Choosing a course platform on a budget comes down to two questions: does the free option actually let you sell, and what is the transaction fee on each tier? We compared the five leaders in our directory against their official pricing pages (verified 2026-09-19 through 2026-09-21) on the axes that decide a near-zero-revenue launch: whether there is a standing free plan or only a trial, the transaction fee on the cheapest paid tier, the cheapest paid entry, and the product and student limits on that tier. Only one keeps a standing free plan — Podia: 1 product, unlimited students, an 8% fee per sale and no credit card, with Mover at $33/mo annual ($39 monthly) dropping the fee to 5% and Shaker at $75/mo annual removing it, and unlimited products on every tier. Everything else is trial-only, and the trial length is the first filter: Thinkific 30 days, Kajabi 14 days, Teachable 7 days, LearnDash a card-free 48-hour demo. The fee structure then splits them. Thinkific has no standing free plan in 2026, but it is the only cluster member with 0% platform fees from Start ($82/mo annual) up, while Basic at $40/mo annual keeps a 5% Stripe surcharge and unlimited courses and students run on every paid tier. Teachable has the cheapest paid entry — Starter at $29/mo annual ($39 monthly) — but carries a 7.5% transaction fee, with the fee-free Builder at $69/mo annual and billing by published-product count (1/5/25/100). LearnDash is the cheapest true cost once you sell real volume: a $259/yr Essentials license (about $21.58/mo) with unlimited learners and no per-sale fee, on top of your own $10-20/mo hosting. Kajabi dropped its Kickstarter tier in the 2026-01 restructure and now has no free plan, only a 14-day trial, with Basic as the floor at $143/mo annual ($179 monthly) — the cluster's highest entry — though 0% fees apply via Kajabi Payments. That changes the math — a trial is a window, not a lane, so a near-zero-revenue launch is not quietly taxed 5-10% off the top unless it starts on Podia and pays down the fee as it grows.
The only standing free plan in the set: 1 product, unlimited students, no card — an 8% transaction fee is the cost of staying free. Paid entry is Mover at $33/mo annual ($39 monthly) with a 5% fee, and Shaker at $75/mo annual removes fees entirely. Flat unlimited products on every tier.
Free tier: Yes · 30-day free trial
Paid from: $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.)
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.
No standing free plan in 2026 (a 30-day full-featured trial replaces it), but it is the only cluster member with 0% platform fees from Start ($82/mo annual) up. Basic at $40/mo annual keeps a 5% Stripe surcharge. Unlimited courses and students on all paid tiers.
Free tier: No — trial only · 30-day free trial
Paid from: $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.)
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.
No free plan — a 7-day trial. Starter is the cheapest paid entry at $29/mo annual ($39 monthly) but carries a 7.5% transaction fee; the fee-free Builder is $69/mo annual. Billed by published-product count (1/5/25/100).
Free tier: No — trial only · 7-day free trial
Paid from: $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.)
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.
No free plan; a card-free 48-hour demo. The cheapest true cost once you sell real volume: a $259/yr Essentials license (about $21.58/mo) with unlimited learners and no per-sale fee — on top of your own $10-20/mo hosting.
Free tier: No — trial only · 48-hour live demo (no card)
Paid from: $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.)
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.
Kajabi dropped its Kickstarter tier in the 2026-01 restructure; there is no free plan, only a 14-day trial. Basic is now the floor at $143/mo annual ($179 monthly), the cluster's highest entry. 0% fees via Kajabi Payments; own-Stripe adds a surcharge.
Free tier: No — trial only · 14-day free trial
Paid from: $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.)
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.
Bottom line: Podia is the only place to start free and still sell; Thinkific is the cheapest path to 0% fees; Teachable is the cheapest course-first entry (mind the 7.5% Starter fee); LearnDash is the cheapest at real volume; and Kajabi has no free door at all — it is the premium all-in-one, entered only through a trial.
Podia is the only one with a standing free plan — 1 product, unlimited students, 8% transaction fee, no card. Thinkific (30-day trial), Teachable (7-day), Kajabi (14-day) and LearnDash (48-hour demo) are trial-only with no permanent free tier.
Thinkific charges 0% platform fees on its Start, Grow and Plus tiers (a 5% Stripe surcharge remains on Basic); Podia is 0% from Shaker up; LearnDash never takes a per-sale cut; Kajabi is 0% only when you pay through Kajabi Payments. Teachable is 0% from the Builder tier.
For near-zero revenue, start free on Podia. For a cheap paid entry, Teachable Starter at $29/mo annual or Thinkific Basic at $40/mo annual. At real volume, LearnDash Essentials at $259/yr with unlimited learners and no per-sale fee is the cheapest true cost.