Udemy, Skillshare, Crowdfundly, Teachable, and Thinkific are some of the best websites to sell online courses without any complicated steps. Each platform offers individual features, pros, and cons. So, you need to pick the right one according to your needs and preferences.

Selling online courses is an excellent way to share what you know and make money at the same time. You should consider things like how it handles payments, customization, ease of use, and costs when choosing a platform.

Continue reading to get honest and detailed reviews on every platform and tips & tricks to choose the right platform for you.

5 Best Websites To Sell Online Courses

We will not make you wait anymore. Here’s the list of the best websites to sell your assets online.

1. Udemy

Key Features

• Certificates Of Completion
• Expert Instructors
• Mobile Access
• Subtitles And Translations
• Quizzes And Assignments
• 30-Day Money Back Guarantee

Udemy is one of the crowd-making online marketplaces that offers a wide variety of courses across categories like business, technology, arts, and personal development. It connects instructors with over 50 million students worldwide.

If you’re an instructor, Udemy makes it super easy to create your course with tools for videos, slides, PDFs, and more (but videos and text tend to be the go-to).  

The best part? It’s free to publish your course. Although the earnings might not be the highest, Udemy’s massive audience gives you a great chance to make money while sharing what you know.

To sell a paid course on Udemy, you’ll need to apply as a premium instructor. Once approved, Udemy walks you through a simple process to set up your course.

Your course will need at least 30 minutes of video content and five lectures to meet the platform's standards. You can also add fun extras like quizzes, assignments, coding exercises, or discussion questions to keep it interactive and engaging.

Pros

• Instructors can start without paying anything to publish courses
• Access to over 50 million students worldwide
• Tools like video reviews and insights for selecting popular topics
• Email promotions, discounts, and affiliate programs to boost sales
• Courses can include multimedia elements like video, PDFs, and more

Cons

• Udemy takes a huge cut, especially for promoted sales
• The large number of courses can make it hard to stand out
• Every course must have at least 30 minutes of video content

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2. Skillshare

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Key Features

• Diverse courses for creative professionals
• Business topics for career growth
• Tech courses for modern skills
• Hands-on projects for practical learning
• Expert instructors with real-world experience
• Collaborative learning through community feedback

Skillshare is an excellent platform for creatives like photographers, designers, writers, and artists to share their skills. Skillshare works a bit differently from other platforms.

It offers a subscription-based platform where students can explore a massive library of 35,000 premium courses with a single membership. For creators, joining and publishing your courses is free, but you’ll need to get your course into Skillshare’s premium catalog to start earning.

As an instructor, you earn money based on how much time students spend watching your courses. It’s a great way to share what you love and earn passive income at the same time.

This platform welcomes anyone with creative expertise to become an instructor. However, every class goes through a review process before it’s published. So, you must produce high-quality content that genuinely helps students develop their creative skills.

Pros

• Free to get started and publish courses
• Ideal for creative professionals focusing on topics like art, design, and photography
• Access to a vast, engaged audience of students
• Opportunity to earn passive income based on the minutes watched

Cons

• It is not suitable for long or deep technical courses
• Revenue is shared from a subscription pool, so income can vary

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3. Crowdfundly

Key Features

• Set one-time and recurring donation forms
• Advanced options to collect custom data
• Manage donations, sponsors, and memberships
• Track donations in real-time
• Manage rewards and ongoing campaigns

Crowdfundly empowers creators to earn a consistent income by selling digital products, including online courses, and offering membership subscriptions. You can set up different subscription levels, giving loyal fans special perks and exclusive content.

It’s a great platform for creators of all kinds, with affordable pricing and powerful features.

With monthly subscribers and exclusive content, you can earn a reliable income. The platform also offers a strong community, networking opportunities, and easy integrations with other tools.

Crowdfundly’s WordPress plugin makes it easy to connect your site, and there are no upfront fees. They take a small cut (5%-12%) of your earnings, plus payment processing fees (2.9%-5%), depending on your location.

Here’s how you can get started with Crowdfundly:

• Enter your email address and password to create an account on Crowdfundly and sign up.
• If you already have an account, simply log in. Click on "Create New Campaign" to start setting up your online course sale. Set a fundraising target for your course or subscription model.
• Provide the details of your course, including the title, description, content, and any perks for the supporters (such as exclusive videos, downloadable resources, etc.).
• Set up payment and donation options, including one-time or recurring payments.
• Share your campaign through social media, email, and other channels.

4. Teachable

Key Features

• Manage user access
• Create user groups
• Track student progress
• Provide feedback and grades
• Use multiple grading scales

Another user-friendly platform that empowers creators to build and sell online courses is brought to you by  Teachable. It allows you to design and customize course pages, set flexible pricing, and offer a variety of content types.

Whether you're teaching business, photography, or yoga, Teachable helps you manage everything from course creation to marketing. It’s an ideal platform for both beginners and experienced instructors.

Teachable gives you the option to add quizzes to your courses to help assess your students' understanding.

However, if you want to include graded quizzes, you'll need to upgrade to the Pro plan, which may not be ideal for those just starting out. Also, Teachable only allows multiple-choice questions for quizzes, so you won’t have the flexibility to add other question types like true/false, fill-in-the-blank, or essay questions.

This limitation could be a downside for instructors looking to offer more diverse assessments. If you are an artist and find these platforms unreachable for you, there’s even an easier way to sell your art pieces on Facebook.

Pros

• Easy course creation with various content options
• Flexible pricing with one-time fees, payment plans, or subscriptions
• Customizable course and sales pages to reflect your brand
• Built-in marketing tools like email campaigns, affiliate programs, and discount codes
• Provides good analytics to track student engagement, sales, and performance

Cons

• Transaction fees of 5%, even on paid plans
• Needs third-party tools for live sessions, like Zoom
• Charges a transaction fee of $1 + 10% even on the free plan

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5. Thinkific

Key Features

• Build and sell engaging courses
• Create online communities for learning
• Generate revenue through digital downloads
• Create membership programs with recurring revenue
• Save time by automating administrative tasks

Thinkific is an easy-to-use platform with a variety of pre-designed templates, which makes it simple to structure your course content. Whether you’re offering a mini-course, flagship course, membership library, or webinar replay, Thinkfic gets you covered.

You can add elements like quizzes, downloads, surveys, and more to enhance your students' experience. Plus, Thinkific's "Communities" feature allows for peer-to-peer discussions, which is great for building engagement.

You’ll love how it is to create your course on Thinkific. Just choose your pages, add content, and pick a theme. You can also easily show student reviews on your landing page by turning on the review feature. Thinkific makes course creation quick and simple.

It has recently launched mobile apps, which surely boosted its appeal as a course-selling platform. However, these apps haven't been well-received yet, with low ratings (2.1 stars on the App Store and 2.6 on Google Play as of now).

If you're also exploring ways to monetize digital downloads, check out our guide on How to Sell Digital Downloads on Facebook.

Pros

• Easy-to-use templates for quick course creation
• Flexible monetization options: memberships, subscriptions, coupons, discounts
• Customizable landing pages and easy-to-display testimonials
• Comprehensive course assessments with quizzes, surveys, and downloads
• AI curriculum builder to simplify course creation

Cons

• No free plan; the basic plan starts at $49/month
• The mobile app has low ratings and may have bugs

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How to Find the Right Platform for Selling Online Courses?

You may have already found a platform that seems worth investing in. We still suggest you glance at the points below before making the final decision so you can be sure whether your chosen platform ticks all the boxes.

1. Ease of Use

You don’t want to get Overwhelmed by complicated tech. Look for a platform that’s easy to navigate and lets you focus on creating and selling your course rather than getting stuck on the setup.

2. Customization Options

Your course is unique, and your platform should be, too. Choose a platform that allows you to brand your course with your own logo, color scheme, and design elements.

3. Monetization Features

Think about how you want to make money from your course. Does the platform allow you to set different pricing models like one-time payments, subscriptions, or payment plans? Also, check if it supports discount codes or affiliate programs to help you boost sales.

4. Content Protection

You’ve put time and effort into creating your course, so it’s important to protect your intellectual property. Look for platforms that offer content security features like video watermarking, password protection, or secure downloads to prevent unauthorized access or piracy.

5. Pricing & Fees

Pricing matters. Some platforms charge a monthly fee, while others take a commission from your sales. Take the time to calculate which platform offers the best value for the features you need.

FAQs

What Is The Best Platform For Beginners To Sell Online Courses?

For beginners, platforms like Udemy and Crowdfundly are popular choices due to their ease of use, templates, and affordable pricing. You can expect user-friendly course creation tools from these tools that make it easy for anyone to get started without much technical experience.

How Do You Price Your Online Courses On Selling Platforms?

Most course platforms, including Teachable, allow you to set your own pricing for courses. You can choose from one-time payments, subscriptions, or installment plans.

Can You Sell Digital Products Along With Your Online Courses?

Absolutely! Many platforms, such as Crowdfundly and Thinkific, allow you to sell both digital products (like eBooks, templates, or printables) and online courses, which make them great all-in-one solutions for creators.

Last Words

That’s all about the best website to sell online courses. Your choice should depend on your needs, like ease of use, pricing, marketing tools, and customization options. Platforms like Crowdfundly and Udemy are great for beginners, while Teachable suits advanced creators. 

Start with free trials to explore features and focus on audience engagement through strong branding, effective pricing, and interactive tools for success.