5 Best Online Course Platforms of 2023 [Ranked & Reviewed]

If you’re looking to launch an online course but are overwhelmed by the available options and don’t know which one to use, you’ve come to the right place! I have gone through all of the options on the market and determined what I believe are the best Online Course Platforms of 2023.

We’ll talk about each platform in detail below, but here are quick overviews of what makes each one stand out from the rest.

What are the best Online Course Platforms?

Many learners choose to study online. It’s convenient, accessible, and in some cases, it’s the only option. However, not all course platforms are created equal. You have to consider several factors such as ease of use, tracking features, instructional tools, and more before you can call a platform the best.

While technology changes quickly and new platforms emerge every day, there are some tried-and-true choices out there right now that will serve your needs well into the future. If you’re considering launching an online course or expanding your current offerings to include an online component, you need to know about these best online course platforms of 2023!

1. Thinkific

The Best And All In One Online Course Platform – Thinkific

Thinkific is an online platform that lets you create and sell courses from your own website. With course creation, copy editing, professional templates, SSL certification, and a curriculum that includes challenges for students to complete as they go through a course, Thinkific has all its bases covered for making it easier to run profitable online classes.

With features like unlimited space and no hidden fees or costs (not even hosting), users have plenty of room to create substantial hours-long courses without worrying about hitting their budget. There’s also no limit on how many courses you can have live at once.

Thinkific comes with a free plan which will let you get started with your online course journey without investing any money initially. But you can only upload a limited number of courses as opposed to the paid Basic plan which starts at $39/month.

Highlighted Features – Thinkific

• Easy to use drag and drop course builder
• Add unlimited paid courses
• Comes with a free plan
• Course certification
• Plethora of templates
• Accept payments in over 100 currencies

Thinkific Pricing

As for the pricing, Thinkific comes with 3 paid pricing plans.

Basic – $39/month
Live chat support, Unlimited courses, Drip content, Custom Domain, Coupons and Promotions, and more

Pro – $79/month
Everything in Basic + Priority Support, Subscription & Flexible Pricing, Completion Certificates, Advanced Course Building, Live lessons, and more.

Premier – $399/month
Everything in Pro + Onboarding package, API access, Unlimited Communities, 15 Group Analysts, and more

2. LearnWorlds

Do you have ideas for courses but don’t know how to create an online learning experience that students will actually love? Look no further than LearnWorlds. To craft your perfect course, use a combination of its advanced authoring tools and drag-and-drop templates.

Simply add your content into one of the beautiful templates then drop in images, videos, audio recordings, and links to help create your unique online course. You can even make it visually engaging by adding questions, titles, pointers, overlay images, links, and more to your videos.

LearnWorlds also lets you add quizzes, tests, and assessments to east track and monitor enrolled students’ progress. Once the student is done with the course, you may also give them a customizable branded digital certificate as well.

Highlighted Features – LearnWorlds

• Intuitive drag and drop block-based builder
• Automation
• Tons of integration options
• Priority customer support
• Build your own branded mobile app for your school
• Affordable Pricing

LearnWorlds Pricing

LearnWorld comes with mainly 3 plans.

Starter – $24/month
Unlimited paid courses, Custom domain, 4 Payment gateways, Coupons, Drip Feed Courses, Free SSL certificate, 24/5 email support, Site Builder (3 pages), and more.

Pro Trainer – $79/month

Everything in Starter + No transaction fees, Form Builder, Affiliate Management, Question Banks, Live Classes & Webinars via Zoom & Webex, Advanced Zapier & Premium Integrations, 24/7 Priority email support and more.

Learning Center – $249/month

Everything in Pro Trainer + 20 Admins / Instructors, Interactive Video, Full White-label Options, Scheduled automated reports, iOS & Android App (extra fee), Dedicated Customer Success Manager, and more.

3. Kajabi

Kajabi is an all-in-one online course platform that helps you build, manage, and sell your courses on your own website. It’s easy to set up and use, has a ton of integrations with other tools (including payment processors), and comes at a pretty fair price—especially for entrepreneurs who want more control over their content.

Kajabi comes with a lot of automation features and Pipeline features that will help you to create and manage funnels, and increase conversions.

Kajabi charges per project rather than per month. Kajabi isn’t as beginner-friendly as Teachable or other platforms but it does offer free templates for creating your course and editing video. If you have some design experience, check out Kajabi; it might be worth paying more in exchange for more control over how your course looks and feels!

You have the option to integrate either PayPal or Stripe as your preferred payment processor.

Highlighted Features – Kajabi

• Powerful marketing automation
• Payment integration with PayPal or Stripe
• Products are automatically integrated with your website, marketing campaigns, emails, offers, CRM, analytics, and more.
• Powerful Analytics
• Build dynamic landing pages

Kajabi Pricing

Kajabi comes with 3 pricing plans.

Basic – $119/month
3 Products, 3 Pipelines, 10,000 Contacts, 1,000 Active Members, 1 Website, Chat Support, Automations

Growth – $159/month
15 Products, 15 Pipelines, 25,000 Contacts, 10,000 Active Members, 1 Website, 1 Admin, 24/7 Chat Support, Advanced Automations, the Ability to Remove Kajabi Branding.

Pro – $319/month
100 Products, 100 Pipelines, 100,000 Contacts, 20,000 Active Members, 3 Websites, 25 Admin, 24/7 Chat Support, Advanced Automations, Ability to Remove Kajabi Branding, Code Editor.

4. Podia

Podia is a fully customizable online course platform that allows users to easily create and sell online courses. It is easy to set up, compatible with all devices and has an intuitive UI that makes teaching a breeze. It also features detailed analytics so that you can track everything from enrollments to completion rates.

With Podia, you can setup different types of courses including videos, images, documents like PDFs, quizzes, etc.

The affiliate program option lets you set up your own affiliate program within your course website as well.

Highlighted Features – Podia

• Drip courses
• Ability to pre-sell courses
• Coupons and memberships
• Affiliate program option
• Easy course builder
• Email marketing

Pricing – Podia

Podia has three different subscription plans.

Mover – $33/month
Custom website, Email marketing, Customer messaging, Unlimited Courses, Unlimited downloads, Unlimited webinars, and more.

Shaker – $75/month
Everything in Mover + Unlimited coaching products and Affiliates.

Earthquaker – $166/month
Everything in Shaker + Priority support, onbaording calls and monthly creator calls.

5. Teachable

Teachable is a popular choice for those just starting out, with a clean interface and an easy-to-use course management system.

Teachable is another great option for anyone who’s looking to set up an online course. It is easy to set up and use even if you have no prior knowledge of running online courses.

It has a built-in payment processor (Stripe) and offers integrations with all sorts of apps like Trello, Slack, and Google Docs.

What’s more interesting is the fact that Teachable comes with a free plan which lets you add unlimited courses and unlimited students at the price of $1 + 10% per transaction.

Teachable also comes with other pro-level features like the option to drip course content, provide coupon codes, integrated email marketing, third-party integration, group coaching calls, and advanced theme customization options as well.

Highlighted Features – Teachable

• Drip course content
• Course completion certification
• Advanced theme customization
• Integrated email marketing
• Group coching calls
• Instant payouts and more

Pricing – Teachable

Teachable comes with a single free plan and three other paid plans.

Free – $0/month
Unlimited students, Instant payouts, Unlimited courses, Unlimited coaching services, Course design templates, $1 + 10% per transaction, Third-party integrations, Basic quizzes.

Basic – $29/month
Everything in Free + 5% per transaction, Members-only community, Instant payouts, Course creator training, Custom domain support, Private student community.

Pro – $99/month
Everything in Basic + No transaction fees, Instant payouts, Priority product support, Unbranded website, Integrated affiliate marketing, Group coaching calls.

Business – $249/month

No transaction fees, 20 admin-level users, Priority product support, Bulk student enrollments, Advanced theme customization.

What Is An Online Course Platform?

An online course platform is an online platform that offers tools for developing, delivering, and managing educational courses and content. Some platforms also offer features such as class discussion groups and user engagement tracking.

You can connect the course platform with your own custom domain and launch your first course. You also have the option to connect the course platform with a subdomain on your existing website as well.

Once set up, you can upload the course content like videos, assignments, PDF documents, presentations, and more.

All course platforms mentioned in this article come with advanced features like third-party tools integration, automation, email marketing, drip course content, and more.

Long story short, having an online course platform makes it easy for you to manage and sell your own courses on the Internet.

My Top Picks & Summary

I have reviewed many online course platforms and I have narrowed it down to what I think are currently, according to my standards and research.

To conclude, my top three picks are:

• Thinkific
• LearnWorlds
• Kajabi

Also, keep in mind that a lot of platforms come with specific features that might not be available in others. So I advise you to check all the features and options and compare them with other platforms in the industry before making the final decision.