Selling online courses is one of the best ways to build a digital business. But the platform you choose shapes everything — your pricing, your student experience, your marketing, and how much you actually keep from each sale.
We tested all five platforms by building real course pages, testing the student experience, and evaluating the business tools. Here's the honest breakdown.
1. Teachable — Best Overall
Teachable
The most polished course platform with strong sales tools and a proven track record.
- Price: Free (with $1 + 10% transaction fee) / From $39/month (Basic)
- Free tier: Yes — limited features, high transaction fees
Teachable's strength is its balance between simplicity and power. The drag-and-drop course builder handles video, text, quizzes, and assignments. You can drip content on a schedule, bundle courses together, and offer coaching products alongside courses.
The sales and marketing tools are where Teachable shines. Built-in checkout pages, order bumps, upsells, coupons, and an affiliate program. The checkout is optimized for conversions — it handles tax compliance (including EU VAT) and supports multiple payment gateways.
Teachable:pay handles payouts automatically. On the Basic plan, you get paid instantly via Stripe. On Pro ($119/month), transaction fees drop to 0% and you unlock advanced reporting, graded quizzes, and course completion certificates.
Pros
- Polished, proven platform used by 100K+ creators
- Built-in affiliate program for your courses
- Excellent checkout and conversion tools
- Handles tax compliance automatically
- Good mobile experience for students
Cons
- Free plan has high transaction fees ($1 + 10%)
- Basic plan still charges 5% per transaction
- Website builder is basic — not a full website replacement
- Email marketing is limited — you'll need an external tool
2. Thinkific — Best Free Plan
Thinkific
A generous free plan and zero transaction fees on every tier.
- Price: Free (1 course, 0% fees) / From $36/month (Basic)
- Free tier: Yes — 1 course, unlimited students, 0% transaction fees
The standout feature is zero transaction fees on every plan, including free. Teachable charges 5–10% on lower plans. Thinkific charges nothing. You keep every dollar your students pay (minus Stripe/PayPal processing fees).
The course builder is solid. Drag-and-drop lessons, multiple content types (video, PDF, text, multimedia, surveys), drip scheduling, and prerequisite lessons. The student experience is clean, and completion certificates are available on paid plans.
On the Basic plan ($36/month), you get unlimited courses, a custom domain, coupons, email integrations, and a basic course website. The Pro plan ($74/month) adds memberships, communities, assignments, and advanced analytics.
Pros
- Zero transaction fees on all plans
- Best free plan in the industry
- Clean, intuitive course builder
- Strong community and membership features (Pro)
- App store for extending functionality
Cons
- Free plan limited to 1 course
- No built-in email marketing
- Checkout not as optimized as Teachable's
- Website builder is functional but basic
3. Kajabi — Best All-in-One Platform
Kajabi
Courses, email marketing, website, funnels, and community — all in one platform.
- Price: From $149/month (Basic) — no free plan
- Free tier: 14-day trial only
Kajabi's pitch is simple: stop duct-taping five tools together. The built-in email marketing is genuinely good — sequences, broadcasts, automations, tagging. The website builder creates professional pages without code. The pipeline builder (their funnel tool) creates opt-in pages, sales pages, and checkout flows.
The course builder supports video, audio, text, and file downloads. You can create mini-courses, drip courses, memberships, coaching programs, and communities. The student experience is premium — it looks and feels like a high-end learning platform.
At $149/month, it's the most expensive option here. But calculate what you'd pay for Teachable ($39) + MailerLite ($20) + Squarespace ($23) + a funnel tool ($50+), and Kajabi starts looking reasonable. Zero transaction fees on all plans.
Pros
- True all-in-one: courses + email + website + funnels
- Zero transaction fees
- Professional templates and design
- Built-in email marketing with automations
- Community and podcast hosting included
Cons
- Most expensive option ($149/month minimum)
- No free plan — 14-day trial only
- Overkill for a first course
- Learning curve to use all features
4. Podia — Simplest All-in-One
Podia
Sell courses, digital downloads, webinars, and memberships from one clean interface.
- Price: Free (8% transaction fee) / From $33/month (Starter, 0% fees)
- Free tier: Yes — unlimited products, 8% transaction fee
Podia's strength is versatility without complexity. You can sell online courses, digital downloads (ebooks, templates, music), webinars, and coaching sessions — all from the same platform. This makes it ideal for creators who don't just do courses.
The course builder is straightforward — upload videos, add text, organize into sections, set drip schedules. No quizzes or assignments (a downside for academic-style courses), but for info-product creators, it's everything you need.
Email marketing is built in on the Mover plan ($75/month) — broadcasts, drip campaigns, and basic automations. The community feature lets you create discussion spaces for students, adding a membership dimension to your courses.
Pros
- Sell courses, downloads, webinars, and coaching
- Simple, clean interface — easiest to learn
- Zero transaction fees on paid plans
- Built-in email marketing (Mover plan)
- No limits on products, customers, or file sizes
Cons
- Free plan has 8% transaction fee
- No quizzes or assignments
- Course builder less robust than Teachable/Thinkific
- Basic analytics and reporting
5. Gumroad — Best for Quick Digital Sales
Gumroad
The simplest way to sell digital products — courses, ebooks, templates, anything.
- Price: Free to start — 10% flat fee per sale
- Free tier: Yes — full features, 10% per sale
Gumroad's philosophy is radical simplicity. Create a product, upload files, set a price, get a link. Share that link anywhere — social media, email, your website. When someone buys, Gumroad handles payment, delivery, tax, and receipts. You focus on creating.
For courses specifically, Gumroad is basic. There's no drip content, no progress tracking, no quizzes. You upload video files or ZIP archives and buyers download them. But for many creators, that's enough — especially for mini-courses, workshops, and info products.
The 10% flat fee (no monthly subscription) makes Gumroad ideal for testing. If your course earns $500, you pay $50. Compare that to Teachable's $39/month even if you sell nothing. Gumroad only costs money when you make money.
Pros
- Fastest setup — sell in minutes
- No monthly subscription
- Handles global tax compliance
- Simple, beautiful checkout
- Built-in audience/email features
Cons
- 10% flat fee on every sale
- No real course builder — just file delivery
- No drip content or progress tracking
- Limited customization
Comparison at a Glance
| Platform | Free Plan | Paid From | Transaction Fee | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teachable | Yes (10% fee) | $39/mo | 0-10% | Overall best |
| Thinkific | Yes (0% fee) | $36/mo | 0% | Starting free |
| Kajabi | 14-day trial | $149/mo | 0% | All-in-one |
| Podia | Yes (8% fee) | $33/mo | 0% | Multi-product |
| Gumroad | Yes (10% fee) | Free | 10% | Quick sales |
The Quick Decision Guide
- First course, no budget? Thinkific (free, 0% fees)
- Serious about courses? Teachable (best sales tools)
- Want everything in one place? Kajabi (courses + email + website)
- Sell more than just courses? Podia (courses + downloads + coaching)
- Just want to test an idea? Gumroad (no setup, no monthly fee)
Start with Thinkific's free plan to validate your course idea. Once you're making consistent sales, move to Teachable (for sales tools) or Kajabi (to consolidate your stack).