13 Best Online Course Platforms in 2026 (with Pricing)
Choosing an online course platform can feel overwhelming. There are dozens of options, the pricing pages are confusing, and everyone online seems to recommend something different.
You want a platform that's easy for you to use as the creator, and just as easy for your students to navigate. You also don't want to overpay for features you'll never touch.
In this guide, I'll walk you through 13 of the best online course platforms for 2026, with current pricing, pros, and cons. This comes from my 16-plus years as a college marketing professor and an online course creator, just like you.
Disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you try a platform and purchase. None of the prices are increased to compensate me. Pricing was last verified in June 2026, but platforms change their plans often, so always confirm on the provider's site.
What Is an Online Course Platform?
An online course platform is a learning management system, or LMS. It's the software that lets you create, host, and deliver your course to your students.
At a school or university, you might know systems like Canvas or Blackboard. For creators and online business owners, there's a whole market of tools built to host your course, membership, or digital product. Let's break them into three types so the choice gets simpler.
The 3 Types of Course Platforms
1. Standalone platforms (best for 90% of creators)
This is the right fit for most online business owners. You create your course, upload it to the platform, and pay a monthly, annual, or one-time fee. You keep full control of your content, your pricing, and your customer list.
The trade-off is that you're responsible for marketing. You'll need a way to grow your email list and send people to your course, usually a simple website or landing page plus an email tool. For a real business, that control is worth it.
2. Course marketplaces
With a marketplace like Udemy or Skillshare, you upload your course onto someone else's platform. They handle most of the marketing, which sounds great. But you give up a lot: control over price, your branding, and access to your students' email addresses. It's a decent way to validate an idea or earn some passive income, not to build a brand.
3. Self-hosted on WordPress
You can also host your course on your own WordPress site with a plugin. This gives you the most control, but you're also responsible for the tech, the hosting, and anything that breaks. Best for people who are comfortable in WordPress.
Before you compare features, get clear on four things: your budget, how tech-comfortable you are, whether you want everything in one tool or prefer to connect best-in-class tools, and how many products you plan to sell.
Most creators are happiest with a standalone platform. It keeps you in control of your content and your customers while handing the tech headaches to the provider.
Best Standalone Course Platforms for 2026
1. ThriveCart Learn — my top pick
ThriveCart Learn is a course platform built right into ThriveCart, the checkout and funnel tool. Instead of a monthly fee, you pay once and own it. It supports unlimited courses and students, which many monthly platforms don't.
I migrated all of my own courses from Kajabi to ThriveCart Learn, and it's been a smooth move. My courses now live inside the same tool I use for my cart, checkout, and funnels.
Pros: One-time payment, unlimited courses and students, built-in checkout, funnels, and affiliate platform.
Cons: You'll host your videos on a separate service like Vimeo or YouTube. The Pro+ tier with the full LMS and affiliate features costs more.
2. Kajabi
Kajabi is a polished all-in-one platform that gets your course online without much of a learning curve. It bundles courses, websites, funnels, and email in one place.
Pros: Truly all-in-one, professional, easy to use, strong community and support.
Cons: One of the pricier options, with no free plan. Lower tiers limit how many products you can have. Many creators still prefer a dedicated email tool like Kit alongside it.
3. Teachable
Teachable is a popular, beginner-friendly platform that's simple for both creators and students. It's a great way to get your first course live without much tech.
Pros: Easy to learn, affordable entry point, clean student experience.
Cons: The $39 Starter plan charges a 7.5% transaction fee, so you'll likely want the $89 Builder plan to remove it.
4. Thinkific
Thinkific is another beginner-friendly favorite. It's easy to brand your content, build your first course, and start selling.
Pros: Intuitive course builder, good for beginners, no transaction fees on paid plans when you use Thinkific Payments.
Cons: Using your own Stripe or PayPal instead of Thinkific Payments can trigger extra fees on lower plans. The free plan was replaced with a 14-day trial.
5. Podia
Podia is a budget-friendly all-in-one that can replace your website, landing pages, downloads, courses, community, and email tool. A solid pick if you want simple and affordable.
Pros: Affordable, genuinely all-in-one, clean and easy to use.
Cons: The $39 Mover plan carries a 5% transaction fee; the $89 Shaker plan drops it to 0%. Email sending costs more as your list grows.
6. LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds is feature-rich, with branded themes, quizzes, assignments, exams, and an interactive video player. Great if you want a real "learning experience," not just video lessons.
Pros: Powerful course-building features, strong interactivity, professional student experience.
Cons: The $29 Starter plan adds a $5 fee per enrollment, so once you're selling regularly the $99 Pro Trainer plan is the better value.
7. Kartra
Kartra is an all-in-one platform with landing pages, websites, webinars, email, funnels, an affiliate system, and a help desk. A good fit if you want your marketing stack and your course in one tool.
Pros: Deep all-in-one toolkit, built-in webinars and affiliate management.
Cons: The $59 Essentials plan has a 5% transaction fee and limits courses; key features like quizzes and webinars sit on higher tiers.
8. MemberVault
MemberVault is an all-in-one course and membership platform with a "binge and gamify" style that encourages students to engage with everything you offer. You'll still want a separate email tool.
Pros: Encourages engagement, no transaction fees, you fully own your content.
Cons: Pricing recently changed for new users, and the look is more functional than flashy.
Best Course Marketplaces
9. Udemy
Udemy is a global learning marketplace with tens of millions of students. It's free to create and host a course, and Udemy takes a cut of each sale.
Pros: Huge built-in audience, no upfront cost, good for validating an idea.
Cons: You earn a smaller share on sales Udemy refers, you don't control pricing, and you don't get your students' emails.
10. Skillshare
Skillshare pays creators based on how many minutes members watch your classes. It's best for engaging, project-based content that keeps people watching.
Pros: Good for creators who don't want to market, built-in membership audience.
Cons: You earn from watch time, not direct sales, and you give up branding and customer data.
11. LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning hosts thousands of courses shown to a large professional audience. You apply to become an instructor and submit a sample video. See how to apply here.
Pros: Massive professional reach, they handle production.
Cons: Competitive application, little control, not your brand or your list.
Best Options for Self-Hosting on WordPress
12. LearnDash
LearnDash is a WordPress LMS plugin built by e-learning pros. You get a drag-and-drop course builder, drip content, quizzes, certificates, and more. There's also a hosted LearnDash Cloud option if you don't want to manage WordPress yourself.
Pros: Powerful and flexible, you own everything, one of the more affordable WordPress options.
Cons: You're responsible for hosting and tech. Real-world costs climb once you add hosting, themes, and add-ons.
13. AccessAlly
AccessAlly is a powerful WordPress plugin for scaling courses, group coaching, and memberships. It includes progress tracking, affiliate management, payment gateways, abandoned-cart follow-up, and more.
Pros: Deep membership and course features, strong support, weekly tune-up calls.
Cons: One of the pricier WordPress options, and renewal pricing is higher than year one. You still manage your own site.
How to Choose the Best Platform for You
Do your homework before you commit. Weigh the pricing, the features you'll actually use, the reviews, and your own business needs.
For most creators, a standalone platform is the right call. It keeps you in control of your content and your customer list, while the provider handles the tech. If you already use a checkout and funnel tool, ThriveCart Learn is the one I'd look at first. If you want everything bundled, look at Kajabi or Podia. If you're just starting, Teachable or Thinkific make it easy.
But here's the most important thing to remember. The platform is not what makes you successful.
"An online course business is 90% marketing and only 10% product creation."
— Dr. Destini CoppYour success won't come from the software. It will come from the transformation you give your students, and how well you market yourself and your business. Pick a platform that gets out of your way, then put your energy into your audience and your offer.
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There's no single best platform for everyone. For most creators who already use a checkout and funnel tool, ThriveCart Learn is hard to beat because it's a one-time payment and includes course hosting. Kajabi suits people who want an all-in-one system, Teachable and Thinkific are strong beginner-friendly picks, and Podia is a good budget all-in-one. The right choice depends on your budget, tech comfort, and whether you want everything in one tool.
Most standalone course platforms run between about $39 and $199 per month, with higher tiers reaching $400 to $550. Budget picks like Podia and Teachable start around $39 per month. All-in-one platforms like Kajabi and Kartra start higher. ThriveCart is the outlier, with a one-time payment of $495 instead of a monthly fee.
A standalone platform, like Kajabi or Teachable, lets you host and sell your own course under your own brand, and you keep your customer list. A marketplace, like Udemy or Skillshare, hosts your course alongside everyone else's and handles the marketing, but you give up control over price, branding, and access to your students' emails.
Sometimes. All-in-one platforms like Kajabi, Kartra, and Podia include email marketing. Standalone tools like ThriveCart Learn, Teachable, and Thinkific focus on hosting and selling, so you'll usually connect a dedicated email service provider like Kit for your list and sequences.
Yes, for many creators it's an excellent choice. ThriveCart Learn is included with your ThriveCart account, supports unlimited courses and students, and connects directly to your checkout and funnels. The main trade-off is that you host your videos on a separate service like Vimeo or YouTube. I migrated my own courses to ThriveCart Learn and recommend it.
