says.

Every plan includes Podia Email, so you can send newsletters and sequences without a separate email tool. But each plan caps your subscribers: 100 on Mover, 500 on Shaker and 1,000 on Earthquaker.

Mover keeps 5% of each sale. From Shaker, Podia keeps nothing, and Stripe or PayPal charge their usual 2.9% + $0.30.

Who is Podia for?

Podia is for creators starting out who want courses, a community and email in one simple account, with a small list to begin with.

Key features

• Courses, digital downloads, coaching and webinars
• A community
• Email marketing, built in
• A website and landing pages
• Sales tax handling
• An affiliate program and upsells, from Shaker

Pricing

Podia has three plans, after a 14-day free trial:

• Mover – $49 a month, or $42 billed yearly, with a 5% transaction fee and 100 email subscribers.
• Shaker – $98 a month, or $84 billed yearly, with no transaction fee, affiliates and 500 subscribers.
• Earthquaker – $178 a month, or $150 billed yearly, with 1,000 subscribers.

Best for starters

Podia

4.2From $49 a month, after a 14-day free trial

Courses, a community, coaching, downloads and email in one place.

Try Podia free for 14 days

12. Kartra

Kartra is an all-in-one platform: pages, funnels, email and SMS, a CRM, a membership portal for your courses, and a checkout that takes cards and PayPal.

Over 60,000 coaches and business owners have earned more than $1.5 billion with it, Kartra says.

The Essentials plan is $59 a month, but it keeps 5% of each sale and caps you at 500 contacts. From Starter, at $119 a month, there are no transaction fees and your courses and memberships are unlimited.

Who is Kartra for?

Kartra is for coaches and experts who want funnels, email and courses in one place, and are ready to pay for a bigger plan as their list grows.

Key features

• A drag-and-drop page builder with ready templates
• Multi-page funnels
• Email and SMS campaigns
• A CRM with lists and tags
• A membership portal for your courses
• Checkout for cards and PayPal
• Surveys, quizzes and affiliate management, on the higher plans

Pricing

Kartra has four plans:

• Essentials – $59 a month, or $52 billed yearly, with a 5% transaction fee, one course and 500 contacts.
• Starter – $119 a month, or $99 billed yearly, with no transaction fee and 2,500 contacts.
• Growth – $229 a month, or $189 billed yearly, with 12,500 contacts and 10 team members.
• Professional – $549 a month, or $429 billed yearly, with 25,000 contacts.

Best for funnels and courses

Kartra

4.2From $59 a month

Pages, funnels, email, a CRM and a membership portal for your courses.

See Kartra's plans

I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

13. ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels is a funnel builder first: sales pages, checkouts with upsells and order bumps, email, a CRM and courses, from the company Russell Brunson co-founded.

It takes no fee on your sales. You pay Stripe's usual fees, and nothing more, says its help center.

Every plan comes with unlimited funnels for now. What grows with the plan is everything else: courses, contacts, team members and emails.

For example, Launch includes three courses and 10,000 contacts, and Scale six courses and 75,000 contacts.

Who is ClickFunnels for?

ClickFunnels is for creators who sell with funnels: a lead magnet, a sales page, an order bump and an upsell, with the course behind them.

Key features

• Unlimited funnels and pages
• Checkout with one-click upsells and order bumps
• Email marketing and a CRM
• Courses and memberships
• An affiliate program
• A blog and a website
• An API, from Optimize

Pricing

ClickFunnels has four plans, with a free trial:

• Launch – $97 a month, or $81 billed yearly, with three courses and 10,000 contacts.
• Scale – $197 a month, or $164 billed yearly, with six courses and 75,000 contacts.
• Optimize – $297 a month, or $248 billed yearly, with 10 courses and an API.
• Dominate – $499.75 a month, billed yearly, with 20 courses and 20 workspaces.

Best for courses behind a funnel

ClickFunnels

4.3From $97 a month, after a free trial

Sales pages and checkouts with upsells, plus email, a CRM and courses.

Start a ClickFunnels free trial

I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

14. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is a community platform with courses, events and livestreams inside, on iOS, Android and the web.

Hosts earned $500 million on it in 2025, it says.

Its courses can be sequential, timed or dripped, award badges and certificates automatically, and take SCORM content.

It keeps a share of each sale on top of Stripe's fee: 2% on Launch, 1% on Scale and 0.5% on Growth.

Who is Mighty Networks for?

Mighty Networks is for creators whose business is the community itself, with courses and live events as part of the membership.

Key features

• A community with chat, threads and polls
• Courses: sequential, timed or dripped
• Badges and certificates, awarded automatically
• Livestreams and events
• Apps on iOS and Android
• SCORM content
• Your own branded apps, on Mighty Pro

Pricing

Mighty Networks has three plans with a 14-day free trial, and Mighty Pro on request:

• Launch – $95 a month, or $79 billed yearly, keeping 2% of each sale.
• Scale – $215 a month, or $179 billed yearly, keeping 1%.
• Growth – $425 a month, or $354 billed yearly, keeping 0.5%.

Best for native apps

Mighty Networks

4.3From $95 a month, after a 14-day free trial

A community with courses, events and livestreams, on iOS, Android and the web.

Try Mighty Networks free for 14 days

15. SamCart

SamCart is a checkout platform for digital products, courses, subscriptions and coaching, used by over 75,000 businesses, it says.

It builds your sales pages and checkouts, hosts your course in a members area, and takes Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo, cards and buy now pay later.

SamCart takes no cut of your sales. Its own payments, SamPay, charge Stripe's card prices.

One-click upsells and order bumps, which SamCart says raise order value by 68% and 31%, start on its second plan.

Who is SamCart for?

SamCart is for creators who sell digital products and courses and want the checkout to do the heavy lifting: more payment methods, upsells and order bumps.

Key features

• Sales pages, checkouts and link-in-bio pages
• A members area for your courses
• Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo, cards and buy now pay later
• Coupons and cart abandonment emails
• Subscriptions, with a customer portal
• One-click upsells, order bumps and A/B tests, on the higher plan
• An affiliate program, on Pro

Pricing

SamCart has two plans, with a 7-day free trial and 25% off billed yearly:

• Core – $79 a month, with unlimited pages, products and checkouts.
• Pro – $199 a month, with one-click upsells, order bumps and an affiliate program.

Best checkout for courses

SamCart

4.3From $79 a month, after a 7-day free trial

A checkout for courses, digital products, subscriptions and coaching.

Try SamCart free for 7 days

I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

16. Stan

Stan is a link-in-bio store: your courses, digital products, bookings and memberships behind the one link in your social profiles.

It takes zero transaction fees on both plans, so you keep 100% of each sale, apart from your payment processor's fee.

Creator, at $29 a month, includes an unlimited course builder, a calendar for bookings, subscriptions, lead magnets, a community and AutoDM, which answers Instagram comments and DMs for you.

Creator Pro, at $99 a month, adds email marketing, funnels, upsells, payment plans, Afterpay and Klarna, and pixel tracking for Meta, Google, Pinterest and TikTok.

Who is Stan for?

Stan is for creators who sell from Instagram and TikTok, and want their course, bookings and downloads one tap from their bio.

Key features

• A store behind your link in bio
• An unlimited course builder
• Calendar and bookings for coaching calls
• Recurring subscriptions and a community
• AutoDM for Instagram
• Email marketing, funnels and upsells, on Creator Pro
• Afterpay, Klarna and payment plans, on Creator Pro

Pricing

Stan has two plans, with a 14-day free trial:

• Creator – $29 a month, or $300 a year.
• Creator Pro – $99 a month, or $948 a year, with email, funnels, upsells and payment plans.

Best for link in bio

Stan

4.3From $29 a month, after a 14-day free trial

Your courses, products, bookings and memberships behind the link in your profiles.

Try Stan free for 14 days

17. Uscreen

Uscreen turns your videos into a subscription business: a streaming platform, a membership, a community and your own mobile apps.

It's built around video memberships, which is why its pricing works differently from a course platform's.

Each plan keeps a share of one-time sales, 10% on Starter and 5% from Growth up. Subscriptions cost a fee per subscriber instead: nothing on Starter, $1.99 a subscriber a month on Growth and $0.99 on App Essentials.

Starter also caps you at 100 subscribers.

Who is Uscreen for?

Uscreen is for creators who sell video, like fitness classes, yoga or courses, as a monthly membership with apps their members watch on.

Key features

• A video streaming platform on your own brand
• Subscriptions, memberships and one-time sales
• Native livestreaming and gated Zoom links
• A community
• Your own mobile apps, from App Essentials
• Group subscriptions for companies, on Custom

Pricing

Uscreen has three plans, billed monthly, with a 14-day free trial, and Custom on request:

• Starter – $49 a month, with 10% of one-time sales and up to 100 subscribers.
• Growth – $149 a month, plus $1.99 a subscriber, with 5% of one-time sales.
• App Essentials – $449 a month, plus $0.99 a subscriber, with your own apps.

Best for video memberships

Uscreen

4.3From $49 a month, after a 14-day free trial

A streaming platform, a membership, a community and your own apps for your videos.

Try Uscreen free for 14 days

18. Kourses

Kourses is a lightweight course and community platform, with courses, private community spaces, digital products and checkout pages in one place.

It takes 0% of your sales on every plan, and includes order bumps and upsells from day one.

Kourses says 99% of its features are on every plan. What changes is how many members and products you can have: 100 members and one product on Starter, and 1,000 members and 10 products on Pro.

Who is Kourses for?

Kourses is for creators starting with one course or community, who want a clean platform for less than most.

Key features

• Branded course portals with fast video hosting
• Private community spaces
• Digital products: ebooks, templates, workbooks
• Checkout pages with order bumps and upsells
• Your own domain

Pricing

Kourses has three plans, with a 14-day free trial:

• Starter – $15 a month, or $9 billed yearly, with 100 members and one product.
• Pro – $59 a month, or $49 billed yearly, with 1,000 members and 10 products.
• Unlimited – $99 a month, or $79 billed yearly.

Best light platform

Kourses

4.1From $15 a month, after a 14-day free trial

Courses, community spaces, digital products and checkout pages in one place.

Try Kourses free for 14 days

19. New Zenler

New Zenler is an all-in-one course platform: courses, coaching, a community, email and funnels, all built in.

Every plan includes courses, a community, email, funnels, automations, quizzes and live sessions, and none of them charges a transaction fee.

The plans differ in how much email and how many funnels you get. For example, Starter sends 5,000 emails a month with two funnels, and Pro 100,000 emails with 100 funnels.

Who is New Zenler for?

New Zenler is for course creators who want courses, email and funnels in one place for less than the bigger all-in-one platforms.

Key features

• Courses, coaching and live sessions
• A community with a leaderboard
• Email marketing and automations
• Marketing funnels
• Quizzes and certificates
• A fully branded mobile app

Pricing

New Zenler has three plans, with a 30-day free trial:

• Starter – $57 a month, or $47 billed yearly, with 5,000 emails a month and two funnels.
• Pro – $117 a month, or $97 billed yearly, with 100,000 emails and 100 funnels.
• Premium – $347 a month, or $277 billed yearly, with 500,000 emails and unlimited funnels.

Best all-in-one for less

New Zenler

4.1From $57 a month, after a 30-day free trial

Courses, coaching, a community, email and funnels, all built in.

Try New Zenler free for 30 days

20. Payhip

Payhip sells digital downloads, courses, coaching, memberships and physical products, from a store it builds for you.

Every plan has the same features. What you choose is how you pay: a share of each sale, or a monthly plan.

The free plan keeps 5% of each sale, Plus at $29 a month keeps 2%, and Pro at $99 a month keeps nothing. PayPal and Stripe charge their own fees on every plan.

Payhip also collects and pays EU and UK VAT for you, and pays your sales out as soon as each one completes.

Who is Payhip for?

Payhip is for creators who want to start selling a course or a download today, without a monthly bill, and switch to a flat plan once sales grow.

Key features

• Digital downloads, courses, coaching and memberships
• A store and website
• Coupons, upsells and an affiliate program
• Email marketing
• EU and UK VAT collected and paid for you
• Payouts as soon as each sale completes

Pricing

Payhip has three plans, all with the same features:

• Free Forever – $0, keeping 5% of each sale.
• Plus – $29 a month, keeping 2%.
• Pro – $99 a month, keeping nothing.

Best free store

Payhip

4.2Free plan, keeping 5% of each sale

Downloads, courses, coaching and memberships, from a store it builds for you.

Start on Payhip for free

21. Gumroad

Gumroad sells digital products, ebooks, courses and memberships, with no monthly fee.

Instead, it keeps 10% + $0.50 of each sale through your profile or your own links, with card processing on top. On a sale it finds for you through Discover, its marketplace, it keeps 30%.

Since January 1, 2025, Gumroad is the merchant of record for your sales. So it collects and pays sales tax, VAT and GST worldwide, and you don't have to.

Who is Gumroad for?

Gumroad is for creators selling their first digital product or course, who want to pay nothing until they make a sale.

Key features

• Digital products, courses and memberships
• A profile store and product pages
• Its Discover marketplace
• Email to your customers
• Coupons, upsells and an affiliate program
• Sales tax, VAT and GST handled worldwide

Pricing

Gumroad has no plans. Its fees, from its pricing page:

• Your own sales – 10% + $0.50 per sale, plus card processing.
• Discover sales – 30% per sale.

Best to start selling today

Gumroad

4.2No monthly fee, 10% + $0.50 a sale

Digital products, ebooks, courses and memberships, with no monthly fee.

Start selling on Gumroad

22. Lemon Squeezy

Lemon Squeezy is a checkout for digital products, subscriptions and software licenses, and part of Stripe.

It's built for software companies first. A course sells there as a digital download or a subscription.

There's no monthly fee. Lemon Squeezy keeps 5% + $0.50 of each sale, card processing included, and some payments carry small extra fees.

It's also the merchant of record, so it handles sales tax and VAT for you.

Who is Lemon Squeezy for?

Lemon Squeezy is for creators and software makers who sell downloads and subscriptions worldwide and never want to deal with sales tax.

Key features

• Checkout for digital products and subscriptions
• Sales tax and VAT handled as the merchant of record
• Secure download links
• License keys for software
• Email marketing, free up to 500 subscribers
• An affiliate program

Pricing

Lemon Squeezy has one price, from its pricing page:

• Every sale – 5% + $0.50, with volume pricing on request.
• Email marketing – free up to 500 subscribers.

Best with sales tax handled

Lemon Squeezy

4.2No monthly fee, 5% + $0.50 a sale

A checkout for digital products, subscriptions and licenses, now part of Stripe.

Start on Lemon Squeezy for free

23. SendOwl

SendOwl sells anything digital straight to your customers, with no marketplace in between: downloads, courses, subscriptions and physical goods.

Every plan has every feature. What you pay for is sales volume.

Launch covers up to $10,000 in sales a year, Grow up to $36,000, and Business starts at $299 a month for up to $200,000. Go past your plan's limit, and SendOwl moves you up.

SendOwl takes no cut of your sales.

Who is SendOwl for?

SendOwl is for creators who already have a site and want a checkout that delivers digital products securely, without a transaction fee.

Key features

• Three checkout flows, overlay checkout and shareable links
• Instant delivery of PDFs, videos, images and music
• Subscriptions and recurring billing
• Bundles and pre-orders
• Upsells, coupons and an affiliate program
• License keys and video streaming

Pricing

SendOwl's plans go by your sales in the last 12 months:

• Launch – $39 a month, or $32.50 billed yearly, for up to $10,000 in sales a year.
• Grow – $87 a month, or $72.50 billed yearly, for up to $36,000.
• Scale – $159 a month, or $132.50 billed yearly, for up to $100,000.
• Business – from $299 a month, for up to $200,000.

Best priced by your sales

SendOwl

4.0From $39 a month, after a free trial

A checkout for downloads, courses and subscriptions, with no marketplace in between.

Try SendOwl for free

24. Beacons

Beacons is a link-in-bio platform used by over 10 million creators: a page, a store for merch, digital products and courses, a media kit and newsletters.

It also has an AI teammate, Beam, that helps with brand deals: finding them, negotiating rates and drafting replies.

The free plan lets you sell, and Beacons says you can cash out in one day. But its pricing page lists a 9% seller fee on the free plan, while another line says there are no platform fees on it. Creator Plus, at $30 a month, has 0% seller fees.

Who is Beacons for?

Beacons is for creators who earn from brand deals and want to sell a course or a download from the same link in bio.

Key features

• A link-in-bio page
• A store for merch, digital products and courses
• A media kit that updates itself
• Newsletters and DM automation
• Beam, an AI teammate for brand deals
• Your own domain and payment plans, on Creator Plus

Pricing

Beacons has a free plan and a paid one:

• Free Forever – $0, with a 9% seller fee on its pricing page.
• Creator Plus – $30 a month, with 0% seller fees.

Best link in bio for brand deals

Beacons

4.1Free plan, with a 9% seller fee

A link-in-bio page with a store, a media kit and newsletters.

Start on Beacons for free

I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

25. Eden

Eden is a workspace for saving ideas and creating with AI, with a store where you sell Custom AIs, courses, cohorts, coaching and downloads.

Its store puts every product on your own page at your handle, and your buyers can learn inside Eden, or in Claude.

Eden takes a flat 5% of each sale, and Stripe's fee comes out of your share. Selling starts on the Starter plan, at $29 a month.

Who is Eden for?

Eden is for creators who want to sell an AI version of what they know, a Custom AI people can talk to, next to their courses and downloads.

Key features

• A store for Custom AIs, courses, cohorts, coaching and downloads
• Your own page at your handle
• Charge once or monthly
• Import your customers from other platforms
• Sales through your own Stripe account
• 20% to 30% recurring on signups you refer

Pricing

Eden's store comes with its Creator plans:

• Starter – $29 a month, or $24.92 billed yearly.
• Pro – $79 a month, or $65.83 billed yearly.
• Studio – $199 a month, or $166.58 billed yearly.

Best for Custom AIs

Eden

4.1From $29 a month

A store for Custom AIs, courses, cohorts, coaching and downloads.

See Eden's store

26. Maven

Maven is a platform for live cohort courses, where experts teach a group on set dates, plus free lightning lessons and one-day workshops.

It's free until a student pays. Then Maven keeps 10% of your course earnings, and Stripe's fees come out of your 90%.

For example, on a $1,000 enrollment, Maven takes $100, and Stripe charges its usual fee on the payment.

Who is Maven for?

Maven is for experts who teach live, in cohorts, and want a platform that also helps students find their course.

Key features

• Live cohort courses
• Free lightning lessons and one-day workshops
• A community for each cohort
• Payments and payouts through Stripe
• Discount codes
• A marketplace where students find courses

Pricing

Maven has no plans. Its fee, from its help center:

• Every enrollment – Maven keeps 10%, and Stripe's fees come out of your 90%.

Best for live cohorts

Maven

4.3No monthly fee, 10% of each enrollment

Live cohort courses on set dates, plus free lessons and workshops.

Teach on Maven

27. Disco

Disco builds a branded learning academy on your own domain: cohorts, courses, a community, events and AI agents for your admins and members.

It's made for training businesses and companies as much as creators, with one plan, Organization, and Enterprise above it.

Organization is $399 a month billed yearly, or $499 billed monthly, and includes up to 500 members.

Who is Disco for?

Disco is for training businesses and companies that run cohorts and self-paced courses for members, customers or employees.

Key features

• A branded academy on your own domain
• Cohorts, self-paced courses and a community
• Quizzes, assignments and surveys
• AskAI, instant answers from your own content
• AI video transcription, summaries and subtitles
• Branded iOS and Android apps, on Enterprise

Pricing

Disco has one plan with a free trial, and Enterprise on request:

• Organization – $499 a month, or $399 billed yearly, for up to 500 members.

Best branded academy

Disco

4.2From $499 a month, after a free trial

A learning academy on your own domain, with cohorts, courses, a community and AI agents.

Try Disco free

28. LearnDash

LearnDash is a course plugin for your own WordPress site, and it calls itself the number one LMS on WordPress.

You buy a yearly license: $259, $399 or $599. Each one includes unlimited courses and unlimited learners, with no fee per student.

Hosting, a theme and email are yours to add, since it runs on your own site.

Who is LearnDash for?

LearnDash is for creators and training businesses that already run WordPress and want the course inside their own site, with full control over it.

Key features

• Lessons, topics and assessments with drag and drop
• Quizzes with 8 question types
• A certificate builder and achievements
• Memberships, subscriptions and bundles
• Payments through Stripe and PayPal
• An AI course outline and quiz builder
• Team selling, cohorts and advanced reporting, on the higher plans

Pricing

LearnDash has three yearly licenses:

• Essentials – $259 a year.
• Pro – $399 a year, with team selling, cohorts and advanced reporting.
• Elite – $599 a year.

Best course plugin for WordPress

LearnDash

4.3From $259 a year

Courses on your own WordPress site, from what it calls the number one LMS on WordPress.

See LearnDash's plans

I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

29. MemberPress

MemberPress is a membership plugin for WordPress: paywalls, courses, coaching, communities and subscription billing on your own site.

Creators using it have earned over $2.5 billion, it says.

Its Launch plan charges a 4.9% transaction fee on every payment. Growth and Scale charge none.

The prices on its page are introductory, half the normal price, and renewals are at full price.

Who is MemberPress for?

MemberPress is for WordPress site owners who want to sell memberships and courses from their own site, with the content locked behind a paywall.

Key features

• Paywalls and dripped content
• Unlimited courses and lessons, with an AI course generator
• Subscription billing and a customizable checkout
• Digital downloads
• Community forums, a member directory and coaching, from Growth
• A full affiliate program and direct messages, on Scale

Pricing

MemberPress has three yearly plans, at half price for the first year:

• Launch – $199.50 a year (normally $399), with a 4.9% transaction fee.
• Growth – $349.50 a year (normally $699), with no transaction fee and community forums.
• Scale – $499.50 a year (normally $999), with the affiliate program and direct messages.

Best for memberships on WordPress

MemberPress

4.3From $199.50 a year

Paywalls, courses, coaching and subscription billing on your own WordPress site.

See MemberPress's plans

30. Tutor LMS

Tutor LMS is a course plugin for WordPress, and its core is free forever.

With the free plugin, you can build and launch your first course without paying anything, on your own site.

The paid plans are yearly licenses, from $199 for one site, and add a larger quiz builder, instructor dashboards and earnings split between instructors.

Hosting, a theme and payments are yours to add.

Who is Tutor LMS for?

Tutor LMS is for creators and schools on WordPress who want to start free, and for sites with several instructors sharing the earnings.

Key features

• A free core plugin
• Native video, YouTube and Vimeo lessons
• An advanced quiz builder with interactive quiz types
• Certificates and dripped lessons
• Instructor dashboards and earnings split by instructor

Pricing

Tutor LMS is free to start, with three yearly licenses and lifetime ones:

• Free – $0, the core plugin.
• Individual – $199 a year, for one site.
• Business – $399 a year.
• Agency – $799 a year.

Best free course plugin

Tutor LMS

4.2Free version, or from $199 a year

A course plugin for WordPress whose core is free for good.

Start on Tutor LMS for free

31. FluentCommunity

FluentCommunity is a community and course plugin for WordPress: spaces, feeds, profiles, chat and a course builder, all on your own site.

It's also the last platform I used on WordPress, before I built my own checkout.

There's a free version, and Pro is $199 a year for one site, or $399 once for a lifetime license.

You sell courses and paid spaces through FluentCart, from the same team, with Stripe or PayPal.

Who is FluentCommunity for?

FluentCommunity is for coaches and creators on WordPress who want a community with courses inside, on their own site and without a monthly platform fee.

Key features

• Community spaces, activity feeds and profiles
• Chat, comments, reactions and polls
• Leaderboards and badges
• A course builder with lessons and lesson discussions
• Progress tracking
• Paid courses and spaces through FluentCart

Pricing

FluentCommunity is free to start. Pro, by the number of sites:

• Single site – $199 a year, or $399 once for life.
• 5 sites – $399 a year, or $799 once.
• 15 sites – $699 a year, or $1,599 once.

Best community plugin

FluentCommunity

4.3Free version, or from $199 a year

Spaces, feeds, chat and a course builder on your own WordPress site.

See FluentCommunity's plans

I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

32. SureDash

SureDash builds a community, courses, events and a resource library right inside WordPress, from the team behind products used on over 4 million sites.

It has no per-member fees, and it says you can set it up in under 10 minutes.

There's a free version. The paid plans are yearly, from $69, at introductory prices that renew at full price.

To sell access, you use an ecommerce plugin of your choice, like SureCart.

Who is SureDash for?

SureDash is for WordPress site owners who want a community and courses on their own site, starting free.

Key features

• Community spaces and discussions
• Courses with quizzes
• Events and a resource library, on Business
• Member dashboards
• Import from LearnDash

Pricing

SureDash is free to start, with three yearly plans at introductory prices:

• Starter – $69 a year (renews at $99), for one site.
• Pro – $149 a year (renews at $199), with discussions, on 10 sites.
• Business – $199 a year (renews at $299), with events and a resource library, or $499 once for life.

Best free community plugin

SureDash

4.1Free version, or from $69 a year

A community, courses, events and a resource library inside WordPress.

Start on SureDash for free

33. SureCart

SureCart is an ecommerce plugin for WordPress, used by over 80,000 merchants: a checkout, subscriptions, installment plans and sales tax for your own site.

It sells courses together with a course plugin like LearnDash, LifterLMS or Tutor LMS, or with SureDash for a community.

The Launch plan is free, with a 2.9% transaction fee on its pricing page. Its WordPress.org page says 1.9%. Pro, at $199 a year for one store, has no transaction fee.

Card processing is on top on every plan.

Who is SureCart for?

SureCart is for WordPress site owners who sell courses through a course plugin and want a modern checkout for them.

Key features

• A checkout native to WordPress
• Subscriptions, installment plans and free or paid trials
• Sales tax for 40+ countries and every US state, and EU VAT
• Coupons and an affiliate program
• A customer portal for orders and subscriptions
• Works with LearnDash, LifterLMS and Tutor LMS

Pricing

SureCart's prices for one store:

• Launch – free, with a transaction fee.
• Pro – $199 a year, with no transaction fee.
• Pro Lifetime – $699 once.

Best WordPress checkout

SureCart

4.3Free plan, or from $199 a year

A WordPress checkout with subscriptions, installment plans and sales tax.

Start on SureCart for free

34. FluentCart

FluentCart is an ecommerce plugin for WordPress from the team behind FluentCommunity: physical and digital products, subscriptions, licenses, courses and memberships.

It charges no transaction fees, on the free version or Pro, and Stripe and PayPal are built in.

It's new, with over 9,000 active installs. Pro is $199 a year for one site, and for now there's an early-bird lifetime deal from $249.

Who is FluentCart for?

FluentCart is for WordPress creators who sell courses and memberships with FluentCommunity or LearnDash, and want a fast checkout with no fee on sales.

Key features

• Physical and digital products, subscriptions and licenses
• Courses and memberships, with FluentCommunity and LearnDash
• Stripe and PayPal built in
• Installments, bundles and invoicing
• Shipping and taxes

Pricing

FluentCart is free to start, with yearly plans by the number of sites:

• 1 site – $199 a year, or $249 once in the early-bird lifetime deal.
• 5 sites – $499 a year.
• 15 sites – $699 a year.
• 50 sites – $899 a year.

Best with no fees on WordPress

FluentCart

4.2Free version, or from $199 a year

Products, subscriptions and licenses with no transaction fees.

Start on FluentCart for free

35. CartFlows

CartFlows is a funnel builder and checkout for WooCommerce, trusted by over 800,000 stores, it says.

It sells courses through course plugins like LearnDash, Tutor LMS, LifterLMS and MemberPress, with funnels, order bumps and one-click upsells around them.

There's a free version on WordPress.org. The paid plans are yearly, at introductory prices that renew at full price.

Who is CartFlows for?

CartFlows is for WooCommerce sites that sell courses and want funnels, order bumps and upsells around the checkout.

Key features

• Sales funnels for WooCommerce
• A modern checkout and cart
• Cart abandonment recovery and coupons
• Order bumps and one-click upsells, from Pro
• A/B split testing and funnel analytics
• Works with LearnDash, Tutor LMS, LifterLMS and MemberPress

Pricing

CartFlows has a free version and three yearly plans at introductory prices:

• Starter – $99 a year (renews at $149), for one site.
• Pro – $199 a year (renews at $299), or $699 once, with order bumps and upsells on three sites.
• Suite – $299 a year (renews at $449), or $999 once.

Best for WooCommerce funnels

CartFlows

4.1Free version, or from $99 a year

Funnels, order bumps and upsells for WooCommerce.

See CartFlows' plans

I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

36. Teachery

Teachery is a course platform for courses and branded digital products, with zero transaction fees.

Every plan includes every feature, with unlimited courses, customers, course hubs and custom domains.

It costs $49 a month, or $950 once for a lifetime plan. Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.29 a sale, and 3.4% + $0.29 on payment plans.

Who is Teachery for?

Teachery is for creators who want a simple, well-designed course platform and would rather pay once than every month.

Key features

• Courses and branded digital products
• Unlimited courses, customers and custom domains
• Checkout, coupons and payment plans
• Upsells and welcome emails

Pricing

Teachery has two plans, with a 14-day free trial:

• Monthly – $49 a month, or $39.17 a month billed yearly.
• Lifetime – $950 once.

Best to pay once

Teachery

4.0From $49 a month, or $950 once

Courses and branded digital products with zero transaction fees.

Try Teachery free for 14 days

37. Xperiencify

Xperiencify is a course platform built around gamification, to get more students to finish your course.

It adds points, variable rewards, badges, leaderboards, celebrations, sound effects and a binge mode to your lessons, with quizzes, a community and forums.

Your account is free until you're ready to publish a course. Then Growth is $99 a month, for 10 courses and 1,000 active students a month.

Its pricing page lists no transaction fee, and its help articles on payments are gone, so its payment fees aren't published.

Who is Xperiencify for?

Xperiencify is for course creators whose students start but don't finish, and who want the course itself to pull them through.

Key features

• Points, rewards, badges and leaderboards
• Celebrations, sound effects and a binge mode
• Quizzes and assessments, with logic paths
• A community and forums
• Email, funnels and pages
• A certified expert to build your course, as a service

Pricing

Xperiencify is free until you publish, then:

• Growth – $99 a month, for 10 courses and 1,000 active students a month.
• Pro – $199 a month, for 20 courses and 5,000 active students.
• Lifetime – $1,499 once, for 10 courses and 1,000 active students.

Best for course completion

Xperiencify

4.0Free until you publish, then from $99 a month

Gamified courses that get more of your students to finish.

Start on Xperiencify for free

38. Shopify

Shopify is an online store platform, and a course is one more product in the store once you add a course app.

On its own, Shopify sells physical products and digital downloads, with its free Digital Products app delivering the files. For lessons, you add a course app from the Shopify App Store, like Courses Plus or Tevello.

Courses Plus, for example, has a free plan, then costs $19.99, $79.99 or $199.99 a month, on top of your Shopify plan.

Shopify takes no cut when you use Shopify Payments. With another payment provider, it adds a transaction fee: 2% on Basic.

Who is Shopify for?

Shopify is for creators who already sell physical products or merch and want a course in the same store and the same checkout.

Key features

• An online store with its own checkout
• Digital downloads with the free Digital Products app
• Courses through an app, like Courses Plus or Tevello
• Coupons, sales tax and email marketing
• Shopify Payments

Pricing

Shopify's plans, before any course app. It starts with three days free, then $1 a month for your first three months:

• Basic – $39 a month, or $29 billed yearly.
• Grow – $105 a month, or $79 billed yearly.
• Advanced – $399 a month, or $299 billed yearly.

Best for a store with a course

Shopify

4.3From $39 a month, after three days free

An online store where a course is one more product, through a course app.

Start on Shopify

39. WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a free, open-source store for your own WordPress site, with full control of your checkout, your data and your costs.

A course sells through it with a course plugin, like Sensei LMS, LearnDash or Tutor LMS. Sensei Pro, for example, is $149 a year.

WooCommerce takes no cut of your sales. WooPayments, its own payments, charges 2.9% + $0.30 on US cards, with no monthly fee, and 1.5% more on international cards.

Who is WooCommerce for?

WooCommerce is for creators who run WordPress and want a store and a course on their own site, choosing every piece themselves.

Key features

• A free store plugin for WordPress
• Any payment provider, including WooPayments, Stripe and PayPal
• Physical products, downloads, subscriptions and memberships
• Courses with Sensei LMS, LearnDash or Tutor LMS
• Extensions, like CartFlows for funnels

Pricing

WooCommerce is free. What you pay for is the rest:

• WooCommerce – free.
• WooPayments – 2.9% + $0.30 a sale on US cards, with no monthly fee.
• A course plugin – like Sensei Pro, at $149 a year.

Best free WordPress store

WooCommerce

4.2Free

A free, open-source store for your own WordPress site.

Get WooCommerce

40. Fourthwall

Fourthwall is a creator store for merch, digital products and memberships, with no upfront costs and no credit card to start.

It isn't a course platform. But you can sell a course on it, as a digital product or as a video membership, with your videos organized into series in its video catalog.

Its free plan keeps 5% of digital product sales, and Pro, at $15 a month, keeps nothing on them. Memberships keep 5% on both plans, and card processing is 2.9% + $0.30 on US cards.

Who is Fourthwall for?

Fourthwall is for creators who sell merch and memberships to their audience, and want to add a course or a digital product to the same shop.

Key features

• A branded shop for merch, digital products and memberships
• A video catalog, with videos organized into series
• Private livestreams, polls, badges and Discord roles for members
• Branded mobile apps for your members
• Your own domain

Pricing

Fourthwall has a free plan and Pro:

• Free – $0, keeping 5% of digital product sales, with 5 GB of storage.
• Pro – $15 a month, or $48 less a year billed yearly, with no fee on digital products, 100 GB, a free .store domain and $120 of shop credit a year.

Best for merch and memberships

Fourthwall

4.3Free plan, keeping 5% of digital sales

Merch, digital products and memberships, with no upfront costs.

Start on Fourthwall for free

What is an online course platform?

An online course platform is software you sell and deliver a course on. It hosts your lessons, takes the payment, and lets your students in.

They come in eight kinds:

• All-in-one platforms – your course, website, email and checkout under one plan, like HighLevel, Kajabi and Systeme.io.
• Course platforms – built around the course itself, like Thinkific, LearnWorlds and Teachable.
• Community platforms – a community first, with courses inside, like Skool, Circle and Mighty Networks.
• Live cohort platforms – courses taught live to a group, like Maven and Disco.
• Checkout platforms – a checkout first, that can sell a course too, like ThriveCart, Whop and SamCart.
• Link-in-bio stores – a store behind the link in your social profiles, like Stan and Beacons.
• WordPress plugins – a course platform on your own WordPress site, like LearnDash, Tutor LMS and FluentCommunity.
• Course marketplaces – they bring the buyers and keep a bigger share, like Udemy and Skillshare.

What to look for in an online course platform

Five things decide most of it:

1. What it costs at your sales – the plan, plus its cut of each sale. A free plan with a cut can cost more than a paid plan once you sell.
2. Its cut of each sale – HighLevel, ThriveCart and Kajabi take none, Skool's Hobby plan keeps 10%, Circle 2% on Professional, and Thinkific adds up to 5% if you sell through Stripe instead of Thinkific Payments.
3. Its limits – contacts on Kajabi and Systeme.io, members on ThriveCart Academy, students on Thinkific. The cheapest plan is often the one with the tightest cap.
4. The features you need – a community, email, upsells, certificates or an affiliate program. Many of them start on the second plan.
5. Who hosts it – a hosted platform runs everything for you, and a WordPress plugin runs on your own site, where hosting and updates are yours.

The best free online course platforms

A free online course platform lets you publish and sell a course before you pay for a plan.

But "free" works in four different ways, and each one costs you somewhere else.

Free plans

Systeme.io is free for up to 2,000 contacts, with one course, 500 students and no transaction fees.

And Payhip's free plan has every feature, but keeps 5% of each sale.

Free trials

Many paid platforms let you try them first, then charge the plan's price.

Thinkific, New Zenler and ThriveCart give you 30 days free. Kajabi, Podia, Circle and Stan give you 14.

Free WordPress plugins

Tutor LMS, FluentCommunity and SureDash have free versions you install on your own WordPress site.

The plugin is free. The hosting isn't, since the course runs on your own server.

No monthly fee, but a fee on each sale

Whop charges 2.7% + $0.30 a sale, card processing included.

Gumroad keeps 10% + $0.50 a sale, plus card fees.

And Maven is free until a student pays, then keeps 10%.

So a free platform costs the least while you sell little. Once you sell every month, a plan with no cut often costs less, and the comparison at the top shows you where that line is for your price and sales.

Online course marketplaces

A marketplace brings its own buyers, and keeps a much bigger share of each sale for it.

So many creators do both: a marketplace to be found, and their own platform for the people who already follow them.

Udemy

Udemy is a course marketplace: you publish a course, and Udemy sells it to its own students.

It's free to teach on. What you earn depends on who brought the student.

A sale through your own coupon or referral link pays you 97%. A sale Udemy finds for you, through its ads or its marketplace, pays you 37%.

Who is Udemy for?

Udemy is for teachers who want buyers without building an audience first, and who are fine earning less on each sale for it.

Key features

• A marketplace of students looking for courses
• Free to publish
• Quizzes and certificates
• A mobile app for students
• A Teaching Center with guides for planning, recording and marketing

Skillshare

Skillshare is a marketplace for creative classes, where members pay Skillshare and watch any class.

Teachers don't earn per sale. They earn royalties from the Skillshare Teacher Fund, by how much members watch and engage with their classes, plus engagement rewards and referral earnings.

Who is Skillshare for?

Skillshare is for teachers of creative skills who want members already watching, and don't need to set a price.

Key features

• A marketplace of members who watch any class
• Royalties from the Teacher Fund, by minutes watched
• Engagement rewards and referral earnings
• A mobile app for students

What I use

I sell through my own checkout, Creator Store, now.

Before that, the last platform I used on WordPress was FluentCommunity, and I processed millions of dollars through ThriveCart and a few others.

Every platform I used lacked something, which is why I built my own.

Some links in this guide are affiliate links: if you sign up through one, I may earn a commission, at no cost to you.

If you're getting ready to sell a course, these books cover the launch and the selling:

Launch

J

by Jeff Walker

Launch by Jeff Walker teaches the Product Launch Formula for selling a product online with free prelaunch content before the offer opens.

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Expert Secrets

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by Russell Brunson

Expert Secrets by Russell Brunson teaches how to find your message, build a tribe, and turn your expertise into a mass movement that drives sales.

Buy now Read summary

I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

DotCom Secrets

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by Russell Brunson

DotCom Secrets by Russell Brunson is his playbook for growing a company online with sales funnels.

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I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

Traffic Secrets

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by Russell Brunson

Traffic Secrets by Russell Brunson teaches how to drive traffic to your business using proven marketing strategies, social media, and paid ads.

Buy now Read summary

I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

Final thoughts on online course platforms

There's no single best platform. It depends on what you sell, how you want to sell it, and how much, since a cut of each sale costs little at first and more as you grow.

Keep reading:

• How to create an online course – from the idea to the launch
• Online course platform comparison – every platform ranked by what it costs you, or filtered by the features you need
• Online course revenue calculator – what a course could earn

Put your price and sales into the comparison at the top, then try the two that fit you best.