Hands up if you are tired of being bombarded by the ads for the $100 online teaching software. I know I was! After all, these programs aren’t for me since I teach online for free. But maybe you’re not ready to teach online just yet – but you’d still like to check out that “free educational software for teachers”. Or maybe you teach in a school without a professional development budget and need help finding “free online teaching apps”.
People are looking for a way to teach online. And why not? It’s convenient and you can reach students from across the globe, which means you have a much larger audience. But how do you get started? How do you pick an educational software? These are just some of the questions that we’ll answer in this article. We’re going to discuss free software known as teaching software, or also known as teacher software. For those who want to teach online but not necessarily with a membership site, there are numerous free options to choose from.
You
From anywhere across the globe, you are one click away from your learners learning with their fellow peers. Virtual classroom platforms will provide an opportunity to keep everyone focused and engaged with high quality, real-time audio and video, and suites of collaborative tools to help you transport distracted viewers into more active learners.
When you have a clear idea of what you need and what you want, then it makes it easier for you to explore these platforms as well as others with a consistent perspective. We have to remember that the best virtual classroom software for online teaching is going to provide you not only a consistent, reliable experience 24/7/365, but it’s going to delight your facilitators and learners. Learning is supposed to be engaging and fun, collaborative and interactive. Choosing the right virtual classroom software for your organization is going to enable your organization to transfer knowledge to your learners more effectively and create more successful outcomes.
Kajabi
Best High-End Online Course Platform for Professionals ($119/month)
Adam’s Take
In my opinion, Kajabi is one of the best platforms for professionals that want to scale their business. With so many features included in their plans, you can develop your online training just the way you want it, and build out as many features within your platform as needed. Whether you want to send newsletters, host podcasts, or even build membership sites, Kajabi can work for your needs.8.4 out of 10
Best For
Professionals
Price
$119-$319/mo
Annual Discount
Yes – Save 20%
Promotion
Kajabi is the best high-end course builder tailored toward information business, not tiny course creators.
It’s best when it comes to email marketing automation. Automation is a crucial component of pre-sale, pre-webinar, drip course, and upsell emails – and Kajabi does it best.
Their “Pipelines” feature lets you create fully-automated marketing campaigns and funnels. These are pre-built frameworks for lead generation, with pre-written copy optimized for conversions.
It also features powerful course site themes, the ability to sell digital products, a customizable checkout, and blogging functionality.
Overall, it’s the best high-end course platform with more built-in tools and features, but it costs a little more than others on the list.
Kajabi Pros:
- Best all-in-one software for a true information business.
- Wistia video hosting is excellent.
- Major focus on sales and marketing tools.
- More built-in tools than other platforms.
- Can offer monthly recurring subscriptions.
- Integrated with Stripe and PayPal.
- Big names use Kajabi, including Amy Porterfield.
Kajabi Pricing:
Kajabi pricing is mainly based on the number of courses and active members you have:
- Basic ($119/month): 1 website, 1 admin, 3 products, 3 pipelines, 10,000 contacts, and 1,000 active members.
- Growth ($119/month): 1 website, 10 admins, 15 products, 15 pipelines, 25,000 contacts, 10,000 active members.
- Pro ($319/month): 3 websites, 25 admins, 100 products, 100 pipelines, 100,000 contacts, and 20,000 active members.
Where Kajabi really excels is its marketing automation tools. You can segment users in your list, send emails at certain times based on advanced triggers, and send professionally branded messages.
If you’re an established business and want to try one of the more advanced platforms on the market, Kajabi is a solid choice.
Start your free 14-day trial of Kajabi today.
Teachable
Best Online Course Platform for Beginners ($0-$249/mo)
Adam’s Take
I think that if you’re just starting out and want a solid foundation to build your business, Teachable is the way to go. This online course platform allows you to focus on sharing your knowledge without getting bogged down with the technical aspect. This is why I recommend it for those that are at the startup stage in their business.8.2 out of 10
Best For
Startup Business
Price
$0-$249/mo
Annual Discount
Yes – Save 17%
Promotion
Get Started with a Free PlanTry Teachable
Teachable is an option if you want a fast and easy course builder.
I consider it the best for beginners getting their feet wet in the course world as it’s one of the cheapest options and easy to use.
You can choose to use their free plan (with $1 + $0.10 for all transactions) or select one of their three plans ranging from just $29/month to $299/month.
I recommend their most popular Pro Plan at $99/month as it’s the first plan with zero transaction fees.
Teachable also gave me a unique and limited-time promo code (200 left):
Use PROSOCIATE1MFREE at checkout to get one month of their Pro Plan for free.
Teachable Pros:
- Very easy setup.
- Unlimited everything – bandwidth, students, courses, and coaching services.
- One-click checkout.
- Optimized storefront and sales pages.
- Live Zoom courses on their pro plan.
- International payment plans in 130+ currencies.
- Graded quizzes.
- Custom course completion certificates.
- Website theme customization.
- Can have 5 user accounts on their pro plan.
Teachable Pricing:
- Basic ($29/month): 5% transaction fees, 2 admin users, drip content, course builder, members-only community.
- Pro ($99/month): Basic features, plus no transaction fees, 5 admin users, advanced reports, and course certificates.
- Business ($249/month): Pro features, plus advanced coding customizations, 20 admins, bulk student enrollments, and group coaching calls.
Get started with your Teachable Pro Plan and use my promo code PROSOCIATE1MFREE at checkout to get one month free.
Kaltura Virtual Classroom
Well, what do you know? Kaltura Virtual Classroom is on the ‘best virtual classroom software for online teaching’ list published on the Kaltura blog. Seriously though, our position on this list is not without merit. As the great LeVar Burton liked to say, you don’t have to take our word for it. Try Kaltura Virtual Classroom for Free and continue using it for free as you like.
Kaltura Virtual Classroom is purpose-built for teaching online – virtual classroom software at its core! You can create online courses and engage your participants in virtual classes all through a completely branded portal. Virtual classes are 100% web-based – no Flash, no downloads, no installations – with collaborative tools like a digital whiteboard, content management system to share presentations and videos, screen sharing, cloud recording, breakout rooms, real-time notes, live quizzes, and more. Kaltura Virtual Classroom easily integrates into all major LMSs. Totally worth a look!
Learnworlds
Best Course Creation Software for Interactive Learning ($24/month)
Adam’s Take
I think Learnworlds is one of the best course platforms for interactivity. If you’re looking to give your students an engaging course, with quizzes, interactive videos, surveys, and certificates, Learnworlds is a good choice. While it doesn’t have the ease of use of Thinkific, it does have strong student community features. 8.8 out of 10
Best For
Interactive Learning
Price
$24-249/month
Annual Discount
Yes – Save 20%
Promotion
30-Day Free TrialTry Learnworlds
Learnworlds is a platform that’s best for course creators looking to interact in unique ways with their students.
Think quizzes, gamification, interactive videos, etc.
While the student experience isn’t as nice looking as a Thinkific course, it’s unique in that it offers students more interactive eLearning content.
Pros of Learnworlds:
- Interactive videos, e-books, gamification, and downloadable attachments.
- You can offer free courses.
- Can extract transcripts from your courses.
- A custom domain name and white-labeled content.
- Students can take notes and highlight important points.
- Certificates of completion.
- Custom mobile app on iOS for course.
- The ability to create coupons and discounts.
- Social media integrations.
- A new analytics platform to optimize your sales.
- The ability to create membership sites.
- A strong knowledge base.
- 24/7 support.
Pricing:
- Starter ($24/month paid annually): one admin, $5 fee per course sale, custom domain, unlimited courses, page builder tool, 4 payment gateways, coupons, and drip feed courses.
- Pro Trainer ($79/month): Starter features, plus no transaction fees, 5 admin accounts, subscriptions and memberships, custom checkout pages, live classes via Zoom and Webex, assignments, and affiliate management.
- Learning Center ($249/month): Pro Trainer features, plus a branded corporate academy, premium cloud servers, flexible invoicing, premium support, and premium account manager.
Get a free 30-day trial of Learnworlds with my link below and start building your interactive online community.
CourseCraft
At CourseCraft, you can easily put together online courses and manage them without any hassles. The best thing about this online learning platform is its simple and flexible editor, which functions like your standard word processing program. Just type in your training module, upload images and videos, attach downloadable files, and you’re all set. You can even add some forms, quizzes, and surveys if you want to engage your learners and get some insights directly from them.
There’s no limit as to how many lessons you want to upload and share with your learners—this online teaching platform has you covered.
- Cost: Free and paid plans
- Key Features: Simple and flexible course editor, forms, quizzes, and surveys
Socrative
If you’re interested in teaching whole classes online, or if you want a way to get instant feedback from your students, then Socrative may be useful to you. It is a tool which allows teachers to set real-time questions for their students to answer, and then aggregates and visualises the results. So you can get quick feedback, perform a quiz, or poll the opinions of your students. This allows teachers to see the level of knowledge and understanding of the whole class, and tailor their teaching accordingly. It also keeps students feeling involved and interested, as they take an interactive part in the class. It is available as an app or browser-based, so it can be used as long as your students have access to a computer of some form.
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda) is another online course marketplace tailored to business professionals. With over 1,000 business courses on topics like project management, web development, and digital marketing, they’re an excellent platform for working professionals looking to keep their skills up-to-date.
They also offer certifications that you can add to your LinkedIn profile, showcasing your expertise and improving your online resume.
What does LinkedIn Learning cost?
Monthly fees tie to a premium LinkedIn membership, which is $29.99/month or $24.00/month if you pay annually.
Conclusion:
The best online teaching softwares are used by education professionals to help them teach via online distance learning methods. Distance learning uses a computer network, such as the internet, or other technologies to provide education to students who are not physically present on campus. I’m talking about free software for online teaching.