Top 15 Online Course Platforms For 2026

Last updated: April 2026 | 20 min read

Do you have a flair for the writing arts? Are you a digital marketing guru? Do you love sharing tips and tricks on programming languages? Is your knowledge worth sharing with others?

If yes, then you have the potential to earn a lot in the e-learning industry.

By creating a course and selling it on an online course platform, you can serve the audience who'll pay to listen to you and leverage your time lucratively. Most importantly, these platforms have made course building and marketing a matter of a few clicks only.

Here's what an online course platform can help you with:

• Create or integrate your course with an existing site
• Price your course and collect payments
• Build landing pages
• Upload content, including videos, assignments, and quizzes
• Create membership communities
• Host webinars

If you want to tap into this field and sell an online course, then there is no better time than now to do so. And for that, you need the right platform. The best online course platforms offer you all-around ease so that you can focus on the crucial stuff like creating content.

If you're confident that your course will sell, then choosing the right platform is the next step to initiate your very own 6-figure per month educational empire.

Note: All pricing listed below reflects publicly available rates as of early 2026. Plans and prices change frequently, so always verify on each platform's official pricing page before committing.

15 Best Online Course Platforms for Launching Your First Course

So you know how to create an online course that sells, but do you know how to market it effectively?

Creating the course is one of the easiest parts of the journey - when you are a master of your lesson! The biggest dilemma you will face as an instructor is selecting an online course platform.

Many platforms have some standard features like an LMS. However, there are many aspects to consider when researching your ideal platform. You will need to compare things like pricing, look at customer reviews, and what support you can expect from the platform.

Choose a platform that gives your students a customized yet professional experience. It should be unique and advanced, yet acceptable for students. Host your course on a platform that feels like your class. Balance pricing, ease of use, and content creation variety.

Read on ahead to learn about some of the top platforms on the internet and how they can be suitable to your distinct requirements.

1. Teachable - The Easiest Online Course Platform

If you're looking for a medium that would make your life easy, then Teachable is the one to pick. You can conveniently upload all your content and effectively communicate with your students, customize your teaching area like a class and do much more.

Teachable works wonderfully for new course creators, coaches, solo entrepreneurs, and creative professionals. It has a user-friendly course authorization with quiz capabilities. Further, you can host a blog, and create and edit a landing page on the platform. The dashboard comes with built-in tools for tracking affiliate metrics, and sales and automated marketing. Its eCommerce features like easy course checkout and multiple payment options, plus the dedicated app that schools can use for mass teaching are the plus points for the platform.

Teachable Pricing

Teachable offers a 7-day free trial on any paid plan. There is no longer a free tier. Its paid packages (billed annually) include:

2. Udemy - The Right Online Course Solution for Beginners to Advanced Educators

Udemy is considered one of the most popular online course platforms. That's because it makes it possible for everyone to create a course and offers several learning materials, including PPT, PDF documents, text, and videos. There is a community space where students can post questions, seek answers and generate topic-related discussions.

As for ease of use and interface, Udemy is an amazing place if you're just starting out as an instructor and want to get the lay of the land. It hosts courses on every topic imaginable. From guitar classes to professional website development, there are courses for everyone.

Several seasoned trainers who teach advanced skills also prefer Udemy for the pricing options, seasonal sales, and the platform's popularity and credibility that allows effortless course marketing.

There are no setup costs on Udemy, plus, there is absolutely no need to be tech-savvy. The platform is good for self-paced learning and video courses. There is a dedicated app for Android and iOS devices. Also, the learners can leave their feedback and rating as social proof to help improve and market the course further.

To promote online courses using social media on Udemy, instructors can encourage their learners to leave feedback and rating, which can serve as social proof to improve and market the course further.

Udemy Pricing

Signing up as an Udemy instructor is completely free! To be compensated for any courses you offer, you only need a Paypal or Payoneer account. You may publish as many classes as you like as soon as you join up.

3. Thinkific - The Best Online Course Platform For Seasoned Educators

Thinkific is a great platform for professionals who are dedicated to teaching or want to provide student experiences as part of their business model. The platform lets users build fully custom, branded course websites with drag-and-drop menu options, where they can track the progress of their students, check growth metrics, market and so much more.

The platform allows users to upload course content in PDF, PPT, Word, and Text formats, plus videos. Also, trainers can choose to mark course materials in lifetime access or expiry points. As an instructor, you can make use of a huge student database, conduct surveys and discussions, and teach an audience from diverse demographics and backgrounds.

Further, Thinkific allows integration of various other platforms like Shopify, MailChimp, Zoom, Google Docs etc. Videographers, podcasters, writers, actors, and other professionals who want to turn course sales into a major portion of their income can use Thinkific, but you have to be a seasoned person who knows the tricks of teaching the trade to be successful on the platform.

Thinkific pricing

Thinkific no longer offers a free plan, but provides a 14-day free trial. Its paid subscription plans (billed annually) are as follows:

4. Skillshare - The Online Teaching Platform For Beginners

It is a subscription-based learning platform where learners pay a monthly or annual fee to access everything on the platform. The annual plan works out to about $14/month ($168/year), while the monthly plan costs around $32/month. The site allows teachers to host single video courses to multiple series with a mandatory class project. Videos can be 30-40 minutes. The platform is intuitive, easy to navigate and there is a site-wide teacher challenge that helps newbies publish their first course in no time.

Skillshare has a community that is a rarity to be found on other online course platforms. Learners pay a monthly subscription to gain access to Skillshare's courses. You get paid on royalties and referrals instead of people buying your course.

Skillshare is the place for creators who are recognized names in their fields. If students get excited simply by reading your name behind the course, you don't need additional marketing.

Most importantly, Skillshare helps teachers build authority and credibility in a subject, with a fan following. According to the official website, several teachers on the platform have landed lucrative projects and work offers after being featured on Skillshare.

Skillshare Pricing

Skillshare is free to join for both teachers and students. Instructors get paid every time a student enrolls in their class. Top educators might earn up to $40,000 per year. Furthermore, with Skillshare's simple style and friendly community, producing lessons is straightforward. Learners can choose between an annual membership at $168/year (~$14/month) or a monthly plan at $32/month, with a 1-month free trial available for new subscribers.

5. Kajabi - The Complete Course Selling Solution for Advanced Sellers

Kajabi boasts that you don't have to do anything when it comes to promoting your course. It has partnered with Wistia, a video hosting platform that helps instructors design elaborative and informational video sessions without any difficulty. You can import your course files from your device, Google Drive, or Dropbox. It offers monthly recurring and yearly subscriptions and payment methods include Stripe and Paypal - available in most countries.

It comes with the highest price tag due to its advanced features and integrations. You can build and promote an online course on Kajabi and enjoy built-in data integration and multiple payments. It is the finest online course builder catering to the information businesses such as data sciences, marketing, and robotics.

Creators who can put a hefty price on their course should use Kajabi so that it sells enough to pay the high price of Kajabi itself. So you need to do some research about what kind of interest your course garners before investing in the platform.

Kajabi Pricing

Kajabi underwent a major pricing restructure in early 2026. It offers a 30-day free trial. Its paid packages (billed annually) include:

6. Podia - A Convenient Online Course Platform

If technology intimidates you to no end, then Podia is the solution to all such headaches. It is a platform where you can pre-sell your courses and include all sorts of formats without a hitch. You can run your affiliate programs with Podia with 24/7 support, a simple three-step setup process, and no transaction fees on the Shaker plan.

Podia is ideal for content creators and artists who wish to expand their audience by monetizing their content with simple activities and gated videos. Other than courses, the platform works well for memberships, affiliations, digital products etc.

You can choose to customize the sales page and discount coupons on Podia, get access to affiliate tools, sell pre-recorded video courses or host webinars.

Podia Pricing

Podia offers a 30-day free trial on all plans. Its current packages include:

The breakeven point is straightforward: once your monthly revenue exceeds $1,000, the Shaker plan saves you money compared to paying the Mover plan's 5% transaction fee.

7. LearnDash - Online Course LMS Plugin for WordPress Users

If you have a personal WordPress site, then you can sell your course with this amazing plugin. LearnDash is a popular WordPress LMS plugin that is being used by some big names such as Infusionsoft, Yoast, and WP Elevation. Now part of the StellarWP family, LearnDash has evolved from a one-time purchase into a subscription-based model. One of its prominent features is its speed and drag-and-drop course builder which enables WordPress fans to create a course through an easy, intuitive process.

LearnDash is versatile as it can be used by enterprises, educational institutes, and companies of all sizes - in fact, everyone who has a WordPress website and would like to monetize via selling educational and informative video content.

LearnDash offers completion certificates and achievement badges, has an automated mail system, and can integrate Stripe, and PayPal. Further, you can integrate the plugin with MailChimp and WooCommerce. It comes with a 15-day money-back guarantee.

LearnDash Pricing

LearnDash now operates on an annual subscription model (no more one-time purchases):

8. Coursera

Coursera is a major contender on this list of the top online course platforms. Not only that the platform itself is of great quality, but also the firms and institutions who provide courses on the site are actually noteworthy, and you can be one of them!

For students, Coursera is the place if you want to learn new skills from firms like Google, Microsoft, Meta, IBM, and others through professional online training. For instructors, the platform is more focused on extending their reach to prospective students.

Coursera is adaptable since it may be utilized by educational institutions and businesses of all sizes. It offers a platform for course providers to improve their reach to millions of interested students.

It provide the tools and services such as affiliate, community, feedback forms, and video plugin to instructors so they can design courses that will benefit the students.

Coursera Pricing

There is no publicly disclosed commission, charge, or income reduction. However, according to several online publications, course providers can expect to receive as low as 15% of the income generated by their courses through Coursera.

9. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is an online course and community platform that has grown rapidly since its 2017 launch. With instructional resources and a dedicated support team, this scalable platform assists you along your journey of educating the students.

The platform provides priority assistance and access to analytical data, which helps you decide on rates and other criteria while designing an online course. Mighty Networks' mobile application makes it simple to utilize the program on the go.

Mighty Networks Pricing

Annual billing saves up to 20%. Plans (billed annually) include:

Note: Mighty Networks charges transaction fees on top of your subscription, and standard Stripe/PayPal processing fees (typically 2.9% + $0.30) apply on all plans.

10. Creative Mind Class

CreativeMindClass is ideal for video classes with workout and assignment modules. The monetization mechanism is straightforward. Course providers control the pricing of their online courses, and CreativeMindClass receives a part of their earnings when students purchase the course.

The platform is most suited for teaching creative skills, design, photography and video, and lifestyle courses, but it can actually handle any sort of course.

The entire platform has a modern appearance, which is always a good indicator that the authors are up to date on the latest website and online course design trends. The emphasis on design permeates the whole platform, including its pages and panels.

CreativeMindClass is primarily intended for video course producers. All the templates and graphic components you use to design your sites are optimized for video embeds.

The platform resembles Podia or Kajabi. With CreativeMindClass, you can create your entire website and add a functional online course module all in one spot. Furthermore, you don't need any coding knowledge to pull it off.

CreativeMindClass Pricing

11. LearnWorlds

The first thing that distinguishes LearnWorlds from other finest online course platforms is that they refer to their user websites as online schools.

LearnWorlds' course builder includes a variety of innovative features. Upload videos from your PC or Vimeo when adding content to your course. Then, select from various editing choices for your videos, such as adding text, photos, points, logos, titles, and interactive buttons. You may also import course content from SoundCloud, YouTube, and other sources.

LearnWorlds connects students and instructors through an online community that is available at every school. Most discussion forums are geared at studying course material, whereas LearnWorlds' communities are built for social interaction. LearnWorld offers an opportunity for course creators and providers to engage the student via multiple approaches, including discussion panels, survey feedback, and online communities.

Learn Worlds Pricing

All plans come with a 30-day free trial:

12. Academy of Mine

Academy of Mine bills itself as a flexible e-learning platform. In terms of features, Academy of Mine provides a comprehensive set of tools such as LMS, group portals, migration, and account management for launching a simple online education website.

In reality, the platform is more aimed toward assisting you in customizing your setup to meet what might be rather specific demands such as live streaming options, quiz panels, online discussion panels, and subscription bundles.

Academy of Mine Pricing

13. Teachery

Teachery, launched in 2014, is a modern addition to the industry of top online learning platforms. Their key selling point is that they are a solution for online course newcomers. You may have the best course, but the execution needs to be flawless to get this tech-savvy generation of Gen Z students interested in your course - Teachery is the solution to this problem.

Teachery also offers excellent training on how to set up your courses, arrange payments, and track course success so you can prepare responsive courses without knowing anything about technicalities and coding.

You may also offer subscriptions, course packages, and free courses through the seamless Teachery tools.

Teachery Pricing

14-day free trial is available with both plans so you can test the service before making a final decision.

14. Pathwright

You may use Pathwright to develop an online course that is 100% actionable for learners. The course builder in the app is one of the most fluid and intuitive we tried, and the action-oriented approach to course content is no exception.

Begin by outlining your course curriculum, then add specific actions for students to accomplish. Pathwright allows you to select the action students must do from a dropdown menu as you add each step: watch, read, take, submit, attend, listen, or to-do.

Consequently, they have created a clear route (their phrase) that guides students through the course content. Another advantage: While rapid design customization is restricted, CSS-savvy users who wish to build a customized look and feel for their courses have virtually unlimited options.

Pathwright Pricing

Pathwright offers four plans. All include up to 1,000 members at no extra cost, with additional member blocks available if you exceed that limit. Annual billing saves 10%. Your first month is free on any monthly plan.

15. Talent LMS

In recent years, TalentLMS has emerged as one of the most recognizable names in the "new breed" LMS industry and online course platforms. It provides a highly feature-rich system with a high level of brand ability. You may sell your courses individually or as part of a subscription using PayPal or Stripe.

Furthermore, TalentLMS provides a free alternative that allows you to test the demand of your course among the students. By subscribing to the free plan, you can evaluate the performance of your course. This approach will help you decide if TalentLMS is the perfect fit for your course. Additionally, you can also test the interface, community pages, and basic functions that students use, such as submit, read, preview, online quiz, etc.

TalentLMS Pricing

TalentLMS prices are based on registered users. Annual billing saves 20%. Plans include:

Are Online Courses Profitable?

Selling original courses on an online course platform is a booming market all over the world. From 2021 to 2026, the e-learning courses market is predicted to rise by USD 109.05 billion, with the industry expanding at a CAGR of 16.75%.

The market is lucrative and growing fast. Remote work has normalized digital learning, and professionals across every industry are upgrading their skillsets through online courses. Not only does it offer ease, but it also gives freedom to people to learn at their pace without adhering to a strict schedule or the complexity of commuting to and from physical classes.

If you're not selling an online course, then you're missing out on an ample earning opportunity. As an instructor, you may earn from a few hundred to a six or seven-figure income annually.

Some factors to consider that affect your potential revenue are:

• The course idea and the format of the content presentation
• The price of your course
• Your target audience
• Marketing and sales experience
• Present student list

Hire a Professional Course Promotion Agency

Hiring a course promotion agency is one of the smartest decisions you can make to attract more prospective students. A professional course marketing agency such as ThinkOrion can help you identify your target audience and the right marketing channels to promote your course.

An effective digital marketing strategy devised by a professional course promotion agency can help you improve your reach to prospective students so you can bag more enrollments!

By hiring #1 marketing company that has your back, you can sit back and pay all your attention to developing a course instead of worrying about reaching your potential customers.

Wrapping Up...

eLearning platforms are the textbooks of tomorrow. If you have knowledge that fills an essential gap, then this is something worth investing your time in. As an online education marketing agency, we understand the importance of choosing the right platform to maximize your reach and impact.

As for the choice of the right platform, we suggest Udemy for beginners as well as seasoned sellers because of the large community, the pricing, and the marketing options.

It may take some time to find the best online course platform but consider that a wise step towards changing your future. Certain factors of each platform have a definitive effect on growing your business, so your choice should be based on hard facts. The rest depends on how valuable your course is to your target audience. Good luck teaching online!

In today's competitive market, it is essential to have a well-planned and executed marketing strategy. Think Orion offers digital marketing services for higher education institutes, edtech marketing services, and more! Think Orion offers end-to-end support to optimize your entire digital marketing strategy.

Manno Notermans

I’m Manno, co-founder and CSO at Think Orion. I work with universities, exam prep companies, and course creators to use insight-led marketing that reflects how people choose what to learn. Most of my work comes down to understanding those choices and helping education brands align with them. At Think Orion, we use research, creative strategy, and clear systems to help good programs reach the right students.