Choosing an online course platform can be a daunting task. There are so many options out there, and it can be hard to know which one is right for you. In this article, we’ll help you narrow down your choices by taking a look at some of the best online course platforms available today.
What is an Online Course Platform?
An online course platform is a website that provides tools and resources for creating and delivering online courses. These platforms typically include a range of features such as course creation tools, video hosting, payment processing, and student management.
Instructors are able to create an engaging virtual classroom environment by providing students with numerous media types like video, images, audio, downloadable files, text, and on some platforms, interactive elements like quizzes and whiteboards.
There are many different online course platforms to choose from, so it’s important to choose one that will fit your needs. If you’re just getting started with online courses, you might want to choose a platform that is simple to use and doesn’t require a lot of technical knowledge. Alternatively, if you’re looking to create a more complex online course, you might want to choose a platform with more advanced features.
No matter what your needs are, there is an online course platform out there that’s right for you. To help you find the best platform for your needs, we’ve put together a list of the best online course platforms available.
What to Look for in an Online Course Platform?
When it comes to online courses, there are a lot of different factors to consider. It can be tough to know where to start, but luckily, we’re here to help. In this blog post, we’ll go over a few key things to look for in an online course platform, so you can make sure you’re choosing the best one for your needs.
One of the most important things to consider when choosing an online course platform is the quality of the courses on offer. Most people have some degree of knowledge and experience that can be shared with others. The rest of us certainly have a lot to learn. Make sure to read reviews and check out samples of the courses before you commit to anything.
Another thing to keep in mind is the price of the courses. While some platforms may offer free courses, others will charge a fee. Be sure to compare prices and look for any discounts or deals that may be available.
Finally, take some time to consider the user interface and overall usability of the platform. Whether you are a student or an instructor, you’ll want to make sure it’s easy to use and navigate, so you can focus on teaching (for instructors) or learning ( for students), not struggling with the technology.
The Best Online Course Platforms
Choosing the best online course platform can be tricky. There are so many different options out there, and it can be hard to know which one is right for you. That’s why we’ve put together a list of the best online course platforms, to help you make the decision.
Whether you’re looking for something specific, or just want to browse the different options, we’ve got you covered. We’ve listed the top platforms, along with what they’re good for. So take a look, and see which one is right for you.
There are many different types of online course platforms available today. Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it’s important to choose the right one for your needs. Here is a brief overview of some of the most popular online course platforms:
1. Coursera
Coursera offers a wide variety of free as well as paid courses from top universities and colleges around the world. You can search for courses by topic, level, or institution. Courses are typically 4-10 weeks long and include video lectures, readings, quizzes, and assignments.
Coursera offers online degree programs and has partnered with over 200 universities and companies to create courses alternative to your education.
The platform allows for multimedia courses, so professors can construct classes, upload videos, assign and grade quizzes and homework assignments, and other elements that would be present in a real online college class.
Key Features
Expertly designed online courses, video lectures, self-paced quizzes, hands-on projects, certificate of completion
Pricing
Individual Courses – from $29 to $99 each
Specializations – from $39 to $79 per month
Professional Certificates – from $49 each
Online Degree Courses – from $15 to $25,000 each
Advantages
- Coursera offers courses from top universities and companies. So quality is assured
- There is a wide range of courses available.
- Courses are flexible and can be completed at your own pace.
- Accredited certificates recognized by employers
- Classes available in multiple languages
- User-friendly website
Disadvantages
- Some courses have strict timelines
- Degree programs require additional applications
- No certification with free courses
Who is it for?
Students: Anyone who wants to learn from prestigious institutions, whether they are looking for a one-off course, certification, or an online degree.
Instructors: It is aimed at professors who are based at a HE partner institution or business.
2. Udemy
Udemy is one the best online course platform with over 24 million students, 65,000 instructors and over 83,000 courses. It offers both free and paid courses on a wide range of topics. Many Udemy courses include quizzes and assignments to help you learn the material.
Udemy is also the most popular online course marketplace. It helps you create courses on numerous categories and easily promote your class. It gives subject matter experts a simple, straightforward way to assemble content like PowerPoint slides, PDF documents, and YouTube videos into a coherent course experience. You can then publish into the Udemy marketplace and use a variety of tools to promote your course.
Key Features
- This site enables you to plan your lectures in Microsoft Excel or Google Docs,
- You can create courses in multiple languages.
- It has an instructor dashboard that helps you to keep you on track.
- Udemy helps you to record video for a particular course.
- Once you upload the video to Udemy, your videos will be reviewed by the team.
Pricing
Individual Courses – from $9 to $200 each
You don’t have to pay Udemy to open an account or to submit a course. However, Udemy will take a cut of your sales.They charge a 3% rev share for sales through instructor coupons, 50% for students who found your course through organic search (SEO), and 75% for transactions made through paid search marketing efforts.
Advantages
- Udemy has a lot of courses available.
- Courses are usually much cheaper than those offered by other platforms.
- They are also flexible and can be completed at your own pace.
- 30-day refund guarantee
- Courses available in 65 languages
Disadvantages
- The quality of courses can vary greatly, as anyone can create a course on Udemy.
- Not an accredited institution
- Instructors not as engaging in Q&A section
Who is it for?
Students: Udemy has a course for almost every discipline, but always read the reviews before buying one. Quality is not consistent.
Instructors: It’s great for teachers, instructors, educators, and freelancers who are just starting out.
3. Skillshare
Skillshare is a large marketplace focused on creative education. It is a subscription-based service that offers video-based classes on a variety of topics. The courses include business and marketing classes such as e-commerce, and courses in the creative field like graphic design, music production, fine art and cooking.
Each class is 20-60 minutes broken down into shorter lessons, in addition to projects and a community discussion forum to connect with other students.
That being said, the platform does offer a set of free classes as well, from short, 20-minute videos to longer tutorials of an hour or more.
Key Features
- It helps you to find classes that are designed for real life.
- The classes are taught by real creators.
- You can learn from any device.
- Skillshare helps you to achieve your business growth.
Pricing
Skillshare Premium starts from $3.29 per month paid annually.
Advantages
- It is affordable and you can cancel anytime.
- Thousands of classes on a very large number of skills and topics
- Easy to use with a built-in community element that makes learning fun
Disadvantages
- Limited free courses
- Courses are only available in English
- Ad-free only on a premium subscription
Who is it for?
Students: It is suitable for students interested in the creative arts, technology, business, and lifestyle classes as mentioned above.
Instructors: It’s great for instructors who are in the creative field and want to make a side income. Instructors can make money through Skillshare’s royalty system and referral program.
4. Thinkific
Thinkific is a highly rated platform used to create, market, and sell your own online courses or membership. It comes with an intuitive drag and drop visual course builder. It allows you to upload any content to your course including videos.
You may be in professional development, corporate training, technical bootcamps, or a school on nautical safety! The point is that education IS your business and you want a platform that can meet your needs and high standards. Thinkific allows you to deliver exactly the experience you want, be that on-demand classes, live or cohort-based learning, or a blend of both. With advanced tools for compliance, assessment, certificates, live lessons, digital communities, on-lesson discussion, and the ability to group your students by cohort
Key Features
- You can create a video, quizzes, surveys, downloadable tutorials, and more.
- It enables you to showcase your themes designed for selling education.
- You can set the expiry to the course.
- Thinkific helps you to organize web content with drag and drop feature.
- This platform provides full access to CSS and HTML.
- Supports Google Adverb (an advertising platform), Facebook, and more.
Pricing
Free ($0/month): Great to test out the features and get a feel for the interface.
Basic ($39/month): Unlimited courses and students, drip (scheduled) content, custom domain, email integrations, and coupons.
Pro ($79/month): Basic features, plus memberships and bundles, private courses, certificates, advanced HTML and CSS editing, assignments, live lessons via Zoom, and priority support.
Premier ($399/month): Pro features, plus 50 course admins, onboarding package, and unlimited growth package (best for big teams).
Advantages
- Thinkific is very easy to use for all users
- It is fully hosted which means you don’t need to worry about software, backup, and other technical aspects.
- You can grow your business without worrying about scaling the platform
Disadvantages
- It is more expansive than WordPress powered LMS platforms
- The free plan is quite limited in features
Who is it for?
It’s ideal for solopreneurs, small/medium businesses – SMEs, and coaches.
5. LearnWorlds
Ever dreamt of starting your own school? Now you can. LearnWorlds helps you set up an online school website with multiple teachers and a course catalog. Add instructors and select the courses you want them to teach. As admin of your school, offer as many courses as you like, with various pricing options. For an added fee, you can even get a branded app for your school.
Learnworlds is also a platform that’s best for course creators looking to interact in unique ways with their students. Think quizzes, gamification, interactive videos, e-books, etc
Unlike many of the companies, LearnWorlds also offers services for uploading and converting your content, developing courses, and customizing your LearnWorlds school.
Key Features
- Get tons of help when you need it from the Learnworlds team. You can access walkthrough videos, how-to articles, and even live chat with our support staff.
- You can easily create a mobile app for your courses with our Mobile App Builder. Students can take your classes with them wherever they go!
- The Learning Community feature lets your students connect and learn together. They can share ideas, ask questions, and more.
- With the Synchronized Transcript feature, you can easily track who is doing what and where they are in your course. This is great for keeping track of student progress.
- It allows you to create unlimited courses.
- Offering free courses to students is possible.
- Branded Digital Certificates give your students a way to demonstrate their understanding and progress. They’ll be proud to show them off!
- Assessments for every need means that you can create quizzes, tests, and more to measure your students’ understanding. You’ll know exactly where they stand.
Pricing
You can try LearnWorlds free for 30 days (no credit card required)
Starter ($24/month paid annually): one admin, $5 fee per course sale, custom domain, unlimited courses, page builder tool, 4 payment gateways, coupons, and drip feed courses.
Pro Trainer ($79/month): Starter features, plus no transaction fees, 5 admin accounts, subscriptions and memberships, custom checkout pages, live classes via Zoom and Webex, assignments, and affiliate management.
Learning Center ($249/month): Pro Trainer features, plus a branded corporate academy, premium cloud servers, flexible invoicing, premium support, and premium account manager.
Advantages
- Easy logo and style customizations
- Ability to build a blog natively
- Offering free courses is possible
- Pre-ready course catalog available
- Affiliate Marketing support for instructors
- Copyright protection for content
- Allows for interactive video content
- Zero transaction fees for all paid plans
Disadvantages
- No ability to get rid of site-wide features if you want specific customizations
- While there is the ability to change languages, it doesn’t work great all time.
Who is it for?
It’s ideal for entrepreneurs, individual instructors, educators, small/medium businesses, professional trainers, companies that want to train their employees or educate their customers.
6. Teachable
Teachable is a website that helps you to create and sell online courses. It provides a user-friendly interface to build courses. This site helps you to set up a fully functioning course with few mouse clicks
It is super easy to use and allows you an easy drag and drop platform to make courses, upload content, and publish it. It also includes marketing and analytics to help promote your course.
Key Features
- It helps you to create engaging multimedia lectures that include video, text, PDF (ebook), and audio files.
- You can import content from Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox.
- This LMS site offers page editors to easily draft, customize, and launch a new course.
- You can create quiz questions.
- Enables you to issue certificates after completing a specific course.
- You can integrate teachable with Google
- Forms to collect feedback from students.
- Teachable accept payment from more than 130 currencies.
Pricing
The Free plan includes unlimited students and courses, with transaction fees of $1 + 10% per transaction.
Basic ($29/month): 5% transaction fees, 2 admin users, drip content, course builder, members-only community.
Pro ($99/month): Basic features, plus no transaction fees, 5 admin users, advanced reports, and course certificates.
Business ($249/month): Pro features, plus advanced coding customizations, 20 admins, bulk student enrollments, and group coaching calls.
Advantages
- Incredibly easy to use.
- You don’t need to manage any software installation, updates, or backups.
- You also dont’t need to worry about scaling resources as your business grows.
- Powerful integrations allow you to use third-party tools for marketing and growth.
Disadvantages
- Teachable is more expensive than
- MemberPress or LearnDash.
- It also charges 5% transaction fee on each transaction if you are on the basic plan.
Who is it for?
It’s a great option for new course creators, solopreneurs, coaches, and creative professionals.
7. Udacity
Udacity is one of the online learnng platforms with a strong focus on technology, offering free courses in programming, data science and web development. This platform offers online courses and credentials that teach students the skills that are currently in demand by industry employers.
Udacity offers courses that the company calls “nanodegrees” which take, on average, four months to complete. Enrollment to these programs gives you full access to real advisors who work with you on building out your resume and work samples.
Udacity’s instructors build projects, lessons and videos in close partnership with Udacity’s Content Team. You won’t generate income by selling your courses, but you’ll be paid for the courses and material you create for Udacity. It’s worth considering for professionals with knowledge and experience to share with others.
Key Features
- It provides access to the Q and A platform.
- You can personalize project feedback.
- Udacity enables you to assign certificates to learners.
- This site offers 24/7 access to technical mentors.
- You can personalize project advice from the project reviewer.
- Udacity has real-world projects designed by people having knowledge in the industry.
Pricing
Starts at $399 a month and can go up to $1,995 for four-month access to some courses
Advantages
- Features intensive programs consisting of multiple lessons
- Offers resume support and portfolio review
- Receive personalized feedback on projects
- Multiple scholarship programs available
- Seven-day refund policy after purchase
Disadvantages
- Most expensive option
- Enrollment deadlines
- Longer time commitment
8. Kajabi
Kajabi is an all-in-one online platform that offers the tools to sell digital products, including online courses. Kajabi specializes in building high-converting sales pages, landing pages, webinar pages for your online business, and launching your advertising campaigns.
Kajabi describes itself as “the one system you need to market, sell, and deliver your knowledge online.” As it happens, selling online courses is a big part of the equation. Along with courses, you’re able to sell memberships, training portals and file downloads.
Features
- Drag-and-Drop Editor: This allows you to build good-looking pages with no coding skills.
- Multiple Site Pages: Create as many pages as you like for your static site using their page builder.
- Live Event Capability: Kajabi has a great function that allows you to add live events.
- 24/7 Technical Support: Users receive customer support around the clock.
- Powerful Email: The software has an in-built email marketing solution.
Pricing
Basic ($119/month): 1 website, 1 admin, 3 products, 3 pipelines, 10,000 contacts, and 1,000 active members.
Growth ($159/month): 1 website, 10 admins, 15 products, 15 pipelines, 25,000 contacts, 10,000 active members.
Pro ($319/month): 3 websites, 25 admins, 100 products, 100 pipelines, 100,000 contacts, and 20,000 active members.
Advantages
- Comes with built-in email and marketing tools
- Offers various integrations with popular software
- Provides sales pipelines/funnels building capabilities
- Offers a collection of beautiful themes
- Allows the creation of landing pages
Disadvantages
- Can be difficult to set up
- Has expensive pricing options
- Offers limited control over website design
- Doesn’t offer many learning features
- Focuses more on small digital product sales
Who is it for?
It is for non-techy (not tech savvy) online course creators, digital entrepreneurs, small businesses, freelancers, creators, and individual instructors selling simple format courses and downloadables.
9. Academy of Mine
Academy of Mine is an all-in-one platform that empowers you to create and sell your courses in professional training, continuing education, and certification. This easy-to-use portal enables tutors to build their own learning website using drag and drop templates, set-up courses, students and instructors with a fully-integrated learning management system and sell courses with various pricing options.
This complete learning management system is ideal for anyone looking to find everything they need in one place to create, manage and sell online courses whilst building and maintaining strong relationships with learners. It allows instructors to nurture a community of learners with live chats, forums and marketing tools.
Key Features
- Integrated Website: Get a new fully-integrated site or connect your own.
- Interactive Content: Engage students with interactive video, PDF, and PPT content.
- Customized Features: Customize the different features to suit your specific needs.
- Self-Paced Courses: Learners can complete courses at their own pace.
- 3rd-Party Integrations: Academy of Mine software integrates easily with other tools.
Pricing
You can get started on Academy of Mine for $499 per month. The platform doesn’t offer a free plan, but you can get started with their 30-day free trial.
Advantages
- Easy integration with other marketing tools
- Certificate awards for course completion
- Comes with a flexible website builder
- Custom-built solutions for different needs
- Gamification for higher student engagement
- Convenient self-paced courses
- Very responsive support team
Disadvantages
- Needs a lot of work to customize the site
- Only offers a few video guides to help you 3. learn how to work with the platform
- Very high price
Who is it for?
It’s ideal for academics, large enterprises, public administrations and small/medium businesses interested in offering training and certifications.
10. Podia
Podia is an online learning platform that makes creating and selling online courses, memberships, and other digital products an easy task. Podia offers a rich resources library and free tools for entrepreneurs who want to build their online store, school, or website. It supports messaging for live chat. This platform helps you to manage students with ease.
Online content creators often try to nurture an online community on platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn. This can work, but you’re often at the mercy of algorithmic changes and the rules of the platform you choose. Podia allows you to create your own private membership site, with different membership plans, perks, and content for members. Share updates with your community, notify them about new products, and watch your business grow.
Key Features
- You can create online courses having audio files, links, PDF, videos, images, etc.
- It enables you to combine similar courses.
You can customize your website pages. - Podia provides live previews.
- Courses can be accessed from a tablet, mobile, desktop, and more.
- You can grant or remove content access for a particular user.
- It helps you to manage students with ease.
You can control website elements the way you like. - Instant payouts mean you can get started with selling your courses right away
No transaction fees mean you keep more of your hard-earned profits.
Pricing
You can sign up and give it a test run with a free 14-day trial. The packages include:
Mover ($33/month): Unlimited everything, zero transaction fees, sell courses, digital downloads, and 5k emails sent per month.
Shaker ($75/month): Everything in Mover, plus the ability to create membership communities, add affiliates, and 15k emails sent per month.
Earthquaker ($166/month): Everything in Shaker, plus dedicated account manager, personalized onboarding, and 50k emails sent per month.
Advantages
- Very easy and simple to use
- Has sales page customization options
- Offers affiliate marketing options within the platform
- Allows you to have your own membership subscription
Disadvantages
- Doesn’t offer a community area on the platform
- Lacks learning tools like grading, assessment/assignments, and certificates
- Does not support SCORM or TinCan
- Very limited in its capabilities, suiting smaller video-based learning, coaching, and downloadables only
Who is it for?
It’s great for content creators and artists who want to monetize their content and knowledge with simple learning activities and gated videos.
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Free Online Courses
If you’re looking for free online courses whether as a teacher or student, we’ve got something for you. Are you stuck at home and can’t go to school?How about learning something fun which will help you with your educational and career goals? And, what if I told you they’re all free?!
Here are a list of platforms that offer free online courses:
1. Coursera
Coursera is just about the best online learning platform out there, as well as one of the most popular. On top of the regular free online learning courses, you can also earn professional certificates and full university degrees for a nominal fee.
2. edX
Just as powerful and feature-rich as Coursera, with some top-tier schools in their course catalog, edX offers more than 2,500 massive open online courses (MOOCs). With courses put on by MIT, Harvard, UC Berkeley, and Boston University, you can get a world-class education from the comfort of your own home.
3. High Speed Training
High Speed Training is another online course platform that offers industry-specific training courses to help organizations empower their employees and allow them to earn accreditation. They have over 180 courses that talk about health and safety, education, food hygiene, safeguarding, HACCP, asbestos awareness, and more. Some of the more specialized topics include manual handling, workplace first aid, working at heights, PPE training, GDPR, fire safety, and many others.
4. FutureLearn
Developing new skills and expertise can also be achieved with FutureLearn. This online course platform has more than 2,000 unique programs that deal with a variety of subjects, including healthcare and medicine, business and management, creative arts and media, and so many more. Similar to Coursera and edX, these courses are also prepared by world-class universities and industry experts and delivered through videos, articles, discussions, even quizzes, and other activities.
5. EdApp LMS
Here, you’ll get to explore topics about retail, construction, cybersecurity, leadership and management styles, and food and hospitality. With more than 30 expansive categories to choose from, there’s surely world-class content for every team.
6. Canvas
Unlike edX or Coursera, which each have big names on board as far as universities, Canvas is a MOOC platform with smaller local universities and community colleges teaching its online courses. Some of these include the University of Colorado Boulder, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and the Swinburne University of Technology. Also, rather than simply offering courses for anyone, Canvas caters more towards teaching current instructors as well as the next generation of educators.
7. SkillShare
At Skillshare, you’ll find hundreds of online video courses that delve into a wide array of different topics, including entrepreneurship, photography, film and video, leadership and management, marketing, and so much more.
8. The Open University
The Open University is headquartered in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, UK, but operates primarily online. Through their program OpenLearn, they offer hundreds of free courses online in childhood and youth studies, education careers, working with young people, and other educational development fields.
9. Code.org
Code.org is one of the best online learning communities and e-learning platforms for younger students or adults who want to learn computer science and coding. On top of the free online courses, they also have plenty of resources for teachers and educators looking to instruct on the fundamentals of computer science and coding, as well.
10. Harvard Extension School
Arguably the most prestigious university in the world, and one of the hardest to get into, now everyone can get a Harvard education online! The Harvard Extension School offers many free courses online, as well as hundreds of for-credit courses.
Alternatives to Online Course Platforms
There are a number of reasons why you might be looking for alternatives to online course platforms. Maybe you’re not happy with the platform you’re currently using, or maybe you’re looking for something more affordable. Whatever the case may be, there are a few different options out there that you can consider.
One option is to use a content management system (CMS) like WordPress or Joomla. These platforms allow you to create and manage your own website, and they also offer a wide range of plugins and extensions that can be used to create an online course. Another option is to use a learning management system (LMS) like Moodle or Blackboard. These platforms are designed specifically for creating and managing online courses, and they offer a lot of features and flexibility.
Finally, you can always create your own online course from scratch using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This option will require more work on your part, but it will also give you complete control over the look and feel of your course. Whichever option you choose, make sure to do some research and find the platform that best meets your needs.
Conclusion
There are a lot of different online course platforms out there, and it can be tough to decide which one is right for you. Our list of the best online course platforms should help you narrow down your options and find the perfect fit for your needs.
Whether you’re looking for a platform with a lot of features or something that’s simple and easy to use, we’re confident that you’ll be able to find the perfect option on our list.
