Online learning is the new normal. Online courses are taking over, and it’s making a ton of people rich. Platforms like Skillshare, Coursera, Udemy, and many more are growing in popularity. While they are still facing some challenges, online learning platforms are poised for growth during the next few years.
If you’re thinking about starting an online course platform, this is the post for you! Check out these 6 platforms for online courses that are dominating today’s market!
Best online course marketplace for launching your first course
While the earliest massive open online courses (MOOCs) made learning accessible, Udemy took it a step further: it made teaching online possible. Today, the platform has over 40 million students enrolled in its courses and an instructor base of more than 50,000.
To create a paid course on Udemy, you first have to apply to become a premium instructor. Once approved, you’ll see a series of easy-to-follow steps to help you create your first course. As you plan course content, keep in mind that all courses need at least 30 minutes of video and five lectures. You’re also welcome to add quizzes, assignments, coding exercises, and discussion prompts.
Why launch your first course on Udemy? Because the platform offers loads of support for creating and marketing a course. For example, if you’re not sure if your video lessons are up to snuff, you can submit a sample for review and get feedback on video and audio, along with suggestions for equipment. And for tutorials on planning a course, filming your first video, and related topics, Udemy offers the Teach Hub with tips and tricks.
If you’re struggling to make your first few sales, Udemy’s tailor-made marketing programs will offer support. Get your course featured in their email blasts, be a part of site-wide discounts, or opt for Udemy’s affiliate marketing program. All of these programs are optional, and depending on the promotional channel you choose, Udemy takes a share of course sales.
Finally, Udemy’s marketplace insights help you select the perfect course topic and see how it stacks up against other courses on the platform—which is important because of the size of the marketplace you’re competing with. Similar to Google Analytics, this feature tells you how popular a topic is on Udemy, its search volume, and related keywords. You can also see the number of existing courses for a topic, top-earning courses in the category, monthly revenue earned, and best promotion channels (Udemy discovery, Udemy search, external sources, paid ads).
To put it simply, with Udemy, you’re in good hands.
Udemy Price: Free for selling a premium course. Udemy charges 3% revenue share on course sales made by instructor coupons, 50% revenue share on courses found through organic search on Udemy or through a Udemy promotion, and 75% revenue share on course sales through Udemy’s paid user acquisition channels. (Note: Revenue share does not include processing fees charged by PayPal or Payoneer, or mobile platform fees for mobile course sales.)
7. Edx.org
Price:
Verified Track Courses – from $50 to $300 each
Audit Track Courses – free
Library:
2,500+ classes
Free Trial:
No
edX is one of the best providers of college-level online courses. The company was founded by Harvard and MIT, and the quality of courses is top-notch. All the courses on edX, with the exception of professional education courses, can be taken for free.
To join the course without paying you need to enroll in the Audit Track. The Free (Audit) Track grants students access to all course materials, such as lectures, videos, ungraded assignments, and reading – for the duration of the course. However, you won’t receive graded assignments and verified certificates of completion. If you want to have access to graded assignments and earn a certificate upon successful completion, then you would have to enroll in the Paid (Verified) Track. The certificate can be added to your resume or LinkedIn profile. If you enroll in the Audit Track but then decide that you want to earn the certificate, you will have a chance to switch to the Verified Track. Each course has an upgrade deadline so make sure you check that first.
edX offers over 2,500 courses on different subjects including Biology & Life Sciences, Architecture, Chemistry, Art & Culture, Electronics, Education & Teacher Training, Medicine, Food & Nutrition, Physics, Science, Music, Law, History, Language, and Environmental Studies. Most courses are available in English, but there are also some courses in Chinese, Russian, French, Italian, Spanish, etc. There are courses for introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels. The courses usually consist of both text and video content and assignments. There are also course discussions where you can ask questions and interact with fellow students. Some courses include group projects. You can download any edX course for offline viewing.
Accreditation:
With edX, you can also enroll in MicroMasters programs, which is basically a series of graduate-level courses from top universities. Some universities offer credit for the MicroMasters program certificate. The programs are not free, but rarely cost more than $1,500, and take between 7 months and 1 year to complete. And if you are thinking of getting into grad school, you can also check online Master’s Degrees on edX.
8. Udacity
Price:
Nanodegree Programs – $399/month
Single Courses – free
Library:
200+ courses
40+ Nanodegree programs
Free Trial:
No
Udacity is widely known for its Nanodegree programs. A Nanodegree is a skill and project-based learning program. Each Nanodegree consists of a series of courses on topics like Artificial Intelligence, Coding, Robotics, Mobile Programming, Business, and Data Science. Most programs can be completed in 3-6 months. Udacity offers one-on-one technical mentorship to all Nanodegree students.
Udacity is the definition of innovation when it comes to online learning and education. When you enroll in one of Udacity’s Nanodegree programs, your chances of landing a job after you are complete the course skyrocket.
Udacity is not an accredited university, but the skills they teach are relevant, in-demand skills that employers are actively seeking. However, when compared to other online learning platforms, Udacity is steep in pricing. The average cost for a Nanodegree program is between $1200 and $2400. You can get a discount if you pay for several months upfront.
Udacity also offers Executive Programs for business leaders who need to learn about complex concepts like Artificial Intelligence and implement them in their companies within a short period of time (usually a few weeks). The cost of Executive Programs is around $1500 per month which includes project reviews from top industry professionals, technical mentor support, personal career coach, and a learning plan that allows you to learn at your own pace.
Best online course creation software for building an online school with advanced marketing
Teachable helps savvy course creators grow and nurture an online audience. To begin with, the platform offers various options to customize the look and feel of your course. Build a website that reflects your brand, create sales pages for launching your course, and if you happen to know some code, use the Power Editor to tinker with it. If not, edit the templates available. Teachable’s course builder accepts files from Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive, among other content formats.
There’s flexibility when pricing your course too. You can offer courses on their own or in bundles, and choose between a one-time fee, a payment plan, or a subscription. When you’re ready to launch, create coupon codes to see a quick boost in course sales. To build a sales team for your course, use the platform’s built-in affiliate marketing option: imply add affiliates and they will get a percentage of course sales. No third-party integration required.
Teachable’s native email marketing tool lets you filter and message students when they enroll in a course, redeem a coupon, or complete a course. The platform also helps you collect student feedback and uncover insights about your course using Google Forms and surveys. If you’d like to keep in touch with students after they’ve completed your course, add them to your email list with Teachable’s integrations. As they say, the money is in the list.
You can do more with Teachable when you connect it to your favorite apps through Zapier’s automated workflows. Automatically add your students to your marketing campaign, track them in a Google Sheet, and more. Here are a few pre-made workflows to get you started, but you can connect Teachable with almost any app you use for your business.Add new Teachable students to ActiveCampaignUse this ZapLog new Teachable sales in Google Sheets rowsUse this ZapSee more Teachable integrations powered by
Teachable Price: From $29/month for the Basic plan, which includes custom domain, email marketing, coupon codes, drip course content, and a 5% transaction fee.
Best online course creation software for selling digital products and memberships
Podia lets you build an online store for your digital content. Create online courses, digital downloads, and even membership sites, all as part of one digital storefront.
All Podia storefronts have a similar template, which is helpful if you find too many options overwhelming. Each store’s landing page includes an overview, a “What’s included” section, a content section, FAQs, and creator bios. And all courses, memberships, and digital downloads have a separate landing page.
Once you create an online course, you can publish it immediately or pre-launch it to collect emails. If you have additional resources to supplement your course—cheat sheets, eBooks, videos, audio, text, checklists—sell them as a digital download. You can also bundle and sell the two together.
Online content creators often try to nurture an online community on platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn. This can work, but you’re often at the mercy of algorithmic changes and the rules of the platform you choose. Podia allows you to create your own private membership site, with different membership plans, perks, and content for members. Share updates with your community, notify them about new products, and watch your business grow.
Connect Podia to the other apps you use most through Zapier’s automated workflows. Automatically add your students to your marketing campaign, enroll new purchasers in your course, and more.Subscribe new Podia customers to Mailchimp listsUse this ZapEnroll Samcart customers in a Podia courseUse this ZapCreate Google Sheet rows from new Podia salesUse this ZapSee more Podia integrations powered by
Podia Price: From $39/month for the Mover plan for online courses, digital downloads, email marketing, and zero transaction fees.
Best online course creation software for building a course from scratch
Putting together your first online course can be daunting. How many lessons should you include? Where should you add assignments and quizzes? What other file types should you include? Thinkific takes the guesswork out of course creation with its simple and ready-to-use templates.
There are two parts to creating a course on Thinkific: course material and landing page. To get started, choose from the following templates: pre-sell, mini-course, flagship course, membership resource library, and webinar replay. Unlike other course builders, where you start with a blank slate, Thinkific templates provide helpful cues and tips to build a valuable course. Apart from video lessons, the templates are pre-populated with sample quizzes, downloads, surveys, and instructor messages, at regular intervals throughout the course. Add or remove content as you see fit, or follow the template as is.
Thinkific’s website builder is one of the easiest to use. Choose the pages you want to include, add your copy, pick a theme, and you’re done.
Want to include testimonials on your website? Here’s a neat trick to collect them on Thinkific: turn on student reviews for your course and add the ones you like directly to your landing page.
And by connecting Thinkific with Zapier, you can do things like automatically add your students to your marketing campaign or get an SMS message when a course is purchased.
Thinkific Price: Free for 1 course and unlimited students, course upsells, payment gateway, and no transaction fees; from $39/month for the Basic plan, which offers most features, including unlimited courses and students, marketing and email integrations via Zapier, and drip content.
Best online course creation software for marketing a course on autopilot
Kajabi gives marketing superpowers to busy course creators. Its marketing blueprints, called Pipelines, help you create an entire marketing funnel—from landing page and opt-ins to emails and course checkout—with just a few clicks.
Here’s an example: The freebie pipeline consists of three touchpoints. The first is a landing page where you collect emails in exchange for a free downloadable, such as an eBook or cheatsheet. When a visitor enters their email, they’re subscribed to your freebie email sequence, where you can thank them for signing up and upsell your course. If they choose to purchase, they’re taken to a thank-you page. And that’s it.
You can also choose what to do with the emails you collect. Add them to an email sequence, remind them about your special offer, or send them a thank-you note after they purchase. Kajabi has templates for all kinds of pages. Select a Pipeline, add your content, and your marketing machine is all set.
Templates can be handy, but if you want to create your own automations, Kajabi offers a number of if-then scenarios to choose from. When a student completes an assessment, fills a form, cancels a subscription, or has been inactive for a while, you can send them an email, register them for an event, or unsubscribe them from an email list. Given that email is at the core of all its features, Kajabi also has a native email provider that helps you track how many of your emails are opened.
You can do more with Kajabi when you connect it to your favorite apps through Zapier’s automated workflows. Automatically get email notifications for new purchases, give new purchasers access to your product, and more. Start with one of the workflows below, or connect Kajabi to any of the other apps you use.
Kajabi Price: From $119/month for the Basic plan for one site, three products, three pipelines, and unlimited marketing emails and landing pages.
Best online course creation software for creating an online school
LearnWorlds (Web, Android, iOS)
Ever dreamt of starting your own school? Now you can. LearnWorlds helps you set up an online school website with multiple teachers and a course catalog. Add instructors and select the courses you want them to teach. While instructors can author courses, they cannot publish a new course or change general settings. As admin of your school, offer as many courses as you like, with various pricing options. For an added fee, you can even get a branded app for your school.
LearnWorlds’ course builder has a number of unique tools. When adding content to your course, upload videos from your computer or Vimeo. Then, choose from a range of editing options such as adding text, images, pointers, logo, titles, and interactive buttons to your video. You can also add course content from SoundCloud and YouTube, among other formats.
LearnWorlds enables connections with students and teachers via an online community that accompanies every school. Most discussion forums focus on reviewing course-related material, but LearnWorlds’ communities are designed for social interaction. While students are free to post questions about coursework, the idea is to foster engagement and exchange of ideas. To help students build their network, each student has a public profile that showcases their courses and achievements.
And by connecting LearnWorlds with Zapier, you can do things like automatically track new course purchases in a Google Sheet, send an email when a course is completed, and more.
LearnWorlds Price: From $24/month for the Starter plan for custom domain, unlimited paid courses, built-in community, coupons, 4 payment gateways, and $5 fee per course sale.
Conclusion
There are loads of platforms for online learning available, so it’s no surprise that you’re probably overwhelmed when trying to figure out where to start.