How to find the best course platform for you and your business? There are SO many different options and the choice really can be quite overwhelming… So here are my 2 cents about it!
Within my free Course Platform Comparison Guide, I have compared only 4 of the most popular course platforms although I get asked daily about plenty of other options.
Why so? Are the rest of them really that bad or not even worth a look?
The truth is, there are TONS of amazing platforms and I’m sure you could keep digging. But what for? At the end of the day, 90% of them offer all the same features just in a different “wrapping”.
However, it all comes back to the question: how to find the best course platform?
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Why do you need a course platform?
Course platforms – like Teachable, Thinkific, Payhip, Podia, LearnWorlds and others – are there to help you to deliver your content to your audience.
They don’t do the selling for you and don’t promote your content (!) but they give you a chance to create a space where your audience can make the purchase and access the content.
Most course platforms include at least the following:
- Sales page/Thank you page builders
- Checkout/Payment gateway
- Student user interface
- Student backend management
- Content management system
They make the learning experience more seamless and take the guesswork out of it. So if you are thinking about adding courses to your digital offers, you need a platform to make it all happen.
How to find the best course platform?
For you to choose the best platform, you don’t need to know them all.
What you really need is to find the answer to the following question:
What is non-negotiable for you?
All of these platforms have their pros and cons and for you to understand which platform will be the best fit, you need to know, what truly matters to you.
Here are some of the questions to consider:
Do you already have any existing online presence setup?
If you already have an online presence like a website, your needs for a course platform might slightly change.
For example, you can design sales pages on your website instead of the course platform, therefore, it’s not as important how easily customizable is platform’s page builder.
What offers do you want to sell?
While some platforms are very course-focused, others also offer a setup for a variety of other digital products, for example, downloads, 1:1 coaching offers, memberships, community spaces and beyond.
A major part of choosing the best-fit course platform for you is the vision for what you want to sell.
Even if you might not jump into it right away, consider if there are any other offers you’d like to create at some point.
What experiences do you want to provide?
Creating a course can mean many different things.
It can be a self-paced evergreen experience where your students can join the course at any point and go through it in their own pace.
You might also want to provide a community space where your students can ask questions along the way or connect with other like-minded creators.
In some cases, it can be important to have space for Live experiences or, for example, polls or questionnaires.
Knowing what matters the most in your offer will help you to find the best fit platform!
Related read: Types of money-making online courses
If you’re just getting started, you might find this platform guide for starters useful!
What are the most popular platform’s best features?
Just to give you a bit of an idea, some of the most popular feature overviews would look like this:
Payhip has a forever free option that is a digital product store, as well as learning management system. Payhip gives you the opportunity to sell various offers: from online courses and memberships to digital downloads and coaching programs. It’s a great choice if you want to have an easy-to-use platform. Read my Payhip review here.
Thinkific is a very popular choice amongst online course creators. They offer a create learning management system, along with a community space feature plus both of them are easy to navigate. The pricing of Thinkific also is very reasonable to start with. Read my Thinkific review here.
Teachable is one of the OG online course platforms and they used to have an amazing offer but I have to say that as of now their price range has gone a bit beyond what they’re actually offering. But if you want to check it out, I was on the platform for the first 7 years of my business and always had the best experiences. They give you a chance to sell online courses, as well as 1:1 coaching offers. Plus they have just recently (in 2024!) introduced a community space as well. Read my Teachable review here.
Circle is amazing for a community-focused approach. If having an interactive and fun community space is the key, along with Lives and Courses, Circle.so might be your best bet! Read my Circle review here.
Kajabi is one of the most powerful players as it offers an all-in-one business platform where you can not only sell your products but also set up your website, have your email marketing sequences and well beyond. However, it costs starting from $119/month, compared to the other platform’s $39/month…
You can learn more about the pros and cons of each of these platforms in my free guide.
Give yourself a chance to explore to find the best course platform
Finding the best fit course platform can be challenging if all you do is read reviews.
There are so many different “behind-the-scenes” features that can either excite you or quite the opposite – make you dislike the platform… It’s impossible to know this without trying for yourself!
At the end of the day, give a try to different platforms and see which one feels the best! Give yourself some time to explore to find the best fit.
Most of the platforms offer a 2-week free trial or a 30-day money-back guarantee. You have nothing but a bit of time to lose!
As there is no one perfect fit available, you have to explore your options.
Which course platform is my go-to?
As of now, my number one suggestion for new course creators is to get started with Thinkific.
Since it’s free to start with, you don’t have to worry about investing just to see if your course idea will work. Plus the user interface is easy to manage and enjoyable to use and you will get all of the key features you need to successfully set up and online course.
I hope this guide will help you to find the best course platform for you!
Follow for more inspiration @coursecreationlab on Instagram and TikTok.
