The 5 Best Online Course Platforms for 2025

If you aim to expand your business, establish a community, or produce revenue through virtual course sales, utilizing an online course platform can be helpful. This online course platforms comes equipped with pre-existing infrastructure planned to streamline and speed up the process of making virtual courses while successfully providing them to your target consumer. However, since not all e-learning software is equivalent and may not fit your specific requirements, we have determined to give you a complete breakdown of each of the leading e-learning tools to support you in making the most informed decision.

What Is an Online Course Platform?

An online course platform is an ecommerce learning management platform that offers course creators all the essential tools to start selling their online courses. From specialized course forums to WordPress plugins, various online training opportunities are available.

The features you get will rely on the platform you select. Still, they mainly include the capacity to upload your course content, personalize the look of your course, create a website, and issue completion certificates to your students. In addition, many of these forums also develop marketing tools to support you in advertising your course to a broader audience.

Discover the importance of using an online course platform

Back in the day, creating online courses was a challenging task that required course creators to learn to code or recruit a developer to create something that resembled a course.

It was costly and laborious, and the result still needed to be impressive. Then, some companies began creating plugins for WordPress, which provided course creators with more functionality and the ability to add courses by installing premium plugins. However, the courses were still fundamental, clunky, and often had bugs. Moreover, you still had to recruit a developer if you wanted custom branding. Furthermore, earlier, no one emphasized whether the courses were mobile-friendly or not, as smartphones were less popular.

However, things have changed now. Latest online course platforms have released online course creators from the hassle of coding, enabling them to quickly design almost anything they want. In addition, many course platforms now provide tools to add your branding and help you sell your courses to your members.

How to select the suitable online course platform?

When it comes to online course platforms, there is no one right fit for everyone. The platform that is right matched for you will rely on various factors. Hence, it is essential to prioritize your specific objective and preferences before finding a forum. Here are some crucial factors to consider:

1. Decide your objectives for the course

Always try to be clear about your goals and then determine what you want to accomplish with your course. It will support you in deciding which forum is the right fit for you based on your goals. For instance, if you want to increase profit, you may select a platform that enables you to design and vend high-quality courses.

2. Consider what functionality you need

Determine the type of functionality you required for your course. It comprises assets such as CMS, CRM, and marketing tools. If you have current licenses, select a forum that combines well with them. If you need a high level of customization, you may pick a platform that gives you more authority over the design and draft of your course.

3. Set your budget

First, decide your budget for the course platform. It will help you narrow your possibilities and select a platform within your budget. It’s crucial to remember that some forums may take extra charges for features such as payment processing or hosting.

4. Know your audience

Consider your target audience for the course. If you previously had a large audience base, you may elect a platform that enables you to deliver the course to your current base of consumers effortlessly. On the other hand, if you’re beginning from scratch, you may find a forum that comprises built-in marketing tools to help you form your audience base.

5. Define your content type

Consider the content type you plan on creating for the course. It includes the design, the length of the course, and the system on which your customer will take the course. In addition, some forums may be experts in certain types of content, so selecting a platform that supports your content preferences is essential.

5 Best Online Course Platforms that are budget friendly for every creator

• Paradiso CourseCart

• Teachable

• Podia

• Kajabi

• Thinkific

1. Paradiso CourseCart

It is highly intuitive, making it a perfect option for beginners. In addition, it simplifies the method of launching your online course business with all the essential assets you would anticipate from an enthusiastic course platform. These features include online course creators, flexible distribution opportunities, course management tools, payment incorporation, and sales pages.

Its simplicity and ease of use feature make this platform unique from others. You can instantly and effortlessly set up your platform to your liking with a user-friendly course creator. With Paradiso CourseCart, you can offer multiple price points for each course, include different types of content (such as PDFs, PPT, and Word documents) in your lessons, set up live courses and drip content, create your online community for students to ask questions and network with peers, send email announcements, and more.

Key features:

• Course designs

• Live courses

• Video and audio hosting

• High-class course generator

• Customizable sales pages

• Video broadcasts

• Multimedia lessons

• Learner data analytics

• Easy integration with other tools

• Student data analytics

• Payment incorporation

2. Teachable

Teachable is an online course platform allowing you to create and publish your content with your branding and pricing. In addition, it provides access to learner information, making it easy to build an audience for future marketing. You can start with a free plan, but upgrading to the Basic plan will provide additional integrations and lower transaction fees.

Moreover, it lets you choose a free subdomain or pay for a custom domain to host your course. You have full authority over how your course is designed and performed and can even fix your pricing.

3. Podia

Podia’s platform is designed for membership-based courses where learners subscribe to gain access to ongoing content rather than making a one-time payment. This business model is ideal for creators who can continue to provide updated courses and posts, as it allows them to earn recurring revenue.

In addition to the membership-based business model, Podia offers online course creators email marketing, in-app messaging, and custom websites. The platform makes it easy for creators to create a visually appealing, user-friendly website with member dashboards, flexible layouts, and pay-for-access content.

4. Kajabi

It is one of the online course platforms that offers more than just hosting services. It provides various features to help you sell your course, including standalone courses, memberships, training portals, podcasts, webinars, and file downloads. This platform suits those who want dynamic software that combines all essential elements in one place.

However, if you previously have an email service provider, webpage, CRM, and landing page designer, this podium may not be helpful for you. On the other side, if you are searching for a platform that streamlines all processes and keeps everything in one place, then you can select this platform for course building.

5. Thinkific

Thinkific and Teachable share many similarities but understanding their differences will be more beneficial. For example, it allows for more incredible customization options, whereas Teachable excels in marketing tools. With Thinkific, you can keep a significant percentage of your sales revenue since the platform doesn’t charge transaction fees. It also offers a more straightforward and quick way to create an attractive course and launch it.

Moreover, the platform offers many choices you can use to create a visually stunning course. But, it won’t be a valuable selection if you want to expand your income; you should choose a platform with a zero transaction fees policy.

Choose the right online course platform to simplify your course creation process

Paradiso CourseCart is an inexpensive and advanced feature-packed option that is incredibly easy to use. It is ideal for any online course creators just beginning their course business.

Once you’ve uploaded your course to the forum, the essential step is advertising it to your target consumer. Moreover, With Paradiso CourseCart, you can create automated email marketing campaigns that promote your course when someone subscribes and remind your audience about your course in your newsletters. To advertise your latest course to your audience, sign up for a free trial with Paradiso CourseCart today.