5+ Top Online Course Platforms (Compared And Reviewed)
Thanks for checking out this article on the top online course platform in 2022. Online course creation has been one of the fastest growing industries of recent times.
It has become the logical next step for many content creators to exponentially boost their revenue.
Many YouTube content creators, whether influencers, educational institutions like MS Dhoni Global School, or individual businesses, have been able to massively build upon their business revenue, which generally comes from YouTube ads, by converting sometimes 10,000’s subscribers into paying members of their niche-related courses.
I am a member of a few programs and communities myself, one of which boasts 80,000 students paying $49/month. Thats $3,920,000 per month in revenue for something that has basically zero overheads outside of a monthly fee.
It’s no wonder it is a growing industry and a sought after path for many content creators, coaches, consultants, and experts.
Along with the demand for course creation, a multitude of platforms naturally burst onto the scene to cater to this rising influx of potential subscribers.
In this article, we will look at who the current market leaders are. I’ve looked into over 20 online course platforms and narrowed them down to my top 5.
If you’re in the market for building a course, you’ve come to the right place!
What Is The Top Online Course Platform?
| Online Course Platform | Price | Yearly Discount? | Free Trial? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thinkific | Free Limited: $0, Basic: $39/month, Pro: $79/month, Premier: $399/month. | 20% | ✅ | Best all-rounder |
| Kajabi | Basic: $149/month, Growth: $199/month, Pro: $399/month. | 20% | ✅ | Best Professional Suite |
| Mighty Networks | Community: $39/month, Business: $199/month, Pro: Custom. | 15% | ✅ | Best For Community Focus |
| Podia | Free Limited: $0, Mover: $33/month, Shaker: $75/month, Earthquaker: $166/month. | 17% | ✅ | Best For Beginners On A Budget |
| LearnWorlds | Starter: $29/month, Pro Trainer: $99/month, Learning Centre: $299/month, Corporate: Custom. | 20% | ✅ | Best For Trainers & Interactivity |
1. Thinkific (Best All-Around)
Features
Thinkific is a relatively new platform and the team has obviously paid attention to what people are looking for when it comes to a top online course platform. It would be my all-around recommendation due to having about everything you need while coming in at the lowest price on the list.
A few of the outstanding features:
- Create amazing looking, intuitive courses
- Create a professional website and course storefront to market your product
- Marketing and E-Commerce Tools
- Community-building features, student tracking, and analytics
- Scalable solution the more members who signup
- The ability to use Wistia enabling excellent video security
if you needed some extra proof as to why Thinkific is undoubtedly a market leader in the space, the freelancing platform Fiverr actually uses the Thinkific technology at scale to provide its massive catalog of online courses.
Pricing
When looking at the pricing comparison on the above list, it honestly seems like Thinkific is under-priced given the sheer scale of features it offers.
The good news is that you can get started for free before committing fully to one of the premium options.
The basic option comes in at $39/month for all of the free features plus some extra goodies like a website, domain, coupons, drip content and more. This is already a hugely powerful option for most peoples needs.
If you want to go a step above, the Pro version is $79/month and is more suited to a team with more admin accounts and more advanced options for setting up your course and community. To scale above and beyond there is also the Premier option at $399/month.
Details in full below:
Bottom Line
Thinkific should definitely considered the cream of the crop when it comes to top online course platforms.
It offers multiple incredible solutions at affordable and competitive prices. I struggle to find anything extra that I’d want to be added to my course/website solution as Thinkific has done a good job of ticking virtually every single box.
In addition, the company only continues to grow recently adding faster performing purchases pages and upsell options to increase revenue further.