Because e-learning has become an important part of modern education, choosing one of the best online course platforms to make high-quality courses is very important.
But how do you choose the best one? That is why we have gathered here today! Online courses have grown in popularity and demand, particularly since long time, prompting many traditional educational institutions to experiment with this new approach.
Today, we’ll assist you by comparing the top course services and providing you with a few crucial tips for promoting your lessons via email marketing and social media.
Before we get into the tools, it’s important to define two terms that are frequently used interchangeably: online learning platform and online course platform.
Let’s find out why!
Defining Online Learning Platforms
To begin, an online course platform is a learning management system (LMS) that online instructors can use to create and sell online courses.
Enterprises now use LMS for employee training and onboarding. However, course platforms or even WordPress plugins used by SMEs to create and sell online courses can be included in an LMS.
These platforms are cloud-based, allowing instructors to create online courses quickly by uploading educational materials such as text, images, interactive video content, documents, and audio.
As a result, instead of hosting their courses on popular course marketplaces, individual instructors and businesses can use course platforms to create their own course website (or course storefront).
What Is a Learning Management System (LMS)?
An online learning platform, as opposed to online course tools, is an environment that provides a safe learning environment for students who want to learn new skills. Udemy, Skillshare, Coursera, Masterclass, and LinkedIn Learning are some of the best online learning services.
Furthermore, these e-learning platforms are frequently referred to as online course marketplaces. Consider online learning software to be a department store with a variety of stores. These shops sell digital products that you can access with a one-time payment.
The good news is that creators will be associated with well-known tools such as Udemy or Skillshare, which will increase their legitimacy. You cannot, however, have a dedicated website for your course or access detailed reporting and analytics.
While some of these marketplaces, such as Udemy, Coursera, and Skillshare, allow you to create online lessons, the majority of them are more education-focused, providing university-level education.
So, if you want complete control over your course, an online course tool is your best bet!
Comparison of the Best Online Course Software
With an e-learning platform, you are essentially a part of something larger, with limited customization.
So, selecting one of the best online course platforms will assist you in developing your personal brand, determining course pricing, and increasing your revenue.
If you’re short on time, here’s a rundown of the top course tools on the market:
The Best Online Course Tools for Creating and Selling Content
Now that you’ve seen a glimpse of them, let’s take a closer look at each platform, beginning with LearnWorlds:
1. LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds is a cloud-based platform that bills itself as an all-in-one solution with numerous features and ease of use. The tool allows you to create unique, interactive, and social learning experiences while building your online academy.
Furthermore, the course software will provide you with advanced online course creation tools at an affordable price, allowing you to craft your lessons. Furthermore, LearnWorlds has a simple learning curve and an easy-to-use interface. You can easily set up your account and create online courses this way, even if you don’t have any technical skills.
LearnWorlds has the tools to upsell and cross-sell your digital content through offers and high-converting sales pages when it comes to selling. Another noteworthy feature is the built-in eCommerce and marketing options, which will help you promote your online course and increase revenue. If you want to make a little extra money on the side, the software has an affiliate program where you can sign up to earn extra money for new referrals.
Overall, LearnWorlds is a great course software for creating your own course with a lot of features and functionality.
2. Thinkific
Thinkific is one of the most popular online course platforms for creating and selling courses. The tool includes a user-friendly interface for creating lessons and rich multimedia to add to your course content, among other features to help you grow your course business.
Furthermore, Thinkific makes course creation easier by allowing users to upload or drag and drop content. Then, without any coding knowledge, you can easily launch it yourself. Aside from that, the platform is built to support key multimedia course content such as quizzes, Google docs, surveys, and online forms, among other things.
The platform, among other things, makes it simple to run your courses by allowing you to make them private, add prerequisite lessons, assign multiple instructors, and offer your students membership sites.
In general, Thinkific is a good place to start with online lessons. However, if you want to create more complex lessons, it can be a little difficult to manage.
3. LearnDash
LearnDash is a popular WordPress learning management system plugin that is used by both large and small businesses as well as educational institutions. You can create, promote, and market online courses all in one place with LearnDash.
Its speed and drag-and-drop course builder, in particular, distinguish the tool, simplifying the difficult process of course creation. When it comes to themes, the software provides a variety of options from which to enhance your online courses. WP Mayor also includes the top 12 WordPress themes for creating high-quality courses with minimal effort.
Another benefit is that the plugin allows you to monetize your courses by using tools like a checkout, memberships, course bundles, and course licenses to increase your revenue.
Overall, LearnDash is a fantastic online course tool for increasing your revenue and educating your audience through your WordPress site.
4. Teachable
Teachable promotes itself as one of the best online course platforms for creating high-quality courses from your content. This teaching tool gives you a quick and easy way to upload lesson content, create customizable online schools, and communicate with your students via discussion forums.
Teachable stands out because of its built-in email marketing tool, which is a great way to promote your online lessons and share your materials with your email list. However, for better results, you should invest in a dedicated email marketing automation platform if you’re serious about increasing your course visibility and collecting valuable insights.
Aside from that, Teachable users can create an unlimited number of courses without paying extra, which is a useful feature if you want to build the world’s largest online school.
Overall, Teachable will allow you to create and market an unlimited number of courses without any technical knowledge.
5. Kajabi
Kajabi is an all-in-one online teaching platform that allows you to create and sell simple format courses and downloadables in minutes. Kajabi specializes in helping you create high-converting sales and webinar pages for your online business.
When it comes to features, Kajabi allows you to use the built-in pipeline templates to create marketing sequences. You can also upload an unlimited number of video lessons, photos, and other media to create rich online courses that will engage your students.
Landing pages are also included, allowing you to collect data on your prospective students. Kajabi also has segmentation features that can help you deliver more relevant content and move your audience a step further down your sales funnel.
Overall, Kajabi provides useful features for making more money from digital products. The course software, however, is a little difficult to set up.
6. Podia
Podia is one of the most popular online course platforms, making it simple to create and sell online courses, memberships, and other digital products.
Content creators and artists who want to monetize their content and knowledge through simple learning activities and gated videos will love the tool. Also noteworthy is that the tool supports 11 languages and 22 currencies, allowing your courses to be accessed by anyone.
Podia also has a large library of resources and free tools for entrepreneurs who want to start an online store, school, or website. Website creation is also possible, allowing users to add pages to their website that are relevant to their target audience, such as a about page or a contact page.
Overall, Podia is a good tool for creating and distributing lesson content, but it has a lot of limitations. As a result, the platform is only suitable for video-based learning, coaching, and downloadables.
7. WizIQ
WizIQ, a cloud-based education service for real-time or self-paced training using your own custom domain, is one of the best online course services we found.
WizIQ also offers live and on-demand webinars, making it a popular choice for online course creators who want their lessons to feel like they’re in a traditional classroom.
In addition, the service includes course authoring tools that allow users to design or redesign content and arrange it in an interactive video format for a better e-learning experience.
Users can also take advantage of WizIQ’s test and assessment capabilities to increase student engagement and put their new skills to the test. Finally, you can conduct and attend an online lesson while on the go with a mobile app available in the App Store and Play Store.
8. Academy of Mine
Academy Of Mine is a web-based course platform that allows instructors to create and monetize professional training, continuing education, and certification courses. You can customize existing features for a better learning experience or create new ones using the Academy of Mine API.
Furthermore, the platform allows you to create interactive content using PowerPoint, PDF, video, and other formats. Academy of Mine also allows you to create a strong brand image and meaningful connections with your learners if you want to brand your lessons.
While Academy of Mine is geared toward businesses looking to onboard new employees, the platform’s integrated eCommerce capabilities can also help individuals increase their revenue.
As a result, users don’t need to invest in an eCommerce platform because Academy of Mine already has everything built in.
9. LearnPress
LearnPress is another WordPress LMS plugin that can help you set up online courses on your site. One thing to keep in mind about this lesson creation tool is that depending on your online school’s needs, you can purchase add-ons at a cost.
LearnPress is easy to use and has a simple interface when it comes to usability. It’s also updated on a regular basis to fix bugs and improve security.
Payments are also flexible, as PayPal, 2 Checkout, and Stripe are all supported. Finally, if you want a theme, you’ll probably have to pay a one-time fee of around $50 to get one.
Because the add-ons you get are only used for the theme you choose from the LearnPress theme collection, you can pick wisely.
10. LifterLMS
LifterLMS is a free open source WordPress LMS that can be used to get started creating courses. The service includes tools for managing individual courses, membership websites, and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) (MOOCs).
You can use the plugin to build and power an LMS with various add-ons that cater to the needs of various niche markets.
LifterLMS also has a large number of themes to choose from, all of which can be found on the plugin’s website. You can easily search for and select the one that best fits your topic, industry, or brand.
Finally, the plugin allows for integration with marketing tools such as MailChimp, WooCommerce, and WPForms.
