Best Online Course Platforms 2026: Teachable vs Kajabi vs Thinkific vs LearnDash vs Podia
Kajabi (4.2/5) leads the cluster on depth — courses, email, website and community in one all-in-one seat. Thinkific (4.1/5) is the value anchor: unlimited courses and students, 0% platform fees from Start up. Podia (4.0/5) is the cheapest entry — the only standing free plan; Teachable (3.9/5) the course-first builder with mobile apps; LearnDash (3.8/5) the WordPress cost floor at volume.
| Tool | Rating | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teachable | 3.9/5 | $39/mo (monthly, Starter) | Teachable is a course-first platform for selling self-paced courses, coaching and digital … |
| Kajabi Best overall Best for teams | 4.2/5 | $143/mo (annual, Basic) | Kajabi is the all-in-one creator operating system: courses, coaching, podcasts, community,… |
| Thinkific | 4.1/5 | $40/mo (annual, Basic) | Thinkific is a hosted course platform that builds, markets and sells courses, communities … |
| LearnDash | 3.8/5 | $259/yr (Essentials, about $21.58/mo) | LearnDash is the WordPress LMS plugin: a one-time annual license you install on your own s… |
| Podia Best free | 4.0/5 | Free $39/mo (monthly, Mover) | Podia is an all-in-one creator commerce platform for courses, downloads, memberships and c… |
Bottom line: five genuinely different answers to 'where do my courses live.' Kajabi (4.2/5, the cluster's top rating) is the consolidation play — courses, unlimited-sends email, landing pages, community and website in one $143/mo annual seat, 0% fees via Kajabi Payments; it replaces a $150-250/mo tool stack. Thinkific (4.1/5) is the value anchor — unlimited courses and students on every paid tier, 0% platform fees from Start ($82/mo annual) up, and the most generous 30-day trial. Podia (4.0/5) is the cheapest real start: the cluster's only standing free plan (1 product, 8% fee, no card), flat unlimited products on every paid tier, and 0% fees from Shaker ($75/mo annual). Teachable (3.9/5) is the course-first builder — a deeper lesson flow, grading, certificates and native iOS/Android student apps, at a $39/mo entry whose 7.5% fee pushes volume sellers to the fee-free Builder ($69/mo annual). LearnDash (3.8/5) is the cost floor at scale — a $259/yr license with unlimited learners and no per-sale fee, on your own WordPress stack. None of the five has a Chinese or Japanese interface; localization will not decide this round. Choose by what the platform must carry: the full marketing suite (Kajabi), 0% fees and course depth (Thinkific), the lowest entry (Podia), the polished mobile course app (Teachable), or ownership of the WordPress domain (LearnDash).
Pricing and details
Teachable · 3.9/5
7-day free trial · $39/mo (monthly, Starter)
Teachable bills by published-product count: 1 product on Starter, 5 on Builder, 25 on Growth, 100 on Advanced. Starter charges a 7.5% transaction fee on every sale; Builder and above carry 0% fees. There is no standing free plan — entry is the 7-day trial, and annual billing saves about 22-33% per tier.
Starter $29/mo · Builder $69/mo · Growth $139/mo · Advanced $309/mo (annual)
Teachable is a course-first platform for selling self-paced courses, coaching and digital products with native iOS and Android student apps. It bills by product count, not by seat, and its entry tier carries a 7.5% transaction fee that drops to 0% at the Builder tier.
Score breakdown
Pros
- Course-first builder: drag-and-drop lessons, quizzes, certificates, drip and coaching in one flow
- Native iOS and Android student apps on every paid tier — mobile delivery without a third party
- 0% transaction fees on Builder, Growth and Advanced tiers
- AI creation tools plus free subtitles/translations and unlimited integrations
Cons
- 7.5% transaction fee on the $39/mo Starter tier — real volume sellers should start at Builder
- No standing free plan; entry is the 7-day trial
- Community and collaboration tooling is thinner than Kajabi's all-in-one suite
Pricing verified 2026-09-19
Kajabi · 4.2/5
14-day free trial · $143/mo (annual, Basic)
Kajabi bills by tier, not by seat: Basic 5 products / 2,500 contacts, Growth 50 products / 25,000, Pro unlimited products / 100,000. Using Kajabi Payments carries 0% platform fees; routing through your own Stripe adds a 2% (Basic) / 1% (Growth) / 0.5% (Pro) surcharge. The priciest entry in this cluster — the 2026-01 restructure dropped the $55 Kickstarter and lifted every tier.
Basic $143/mo · Growth $199/mo · Pro $399/mo (annual)
Kajabi is the all-in-one creator operating system: courses, coaching, podcasts, community, email marketing, landing pages and a website in one subscription. It bills by product and contact volume, and its January 2026 restructure removed the cheap Kickstarter entry — Basic is now the floor at $143/mo annual.
Score breakdown
Pros
- True all-in-one: courses, podcasts, coaching, community, email (unlimited sends), landing pages and website in one login
- 0% platform fees when paying through Kajabi Payments; replaces a $150-250/mo tool stack
- Growth tier adds affiliates, advanced automations and white-labeling
- 30-day trial on all plans
Cons
- Priciest entry in the cluster: $143/mo annual ($179 monthly) — 3-4x the course-first rivals
- Steep learning curve: marketing automation on top of course hosting (ease 3/5)
- Own-Stripe routing adds a 2%/1%/0.5% surcharge by tier on top of Stripe's fee
Pricing verified 2026-09-19
Thinkific · 4.1/5
30-day free trial · $40/mo (annual, Basic)
Thinkific bills by tier, not by learner — every paid plan carries unlimited courses and up to 10,000 students. Basic adds a 5% Stripe surcharge; Start and above remove it entirely (0% platform fees). All three paid tiers include the Accelerator program; Plus (quote-based) adds SCORM, SSO and a dedicated success manager. No standing free plan as of 2026 — the 30-day trial replaces it.
Basic $40/mo · Start $82/mo · Grow $164/mo (annual)
Thinkific is a hosted course platform that builds, markets and sells courses, communities and digital downloads without a developer. It bills by tier and is the cluster's standout on fees: 0% platform transaction fees on Start, Grow and Plus tiers, with a 5% surcharge on Basic — and the only cluster member whose free option is a 30-day full-featured trial.
Score breakdown
Pros
- 0% platform transaction fees on Start, Grow and Plus — only a 5% Stripe surcharge remains on Basic
- Unlimited courses and learners on every paid plan; up to 10,000 students per tier
- Built-in community, memberships, subscriptions, email automation and 90+ integrations
- Stability is the cluster's best: self-hosted since 2012, 99.5% SLA on paid tiers
Cons
- Basic keeps a 5% Stripe surcharge — the 0% economics start at $82/mo annual (Start)
- No standing free plan as of 2026 (30-day trial replaced it)
- Marketing depth stops short of Kajabi: no native website or funnel suite
Pricing verified 2026-09-21
LearnDash · 3.8/5
48-hour live demo (no card) · $259/yr (Essentials, about $21.58/mo)
LearnDash is a plugin, not a SaaS: you pay a yearly license (Essentials $259, Pro $399, Elite $599) on top of your own WordPress hosting (roughly $10-20/mo). Every plan includes unlimited courses and learners and no per-sale fee. Since the Liquid Web acquisition, new customers buy the bundled Essentials/Pro/Elite plans; legacy 1-site/10-site/unlimited licenses are grandfathered. MemberDash memberships are bundled into every tier.
Essentials $259/yr · Pro $399/yr · Elite $599/yr (annual, Liquid Web bundled plans)
LearnDash is the WordPress LMS plugin: a one-time annual license you install on your own site, with unlimited courses and learners on every tier. It bills by license (Essentials / Pro / Elite per year), takes no cut of your sales, and is the only cluster member priced annually-only.
Score breakdown
Pros
- Cheapest true cost at volume: $259/yr Essentials with unlimited courses and learners, no transaction fees
- Owns your data and domain — the WordPress stack stays yours, no platform lock-in
- Pro adds AI course/quiz builders, weighted grading, report cards and cohort groups; Elite adds multi-instructor front-end creation
- MemberDash memberships bundled into every tier since the Liquid Web acquisition
Cons
- Self-hosted: hosting (roughly $10-20/mo), security and WordPress maintenance are on you
- Annual-license-only pricing — no monthly option, and the $199 entry price quoted across Google is retired
- No native mobile apps; front-end experience depends on themes and add-ons
Pricing verified 2026-09-19
Podia · 4.0/5
Free plan available · $39/mo (monthly, Mover)
Podia bills by tier, never by student or product — every plan, free included, carries unlimited students and unlimited products. The free plan takes an 8% transaction fee; Mover at $33-39/mo drops the platform fee to 5% while bundling unlimited courses, downloads, webinars, coaching and basic email; Shaker at $75-89/mo removes fees entirely (0%) and adds affiliates, memberships and community.
Mover $33/mo · Shaker $75/mo · Earthquaker $159/mo (annual)
Podia is an all-in-one creator commerce platform for courses, downloads, memberships and coaching, aimed squarely at solo sellers. It bills by tier and is the cluster's only standing free plan (1 product, 8% fee); paid tiers are flat-priced with unlimited products and 0% fees on Shaker and up.
Score breakdown
Pros
- Only standing free plan in the cluster: 1 product, unlimited students, 8% transaction fee — no card required
- Flat pricing with unlimited products and students on every paid tier — the bill never scales with catalog size
- 0% platform fees from Shaker up; Mover's 5% is the only fee in the paid ladder
- Courses, downloads, webinars, coaching, memberships, affiliates and basic email in one dashboard (ease 5/5)
Cons
- Deliberately shallow: no native mobile apps, and quizzes/certificates are lighter than Teachable or Thinkific
- Email tooling stops short of Kajabi's automation suite — serious funnels mean an add-on
- Community and memberships are capped to the Shaker/Earthquaker tiers
Pricing verified 2026-09-19
Frequently asked questions
How many Online Courses tools are compared here?
This page compares 5 Online Courses tools, with Kajabi as our top-rated pick. Pricing was last re-checked on 2026-09-21.
Which Online Courses tool has the best free plan?
Podia is our free-tier pick among the tools compared.