Best Online Course Platforms 2024: Tried & Tested

Over 50% of students worldwide take some form of online class, and the online learning industry is expected to be worth $370 billion by 2026. 

In the digital age, online course platforms are important tools for educators, entrepreneurs, and businesses to share their expertise, monetize their knowledge, or train employees.

This makes choosing the best online course platform crucial. This article explores the 10 best online course platforms in 2024, their features, pricing, and what makes them stand out to help you find the best one.

What Is An Online Course Platform?

An online course platform is an online platform where educators, businesses, and institutions can create, host, and manage courses over the Internet.

These platforms provide all the tools for designing course content, including video lectures, reading materials, quizzes, and assignments, and also offer a range of features to help manage students’ progress, interactions, and feedback.

They can be used by everyone from solo instructors to universities and companies to deliver training, skill development, and educational courses to students and professionals alike.

A good online course platform will give you the ability to:

• Create and Upload video courses.
• Support multimedia content
• Have communication between instructors and learners.
• Let you build tests and assessment options.
• Give you options to upload additional learning material like workbooks, tests, and more
• Also, monetization features should be included for instructors looking to sell their courses.

Depending on what you are looking for in a platform, you can choose which one best suits your needs as an educator or learner online.

Best Online Course Platform At A Glance

Platform	Best Features	Pricing	Ideal For
Teachable	User-friendly builder, payment processing, affiliate tools, drip content, and certificates.	Free plan; paid plans start at $39/month	Best for any creator looking for an all-in-one platform.
Podia	Easy setup, memberships, digital products, email marketing, and webinars.	Free plan; paid plans from $9/month	Independent creators and beginners wanting simplicity.
Thinkific	Customizable site design, multimedia support, exams, quizzes.	Free plan; paid plans start at $49/month	Growing businesses and creators who want scalability.
Kajabi	Advanced marketing automation, mobile app, sales funnels.	Plans start at $149/month	Course businesses focused on high-level marketing tools.
Udemy	Large audience reach, free setup, video and quiz support.	Free; revenue share on sales	New educators looking to reach a global audience.
Skillshare	Community-driven, creative focus, project-based learning.	Free for educators; learners subscribe	Creatives, artists, and hobbyists who want to build a community.
LearnDash	WordPress LMS plugin, customizable quizzes, certificates.	Plans start at $199/year	WordPress users wanting a powerful, flexible LMS.
Teachery	No transaction fees, simple templates, or email integration.	$49/month or $470/year	Beginners preferring an easy-to-use platform.
Terrain	Interactive learning, gamification, and community tools.	Plans start at $59/month	Educators wanting immersive and engaging course platform.
Coursera	Accredited partnerships, mobile access, peer-reviewed assignments.	Free for instructors; learner pricing varies	Institutions offering professional and accredited courses.

How To Choose The Best Online Course Platform?

However, certain things must be considered when choosing the right platform. Multiple options are available in the market, with flagship features and different pricing options, and you can choose which platform will be best for you based on your needs. 

In general, when selecting an online course platform, you must consider the following factors:

1. Ease of Use: A user-friendly interface is essential for creators and learners. Before working with the tool, one must master its interface.
2. Essential Features: Look for the tools for course creation, marketing, sales, and community engagement and see if you have every detail you need.
3. Pricing: Another thing to look for is flexible pricing plans that fit your budget and growth plan.
4. Customer Support: Reliable customer support and resources are essential when subscribing to any tool. 
5. Customization: The ability to brand and customize your course site according to your preferences is another must when it comes to having an online business.

Top 10 Best Online Course Platforms

Here are my top 10 picks and a detailed comparison so you can choose the best one for your needs.

1. Teachable (Best Overall Platform)

Teachable stands out as one of the best online course platforms for creating courses.

It offers powerful tools and an intuitive drag-and-drop builder for creating beautiful, organized courses without needing extensive technical skills.

Supports a range of multimedia content, including video, audio, text, and quizzes, to keep learners engaged.

It also has powerful analytics features that allow creators to track student progress and engagement in detail.

Features Included:

• Easy-to-use course builder with support for video, audio, and text content.
• Integrated payment processing.
• Custom domains and advanced customization
• Upsells and order bumps
• Marketing tools, including affiliate programs and email marketing.
• Community building with discussion forums and comments.
• Drip content and course completion certificates.

With all these features, the platform comes with premium membership plans, but you can use the latest Teachable coupons to claim up to 75% off on the paid plans.

Pricing:

• Free Plan: Basic features with a $1 + 10% transaction fee.
• Basic Plan: $39/month or $29/month billed annually.
• Pro Plan: $119/month or $149/month billed annually.
• Pro+ Plan: $299/month or $249/month billed annually.
• Business Plan: $499/month

Ideal For: Teachable is ideal for individual educators, entrepreneurs, and small businesses looking to create a branded and professional course experience and hassle-free course management.

If you are still unsure about this platform, you can find a Teachable courses list where you can explore real-life websites and course examples backed by this platform.

Just in case you were motivated by those real-world course examples and want to start your journey, you can start it during the Teachable sale during Black Friday 2024, when you can get the premium plans for half of the original price.

2. Podia

Podia: I liked Podia’s straightforward, user-friendly approach to course creation.

It supports unlimited courses and includes options for digital products like memberships and downloads, making it highly versatile.

It’s email marketing and messaging tools, which have built-in monetization options, let creators offer subscriptions, one-time payments and upsells.

Features Included:

• Course creation tools with video, audio, and text content support are designed for ease of use.
• Make membership sites offering exclusive content.
• Market and sell digital products such as eBooks and PDFs.
• Utilize built-in email marketing features to interact with your audience.
• Implement checkout and purchase buttons.
• Host both live and pre-recorded webinars.

Pricing:

• Free Plan: No charge; a 10% transaction fee applies.
• Starter Plan: $9/month or $4/month with annual payment (8% transaction fee).
• Mover Plan: $39/month or $33/month with annual payment (5% transaction fee).
• Shaker Plan: $89/month or $75/month with annual payment.

Ideal For: Podia is an excellent choice for independent creators, freelancers, and beginners who want the best online course platform.

That combines course creation, marketing, and sales without making it difficult to navigate and learn.

3. Thinkific

Thinkific is an online class platform known for its flexibility. It offers highly customizable course design options, including advanced content delivery features like drip scheduling to enhance the learner experience.

Thinkific’s scalable features, like affiliate marketing, custom domains, and integrations with popular CRMs and marketing tools, are some of my favorite platform features.

Features Included:

• You have full authority over the design and layout of your course site.
• You can create websites and sales pages.
• You can add multimedia elements such as videos, quizzes, surveys, and downloadable content.
• You can integrate exams into the platform.
• You can include PowerPoint presentations with voiceovers.

Pricing:

• Free Plan: This Plan offers basic features to help you get started.
• Basic Plan: This Plan is $49 per month.
• Start Plan: It is $99 per month.
• Grow Plan: At $199 per month, this Plan provides advanced features for businesses looking to expand and scale thePlanperations.
• Expand Plan: This Plan, priced at $499 per month, includes comprehensive features designed for large enterprises and organizations.

Ideal For: Thinkific is ideal for growing businesses and educational institutions that need a flexible platform to scale as per needs and have a strong marketing system.

4. Kajabi

Kajabi is a premium online course software with an advanced suite of marketing tools.

It combines course creation with powerful marketing automation features, including email marketing, landing pages, sales funnels, and customer analytics.

These help you design courses, generate leads, and drive conversions.

In comparison to other platforms, It is priced higher than most of its competitors but has one of the most extensive feature lists.

Features Included:

• Advanced tools that are comprehensive for creating and overseeing courses.
• Fees for transactions are not charged.
• Advanced Marketing tools included in higher plans
• Create videos and podcasts.
• Builder for landing pages.
• An included mobile app.

Pricing:

• Basic Plan for $149/month 
• Growth Plan for $199/month
• Pro Plan for $399/month 

Ideal For: Kajabi is best for larger online course businesses and marketers looking to create and sell online courses with integrated marketing automation.

5. Udemy

Udemy Udemy is a popular online marketplace that offers the biggest global audience for course creators on the list.

Unlike self-hosted platforms, Udemy handles most marketing by itself and drives traffic to courses listed on its website.

Moreover, course creation on Udemy is free. Udemy supports video content, quizzes, assignments, and certificates, providing a well-rounded learning experience.

Features Included:

• Over 40 million learners can access the platform.
• Users can create courses using simple tools that incorporate video, text, and quizzes.
• An alternative to Teachable that is free to use.
• Access to a wide range of resources and support from instructors.
• Includes site-wide deals and coupons.

Ideal For: With its massive user base, Udemy is an excellent choice for creators looking to reach a broad, international audience.

6. Skillshare

Skillshare is a unique online learning platform focused on creative fields like design, photography, writing, and other artistic disciplines.

Skillshare courses are offered on a subscription basis, and members can access all courses for a monthly fee.

The platform is known for its bite-sized, project-based classes that engage students with interactive, hands-on lessons.

Teachers on Skillshare earn revenue based on the number of minutes premium students watch, which, in my opinion, can become one of the best ways to earn if you make a course attractive enough to be watched by a good number of people.

Features Included:

• Community-driven platform with class projects and feedback.
• Focus on creative fields like design, photography, and writing.
• Easy course creation tools.
• Monetization through royalties based on watch time.

Ideal For: Skillshare is ideal for creatives, artists, and hobbyists who want to share their skills with an engaged, creative community.

7. LearnDash

LearnDash WordPress plugin can turn your existing WordPress website into a robust learning management system (LMS).

It offers extensive customization options and a wide range of features, making it a popular option among WordPress users.

Features Included:

• Course builder with multimedia support that allows drag-and-drop functionality.
• Compatibility with WordPress themes for seamless integration.
• Ability to design intricate quizzes featuring various question types.
• Use of badges and certificates as incentives for learners.
• All plans include the option for unlimited students and courses.
• Integration with a diverse array of WordPress plugins and third-party tools.

Pricing:

• Basic Plan is priced at $199/year.
• Plus Plan is priced at $229/year.
• Pro Plan is priced at $369/year.

Ideal For: LearnDash is ideal for WordPress users who need a customizable LMS with complete control over branding and content distribution.

8. Teachery 

Teachery provides a straightforward pricing structure and does not charge transaction fees.

It is a user-friendly platform created for creators seeking a simple method of developing and marketing online courses.

Teachery supports basic course structures, making it ideal for creators new to LMS features who want simplicity.

Features Included:

• There are two pre-designed templates available for the easy-to-use builder.
• There are no restrictions on the number of courses or students.
• There are no transaction fees.
• It includes basic email marketing tools and affiliate tools.
• It integrates with Mailchimp and ConvertKit.
• It supports product bundles and upsells.

Pricing:

• Monthly Plan is priced at $49/month.
• Annual Plan is priced at $470/year.

Ideal For: Teachery is ideal for beginners, bloggers, or anyone wanting an online course platform with quick setup and easy monetization.

9. Terrain

Terrain is a recent platform designed for creators who want to develop engaging and interactive courses.

Its main goal is to improve the learning experience by offering engaging advanced customization features.

Features Included:

• Advanced course builder to make dynamic and captivating course material using various customization options.
• Make a community with forums and chat features.
• Add points, badges, and leaderboards to inspire and incentivize learners.
• Access comprehensive analytics to gain an in-depth understanding of student participation and progress.

Pricing:

• Starter Plan priced at $59/month. 
• Pro Plan is priced at $129/month.
• Enterprise Plan with custom pricing.

Ideal For: Terrain is best for creators who want to create interactive and customizable learning experiences.

10. Coursera

Coursera is a unique platform that partners with universities and organizations to offer courses, specializations, and degrees.

It’s ideal for learners seeking professional and accredited courses and for instructors who want to teach for free.

Courses on Coursera range from beginner-level to advanced, with options for specializations and degree programs.

It offers a professional-grade course experience with video lectures, assignments, peer reviews, and certification options. It is one of the best online platforms for college courses.

Features Included:

• Access to accredited course partners from top universities and organizations.
• Interactive course creation with video lectures, quizzes, and peer-reviewed assignments.
• Mobile app for learning on the go.

Ideal For: Coursera is ideal for universities, educational institutions, and professional organizations who want to offer accredited courses and certifications online.

Why Do You Need Online Course Platforms?

Before I get into the details of the platforms, here are some reasons why an educator needs an online course platform.

Online course platforms offer a range of benefits over traditional teaching, like

1. Accessibility: Learners can access your content anytime, anywhere.
2. Scalability: You can quickly scale your teaching efforts to reach a more extensive global audience.
3. Engagement: You can use multimedia tools to create engaging and interactive courses.
4. Monetization: Online course platforms can help you generate income by selling courses, memberships, and digital products to those who need them through proper marketing strategies.
5. Efficiency: With user-friendly tools and automation, the course creation and delivery process becomes efficient, allowing you to concentrate on your content more than other aspects of the business.

Conclusion (Best Online Course Platforms)

Choosing the best online course platform depends on your needs, budget, and technical expertise.

Teachable and Podia stand out for their comprehensive features and ease of use, while platforms like Udemy and Skillshare give you a free platform to create and upload your courses and earn online. 

For users Teachable has a free trial, which helps you to understand platform features and then decide for yourself whether you want to invest in it or not.  

I hope this helps. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)