Course platforms compared
7 course platforms side by side: free plans, the lowest paid price and 9 features, each linked to the vendor's own page.
Last verified October 21, 2026 against each vendor's own pages
Lowest paid plan, billed monthly
The Visit buttons are paid links: if a vendor runs an affiliate program we have joined, we may be paid when you subscribe. The table and the pick are the same either way.
| Feature | Kajabi | LearnWorlds | Podia | Skool | Systeme.io | Teachable | Thinkific |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| Lowest paid plan, monthly billing | $179 | $29 | $49 | Ahead in this row: $9 | $17 | $39 | Not stated |
| Lowest paid plan, billed yearly | $143 | $24 | $42 | Ahead in this row: $7.50 | Not stated | $29 | $82 |
| Free trial | Yes, length not stated on every version of the page | Yes, length not stated | 14 days | Yes, length not stated | No trial; free plan instead | 7 days | Yes, length not stated |
| Platform fee on your saleson the lowest paid plan | 0% | $5 per paid enrollment | 5% | 10% | 0% | 7.5% | Not stated |
| Courses or productson the lowest paid plan | Not stated | Not stated | 50 | Ahead in this row: Unlimited | 5 | 5 | Ahead in this row: Unlimited |
| Students or memberson the lowest paid plan | Not stated | 1,000 | Ahead in this row: Unlimited | Ahead in this row: Unlimited | Ahead in this row: Unlimited | Ahead in this row: Unlimited | Not stated |
| Community spaceon the lowest paid plan | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Not stated |
| Your own domainon the lowest paid plan | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Not stated | Yes |
| Email contacts includedon the lowest paid plan | 2,500 | Not stated | 100 | Not stated | Ahead in this row: 5,000 | Not stated | Not stated |
| Admin seatson the lowest paid plan | Not stated | 1 | Not stated | Not stated | Ahead in this row: Unlimited | 1 | Not stated |
| Run your own affiliate programwhich plans include it | Growth plan and up | Not stated | Shaker plan and up | All plans | All plans, including free | Builder plan and up | Not stated |
Each value links to the vendor page it was copied from. The raised-bar mark shows the column ahead on rows where more or less is plainly better. "Not stated" means the vendor's public pages do not say.
What the table shows
Systeme.io is the only vendor with a free plan, and it charges a 0% platform fee, as Kajabi does. Skool has the lowest priced paid plan at $9 a month on monthly billing, with a 10% platform fee and no own domain. Kajabi has the highest monthly price at $179 and includes 2,500 email contacts, while Systeme.io includes 5,000. LearnWorlds charges $5 per paid enrollment and caps students at 1,000, while Podia, Skool, Systeme.io and Teachable list unlimited students or members.
- Pick Kajabi ifyou want a 0% platform fee, your own domain and 2,500 email contacts and can pay $179 a month on monthly billing or $143 a month billed yearly.Visit Kajabi
- Pick LearnWorlds ifyou want a lower entry price of $29 a month on monthly billing or $24 billed yearly, with your own domain and a community space, and a 1,000 student cap and a $5 fee per paid enrollment suit you.Visit LearnWorlds
- Pick Podia ifyou want up to 50 courses or products with unlimited students, your own domain and a 14 day free trial, and a 5% platform fee is acceptable.Visit Podia
- Pick Skool ifyou want the lowest paid price at $9 a month, or $7.50 a month billed yearly, with unlimited courses and members, and you can accept a 10% platform fee and no own domain.Visit Skool
- Pick Systeme.io ifyou want a free plan, a 0% platform fee, 5,000 email contacts and unlimited admin seats and students, and 5 courses is enough.Visit Systeme.io
- Pick Teachable ifyou want unlimited students and a 7 day free trial at $39 a month on monthly billing or $29 billed yearly, and you accept a 7.5% platform fee and 5 courses.Visit Teachable
- Pick Thinkific ifyou want unlimited courses with your own domain and a yearly price of $82 a month, since its monthly price and platform fee are not stated in the table.Visit Thinkific
Written from the table above and checked against it before publishing. It does not judge output quality, support or ease of use, which the table does not measure.
How this page was put together
Vendors are listed in alphabetical order. The table recommends nothing on its own; the comparison and best-for pages state their rules.
Prices are each vendor's own list prices in US dollars before tax, for the lowest paid plan. Features come from the vendors' public pricing and help pages, linked in every cell. The monthly check re-reads those pages; a page whose data is older than 45 days is taken down until it is checked again. Spot something wrong? Send a correction.
Pricing pages as captured
