Best Online Course Platforms (2026): 4 Picks by Budget, Fees and Need
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An online course platform is software that hosts your lessons, takes payment and gives each student a login to your own branded school.
This guide compares four of the best online course platforms with public US prices: Teachable, Thinkific, LearnWorlds and Kajabi. For each one we show the entry price, the cut it takes from each sale, the entry-plan limits and what a year really costs at two sales levels.
The short answer
Most solo creators: Thinkific (unlimited courses, no platform fee, from $40/mo yearly). Interactive training and exams: LearnWorlds (from $24/mo yearly). A few offers plus student apps: Teachable (from $29/mo yearly). Email, funnels and courses in one: Kajabi (from $143/mo yearly).
Course platform vs course marketplace
A course platform gives you your own school on your own domain. You set the price, keep the student list and choose how to market. A course marketplace lists your course next to many others and sells it to its own audience, under its own rules.
This guide covers course platforms only. They suit you if you already have an audience, such as an email list, a YouTube channel or clients, or you plan to build one. The trade-off is simple: you keep control and most of each sale, but you bring the buyers.
Best online course platforms at a glance
| Platform | Starts at | Cut of each sale | Certificates from | Mobile app | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Teachable | $29/mo Starter, billed yearly | 7.5% on Starter | Growth ($139/mo yearly) | Student iOS and Android apps on every plan | 7-day free trial on the plan cards |
 Thinkific | $40/mo Basic, billed yearly | 0% on Thinkific Payments on every plan | Start ($82/mo yearly) | Branded mobile app is a $199/mo add-on | 30-day free trial |
 LearnWorlds | $24/mo Starter, billed yearly | $5 per paid enrollment on Starter | Pro Trainer ($79/mo yearly) | Branded mobile app is an add-on | 30-day free trial |
 Kajabi | $143/mo Basic, billed yearly per the plan cards | 0% on Kajabi Payments | Not listed on the pricing page | Branded mobile app listed as included | 30-day trial (per Kajabi’s homepage) |
List prices in US dollars before tax, from each vendor’s pricing page on October 17, 2026. “Cut of each sale” is the platform’s own fee when you use its built-in payments; card processing (2.9% + 30¢ for a US card) applies on top everywhere. LearnWorlds prices exclude VAT.
What a year really costs
The cheapest plan isn’t always the cheapest bill, because some platforms take a cut of every sale. This table adds the yearly plan price, the platform’s fee and card processing for $100 sales paid by US cards.
| Platform and plan | 3 sales a month ($3,600 a year) | 10 sales a month ($12,000 a year) |
|---|---|---|
| Thinkific Basic | $595 | $864 |
| LearnWorlds Starter | $583 | $1,272 |
| Teachable Starter | $733 | $1,632 |
| Teachable Builder | $943 | $1,212 |
| LearnWorlds Pro Trainer | $1,063 | $1,332 |
| Kajabi Basic | $1,831 | $2,100 |
Our own arithmetic from the published prices, rounded to the dollar: yearly plan cost + platform fees (Teachable Starter 7.5%, LearnWorlds Starter $5 per enrollment) + $3.20 card processing per sale. Before tax, add-ons, international cards and currency conversion.
Two lessons. While sales are small, a low plan price wins, so LearnWorlds Starter and Thinkific Basic cost the least. Once you sell steadily, per-sale fees dominate: Teachable Starter’s 7.5% fee costs $900 a year at 10 sales a month, and Builder becomes cheaper above about $533 in monthly sales. Kajabi costs the most at both levels, so it only pays off if it replaces tools you already buy.
How we chose
We picked four widely used course platforms with public US prices and read each official pricing page, plus Thinkific’s help center for gateway fees, on October 17, 2026. We compared prices, fees per sale, trials and plan limits only.
We haven’t built courses on these platforms hands-on yet, so we don’t rank them on ease of use, video quality or support. Other names you’ll see on longer lists, such as Podia, Skool, Mighty Networks, Circle and Kartra, aren’t covered yet because we haven’t verified their US plans the same way.
Teachable: best for selling a few courses, coaching and downloads, with student apps
Platform for selling online courses, coaching, memberships and digital downloads, with built-in checkout and sales-tax handling, student mobile apps and AI tools for outlines, quizzes and subtitles.
- Starts at
- $29/mo, Starter, billed yearly ($39/mo billed monthly)
- Trial
- 7-day free trial on the plan cards; no free plan
- Cut of each sale
- 7.5% on Starter; 0% on Teachable Payments from Builder ($69/mo yearly)
- Entry plan
- 5 published products, 1 admin, unlimited students
- Certificates
- Growth ($139/mo yearly)
- Mobile app
- Student iOS and Android apps on every plan
A course, coaching offer or download each counts as one product; memberships, bundles and drafts don’t. Builder raises the cap to 10 products and adds an affiliate program for your course. The plan cards list a 7-day trial, while a pop-up on the same page offered 30 days when we checked.
Who it’s for: Coaches and experts with a handful of offers who want students to learn in a mobile app without paying extra for it.
Skip it if: You plan more than 5 products on a small budget, or you want certificates without paying for Growth.
How to sell courses on Teachable walks through setup, fees and payouts step by step.
Visit TeachableRead the Teachable profile
Source: teachable.com, checked October 17, 2026
Thinkific: best for many courses on a budget, with no platform fee
Online course platform for building and selling courses, communities, digital downloads and coaching, with AI course outlines, hosted checkout, memberships and optional branded mobile apps.
- Starts at
- $40/mo, Basic, billed yearly ($54/mo billed monthly)
- Trial
- 30-day free trial; no free plan
- Cut of each sale
- 0% on Thinkific Payments on every plan; Stripe or PayPal add 5% (Basic), 2% (Start) or 1% (Grow)
- Entry plan
- Unlimited courses, 5 downloads, 5 coaching products, 1 community, 1 admin, 10,000 current students
- Certificates
- Start ($82/mo yearly)
- Mobile app
- Branded mobile app is a $199/mo add-on
Basic includes a custom domain and 100 GB of video bandwidth a month. Memberships, bundles and payment plans start on Start. SCORM, a format for importing training packages made in other tools, is only on the custom-priced Plus plan.
Who it’s for: Creators who want to publish several courses and keep each sale, without per-product caps.
Skip it if: You need a student mobile app on a budget, or SCORM without a sales call.
Weighing it against Teachable? See Teachable vs Thinkific.
Visit ThinkificRead the Thinkific profile
Source: thinkific.com, checked October 17, 2026
LearnWorlds: best for interactive training, quizzes and exams
Learning platform (LMS) for selling and running online training, with interactive video, an assessment builder, AI course tools, a website builder, SCORM support and white-label options.
- Starts at
- $24/mo, Starter, billed yearly ($29/mo billed monthly)
- Trial
- 30-day free trial; no free plan
- Cut of each sale
- $5 per paid enrollment on Starter; none from Pro Trainer ($79/mo yearly)
- Entry plan
- Paid courses only (no free courses), 1 admin, 1,000 active learners a month, 300 AI credits
- Certificates
- Pro Trainer ($79/mo yearly)
- Mobile app
- Branded mobile app is an add-on
LearnWorlds is a learning management system (LMS): software built to run training, not just host videos. Interactive video adds quizzes and transcripts inside lessons, and an assessment builder handles exams. Pro Trainer adds free courses, subscriptions, certificates and up to 20 SCORM packages. Prices exclude VAT.
Who it’s for: Trainers, educators and companies teaching skills that need practice and testing, such as software, compliance or exam prep.
Skip it if: You sell many low-priced courses on Starter, where $5 per enrollment adds up, or you want to give away a free course to build a list.
Visit LearnWorldsRead the LearnWorlds profile
Source: learnworlds.com, checked October 17, 2026
Kajabi: best for an all-in-one business with email, funnels and an app
All-in-one platform for selling courses, coaching, communities, memberships, podcasts and newsletters, with a website builder, email marketing, funnels, payments and a branded mobile app.
- Starts at
- $143/mo, Basic, billed yearly per the plan cards ($179/mo billed monthly)
- Trial
- 30-day trial (per Kajabi’s homepage); no free plan
- Cut of each sale
- 0% on Kajabi Payments; third-party processors add 2% on Basic
- Entry plan
- 5 products, 2,500 contacts, 2 admins, 1 website, 1 community
- Certificates
- Not listed on the pricing page
- Mobile app
- Branded mobile app listed as included
Every plan includes a website builder, landing pages, funnels and marketing emails, plus a contact CRM, communities, podcasts and newsletters. Kajabi’s yearly plan cards also print the monthly figure next to “Billed annually”, so confirm the price at checkout.
Who it’s for: Established creators who pay for separate email, page-builder and community tools and want one bill instead.
Skip it if: You only need to host and sell a course. Basic costs about five times Teachable Starter’s yearly rate.
Visit KajabiRead the Kajabi profile
Source: kajabi.com, checked October 17, 2026
How to choose an online course platform
| If you… | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Are launching your first course on a tight budget | Thinkific Basic or LearnWorlds Starter | Lowest yearly bills at small sales; 30-day trials |
| Plan many courses | Thinkific | Unlimited courses from Basic, no platform fee |
| Need quizzes, exams or SCORM | LearnWorlds Pro Trainer | Assessment builder, certificates and 20 SCORM packages at $79/mo yearly |
| Want students to learn in a mobile app | Teachable | Student iOS and Android apps on every plan |
| Sell coaching and downloads next to a course | Teachable Builder | 10 products, 0% Teachable fee, affiliate program |
| Want email, funnels, website and courses in one bill | Kajabi | All included on every plan, plus a branded app |
Five questions to ask before you pay
- How much will you sell in year one? At low sales, a low plan price matters most. As sales grow, per-sale fees matter more.
- How many products? Teachable Starter and Kajabi Basic cap you at 5. Thinkific Basic has unlimited courses.
- Do students need certificates? They start on Thinkific Start ($82/mo yearly), LearnWorlds Pro Trainer ($79/mo yearly) or Teachable Growth ($139/mo yearly).
- Will you use the platform’s own payments? Fee-free pricing usually assumes you do. Thinkific adds 5% on Basic if you connect Stripe or PayPal directly.
- Can you pay yearly? On the entry plans, yearly billing cuts the price by about 17% (LearnWorlds) to 26% (Thinkific).
Already on Teachable and unhappy with it? Our Teachable alternatives guide covers switching costs and a step-by-step checklist for moving.
FAQ
What is the best online course platform?
There isn’t one best platform for everyone. For most solo creators, Thinkific is the safest start: unlimited courses, no platform fee on Thinkific Payments and a 30-day trial from $40/mo billed yearly. Pick LearnWorlds for interactive training, Teachable for student apps, or Kajabi for an all-in-one business.
What is the cheapest platform to sell online courses?
On sticker price, LearnWorlds Starter at $24/mo billed yearly, but it adds $5 per paid enrollment. At about 3 sales of $100 a month it is the cheapest of the six plans we priced (about $583 a year). At 10 sales a month, Thinkific Basic is cheapest (about $864 a year). Prices checked October 17, 2026.
Is there a free online course platform?
Not among these four. Teachable, Thinkific, LearnWorlds and Kajabi have no free plan; each offers a trial instead. Thinkific and LearnWorlds list 30 days, Kajabi’s homepage lists 30 days, and Teachable’s plan cards list 7 days.
Which course platform doesn’t take a cut of sales?
Thinkific and Kajabi charge no platform fee on any plan when you use their own payments. Teachable charges 7.5% on Starter and 0% from Builder on Teachable Payments. LearnWorlds charges $5 per paid enrollment on Starter and nothing from Pro Trainer. Card processing (2.9% + 30¢ for a US card) still applies everywhere.
Should I sell on a marketplace or my own course platform?
A marketplace can bring buyers, but it owns the storefront and the customer relationship and sets its own rules for each sale. A course platform such as Teachable or Thinkific gives you your own branded school, your prices and your student list, but you have to bring the traffic yourself.
Which online course platform is best for beginners?
If you have no audience yet, keep the fixed cost low and use the free trial to build your first course. Thinkific (30-day trial, unlimited courses) and LearnWorlds Starter ($24/mo yearly, paid courses only) have the lowest entry costs here. We haven’t tested ease of use hands-on.
Sources
All pages checked October 17, 2026.
- teachable.com/pricing
- www.thinkific.com/pricing/
- www.learnworlds.com/pricing/
- kajabi.com/pricing
- support.thinkific.com/hc/en-us/articles/22383950439575-Third-Party-Payment-Gateway-Fee-FAQ
Browse every online course platform we list.