Looking for the best platform to host and sell your online course in 2025? We’ve reviewed and compared the top solutions that let you build sales pages, structure your curriculum, and monetize directly from your website.
Unlike marketplaces, these platforms give you full control over your branding, pricing, and customer experience, often with no revenue share.
1. Thinkific – Best All-Round Course Builder
Thinkific is a powerful, beginner-friendly platform with features like live lessons, community tools, and customizable course templates. You can easily build your course using a drag-and-drop editor and enrich it with videos, quizzes, surveys, and more.
What sets it apart is its Communities feature—think exclusive discussion spaces, learner profiles, and interactive threads that make online learning social and engaging.
Thinkific also includes everything you need to run your business: a website builder, payment system, analytics, and access to 80+ integrations via the Thinkific App Store.
Standout Features:
- Drag-and-drop builder with rich templates
- Private community and discussion spaces
- Built-in ecommerce tools
- Seamless third-party integrations
Pricing: Starts at $49/month with a 14-day free trial and zero transaction fees.
2. LearnWorlds – Best for Interactive Learning & Enterprise Training
If engagement and interactivity are your priorities, LearnWorlds delivers. With features like SCORM support, branded mobile apps, and interactive video lessons (with quizzes, hotspots, and overlays), it’s built for educators and training providers.
You also get robust analytics, custom user roles, and white-label branding—perfect for growing academies or corporate L&D teams.
Standout Features:
- Interactive videos and note-taking
- Custom-branded mobile apps
- Advanced user roles & analytics
- SCORM and compliance support
Pricing: Starts at $24/month + $5/sale. No transaction fees on plans starting at $79/month.
3. Payhip – Best Value for Beginners & Budget-Conscious Creators
Payhip is an incredibly generous all-in-one platform with a full-featured free plan. You can sell unlimited courses, digital products, memberships, and more, all from a customizable storefront.
Despite being free to start, it still includes advanced tools like drip content, course certificates, VAT/tax handling, and flexible pricing options like subscriptions and payment plans.
Standout Features:
- Unlimited free plan (5% fee per sale)
- Built-in tax & VAT compliance
- Support for multiple product types
- Easy course builder and store setup
Pricing: Free forever (5% fee), or $29/month (2%), and $99/month (0% fees).
4. Skool – Best for Community-First Learning
Skool blends community and courses into one gamified experience. Students can interact via forums, earn points, and access content in an intuitive classroom interface. It’s simple, social, and encourages engagement.
Perfect if you want to build an active membership or learning community.
Standout Features:
- Built-in forums and group interactions
- Gamification with points and leaderboards
- Calendar and live event hosting
- Marketplace visibility for discoverability
Pricing: $99/month with all features included. 2.9% transaction fee per sale. 14-day free trial.
5. Podia – Best All-in-One Storefront for Creators
Podia lets you sell courses, memberships, webinars, downloads, and more from one beautifully designed storefront. With built-in email marketing, a simple interface, and zero transaction fees, it’s a favorite among creators who want everything under one roof.
Standout Features:
- All-in-one platform for multiple product types
- Email marketing & funnels built-in
- Clean, user-friendly interface
- No transaction fees
Pricing: Starts at $39/month. Free plan available with limited features.
#6 – Teachable
Best for: Beginners and seasoned course creators who want an easy, all-in-one platform.
Teachable is an intuitive platform that simplifies course creation, student management, and payments. It offers flexible payment options (including Apple Pay and Google Pay) and supports 130+ currencies. A major bonus: it handles taxes automatically. Creators can offer trials, subscriptions, and payment plans, and even award custom completion certificates.
Key features:
- Drag-and-drop course builder
- Built-in payment processing and tax handling
- Marketing tools: email, affiliate, and referral
- Custom certificates and course prerequisites
- Power Editor for direct code editing
Pricing:
Free plan available (with transaction fees). Paid plans start at $29/month, with reduced or no transaction fees on higher tiers.
#7 – Kajabi
Best for: Knowledge entrepreneurs who need advanced marketing and sales tools.
Kajabi is a powerful all-in-one platform with standout features like Product and Pipeline Blueprints to streamline course and funnel creation. It includes a full CRM, blogging tools, and high-converting templates. It’s more expensive but ideal for creators serious about building a business.
Key features:
- Product and sales funnel templates (Pipelines)
- Built-in CRM and automation tools
- Unlimited landing pages and marketing emails
- Blogging and SEO tools
- Memberships, courses, and coaching
Pricing:
No free plan, but a 14-day free trial is available. Plans start at $119/month (billed annually) with no transaction fees.
#8 – Mighty Networks
Best for: Building a strong community around your course.
Mighty Networks combines a course builder with powerful community features. Great for creators who want to foster interaction between members. Features like live events, group chats, and personalized content (via Mighty Effect™) make it feel like a social network for your students.
Key features:
- Native course builder + private communities
- Personalized content discovery
- Ambassador referral program
- Unlimited members and events
- Mobile app and live streaming support
Pricing:
No free plan. Paid plans start at $33/month (billed annually), with a free trial available.
#9 – LearnDash
Best for: WordPress users who want full control and powerful assessment tools.
LearnDash is a WordPress-based LMS with deep customization and a strong focus on quizzes and certificates. It integrates with WooCommerce and over 300 payment gateways. If you want fine control over design, structure, and assessments, it’s a great pick, especially with the new LearnDash Cloud option for those who don’t want to manage a full WP site.
Key features:
- Industry-leading quiz engine
- Gradebook and Focus Mode
- Course bundles, memberships, and prerequisites
- Works with any media type
- Supports Stripe, PayPal, and 300+ gateways
Pricing:
Starts at $119.40/year for 1 site (renews at $199/year). 15-day money-back guarantee, but no free plan or trial.
#10 – Thrive Apprentice
Best for: WordPress users already using Thrive Suite.
Thrive Apprentice is part of the Thrive Suite and features a clean, visual drag-and-drop builder. You can organize courses into modules, chapters, and lessons, and integrate quizzes to gate progress. It also includes deep personalization tools, drip schedules, and customizable login/registration pages.
Key features:
- Visual editor with drag-and-drop course structure
- Dynamic labels and conditional content
- Full Thrive Suite integration
- Supports all media types and translations
- Unlock content via custom triggers (e.g., quiz scores)
Pricing:
Standalone plugin: $149/year (renews at $299). Full Thrive Suite: $299/year (renews at $599). 30-day money-back guarantee.
