An online course platform is a learning management system that enables you to build courses. It also helps you learn from courses through digital media. You can easily manage the content of the courses if you are a content creator. And if you are a student searching for a way to study online, these platforms help you manage your training sessions.
If you are searching for an online learning platform, then this article is for you to read. We have compared some of the best course platforms to decide will suit you best easily.
Best Online Learning Platforms as on 2021
Some of the best online courses that you can choose from when it comes to online learning are skillshare, Udemy, Teachable, Thinkific, Kejabi, Podia, Learn Dash, Ruzuku, and Learn Worlds.
Product | Teachable | Podia | Thinkific | Skillshare | Udemy | Kejabi | Learn Dash | Learn World |
Platform | Saas, Iphone, Ipad | Saas | Saas | Saas | Saas | Saas | Saas | Saas |
Free plan | Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial |
Transaction fee | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Course compliance and certificates | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Membership Feature | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Affiliate Feature | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Skillshare
Skillshare is one of the best online course platforms that has numerous courses for academic students. Among all the other learning platforms, Skillshare is the largest.
When it comes to choosing an online course, students are spoilt for choice. They have almost all kinds of courses in different categories. They have something for everybody.
Students from all genres of any educational background can enroll in a course in skillshare.Therefore the quality of courses offered by Skillshare is par excellence. The Students can access the courses in Skillshare for free only for a limited time. After that, they need to upgrade themselves and become premium members to avail the courses.
If you think you can prepare courses for Skillshare, this learning platform also opens new doors of opportunities for you. You can prepare courses for skillshare and.
Features
The key features of Skillshare are
- Skillshare helps students learn from classes that are designed for real-time learning.
- Students get to learn from those who have created the course.
- The best thing about learning from Skillshare is that you can access the course from any device and access your class at any point in time. These courses can be run on smartphones, laptops, PCs, tablets, etc.
- If you are a skilling company that aims to train students to become independent and responsible working adults in the future, Skill share can help you take your business to the next level.
Pricing
If you wish to enroll in a premium course in Skillshare, you need to pay Rs.240.62 per month. The amount is billed both monthly and annually.
Pros
- The reason for the growing popularity of skillshare is that it does not pinch your pocket. The courses offered in Skillshare are pocket-friendly, and the best thing is that they can be canceled at any given point in time.
- The second reason why students opt for skillshare is its variety. Skillshare offers numerous courses to academic students to make sure they get the freedom to choose. It has something to offer to everybody.
- The Skillshare learning platform has a user-friendly interface because of which even kids can make the most of this platform.
- The built-in community in skillshare makes the process of learning highly communicative and entertaining.
Cons
- If students do not have clarity as to which course they wish to enroll in, too many alternatives offered by skillshare might leave them even more confused than before. So it’s best to consult a professional if you are not able to decide.
- Anybody who is fond of teaching can start teaching through this learning platform. There are not many restrictions on the teacher’s qualifications. Therefore the quality of a course offered by skillshare may vary depending on the quality of the teachers.
Udemy
The second best online course platform is Udemy. If you are a content creator who wishes to promote your classes, then Udemy is the right platform for you. Udemy offers 8000 plus courses to millions of students. They have thousands of instructors who make sure the quality of learning is not compromised at all. If you are an instructor or a course creator, you need to sign up with Udemy to avail its premium features.
Features
- There is no fear of losing information when you are working with Udemy. You get the privilege to plan your lectures in google docs and can also make use of excel and PowerPoint to make your lectures appealing to the eyes.
- Students from different cultural backgrounds can enroll in Udemy. Udemy has a separate instructor dashboard that helps teachers keep track of the courses they offer.
- Teachers can teach students through video tutorials as well when they are using the Udemy learning platform.
Pricing
Students don’t need to pay a penny for enrolling in a course through Udemy. It is free to use a learning platform for students; however, they charge 3% of the revenue shared by instructors depending on their sales through instructor coupons.
Pros
- If you are an instructor, you can promote the course using the marketing strategies inside the platform itself.
- Instructors can earn a substantial commission through the tuition fees. Instructors using this platform can set their tuition fees from 50 to 100% depending on whether the students are new or old.
- Udemy offers round-the-clock assistance to students.
- Students can have access to ample reference material as Udemy has a huge library, especially for students, to help them increase their subject knowledge.
Cons
- If you are a content creator, you won’t create any content in Udemy without signing up for the premium account.
- For video tutorials, any less than 30 minutes cannot be uploaded to the portal.
- For the sale of each course, they charge a 3% revenue share from instructors through instructor coupons.
Teachable
If you simply wish to create and sell courses, then Teachable is the best online learning platform for you. Teachable offers content creators Skillshare Courses support they need to develop, promote and sell online courses without getting into the technicalities. You don’t need to install any software for it. Creators can either use teachable in their domain name or add it to their existing website. It’s easy to use interface and marketing analysis to add and promote their courses through this online learning platform.
Features
- Content creators can create content in any format, be it multimedia, text, pdfs, audios, or video files.
- Content can be easily imported from dropbox, google drive, or one drive.
- The page editors make it extremely easy for content creators to launch their course.
- You can make your course entertaining by preparing quiz questions related to the course to check the knowledge base of the students.
- You will also be able to issue completion certificates to students through this platform and also collect student feedback to analyze the teaching methodology used during the course.
- You don’t have to go through the pain of currency exchange. Teachable accepts over 130 different currencies.
- Most importantly, you can market your course and promote it through this platform.
Pricing
There are two different plans. The basic plan starts at $39 per month. The premium plan does not include transaction fees and costs $99 per month.
Pros
- The drag and drop feature makes the interface user-friendly and incredibly easy to use. You don’t need to have the technical knowledge to understand how the platform operates.
- No backups or software are required to be installed.
- This platform provides strong and effective marketing tools that help in promoting the course.
Cons
- Teachable is more expensive than most online learning platforms.
- The basic plan has a transaction fee of 5% that pinches your pocket if you do not upgrade to the premium plan.
Thinkific
Thinkific is one of the best online course platforms because it is fully hosted. The visual course builder that comes with Thinkific has a drag and drop feature that is unique in itself and helps in developing highly interactive courses. Everything that you can expect out of a learning platform can be seen in Thinkific. Additionally, you will create subscription programs and membership communities to attract more and more people to your platform.
Features
- Content creators can create anything that will help make the course interesting and interactive, starting from quizzes, tutorials that can be downloaded, surveys, and more.
- You can design your courses using the different themes offered by Thinkific to highlight the benefits of your course when the course is being sold.
- The date when students complete the course can be set using this platform.
- The drag and drop feature of Thinkific enables you to organize web content.
- Creators get full access to platforms like HTML and CSS, which helps them to design their courses better.
- Mostly, you can also make use of advertising platforms like Google AdWords through this platform.
Pricing
Thinkific offers two different plans, one is the limited free plan or the basic plan. It allows students to access about three courses, and the other is paid plan starting at Rs.2853/-
Pros
- Thinkific has a user-friendly interface which makes the application easy to use. If you are not technically sound, you can still use this learning platform without any hassles.
- There is no need to install any software as this platform is completely hosted.
- By using the marketing strategies, you can easily scale up your business without having to scale the platform.
Cons
- There are very limited features in the free plan.
- The premium plan is quite expensive.
Kajabi
Kajabi is the best online course platform for those who wish to prepare and customize courses on their own. Different themes in Kajabi lets you design and customize courses as per your requirements. This platform is not meant for small content creators. It is a high-end course builder.
Features
- The best thing about using the Kajabi learning platform is that it allows content creators to build websites without writing any code. So if you do not have a technical bent of mind, you don’t have to worry. The unique features allow you to build and customize your website without getting into the nitty-gritty of coding.
- If you need any kind of support while posting course content on this platform, you don’t need to worry. Our technical help experts are there to assist you and troubleshoot your problems 24/7.
- Creators can either use custom domains in their names or link the platform to their existing websites.
- Impressive landing pages can be designed, which increases the sales percentage of the courses.
- It is a dynamic platform where you can easily upload videos or images in the workspace.
- It has email marketing automation. This helps creators send automated replies to people who send queries regarding the platform or the course.
Pricing
Kajabi offers three basic plans, namely basic, growth and pro.
- The basic plan includes one website, one admin, three different products, and three different pipelines. It also contains 10,000 contracts and 1000 active members at $119 a month, paid monthly or annually.
- The growth plan includes one website, ten admin, 15 different products, and 15 different pipelines. It also contains 25,000 contracts and 10000 active members at $119 a month, paid monthly or annually.
- The pro plan includes three websites, 25 admin, 100 different products, and 100 different pipelines. It also contains 100,000 contracts and 20000 active members at $319 a month paid monthly or annually.
Pros
- It is software that can be used if you wish to run an information-related business.
- The video features of Kajabi are truly commendable.
- The major focus is on the tools used to market and sell courses through this platform.
- The number of built-in tools in Kajabi is considerably more than other online learning platforms.
- The best thing is you don’t need to make an annual payment to subscribe to his platform. We are offering monthly subscriptions for the time being.
Cons
- There are very limited features in the free plan.
- The premium plan is quite expensive.
Podia
Podia is the best online course platform. It consists of over 500,000 members. It is an inevitable addition to your digital collection. It is perfect for digital downloads, memberships, and webinars. If you are searching for a platform that is strong and you wish to increase your overall sales with the help of affiliates, we are there to assist you.
Features
- This platform consists of stand-alone courses. These courses may include audio files, videos, and images, along with quizzes.
- This platform also has a feature wherein the creators can collect advance payment before the course.
- Podia acts as a platform where you can perform webinars that are live or on-demand,
- Podia also gives the privilege to run an affiliate program. They can see all the affiliates in the window present and make payments to them individually according to their payment structure.
Pricing
Podia offers three basic plans to its users these are-
- The mover that offers unlimited services. No transaction fee is required. You are allowed to sell courses and make digital downloads. You can send up to 5k emails per month at just $39 per month.
- The second plan is known as Shaker. It involves everything that is included in mover, plus you will be able to create communities and add affiliates here and also send up to 50k emails per month at $79 per month.
- The third plan includes everything that is included in the shaker, along with a full-time dedicated account manager. The onboarding process is personalized, and 50k emails are sent per month.
Pros
- There is an easy three-step process of enrollment if you wish to take up Podia.
- 24/7 support and round the clock assistance
- You will be allowed to run affiliate programs inside Podia.
- You will be able to view all the affiliates in a single call.
- Make payments according to a self-designed commission structure.
Cons
- Includes 29% transaction fees which makes the price of the platform higher compared to other platforms.
LearnDash
If you have a WordPress site and wish to sell courses, you will need a WordPress plugin known as LearnDash. The LearnDash has a unique feature. It blocks all distractions when students are scrolling their eyes through the course. The grading system used by teachers in LearnDash can be easily compared with the features of a college curriculum.
Features
- It is a systematic learning platform where the courses can be arranged according to the course order.
- If you have a website you can sync the website with the LearnDash platform.
- If you find the questions very hard, you can hide a hint in the questions and make students solve them. It helps develop curiosity and interest in students about that particular subject.
- Students can review their answers when they are working on this platform.
- The results can be sent to the group admins and users who have been asking for them.
Pricing
LearnDash starts from $159. This amount is spent on a single site license.
Pros
- Learn dash is a plugin that includes lessons, assignments, quizzes, certificates, and more.
- The visual course builder makes the plugin easy to use.
- This plugin is fully integrated. That means you can now add tools that help in the promotion of the course.
- It does not take a percentage of the commission you earn.
Cons
- Content control features are not as good as the other platforms.
- Limited control has been given to create multiple subscriptions.
- You need to manage your own site because this plugin is compatible only with WordPress.
Ruzuku
Ruzuku is so named because this platform is straightforward to operate and highly effective. If you wish to create an online course guide with all the minute details of the course, this is the right platform. Course outlines can be created in minutes. Ruzuku is well integrated with powerful tools like Mailchimp and payment gateways like PayPal. It is not merely a teaching tool. Ruzuku is an online community of teachers. .
Features
- Previous courses can be re-checked and re-run through this platform.
- The best part about Ruzuku is that it enables hosting video as well as audio streams.
- Course announcements can be sent through email, and notifications are sent to teachers when a student posts a question.
- You, as a student, do not need to subscribe to the entire plan to reap the benefits. You can subscribe to a particular subject instead.
- Course wise questions can be framed.
- Group chats can be initiated.
Pricing
A career course from Ruzuku may cost somewhere around $499 monthly. It includes workshops, group coaching classes, and videos. Ruzuku starts at $99 per feature per month.
Pros
- Very easy interface
- Offers unlimited courses to students to choose from.
- You can upload N number of videos.
- You can also store N number of Data.
- The services are extremely fast and highly secure that are offered by this platform.
Cons
- Is more expensive compared to other learning platforms.
- The customer support is not at par with the other platforms.
LearnWorlds
Teachers who believe in one-on-one interaction and looking for ways to interact with their students join Learnworlds. It focuses on providing students with more and more e-learning content that can help them interact and express their ideas in a better way.
Features
- Logo, theme, and other essentials can be customized, highlighting the brand. This helps in better marketing of course material.
- It helps build courses in dynamic and responsive websites.
- It comes with a fully ready course catalog that can be shared with students for a better understanding before they enroll in the course.
- Free courses for students with financial constraints are possible to provide through this platform.
- You are free to create unlimited courses.
Pricing
There are three plans available: starters, pro, learning center.
If you are a fresher, you can enroll in starters at $24 per month to be billed annually.
For people who have the initial experience, we suggest enrolling in pro at $79 per month.
Learning center is a plan that has the features of a pro trainer plus some additional features like premium cloud servers, branded corporate, etc at $ 249 a month to be billed annually.
Pros
- You can offer free courses to the desired students.
- They strive towards providing a solid knowledge base for students.
- There is new analytics that helps in increasing sales.
- Provides a custom domain name
- Round the clock support 24/7
Cons
- Is more expensive compared to other learning platforms.
- The customer support is not at par with the other platforms.
Comparison Table:
Product | Teachable | Podia | Thinkific | Skillshare | Udemy | Kejabi | Learn Dash | Learn World |
Platform | Saas, Iphone, Ipad | Saas | Saas | Saas | Saas | Saas | Saas | Saas |
Free plan | Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial |
Transaction fee | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Course compliance and certificates | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Membership Feature | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Affiliate Feature | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
FAQ
Some of the best online courses that you can choose from when it comes to online learning are skillshare, Udemy, Teachable, Thinkific, Kejabi, Podia, Learn Dash, Ruzuku, and Learn Worlds.
Visit the course catalog to browse our offerings. In addition to searching by course duration and availability, you can also search by subject to ensure you find a course that reflects your interests.
If you are new to online learning, we recommend that you begin with one course. As our courses are offered frequently throughout the year, you can always come back and continue your studies with one or more topics.
Conclusion
An online course platform helps you learn from courses through digital media. You can easily manage the content of the courses if you are a content creator. And if you are a student searching for a way to study online, these platforms help you manage your training sessions effectively. Some of the best online courses that you can choose from when it comes to online learning are skillshare, Udemy, Teachable, Thinkific, Kejabi, Podia, Learn Dash, Ruzuku, and Learn Worlds.
These are the best online course platforms because they are ridiculously easy to operate and highly effective. If you wish to create an online course guide with all the minute details of the course, then these are the right platform for you. Course outlines can be created in minutes. These courses are well integrated with powerful tools like mailchimp and payment gateways like PayPal. It is not merely a teaching tool. These courses are an online community of teachers that help our students learn.