Visibility in this ranking can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within the
shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review. The largest vendors in online course platforms
cannot hold places 1 to 3. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category,
wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure ·
editorial process.
The 14 tools, reviewed
#1 Tutor LMS
WordPress course plugin with a free core · Bangladesh · tutorlms.com
WordPress Self-hosted Lifetime license
First place goes to the option that costs least to keep running. The vendor states that the full Tutor LMS core is free forever, and the Pro license is a flat yearly fee per site count rather than a monthly subscription that rises with sales.
- Pricing: Free + paid tiers. The core plugin is free. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: WordPress owners who want low fixed cost
- Strengths: Course builder; Quiz builder; Certificate builder.
Where it falls short
You are the operations team. Hosting, backups, updates, caching and video delivery are yours to arrange, and none of that is in the license price.
Wrong for
Anyone without a WordPress site, or without someone willing to maintain one, should skip the plugins entirely.
Visit Tutor LMS →
#2 LifterLMS
WordPress course and membership plugin · United States · lifterlms.com
WordPress Self-hosted Memberships
LifterLMS is the WordPress plugin for a seller whose business is as much membership as course. The free core is listed with unlimited courses, unlimited memberships and unlimited students and teachers, which lets you build the whole school before spending anything.
- Pricing: Free + paid tiers. The core plugin is free. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: WordPress sites selling courses and memberships
- Strengths: Course builder; Memberships; Quizzes.
Where it falls short
The Stripe, PayPal and WooCommerce ecommerce add-ons are listed in the paid bundles, so taking card payments is where the free core ends for most sellers.
Wrong for
A buyer who wants a fixed license with a lifetime option should look at Tutor LMS.
Visit LifterLMS →
#3 Payhip
Digital product store with courses and tax handling · United Kingdom · payhip.com
Hosted Free plan VAT handling
Payhip has the simplest price list in this ranking. The vendor says there is no feature-gating: every feature is available on every plan, the free one included, and the only thing that changes is the percentage Payhip keeps.
- Pricing: Free + paid tiers. Free Forever is $0 per month plus a 5% transaction fee. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Sellers of mixed digital products
- Strengths: Online courses; Digital downloads; Coaching.
Where it falls short
The free plan takes 5% of every sale, on top of what the payment processor charges, so a seller with steady revenue should do the arithmetic on Plus and Pro early.
Wrong for
A business whose product is a multi-month program with discussion and group work will want a learning-first tool.
Visit Payhip →
#4 LearnWorlds
Hosted course school with interactive video and SCORM · Cyprus · learnworlds.com
Hosted SCORM Interactive video
LearnWorlds takes fourth place because it treats the lesson as more than a video player. The feature list names interactive video with embedded questions, ebooks, an assessments builder, live sessions and SCORM import, which matters to a training company that already owns packaged content.
- Pricing: Flat monthly. Starter is $24 per month billed annually or $29 monthly plus a $5 fee per paid enrollment. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Training businesses selling structured courses
- Strengths: Interactive video; Ebooks; Assessments builder.
Where it falls short
Starter is a thin plan: the vendor lists certificates, SCORM, subscriptions, bundles, affiliate marketing, Zapier and the mobile app as excluded from it, and it adds a $5 fee on every paid enrollment.
Wrong for
A solo creator selling one inexpensive course will feel the $5 per enrollment fee on Starter quickly.
Visit LearnWorlds →
#5 Podia
Website, email and course sales in one subscription · United States · podia.com
Hosted All-in-one Email included
Podia is the plain answer for someone who wants to stop stitching a site builder, a mailing tool and a checkout together.
- Pricing: Flat monthly. Mover is shown at $42 per month as $504 billed annually with a 5% fee on sales. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Solo creators who want one bill
- Strengths: Online courses; Digital downloads; Coaching.
Where it falls short
The entry plan, Mover, carries a 5% fee on sales and is listed with up to 100 email subscribers, so an existing list outgrows it on day one.
Wrong for
A training company that needs SCORM import, graded assessments at depth or learner reporting will find Podia light.
Visit Podia →
#6 Thinkific
Hosted course builder with communities and branded app · Canada · thinkific.com
Hosted Unlimited courses Communities
Thinkific does the central job without drama: a drag-and-drop course builder, quizzes, assignments and certificates, a community inside the learner area, and unlimited courses on every plan. The 30-day trial is long enough to load a real course and run a test sale.
- Pricing: Flat monthly. The pricing page we fetched showed euro prices: Basic €39 per month on annual billing or €53 monthly, Start €79 or €107, Grow €159 or €213, and Plus on a custom quote. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Course businesses wanting a mainstream host
- Strengths: Drag-and-drop course builder; Communities; Quizzes and assignments.
Where it falls short
The Basic plan has one admin seat, five digital downloads and no paid memberships. API access and white label are held for Grow, and single sign-on for the quote-only Plus tier.
Wrong for
A seller who needs their own branding on the site from the first month will pay for Grow to get it.
Visit Thinkific →
#7 Teachable
Hosted courses, coaching and downloads with tax handling · United States · teachable.com
Hosted Tax handling Student apps
Teachable is part of Hotmart Company and one of the best-known names a first-time course seller meets.
- Pricing: Flat monthly. Starter is $29 per month billed annually or $39 monthly with a 7.5% transaction fee and 5 products. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Individual creators selling across borders
- Strengths: Online courses; Coaching; Digital downloads.
Where it falls short
Every plan caps the number of products: 5 on Starter, 10 on Builder, 50 on Growth. Starter takes 7.5% of each sale and has no affiliate program and email-only support.
Wrong for
A school with a large catalog of short courses hits the product caps early.
Visit Teachable →
#8 systeme.io
Funnel, email and course builder with a free plan · Ireland · systeme.io
Hosted Funnels Free plan
Systeme.io approaches the course from the marketing end. The platform lists sales funnels, email marketing, a website builder, affiliate management and automation alongside the course builder, and the pricing page states 0% transaction fees on every plan, including the free one.
- Pricing: Free + paid tiers. Free plan with 1 course and 2,000 contacts. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Sellers who lead with funnels and email
- Strengths: Online course builder; Sales funnels; Email marketing.
Where it falls short
The vendor says in its own FAQ that systeme.io has no native certificate generation, which rules it out for any course where a certificate is the point.
Wrong for
Training companies that issue certificates or need assignments and richer assessment should not start here.
Visit systeme.io →
#9 LearnDash
WordPress LMS plugin from Liquid Web · United States · liquidweb.com
WordPress Self-hosted Annual license
LearnDash is a WordPress LMS plugin that is now part of Liquid Web, and its product page sells it on independence: no hosting lock-in and no proprietary dependencies.
- Pricing: Flat yearly. Essentials is $259 per year, Pro $399 per year and Elite $599 per year. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: WordPress sites needing structured assessment
- Strengths: Drag-and-drop course builder; Quizzes with 8 question types; Certificate builder.
Where it falls short
It is the only one of the three WordPress plugins in this ranking with no free version on its price list, and its entry price of $259 a year is above the other two.
Wrong for
A buyer who wants to try a WordPress course plugin at no cost has two better starting points in Tutor LMS and LifterLMS, both of which have a free core.
Visit LearnDash →
#10 Kajabi
All-in-one platform for courses, coaching and marketing · United States · kajabi.com
Hosted All-in-one Premium price
Kajabi describes itself as one connected system for products, payments and marketing, and the product list backs that up: courses, coaching, communities, memberships, newsletters, digital downloads and podcasts, with email, automations, pages and analytics in the same account and access on web, iOS and Android.
- Pricing: Flat monthly. Basic is $143 per month billed yearly or $179 monthly. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Established sellers consolidating many tools
- Strengths: Courses; Coaching; Communities.
Where it falls short
Basic costs $179 a month on monthly billing and is limited to 5 products and 2,500 contacts, which is a lot of money for a small catalog.
Wrong for
A first-time course seller with no audience should not start at this price.
Visit Kajabi →
#11 Teachery
Single-plan hosted course platform · United States · teachery.co
Hosted Single plan Lifetime option
Teachery removes the tier question. The vendor states that every plan includes all features with unlimited courses, customers, course hubs and custom domains, and that there are no hidden transaction fees or upsells. The only decision is how to pay: monthly, yearly, or once for life.
- Pricing: Flat monthly. $49 per month, or $470 per year, or a one-time lifetime payment of $950; every plan includes all features. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Creators who dislike tiered pricing
- Strengths: Lessons and sublessons; Quizzes with grading; Completion certificates.
Where it falls short
It is a small independent product and its scope is narrower than the suites: the feature page does not list a built-in email marketing tool or mobile apps, so plan on connecting a separate mailing service.
Wrong for
Sellers who want email marketing, funnels and the course in one account are better served by Podia or systeme.io, where those pieces are included.
Visit Teachery →
#12 FreshLearn
Hosted courses, cohorts and memberships · United States · freshlearn.com
Hosted Free plan No platform fee
FreshLearn covers a wide set of formats for the money: courses, memberships, one-to-one and group coaching, live cohorts, workshops, e-books and community. The pricing page states 0% transaction fees, leaving only the payment processor charge.
- Pricing: Free + paid tiers. A free plan covers 1 product. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Budget-conscious creators and coaches
- Strengths: Online courses; Memberships; Live cohorts.
Where it falls short
The Pro plan leaves out community, live classes, certificates, assignments, assessments, branding removal and the Zapier integration; all of those begin on No Brainer.
Wrong for
Anyone who wants every feature at the entry price should compare Teachery, which has one plan, or Payhip, which says it gates nothing.
Visit FreshLearn →
#13 Heights Platform
Courses and community with gamification · United States · heightsplatform.com
Hosted Gamification No platform fee
Heights Platform is built for programs where completion matters more than catalog size. Its feature list pairs courses with community discussion, project posts, badges and a points system, plus student analytics, email marketing, a website builder and an assistant called Heights AI.
- Pricing: Flat monthly. Challenge is $29 per month for 1 course and up to 100 active students. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Coaches running programs with community
- Strengths: Courses; Community and discussion forums; Badges and points.
Where it falls short
A custom domain and removal of Heights branding are listed only from Pro at $119 a month, so the two cheaper plans run under the vendor name.
Wrong for
A company that wants a larger vendor behind its training platform, or SCORM and LTI support, should look at LearnWorlds instead.
Visit Heights Platform →
#14 Mighty Networks
Community platform with courses and native apps · United States · mightynetworks.com
Hosted Community-first Native apps
Mighty Networks belongs on this list for the seller whose course is really a membership. Its own summary of the product is community, courses and events, and the pricing table shows on-demand courses, cohort-based courses and live courses and challenges on every plan.
- Pricing: Flat monthly. Launch is $79 per month or $950 per year with a 2% transaction fee. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Membership communities that also teach
- Strengths: On-demand courses; Cohort-based courses; Live courses and challenges.
Where it falls short
Every plan takes a share of sales: 2% on Launch, 1% on Scale and 0.5% on Growth and Mighty Pro.
Wrong for
A seller of a self-paced course with no community element pays here for features that will sit unused.
Visit Mighty Networks →
Questions and answers
What is the best online course platform in 2026?
Tutor LMS ranks first of 14, best for wordPress owners who want low fixed cost. LifterLMS is second (wordPress sites selling courses and memberships) and Payhip third (sellers of mixed digital products). Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands, wherever the category has them.
What is the difference between an online course platform and a learning management system?
The customer. An online course platform is built to sell training to people outside your company, so it has sales pages, a checkout, coupons, affiliates and tax handling.
Should I sell on a marketplace or on my own platform?
A marketplace brings an audience and keeps control: it decides how courses are listed and discounted, and the students are its customers.
How much do online course platforms take from each sale?
It depends on the plan more than the vendor.
Can I create and sell an online course for free?
Yes, within limits. Payhip has a free plan with every feature and a 5% fee per sale. Systeme.io has a free plan that does not expire and allows one course with unlimited students.
Is a WordPress course plugin cheaper than a hosted platform?
On paper, usually. Tutor LMS Pro is $199 a year for one site and LearnDash Essentials is $259 a year, against hosted plans that bill every month.
Where should the course videos be hosted?
Hosted platforms generally include video storage, and the limits vary: LearnWorlds lists unlimited video hosting on all plans, systeme.io says video is hosted with no storage limit, and Podia caps the number of videos on its two lower plans.
What happens to my students if I switch platforms?
One-time buyers are straightforward: export the list, import it into the new platform and grant access. Progress records usually do not transfer, so students restart their tracking. Subscribers are harder.
Do I need SCORM support?
Only if you already have SCORM packages or your customers ask for them. SCORM is a packaging standard for e-learning content produced in authoring tools, common in corporate and compliance training.
Who handles VAT and sales tax on course sales?
By default, you do. A digital course sold to a consumer in another country is often taxable where the buyer lives, which means registrations and returns the seller has to file.
Can I run live cohort courses on these platforms?
Several support it, in different ways. Mighty Networks lists cohort-based and live courses on every plan and is built around the group. FreshLearn lists live cohorts and workshops as product types, with live classes starting on its No Brainer plan.
