Course platforms split into two groups, and choosing from the wrong group is the mistake that costs people a year.
Marketplaces bring you students but own the relationship, set the price, and take a large cut. Platforms give you the students’ email addresses and full pricing control, but you must bring your own audience.
Neither is better. But if you have no audience yet and choose a platform, you will sell nothing — and if you have an audience and choose a marketplace, you will hand over margin you did not need to.
Answer This Before Comparing Features
Do you have an audience? An email list, a following, existing customers, inbound traffic. If not, you need either a marketplace or a serious plan to build one, and the platform choice is secondary.
Do you want to own the customer relationship? On a marketplace, the student is the marketplace’s customer. You generally cannot email them freely or sell them anything else. That is the real cost, and it exceeds the commission.
Is this a course, or a business built on courses? One course selling occasionally has different needs from a membership with a community and a roadmap.
The Platforms
1. Teachable
One of the established options, aimed at individual creators and small businesses. Documented features cover course building, quizzes, certificates, drip content, affiliate management and built-in payment handling.
Its payment processing handles sales tax and VAT obligations on your behalf on some plans, which is genuinely valuable — digital course VAT rules across the EU and UK are unpleasant to handle manually.
Suits: individual creators selling a handful of courses. Watch: transaction fees on lower tiers.
2. Kajabi
The all-in-one option. Courses, website, email marketing, landing pages, pipelines and community in one system, so you are not stitching five tools together.
Priced accordingly, and that is the whole decision: if it replaces your email platform, website and course tool, the maths often works. If you already pay for those and like them, you are buying duplicates.
Suits: creators wanting one system and no integration work. Watch: cost, and the fact that each individual component is decent rather than best-in-class.
3. Thinkific
Similar territory to Teachable, with a free tier that lets you build and launch before paying, and generally strong course-building tools.
Suits: people who want to build the course before committing money. Watch: marketing features are lighter than Kajabi’s.
4. Podia
Simpler and cheaper than the above, bundling courses, digital downloads, memberships and email. Deliberately fewer features, which is the point.
Suits: creators selling a mix of digital products who want minimal setup. Watch: less depth if your course structure is complex.
5. LearnWorlds
Stronger on the learning side — interactive video, assessments, SCORM support and white-labelled mobile apps on higher tiers.
Suits: businesses where learning outcomes genuinely matter, including corporate training. Watch: more complex than a creator selling one course needs.
6. Circle
Community-first, with courses added. If the ongoing discussion is the product and the course is the on-ramp, this ordering matters.
Suits: memberships and cohort programmes. Watch: weaker as a pure course tool.
7. LearnDash (WordPress)
A WordPress plugin, so you own everything and pay hosting rather than per-student fees. Documented features include drip content, quizzes, certificates and course prerequisites.
Suits: businesses already running WordPress who want full control and no revenue share. Watch: you own maintenance, security, backups and video hosting. Video is the hidden cost — serving course video from shared hosting does not work, so budget for Vimeo, Bunny or similar.
8. Systeme.io
Funnels, email and courses at a notably low price point, with a free tier.
Suits: cost-sensitive creators testing an idea. Watch: less polished than the established names.
9. Udemy (marketplace)
Enormous built-in audience. That is the offer, and it is a real one.
The trade-offs are significant and should be understood before starting: Udemy controls pricing and discounting, its revenue share varies substantially depending on whether the sale came from its own promotion or your link, and you do not own the student relationship.
Suits: reaching people you could never reach yourself, or validating whether a topic sells. Watch: you are building Udemy’s asset, not yours.
10. Skillshare (marketplace)
Subscription-based rather than per-course. Members pay Skillshare; you are paid from a pool based on minutes watched.
Suits: creative and hobby topics with high watch time. Watch: income is unpredictable and depends on the pool and watch minutes, not on a price you set.
How They Compare
| Platform | Type | Own the student | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teachable | Platform | Yes | Individual creators, tax handling |
| Kajabi | Platform, all-in-one | Yes | Replacing several tools at once |
| Thinkific | Platform | Yes | Building before paying |
| Podia | Platform | Yes | Simple mixed digital products |
| LearnWorlds | Platform | Yes | Real learning outcomes, corporate |
| Circle | Community-first | Yes | Memberships and cohorts |
| LearnDash | Self-hosted | Yes, fully | WordPress users wanting control |
| Systeme.io | Platform | Yes | Testing on a small budget |
| Udemy | Marketplace | No | Reach and validation |
| Skillshare | Marketplace | No | Creative topics, high watch time |
Pricing, transaction fees and revenue shares change regularly across this category. Verify current terms directly — particularly marketplace revenue splits, which vary by traffic source and have been revised several times.
The Costs People Miss
Transaction fees on top of subscription. Several platforms charge both. Model your expected volume, not just the monthly fee.
Payment processing. Stripe or PayPal fees apply regardless, typically a few percent plus a fixed amount.
Video hosting on self-hosted setups. The main hidden cost of the LearnDash route.
Sales tax and VAT on digital products. This is the one that surprises people. Digital course sales into the EU and UK attract VAT based on the customer’s location, not yours, often from the first sale with no threshold. Some platforms act as merchant of record and handle this; others leave it entirely to you. Check which before you sell internationally, and take advice for your situation — this is a genuine compliance obligation, not an optional nicety.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Choosing a platform with no audience. A platform is distribution-neutral. If nobody knows you exist, the best course tool sells nothing.
- Choosing a marketplace and expecting to build a business. You are building theirs. Fine for reach; poor as a foundation.
- Building the whole course before testing demand. Sell an outline, or run it live once, before recording forty lessons.
- Ignoring VAT on digital products. Check whether your platform is merchant of record before selling internationally.
- Buying the all-in-one while paying for the parts. Kajabi only makes sense if you cancel the tools it replaces.
- Underestimating self-hosted maintenance. LearnDash means you own updates, security and video delivery.
- No plan for student support. Every course generates questions. Decide who answers them before launch.
FAQs
What is the best course platform for beginners?
Thinkific or Podia — both let you build and launch with minimal setup, and Thinkific’s free tier means you can create the course before paying anything.
Should I use Udemy or my own platform?
Udemy if you have no audience and want reach or validation. Your own platform if you have any audience at all, because you keep the pricing control and the customer relationship.
Is Kajabi worth the price?
If it genuinely replaces your email platform, website builder and course tool, the total is often comparable and you remove integration work. If you already pay for and like those tools, you are duplicating spend.
Do I need to charge VAT on online courses?
Often yes for sales into the EU and UK, based on where your customer is, and frequently with no minimum threshold. Some platforms act as merchant of record and handle this for you; others do not. Confirm which yours does and take professional advice for your circumstances.
How much should I charge for a course?
There is no formula, and anyone quoting one is guessing. What is knowable: on your own platform you set the price and keep the relationship, so you can sell higher-priced offerings later. On a marketplace, pricing is largely out of your hands.
Can I use WordPress for courses?
Yes, with LearnDash or similar. You get full ownership and no revenue share, and you take on hosting, security, updates and video delivery. Budget separately for video hosting — this is where self-hosted setups usually fail.
Key Takeaways
- Marketplaces bring students but own them; platforms need you to bring your own audience.
- Not owning the student relationship costs more than the commission does.
- Check whether your platform is merchant of record for VAT before selling internationally.
- Test demand before recording the whole course.
- Self-hosting removes revenue share and adds video hosting and maintenance.
Where to Start
Answer the audience question honestly first. With an audience, start on Thinkific’s or Podia’s entry tier and keep the relationship. Without one, use a marketplace to validate the topic while you build a list elsewhere.
For adjacent decisions, our guides to website builders and AI email marketing prompts cover the audience-building side that determines whether any of this sells.