Buyer's guide
Best Online Course Platforms
Build, sell, and scale your online course business with the right platform.
By Carlos Gil · Updated
See each review for its verification date
Short answer
What is the best online course platform?
Kajabi is the best course platform for established creators who want courses, website, email, payments and community in one subscription. Teachable ranks second for first-time creators who want a cheaper start and are fine with a transaction fee on the entry plan. Thinkific (#3) suits creators with an existing audience who want unlimited courses plus community, and Kit (#4) is the pick if your business is newsletter-first and you sell simple digital products.
Top-ranked picks: Kajabi review · Teachable review · Thinkific review
Choosing the wrong course platform locks you into a monthly fee, a payment setup and a student list that's tedious to move, so it's worth picking for where your business will be in a year, not just launch day. This guide is for creators, coaches and educators selling their own courses, memberships or coaching. We compared four platforms on what each subscription includes (course hosting, website, email, community, payments), transaction fees, contact or product limits, trial terms and how the price climbs as you grow. Kajabi, Teachable and Thinkific are course platforms; Kit is an email platform that also sells digital products, included for newsletter-first creators. None of these is a marketplace that brings you students, so plan your own traffic. Every price below was checked on the vendor's own pricing page on October 19, 2026, with monthly and annual billing listed separately. This is research from vendor documentation, not hands-on testing.
The ranking
Top Best Course Platforms — Ranked
Rank reflects fit for this use case. Scores come from each tool's full BestStacked review; tools we haven't reviewed aren't scored. We've logged 10 price or plan changes for tools on this list: see the pricing tracker.
| Rank | Tool | Category | Starting Price | Best For | BestStacked Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 |  Kajabi | All-in-One Course Platform | $143/mo (Basic, billed annually; $179 monthly) | Established creators who want everything in one placeSkip if: You're launching your first $99 course and revenue is uncertain — start on Teachable or Podia and migrate up. | Visit KajabiRead Review | |
| #2 |  Teachable | Course Marketplace | $39/mo ($29/mo billed annually, Starter) | First-time course creators on a budgetSkip if: You already have a sophisticated creator business or you want one platform to handle email, courses, communities, and websites — go to Kajabi instead. | Visit TeachableRead Review | |
| #3 |  Thinkific | Course Platform | Basic $40/mo billed annually ($54 monthly) | Creators with an existing audience who want courses plus communitySkip if: You need a free plan, want a marketplace to find students for you, or need certificates and memberships on a budget tier. | Visit ThinkificRead Review | |
| #4 |  Kit | Email + Commerce | Free up to 10k subscribers | Newsletter-led course creatorsSkip if: You are running a multi-channel marketing team or you have 50k+ subscribers — ActiveCampaign or Brevo will give you more for less. | Visit KitRead Review |
Kajabi
All-in-One Course Platform · $143/mo (Basic, billed annually; $179 monthly)
An all-in-one platform for courses, memberships, coaching and community, with a website, email marketing and checkout in the same subscription, so you don't need a separate site builder or email tool. Basic is $179 a month or $143 billed annually for up to 2,500 contacts. Growth ($249, or $199 annually) raises that to 25,000 contacts and adds an affiliate program, advanced automations and removal of Kajabi branding. Pro ($499, or $399 annually) covers 100,000 contacts and adds a branded mobile app. Kajabi Payments charges a card processing fee per sale. There's a 14-day trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, but no free plan. Kajabi's two pricing pages (/pricing and /pricing-new) disagree on product, community and admin-seat limits by plan, so confirm the limit you need with Kajabi before buying.
Skip if: You're launching your first $99 course and revenue is uncertain — start on Teachable or Podia and migrate up.
Teachable
Course Marketplace · $39/mo ($29/mo billed annually, Starter)
A beginner-friendly course platform with unlimited students on every plan. Starter is $39 a month or $29 billed annually for up to 5 products, but Teachable adds a 7.5% transaction fee on each sale. Builder ($89, or $69 annually) raises the limit to 10 products, drops the transaction fee to 0% and adds affiliates and community. Growth ($189, or $139 annually) covers 50 products and 5 admins and removes Teachable branding. Card processing is 2.9% + 30¢ per sale on top. The pricing page shows a 7-day free trial on the plan cards and a 30-day trial in a special offer, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Skip if: You already have a sophisticated creator business or you want one platform to handle email, courses, communities, and websites — go to Kajabi instead.
Thinkific
Course Platform · Basic $40/mo billed annually ($54 monthly)
A course, community and membership platform with unlimited courses on every plan and a 30-day free trial; there's no free plan. Basic is $54 a month or $40 billed annually with 1 admin and 1 community. Start ($109, or $82 annually) adds certificates, memberships, bundles and payment plans and a second admin. Grow ($219, or $164 annually) adds the API and webhooks, 6 admins and removes Thinkific branding. Thinkific Payments charges 2.9% per sale. Thinkific runs no student-facing marketplace (its own llms.txt says it is not a course marketplace), so you bring your own audience.
Skip if: You need a free plan, want a marketplace to find students for you, or need certificates and memberships on a budget tier.
Kit
Email + Commerce · Free up to 10k subscribers
An email platform with built-in sales of digital products and paid subscriptions, for creators whose business runs on a newsletter. The free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers and selling digital products, but no automations or sequences. Creator is $39 a month or $390 a year at 1,000 subscribers and adds automations and integrations; Pro is $79 a month or $66 billed annually. Kit lists a 3.5% + 30¢ fee on product and subscription sales, and its price rises with subscriber count. Kit doesn't host a full course experience with lessons, quizzes and certificates the way Kajabi, Teachable or Thinkific do, so it suits simple products such as guides, templates or a paid newsletter better than a structured course.
Skip if: You are running a multi-channel marketing team or you have 50k+ subscribers — ActiveCampaign or Brevo will give you more for less.
Our top picks
Featured Picks
Kajabi
An all-in-one platform for courses, memberships, coaching and community, with a website, email marketing and checkout in the same subscription, so you don't need a separate site builder or email tool. Basic is $179 a month or $143 billed annually for up to 2,500 contacts. Growth ($249, or $199 annually) raises that to 25,000 contacts and adds an affiliate program, advanced automations and removal of Kajabi branding. Pro ($499, or $399 annually) covers 100,000 contacts and adds a branded mobile app. Kajabi Payments charges a card processing fee per sale. There's a 14-day trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, but no free plan. Kajabi's two pricing pages (/pricing and /pricing-new) disagree on product, community and admin-seat limits by plan, so confirm the limit you need with Kajabi before buying.
Teachable
A beginner-friendly course platform with unlimited students on every plan. Starter is $39 a month or $29 billed annually for up to 5 products, but Teachable adds a 7.5% transaction fee on each sale. Builder ($89, or $69 annually) raises the limit to 10 products, drops the transaction fee to 0% and adds affiliates and community. Growth ($189, or $139 annually) covers 50 products and 5 admins and removes Teachable branding. Card processing is 2.9% + 30¢ per sale on top. The pricing page shows a 7-day free trial on the plan cards and a 30-day trial in a special offer, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Buying guide
How to Choose the Right Tool
Start with audience strategy. If you have an email list and want to sell something simple, Kit plus a digital product is the fastest path. If you're starting from scratch with a structured course, Teachable's free trial (7 days per the plan cards, 30 per its current offer) and Starter plan validate an idea cheaply; move to Builder when the 7.5% Starter fee costs more than the upgrade.
Decide how much of the stack you want in one bill. Kajabi includes website, email marketing, courses and community. Teachable and Thinkific focus on courses and community, so most creators also pay for an email platform. Add those costs before comparing headline prices.
Model cost at your real size. A creator validating a first course with 300 subscribers can run on Kit Free plus Teachable Starter at $29 a month billed annually, accepting the 7.5% fee. A creator selling $3,000 a month in courses to a 5,000-person list would pay $199 a month on Kajabi Growth billed annually (Basic stops at 2,500 contacts), or $69 on Teachable Builder plus an email tool. A coaching business with 30,000 contacts is past Kajabi Growth's 25,000-contact limit and into Pro ($399 annually).
Check what the entry plan leaves out. Teachable Starter charges a 7.5% transaction fee and caps you at 5 products. Thinkific Basic lacks certificates, memberships, bundles and payment plans, which start on Start. Kajabi's affiliate program and branding removal start on Growth, and Kit Free has no automations.
Plan for community. Kajabi includes communities, Teachable adds community on Builder, and Thinkific includes one community from Basic. If you're building a coaching practice, a built-in community can replace a separate Circle or Discord subscription.
Test the checkout. Run a low-price test purchase before launching, on the payment setup you'll actually use, and check the receipt, the student welcome email and course access. Payment friction kills more course launches than content does.
Use the trial on a real lesson. Upload one full module with video, a quiz and a download during the trial, then view it as a student on your phone. That shows more about fit than any feature list.
Who should skip what: skip Kajabi if you're still validating an idea or already pay for an email tool you like, skip Teachable Starter once you sell more than about $670 a month (Builder becomes cheaper), skip Thinkific if you want email built in, and skip Kit as your course host if students need lessons, progress tracking or certificates.
Methodology
How We Evaluate Tools
Editorial Research
Tools are compared on documented features, pricing, and fit. Each review notes its own verification date.
Ease of Use
We evaluate setup time, learning curve, and daily usability from a founder's perspective.
Pricing Transparency
We break down real costs including hidden fees, usage limits, and upgrade triggers.
Integrations & Ecosystem
We check how each tool fits into existing workflows and what it connects with natively.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources
Official sources and verification dates
Every product, price and audit fact on this page comes from the vendor's own website or the audit announcement it links to. Competitor facts never come from another vendor's comparison page. Prices are in US dollars unless marked, exclude tax, and can vary by country and promotion.
Course platforms
- Kajabi pricing (checked )
- Teachable pricing (checked )
- Thinkific pricing (checked )
- Thinkific llms.txt (no marketplace) (checked )
Email and digital products
- Kit pricing (checked )