Online course platform: the best tools to sell courses in 2026
Eight platforms compared on what you actually pay to sell a course: plan price, transaction fees, and the sales level where each upgrade pays for itself.
An online course platform hosts your videos, takes payment and delivers the course under your own brand. The short answer: Kajabi if you want one tool for the whole business, Thinkific if the course experience comes first, Teachable for the quickest first launch, LearnWorlds if you train professionals. On no budget, start on the free Systeme.io plan. Selling a community more than a course? Skool or Mighty Networks.
Some links are affiliate links or sponsored placements. They don't move our scores, and every limit we found stays written.
Six situations, six winners
Course, site, email and checkout, 0% revenue share
Course experience firstUnlimited courses, B2B seats on Grow
Quickest first launchStudent apps and taxes from $39 a month
Professional trainingSCORM, certificates, white-label
No budgetFree plan with one course
Paid community$9 a month to start
The 8 best platforms to sell online courses
We compared each platform on the same job: selling a video course under your own brand to people who don't know you yet. Scores judge that job, not the tool in general.
Five sub-scores make the score: selling and checkout, the course experience for students, marketing built in (pages, email, funnels), real cost with transaction fees included, and room to grow (cohorts, B2B, apps). Prices are the ones on each pricing page; when a price is billed yearly, we say so.
| Best for | Free plan | Team size | Visit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kajabi | Best all-in-one | 4.5/5 | $179/mo monthly, or $143/mo billed yearly ($1,716) | — | Established experts | Visit → |
| 2 | Thinkific | Best for serious course schools | 4.4/5 | $82/mo billed yearly (Start) | — | Course schools | Visit → |
| 3 | Teachable | Simplest start for a first paid course | 4.2/5 | $39/mo monthly (Starter, 7.5% fee) or $29/mo billed yearly | — | First course | Visit → |
| 4 | LearnWorlds | Best for trainers and branded academies | 4.1/5 | $49/mo monthly + $5 per enrollment (Starter) | — | Professional trainers | Visit → |
| 5 | Podia | Easiest all-in-one for small creators | 4.0/5 | $42/mo billed yearly ($504), 5% fees (Mover) | — | Solo creators | Visit → |
| 6 | Systeme.io | Best free start | 3.9/5 | Free (1 course, 2,000 contacts), then $17/mo | ✓ | Zero budget | Visit → |
| 7 | Skool | Best for a paid community with courses | 3.8/5 | $9/mo + 10% fee (Hobby), $99/mo + 2.9% (Pro) | — | Community creators | Visit → |
| 8 | Mighty Networks | Best for memberships with cohorts | 3.7/5 | $79/mo monthly + 2% fee (Launch) | — | Memberships | Visit → |
Prices in US dollars, excluding tax and card processing fees. Yearly prices are shown as a monthly equivalent and billed in one payment.
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Kajabi
Kajabi is the platform you pick when you don't want to glue five tools together. One subscription gives you courses, coaching, memberships, a community, a website on your own domain, landing pages, funnels and unlimited email sends. Kajabi takes no revenue share as a platform: you pay the card processing fee of Kajabi Payments, nothing on top (in a country where Kajabi Payments is offered, using another payment processor adds a processing fee).
The catch is the entry price. Basic costs $179 a month on monthly billing and $143 a month billed yearly, with 2,500 contacts included. If all you need is to host one course, that is a lot. It starts to make sense once Kajabi replaces an email tool, a page builder and a checkout you were already paying for. In 2026 reviews, users praise the all-in-one side and criticise the price, and some the AI assistant that now answers support requests first.
- 0% revenue share on every plan
- Website, email, funnels and community in the same subscription
- Customer app for iPhone and Android
- Growth plan adds cohorts, affiliates and advanced automations
- ✓The most complete toolbox we compared
- ✓Unlimited email sends, so no separate email tool
- ✓14-day trial plus a 30-day refund window
- ✗Entry price of $143 to $179 a month
- ✗Contacts are capped per plan (2,500 on Basic)
- ✗Leaving means moving your subscribers off Kajabi Payments
For you if you already sell and want one tool for the whole business. Not for you if you are testing a first course on a small budget.
Thinkific
Thinkific is built around the course itself. The Start plan already gives unlimited courses, video lessons, quizzes, assignments and certificates, live cohorts with Zoom sessions, bundles, upsells, payment plans, memberships and a custom domain. Little is locked behind add-ons: the first plan already covers what most course schools need.
Grow, at $164 a month billed yearly, is where it gets interesting for trainers who sell to businesses: bulk seats paid by invoice, bulk enrollment by CSV, API and webhooks, and Thinkific branding removed. Its email marketing is lighter than Kajabi's or Systeme.io's, so plan on keeping an email tool.
- Unlimited courses from the first plan
- Quizzes, assignments and branded certificates
- B2B seats and invoicing on Grow
- API and webhooks on Grow
- ✓Strong learner experience
- ✓Clean path from solo to B2B training
- ✓Live cohorts and coaching included
- ✗$82 is the price billed yearly; monthly billing costs more
- ✗Thinkific branding stays until Grow
- ✗Light email marketing: you will need another tool
For you if the course is the product and you may sell to teams. Not for you if you want funnels and email in the same place.
Teachable
Teachable's Starter plan is a low-cost way to get a hosted school with student apps, global payments and taxes, upsells and cart recovery. The limit is the fee: Starter takes 7.5% of each sale and caps you at 5 products.
Do the maths before you pick. Builder costs $89 a month instead of $39 and drops the fee to 0%. The $50 difference equals 7.5% of about $667 in sales. Above $667 of course sales a month, Builder costs you less in total. Reviews from 2025 and 2026 mention support that is slow to answer and past price rises: check the plan limits again before each renewal.
- Student apps for iOS and Android on every plan
- Global payments and tax handled
- 0% fee from Builder up
- Certificates and branding removal on Growth
- ✓Fast to launch
- ✓Clear plan ladder
- ✓Cart recovery and upsells included
- ✗7.5% fee on Starter
- ✗5 products on Starter
- ✗Users complain about support speed and price increases
For you if you launch a first course and want it online this week. Not for you if you sell more than about $667 a month and stay on Starter.
LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds sits between a creator platform and a corporate LMS. Starter at $49 a month lets you build courses on your own domain, use the AI course builder and sell through your own Stripe or PayPal, but it adds a fee of $5 per course enrollment and caps you at 1,000 active learners a month.
Pro Trainer at $99 a month removes enrollment fees and adds subscriptions, payment plans, unlimited courses, certificates and up to 20 SCORM uploads. At 10 enrollments a month, Starter already costs the same as Pro Trainer ($49 + $50). Learning Center at $299 adds full white-label and training for up to 10 client groups.
- SCORM uploads and certificates on Pro Trainer
- Interactive video and AI course builder
- White-label academy on Learning Center
- Training for client groups
- ✓Learning features close to a corporate LMS
- ✓Payments through your own Stripe or PayPal
- ✓Clear upgrade path
- ✗Per-enrollment fee on Starter
- ✗Steeper learning curve than Teachable or Podia
- ✗Marketing tools lighter than Kajabi
For you if you train professionals and need SCORM or certificates. Not for you if you sell one low-priced course and want the simplest tool.
Podia
Podia keeps things simple: courses, digital downloads, coaching, events, a community, a website and a checkout, with sales tax for 230 countries and 20+ currencies. You can try everything for 14 days without entering a card.
The entry plan, Mover, costs $42 a month billed yearly ($504) and takes 5% fees, with email capped at 100 subscribers. Shaker ($84 a month billed yearly) removes fees and adds affiliates and upsells. The switch pays off above about $840 in sales a month. Watch the Mover limits beyond email too: 50 products and 500 videos.
- Courses, downloads, coaching and community in one store
- Sales tax handled for 230 countries
- No card needed for the trial
- ✓Very easy to set up
- ✓Everything sold from one checkout
- ✓Migration help included
- ✗5% fees on Mover
- ✗Only 100 email subscribers on Mover
- ✗50 products and 500 videos on Mover
For you if you want a simple store for a course and a few digital products. Not for you if you need advanced learning features.
Systeme.io
Systeme.io has a free plan that lets you sell a course: 2,000 contacts, 3 sales funnels, 1 course, unlimited emails and a custom domain, with no card required and no time limit. Every plan has 0% transaction fees.
The paid plans follow your contacts: Startup at $17 a month for 5,000 contacts and 5 courses, Webinar at $47, Unlimited at $97. The course player is basic next to Thinkific or LearnWorlds, and the free plan stops at 500 students. If you are leaving it later, read our guide to switching from Systeme.io.
- Free plan that never expires
- 0% transaction fees on every plan
- Funnels, email, affiliates and courses together
- ✓$0 to launch
- ✓Unlimited email sends
- ✓Simple pricing based on contacts
- ✗Basic course experience
- ✗1 course and 500 students on the free plan
- ✗Less polish in design than Kajabi or Podia
For you if you want to validate a course with no budget. Not for you if learning experience is your selling point.
Skool
Skool puts the community first and the classroom second. Both plans include unlimited members, courses, videos and live calls, a custom URL and affiliates. The difference is the fee: Hobby costs $9 a month and takes 10% of sales, Pro costs $99 a month and takes 2.9%.
The break-even is about $1,268 of sales a month: below it, Hobby costs less in total; above it, Pro does. On $1,000 of sales, Hobby takes $100 in fees. Its pricing page lists community, courses, live calls, a custom URL and affiliates, but no funnels or email sequences, so it suits people who already have an audience.
- Unlimited courses, members and videos
- Community, calendar and courses in one place
- Entry price of $9 a month
- ✓Very low start
- ✓Engaging community format
- ✓Simple to run
- ✗10% fee on Hobby
- ✗Little marketing built in
- ✗Course player kept simple
For you if you sell access to a community. Not for you if you sell standalone courses to cold traffic.
Mighty Networks
Mighty Networks mixes a community, on-demand and cohort courses, events and livestreams. The Launch plan costs $79 a month with a 2% transaction fee; Scale at $179 a month lowers it to 1%. Paying yearly gives 2 months free.
Its strength is the membership: you can charge recurring or one-time fees and bundle courses with the membership. 2026 reviews mention support that starts with bots before you reach a person: read the plan limits closely before you build a large program.
- Courses, cohorts and events inside the community
- Recurring or one-time pricing, with bundles
- Branded apps on higher plans
- ✓Strong membership features
- ✓Cohort courses built in
- ✓2 months free on yearly billing
- ✗2% fee on Launch
- ✗$79 a month to start, against $9 on Skool Hobby
- ✗The 1% fee needs Scale at $179 a month
For you if you sell a membership with live cohorts. Not for you if you want a simple course store.
Five ways to sell a course, and the platform for each
The right platform depends less on features than on how you sell. Here are the five setups we see most, with the numbers that decide between two plans.
Validate a first course before paying anything
Budget: $0Pre-sell before you record. Build one sales page and one checkout on the free Systeme.io plan, announce the course to your list or your social audience, and record only once 10 to 20 people have paid. The free plan covers 1 course and 500 students, which is plenty for a pilot.
- Write the promise of the course in one sentence, and the outcome in numbers if you can.
- Offer a founding price with a deadline, and deliver the first module live.
- Record the live sessions: they become the course.
- Tool
- Systeme.io free plan
- Cost
- $0
Sell an evergreen course to cold traffic
Most commonHere the sales page, the email sequence and the checkout matter as much as the course. Kajabi does all of it in one tool; Teachable or Thinkific need an email tool next to them. Add upsells and cart recovery: Teachable includes both from Starter.
Watch the fee: on Teachable Starter, $2,000 of monthly sales costs $150 in transaction fees, more than the $50 extra a month for Builder. More on winning back buyers who leave at checkout in our abandoned cart recovery guide.
- Tools
- Kajabi, Teachable, Thinkific
- Key number
- Fee break-even
Run a live cohort course
Higher priceA cohort sells at a higher price because it has dates, live calls and peers. Thinkific includes live cohorts and Zoom sessions from Start; Kajabi adds live cohort courses on Growth; Mighty Networks builds cohorts into the community. Sell in waves, close the doors, and keep the replay as an evergreen version for later.
- Tools
- Thinkific, Kajabi Growth, Mighty Networks
Sell seats to companies
TrainersCompanies buy seats, ask for an invoice and want reports. Thinkific Grow sells bulk seats paid by invoice and imports learners by CSV; LearnWorlds Learning Center runs training for up to 10 client groups under your brand. If the buyer wants SCORM files for its own LMS, LearnWorlds supports SCORM uploads from Pro Trainer. For a full corporate LMS, see our LMS platform ranking.
- Tools
- Thinkific Grow, LearnWorlds
Sell a membership with courses inside
Recurring revenueRecurring revenue beats launches if you can keep people engaged. Skool and Mighty Networks are built for it. On Skool, the Hobby plan takes 10% of sales and Pro takes 2.9%: Pro costs less in total above about $1,268 of sales a month. On Mighty Networks, Launch takes 2% and Scale 1%.
- Tools
- Skool, Mighty Networks
- Break-even
- About $1,268 a month on Skool
Pick your course platform without regrets
Three questions decide most cases: how much you will sell each month, what you already pay for (email, website, checkout), and who buys (individuals or companies). Then compare the real monthly cost, fees included.
You're starting from zero
Systeme.io free, or Teachable Starter if you want student apps from day one. Move up once your monthly sales pass the fee break-even of your plan.
You already sell and juggle tools
Kajabi replaces the email tool, the page builder and the checkout. Add up what you pay today before you compare it with $143 to $179 a month. Coming from a marketing suite? Our Kartra review and Kartra pricing guide help you compare.
You sell digital products, not only courses
Podia sells courses, downloads and coaching from one store. If you sell on Gumroad or Stan today, read our Gumroad switching guide or our Stan Store switching guide.
You build the course content yourself
Running an alumni network or an association rather than a course business? Hivebrite is built for that. For interactive modules and SCORM files, an authoring tool comes before the platform: see our ranking of e-learning authoring tools.
- Read the price on the pricing page, and check whether it is billed monthly or yearly
- Add the transaction fee of your plan to the monthly cost
- Work out the sales level where the next plan costs less in total
- Check the limits that grow with you: products, contacts, active learners
- Make sure you can export your students and their emails
- Check who processes payments, and what happens to subscriptions if you leave
- Test the student view on mobile before launch
Online course platforms: your questions, our answers
Which online course platform takes no cut of my sales?
Kajabi takes no revenue share on any plan, and Systeme.io has 0% transaction fees on every plan, free included. Teachable charges 0% from Builder when you use Teachable Payments, Podia from Shaker and LearnWorlds from Pro Trainer. Card processing fees from Stripe, PayPal or the platform's own payments still apply everywhere.
Is Udemy or my own course platform better?
Udemy brings buyers but sets the rules: pricing, promotions and the student relationship stay on the marketplace. A platform like Thinkific or Kajabi costs a subscription, but the email list and the price are yours. Many creators use a marketplace to get found and their own platform for the main course.
Do online course platforms handle sales tax and VAT?
Some do it for you. Teachable lists global payments and taxes from Starter, with U.S. sales tax, global VAT and GST handling, and Podia handles sales tax for 230 countries on every plan. Elsewhere, check who files the tax before you price: on a platform where you plug in your own Stripe or PayPal, that work can stay with you.
How much does it cost to run an online course business per year?
On Kajabi Basic billed yearly, $1,716 a year. On Teachable Builder, $69 a month billed yearly. On Skool Pro, $99 a month plus 2.9% of sales. Add an email tool if your platform has a weak one, and video editing if you outsource it.
What's the difference between an online course platform and an LMS?
A course platform is built to sell: sales pages, checkout, coupons, affiliates. An LMS is built to train employees: assignments, compliance, reporting, SSO. LearnWorlds and Thinkific Grow cover part of both; for internal training, see our LMS ranking.
Can I move my course from one platform to another?
Yes, but plan for it. Videos and texts move easily; students, progress and active subscriptions are the hard part, because recurring payments are tied to the payment account. Podia includes migration help on every plan (up to 50 products on Mover), Systeme.io offers free migration, and Teachable includes migration assistance on its Custom plan. Export your student list and their consent first.
Can I offer payment plans or subscriptions for my course?
Yes, but not always on the entry plan. Thinkific includes payment plans, memberships and subscriptions from Start. On LearnWorlds, subscriptions, memberships and payment plans start at Pro Trainer ($99 a month), not on Starter. Mighty Networks lets you charge a recurring or a one-time fee, and bundle courses with the membership.
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