Best Platforms to Create and Sell Online Courses

Katrina Paulsson 3 Nov 2020 5 min reads

Did you know you can generate a side income by creating and selling online courses? The e-learning industry was worth $200 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8 percent from 2020 to 2026. So if you’re competent at any skill, from marketing to content generation to social media management to coding, you’ll find many people ready to learn from you. If your online course gets off on the right foot, it could even turn out to be your main source of income. For example, you’re a creator who excels at graphic design. You could use these skills to create a course that shows people how to design education photo books, create websites, or edit wedding photos.

But apart from your skill, there is a lot that goes into developing an online course, including web hosting, website design, email providers, content hosting, payment providers, quiz and survey tools, and much more. Fortunately, there are many new sites for online course creators that provide you with all these tools and other necessary services, allowing you to concentrate on developing quality courses for your target customers. Let’s now look at some of the best platforms to create and sell online courses.

1. Udemy

With more than 24 million students registered for its courses and over 35,000 instructors, Udemy is your go-to platform for creating and selling professional online courses. But to develop a paid course on this platform, you must be accepted as a premium instructor first. Then, you’ll see some easy to understand steps to help you develop your first online course. It’s important to note that all courses on Udemy require at least half an hour of video and up to five lectures. You can also add assignments, discussion prompts, and coding exercises.

Price: There’s no charge for selling a premium course. But if you make sales by instructor coupons, the platform will take 3% of that revenue. If you make course sales through Udemy’s organic search or promotion, you’ll have to part with 50% of that revenue. Finally, the platform takes a 75% revenue share for course sales made through its sponsored acquisition channels.

2. Teachable

Teachable helps knowledgeable course creators build and nurture a big online audience. It gives you a variety of options to personalize the appearance and feel of your online course. It allows you to create a website that aligns with your brand, set sales pages for initiating your course, and play with the code leveraging the Power Editor. This resourceful course builder supports files from Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and a variety of other content formats.

Price: The basic plan starts at $39/month

3. Skillshare

If you’re looking to teach creative skills online, then Skillshare is a great choice for you. The platform has courses on all types of topics from photography to hand painting to cooking to wall hanging. To create a course on Skillshare, just sign up for free and publish it. Be sure to create something that’s within the scope of Skillshare’s premium catalog to get paid. Skillshare classes consist of videos (20-60 minutes), a practical project, and a discussion.

Price: Developing a premium class is free. Instructors earn $10 for premium membership referrals. They also earn royalties for minutes viewed in a premium class on a monthly basis.

4. Podia

Podia is a feature-rich online platform that helps you create online courses, membership sites, and a variety of digital products. Thanks to its intuitive drag-and-drop builder, this platform is extremely easy to use. It also comes with a broad range of customization options, which allows you to be in total control of what you’re creating. It’s crucial to learn email marketing best practices so you can get your online courses in front of target customers and grow your sales on Podia.

Price: The Mover plan costs $39 per month

5. Thinkific

Thinkific eliminates guesswork from the process of creating online courses with its straightforward and user-friendly templates. The platform’s templates offer useful cues and tips to create a quality course.

Price: The platform offers three paid plans and a free plan. The Basic plan is available for $49 per month.

Bonus tip: If you’re a beginner in the e-learning industry and want to create quality online courses that will guarantee you a constant flow of income, then you should learn as much as you can about the topic. And one of the resources that can help you with that is a beginner's guide to creating and selling online courses.

Final Thoughts

These are just five of the many reliable online course platforms out there. Choosing the ideal platform for you will come down to two key factors: The price you are willing to pay yearly or monthly for the platform, and the features you require. By considering these two factors, you’ll soon refine your options.

About the author:

Katrina Paulsson is an effective content writer, she produces well-researched content for publication online and in print. She has strong attention to detail and the ability to work under pressure - that is how she always meets deadlines.