15 Best Online Course Platforms Right Now (2023)

244 thoughts on “15 Best Online Course Platforms Right Now (2023)”

1. 

   Jess Jones

   November 15, 2022 at 7:03 am

   Great list! I’m kind of surprised that you didn’t add CourseFunnels! It’s one of the most budget-friendly software I’ve come across. And also provides lots of free sales-boosting plugins. It is so easy to use. One of a kind, you should have it in here!
2. 

   arbaz

   October 27, 2022 at 7:03 am

   Hi. Would you add LinkedIn Learning to this list now? Why or why not? Thanks for the info! Nebosh IGC
   1. 

      Jeff Cobb

      November 2, 2022 at 11:43 am

      It is mentioned in my round-up of alternatives to Udemy: https://www.learningrevolution.net/alternative-to-udemy/. I only mention the ones that I consider the top choices in each category in this post.
3. 

   Shari

   August 5, 2022 at 4:59 am

   Have you looked at Xperiencify for building courses? It’s not an all-in-one platform (yet), but it sure has way more features for a gamified, experiential learning experience for the customer. I am building my course on it, and love the responsiveness of the tech team on their Facebook group. Very responsive to input and suggestions as they continue to add new features left and right. Highly recommend it!
   1. 

      Jeff Cobb

      September 4, 2022 at 11:41 am

      Yes, I like it. We’ve covered in in our post on Teachable alternatives, and I expect we will add it to this page at some point soon. – Jeff
4. 

   patric rozario

   December 10, 2021 at 8:33 pm

   Hello Maureen,
   I have taken the free plan at Thinkific. Very recently published my course – Nov 2021.
   wingsofcreativity-rozario.thinkific.com
   I am all set to market my course. The support I received from Thinkific team is fantastic. Surely will take the paid plan once I start seeing small results.

   -Patric Rozario
5. 

   Federico

   September 22, 2021 at 10:27 am

   Hey Jeff! This is a great list, thank you!

   I would love to introduce you to our Teachfloor platform (teachfloor.com/). It’s an LMS for cohort-based courses in order to create, manage and monetize an online live academy effortlessly.
6. 

   Kush Sharma

   September 13, 2021 at 2:59 pm

   Thanks Jeff for this list but what’s up with Skillshare? I just can’t seem to get my courses approved there. They always reply back saying I am putting promotional content inside them even though all I’m mentioning is my line of work. Anyone else having the same issue?
   1. 

      Jeff Cobb

      September 15, 2021 at 1:33 pm

      Thanks for sharing that, Kush. I haven’t heard of anyone else having problems, but if anyone reading this has, please comment and share.
      1. 

         patric rozario

         December 10, 2021 at 8:40 pm

         Thanks Jeff for the article. Very useful it is. I am new to online teaching. The experience I have learned is just awesome at Thinkific. The other platform one should try is
         graphy.com
         This is largely for the Indian Subcontinent market – which is mega huge.
7. 

   Anthony Ferrara

   August 8, 2021 at 12:33 am

   Thanks for this detailed and well-written review of popular LMS platforms. I have used LearnDash before but now I have switched to another great one, which I will like to recommend in addition to your list – Tutor LMS by Themeum.
8. 

   Kushami

   April 8, 2021 at 3:20 am

   GrassBlade xAPI Companion integrates with LearnDash as well as LifterLMS, LearnPress, and WP Courseware too. It is really an awesome plugin that you do some awesome things on WordPress. I’m a longtime user and support is super helpful.

   It allows you to track add xAPI, cmi5, SCORM content support as well as Video Tracking support too.
9. 

   Daniel Carr

   December 8, 2020 at 11:46 am

   Late to the party but telligent.com is great for an online community
10. 

    Troy Hudson

    October 21, 2020 at 11:30 am

    Have you checked out Udutu? (udutu.com) I have been on and off their site over the years and I like their workflow and they have lots of free storage and use. You can even build your training on their platform and export it all for free (SCORM and other options); they hope to have your business by helping you so much you will use them as the LMS hosting platform.
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       October 23, 2020 at 8:51 am

       We’ve had Udutu listed on the Course Creation Tools page for a long time. The focus on this page is platform for selling courses and I think Udutu is a little weak in that are – i.e., it lacks goor catalog/e-commerce/promotion feature.
11. 

    DEEPAK KUMAR SINGH

    July 14, 2020 at 1:03 am

    Hi,
    You can also try prodicallearning.com platform if you want to create and sell courses with your branded name at very affordable price.
    Thanks
12. 

    corinne

    May 18, 2020 at 1:07 pm

    Hey! Just thought I would leave a note about my experience… I’m creating my first online course and decided to try the first 2 you recommended: Thinkific and Learnworlds and I have to say Learnworlds dashboard is horrible! Thinkific is much more intuitive and attractive. Just thought I would throw that in and save someone else the time.
    Great article btw
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       May 18, 2020 at 1:21 pm

       Thanks, Corrine – I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.
13. 

    Calvin

    April 16, 2020 at 4:04 am

    Good Article covering all essential platforms. love this article.
14. 

    Donna

    April 15, 2020 at 10:23 am

    I’m wondering why you didn’t cover YesCourse in this article.
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       April 16, 2020 at 12:16 pm

       A reasonable question. I think I did have then in there years ago, but can’t remember now why I removed them. I think it was because, when I polled readers, no one seemed to be using them or have much to say about them. Will review and possibly re-list.
15. 

    Eric Wilson

    March 18, 2020 at 7:09 am

    I love reading your article and I hope that I will read some more about this stuff, it’s really informative and very entertaining. Recently I tried expertlearn.com and I had a good results.
16. 

    Isaac Mathis

    March 10, 2020 at 9:14 am

    Thanks for sharing this list with us, I have introduced a platform where you can create your own online Learning Management System where you can create and sell online courses and many more that help you to manage your online Learning or eLearning
17. 

    Alex

    January 3, 2020 at 1:08 pm

    Hi Jeff,

    Selling online courses as I understand it could be about how a professional training business like say the guys who bring you GTD (VitalSmarts) required a “customer” training LMS to scale the business of learning. They use the Thought Industries platform, which is similar to others like Skilljar, LearnUpon or Docebo? I’m sure each has their areas of expertise, benefits, etc. But curious if there is value in expanding on this post with a quick write up about how platforms like Thought Industries help sell online courses as well? Thank you for your consideration.
    Best,
    Alex
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       January 21, 2020 at 6:04 pm

       Hi Alex – I covered this long ago in https://www.learningrevolution.net/learning-management-system-for-small-business/, which is linked to in this post. Thought Industries is covered there.
18. 

    Bruno Serratrice

    December 23, 2019 at 5:24 pm

    You didn’t mention learnpress that is the only wordpress plug in that allow to create a marketplace like udemy for free…
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       January 21, 2020 at 6:06 pm

       I cover Udemy alternatives at https://www.learningrevolution.net/alternative-to-udemy/. To say that LearnPress is one is more than a bit of a stretch.
    2. 

       Andre Du Toit

       October 15, 2020 at 10:07 am

       Hi Bruno, very interesting,
       I am busy setting up a LearnPress site and would like for small local colleges/clients to create their own branded section with pre-loaded courses that they can choose from or load their own to sell, similar to Thinkific with a bonus of pre-loaded courses. I have a multivendor site where clients can create their own e-commerce shop and would like to have the same for e-learning. Is this really possible with learnPress and if yes do you know of any documentation/guides on how to set it up?

       I would really appreciate your input
19. 

    Faustine

    December 5, 2019 at 10:35 am

    I have a WIX site, how would I find information on building a course on a site I already have? …with full control and selling through the WIX site.

    Thank you!
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       December 12, 2019 at 3:59 pm

       I don’t have a great answer for you on that one. You can sell some video content on Wix, but it really just isn’t made for creating courses. You’d be better off using one of the platforms here and linking out to it.
20. 

    Bruce

    December 3, 2019 at 1:29 pm

    Do you have or will you have a review of Thrive Apprentice? (thrivethemes.com/apprentice/)
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       December 4, 2019 at 10:55 am

       I’m a fan of Thrive, in general, but have not yet managed to review Apprentice. I expect to be able to publish a review by end of this year or January 2020 at latest.
21. 

    Rachel

    November 18, 2019 at 3:42 pm

    Hi, Jeff! Thank U for this great selection. I’m looking for a platform that supports online courses, memberships, and at least 2 languages (English + French). Can U help?
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       November 24, 2019 at 7:11 pm

       Try LearnWorlds
22. 

    Hamza Hajeir

    October 29, 2019 at 4:47 pm

    Thanks for this valuable content.

    I’m looking for a platform that performs all-in (as Udemy) , and supports courses in other languages than English.

    I’ve designed a course in Arabic and it’s up to recording now. I need a guidance for a better choice, As Selling and Marketing isn’t my preferred area.
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       October 29, 2019 at 4:57 pm

       I’m afraid I don’t have an answer for this one – at least not in the Udemy model. Your best bet would be to contact each of the companies I list at https://www.learningrevolution.net/alternative-to-udemy/ to see if they support Arabic.
23. 

    ali

    September 16, 2019 at 2:07 pm

    Hi Jeff, thanks for the article. 2 questions for you. Where does Kartra fit in here? I’m social media based craft business looking for a landing spot to direct customers to video tutorials for purchase. I cannot tell what is right for me. I would only be selling 1 large/master course that i would like to have broken down into several chapters. Possibly some subsequent courses as advanced learning to the original mastercourse. I just want them protected and not shared. I like the idea of a login, or a landing page to collect the email but not entirely necessary. I could do the payment processing and send customers a link or have the platform collect the payment- not really particular just a bit lost. Really small business, small budget.
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       September 19, 2019 at 12:21 pm

       Hi, Ali – Kartra will enable you to sell digital products, and assuming you are using mainly just video, that can include online courses. So, it may work just fine for your needs. It is not really really a full-featured course platform, though. Kartra itself doesn’t list “online course platform” as one of the platforms and services it replaces. Again, that may not matter if you don’t really care about things like tracking course progress, incorporating quizzes and test, awarding credit and certificates, etc.
24. 

    James

    September 11, 2019 at 2:09 pm

    This list is not comprehensive and needs to be updated. Vonza is the best all-in-one platform in 2019. I have used several others and didnt like it. With Vonza you can Easily Create A Profitable Online Business.
    Vonza is an all-in-one platform to create and sell online courses, products, build funnels, design a beautiful website without needing 20 different apps and spending thousands of dollars. Try it out at vonza.com
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       September 19, 2019 at 12:15 pm

       Thanks, Uyi – It’s not meant to be comprehensive (it’s purposely selective based on my experience and expertise, both of which are extensive) and I update it regularly. Will take a closer look at Vonza. – Jeff
25. 

    Bill

    September 9, 2019 at 2:17 pm

    Hey Jeff!

    Thanks so much for putting this incredible guide together! Have you also heard of Virtually (vrtlly.me/build)?

    It’s the only online courses platform that I’m familiar with that takes place live and requires minimal effort to put together. All the video editing and PDF creation is done on your behalf.
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       September 11, 2019 at 1:26 pm

       Thanks, Bill – I was not aware of that one, so thanks for alerting me. Seems like there is a new platform every day at this point!
26. 

    Denise C Allen

    September 9, 2019 at 2:05 pm

    Hi. Would you add LinkedIn Learning to this list now? Why or why not? Thanks for the info!
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       September 11, 2019 at 1:29 pm

       Hi Denise – I do mention it (well, Lynda.com – basically the same thing) here https://www.learningrevolution.net/alternative-to-udemy/ – which is where I list more marketplace options. Even there, though, it is only a mention because getting accepted to do a LinkedIn/Lynda course is a good bit more difficult than participating in most of the other marketplace platforms.
27. 

    Shaunte McFarland

    July 31, 2019 at 4:05 am

    I just wanted to say thank you!!!
28. 

    Christie Ramsey

    July 1, 2019 at 8:47 am

    I teach for a large, well known (ahem, orange) online company. Many of my most advanced students (who will run out of content soon) need other options. I do not need to market and attract large numbers of students as I teach 70-90 classes weekly; I simply want to supplement and further their skills (I have three classes to offer that parents and students both ask about regularly) as they progress out of the current curricula. As they are all in China, could you possibly narrow down which of these options will work there? If by chance I can grow my own business, that would be fine, but it is not currently my short-term goal. The option to expand is certainly one I want to keep available as a possible long-term goal. TIA. 🙂
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       July 2, 2019 at 9:04 am

       Christie – “which of these options will work there” depends on what you are looking for. Do you mean that all the content will need to be in Mandarin?
29. 

    Chris

    June 12, 2019 at 12:41 pm

    Hi Jeff,
    Thanks for this article. Have you ever stumbled upon a platform that combines physical and digital sales? We have a course made up of digital videos and a physical book. (For reasons I won’t go into here, the book cannot be digitized and needs to remain physical.) Currently, we provide it only through our wordpress site, which requires us to manually fulfill each order through KDP (the same POD provider used by Amazon) and then grant member-only access to the videos, streamed via Vimeo. Currently low-volume sales, but I’d still love to find a solution that packages both for me.
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       June 18, 2019 at 8:49 am

       Chris – There are higher end platforms that would do this. On the lower end, though, WooCommerce would be able to handle this. Since you are using WordPress already, you may want to consider using a WordPress LMS plugin like LearnDash in combination with WooCommerce.

       If others reading here use or offer another solution that would help Chris, please comment.

       – Jeff
30. 

    Carl

    June 5, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    Hey Jeff!

    I’ve looked through this list twice and it is absolutely brilliant. It is up-to-date and listed according to its type. I’d love to see you include Plantoost, it is worth a look!
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       June 18, 2019 at 8:50 am

       Thanks, Carl – I’ll have a look.
31. 

    Sudheer M

    May 28, 2019 at 5:11 am

    Nice, Article and list. In 2019 USA based startup, Simpliv – simpliv.com is best online teaching and learning platform. It will provide all courses over the world. Compare to other platforms Simpliv is the best at any kind like courses quality, customer support, mainly Price and other areas as well.
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       May 28, 2019 at 9:48 am

       Thanks for commenting. I’ll have a look.
32. 

    Frida Renlund

    March 15, 2019 at 5:24 am

    Starflow’s plattform is great! 🙂
33. 

    Jacqueline Litvak

    March 8, 2019 at 2:09 pm

    How does TalentLMS.com measure up to these systems? What is the difference? I work for a mid-size company that wants to start a certification program. We already have a web presence and a marketing group.

    Thanks!
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       March 8, 2019 at 2:22 pm

       TalentLMS is a good platform. It’s just in a different class than these – will give you more capabilities in a number of areas like tracking, reporting, SCORM compliance, multi-tenancy. I cover it and similar platforms here: https://www.learningrevolution.net/learning-management-system-for-small-business/. These platforms are probably a better fit for your needs.
       1. 

          Arthur

          November 2, 2021 at 3:52 pm

          Hey Jeff, thanks for the great article.

          If I want to run everything in one ( to simplify things) and less integration. Say creating a course and then having to integrate it into my website to sell or have students use.

          I assume the all in one platform would be most useful? If so, Which all in one platform would you suggest? Where one can have a website, charge memberships , email and etc ?

          My courses are generally youth education based- in 3 different categories. I’ve done some research(will do more) but curious to know what you would do if you were in that position.
          1. 

             Jeff Cobb

             December 12, 2021 at 10:59 am

             Hi, Arthur – Yes, all in one would be best for this. My top pick in this area is Kajabi, but I’d also suggest taking a close look at Podia.
34. 

    Don Peterson

    February 14, 2019 at 10:25 am

    Do any of these offer a screen sharing option for one-on-one or group training?
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       February 14, 2019 at 10:52 am

       Don – None of these are Webinar/virtual meeting platforms, which is what you would need to do what you describe. The exception is Ruzuku, which does have those abilities built in. The rest integrate with common platforms like Zoom and GoToWebinar.
35. 

    Alix B Reed

    January 19, 2019 at 12:56 pm

    I’ve gone around and around 1st deciding on 3rd party .. then build my own with wp/ LMS and back AGAIN. I really prefer a 3rd party all-in-one solution.. as I am just starting out and it’s just “me” The biggest challenge that I have found is the SEO I am not sure how that works without an independent wp site or how it works with a website you build inside a 3rd party. it seems to be the big elephant in the room that no one wants to talks about. Thanks, Alix
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       January 20, 2019 at 9:38 am

       Alix – Once you go outside of a true Web site CMS like WordPress, you are bound to loose a certain amount of control over SEO. WordPress, in particular, is just really strong at that. So, you can either stay with WordPress for your main Web site and link out to a separate course platform. Most of the big ones are going top allow you to style your course site to closely reflect the branding of your main Web site, and some – like Thinkific – have some good widget tools that makes it easier to drop code into your Web site for linking out (not rocket science, but still handy).

       Another option is a platform like Academy of Mine, which is built on WordPress and, as a result, retains most of its strong SEO capabilities.

       Finally, platforms like LearnDash and LifterLMS enable you to plug the LMS capabilities right into WordPress. There are trade-offs on all of these, of course. It most depends on the degree of control you want (first option has the least, third option the most – Academy of Mine is a nice middle position).
36. 

    Jeff Cobb

    January 14, 2019 at 10:38 pm

    Thanks, Tracy – I’ll check it out.
37. 

    Jerry Neece

    January 14, 2019 at 3:51 pm

    Just to put cost in some context, when I designed and built one of the very first eLearning platforms for Sun Microsystems in 1996 to train my sales force, I had to hire 23 web page creators and instructional designers to build my site. Sixty hours of on-line training cost me $1.34 million dollars. Of course, at that time, no alternatives existed and Saba, Blackboard and Moodle all came by to see SunTAN (Sun Training Access Network) to see my learner-centric model. I used Java to create custom pages on the fly depending on the audience (salespeople want just the basics and sales engineers wanted everything possible). But within 2 years I was able to show the CEO a >125% ROI (increased sales and getting them trained faster than in the classroom) and I never had any problem keeping my content updated from that point on when execs understood eLearning’s importance. Of course we didn’t call it eLearning then, Cisco’s John Chambers coined that word a year later. Today I am using LearnDash to create a site for my 4000-person active senior community and the cost will be more like $15,000.
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       January 15, 2019 at 9:40 am

       Thanks for commenting, Jerry. I have followed a similar path. It is amazing how much things have changed!
38. 

    Andrew Morrow

    January 3, 2019 at 10:00 am

    Is there a program listed in which you can assign minimum time that the student needs to remain in the course? I provide training that requires the student to complete a minimum amount of hours so I needed training in which the student cannot move to the next section until a certain amount of time has passed.
39. 

    Maycee

    October 29, 2018 at 10:55 am

    Thanks for providing resources, Jeff! I just wanted to provide an additional source for people who, once they find the right source for them, can get some tips on actually making the course. I just found it while googling, same way I found this one 🙂
    freelancermap.com/freelancer-tips/12434-create-course-sell-freelance-knowledge
    Not gonna lie, I had no idea there was so much money in course creation! This is something I’m definitely looking at working on in the future when I can finally have time for personal projects.
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       October 29, 2018 at 10:58 am

       Thanks for providing that resource, Maycee.
40. 

    Bibhash Roy

    October 28, 2018 at 11:33 am

    Is an LMS like “Adobe Captivate Prime” designed and meant to sell online courses? If the answer is “no” (which it seems so), why such LMS is not designed to sell online courses?
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       October 28, 2018 at 4:33 pm

       Bibhash – The main distinction between Prime and the types of systems listed here is that Prime does not have built in capabilities for e-commerce and marketing. That doesn’t mean you can’t use it for selling courses, it just isn’t really set up to do that out of the box. You would need to integrate it with an external e-commerce system at a minimum.
41. 

    Marco

    October 27, 2018 at 1:27 pm

    Hi Jeff,
    Very interesting article! I still have a question bugging me though: in your research were you also able to identify if there is any platform that allows to sell courses where the instructor is different than the account owner? I would like to set up a little business where I instruct the Instructors, shoot the course, direct and produce the videoclips, follow any marketing activity around the course. Then, I would get right to use and eploitat the results from them, sharing revenue with them. In this model, I would need to be the Owner-Administrator of the accounts on the platform. I’ve checked Teachable and there seems to be some limit in doing so, in how they define the “instructors”. Any indication from you ? Thanks in advance. Marco.
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       October 28, 2018 at 9:43 am

       Marco – At least based on the way you explain it here, Teachable (or Thinkific) should be able to handle that. Can you provide more detail on how it is falling short?
42. 

    Florian Selch

    August 8, 2018 at 7:35 pm

    Jeff, thank you for the summary! One question: which platforms do you recommend that allow students to upload completed assignments (content such as docs, scans, photos,…) so they are accessible for review to me as well as accessible to the student? Thank you
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       September 14, 2018 at 11:47 am

       Florian – For that type of interaction, you are probably going to best off going with an academically oriented platform like Moodle – to which you could add one of the e-commerce plug-ins I cover in the post.
43. 

    Nada

    July 10, 2018 at 10:01 am

    Hey Jeff.
    Amazing post, and pretty useful list for online course creators. Also appreciate the time and effort you put into making people’s lives easier and answering everyone’s comments around here.

    Passing by, I wanted to drop here another platform that fits the all-in-one category. It’s kyvio.com and it’s the perfect match for people with a low budget and high expectations. I would highly appreciate it if you could review and maybe add it to your list.

    Cheers
44. 

    Liam Dalriada

    July 8, 2018 at 11:47 am

    Several of these tout the ‘marketing’ background of the founder of the website. But then the platform requires YOU (the teacher) to do the marketing of your course. It seems what they are ‘marketing’ is the platform, which is absolutely worthless to me: I’m a teacher, not a salesman. I don’t have a “web presence”; I don’t have a ‘following’; I have content knowledge and an ability to teach. It would seem that the best venue for someone like me would be one that relieved me of the responsibility and need to do something I can’t do (market/sell).
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       July 8, 2018 at 12:27 pm

       Liam – These are technology platforms, plain and simple. If you want something that is going to help (at least some) with marketing, then go with Udemy or a similar platform. Even on those platforms, though, you are going to have to put some effort into marketing if you expect to make any real money. Basically, you have two choices: hire or contract with someone to do marketing for you or learn to do it yourself. If you aren’t willing to do one or the other, then you either need to go to work for someone who is, or just accept that being in the course business is not for you.
45. 

    Ben Cryer

    July 4, 2018 at 2:12 am

    One of the most exciting developments in the tech world is the number of people who are learning to write code. Simpliv allows students to select their goal/learning objective and then recommends the proper course for that student.
    Simpliv works because it makes coding accessible to any interested student, provides practical recommendations for students who want to learn how to code but doesn’t understand how these new skills might apply to their current job.
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       July 4, 2018 at 11:44 am

       Thanks for commenting, Ben. I’ve also added Simpliv to my post on alternatives to Udemy at https://www.learningrevolution.net/alternative-to-udemy/
       1. 

          Ben Cryer

          December 7, 2021 at 9:19 am

          Thank you very much Jeff.
46. 

    Ana

    June 28, 2018 at 8:22 am

    Although only in Spanish classonlive.com is a good all in one option platform for e-leanirng.
47. 

    Diana Navarro

    June 11, 2018 at 10:58 pm

    I too like many of you am overwhelmed. I have course almost ready to go with supplemental materials (pdf worksheets, audio, short video) has anyone tried Course Craft? I am finding Thinkific a bit complex when trying to choose a theme.I have a website but am not sure how to implement it with the platform. I’m also considering DailyOm since it is of a spiritual/self-help nature. Any help is greatly appreciated.
48. 

    Alice Williams

    June 4, 2018 at 3:10 am

    thank you for sharing such a wonderful information on online courses. IgmGuru is also an online training platforms that offers various courses. You may check their website at igmguru.com
49. 

    Mike

    May 18, 2018 at 4:26 am

    Hi, Jeff, informative review! What do you think about bitdegree.org? They came with the revolutionary idea, where online education is going to be based on blockchain technology – interactive-gamified courses experience, sponsored courses – token utilized to reward students by achievement tracking. BitDegree have cut a fine figure in the ICO, where attracted lots of token holders attention. For a limited time they are offering free lessons, and there’s a demand for teachers who can present a proper content.
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       May 19, 2018 at 6:38 pm

       I haven’t checked this out yet, Mike, but thanks for mentioning it. I think block chain could have a very natural role to play in certification/credentialing paths – a possibility no one in that industry seems to have tuned into yet.
50. 

    Dainis Graveris

    May 4, 2018 at 6:38 am

    I also started with Teachable and eventually got into the dilemma of picking between Thinkific vs Teachable.
    –
    There are so many options available – am I the only one getting overwhelmed?
    Still there must be a reason why Thinkific vs Teachable keyword is being searched on Google 800 TIMES every month.
    –
    These two are heavyweights and I would say in 90% of cases these options will be far better than all the small solutions.

    The thing is there is NO BEST online course platform – everything depends on your specific case! And that’s why a lot of people I see in comments have questions.

    But please just pick between Thinkific or Teachable and in most cases you’ll be better off in Long Term. Long term solution is what matters.

    I have been involved in online course market for years, I would love to help others get unstuck, as I remember how confusing it was when i started.

    Just ask, and if curious check out the website by clicking on my name (all site has been dedicated to helping you pick the best Online Course Platform).

    Hope that helps!
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       May 10, 2018 at 8:49 am

       Dainis – Thanks for commenting. I agree – mostly. Aspiring course entrepreneurs tend to put WAY too much emphasis on the technology. In most cases, simply getting on with it and going with a major, established platform like Teachable or Thinkific is the right move. Still, there can be reasons for going with other options. I get e-mails from people every day asking for advice on platforms, and I am struck by the number of times that they have specific needs for which Teachable or Thinkific are really not the right fit. It pays, I think, to take just a bit of time to think it through, apply a reasonable process, and arrive at a choice you feel confident about (which is the point of my free platform selection guide).
       1. 

          Dainis Graveris

          May 13, 2018 at 5:16 am

          Yeah, true..I also come by cases – where people just have one specific unique need, which you could never imagine..Like translating course platform to Latvian language…

          It’s super specific, though still surprised that you found a LOT of cases where these two options are not a good fit.

          Can you make one common example, Jeff – please?
          1. 

             Jeff Cobb

             May 18, 2018 at 1:59 pm

             A LOT may be over stating it, but an easy example is just around issuing and managing continuing education credit – i.e., if you want to associated a certain amount of credit with a course and then award that amount of credit upon successful completion of the course. Neither of these platforms handle that.
51. 

    Sue

    March 25, 2018 at 12:17 pm

    Hi Jeff: Great article. Do you offer consultation? I’d like to share our course requirements and would like your recommendation of the best product. Thanks so much.
52. 

    Alice

    February 16, 2018 at 9:31 am

    Hi Jeff and everyone!
    I am developing learning materials directed to patient education (ie drugs side effects, appropriate use etc). So, I expect a high heterogeneity of learning materials and many learners who will likely pick very different course choices. Course bundles would apply, such as “diabetes learning bundle” or “breast cancer learning bundle” etc, but also with a huge variety.
    The question is: in your opinion, would any of the platforms or plugins be better than others for such purpose?
    Thanks a lot!
    1. 

       Jonathan Turkle

       March 5, 2018 at 3:51 pm

       Hi Alice. Have you considered LMScheckout? I usually don’t use these forums to self-promote, but I came across this post, and I noticed that we provide the same service you are asking for to several organizations that are marketing to similar types audiences with varying learning interests. We have an anesthesiologist selling certification for nurses though LMscheckout and many other organizations who want to create customer specific training to a wide variety of users. We use a similar concept to course bundling and have a means to promote recommended and related course through your custom e-commerce site. If you are interested, we are running a series of webinars to introduce our e-commerce solutions for selling and marketing courses online.
53. 

    Kathie-Jo Arnoff

    February 12, 2018 at 6:08 pm

    Hi, Jacqueline and Jeff,

    Thanks for sharing your comment about LearnWorlds and similar tools. We were planning to use a full-blown LMS (quite costly) to deliver courses for professional development. Per your suggestion, I checked out LearnWorlds and was quite impressed. Do you have any updates on how it’s going? Have you used the drip marketing? –Kathie-Jo
54. 

    Ed Lamaster

    February 9, 2018 at 8:57 am

    How do I find your site?
55. 

    Jose

    January 15, 2018 at 4:38 pm

    Great…
    Looking for fitness/gym video online course platform with socialising.
    Looking into Uscreen and Muvi… but I might be wrong.
    Any thoughts/directions on this please?
    Thanks
    1. 

       Mikhail

       March 26, 2018 at 5:14 pm

       Hey Jose,
       You may consider SubscribeStar.com as a standalone platform for your subscription-based (or donation based) courses business. We have transparent pricing, flexible business flow, customizable page layout and friendly staff. Please, drop me a line and I will help you with anything in regard to your online course platform.
56. 

    Ivar

    January 2, 2018 at 12:13 am

    Hi thanks for the very useful post. The big issue we are having is to reduce password sharing. None of the LMS’s seem to address this adequately. Are you aware of any that have in built 2FA or forced social login with Facebook. It may not stop it completely but would definitely reduce the amount of password sharing and loss of revenue. Thanks Ivar
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       January 3, 2018 at 4:34 pm

       Ivar – I haven’t come across any that do this, but if anyone else here has, please chime in.
57. 

    Tom @ We Create Online Courses

    December 7, 2017 at 10:19 pm

    This is an amazing resource. We’ve actually been researching all the different platforms ourselves since we create online courses for clients. Great starting point although we did locate some other ones. LearnUpon and lightspeed for example. One is more an enterprise model and the other used by some celebrities. For now we’ve stuck with teachable but time will tell.
    wecreateonlinecourses.com
58. 

    Jeff Cobb

    November 22, 2017 at 8:11 am

    Thanks or sharing your experience, Jacqueline. I am sure other readers here will find it helpful. I will note, though, that in my experience whether the learning is “recreational” or not has a lot more to do with the instructional quality of the content and how the platform is used than the platform itself (or the topic). And, the amount of support that individual course producers get, even from the same platform company, can vary pretty widely. Just additional points for readers here to keep in mind.
59. 

    Mark

    November 20, 2017 at 6:53 pm

    Jody, our agency just completed a client project that used a similar plugin:

    flyplugins.com/wp-courseware/

    I wasn’t the lead on that project, but the developer who was evaluated several of the WordPress LMS options and it came down to LearnDash and WP Courseware. I believe the pricing model may be similar though. You may want to contact them.
60. 

    Tina

    October 28, 2017 at 9:12 am

    Hi, Jeff. I just wanted to say thanks for this post. I want to create my first online program with videos and power point presentations and PDF files. I’m doing my research now and found your post. It is by far the most helpful one I have read! Thank you so much!
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       November 2, 2017 at 8:28 am

       So glad you found it helpful, Tina!
61. 

    siva

    October 27, 2017 at 4:42 am

    Hi Jeff,
    Good comprehensive list, and hats off for your effort.

    I want to create a technical course ( having mostly PPTs and screen-cast videos).
    I thought of creating the same in Udemy because they will market the courses.

    Do other sites do market sellers content? Or Is it seller to market by themselves?

    Thanks
    siva
62. 

    Linda Taylor

    October 18, 2017 at 4:19 pm

    Hi Jeff,
    Your Learning Revolution is so informative. Thank you. I’m wanting to create a website for Enrolled Agents to earn their annual CPE credits. The material is going to be a self-study course using a downloaded written course to their computer. After they have studied the material, they go back to my website and take a test, it they pass with 70% I submit the credits to the IRS and then I send the student a certificate of completion that they can download and keep in their file. The students need 72 credits every 3 years so the site needs to keep their information so when they come back and open their profile the completed courses with be there. I will also need for the site to accept credit card payments and be able for the student to go online and take a test and receive an instant percentage grade so they will know if they need to take the test again something like “congratulations, you passed’! There will not be any videos or webinars and anything live just a list of all the courses available, a cart for them to pay and a student profile for the course to be downloaded to their computer. (they can study off-line that way) What do I need to buy to get this started? I’m so excited about doing this and your site it so informative I’m so glad to have met you. Please let me know when you get a chance, Thank you again, Take care, Linda.
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       October 19, 2017 at 7:17 am

       Hi Linda – What you describe will require a more sophisticated solution than anything covered in this post. I will e-mail you to discuss.
63. 

    Lisa

    September 10, 2017 at 2:36 am

    Hi Jeff
    Thank you for a comprehensive post. There is so much choice out there, the more you read the more confusing things become. I am hoping you can simplfy and point me in the right direction.
    I am setting up an education website, where I will primarily sell recorded webinars. I have a wordpress site and purchased webinar ignition (WI) under the assumption that I could record webinars and offer them through WI. I have just found out that this isn’t the case. So now I am looking for software that I can integrate into my website and allow me to sell recorded webinars multiple times to different people. I hope this information makes send! Could you tell me the top 3 platforms you would recommend.
    Thank you.
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       September 19, 2017 at 3:22 pm

       Lisa – A recorded Webinar is just a video and pretty much all of the platforms listed here will enable you to set up a video as a course and selling as many times as you want to whoever you want. Just to help you narrow the choices, I would recommend starting with Teachable or Thinkific (both listed above)
64. 

    Rita S

    August 30, 2017 at 12:14 pm

    Can you recommend a reputable company that creates scorm compliant elearning videos for LMS platforms?
65. 

    Robert

    August 28, 2017 at 3:28 pm

    Ugh! Still confused as ever…I’m not sure if I need a website, a platform, or both. I’m very leery of the “simple drag/drop features”, etc. as they always seem to be anything but easy unless you’re tech savvy. I have books to sell, as well. I also teach LIVE seminars. I’m basically needing to offer online classes to companies so they can have their employees watch them, and I simply charge the employer either a flat fee or a per-employee fee. They also will want some type of monthly or weekly “tip” that can be sent as a video, email or possibly text. Any other suggestions you might have? Thank you!
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       September 19, 2017 at 3:30 pm

       Bob – It sounds like you probably do need a platform (and I always recommend having a Web site in addition to whatever platform you use) You might be better off with one of the companies I cover at the following link (LearningCart, in particular, could be a good choice, based on the little bit I know about your situation – https://www.learningrevolution.net/learning-management-system-for-small-business/
66. 

    Barbara

    August 23, 2017 at 11:58 am

    The fees quoted for LearnDash are not a once-only fee – they are for a one-year subscription. Renewable price = half the original price.
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       August 24, 2017 at 5:03 pm

       Barbara – Thanks for noting that. Note, also, that you don’t actually lose use of the software if you don’t review – you just don’t get upgrades and support. In any event, I’ve updated the entry to reflect this.
67. 

    Bob Galivan

    August 22, 2017 at 1:53 pm

    I work with a non-profit arts and crafts group. We want to create courses for our members. We have multiple instructors who will create the content, but our group will actually present the courses. All of these platforms seem to be focused on a direct relationship between course and instructor. I need something that will allow (for lack of a better term) a middle-man to manage the process. All the classes are pre-build, on-demand. Some might have a weekly live broadcast. All courses are 4-6 lessons, and are presented over the course of a month.
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       August 23, 2017 at 10:51 am

       Bob – I would nee to know a bit more about the content and process you have in mind – i.e., when you say “create,” would the instructors be providing finished course pages, or just documents/slides that you would convert into course pages. Does there need to be any sort of approval/review process?
68. 

    Marjory

    August 5, 2017 at 10:46 am

    I have read all of the posts but continue to have questions regarding my desire to create training modules, with testing and online completion for businesses. I want to sell customized courses to businesses, perferbaly small businesses. My idea is to find their training needs and create the module based on their business. What type of platform, and what LMS should I purchase that allows me to create the course and then allow my client to purchase and/or use it for their access. I am assuming it will need to be cloud based. I am a retired technology and business instructor and looking to fulfill my creative outlet and make some extra money if possible. I have used educational platforms but not the current offerings that are overwhelming me when trying to make this decision. I want to be sure I am not overlooking valuable information. Any suggestions? Thanks and great posts and information!
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       August 18, 2017 at 3:16 pm

       Marjory – I can’t really answer this without more information. Any of the platforms here could, in theory, do what you describe. It will depend on how you need the purchase and access to happen. Will the clients always come to your site, for example, or do some need to be able to run the courses on their own platforms? Do you want to provide clients with their own, branded entrance into purchasing your courses? How much control do you want to provide clients for enrolling and managing their own learners? If you need to jump up to any of the more sophisticated scenarios suggested here, consider the platforms listed in this post: https://www.learningrevolution.net/learning-management-system-for-small-business/
69. 

    Jeff Cobb

    July 29, 2017 at 8:08 am

    See https://www.learningrevolution.net/help-creating-online-courses/
70. 

    Mike

    July 28, 2017 at 3:57 pm

    Hi nice job with this comprehensive write-up,
    I tried still cannot really figure the difference between LMS and authoring tools.
    Is authoring tool a part of an LMS ?
    I actually thought authoring tools are just platforms used to link texts, pictures, videos and audios to form a flow in a presentation… so not so sure how that was independently used for elearning in the past

    Thanks very much
    F.Mike
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       July 29, 2017 at 8:07 am

       Mike – Good question. This has become a somewhat confusing area as more and more LMSes have added/improved their authoring capabilities. In the “old days” an LMS was mostly just a database that handled enrolling learners into courses, presenting a “menu” to enable them to launch/access the courses, and tracking their progress through the course based on communication between the course and the LMS. Eventually, though, LMSes started including tools to do just what you describe – i.e., link texts, pictures, video, etc together into a flow. The main issue with this is that every LMS does it a bit different, So, if you build your courses in the LMS, you will almost certainly have to re-build them when you move to a new LMS. Authoring tools are LMS-independent. You build your course in the authoring tool and then can import it into any LMS. There are standards that have been developed to support this – SCORM being the main one historically. For some additional info on all of this see:

       https://www.learningrevolution.net/move-my-online-course/
       https://www.learningrevolution.net/does-scorm-matter-selling-online-courses/

       I also discuss authoring tools more at:
       https://www.learningrevolution.net/tools/create-an-online-course/
71. 

    Joseph

    July 20, 2017 at 2:08 pm

    Am I able to use any one of these platforms to:
    Sell courses AND individual lessons?

    IE. 50 videos…
    50$ for entire course. 1$ Per video lesson.
72. 

    Oliver Pascual

    June 13, 2017 at 12:19 pm

    Hi Jeff,
    I was looking for some useful Online Courses online and suddenly found your post. You have shared very useful information about the online course platforms which will surely make the process of choosing easier for everyone.

    Each platform is described in detail and I also appreciate that you’ve encouraged everyone to share their online platforms at your blog post. This way, people looking for online training can get an excellent and wide selection of the latest platforms that provide online courses. Also, big thanks for keeping this useful list updated.

    Here, I want to share a platform which provides useful business, computer, safety, banking, management, leadership and several other useful courses.

    The link for the website is knowledgecity.com

    Hope you check it out!
73. 

    Lindsey Mercer

    June 12, 2017 at 10:40 am

    This is a wonder post and has truly crystallized everything for me. I will be creating some video based courses and just need a “no frills” platform that enables me to enter this territory without breaking the bank. I was originally thinking of setting up everything through WordPress but am now gravitating towards Thinkific. My question is this…
    Let’s say I start with Thinkific but a year from now ultimately decide to shift over to another platform like WordPress / Learndash or Kajabi. What are the potential risks and repercussions of doing this? Is it not that big of a deal or is it not advisable? My thoughts are this. As long as you can export the customer list from the old system (with their passwords) and then import it into the new system you are fine. But I am not sure if most systems support this. Any input is appreciated.
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       June 13, 2017 at 3:34 pm

       Lindsey – I actually just published a post related to your question: https://www.learningrevolution.net/move-my-online-course/

       Really, it comes down to the nature of your content and how much you rely on the tools contained within any specific platform to create your courses. If you rely on those tools heavily, then you will have to redo quite a bit when you go to a new platform. Maybe not a big deal if you don’t have a lot of courses and the courses you have aren’t all that large. But it could be a big deal if that is not the case.

       As far as dat goes, with most platforms you will be able to export the names and e-mail addresses of your customers, but there is a very good chance you would not be able to simply export passwords and import them into your new system. This would require a more complex level of migration (unless you have the tech skills) will probably require some help. That said, it is often possible to import the names and e-mails and then have people reset their passwords to simply establish a new password in the new system.
74. 

    Ally

    May 22, 2017 at 2:58 pm

    Re: All-in-one platforms
    (eg Rainmaker, Academy Mine…)

    After taking a subscription of any type of these platforms – what will happen to the website, domain and contents upon cancellation? Are they easily transferable?

    E.g. because I’ve learnt to make my own website and features and can do so without paying expensive subscription fees? Or I find cheaper prices else where?

    Thanks
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       May 24, 2017 at 2:34 pm

       Ally – The domain remains in your control always. You would just point it to your new site. Content is a bigger question. The ones that are WordPress-based would technically have an export functionality for all of the content and you should be able to get a copy of the database – all of which would you allow to set most if it back up in another WordPress installation. But there is definitely a lot of devil in the details – so, be sure to ask about this up front and make sure you feel confident you will be able to get your content out in a usable form. (Keep in mind that, when you build courses in a proprietary delivery platform, as opposed to in a separate authoring tool, you are almost always going to have to do some re-constructing when you switch to a new site.)
75. 

    Terry Jarrell

    May 18, 2017 at 6:56 pm

    Very glad to have found this post! I am an Apple consultant and instructor for legal professionals and I teach tech courses for which the students/viewers receive CLE credits for completing. My courses are pre-recorded videos, 1 – 4 hours in length and ready to upload. I have been scouring around trying to find a good platform that can do a few things I need:

    1: Collect payment at registration
    2: Provide on-demand viewing 24/7
    3: Confirm the course was completed prior to delivering a closing email or certificate with accreditation number
    4: Integrate with my existing website (optional but desired)

    Does anyone know of anything that might be a good fit? I have sold on Udemy before for consumer level, non-credentialed courses and I have been tinkering with Thinkific which I like very much, but they do no limit the ability for the viewer to simply skip to the end of the video as pretend they completed it. Otherwise, Thinkific might be ideal but without that sort of control over content consumption, it’s a deal breaker for me.
    1. 

       Lisa

       September 10, 2017 at 2:56 am

       Hi Terry

       Did you get a response to your post. Your situation is very similar to mine and I would be interested in the answer.
    2. 

       Diane Richards

       February 9, 2018 at 12:36 am

       I think they have added that feature this year, if I remember correctly.
76. 

    Isabelle

    May 17, 2017 at 10:54 pm

    I wanted to set up all our courses with Academy Mine a couple of years ago. We have one large 12 part course and 15 smaller (4 part) courses and over 200 students. I paid someone else to set it all up and learn how to use it as I just didnt have the time myself. It took 6 months of paying this person a wage of $500 per week (around 2 grand a month) and around $200 a month for the platform. Six months and over $13,000 spent setting it up , on the day we launched the whole platform crashed as it turned out out courses and resources were just too big. Now I use online classrooms I create myself using web pages and downloadable PDF content. Students email their course work submissions to me. It works and costs nothing but I often wish for a more streamlined way to complete assessments.
77. 

    Kay

    March 20, 2017 at 12:03 pm

    Hi, looking for advice on which site to list a Personal Development course – we sell the course via our website and its all set up and ready to go so we don’t need Course Creation tools like quite a few of the sites seem to want you to use. So we are looking for new places to sell our ready made course online to gain a wider audience and sales. Any recommendations and wise words for us?

    Many thanks in advance!

    K
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       March 21, 2017 at 5:33 pm

       Kay – I don’t know of any place where you can simply list a course that is for sale, and I’m not sure how effective that would actually be. It sounds like what you really need are good ways to drive traffic to a sales page for your course on your Web site. The best way, by far, is through your own e-mail list. To the extent that you don’t have that, or in addition to that, consider the suggestions at https://www.learningrevolution.net/best-way-to-market-online-courses/ as well as https://www.learningrevolution.net/build-an-audience-for-selling-courses/
78. 

    Jeff Cobb

    March 14, 2017 at 2:07 pm

    Thanks for chiming in with the update info – Udemy changes often enough that it can be hard to keep up. The post has been updated to reflect this info.
79. 

    Phillip Dacus

    March 12, 2017 at 12:01 pm

    I am brand new to this. I did not even know there were such platforms. I have looked at some of the reviews here, but no idea which to try. There are a lot of them. The one that jumped out at me is called Teachable. mainly because of their pricing structure. Since I am just starting out, I have no idea how many classes I might sell, so I cant afford to pay a monthly and they just take a percentage of my sells. What I am looking for though are suggestions and recommendations. I dont want to invest lots of time and money into developing classes on Teachable, if its not a good platform.
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       March 14, 2017 at 2:09 pm

       Phillip – Hopefully some other will chime in hear with their comments. Teachable is certainly a solid platform, and I have had a number of readers give it good reviews – though some have also commented that the level of service/support could be better. In any event, I don’t think there is any doubt that they are in it for the long haul. What it really comes down to is whether they have everything you feel you really need to support both your learning and business model. If it appears they do, I’d say go for it.
80. 

    Pascall

    February 27, 2017 at 10:48 am

    Thanks for this great list, and keeping it updated as well. Would you say there are any platforms better suited than others for offering courses about professional skills development?
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       March 7, 2017 at 4:16 pm

       Not really – it depends on the nature of the material, the learning objectives, and the audience. In theory, any of the platforms listed here could support professional skills development.
81. 

    Tom Whalen

    February 20, 2017 at 3:53 pm

    I’ve been using withcoach.com for several months now and really loving it. I tried other platforms first, but theirs is easier to use.
    1. 

       Pamela Young

       May 16, 2017 at 8:22 pm

       I am checking out withcoach as well. It is the brainchild of a couple of Canadians, and all other features being equal (or better), I’d like to keep my support with my fellow Canucks.
82. 

    Rodolfo Siles

    January 25, 2017 at 9:19 am

    How about Alison, anybody had an experience with this company? I see they offer free courses but make some profit from the certificates
83. 

    Abey

    January 10, 2017 at 4:42 am

    Hi, thanks, this is very helpful! One question: Here in Holland people use IDEAL instead of Paypal to make payments online. Do you have any suggestions on high quality e-learningsoftware that has IDEAL payments integrated?
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       January 12, 2017 at 9:30 am

       Abey – I don’t know of any offhand – just not something I really track. Hopefully someone else here will have some input, though.
84. 

    Greg

    December 30, 2016 at 5:00 am

    I’m just going to throw my two cents in here after seeing so much negative stuff about Udemy. While I understand the criticism related to such aspects of the platform as controlling user data and communications with students as well as some difficulties with the review process, I have had an excellent experience with them. The bottom line is, Udemy courses sell. For those of us who don’t like to do a lot of marketing or aren’t very good at it, Udemy has a huge user base and very effective marketing.

    I have tried other platforms with mixed success, but once you get their system down, which I think isn’t too complicated, you can create a good course and get it approved pretty quickly. They just have some specific requirements for your video files that they use to manage quality and standardize the service bit. I think that’s reasonable. At any rate, I just wanted to say that I have 19 courses on Udemy, with one more in the works right now, and I make more money on there per course than any other platform that I have tried BY FAR.
    1. 

       Greg

       December 30, 2016 at 5:03 am

       Oh, and also I have recently discovered two newer marketplaces similar to Udemy that market the courses for you and do a profit share: CyberU, and On-Ed. I am in the process of testing them, I will return to the thread to let you know my experience.
    2. 

       Jeff Cobb

       January 12, 2017 at 9:29 am

       Thanks for chiming in, Greg. Definitely good to have diverse perspectives on this!
85. 

    Joan

    December 17, 2016 at 2:15 am

    Hi there,

    Recently I tried emagister.co.uk and I had a good results.
86. 

    Vincent Mateljan

    December 15, 2016 at 3:07 am

    Completely agree – I’ve heard many stories about people using Moodle and then finding that they either don’t have the time/expertise to configure things themselves, or don’t have the budget to engage a consulting firm to do it for them. Out of the box solutions are much better for small businesses as they can get started easily themselves at a relatively low pricepoint.
87. 

    Bob Oliver

    December 8, 2016 at 8:33 am

    Your blog was really helpful 🙂 Online Learning is much easy and it saves a lot of time, well you can study as well as do other things
    Thanks for sharing 🙂
88. 

    Bill Bernhardt

    November 21, 2016 at 6:00 pm

    I used Teachble to build my first school where I presently have ten courses available with ten more yet to upload. However, while I do like the way that their software makes my school look, it was pretty steep learning curve to figure out how to use it to create a school and courses since their website is not at all intuitive. In addition, I found numerous small annoyances with their software which made the process more cumbersome.

    But, the main problem with Teachable is that their advertising leads you to believe that all you have to do is build the school and students will flock to sign up! However, nothing could possibly be further from the truth!!! Fortunately, I have over twenty-five years of retail experience and thus, I knew that going in.

    However, while they do provide some learning resources with their blog and their free webinars, they do not have single resource that provides you with a complete step-by-step process for marketing your courses. Also, they fail to make it clear that marketing an online course is very different from marketing a standard web site. Thus, I had to spend numerous hours on YouTube watching instructional videos to discover that, unlike a standard web site where you build, and then publish, the site and then vie with competitors for top ranking on Google and Bing, you instead have to build a permission based e-mail list to market to. But, they also fail to provide you with the resources to accomplish that task and thus, you have to turn to other service providers such as Mail Chimp and Timer Monkey to launch an e-mail marketing campaign. Plus, while they do have some resources on building an e-mail list, it is woefully inadequate and far less than clear.

    In addition, on the few occasions I have contacted their customer service for clarification, I have gotten a couple of good answers from one technician and half-assed answers from others. For instance, I read an article on their blog about how to implement an evergreen e-mail sequence but, it was poorly written and left out quite a bit of pertinent information. But, when I contacted their customer service to ask for clarification, they had no idea what I was talking about and repeatedly gave me half-assed answers to my questions! Thus, I had to turn to a video on YouTube to learn how to implement an evergreen e-mail marketing sequence.

    But, what has really set me off is that when I first signed up with them, they sent me e-mails on a regular basis but, suddenly stopped doing so. Then, the other day, I got a pop up window at the bottom of my screen informing me that their Teachable Summit was starting right then! So, I followed the link and signed up for their summit. But, not only did not receive notice of the impending summit via e-mail, I did not receive a confirmation e-mail that I had signed up for the summit! Thus, I contacted their customer service again to ask why I received neither notice of the summit nor a confirmation e-mail and that is when the run around started! First, I was told to check both of my e-mail addresses and my Spam folder. But, after my reply to that message, I was then told that their e-mails had bounced back to me too many times and that I had been removed from their e-mail list! Thus, they told me to add their e-mail address to my safe sender’s list and they would send me a confirmation e-mail. But, that was complete bull because, when I checked my safe sender’s list, their e-mail address was listed on both e-mail accounts! So, I sent them a reply stating that their e-mail address as well as their domain name was on my safe sender’s list and that I did not appreciate being lied to!!!

    However, I find all of this very suspicious since their e-mails to me suddenly stopped after I received a survey from them where I left poor feedback for them because their advertising is misleading, they only provide half of the solution for marketing an online course, and very little of the information needed to do so. But, after informing the customer service agent of this, I have not had reply from them of any sort whatsoever! Thus, I am now searching for a new home for my online outdoor academy!
    1. 

       Brandon

       January 16, 2017 at 2:11 am

       Bill Bernhardt,

       I’m honestly not sure what you expect from Teachable. I’m not a customer of theirs, as I built my courses with Thinkific. However, they’re a courses site. they don’t do mailing lists, nor as far as I know is there a courses provider who does also do mailing lists. They are two totally different products.

       Also, you can’t expect their customer support to give support for something written in one of their blog posts. They support their product, and that’s it.

       I recommend going with ConvertKit for your mailing list provider, incidentally. But, I hope you can have some more reasonable expectations of your service providers.
89. 

    Daniela

    October 26, 2016 at 2:43 pm

    You may also like this e-Learning platform which allows you to create your own e-shop – marketplace and there sell your courses for FREE and with no extra effort! This e-shop function can be switched on by one click in the platform settings. You only need to select the courses you want to display. Personalizing your e-shop by using your company’s logo and colors, so that the visitors would recognize the e-shop as yours, is a question of only a minute. so lets try and get more profit!
90. 

    Nilesh

    September 27, 2016 at 6:19 am

    Yes this is great content but now we have many more other option.there is lot of other platform provider who provide same features with whitelable solution. You can create and manage your own UDEMY, Lynda etc.

    With same platform you can conduct live classes and can provide recorded one.

    You guys should try edugyaan.com

    EduGyaan is another company who provide better platform at low cos.
91. 

    Freida

    September 20, 2016 at 1:01 pm

    Hello Jeff..thanks for this information. My needs seem to be a little different, and I hope you can be able to guide me. I work for a non-profit organization and we offer elearning courses for business owners at no charge. Our approach is to develop the content, have someone produce it as an ecourse — and we own it. I don’t understand the monthly fees that all of the platforms you mentioned seem to have. Wondering if you have suggestions of elearning developers that produce the courses without any ties into monthly fees and revenue sharing. Thank you!
92. 

    Sasi

    September 20, 2016 at 6:38 am

    There is an another very good online teaching platform called Learnyst Teach Online.They help you build your own branded school.
    You can visit and can signup to it from here learnyst.com
93. 

    Daniel B

    September 16, 2016 at 1:39 pm

    Anyone use Wedemic?
94. 

    Anthony Miller

    September 4, 2016 at 5:25 pm

    Check out 247digitalclassrooms.com. Their online learning platforms are affordable, simple to use, and cater to educators, tutors, coaches, and people looking to start a virtual school.
95. 

    Farouk

    July 29, 2016 at 5:24 am

    Hi everyone!
    Just find out Thinkific using stripe , for 0 payment term but sadly stripe doesn’t recognise Malaysia. So sad ????

    Great post Jeff. Thanks a lot!
96. 

    Olivia

    May 17, 2016 at 2:36 am

    Hi Jeff, great job you did on this post (it’s been going on for quite a while now ). Did you ever tried MATRIX LMS? What’s your thought on it? It looks very user friendly (feels like a social media platform) and it has a lot of great features.
97. 

    Fr. Lev

    May 16, 2016 at 2:05 pm

    In a bit of a quandary w/ LMS. We are a small religious order with a newly formed seminary wherein we would like to offer an eLearning option. Most of the sources described above are either web-based/ clud based platforms. We would like something more like an authoring tool platform, like Moodle, to create our courses and track everything from our own website.

    We tried Moodle and were OK w/ it except that there were security issues. We wound up being hacked and our webhost didn’t much appreciate that!

    Is there something along the Moodle line that you could recommend that might meet our needs?

    Much appreciated.

    Fr. Lev
    1. 

       Jeff Cobb

       May 20, 2016 at 4:50 pm

       You might give Educadium a shot – it is Moodle-based, but much friendlier to use, and they deal with the security.
98. 

    Paco de Onís

    May 12, 2016 at 1:17 pm

    Hi Jeff – thanks for this great blog and the lists of online course platforms! I’m just curious as to why you don’t include SkillShare in your lists of platforms.
99. 

    Shane

    May 5, 2016 at 12:47 pm

    What do you think is the best platform to import an existing powerpoint presentation and convert it to an online course?
    1. 

       Lisa Denke

       January 15, 2017 at 8:27 pm

       EZ LCMS is not free, but it looks like a serious answer to this question.
100. 

     Karen

     April 1, 2016 at 9:23 am

     I must admit, most of these websites are too expensive or offer little features for small start-ups. I was thinking about going with Udemy because they’ll help promote the course if you split the profits, but then I got greedy and thought about using wordpress to start my own, but it would be a pain in the butt to have to constantly update all those plugins. So I’m leaning towards Udemy and ValueAddon. I hate that I have to pay a monthly fee for VAO, but i like their platform set-up. I may try both and see which one performs best. Most likely it’ll be Udemy because they’ll do the marketing. We shall see though.
101. 

     Olivia

     March 30, 2016 at 4:19 am

     Hi Jeff, great job you did on this post (it’s been going on for quite a while now ). Did you ever tried MATRIX LMS? What’s your thought on that platform? looks very user friendly (feels like a social media portal) and has a lot of great features.
102. 

     Mark Gill

     March 16, 2016 at 7:45 am

     Give your customers on demand access to courses and leverage your core brand in minutes, not months.Create unlimited courses consisting of ‘Sections’, ‘Lectures’, ‘Assignments’, ‘Exams’ and ‘Certificates’ where contents of any format can be very easily inserted by you. createonlineacademy.com/features/
103. 

     Denise DeLuca

     March 2, 2016 at 6:20 pm

     I created a course on Udemy last . It was easy and they provide support. BUT I just learned they changed thier pricing structure, which suddenly knocks my course out. This is putting me in a terrible position. Be warned!!
104. 

     Jeff Cobb

     February 27, 2016 at 10:27 am

     Yes, how you promote/what kind of support you get is a significant factor. At a site like Udemy, you at least know there are many people showing up looking for courses. (Of course, there is still no guarantee your course will get a lot of visibility.) To be honest, if you can be effective promoting yourself on Udemy, then you can probably be successful promoting through your own site – and even if you have a course on Udemy, you will almost certainly still want to have your own site to support promoting the Udemy course (and – very important – collecting e-mail addresses).
105. 

     Tyler Basu

     February 24, 2016 at 6:16 pm

     Hey Jeff, great post! Have you checked out Thinkific? Curious to hear what you think of their platform.
     1. 

        Jeff Cobb

        February 26, 2016 at 12:56 pm

        Haven’t checked it out yet, but will be sure to. Thanks for mentioning it.
106. 

     Marc

     February 1, 2016 at 11:42 am

     Hello Jeff
     Great article. Do you have any knowledge of platforms specifically targeting creators and consumers of learning courses for children, k-8? My company produces engaging, video animation educational/earning programs for kids (and their parents) covering core foundational subjects such as language arts, science, history, etc. They are available on our own company site as well as Udemy, Gumroad, Teacherspayteachers, but for the most part these sites are not specific to children.
107. 

     Stephanie Tanner

     January 26, 2016 at 11:30 pm

     I just saw your comment and I thought you might be interested in Gumroad. It is similar to Udemy, but they take a smaller slice.
     1. 

        Em

        March 31, 2016 at 11:55 pm

        Hi people! I’m an ex high school teacher & have run a biz as a Dread Loctician & Trainer for over 10 years. I have 3 online courses teaching people how to make & maintain dreads naturally & how to run small home based biz as Locticians. I use gumroad. They have a few glitches, but all in all, I’m very happy with it. I sell them via my ems & website though, I haven’t yet began using their tools to sell via them as a course market place.
108. 

     Yiannis Panagopoulos

     January 13, 2016 at 8:44 am

     TalentLMS is yet another missing item on this great list talentlms.com
109. 

     Malak Sedra

     January 11, 2016 at 11:18 pm

     you should checkout e-sky.ca, its easy to host, you can sell directly on their site and their sales folks can offer your content to businesses (whenever applicable of course) and there is always the possibility to do a revenue sharing model without upfront cost for hosting. 1-855-MYESKY-1
110. 

     Frances

     December 30, 2015 at 11:27 am

     I would not recommend Udemy. Their support is horrible. No one answers emails or support tickets. Can’t get approved for the Facebook group. They may be making a ton of money, but won’t last long if their support doesn’t improve. I’m looking for another website that has good support.
111. 

     Kevin

     December 13, 2015 at 3:04 am

     Perhaps Eventase.com ahould actually say somewhere what their pricing structure is?
112. 

     Chris Wilson

     November 12, 2015 at 5:35 pm

     I just started some courses on Udemy and love the platform. I think the most prevalent instructors probably make a ton, funny that Udemy sells for $10 every other week (I thought I was special). I’d be interested to see how others work. I think I have a technology that we just created that could be really helpful for course creators if you’d like to chat more I’d love to meet virtually. It’s patent pending and has never been done, we are backed by the CEO of LifeLock and just presented to the CMO of Facebook but looking to get it into the hands of course creators that do video. Let me know if you’d like to connect.
113. 

     Robert

     October 10, 2015 at 5:04 pm

     I’d like to create a site that offers hundreds of my courses for free – and monetize the site through advertising, referrals, etc. Any ideas on the best platform for this type of model?
114. 

     Cliff Krahenbill

     September 16, 2015 at 2:22 am

     The article glazes over a lot of hard facts about some of the platforms. All I can say is let the buyer beware. Many of these sites have hidden charges they don’t spring on you until you go do do something, anything.

     For instance, you are led to believe that using your on domain name is a feature but once when you go to use it, you are going to be charged $99.00 and be sold an SSL cert that has a reoccurring monthly fee of $25.00.

     You need to ask about hidden charges and fees and understand what it is your doing. Some of these platforms have no information on how to opt out or cancel once you sign up. Some of these sites have no point of contact and telephone number and emails that are truly bogus.
     emails addresses like [email protected]

     With one of these well known platforms, I had to do a whois to find the real owner of the company and email him directly to cancel my account.

     Do not sign up for any reoccurring payment using your credit card. You will find that your bank cannot stop the payment and the provider will not allow you to remove your credit car or cancel.

     If you sign up either use PayPal or offer to pay month to month.

     I see a lot of slick advertising with pictures of the supporting staff shown as all being young, very diverse, affluent, and attractive and they only have a first name. I would suspect that a lot if not all the claims of endorsements on most of these sites are bogus.

     Watch yourselves!
     1. 

        Jeff Cobb

        September 16, 2015 at 6:21 am

        Cliff – Thanks for your comments. And, I agree – do your homework and buyer beware. This was never meant to be a comprehensive buyer’s guide – merely a brief overview of some of the major available options. And, as I state clearly at the beginning, I do not endorse any of these products. This is starting point for doing the work that will – I hope – land you on the platform that is right for your needs. But the “doing the work” part is critical.
115. 

     JB

     September 11, 2015 at 7:55 pm

     They all, except for UDEMY, want money up front to host your courses. UDEMY does not and they have a great platform and process. But as I have noticed of late, they seem into be getting to big for their proverbial britches and are turning some off now because they aren’t as friendly as they once were and they are doing some strange stuff
116. 

     Amanjot

     August 27, 2015 at 12:28 am

     Hi Jeff,

     WizIQ has come a long way during last few months. We all know about its much loved Virtual Classroom. Now, it’s spreading wings in a direction. It recently launched Online Academy Builder – A DIY platform that allows users to create their own online teaching website in a few minutes. A lot of other improvements have also been made. You can find more details on the website – wiziq.com

     Regards,
     Amanjot
117. 

     Phil

     August 26, 2015 at 8:05 am

     Hi Jeff
     Great list thanks. Do you know of any particular LMS that offers interactive video with one or many students in the same way that Adobe Connect does? The standard webinar format is OK but most seem to only have a text chat option for the students which can be limiting in terms of teaching.

     Thanks
     Phil
118. 

     Nikki

     August 20, 2015 at 5:50 pm

     Hi, Jeff.

     I have one question, being a real novice. I want to use a platform for on-line learning that not just allows for pre-taped videos, slide shows with audio, and other “static” mediums. I want a platform that allows for live teaching where I can either see the individuals (as I teach self-care/body work), hear the individuals and their questions (but they see me), and/or get their chats (latter being less desirable – other two being more as they create a real live classroom feeling). Which on this list does provide that live video teaching/ “conferencing” option. Or alternatively – do people mix and match platforms.

     Thanks, Nikki the Novice (even so dinosaur that I’m just now updating my own site to mobille)
119. 

     Natasha

     August 17, 2015 at 3:44 pm

     If I’m planning to have 100 of teachers or more tutor several hundreds of students, which platform should I choose? I saw e-lecta offers such classrooms where several teachers can have their own virtual room for teaching. Anybody else?
     I also want to be able to sell webinars and other courses on the same platform. Any suggestion?
120. 

     Rajiv Sathian

     August 10, 2015 at 9:52 am

     Hi All,
     To sell courses online you can use Moodle as the LMS wherein you can create any number of courses and add course content related to them.
     Moodle has a robust system which can be used by site owners to manage and maintain courses.

     To sell them online you can use WordPress as the CMS wherein due to its simple and easy to use interface will help you to create a great user-interface for buyers on your site.

     We have come up with a plugin which integrates both Moodle and WordPress which helps in sync of courses created in Moodle with WordPress.
     Edwiser has its own payment gateway which can be used by you to sell course individually, but if you wish to sell courses as products you could get the WooCommerce Integration extension which would help you in selling courses as products, sell one or bundle more than one course into product, set subscription for the product along with many WooCommerce features.

     To get more information regarding this click on this link edwiser.org.

     Regards.
     Rajiv
121. 

     Jeremy

     July 31, 2015 at 4:59 pm

     Hi Jeff. First off, excellent guide! My question really pertains to pricing model. Are you aware if most of the successful sites go with the standard monthly membership fees or do they go with a one-time purchase to get lifetime access? It is an odd conundrum and one I have been thinking about while I am putting together my content. Thanks in advance for your response!
122. 

     Rajiv Sathian

     July 31, 2015 at 9:08 am

     Hi,

     Since the discussion is related to creating and selling courses online.
     With the experience we have in this field, I recommend Moodle to be the best place to create courses online, you may find Moodle to be tedious but trust me once you start using it you will find it to be very handy.
     But when the plan comes to sell courses in Moodle, yes it is not easy so I would recommend use WordPress as front-end to create a dedicated site to sell your courses online.
     Looking into these requirements we came up with Edwiser Bridge which integrates Moodle with WordPress, syncs courses created in Moodle to WordPress, along with the WooCommerce extension site owner can sell courses as products, even bundle more than one course as products.

     Looking forward to your view regarding Edwiser.
123. 

     Eric

     July 26, 2015 at 11:21 am

     Thanks for posting this list! I googled and thought I’d have to search on my own, and your list was first in line. (recently updated, too!) You saved me countless hours of work finding and investigating these options. We’d like to offer some of our safety classes online. As a small business, your first paragraph resonated with me. I can’t afford to license an LMS, authoring tools, and do the development to connect them to our website. I need an affordable SAAS solution. You rock!
124. 

     Roz Bahrami

     July 8, 2015 at 11:07 am

     Great list! Thanks for including SkyPrep!
125. 

     John

     July 2, 2015 at 2:58 pm

     Hi Jeff. Thank you for this information. I was building a driver safety course on Udemy, but since I am basically a writer not a videographer, could not meet their requirements. Is there a place you would recommend for someone wanting to open a course solely based on writings? Thanks, John
126. 

     Susan

     June 23, 2015 at 11:27 am

     Hi, I was wondering if you had any information on yescourse.com. I keep getting advertisements from them, but haven’t seen anything reviewing them (except from them) online. Thanks in advance.
127. 

     Jeff Cobb

     June 17, 2015 at 2:50 pm

     The focus here is on platforms that make it easy to sell courses. As far as I can tell, ScormLMS isn’t really focused on that, but let me know if I am missing something.
128. 

     Melanie

     June 16, 2015 at 1:26 pm

     Have you checked out Jasper / Refined Data? Their platform is built on Moodle and integrates with Adobe Connect, and is used by many respected companies and universities, as well as Kaplan test prep etc.

     refineddata.com

     I’m curious which platforms you most highly recommend for their use of open-source code and value? Thank you for this post!
     1. 

        Jeff Cobb

        June 17, 2015 at 2:53 pm

        Melanie – Refined Data has a nice solution, and I have included them in selection processes I have run before, but I think of them as more appropriate for larger organizations – rather than the individual subject matter entrepreneurs and small firms that are the main audience here. Am I off the mark in thinking that?
129. 

     Panos Siozos

     June 7, 2015 at 4:34 pm

     This is a great list! Yet new powerful solutions appear every day.

     For a fresh approach I suggest you have a look at learnworlds.com, a white-label platform for creating your own online school and full-fledged professional training community (disclosure: I am a co-founder there)

     With LearnWorlds you have everything you need to easily create rich online courses (that combine videos, texts/images, formal and informal assignments and tests, certificates etc.). On top of that you get the opportunity to convert your videos into interactive experiences (with titles, bookmarks, definitions that you can add on the fly, without the need for expensive post-production) and your texts into interactive ebooks (with personalized notes, highlights etc.)

     More importantly, you get a set of tools that will help you create a vibrant learning community for your learners, like:
     – Personal profiles for your clients to present their skills and experiences
     – Social networking and People Search for your clients to be connected and form teams
     – Daily newspaper for your clients to be informed about the topic from the best relevant sources,
     – Gamification, with custom badges, for your clients to be motivated (e.g. an “Android Guru” badge)

     Of course LearnWorlds is fully white-label so it can blend with your existing site/blog

     hope that helps:)