Introduction
Online learning is booming right now! The e-learning market is expected to hit $457.8 billion by 2026. That’s huge! If you’ve got knowledge to share, there’s never been a better time to create an online course.
But here’s the thing – choosing the right platform can make or break your teaching business. It affects how your students learn, how much money you make, and how much time you spend on tech headaches.
I’ve conducted a thorogh research on the top platforms out there, and I’m breaking down the three best options: Thinkific, LearnWorlds, and Kajabi. By the end of this article, you’ll know exactly which one is right for you.
What Are Online Course Platforms, Anyway?
Think of online course platforms as special websites that let you create, sell, and deliver your courses without needing to be a tech wizard. They handle all the complicated aspects so you can focus on teaching.
Unlike regular website builders, these platforms are specifically designed for teaching. They include features like:
- Easy-to-use course builders
- Student progress tracking
- Ways to take payments
- Tools to keep students engaged
Why Your Platform Choice Really Matters
The platform you pick affects:
- How your students experience your course: Will they enjoy learning from you or get frustrated with the tech?
- How professional your course looks: First impressions matter!
- How you’ll market your course: Some platforms have built-in tools to help you sell
- How much you can grow: As your business expands, can the platform keep up?
- How much money you keep: Different platforms have different fees
The Online Education Gold Rush
Since the pandemic, online learning has exploded. Recent studies show 73% of students want at least some of their education to stay online. And companies are investing more in online training for their employees too.
This is great news for course creators! But it also means more competition. Having the right platform can help you stand out.
Now, let’s look at our top three picks.
Thinkific: Perfect for Beginners
What Is Thinkific?
Thinkific started in 2012 and has grown to host over 50,000 course creators from 164 countries. Their goal? Make it super easy for anyone to create and sell online courses.
Who loves Thinkific? First-time course creators, coaches, experts who want to share their knowledge, and businesses creating training programs.
What Makes Thinkific Special
Super Easy Course Creation
Even if you’re not tech-savvy, you can create professional courses on Thinkific:
- Drag-and-drop builder: Just pull things where you want them
- Supports all kinds of content: Videos, quizzes, PDFs, you name it
- Course templates: Ready-made designs so you don’t start from scratch
- Bulk uploading: Add multiple videos or files at once
Many course creators who were scared of tech found Thinkific surprisingly easy to use.
Solid Marketing Tools
Thinkific gives you the essentials:
- Custom website: Create a professional home for your courses
- Sales page templates: Ready-made pages designed to sell
- Discount codes: Run special offers to boost sales
- Affiliate program: Let others promote your course for a commission
The affiliate feature is especially useful – creators get 30% of their sales through affiliates!
Student Engagement Features
Thinkific helps keep your students learning:
- Quizzes: Test what students are learning
- Certificates: Give students proof they completed your course
- Drip content: Release lessons over time to prevent overwhelm
- Discussion forums: Let students talk to each other
- Progress tracking: Show students how far they’ve come
What’s Great
- So easy to use: Probably the most beginner-friendly option
- Professional look: Courses look great without much effort
- No limits: Create as many courses as you want with unlimited students (except on Free plan)
- No extra fees: They don’t take a cut of your sales
- Helpful support: Their team is quick to help when you’re stuck
Pricing
Thinkific keeps it simple with four plans:
- Free: $0/month
- Try it out with 1 course and unlimited students
- Very limited features
- Basic: $49/month (billed yearly)
- Unlimited courses and students
- Custom domain
- Drip content
- Affiliate tracking
- Email students
- Pro: $99/month (billed yearly)
- Everything in Basic
- 2 admin accounts
- 5 course admins
- Private courses
- Advanced pricing options
- Certificates
- Zoom integration
- Premier: $199/month (billed yearly)
- Everything in Pro
- 5 admin accounts
- 15 course admins
- Single sign-on
- Onboarding call
- API access
Thinkific runs sales a few times a year, so keep an eye out for special offers!
LearnWorlds: For Interactive Learning Experiences
What Is LearnWorlds?
LearnWorlds launched in 2014 with a focus on making online learning more interactive and engaging. Instead of just watching videos, students actively participate in the learning experience.
Who loves LearnWorlds? Professional certification providers, schools looking for advanced assessment tools, and creators who want to make their courses stand out with interactive features.
What Makes LearnWorlds Special
Amazing Interactive Video Features
This is where LearnWorlds really shines:
- Interactive video player: Add questions, notes, and pop-ups right inside your videos
- Video transcripts: Automatically creates searchable text from your videos
- Interactive e-books: Turn boring PDFs into engaging learning tools
- Advanced testing: Create professional exams with time limits
- AI grading: The system can even grade written answers!
Students see their completion rates jump from 34% to 68% after adding interactive elements to their videos.
Tons of Customization Options
LearnWorlds lets you make everything look exactly how you want:
- White-label player: Remove LearnWorlds branding
- Advanced customization: Use custom code if you want
- Page builder: Create beautiful pages without coding
- Mobile app builder: Create your own branded mobile app
- Multiple languages: Create courses in different languages
Having your own mobile app really impresses students and makes your course feel premium.
Detailed Analytics
For data lovers, LearnWorlds delivers:
- Student profiles: See detailed info about each student
- Learning analytics: Track completion rates, quiz scores, and engagement
- Time tracking: See how long students spend on each lesson
- Course insights: Find where students get stuck
- Revenue reports: Track sales and performance
These insights help you continuously improve your courses and increase student success.
What’s Great
- Interactive tools: Creates a much more engaging learning experience
- Social learning: Built-in social network for your students
- SCORM compliance: Import content from other systems
- Complete branding control: Make it look exactly how you want
- E-book tools: Turn PDFs into interactive experiences
- Professional certificates: Create impressive credentials for students
What’s Not So Great
Pricing
LearnWorlds offers four main pricing options:
- Starter: $29/month (billed yearly)
- Unlimited courses
- 3 landing pages
- Custom domain
- 5% transaction fee
- Basic reporting
- Pro Trainer: $99/month (billed yearly)
- No transaction fees
- Unlimited landing pages
- Subscription courses
- Certificates
- Zapier integration
- Onboarding call
- Learning Center: $299/month (billed yearly)
- Up to 20 admin users
- Bulk user actions
- Advanced themes
- Premium support
- API access
- Custom reports
- High Volume & Corporate: Custom pricing
- Premium servers
- Single sign-on
- Custom white-label
- Dedicated account manager
That 5% fee on the Starter plan can really add up. If you’re selling more than $1,400 in courses per month, the Pro Trainer plan actually becomes cheaper!
Kajabi: The All-In-One Business Platform
What Is Kajabi?
Kajabi started in 2010 and has evolved into much more than just a course platform. It’s a complete business system that handles courses, websites, email marketing, sales funnels, and more.
Who loves Kajabi? Established course creators, coaches scaling their business, and anyone who hates managing multiple different tools.
What Makes Kajabi Special
It Does Everything
Kajabi is like getting 5+ tools in one:
- Website builder: Create your entire website, not just course pages
- Product templates: Ready-made designs for courses and memberships
- Podcast hosting: Share your podcast right from Kajabi
- Blog platform: Write blog posts to attract students
- Marketing funnels: Pre-built sales systems to convert visitors to customers
- Webinar hosting: Run live events directly on the platform
One of my clients was able to cancel 4 different subscriptions after moving to Kajabi!
Powerful Membership & Community Features
Kajabi excels at creating subscription-based businesses:
- Community spaces: Create a social network for your members
- Membership templates: Ready-to-use designs
- Access levels: Create different tiers with different content
- Content dripping: Schedule releases based on join date
- Member management: Easily manage your community
- Direct messaging: Let members connect privately
These features make it perfect for creating ongoing membership programs that generate recurring revenue.
Built-In Email Marketing
Unlike the others, Kajabi includes serious email marketing:
- Email campaigns: Send broadcasts and sequences
- Visual automation builder: Create complex marketing flows
- Segmentation: Target specific groups based on behavior
- Email templates: Professional designs ready to customize
- A/B testing: Test different emails to see what works best
- Detailed email stats: Track opens, clicks, and sales
Having your email system connected directly to your courses creates powerful marketing possibilities.
What’s Great
- All-in-one solution: Replaces multiple tools
- Advanced automation: Create sophisticated marketing systems
- Professional templates: Everything looks high-quality
- Excellent support: 24/7 chat and extensive training
- Powerful membership tools: Perfect for recurring revenue
- No transaction fees: Keep all your money (minus payment processor fees)
- Mobile app: Let students access content on their phones
Pricing
Kajabi’s regular pricing reflects its all-in-one nature:
- Basic: $149/month (billed yearly)
- 3 products
- 3 sales funnels
- 10,000 contacts
- 1 website
- 1 admin user
- Growth: $199/month (billed yearly)
- 15 products
- 15 sales funnels
- 25,000 contacts
- 1 website
- 10 admin users
- Advanced automations
- Remove Kajabi branding
- Pro: $399/month (billed yearly)
- 100 products
- 100 sales funnels
- 100,000 contacts
- 3 websites
- 25 admin users
- Code editor
- Affiliate program
NEW! Special Deal – Kajabi’s 3 for $99 Promo
Kajabi recently introduced an amazing deal for new users. You can get 3 months of the Growth plan for just $99! That’s an incredible $297 savings compared to the monthly price.
This limited-time offer lets you test Kajabi’s premium features at a fraction of the regular cost. It’s perfect if you want to:
- Launch your course or membership quickly
- Try all the advanced features before committing
- Save money while you get your business off the ground
To get this deal, you need to sign up through their special promo page using my unique link. The regular price kicks in after your 3-month trial period ends.
When looking at Kajabi’s price, remember it replaces multiple tools. Add up what you’d spend on a course platform, email service, website hosting, and landing page builder – Kajabi often ends up being cheaper!
Which Platform Is Right For You? A Simple Comparison
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Thinkific | LearnWorlds | Kajabi |
| Starting Price | $49/mo | $29/mo | $149/mo ($33/mo with promo) |
| Extra Fees | None | 5% (Starter only) | None |
| Course Limit | Unlimited | Unlimited | 3-100 (depends on plan) |
| Student Limit | Unlimited | Unlimited | Based on plan |
| Email Marketing | Basic | Basic | Advanced |
| Community | Basic forums | Social learning | Community areas |
| Interactive Content | Basic | Advanced | Basic |
| Ease of Use | Very Easy | Moderate | Moderate |
| Best For | Beginners | Interactive learning | All-in-one solution |
My Recommendations
If You’re Just Starting Out
Go with Thinkific
Thinkific makes creating your first course incredibly easy. You won’t get overwhelmed with complex features, and you can have your course up and running in a weekend. The pricing is reasonable, and you won’t pay any extra transaction fees.
If You Want to Create Amazing Learning Experiences
Choose LearnWorlds
If you care deeply about how students interact with your content and want to create truly engaging courses that stand out, LearnWorlds is your best bet. The interactive video features alone can dramatically improve your course completion rates and student satisfaction.
If You’re Building a Serious Course Business
Kajabi is Your Answer (Especially with the 3 for $99 promo!)
When you’re ready to treat your courses as a real business, Kajabi provides everything you need in one place. The current 3 for $99 promo makes it much more affordable to get started. You’ll save countless hours not having to connect and manage multiple platforms.
For Corporate Training
Consider LearnWorlds or Thinkific
Both platforms work well for corporate training. LearnWorlds is better for complex assessments and certifications, while Thinkific is easier to administer for simpler training needs.
The Bottom Line
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to course platforms. The best choice depends on:
- Your tech comfort level
- Your budget
- How interactive you want your courses to be
- Whether you need an all-in-one solution or are happy using multiple tools
The good news? You don’t have to make a permanent decision right now. Many successful course creators start on one platform and move to another as their needs change. Each platform offers a free trial, so you can test drive before committing.
Ready to Get Started?
Take the next step on your course creation journey:
- Try Thinkific’s 14-day free trial
- Start your 30-day LearnWorlds trial
- Get Kajabi’s limited-time 3 for $99 deal
Have questions about these platforms? Drop a comment below! I’d love to hear about your course creation journey and help you choose the perfect platform for your needs. Subscribe for more!
Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps support the creation of more free content like this article.