Best Ranked Online Course Platforms Compare & Choose
What’s the best online course platform, and how do you decide which one is best for you in 2026? Read the ultimate guide to choosing an online course platform.
Last updated: October 2026. 10min Read
What Are Online Course Platforms?
With the e-learning industry projected to be worth $325 Billion in 2025, online education has become a gold rush for experts online.
Building and growing an online course business is very attractive for new entrepreneurs or for veterans that have been operating and teaching offline.
However, marketing and delivering an online course comes with their share of challenges, particularly choosing your tech!
What platforms should you use to market, sell and deliver your online courses and membership?
We have reviewed all of the top platforms out there (really, all of them!) and compared them based on the most important aspects to consider for course creators.
And this is the highlight of what we’ve found!
Choose The Ranking
Best Overall
Best By Category
Best For Your Situation
#1st Overall
Kajabi
Category: All-In-One
From:
$119/mo
Free Trial:
30 Days
Overall Rate:
9
Pros
- The Apple of online course platform: you can't really go wrong
- Outstanding UX and course delivery/design
- Probably the best community and support in the industry
Cons
- Page builder lacks a bit of flexibility and easy-to-use templates
- Small premium on pricing
What You Should Know
Includes all of the features you need, striking a great balance between depth and ease of use - making it a top choice for beginner course creators.
Outstanding UX for both you and your students and allows for great customization of their journey and learning experience with a sleek interface.
Ratings
Feature: 8
User Experience: 10
Pricing/Value: 7
Support & Community: 10
Why We Picked It
Besides being the most popular all-in-one online course platform, Kajabi is also very well-rounded and tends to be the best solution for most course creators.
We picked it because most people looking at different platforms to host their online courses are beginners and need to keep things simple.
As an all-in-one solution, Kajabi ticks the boxes not only for the features most people will need but also for user experience and the right balance between flexibility and complexity.
Again, this does not mean Kajabi is the best platform for everyone, but it certainly is for most people’s needs.
The best way to be sure is to read the full review or start your free trial and play with it!
#2nd Overall
HighLevel
Category: All-In-One
From:
$97/mo
Free Trial:
14 Days
Overall Rate:
9
Pros
- #1 Most extensive feature stack in the industry
- Fairly cost effective compared to other platforms
- Top-tier support and community of users
Cons
- Need to use an external SMTP Providers to send emails
- Lack of learning tools
- No affiliate program capabilities
What You Should Know
Most advanced platform with a well-rounded stack of features that's a few pace ahead of other platforms, especially at this price.
For professionals and advanced users, the platform is complex and with its staggering amount of features might take a little while to learn.
Extensive support and community, with a 24/7 support line you can call, a live chat and a great library of tutorialsRatings
Feature: 10
User Experience: 8.5
Pricing/Value: 8.5
Support & Community: 10
#3rd Overall
LearnWorlds
Category: Course Only
From:
$24/mo
Free Trial:
30 Days
Overall Rate:
8.75
Pros
- Really unique and cool feature set
- Well designed and easy to use
- Lots of templates and pre-made content
Cons
- Not a real all-in-one: lacks email functionality
- Steep pricing tiers
What You Should Know
Excellent feature set with smart website building abilities and intelligent global elements and synergy. Note that LearnWorlds does not include an email system.
Outstanding learning experience, including the ability to build SCORM compliant courses and other smart learning tools for your students to keep coming back.
Ratings
Feature: 9
User Experience: 8
Pricing/Value: 7
Support & Community: 8
#4th Overall
Kartra
Category: All-In-One
From:
$99/mo
Free Trial:
30 Days
Overall Rate:
8.5
Pros
- Most advanced and well-rounded features for an all-in-one
- Amazing support/community
- Mature and stable platform
Cons
- Sometime a little clunky and unintuitive
- Steep learning curve
What You Should Know
Most advanced all-in-one in the industry, giving you all of the bells and whistles you might need in place, without exception or compromising on anything!
World class platform providing stability and a well-established, large user base of other experts, with lots of resources and inspiring tutorials.
Ratings
Feature: 10
User Experience: 8
Pricing/Value: 9
Support & Community: 9
#5th Overall
Thinkific
Category: Course Only
From:
$39/mo
Free Trial:
Free Plan
Overall Rate:
8
Pros
- Great features
- Sleek platform
- Great community
Cons
- Odd pricing structure
- Basic page builder
What You Should Know
Great site builder without all the fuss of a WordPress setup, allowing course creators to build a well-designed funnel to get started.
Best free plan in the industry, which is a perfect starting point for beginners looking to validate their course idea without breaking the bank.
Ratings
Feature: 8
User Experience: 9
Pricing/Value: 7
Support & Community: 9
Pick A Category:
All In One
Course Only
Wordpress lms
Community
#1st All-In-One
Kajabi
Category: All-In-One
From:
$119/mo
Free Trial:
30 Days
Overall Rate:
9
Pros
- The Apple of online course platform: you can't really go wrong
- Outstanding UX and course delivery/design
- Probably the best community and support in the industry
Cons
- Page builder lacks a bit of flexibility and easy-to-use templates
- Small premium on pricing
What You Should Know
Includes all of the features you need, striking a great balance between depth and ease of use - making it a top choice for beginner course creators.
Outstanding UX for both you and your students and allows for great customization of their journey and learning experience with a sleek interface.
Ratings
Feature: 8
User Experience: 10
Pricing/Value: 7
Support & Community: 10
Why We Picked It
We picked Kajabi here because it strikes a particularly efficient balance between having all the tools you need and remaining fairly easy to use.
All-in-one platforms can be tricky to get right. Some, in theory, have all the tools of an all-in-one but lack the depth of individual features. And some have probably a little too many bells and whistles for most people, making them hard to learn how to use.
Kajabi seems to have found a happy middle ground that makes it the best choice if you want everything in place for your online courses.
#2nd Overall
HighLevel
Category: All-In-One
From:
$97/mo
Free Trial:
14 Days
Overall Rate:
9
Pros
- #1 Most extensive feature stack in the industry
- Fairly cost effective compared to other platforms
- Top-tier support and community of users
Cons
- Need to use an external SMTP Providers to send emails
- Lack of learning tools
- No affiliate program capabilities
What You Should Know
Most advanced platform with a well-rounded stack of features that's a few pace ahead of other platforms, especially at this price.
For professionals and advanced users, the platform is complex and with its staggering amount of features might take a little while to learn.
Extensive support and community, with a 24/7 support line you can call, a live chat and a great library of tutorialsRatings
Feature: 10
User Experience: 8.5
Pricing/Value: 8.5
Support & Community: 10
#3rd All-In-One
Kartra
Category: All-In-One
From:
$99/mo
Free Trial:
30 Days
Overall Rate:
8.5
Pros
- Most advanced and well-rounded features for an all-in-one
- Amazing support/community
- Mature and stable platform
Cons
- Sometime a little clunky and unintuitive
- Steep learning curve
What You Should Know
Most advanced all-in-one in the industry, giving you all of the bells and whistles you might need in place, without exception or compromising on anything!
World class platform providing stability and a well-established, large user base of other experts, with lots of resources and inspiring tutorials.
Ratings
Feature: 10
User Experience: 8
Pricing/Value: 9
Support & Community: 9
#1st Course-Only
Thinkific
Category: Course Only
From:
$39/mo
Free Trial:
Free Plan
Overall Rate:
8
Pros
- Great features
- Sleek platform
- Great community
Cons
- Odd pricing structure
- Basic page builder
What You Should Know
Great site builder without all the fuss of a WordPress setup, allowing course creators to build a well-designed funnel to get started.
Best free plan in the industry, which is a perfect starting point for beginners looking to validate their course idea without breaking the bank.
Ratings
Feature: 8
User Experience: 9
Pricing/Value: 7
Support & Community: 9
Why We Picked It
If all you need is a platform to host and design your online courses, then Thinkific is the go-to option.
Thinkific offers a few more features than its direct competitors and a much better student experience beyond just the bare minimum.
Thinkific also has a very robust checkout system and learning tools, ticking all the boxes we’d want from a platform in this category.
#2nd Course-Only
Teachable
Category: Course Only
From:
$29/mo
Free Trial:
14 Days
Overall Rate:
7.5
Pros
- Affordable for a standalone platform
- Simple to use for beginners
- Large community of users
Cons
- Limited customization throughout all features
- Poor support
What You Should Know
Leader in the industry with over 100,000 users and a very mature platform that won’t let you down. This also makes it easy to find solutions to any problem you encounter.
Lightweight platform ideal for course creators who just need to sell and deliver their online courses, without the fancy bits.
Ratings
Feature: 8
User Experience: 8
Pricing/Value: 8
Support & Community: 5
#3rd Course-Only
LearnWorlds
Category: Course Only
From:
$24/mo
Free Trial:
30 Days
Overall Rate:
8.25
Pros
- Really unique and cool feature set
- Well designed and easy to use
- Lots of templates and pre-made content
Cons
- Not a real all-in-one: lacks email functionality
- Steep pricing tiers
What You Should Know
Excellent feature set with smart website building abilities and intelligent global elements and synergy. Note that LearnWorlds does not include an email system.
Outstanding learning experience, including the ability to build SCORM compliant courses and other smart learning tools for your students to keep coming back.
Ratings
Feature: 9
User Experience: 8
Pricing/Value: 7
Support & Community: 8
#1st WordPress LMS
Thrive Themes
Category: WordPress LMS
From:
$19/mo
Free Trial:
None
Overall Rate:
9
Pros
- Very affordable
- Extensive features and templates
- Allow for simple or advanced strategies
Cons
- Easy to get lost in the details
What You Should Know
Most well-rounded WordPress suite and will help with much more than just course design! This is everything you need for funnel build, lead capture, testimonials, timers, etc.
Very affordable considering what you get for it! The only other cost you’ll have would be an email marketing system and video hosting.
Ratings
Feature: 10
User Experience: 9
Pricing/Value: 10
Support & Community: 9
Why We Picked It
We love everything the Thrive Themes suite has to offer, which is way more than just course design.
The synergy between all of these tools and their ease of use, which is not always the case with WordPress LMS, is a big part of our decision here!
Thrive Apprentice is very flexible and will allow you to make your member’s area exactly how you want it to be, while Thrive Architect is the very best page builder out there.
Thrive Themes offers all of this at a very affordable price, making this an easy pick.
#2nd WordPress LMS
LearnDash
Category: WordPress LMS
From:
$199
Free Trial:
None
Overall Rate:
8.75
Pros
- Easy to use, especially for an LMS plugin
- Lots of templates to choose from for a quick setup
- Large community and knowledgeable experts
Cons
- Might be overkill for smaller course creators not needing all the bells and whistles
What You Should Know
One of the most user-friendly LMS plugins, which is not always the case with these tools. Learn Dash also comes loaded with templates to make things even easier to set up.
Large community of fellow users and online course creators to brainstorm how to best use the tool and strategies for your marketing and funnel.
Simple one-off payment giving you everything you need to use this world-class tool on your WordPress site and start selling your online courses.
Ratings
Feature: 9
User Experience: 9
Pricing/Value: 8
Support & Community: 8
#3rd WordPress LMS
MemberPress
Category: WordPress LMS
From:
$129
Free Trial:
None
Overall Rate:
8
Pros
- All the features you need for an LMS plugin
- Great support
- Competitive pricing
Cons
- Still need some tech knowledge
What You Should Know
One of the most popular WordPress LMS plugins, Memberpress is a simple way to protect the content of your pages and build a member’s area.
Great support and experienced team to help you both use the plugins and make the most out of it.
Competitive pricing and straightforward yearly payment that includes any future updates and ongoing support.
Ratings
Feature: 9
User Experience: 9
Pricing/Value: 8
Support & Community: 8
#1st Community
Circle
Category: Community
From:
$39/mo
Free Trial:
14 Days
Overall Rate:
9
Pros
- Great community feature
- Course and live stream available
- Mobile app available
Cons
- Limited payment options
- Limited support
What You Should Know
Ratings
Feature: 8.5
User Experience: 9
Pricing/Value: 7.5
Support & Community: 7
Why We Picked It
Circle really stands out here and has often been the one ahead of things.
It's new AI features are a proof that it's bold and running very strong, the value you get for your money is also something that made us feel comfortable to place above Skool for instance.
#2nd Community
Skool
Category: Community
From:
$99/mo
Free Trial:
14 Day
Overall Rate:
8
Pros
- Unique set of features for community centered programs
- Outstanding user experience and very easy to learn
- Active community and fast-growing platform
Cons
- Lack certain necessary features right now (video hosting, checkout,etc.)
- Price could be expensive considering what other tools are needed for course creators
What You Should Know
Ratings
Feature: 8
User Experience: 10
Pricing/Value: 7.5
Support & Community: 7
#3rd Community
Mighty Networks
Category: Community
From:
$15/mo
Free Trial:
14 Days
Overall Rate:
8
Pros
- Maybe the best community tool out there to create a true member experience
- Great UX which makes the platform easy to use for both host and members
- Very engaging platform to create a movement and following you can bring a lot of value through
Cons
- It may be difficult to get your members to get off Facebook and actually use it
- A lot of gaps to fill on the feature side with external tools to really market and sell your programs
- Strangely there is not much support
What You Should Know
Best membership platform in the industry with a range of tools to manage your groups and allow them to connect and build a real sense of community.
Outstanding mobile application allowing your users to always stay connected on the go and easily network and communicate with other members.
Great free plan available to start building your “Networks” and invite people in to see what’s possible. Better use in addition to another platform for funnel and course building.
Ratings
Feature: 7
User Experience: 10
Pricing/Value: 8
Support & Community: 8
Pick A Category:
Best For Beginners
Best For Advanced
Best If you're On A Budget
Best Value For Your $$$
#1st For Beginners
Kajabi
Category: All-In-One
From:
$119/mo
Free Trial:
30 Days
Overall Rate:
9
Pros
- The Apple of online course platform: you can't really go wrong
- Outstanding UX and course delivery/design
- Probably the best community and support in the industry
Cons
- Page builder lacks a bit of flexibility and easy-to-use templates
- Small premium on pricing
What You Should Know
Includes all of the features you need, striking a great balance between depth and ease of use - making it a top choice for beginner course creators.
Outstanding UX for both you and your students and allows for great customization of their journey and learning experience with a sleek interface.
Ratings
Feature: 8
User Experience: 10
Pricing/Value: 7
Support & Community: 10
Why We Picked It
It’s not surprising to find an all-in-one platform at the top of the list for beginners!
Course creators just starting out need a simple solution to get started marketing and selling their programs, and integrating several tools together is probably not the best use of their time at this stage.
Kajabi keeps it simple, while still providing the features needed to hit the ground running fast and start validating your course idea.
It will also be able to grow with you as your online course business expands and things scale up, making it the perfect beginner’s pick!
#2nd For Beginners
Teachable
Category: Course Only
From:
$29/mo
Free Trial:
14 Days
Overall Rate:
7.5
Pros
- Affordable for a standalone platform
- Simple to use for beginners
- Large community of users
Cons
- Limited customization throughout all features
- Poor support
What You Should Know
Leader in the industry with over 100,000 users and a very mature platform that won’t let you down. This also makes it easy to find solutions to any problem you encounter.
Lightweight platform ideal for course creators who just need to sell and deliver their online courses, without the fancy bits.
Ratings
Feature: 8
User Experience: 8
Pricing/Value: 8
Support & Community: 5
#3rd For Beginners
Podia
Category: Course Only
From:
$39/mo
Free Trial:
14 Days
Overall Rate:
8
Pros
- Affordable for a standalone platform
- Easy to use
Cons
- Too limited capabilities for an all-in-one
What You Should Know
A great platform for non-tech savvy course creators that want an all-in-one platform that’s simple and easy to use with only the essentials.
On the affordable end of platforms with no limits on anything from the first plan up. This also includes zero transaction fees or other charges to be aware of.
Not suitable for funnel building or other advanced sequence building and automation, so you may want to add on an email marketing software if you want the fancy stuff.
Ratings
Feature: 7
User Experience: 8
Pricing/Value: 9
Support & Community: 7
#1st For Advanced
Kartra
Category: All-In-One
From:
$99/mo
Free Trial:
30 Days
Overall Rate:
8.5
Pros
- Most advanced and well-rounded features for an all-in-one
- Amazing support/community
- Mature and stable platform
Cons
- Sometime a little clunky and unintuitive
- Steep learning curve
What You Should Know
Most advanced all-in-one in the industry, giving you all of the bells and whistles you might need in place, without exception or compromising on anything!
World class platform providing stability and a well-established, large user base of other experts, with lots of resources and inspiring tutorials.
Ratings
Feature: 10
User Experience: 8
Pricing/Value: 9
Support & Community: 9
Why We Picked It
The main reason we picked Kartra as the best advanced online platform is for what this category of course creators is looking for: no limits.
Boasting the widest variety of features of most online course hosting platforms, Kartra also allows for the most granular customization of each of their tools.
Its maturity and popularity also sets it apart from other competitors, and is still not too expensive, and doesn’t require you to integrate several platforms together.
#2nd For Advanced
Thrive Themes
Category: WordPress LMS
From:
$19/mo
Free Trial:
None
Overall Rate:
9
Pros
- Very affordable
- Extensive features and templates
- Allow for simple or advanced strategies
Cons
- Easy to get lost in the details
What You Should Know
Most well-rounded WordPress suite and will help with much more than just course design! This is everything you need for funnel build, lead capture, testimonials, timers, etc.
Very affordable considering what you get for it! The only other cost you’ll have would be an email marketing system and video hosting.
Ratings
Feature: 10
User Experience: 9
Pricing/Value: 10
Support & Community: 9
#3rd For Advanced
Kajabi
Category: All-In-One
From:
$119/mo
Free Trial:
30 Days
Overall Rate:
9
Pros
- The Apple of online course platform: you can't really go wrong
- Outstanding UX and course delivery/design
- Probably the best community and support in the industry
Cons
- Page builder lacks a bit of flexibility and easy-to-use templates
- Small premium on pricing
What You Should Know
Includes all of the features you need, striking a great balance between depth and ease of use - making it a top choice for beginner course creators.
Outstanding UX for both you and your students and allows for great customization of their journey and learning experience with a sleek interface.
Ratings
Feature: 8
User Experience: 10