How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- Choose by business model first: selling courses to consumers, training teams, or building a paid community each favors a different platform.
- Transaction fees matter as much as monthly price: a cheap plan with a high fee per sale can cost more than a pricier plan with zero fees.
- Completion tools drive revenue: quizzes, drip content, certificates, and community features keep students engaged and reduce refunds.
- Tax handling is a hidden headache for global sales, so platforms that collect and remit sales tax automatically save real administrative time.
- Start with a trial and build one real lesson before committing: the builder experience matters more than any feature list.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Teachable | Creators selling courses globally | See website | No |
 Thinkific | Course businesses that scale | See website | No |
 Kajabi | All-in-one creator businesses | See website | No |
 Podia | Simple all-in-one creator setup | See website | No |
 LearnWorlds | Learning businesses with interactive video | See website | No |
 Mighty Networks | Community-first courses and memberships | See website | No |
 TalentLMS | Team and customer training | See website | Yes |
 LearnDash | WordPress course sites you own fully | From $350 | No |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
#1Teachable
Best for: Creators selling courses globally3.8/5 on
G2 (52 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit teachable.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Teachable is one of the most established course platforms, used by more than 150,000 creators and businesses serving over 100 million students in 180-plus countries. Its standout feature is Teachable Payments: a built-in checkout with more than 35 local payment methods, automatic sales tax, VAT, and GST handling across 45-plus countries, and daily payouts. The course builder is drag-and-drop with AI creation and translation tools, and students get quizzes, completion certificates, drip content, and mobile apps.
Teachable has no free plan: every self-serve plan includes a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, and the Starter plan carries a 7.5 percent transaction fee. For creators selling internationally who want payments and taxes handled, Teachable remains a top choice.
What we like- Built-in payments with tax handled in 45-plus countries
- Drag-and-drop builder with AI tools
- IOS and Android student apps
Watch out for- No free plan, only a 7-day trial
- Starter plan carries a transaction fee
#2Thinkific
Best for: Course businesses that scale4.5/5 on
G2 (416 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit thinkific.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Thinkific supports more than 20,000 teams scaling learning programs, with customers reporting $4.23 billion earned on the platform. Its builder combines drag-and-drop editing with AI-assisted course generation, SCORM and video import, quizzes, assignments, certificates, and learning paths. Commerce tools cover hosted checkout, subscriptions, payment plans, coupons, bundles, upsells, automated sales tax and VAT, and B2B invoicing with seat licensing, while support earned a top-50 G2 award for customer service.
Higher-tier features such as branded mobile apps require pricier plans, and community is a supporting feature rather than the core. For course businesses that expect to scale from a first course into an academy, Thinkific's combination of builder quality, commerce depth, and support is hard to beat.
What we like- Drag-and-drop builder with AI-assisted generation
- Strong commerce tools with tax and B2B invoicing
- Top-rated customer support
Watch out for- Advanced features sit on higher tiers
- Community features less central than Mighty Networks
#3Kajabi
Best for: All-in-one creator businesses4.1/5 on
G2 (93 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit kajabi.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Kajabi pitches itself as the operating system for expertise: one platform for products, marketing, payments, and delivery, replacing the stack of tools most creators cobble together. It covers courses, coaching programs, communities, memberships, podcasts, and newsletters, with email automations, landing pages, upsells, order bumps, and automated tax calculation built in. Creator stories on its site include a solopreneur who earned over $10 million and a nutritionist who earned over $2 million on the platform.
Kajabi is priced at a premium, and creators who only need a simple course may pay for breadth they never use. For experts building a whole business around knowledge, with courses plus coaching plus community, Kajabi's all-in-one system is the most complete option.
What we like- Courses, coaching, communities, memberships, podcasts, newsletters, and email in one system
- Built-in funnels and automations
- Lower payment fees
Watch out for- Premium pricing
- Breadth can overwhelm creators who only need courses
#4Podia
Best for: Simple all-in-one creator setup4.4/5 on
G2 (23 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit podia.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Podia serves more than 15,000 creators who have earned over $900 million on the platform, and its promise is simplicity: courses, community, coaching, events, email, and your website, all connected from day one, with no syncing or exporting between tools. Courses support drip lessons, quizzes, downloads, and progress tracking, while the site builder needs no code and includes a custom domain, blog, and brand styling. A 14-day free trial requires no credit card.
Podia is less suited to large corporate training operations that need advanced reporting or SCORM depth. For individual creators who want one simple home for their whole business, Podia is the easiest all-in-one option to run.
What we like- Courses, community, coaching, events, email, and website in one place
- No-code site builder
- 14-day free trial with no credit card
Watch out for- Less depth for large training operations
- Fewer advanced LMS features than LearnWorlds or TalentLMS
#5LearnWorlds
Best for: Learning businesses with interactive video4.7/5 on
G2 (397 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit learnworlds.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
LearnWorlds is an AI-powered learning management system built for learning businesses, trusted by more than 13,000 learning businesses and founded by instructional design PhDs. Its distinctive strength is interactive video: turn videos into interactive experiences with automatically extracted transcripts, quizzes, and tables of content, alongside ebooks, live sessions, assessments, certificates, and SCORM support. Schools are white-label with custom domains and branding, and the commerce engine covers bundles, memberships, upsells, funnels, and more than 50 native integrations.
The platform's depth means a longer setup for creators who want a quick launch, and enterprise pricing varies. For learning businesses where video quality and learner engagement drive results, LearnWorlds is a leading choice.
What we like- Interactive video with quizzes and transcripts
- White-label branded schools
- Strong commerce engine with 50-plus integrations
Watch out for- Learning curve for advanced setup
- Pricing is quote-influenced at higher tiers
#6Mighty Networks
Best for: Community-first courses and memberships4.5/5 on
G2 (769 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit mightynetworks.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Mighty Networks is the community platform that also does courses: hosts earned $500 million on Mighty in 2025, with the average membership priced at $48 per month. Its difference is engagement: native mobile apps rather than web wrappers, a Community Design framework with an AI Cohost, and member-led activity that the company says dwarfs other platforms, with 84 percent of content created by members. Courses, events, and challenges sit inside the community rather than apart from it.
If your goal is a standalone course catalog without community, Mighty is less focused than Teachable or Thinkific. For creators whose business model is a paid membership where courses are one part of belonging, Mighty Networks is the strongest community-first platform available.
What we like- Native iOS and Android apps
- Community Design framework with AI Cohost
- 84 percent member-created activity claimed
Watch out for- Course features serve community goals rather than standalone academies
- Higher-tier plans needed for branded apps
#7TalentLMS
Best for: Team and customer training4.6/5 on
G2 (813 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit talentlms.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes
TalentLMS is a cloud learning platform built for training teams rather than selling courses to consumers, with a free starter plan and a promise of going live twice as fast as the industry average. AI helps create courses and assessments faster and translate them for global teams, while branches let you run separate training portals for employees, partners, and customers from one account. Its TalentLibrary adds more than 1,000 ready-made courses on soft skills, leadership, and compliance.
For consumer course creators, TalentLMS offers less marketing depth than Kajabi or Podia, and its design options are more functional than beautiful. For companies that need employee, partner, or customer training live quickly with minimal IT effort, TalentLMS is an excellent, affordable choice.
What we like- Free starter plan
- Fast setup with AI-assisted course creation
- Separate portals for employees, partners, and customers
Watch out for- Creator marketing tools are thinner than Kajabi or Podia
- Design customization is more limited
Starting priceFrom $350
Free planNo
LearnDash is the leading LMS plugin for WordPress, with more than 100,000 active installs and 25 million learners taught. It turns a WordPress site into a complete course platform: drag-and-drop course building, quizzes with eight question types, assignments, certificates, drip content, membership tiers through built-in MemberDash, group seats for selling to organizations, and an AI course builder that generates outlines from a prompt. Every plan includes the full package with events, donations, and design tools, starting at $350 for one site.
Ownership is the trade-off: you manage WordPress hosting, updates, and security yourself, and pricing scales per site. For educators and businesses that want complete control of their platform, student data, and revenue without a hosted platform's rules, LearnDash is the best WordPress option.
What we like- Full ownership of platform, data, and revenue
- Drag-and-drop builder with AI outline generation
- Memberships and group seats built in
Watch out for- Requires WordPress hosting and maintenance
- Per-site pricing adds up for agencies
How we chose
We compared platforms on the factors that decide course success: builder quality, assessment and completion tools, payment and tax handling, community and marketing features, and pricing transparency. We included creator platforms, community-first platforms, corporate training platforms, and a WordPress option so different business models have a fit. Where pricing could not be confirmed on the vendor's own site, we wrote "See website" rather than repeating a directory figure. We did not build courses on each platform ourselves, so treat vendor claims as starting points for a trial.
What to check before you hire
Start with a trial build. Create one real lesson, including video, a quiz, and a checkout, and judge the builder and the student experience, not the marketing page. Next, map the total cost: monthly plan plus transaction fees plus payment processing, and check whether your plan includes the features you need, such as certificates, drip content, or a mobile app.
Check tax handling if you sell internationally, and confirm you can export your student list and content if you leave. Ask about support hours and response times, since a broken checkout during a launch is costly. Finally, test on mobile: most students learn on phones, and a platform that looks good on desktop but awkward on mobile will hurt completions.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best platform for creating online courses?
For most creators, Teachable or Thinkific offer the best balance of builder quality, payments, and support. Kajabi suits experts building a whole business, Mighty Networks suits community-first memberships, and LearnDash suits WordPress owners. Choose by business model, not by feature count.
Do I need technical skills to create an online course?
No. Hosted platforms like Teachable, Thinkific, Podia, and Kajabi use drag-and-drop builders that need no coding. LearnDash needs basic WordPress comfort, including hosting and plugin management, but no programming for standard courses.
How do course platforms handle payments and taxes?
Most hosted platforms offer built-in checkout with Stripe or PayPal, subscriptions, and coupons. Teachable Payments and Thinkific handle sales tax and VAT automatically in many countries, which matters if you sell internationally. Always confirm tax coverage for your students' countries.
Can I sell courses on my own website?
Yes. LearnDash runs courses directly on your WordPress site, and hosted platforms let you use a custom domain so the school looks like your brand. Full ownership of data and revenue is strongest with LearnDash, while hosted platforms trade some control for convenience.
What is the difference between a course platform and an LMS?
A course platform focuses on creators selling courses to consumers, with marketing and checkout built in. An LMS focuses on organizations training employees, partners, or customers, with reporting, compliance, and group management. Platforms like TalentLMS and LearnWorlds bridge both worlds.
Sources we checked (8)
- https://teachable.com
- https://www.thinkific.com
- https://kajabi.com
- https://www.podia.com
- https://www.learnworlds.com
- https://www.mightynetworks.com
- https://www.talentlms.com
- https://www.learndash.com
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.