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The Best Sites to Sell Online Courses in 2025
The e-learning market is projected to reach $375 billion by 2026, making online course creation one of the most lucrative opportunities for educators, entrepreneurs, and subject matter experts. Whether you are a seasoned instructor looking to expand your reach or a first-time course creator testing the waters, choosing the right platform to sell your online courses is one of the most important decisions you will make.
The landscape of online course platforms is diverse, ranging from massive marketplaces like Udemy that provide built-in audiences to self-hosted solutions that give you complete control over branding, pricing, and student data. Each approach has distinct advantages and trade-offs. This guide compares the best platforms available in 2025 and shows you how to build your own course platform using WordPress for maximum control and profitability.
What to Look for in an Online Course Platform
Before choosing a platform, evaluate these essential criteria:
- Design and branding: Can you customize the look to match your brand identity?
- Content creation tools: Does it support text, video, audio, quizzes, and assignments?
- Payment processing: What payment methods and gateways are supported?
- Marketing tools: Are landing pages, email marketing, coupons, and affiliate features included?
- Analytics: Can you track enrollments, completions, revenue, and student engagement?
- Pricing model: Does the platform charge monthly fees, transaction fees, or revenue shares?
The Best Online Course Platforms
Udemy
Udemy is the largest online course marketplace with over 40 million students and 155,000 courses. It provides massive exposure and discoverability but takes a 50 percent commission on sales generated through its platform (25 percent for instructor-driven sales). You have limited control over branding, pricing, and student data.
Best for: Instructors who want maximum exposure without managing their own marketing.
Skillshare
Skillshare focuses on creative skills with over 12 million students. Instead of selling individual courses, you earn based on minutes watched by premium subscribers. Courses must be short (10-60 minutes) and project-based.
Best for: Creators teaching creative and practical skills who want passive income from a subscription model.
Teachable
Teachable offers more control than marketplace platforms, letting you use your own domain and branding. Plans start at $29 per month with transaction fees on the basic plan. You own your student data and can set your own pricing.
Best for: Independent course creators who want their own branded platform without building from scratch.
Podia
Podia combines course selling with digital downloads and memberships. Plans start at $39 per month with no transaction fees. The platform is straightforward but offers less design customization than competitors.
Best for: Creators selling a mix of courses, digital products, and memberships.
Thinkific
Thinkific provides more features than Teachable or Podia, including gamification, certificates, and live sessions. Plans start at $49 per month with no transaction fees. It offers a good balance of features and ease of use.
Best for: Course creators who need advanced features and want to scale without platform limitations.
Kajabi
Kajabi is an all-in-one platform for course creators, offering courses, memberships, coaching, landing pages, email marketing, and sales funnels. Plans start at $149 per month. It is the most comprehensive solution but also the most expensive.
Best for: Established creators and businesses that want an all-in-one marketing and course platform.
LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds differentiates itself with interactive video features, social learning tools, and ebook creation capabilities. Plans start at $29 per month with a transaction fee on the starter plan.
Best for: Creators who want to emphasize interactive and social learning experiences.
Build Your Own Course Platform with WordPress
While hosted platforms offer convenience, building your own course platform with WordPress gives you complete control over every aspect of your business. You own your content, your student data, your branding, and your revenue without sharing it with a marketplace or paying ongoing platform fees.
The combination of WordPress, the LearnDash plugin, and the LearnMate LearnDash WordPress theme provides everything you need to create a professional course platform:
- Install WordPress on your domain with a quality hosting provider
- Install LearnDash to get a complete learning management system with courses, lessons, quizzes, assignments, and certificates
- Install the LearnMate theme for a professionally designed, course-optimized interface
- Customize your site using the WordPress customizer and LearnMate options panel
- Create and sell courses with your own pricing, payment options, and membership tiers
- Market your courses using SEO, email marketing, social media, and optimized landing pages
This self-hosted approach means you keep 100 percent of your revenue after payment processing fees. You can create unlimited courses, serve unlimited students, and customize every element of the learning experience. The LearnDash ecosystem includes extensive integration options with WooCommerce, BuddyPress, bbPress, and dozens of other WordPress plugins.
Hosted Platforms vs Self-Hosted: Which Is Right for You
The choice between hosted platforms and a self-hosted WordPress solution depends on your priorities:
- Choose a marketplace (Udemy, Skillshare) if you want instant access to a large audience and are willing to share revenue
- Choose a hosted platform (Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi) if you want your own branded experience with managed infrastructure
- Choose self-hosted WordPress with LearnDash if you want maximum control, zero revenue sharing, and unlimited customization
Many successful course creators start on marketplaces to validate their content and build an audience, then migrate to their own platform as their business grows. WordPress with LearnDash provides the ideal long-term solution for serious course businesses.
Summary
The online course market offers tremendous opportunity for educators and entrepreneurs. Whether you choose a marketplace like Udemy for instant audience access, a hosted platform like Thinkific for convenience, or a self-hosted WordPress solution for maximum control, the key is to start creating and selling quality educational content. The platform that best serves your needs today may not be the same one you need as your business scales. Plan for growth, prioritize your students’ learning experience, and choose the platform that supports your long-term vision for online education success.
The Top Tools for Creating and Selling Online Courses
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