Best Course Hosting Platforms for Creators (2026)
You've recorded and edited the course — now it needs somewhere to actually live and process payments. Four platforms compared on what matters once you're ready to sell.
| Platform | Cheapest paid plan | Transaction fees | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teachable | $39/mo (annual) | 0% on paid plans | Straightforward course sales, minimal setup |
| Thinkific | $36/mo (annual) | 0% on all plans, even free | No-transaction-fee free tier for testing an idea |
| Kajabi | $89/mo (annual) | 0% | All-in-one: courses, email, and a website in one tool |
| Podia | $33/mo (annual) | 0% | Courses plus community/coaching in one lighter-weight tool |
Pricing shown reflects publicly listed rates as of mid-2026 and can change — check each vendor's pricing page before buying.
Teachable (full review →)
Teachable is built around doing one thing well: taking a finished course and turning it into a sellable product with minimal setup. Course builder, quizzes, and checkout are all straightforward without much of a learning curve, which makes it a common first choice for creators launching their first paid course.
Thinkific
Thinkific's free plan is genuinely usable for testing whether a course idea has demand before paying anything — unlike most competitors, it charges no transaction fees even on the free tier. The course builder is more flexible than Teachable's for structuring drip content and prerequisites, at the cost of a slightly steeper learning curve.
Kajabi (full review →)
Kajabi bundles course hosting, email marketing, and a full website builder into one subscription — the pitch is not needing to stitch together three separate tools. That consolidation is also why it's priced well above the others here; it makes the most sense for creators who'd otherwise be paying for a course platform, an email tool, and a website builder separately anyway.
Podia
Podia positions itself as the lighter-weight alternative — courses, digital downloads, and community/coaching features in one tool without Kajabi's price tag or Thinkific's configuration depth. A reasonable middle ground if you want more than Teachable's bare-bones course focus but don't need Kajabi's full marketing suite.