Online Course Platforms

The Best Online Course Platforms to Create and Sell Your Courses

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For an expert like you, creating a course is often a piece of cake.

But choosing the right platform to sell it? That’s where the sugar rush crashes ^^

Every platform claims to be “the one,” and with the e-learning industry booming, the choices just keep multiplying.

Great for the market, not so great when you’re the one trying to decide.

So, I just pulled this guide together. In this breakdown of the best online course platforms 2025, I’ll slice through the hype and highlight what each platform actually brings to the table — the good, the not-so-good, and the “depends on what you need.”

By the end, you’ll know which one deserves a spot.

Types of online course platforms

Course platforms don’t all work the same way. Before we see the detailed reviews, it helps to understand the main categories they fall into. Each type has its strengths, trade-offs, and ideal audience. Here’s a breakdown:

Type of platform

Key features

Best for

Examples

All-in-one platforms

Course hosting, website, marketing, communities — all in one

Coaches, entrepreneurs, and small businesses.

FreshLearn, Thinkific, Kajabi, Uscreen, Mighty Networks, Teachable.

Marketplaces

Built-in audience, platform-driven pricing, limited branding

Instructors who want to reach without heavy marketing.

Udemy, Skillshare, LinkedIn Learning

WordPress LMS plugins

Full ownership, deep customization, runs on WordPress

Universities, training companies, tech-comfortable creators.

LearnDash, LifterLMS.

11 best online course platforms 2025 (At a glance)

When I picked the best online course platforms to create and sell your courses in 2025, I looked at the factors that actually matter when you’re building and growing an online teaching business:

  • What do real instructors say about using the platform?
  • Can you go beyond just videos, like adding quizzes, assignments, or community spaces?
  • How easy is it to promote your courses with built-in tools like email, funnels, or affiliates?
  • Will the platform grow with you, or will you quickly hit frustrating limits?

With these criteria in mind, I narrowed it down to 11 platforms worth your attention. And before we jump into the granular details, let’s zoom out and see the big picture.

Platform

Best For

Pricing & Plans

Free Trial/Plan

Marketing Tools

Community Features

Mobile App

Support

FreshLearn

Creators who want an all-in-one platform with simplicity

From $49/month, no transaction fees

Free plan and 14-day trial

Email, funnels, automation, affiliates, coupons

✅ Community + coaching

✅ Branded app

24/7 chat & email

Thinkific

Educators & SMBs who want flexibility

From $49/month, no transaction fees

No free plan. Offers a 30-day trial

Email (basic), coupons, affiliates

✅ Community spaces

✅ Branded app

Email and chat

Kajabi

Entrepreneurs wanting a premium all-in-one

From $89/month, no transaction fees

No free plan. Offers a 14-day trial

Advanced funnels, email automation

✅ Built-in community

✅ Branded app

Live chat

Uscreen

Video creators and businesses that want branded apps & streaming + video monetization

From $199/month + $ 1.99 per subscriber fee

No free plan. Offers a 14-day trial

Email automations, upsells, live streams

✅ Built-in community

Branded Mobile + TV Apps available on higher tiers

Email and chat

Mighty Networks

Community-first learning creators

From $129/month + 2% transaction fee

No free plan. Offers a 14-day trial

Limited funnels, basic email

✅ Community first platform

✅ Branded app

Email and chat

Teachable

Beginners testing online courses

From $39/month + 7.5% transaction fee

No free plan. Offers a 7-day trial

Email (basic), coupons

✅ Built-in community

Generic app (available for iOS only)

Live chat and email

Udemy

Instructors seeking audience reach

Free to publish, revenue share 37–63%

NA

Limited (platform-driven)

✅ Forums/Q&A

Generic app

Virtual agent and ticket support

Skillshare

Creative course creators & hobbyists

Free to publish, revenue via royalties

NA

Limited (platform-driven)

✅ Discussions and projects sections

Generic app

Email and ticket support

LinkedIn Learning

Professionals & corporate training

Invite-only instructors, royalty-based

❌ No

Platform-driven exposure

✅ Built-in network

Generic app

Help center and email support

LearnDash

WordPress site owners, corporate LMS

From $199/year, no transaction fees

❌ No

Integrations (email, funnels)

❌ Add-ons only

❌ Soon to be launched

Email and chat

LifterLMS

WordPress site owners need flexibility

From $749.50/year, no transaction fees

No free plan. Offers a 30-day trial

Add-ons for marketing

❌ Add-ons only

❌ No

Email and ticket support

The best online course platforms (all-in-one)

Let’s take things step by step and look at the platforms in more detail.

1. FreshLearn

Best for: Creators who want a beginner-friendly, AI-supported platform with 0% transaction fees and strong tools to launch both courses and online academies without getting tangled in tech.

FreshLearn

FreshLearn is for creators who want a simple yet comprehensive way to share and monetize their expertise. Instead of juggling multiple tools, you can run everything from one dashboard, whether it’s:

  • Courses
  • Cohorts
  • Workshops
  • Memberships, or
  • Digital downloads.

Everything is white-labeled, so learners interact with your brand alone.

The platform also puts AI to work for you. From validating your course idea to creating a course outline, it speeds up setup without cutting corners. You can add quizzes, diverse content types, and certificates to make lessons more interactive, allowing students to access content anytime on a desktop or through a mobile-friendly app.

On the business side, FreshLearn includes built-in marketing tools, sales pages, email campaigns, and automation features, so you don’t need to stitch together extra apps just to grow and engage your audience.

Pros

Cons

0% transaction fees; you keep 100% of your revenue.

Requires advanced options to customize landing pages and site visuals.

Strong AI tools help reduce setup overhead.

Certain workflows (like moving modules or chapters) can feel a bit clunky for larger courses.

Offers mobile apps, built-in compliance, assessments, etc., straight out of the box.


Gives you a website builder, branded mobile app, and marketing tools without extra add-ons


What users think

FreshLearn has a 4.7 rating on Trustpilot, with users calling it a 10/10 for its seamless migration and responsive support.

FreshLearn gets a 10/10 from me

I have used FreshLearn for several years now. I migrated from Teachable and the team at FreshLearn made that seamless. My business has grown exponentially with Freshlearn, since it's so easy to use the site, make courses, publish them, and then advertise. I use their system for classes, masterclass events, community hub, free digital downloads, email marketing, etc, and they are adding new stuff all the time. It always works easily and any questions I have or improvements I suggest are responded to quickly. I've had amazing experiences with the team, they are friendly and helpful. I recommend FreshLearn to everyone! - Robin Horemans

Many users also commend the platform’s effective customer support.

FreshLearn review
FreshLearn Testimonial

FreshLearn pricing (2025)

FreshLearn gives you a 14-day trial on all its paid plans (Except enterprise) and has the following pricing plans:

  • Free plan: Start for $0 and explore the platform’s core features without any commitment.
  • Pro plan: Costs $49 per month, $37 per month if billed annually, and $29 per month when billed biannually.
  • No-brainer plan: Priced at $79 per month, $59 per month if billed annually, and $46 per month when billed biannually.
  • No brainer+ plan: Available for $149 per month $119 per month if billed annually, and $89 per month when billed biennially.
  • Enterprise plan: Starts at $249 per month, $169 per month if billed annually, and $139 per month when billed biannually.
FreshLearn Pricing

2. Thinkific

Best for: Educators and creators who want strong tools to build courses and deliver a clean student experience.

Thinkific

Thinkific serves creators who want to build and deliver courses without relying on multiple tools. The platform supports online courses, memberships, communities, and digital downloads from one dashboard. You can structure lessons with video, audio, PDFs, quizzes, and assignments, and schedule content with drip releases.

It provides a drag-and-drop course builder for organizing modules and a certificate option for course completion. In terms of customization, Thinkific allows branded sites with themes, custom domains, and basic design edits, though users note that advanced visual control has some limits.

On the business side, Thinkific includes sales pages, coupons, payment plans, and basic email integrations, while analytic tools track student progress and revenue. For larger teams, Thinkific Plus adds features such as unlimited courses, priority support, and enterprise-level tools.

For a complete breakdown of what Thinkific offers, check out our article on Thinkific review.

Pros

Cons

Polished course builder with multimedia support and student tracking.

Limited options for deep branding or design tweaks.

Easy for beginners and mid-level creators to get started.

Add-ons are required to use several functionalities, increasing the overall cost

Scales well as your course demand grows.

Some users feel customer support could be more responsive and quicker in solving issues.

What users think

Thinkific makes it easy for instructors to set up courses and memberships, but some users point out restrictions in how pricing works. In particular, while the platform advertises free course options, instructors say they don’t have full control over how “free” works.

Thinkific Users Words

Source

Also, though Thinkific offers a wide range of features, some users find its customization options limited.

Thinkific Users Testimonials

Source

Thinkific pricing (2025)

Thinkific provides a 30-day free trial and has the following pricing plans:

  • Basic: $49 per month or $36 per month if billed annually.
  • Start: $99 per month or $74 per month if billed annually.
  • Grow: $199 per month or $149 per month if billed annually.
  • Thinkific Plus: Custom pricing.
Thinkific Pricing

Source

For a closer look at Thinkific’s plans and the hidden fees you should know about, check out our article on Thinkific pricing.

3. Kajabi

Best for: Creators and businesses that want an all-in-one setup for courses, websites, and marketing, though its higher price makes it less suited for hobbyists.

Kajabi

Kajabi focuses on combining course creation with built-in marketing and automation. It allows instructors to design courses, memberships, communities, and coaching programs, while its pipeline builder connects email campaigns, landing pages, and payment gateways into automated sales funnels. Lessons can include video, audio, text, and assessments, with drip scheduling to release content over time.

The platform provides a website builder with pre-built templates. You can customize pages, including your landing page, blogs, and about page, through this builder. However, reviewers note limits in design flexibility in low-tier plans.

For businesses, the platform lets you set up one-time payments, subscriptions, and bundled offers that package multiple products together. Kajabi also provides analytics for course engagement, revenue, and campaign performance. Its higher-tier plans add advanced automation, integrations, and priority support.

Pros

Cons

You get courses, email marketing, landing pages, and payments integrated in one platform.

Some users feel the pricing is steep for smaller businesses or those not utilizing all features.

Analytics on learner progress, sales, and marketing funnels help track performance.

Advanced design customization and deep branding options are available only in higher-tier plans.

Kajabi's pipelines and automation help schedule email and sales funnels

Kajabi doesn't support selling physical products, requiring third-party integrations like Shopify.

We also have several blogs to help you know how Kajabi stacks up against other platforms. Check our articles on: 

What users think

When I looked at what Kajabi’s users say, many of them mention that customer support can be slow, with some users waiting days without getting a clear solution.

Kajabi Testimonial
Kajabi review

Kajabi pricing (2025)

Kajabi provides a 14-day trial plan. Its pricing plans are:

  • Kickstarter: $89 per month or $71 per month (if billed annually).
  • Basic: $149 per month or $119 per month (if billed annually).
  • Growth: $199 per month or $159 per month (if billed annually).
  • Pro: $399 per month or $319 per month (if billed annually).
Kajabi Pricing

Source

Kajabi is expensive, no doubt. But how expensive is it? Take a look at our article on Kajabi pricing to learn more.

4. Uscreen

Best for: Creators who want to monetize video content through subscriptions, pay-per-view, or rentals while maintaining a branded experience.

Uscreen

Uscreen is a white-labeled membership platform designed for creators aiming to monetize video content. It offers tools for building branded mobile and TV apps, facilitating live streaming, and managing video-on-demand (VOD) services.

The platform supports various monetization models, including subscription-based and pay-per-view options. Creators can also leverage built-in community features and marketing tools to engage their audience and drive growth. Uscreen also lets users organize content into playlists, set availability schedules, and utilize deep search functionalities.

Pros

Cons

Helpful and quick customer support

Limited customization for landing pages and layouts

Comprehensive features like live streaming, analytics, and community tools

The starting price of Uscreen is $199/month. It can be expensive for small businesses

Offers mobile apps and TV apps for users

Multilingual functionality is available only to a limited extent and through third-party solutions.

Regular updates with new features

Limited integration with external tools

What users think

Uscreen is mainly for video monetization. However, users feel that the platform could accommodate other content types, such as text or other multimedia.

Uscreen cons

Source

Uscreen charges a per-subscriber fee, which I felt could increase the course creator’s overall budget. One of the platform users mentioned the same concern.

UScreen Subscribers

Source

Uscreen pricing (2025)

Uscreen has a 14-day trial period. The following are its pricing plans:

  • Growth plan: $199 per month or $149 per month (if billed annually) + $1.99 per subscriber.
  • App essentials plan: $499 per month or $449 per month (if billed annually) + $0.99 per subscriber.
  • Custom-made plan: Tailored pricing + $0.99 per subscriber.
UScreen Pricing

Source

With so many platforms offering different pricing options, it’s important to understand how to set your prices in a way that ensures you make a profit. Read our article on ‘How to price your online courses in 2025’ to learn more.

5. Mighty Networks

MightyNetworks

Mighty Networks helps creators and organizations build and manage communities and memberships, with courses as spaces within the community. The platform organizes interactions through posts, polls, and discussions, and supports member connections via groups and chat.

Users can adjust branding elements, such as logos and colors, but cannot customize fonts. The platform also includes tools for subscription management, payment processing, and tracking member activity, though users have noted that advanced analytics and integrations are available only in high-tier plans.

It also offers options for hosting live streams, events, and workshops, while access controls allow organizers to invite or limit content/membership based on roles.

Want to know other Mighty Networks alternatives to help you make an informed decision? Have a look at our article on 7 Mighty Networks alternatives.

MightyNetWorks Pros and Cons

What users think

One of the major issues I found with the platform’s users is that they miss a human interaction. Almost everything is bot and email, making the process less accurate and delayed.

Jeremy Moses


Online course Creation platform

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Hosted by

Rahul Mehta

Rahul Mehta

Rahul is the Founder & CEO of FreshLearn. Earlier, he built software products like Growth Robotics, AgileCRM, and Exprs, and worked with Fortune 500 companies like Oracle and Emirates Bank.