I was looking at choosing an online course creation platform for a project. It was unclear how quickly we would scale, so I wanted to check out some of the cheaper options from the main course builder services.
At first glance, it seemed like everyone was offering the same thing. But, as it turned out, the under $50 packages were more varied than it seemed.
Each of these online course platforms provides a bevy of other features, however, I wanted to focus on the main features that would be important for someone hosting a single course for the first time and for a small audience initially.
| Teachable Free | Teachable Basic | Thinkific Free | Thinkific Basic | Learnworlds Starter | Podia Mover | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price (there is often an annual discount) | Free | $39/mo | Free | $49/mo | $29/mo | $39/mo |
| Transaction fees (ex-payment processor) | $1 + 10% | 5% | 0% | 0% | $5/sale | 0% |
| # Students | 10 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| # Courses | Unlimited | Unlimited | 3 Courses | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| # Videos | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Recurring Memberships | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Branding on your site? | Yes | Yes | Yes example | Yes example | Yes | Yes, can be removed by request on annual plan or for a fee |
| Mailing list integrations* | Sumo | Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Sumo | None | Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Constant Contact, Aweber, Sumo | Sumo, Mailchimp | Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Aweber, Sumo |
| Data/API Integrations* | None | Segment, Zapier | None | Segment, Zapier | None | Zapier |
| Quizzes? | Basic (not graded) | Basic (not graded) | Yes (not sure of limits) | Yes (not sure of limits) | Yes | Yes |
| Custom Domain | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free courses allowed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
We didn’t consider because minimum monthly cost was above $50/mo: Kajabi, Ruzuku.
Did we get anything wrong? Is there anything else that should be included? We’re generalists… not perfect. Let us know in the comments below. Same thing if there is a great LMS we didn’t consider.