In today’s digital era, turning your expertise into a thriving online business has never been more accessible. Whether you’re an experienced professional, a hobbyist with deep knowledge, or someone with valuable skills to share, online course platforms offer the perfect avenue to reach eager learners worldwide while creating a sustainable income stream. The knowledge business is booming, with the global e-learning market projected to reach $374.3 billion by 2026, according to Statista. This remarkable growth reflects how online teaching has transformed from a niche activity to a mainstream career option for educators and experts across all fields.
I’ve witnessed countless individuals—from yoga instructors and language teachers to software developers and business coaches—transform their expertise into successful digital education businesses. What makes this opportunity so appealing is the combination of low entry barriers, flexible working arrangements, and the genuine satisfaction of impacting learners’ lives positively. Plus, once you’ve created your course content, it can continue generating income with minimal ongoing effort—the dream of passive revenue that many entrepreneurs chase.
Finding the right platform to host your courses is crucial to your success in the knowledge business. Each platform offers different features, pricing structures, and audience reach capabilities. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through seven outstanding online course platforms that can help you share your expertise effectively while maximizing your income potential. By the end, you’ll have a clear understanding of which platform aligns best with your teaching style, content, and business goals.
Understanding the Online Course Landscape
Before diving into specific course platforms, it’s essential to understand the current landscape of the knowledge business. The demand for online learning has experienced unprecedented growth, accelerated further by global events that pushed education and professional development into digital spaces. According to education researcher Ryan Craig, author of “College Disrupted,” we’re witnessing “the unbundling of higher education,” where specialized knowledge is increasingly sought outside traditional institutions.
The most successful online teachers aren’t necessarily those with the most impressive credentials but rather those who can effectively communicate their knowledge and create engaging learning experiences. As Brandon Lucero, founder of Video 4X Effect, notes, “It’s not about what you know; it’s about how you package what you know.” This shift has democratized education, allowing experts from all backgrounds to thrive in online teaching.
When selecting a course platform, consider these fundamental aspects:
- Business model: Do you want a marketplace where the platform helps find students, or would you prefer a standalone solution where you drive all traffic but keep more revenue?
- Content format: Does the platform support your preferred teaching methods (video, text, interactive elements, live sessions)?
- Pricing control: Can you set your own prices and offer different pricing tiers?
- Marketing tools: What built-in marketing features does the platform offer?
- Fee structure: What percentage of revenue does the platform take, and are there monthly costs?
- Community features: Can students interact with each other and with you?
- Mobile accessibility: Can students easily access your content on mobile devices?
With these considerations in mind, let’s explore seven platforms that could become the foundation of your knowledge business.
Top 7 Online Course Platforms for Knowledge Entrepreneurs
1. Teachable: The All-in-One Solution for Course Creators
Teachable has emerged as one of the most popular course platforms for independent educators and has helped creators earn over $1 billion since its founding in 2014. What makes Teachable particularly attractive is its balance of comprehensive features and user-friendliness, making it accessible even to those new to online teaching.
At its core, Teachable offers a hosted solution where you maintain ownership of your content and student relationships. Unlike marketplace platforms, Teachable provides you with a branded website where your courses live, allowing you to create a consistent brand experience for your students. The platform supports various content types, including video lectures, PDFs, quizzes, and completion certificates, giving you flexibility in how you present your expertise.
Pricing is straightforward with several tiers starting from a free basic plan (with transaction fees) to more comprehensive options ranging from $29 to $299 monthly. Higher tiers remove transaction fees and add features like affiliate marketing tools, advanced reporting, and priority support. This tiered approach allows you to start small and scale your investment as your knowledge business grows.
What truly distinguishes Teachable in the competitive course platform landscape is its robust marketing and sales features. You can create sophisticated sales funnels with customizable checkout pages, one-click upsells, and limited-time offers. The platform also facilitates multiple payment options, including one-time purchases, subscriptions, and payment plans, maximizing accessibility for your potential students.
“Teachable allowed me to focus on creating quality content without worrying about technical issues,” shares Rachel Paul, a nutritionist who built a six-figure business teaching nutrition courses. “Their built-in payment processing and course delivery systems saved me countless hours that I could instead invest in refining my teaching approach.”
The platform particularly shines for those who already have an audience or marketing strategy to bring students to their courses. Since Teachable isn’t a marketplace with built-in discovery features, success depends largely on your ability to drive traffic to your course site—an important consideration for those just starting their online teaching journey.
2. Udemy: Tap Into a Massive Marketplace
With over 40 million students and 155,000 courses, Udemy represents the largest marketplace model among course platforms. Unlike self-hosted solutions, Udemy puts your courses in front of an existing audience of eager learners, potentially solving the significant challenge of finding students for your knowledge business.
Udemy’s approach is distinctly different from many other platforms. There’s no upfront cost to create and publish courses, making it an accessible entry point for new instructors. Instead, Udemy operates on a revenue-sharing model. When students discover your course through Udemy’s marketing efforts, the platform takes 63% of the revenue. However, when you bring students directly through your promotional link, you keep 97% of the revenue (minus payment processing fees).
This dual pricing structure incentivizes both parties to market courses actively. Udemy runs frequent promotions and discounts, which can substantially increase your student numbers but may impact your per-sale revenue. This approach works particularly well for instructors who prioritize reach over revenue maximization, especially when building their reputation in online teaching.
The platform enforces certain quality standards for courses, including minimum content requirements and technical specifications. While these standards ensure a consistent experience for students, they also mean that course creation requires a significant initial investment of time and effort. Udemy particularly favors video-based instruction, with most successful courses featuring comprehensive video content supplemented by downloadable resources.
“Udemy’s built-in audience allowed me to reach students in 165 countries without spending a dollar on advertising,” explains Kevin Farrugia, a software development instructor with over 100,000 students on the platform. “The feedback from such a diverse student base dramatically improved my teaching methods and course materials.”
For those new to the knowledge business, Udemy offers a relatively low-risk entry point. You can test course ideas with a global audience and refine your teaching approach based on student feedback before potentially expanding to other platforms that offer higher revenue potential but require more independent marketing.
3. Thinkific: Build a Branded Course Business
Thinkific stands out in the course platform ecosystem for its focus on helping educators build comprehensive online schools rather than just individual courses. This platform is designed for serious knowledge entrepreneurs who envision creating a cohesive educational brand with multiple offerings and a consistent student experience.
Unlike marketplace models, Thinkific provides a completely white-labeled solution where your branding takes center stage. Students enter an environment that feels like your custom learning platform rather than a third-party site. This brand control extends to the domain name, color schemes, and overall look and feel of your school, creating a professional impression that can justify premium pricing for your courses.
The platform offers exceptional content flexibility, supporting everything from video and text-based lessons to downloadable resources, quizzes, surveys, and even third-party integrations like Articulate Storyline for advanced interactive content. This versatility makes Thinkific suitable for diverse teaching styles and subject matters.
Pricing starts with a free plan that allows you to test the platform with up to three courses, though with limited features. Paid plans range from $49 to $499 monthly (with discounts for annual billing), unlocking progressively more advanced features like certificates, memberships, advanced customization, and priority support. Unlike some competitors, Thinkific doesn’t charge transaction fees on any plan, which can represent significant savings as your student numbers grow.
What particularly distinguishes Thinkific in the online teaching landscape is its robust tools for student engagement and community building. Features like discussion forums, student progress tracking, and completion certificates help create a more interactive learning environment. The platform also offers native integrations with many marketing tools and CRM systems, facilitating sophisticated student acquisition and retention strategies.
“Thinkific allowed me to create a cohesive ecosystem for my students that goes beyond individual courses,” says Emily Kramer, a business coach who transitioned from in-person to online teaching. “I’ve built progressive learning paths that guide students through multiple courses, dramatically increasing my student lifetime value while providing them with a more comprehensive educational experience.”
For knowledge entrepreneurs with long-term vision, Thinkific provides the architecture to build a sustainable education business with multiple revenue streams and strong student relationships. Its robust feature set does come with a steeper learning curve than some alternatives, but the platform offers extensive documentation and support to help you navigate its capabilities.
4. Kajabi: The All-in-One Business Platform
Kajabi transcends the typical definition of course platforms by offering a comprehensive business solution for knowledge entrepreneurs. Rather than focusing solely on course delivery, Kajabi integrates website building, email marketing, sales funnels, and community features into a unified ecosystem designed to power your entire knowledge business.
This integrated approach eliminates the need for multiple software subscriptions and the technical challenges of connecting disparate systems. With Kajabi, you can create marketing pages, manage email sequences, process payments, deliver course content, and foster community engagement—all from a single dashboard. This consolidation can represent significant time and cost savings for serious online teaching professionals.
Kajabi’s course delivery system offers sophisticated options for structuring your content, including drip scheduling, prerequisite lessons, and community integration. You can create assessment tools, automate completion certificates, and even design membership sites with recurring revenue models. The platform particularly excels for educators who want to offer different types of digital products alongside courses, such as coaching packages or digital downloads.
The platform’s pricing reflects its comprehensive nature, with plans ranging from $149 to $399 monthly. While significantly higher than some alternatives, these costs should be evaluated against what you’d pay for separate systems for website hosting, email marketing, and course delivery. For established knowledge businesses generating substantial revenue, the consolidated approach often represents good value.
Marketing capabilities are where Kajabi truly shines in comparison to other course platforms. The native email marketing system allows for sophisticated automation sequences triggered by student behavior. The pipeline (funnel) builder facilitates complex sales processes with upsells, downsells, and abandoned cart recovery. These tools enable advanced marketing strategies without requiring additional software.
“Switching to Kajabi cut my tech stack from seven different tools to one,” explains relationship coach Evan Marc Katz, who transitioned his business to the platform. “Beyond the cost savings, the real value came from having all my customer data in one place, allowing me to create highly personalized learning journeys based on each student’s behavior and preferences.”
The platform is particularly well-suited for established experts who have outgrown simpler course platforms and need a system that can scale with their expanding knowledge business. Its all-in-one nature makes it less ideal for those just testing the waters of online teaching who may not need its comprehensive feature set immediately.
5. Podia: Simplicity and Versatility for Digital Product Creators
In the increasingly complex world of course platforms, Podia has carved out a niche by focusing on simplicity without sacrificing essential functionality. This platform caters to knowledge entrepreneurs who want to get their digital products to market quickly without navigating steep learning curves or complex setups.
Podia distinguishes itself by supporting multiple product types beyond traditional courses. You can sell online courses, digital downloads, webinars, and memberships all from the same platform. This versatility makes it perfect for creators who want to diversify their revenue streams or test different formats without managing multiple systems.
The platform’s interface is remarkably intuitive, with a clean, modern design that eliminates unnecessary complexity. Course creation follows a straightforward process where you can easily organize content into sections and lessons, embedding videos, files, and quizzes. While it lacks some of the advanced customization options of platforms like Thinkific or Kajabi, this simplicity translates to getting your knowledge business up and running in hours rather than days.
Pricing is transparent with just two main tiers—$39 and $79 monthly—with no transaction fees on either plan. The higher tier adds features like memberships, affiliate marketing, and additional team seats. This straightforward pricing makes Podia particularly attractive for creators who appreciate predictable costs as they scale their online teaching business.
Marketing tools include email marketing capabilities, allowing you to build and segment an email list directly within the platform. You can set up basic automations for things like welcome sequences and course drip content. While not as sophisticated as dedicated email marketing services, these features are sufficient for many knowledge entrepreneurs, especially those in the early growth stages.
“I was hesitant to move from a bigger platform, worried I’d lose functionality,” shares photographer David Molnar, who uses Podia to sell photography courses. “Instead, I found that Podia’s focused approach eliminated distractions and let me concentrate on what really matters—creating great content and connecting with my students. The simplicity actually improved my completion rates because students weren’t getting lost in a complicated interface.”
Podia also emphasizes creator ownership, with no marketplace component or revenue sharing. While this means you’re responsible for driving your own traffic, it also means you maintain complete control over your pricing, branding, and student relationships. For knowledge entrepreneurs who already have an audience or marketing strategy, this represents an advantage over marketplace models.
6. LearnWorlds: Interactive Learning Experiences
For knowledge entrepreneurs who prioritize sophisticated learning experiences over simplified course delivery, LearnWorlds offers a distinctive approach among course platforms. This platform specializes in creating highly interactive, engaging courses that can command premium prices in the competitive online teaching marketplace.
LearnWorlds’ standout feature is its interactive video player, which allows instructors to embed questions, notes, and interactive elements directly within video content. Students can take notes while watching videos, answer pop-up questions, and even navigate videos through an interactive transcript. These features transform passive video consumption into active learning experiences that improve knowledge retention and student satisfaction.
Beyond video interactions, the platform offers one of the most comprehensive assessment engines available. You can create diverse question types, including multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, matching, and free-text responses. The platform supports timed tests, randomized question pools, and automated feedback, bringing sophisticated evaluation capabilities to your knowledge business.
E-book creation is another area where LearnWorlds excels compared to other course platforms. You can create interactive e-books with embedded media and assessments directly within the platform, providing another valuable content format for your students. These books can be offered as standalone products or integrated into broader courses.
The platform offers a tiered pricing structure starting at $24 monthly for a starter plan (which includes a $5 fee per course sale) up to $299 monthly for advanced features. Higher tiers remove transaction fees and add capabilities like white-labeling, advanced integrations, and premium support. While not the least expensive option, the interactive features can justify higher course prices, potentially offsetting the platform costs.
“The interactive video features transformed how my students engage with content,” explains Dr. Sandra Collins, who teaches clinical psychology courses. “Concepts that typically required multiple revisions to grasp are now understood more quickly because students interact with the material rather than passively consuming it. This improved learning efficiency has dramatically increased my completion and satisfaction rates.”
LearnWorlds also offers strong social learning features, including a social network-style activity feed, learner profiles, and collaborative tools. These community elements are increasingly important in online education, where student isolation can lead to higher dropout rates. For knowledge entrepreneurs teaching complex subjects where student interaction enhances learning, these social features represent a significant advantage.
7. Mighty Networks: Community-Powered Learning
Mighty Networks represents a paradigm shift in how we think about course platforms and online teaching. While other platforms treat community as a supplementary feature, Mighty Networks places community at the center of the learning experience, making it ideal for knowledge entrepreneurs who believe in the power of peer-to-peer learning and ongoing engagement.
The platform began as a community-building tool before expanding into courses, giving it uniquely strong capabilities for fostering meaningful connections between members. Students can create profiles, participate in discussions, join interest groups, and directly message each other. These social features create a learning environment that extends beyond instructor-led content to include valuable peer support and networking.
Course delivery on Mighty Networks integrates seamlessly with the community aspect. You can organize content into courses with typical features like text, video, and quizzes, but the real power comes from combining this structured content with live events, discussion prompts, and collaborative activities. This hybrid approach is particularly effective for subjects where application and discussion enhance understanding.
Pricing for Mighty Networks starts at $28 monthly for basic community features, with course capabilities requiring the $81 monthly plan. While higher than some course-only platforms, this pricing reflects the dual value of community and course functionality. For knowledge entrepreneurs whose business model benefits from ongoing student engagement rather than one-time course purchases, the platform can deliver exceptional value.
The platform also offers flexible monetization models beyond traditional course sales. You can charge for community access, create tiered membership levels, offer bundles of courses and community access, or implement hybrid models. This versatility allows for sustainable recurring revenue streams that can be more valuable than one-time course purchases in the long run.
“My courses used to have a clear end date, after which students disappeared,” notes career coach Jennifer Anderson. “With Mighty Networks, learning becomes an ongoing journey. Students who completed my courses years ago still actively participate in discussions, mentor newcomers, and even become customers for my new offerings. This persistent engagement has completely transformed my knowledge business model.”
What makes Mighty Networks distinctive in the online teaching landscape is how it facilitates the transformation from passive content consumption to active participation in a learning community. For knowledge entrepreneurs whose vision extends beyond delivering information to facilitating transformation, this community-centered approach can create uniquely valuable educational experiences that command premium prices.
Choosing the Right Platform for Your Knowledge Business
After exploring these seven excellent course platforms, you might be wondering which one is best suited for your specific situation in the online teaching landscape. The truth is that there’s no one-size-fits-all answer—the ideal platform depends on your unique goals, teaching style, technical comfort, and business model. However, I can offer some guidance based on common scenarios in the knowledge business.
If you’re new to online teaching and want to test your course idea with minimal upfront investment, Udemy provides the easiest entry point. Its marketplace model gives you access to existing students, and the no-cost setup means you can validate your concept before making significant investments. Many successful knowledge entrepreneurs begin on Udemy before expanding to other platforms as their confidence and audience grow.
For those with existing audiences from blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels, or social media, self-hosted platforms like Teachable or Thinkific often make more sense. These platforms give you greater control over branding, pricing, and student data while allowing you to leverage your established audience. The moderate monthly costs are often offset by the higher revenue share compared to marketplace models.
If your teaching style emphasizes community and ongoing engagement rather than one-time course completion, Mighty Networks offers unique advantages. Its community-centered approach fosters student connections that can dramatically improve completion rates and satisfaction. This model works particularly well for subjects where peer support enhances learning or for business models built around membership rather than one-time purchases.
For knowledge entrepreneurs with technical skills who want maximum customization, LearnWorlds provides the most sophisticated tools for creating interactive learning experiences. The platform’s advanced assessment options and interactive video features can create premium learning experiences that justify higher course prices, making it popular among professional educators and corporate trainers.
If you’re building a comprehensive knowledge business with multiple products and sophisticated marketing needs, Kajabi’s all-in-one approach offers significant advantages. By consolidating website, marketing, and course delivery into one system, you can create seamless customer journeys while simplifying your technology stack. Though more expensive than specialized platforms, the consolidated approach often represents better value for established businesses.
When making your final decision, consider starting with a free trial (offered by most platforms) to test the user experience from both creator and student perspectives. Pay particular attention to how the platform handles the specific content types you plan to create and how well its marketing tools integrate with your existing systems. Remember that migrating between platforms can be challenging once you’ve built a substantial course library, so choosing thoughtfully from the start can save significant headaches later.
Most importantly, don’t let platform selection become an obstacle to getting started in online teaching. As entrepreneur James Clear notes in his book “Atomic Habits,” “The best is the enemy of the good.” While finding the right platform matters, taking action with a reasonable choice will teach you more about your needs than endless research without implementation. You can always refine your platform strategy as your knowledge business evolves.
Key Factors to Consider When Selecting a Course Platform
To make your selection process more systematic, consider evaluating each platform against these critical factors for your knowledge business:
- Revenue model: How does the platform handle payments? Do they take a percentage of sales or charge flat monthly fees? Calculate potential earnings under different student volume scenarios.
- Content types: Does the platform support your preferred teaching methods? Consider video hosting quality, interactive elements, and assessment options.
- Marketing tools: What built-in marketing capabilities does the platform offer? Look for email marketing, funnel builders, affiliate programs, and upsell capabilities.
- Student experience: How intuitive is the learning interface? Mobile accessibility and community features can dramatically impact student satisfaction.
- Integration capabilities: Does the platform connect with your existing tools for email marketing, customer management, or accounting?
- Scalability: Can the platform grow with your business? Consider how pricing and features change as your student numbers increase.
- Support quality: What level of technical support does the platform provide? This becomes increasingly important as your knowledge business grows.
By methodically evaluating each platform against these criteria, you can make a more confident decision aligned with your specific goals in online teaching. Remember that the “perfect” platform doesn’t exist—each offers distinct advantages for different teaching styles and business models.
In my years observing successful knowledge entrepreneurs, I’ve noticed that platform selection, while important, rarely determines success or failure. Far more significant are your expertise, teaching ability, and marketing efforts. A mediocre course on the “perfect” platform will struggle, while excellent content on a “good enough” platform often thrives. Focus first on creating genuine value for your students, and the technical details will fall into place.
The knowledge business is ultimately about transformation—helping students move from their current state to a desired future state through your expertise. The right platform simply facilitates this transformation, making it easier for you to share your knowledge and for students to apply it effectively in their lives. With that perspective, you’ll make a platform choice that serves both your business goals and your students’ learning needs.
Building Success Beyond the Platform
While selecting the right course platform forms an essential foundation for your knowledge business, long-term success in online teaching extends far beyond this initial choice. The most prosperous course creators understand that the platform is merely a delivery vehicle—the real value lies in your expertise, teaching approach, and business strategy.
Creating compelling course content represents the first challenge beyond platform selection. The most successful courses deliver clear transformation for students, taking them from a current state to a desired future state through well-structured learning experiences. As learning expert Dr. Barbara Oakley, creator of Coursera’s “Learning How to Learn” (one of the world’s most popular online courses), explains: “Focus not on what you want to teach, but on what students need to learn and apply.”
This student-centered approach means organizing content in digestible chunks, incorporating various learning modalities (video, text, interactive elements), and creating opportunities for practice and implementation. Regardless of which platform you choose, this fundamental instructional design work determines whether students actually achieve the outcomes you promise.
Marketing represents another critical success factor independent of your platform choice. Even the best course on the perfect platform won’t generate income without effective promotion. Successful knowledge entrepreneurs typically develop a multi-channel marketing approach that might include:
- Content marketing through blogs, podcasts, or YouTube videos that demonstrate your expertise
- Email marketing with valuable free content that builds relationships with potential students
- Strategic use of social media platforms aligned with your target audience
- Partnerships with complementary experts or businesses
- Limited-time promotions or special offers to create urgency
- Free workshops or webinars that provide value while introducing your paid offerings
- Student testimonials and case studies that demonstrate concrete results
The most effective marketing approaches in the knowledge business establish you as a trusted authority before asking for a purchase. By consistently providing value through free content, you build the credibility necessary for potential students to invest in your courses. This “value-first” approach aligns perfectly with the educational nature of the knowledge business.
Pricing strategy also plays a crucial role in your online teaching success. Many course creators significantly undervalue their offerings, especially when first entering the market. As pricing expert Brennan Dunn notes, “Price is a signaling mechanism. Too low, and people assume low quality. Too high without adequate value demonstration, and sales suffer.”
Successful knowledge entrepreneurs typically progress from lower-priced introductory offerings to more comprehensive premium courses as they build market reputation. They also often create tiered pricing options (such as self-study, group coaching, and VIP experiences) to accommodate different student needs and budgets while maximizing overall revenue.
Perhaps most importantly, sustainable success in the knowledge business requires ongoing innovation and adaptation. The online education landscape evolves rapidly, with new technologies, competitors, and student expectations constantly emerging. Successful course creators commit to continuous improvement, regularly updating content, refining marketing approaches, and sometimes even migrating between platforms as their business evolves.
This adaptability extends to business models as well. Many successful knowledge entrepreneurs begin with standalone courses but eventually expand into memberships, coaching programs, certification offerings, or even software tools that complement their educational content. This diversification creates multiple revenue streams while providing students with various ways to benefit from your expertise.
Throughout this journey, maintaining connection with your students’ evolving needs remains essential. The most successful course creators actively solicit and implement student feedback, creating increasingly effective learning experiences over time. This student-centered approach not only improves your offerings but also generates the positive reviews and testimonials that fuel future growth.
Remember that building a thriving knowledge business is a marathon, not a sprint. The educators who achieve the greatest success typically demonstrate persistence through initial challenges, commitment to continuous improvement, and genuine passion for their subject matter. With these qualities and the right platform choice, you’re well-positioned to build a knowledge business that creates both significant income and meaningful impact.
At its core, the online teaching journey is about leveraging your unique expertise to solve meaningful problems for your students. When you remain focused on that fundamental purpose, the technical details of platforms and marketing fall into their proper place as tools that serve your larger mission of transformation through education.
The world needs your knowledge. With the right platform as your foundation and a commitment to excellence in your educational offerings, you can build a knowledge business that creates value for both your students and yourself for years to come. The platforms we’ve explored offer different paths to this goal, but all provide viable ways to share your expertise while generating sustainable income.
What expertise will you share through these course platforms? Have you already started building your knowledge business? I’d love to hear about your experiences, questions, or insights in the comments below. Your journey might just inspire another reader to take their first steps into the rewarding world of online teaching!
