Best online course platforms in 2026
Podia is the best online course platform for most solo creators. Its $99 Shaker plan charges no transaction fee, covers courses, downloads, coaching, and community, and pays straight into your own Stripe or PayPal account. Pick Teachable if courses are your whole business, and Kajabi once you pass about $5,000 a month.
All four platforms charge card processing on top, usually 2.9% + $0.30 per US sale, so the real difference is the flat monthly price. $99 is 9.9% of $1,000 in sales and under 1% of $10,000. Pick the plan that fits your revenue today, not the revenue you hope to reach.
Our ranking
Podia
Best for most solo creators
Shaker costs $99 a month with no transaction fee, covers courses, downloads, coaching, community, and events, and pays into your own Stripe or PayPal account. The catch is email, with only 500 subscribers included.
Teachable
Best for course-first businesses
Builder is the cheapest fee-free plan here at $89 a month, with daily payouts and sales tax handled for you. Free students above 100 cost $0.50 each per month.
Thinkific
Best for structured training and B2B
Quizzes, assignments, certificates, and live cohorts come on the $109 Start plan, and Grow adds B2B invoicing. Start has no bulk email.
Kajabi
Best all-in-one for established businesses
Email, funnels, a website, community, and courses in one bill with no cut of sales. At $179 a month it only pays off once revenue is steady.
What you keep on $1,000 a month
Online course platforms paid in $150 payments by US cards, on whichever plan leaves you the most. Fees checked October 21, 2026.
| Platform and plan | Share kept versus fees | You keep | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| TeachableBuilder | $880 | −$120 | |
| PodiaMover | $870 | −$130 | |
| ThinkificStart | $855 | −$145 | |
| KajabiBasic | $790 | −$210 |
Online course platforms side by side
| Platform | Best for | Keep at $1,000 | Keep at $10,000 | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Podia | Solo creators selling several product types who want one simple dashboard and payments straight to their own Stripe or PayPal account. | $870 | $9,591 | 7.8 |
| Teachable | Course and coaching sellers earning about $700 or more a month who want payouts and sales tax handled for them. | $880 | $9,601 | 7.5 |
| Thinkific | Educators and training businesses that need assessments, certificates, cohorts, communities, or bulk seat sales to companies. | $855 | $9,531 | 7.4 |
| Kajabi | Established course creators who want email, funnels, a website, and a community in one subscription and earn enough to absorb $179 to $499 a month. | $790 | $9,511 | 7.4 |
How to choose an online course platform
Start with your monthly revenue, then what you sell, then how much email you send. Those three answers settle the choice for most creators.
Under $1,000 a month, the flat subscription is your biggest cost, so the cheapest plan that does the job wins. Above $10,000, every platform here costs about the same, so pick on features.
- Selling a mix of courses, downloads, coaching, and a community: Podia.
- Selling mainly courses and coaching, and wanting tax and payouts handled: Teachable.
- Selling training that needs exams, certificates, cohorts, or company seats: Thinkific.
- Running email funnels to a list of 2,500 or more and wanting one bill for everything: Kajabi.
What do course platforms cost at $1,000 and $10,000 a month?
At $1,000 a month, Kajabi Basic leaves you $90 less than Teachable Builder, which is 9% of your sales. At $10,000, the gap is still $90, but that is under 1% of sales.
These figures assume one-time US card sales of $150 each, monthly billing, and each platform's standard card rate. Thinkific's figure includes its 0.5% sales tax fee, which applies to every paid US sale. Subscriptions cost an extra 0.7% per charge on Kajabi, Thinkific, and Teachable's Standard bundle. Our fee table runs the same math at other revenue levels.
- Teachable Builder at $89: keeps $880 of $1,000 and $9,601 of $10,000.
- Podia Shaker at $99: keeps $870 of $1,000 and $9,591 of $10,000. Mover also keeps $870 at $1,000.
- Thinkific Start at $109: keeps $855 of $1,000 and $9,531 of $10,000.
- Kajabi Basic at $179: keeps $790 of $1,000 and $9,511 of $10,000.
Which course platforms charge a transaction fee?
Two entry plans take a cut: Teachable Starter takes 7.5% of every sale and Podia Mover takes 5%. Every other plan from these four platforms charges no platform fee.
Kajabi, Thinkific, and Teachable add a different kind of fee. If you connect your own Stripe account instead of their built-in processors, Kajabi adds 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth, and 0.5% on Pro, Thinkific adds 2% on Start, 1% on Grow, and 0.5% on Expand, and Teachable adds 2% for US schools. Podia always uses your own Stripe or PayPal and adds nothing.
Teachable also has a usage fee worth knowing before you plan a free lead magnet. Students with any free, imported, or manual enrollment cost $0.50 a month each above 100 per school, even if they also bought something.
Which course platform pays out fastest?
Teachable and Thinkific are fastest for US sellers, both paying about 2 business days after a sale. Teachable Payments pays daily with no reserve in 41 countries, and Thinkific Payments pays US businesses in 2 business days and most of Europe in 3.
Podia never holds your money. Sales go to your Stripe or PayPal account, which usually reaches your bank in about 5 business days, with a slower first Stripe payout.
Kajabi is slowest at the start. New Kajabi Payments accounts begin on monthly payouts with a 7-business-day delay, and faster schedules may open up after your first sale.
Frequently asked questions
Which online course platform has the lowest fees?
It depends on revenue. Below $400 a month in sales, Teachable Starter at $39 plus 7.5% costs least. From $400 to $800, Podia Mover at $49 plus 5% wins. Above $800, Teachable Builder at $89 with no transaction fee leaves the most, with Podia Shaker $10 behind.
Is there a free online course platform?
Not among these four. None of Kajabi, Teachable, Thinkific, or Podia has a free plan as of October 2026. Each offers a free trial instead, which runs 14 days on Kajabi and Podia and 30 days on Thinkific.
Is Kajabi worth the price?
Only once your revenue is steady. Kajabi's $179 Basic plan is 17.9% of $1,000 in sales but 1.8% of $10,000, and it replaces a separate email tool, site builder, and community app. See Kajabi vs Podia.
Can I take my students with me if I switch platforms?
Yes. All four let you export contacts or students as a CSV file. Teachable does not support a bulk export of course content, so plan to download videos and files one at a time.
Do I need a separate email tool?
On Thinkific Start, yes, because it has no bulk email to students. On Podia, only if your list passes the 500 or 1,000 included subscribers. Kajabi includes 2,500 contacts on Basic and unlimited marketing emails.