If you have knowledge, experience or a skill that other people want to learn, selling an online course can turn that expertise into a digital product you can sell repeatedly.
But before creating your course, there is an important decision to make:
What is the best platform to sell online courses?
The answer depends on what you are selling, your budget, whether you already have an audience, how much control you want over your customers, and whether you need a complete learning management system or simply somewhere to sell useful knowledge.
Some platforms, such as Udemy and Skillshare, operate primarily as course marketplaces with existing learner audiences.
Others, including Teachable, Thinkific and LearnWorlds, give creators the infrastructure to build their own online schools.
Platforms such as Kajabi and Podia combine course selling with marketing, websites, email and other creator-business tools.
Then there are digital-product platforms such as Vezill, where creators can sell practical knowledge in multiple formats - including compact courses, guides, videos, templates, workbooks and other digital resources.
This guide compares the major options so you can determine which type of platform fits the course or knowledge product you actually want to sell.
Here is a simple comparison:
|
Platform |
Best For |
Platform Type |
Main Strength |
|
Vezill |
Micro-courses and practical knowledge products |
Digital knowledge marketplace |
Courses + guides + templates + MRR products |
|
Teachable |
Independent course creators |
Hosted course platform |
Structured course selling |
|
Thinkific |
Online schools and training businesses |
LMS/course platform |
Learning management |
|
Kajabi |
Established knowledge businesses |
All-in-one platform |
Courses + marketing |
|
Udemy |
Reaching an existing learner audience |
Course marketplace |
Marketplace discovery |
|
Podia |
Courses + downloads + memberships |
Creator platform |
Multiple product formats |
|
Gumroad |
Simple digital products |
Digital commerce platform |
Fast setup |
|
Skillshare |
Creative education |
Subscription learning marketplace |
Existing creative audience |
|
LearnWorlds |
Advanced online training |
LMS/course platform |
Interactive learning |
|
WordPress + LMS |
Maximum ownership |
Self-hosted |
Control and customization |
The most important question isn't necessarily:
“Which platform has the most features?”
Instead ask:
“Which platform gives me the features I actually need to deliver the result my customer wants?”
Best for: Creators, professionals, trainers and digital entrepreneurs who want to turn practical knowledge into sellable digital products.
Vezill takes a broader approach than a conventional online course platform.
Instead of requiring every creator to build a large course consisting of dozens of video lessons, creators can package knowledge in formats appropriate to the problem they are solving.
Products can include:
Compact courses
Video tutorials
PDF guides
eBooks
Checklists
Templates
AI prompt packs
Audio learning
Worksheets
Toolkits
Practical playbooks
Other downloadable resources
This approach can work particularly well for micro-learning and results-oriented knowledge.
For example, imagine someone searching Google or an AI assistant for:
“How do I prepare for a job interview using ChatGPT?”
That person may not need a 15-hour course.
A practical product containing:
a 30-minute tutorial,
interview preparation workbook,
ChatGPT prompts,
sample questions,
answer frameworks, and
interview-day checklist
may deliver the desired result faster.
That is where a flexible digital knowledge marketplace can make sense.
Another difference is support for digital products sold with Master Resell Rights (MRR) or other appropriate licences.
Master Resell Rights can allow a buyer to legally resell a digital product according to the permissions contained in its licence.
This creates two potential audiences:
Learners who purchase the product because they need the knowledge.
and
Digital sellers who may purchase eligible products because they want both the knowledge and permitted resale rights.
Creators should always ensure that they own the necessary intellectual-property rights before offering MRR or other resale permissions.
Suitable for practical knowledge products
Supports different digital formats
Useful for micro-courses
Courses can be combined with PDFs, templates and other resources
Supports appropriately licensed MRR/PLR products
Creators don't necessarily need to build a large traditional course
Suitable for results-oriented learning products
Vezill should not be confused with a sophisticated enterprise Learning Management System.
If your programme requires advanced graded assessments, SCORM content, extensive student analytics, complex certifications or corporate training administration, a specialist LMS may be more appropriate.
Your business model looks something like this:
KNOW → PACKAGE → SELL → LEARN → APPLY → RESULT
You can explore Vezill's digital products marketplace to see how different types of practical knowledge are currently packaged and sold.
Best for: Coaches, instructors and independent creators who want their own structured online course environment.
Teachable is one of the established dedicated course platforms.
Instead of simply uploading a downloadable product, creators can build an organised student learning experience.
Depending on the plan and product configuration, creators can offer courses, coaching, digital downloads, bundles and memberships.
Teachable supports different pricing structures including free enrolment, one-time purchases and payment plans.
Built specifically for knowledge businesses
Structured student experience
Supports multiple knowledge-product types
Course hosting
Established creator platform
Multiple pricing models
Teachable uses subscription plans and its fee structure depends on the plan and payment configuration.
Before signing up, check the latest Teachable pricing and plans.
Also remember:
Teachable gives you the infrastructure to sell a course. It doesn't automatically guarantee customers.
You will generally still need a traffic strategy using channels such as Google, YouTube, social media, email, partnerships or advertising.
You want to build a conventional online course business with enrolled students and structured lessons.
Best for: Trainers, education businesses and creators building structured learning programmes.
Thinkific provides more extensive learning-management functionality than a simple digital-product storefront.
It is particularly useful when the learning experience itself is important.
Depending on the plan, creators can build courses, communities and structured learning programmes while managing learners through a dedicated environment.
Thinkific updated pricing for several plans in August 2026, so creators comparing platforms should check the latest Thinkific pricing before making a purchasing decision.
Strong course-building capabilities
Designed for education businesses
Professional learner experience
Communities and learning features
Suitable for multiple courses
Can scale into a larger online academy
The greater sophistication also means you may be paying for functionality that a simple digital product doesn't require.
If you're selling a short guide, template pack or 30-minute micro-course, a full LMS may be unnecessary.
You want to build an online school, academy or structured training business rather than simply sell individual knowledge products.
Best for: Established coaches, consultants, experts and creators who want course delivery and marketing tools in one ecosystem.
Kajabi goes beyond course hosting.
It is designed around building a broader knowledge-commerce business.
Depending on the plan, creators can combine products with websites, landing pages, email, customer management, checkout, communities and marketing tools.
This can reduce the need to connect several independent software products.
Courses and digital products
Websites and landing pages
Email marketing
Sales funnels
Communities
Checkout infrastructure
Marketing automation
Strong business ecosystem
The biggest issue for many beginners is cost.
If you're launching your first $10 PDF or $20 micro-course, purchasing a sophisticated all-in-one marketing platform may be unnecessary.
The economics change when you have multiple products, an established audience and meaningful recurring revenue.
Check Kajabi's current plans and pricing before deciding.
You are not merely building a course.
You are building an entire coaching, education or knowledge business around your expertise.
Best for: Instructors who want marketplace exposure and don't already have a large audience.
Udemy differs fundamentally from Teachable, Thinkific and Kajabi.
Udemy is primarily a course marketplace.
Millions of learners use marketplaces to search for courses, meaning creators have an opportunity to be discovered without generating every visitor themselves.
However, marketplace distribution comes with trade-offs.
Creators generally have less control over the customer relationship and commercial environment than they would through their own independent course business.
Udemy also uses different instructor revenue-share arrangements depending on how the customer reaches the course.
Creators considering the platform should read the official Udemy Instructor Revenue Share information.
Existing learner marketplace
Marketplace discovery
Recognised international brand
Large range of course categories
Useful for instructors without an established audience
Strong competition
Less control than running your own course website
Revenue share varies according to how a sale is generated
You operate inside another company's marketplace ecosystem
Your primary problem is:
“I can create a good course, but I don't yet have a large audience.”
Marketplace discovery can be valuable in that situation.
Best for: Independent creators who want to sell multiple forms of digital content.
Podia sits between a traditional course platform and a broader creator-commerce platform.
Creators can use it for products such as:
Online courses
Digital downloads
Coaching
Community access
Webinars
Other creator products
This makes it useful when your business extends beyond one course.
For example, a business consultant might sell:
Course: How to Start a Consulting Business
Download: Consulting Proposal Template
Workshop: Find Your First Consulting Client
Community: Monthly Consultant Growth Group
These can form part of one connected creator business.
Podia currently charges a platform transaction fee on its Mover plan, while higher plans remove that Podia transaction fee. Payment-processing charges can still apply separately.
See Podia's current plans before deciding.
You want a relatively simple platform combining courses + downloads + community + other creator products.
Best for: Creators who want a relatively quick way to start selling digital products.
Gumroad has long been associated with simple digital commerce.
One attraction is that creators don't need a conventional monthly software subscription simply to start selling.
However, that does not mean selling is free.
Gumroad currently uses transaction-based pricing, with different fees applying to direct sales and purchases generated through its Discover marketplace.
Check Gumroad's current pricing before deciding.
Fast setup
No conventional monthly subscription
Suitable for many digital products
Useful for testing demand
Marketplace discovery is available
Transaction costs matter as sales grow
Less sophisticated LMS functionality
Not designed primarily around complex learning experiences
Your priority is:
CREATE → LAUNCH → TEST DEMAND
rather than building a sophisticated online academy immediately.
Best for: Creative educators teaching subjects such as design, illustration, photography and related creative skills.
Skillshare operates differently from a platform where you simply upload a course and set a retail price.
It uses a subscription learning model.
Eligible teachers can earn through Skillshare's teacher compensation system and referrals.
That means creators need to understand the platform's current eligibility and royalty rules rather than comparing it directly with a simple course checkout system.
Existing learning community
Strong association with creative education
Marketplace discovery
No need to build your entire learning website independently
Less direct pricing control
Earnings depend on Skillshare's compensation structure
Eligibility requirements apply
Less ownership of the customer relationship
Read the latest information in the Skillshare Help Center before building a business model around expected royalties.
You teach creative skills and value access to an existing learning audience.
Best for: Professional educators, training companies and businesses requiring sophisticated learning functionality.
LearnWorlds focuses strongly on the learning experience itself.
It provides functionality for building and selling structured courses and learning programmes, with features that extend beyond a basic digital storefront.
Creators can offer different pricing models including one-time payments and, on applicable plans/configurations, subscriptions and payment plans.
Its Starter plan currently includes a per-paid-enrolment charge, while higher plans can remove that enrolment fee.
Check LearnWorlds pricing for the latest plans and limits.
Advanced course functionality
Strong learning experience
Interactive training capabilities
Suitable for professional education
Supports more sophisticated training businesses
Greater complexity
More features than many beginners need
Higher costs as requirements grow
The quality and sophistication of the learning environment is a major part of your product.
Best for: Businesses that want maximum control over their website, content, SEO and technology.
Another option is not to use a hosted course platform at all.
You can build your own course website using WordPress together with an LMS plugin.
Popular options include:
This approach can provide considerable control over:
Branding
SEO
Course structure
Customer experience
Integrations
Marketing
Payments
Website content
But ownership also creates responsibility.
You may need to manage:
Web hosting
Security
Software updates
Backups
Payment integrations
Video hosting
Plugin compatibility
Performance
Technical problems
You value ownership and customisation more than convenience and have the technical skills or budget required to maintain the system.
This is one of the most important distinctions for beginners.
Examples include Udemy and Skillshare.
People already visit the marketplace looking for learning content.
Discovery
Less control over the marketplace, customer relationship and commercial environment.
Examples include:
Teachable
Thinkific
Kajabi
LearnWorlds
These platforms give you infrastructure to build your own course or online education business.
Greater control over your brand and learning experience.
You normally need to develop your own customer-acquisition strategy.
Platforms such as Vezill approach the opportunity from another direction.
Instead of assuming that knowledge must always become a large conventional video course, creators can package useful information in different formats.
For example:
Video + PDF + Checklist
or:
Guide + Spreadsheet + Templates
or:
Micro-course + AI Prompts + Workbook
This can be particularly useful for practical, results-oriented learning.
Explore Vezill to see examples of knowledge packaged as digital products.
Not always.
This is something many “best online course platform” comparisons fail to explain.
Imagine you want to teach:
How to Write a Professional CV Using ChatGPT
You could create:
25 videos
8 modules
quizzes
progress tracking
student accounts
certificates
But does the customer actually need all of that?
Perhaps the customer simply wants to create a better CV.
A more practical product could contain:
20-minute tutorial + step-by-step guide + CV template + ChatGPT prompts + final CV checklist
That may solve the customer's problem faster.
In that situation, a digital-product marketplace such as Vezill or a creator-commerce platform may be sufficient.
Now compare that with:
Professional Data Analysis Certification Programme — 12 Weeks
Students may need:
Progressive lessons
Assignments
Assessments
Instructor interaction
Progress tracking
Certificates
Structured learning pathways
A dedicated learning platform such as Thinkific, Teachable or LearnWorlds becomes much more appropriate.
The principle is simple:
Choose the technology around the learning outcome-not the learning outcome around the technology.
Before paying for any platform, answer these seven questions.
Is it a:
Full online course?
Micro-course?
Tutorial?
Certification programme?
Coaching programme?
PDF guide?
Course + templates?
Membership?
Digital toolkit?
Your answer immediately eliminates platforms that are unnecessarily complex or too limited.
If you have no audience, marketplaces such as Udemy may provide an additional discovery channel.
If you already have:
Website traffic
Email subscribers
YouTube followers
TikTok followers
LinkedIn followers
Existing customers
Professional networks
then greater ownership of the sales process may become more valuable.
If you require:
Quizzes
Assignments
Grading
Certificates
Student progression
Detailed analytics
prioritise LMS functionality.
If customers simply need instructions and resources that help them achieve a result, a simpler digital-product platform may be sufficient.
Don't compare monthly subscription prices alone.
Calculate your total cost of selling:
Monthly subscription + transaction fees + payment-processing fees + email software + website costs + video hosting + marketing software + other required integrations
For example, Gumroad currently charges transaction-based fees rather than a traditional monthly platform subscription.
Podia currently charges a 5% transaction fee on its Mover plan.
LearnWorlds' Starter plan currently includes a per-paid-enrolment fee.
Pricing models change, so always verify costs directly with the platform before committing.
This is one of the most overlooked questions.
A course-hosting platform does not automatically mean customers will discover your course.
Ask:
“Does this platform provide meaningful marketplace discovery, or am I responsible for generating the traffic?”
If you're responsible for traffic, you will need a customer-acquisition strategy.
That could include:
Google SEO + AI search visibility + YouTube + TikTok + Facebook + LinkedIn + WhatsApp + email + affiliates + paid advertising.
If you're building a long-term knowledge business, consider whether the platform allows you to:
Build your brand
Communicate with customers
Develop an email list
Sell additional products
Create memberships
Build communities
Understand customer behaviour
The cheapest platform isn't necessarily the best long-term platform.
Think beyond your first 20 customers.
Ask what happens when you have:
100 customers → 1,000 customers → 10,000 customers
Changing platforms after building a substantial course library and student base can be difficult.
Consider what you'll need 12–24 months from now.
Choosing a platform is only one part of the process.
A more complete model is:
PROBLEM → AUDIENCE → OUTCOME → PRODUCT → PLATFORM → OFFER → TRAFFIC → SALES → FEEDBACK → IMPROVEMENT
Let's break that down.
Don't start with:
“I want to make a business course.”
That's too broad.
Start with a problem:
“Small business owners don't know how to calculate whether their business idea will actually make money.”
Now you have something useful to teach.
Complete this sentence:
After completing this course, the learner will be able to __________.
For example:
After completing this course, the learner will be able to calculate startup costs, gross margin, break-even point and expected monthly profit before investing in a business idea.
That is measurable and understandable.
Don't automatically create a 10-hour course.
Ask:
What is the fastest responsible way to help this person achieve the promised result?
It might require:
5 video lessons
30-page practical guide
Spreadsheet
Calculator
Checklist
Templates
Examples
Or a combination.
Before spending months producing content, determine whether people actually want the solution.
Research:
Google searches
Google autocomplete
YouTube searches
Reddit discussions
Quora questions
Facebook communities
TikTok comments
Existing courses
Product reviews
Questions customers repeatedly ask
Questions people ask AI assistants
You're looking for recurring evidence of a problem people actively want to solve.
Focus on the outcome.
Remove unnecessary theory.
Every lesson should answer:
“Does this help the customer achieve the promised result?”
If not, consider removing it.
Only now should you choose your technology.
For example:
Simple practical knowledge product → Vezill/Gumroad
Traditional online course → Teachable/Thinkific
Marketplace-driven course → Udemy
Advanced learning programme → LearnWorlds
All-in-one knowledge business → Kajabi
Self-hosted academy → WordPress + LMS
Your sales page should quickly answer:
What is this?
Who is it for?
What problem does it solve?
What result will I achieve?
What's included?
How do I access it?
How much does it cost?
Why should I trust the creator?
Avoid filling your sales page with features without explaining what those features help the customer accomplish.
Your course won't sell simply because it exists.
Potential customer-acquisition channels include:
Google Search
AI search
YouTube
TikTok
Affiliates
Partnerships
Marketplace discovery
Paid advertising
A strong platform cannot compensate for a product that nobody discovers.
There isn't one platform that is best for every creator.
Teachable and Thinkific are worth considering for conventional structured courses. Kajabi targets creators who want broader marketing and business functionality. Udemy offers marketplace exposure. LearnWorlds focuses on more sophisticated learning experiences. Vezill can be considered when selling micro-courses and practical knowledge alongside guides, templates and other digital products.
Your choice should depend on your product format, audience, budget and required learning experience.
First determine whether you actually need a full LMS.
If you're selling a compact practical course or knowledge product, a simpler digital-product platform may be sufficient.
If you're building a traditional multi-module video course with student progression, a dedicated platform such as Teachable or Thinkific may be more appropriate.
You don't necessarily need your own website.
Platforms such as Vezill, Udemy, Teachable, Thinkific, Podia and Gumroad provide hosted infrastructure.
The better question is whether you want:
Marketplace discovery, structured course delivery or simple digital-product selling.
For short, practical learning products, consider platforms that don't require a complex LMS structure.
A micro-course might consist of:
Short videos + PDF guide + checklist + templates
A digital knowledge marketplace such as Vezill can accommodate this type of product.
Yes.
Some platforms support multiple digital-product formats.
For example, you could sell:
Course + workbook + templates + checklist
as a complete learning package.
This can sometimes provide more practical value than video lessons alone.
AI can help creators with:
Research
Course outlines
Lesson planning
Draft scripts
Exercises
Quiz ideas
Examples
Editing
Graphics
Worksheets
Marketing ideas
But the creator remains responsible for the final product.
Verify factual claims, respect copyright and intellectual-property rights, add genuine expertise, review AI-generated material carefully and ensure the finished product delivers meaningful value.
Yes—if you own the necessary intellectual-property rights and have the legal right to grant those permissions.
A Master Resell Rights licence generally defines what a buyer can and cannot do with the product.
Vezill supports digital products offered with applicable resale rights.
Creators should clearly state the licence terms rather than assuming that purchasing a digital product automatically grants resale rights.
They solve different problems.
Udemy is primarily a marketplace where learners already search for courses.
Teachable gives creators infrastructure for building their own course business.
Therefore, your decision depends partly on whether marketplace discovery or greater control over your own course business matters more.
Choose the format based on the learning outcome.
If someone can solve the problem using a 30-page practical guide, don't automatically turn it into a six-hour video course.
If the subject requires demonstration, practice, progressive learning, feedback and assessment, a structured course may deliver more value.
Don't begin with:
“Which is the best online course platform?”
Begin with:
“What am I teaching, who needs it, what result do they want, and what is the simplest effective way to deliver that result?”
Then choose the technology.
Use a dedicated LMS when learners genuinely need structured lessons, assessments, progress tracking and course management.
Use a course marketplace when access to an existing learner audience is particularly important.
Use an all-in-one creator platform when you need courses, email, websites, funnels and other business infrastructure together.
Use a digital knowledge marketplace when your expertise can be delivered effectively through micro-courses, guides, tutorials, templates, workbooks, toolkits or combinations of these formats.
Ultimately, the platform is infrastructure.
The value comes from creating something that solves a specific problem for a specific person and helps them achieve a specific result.
If your knowledge can be packaged into a practical digital product, you can explore Vezill and start selling digital knowledge.
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