Best Free Online Course Creation Platforms for 2023 (With 0% Fees)
Skillshare
Udemy
What is Thinkific?
Are you interested in embarking on your online teaching journey but feeling overwhelmed by the multitude of options for online course creation platforms, also known as LMS software? Look no further! In this blog post, we have curated a comprehensive list of the top 9 free online course creation platforms that are sure to meet your needs.
These platforms boast a wide range of features, including powerful course creation tools, assessment capabilities, student tracking systems, and effective course marketing functionalities.
Regardless of whether you are a novice or a seasoned instructor, these free LMS platforms will enable you to create and deliver captivating online courses.
Get ready to explore our handpicked selection and take the first step towards a successful online teaching experience!
9 best online course platforms
- Udemy for launching your first course
- Skillshare for teaching creative skills
- Teachable for creating an online school with advanced marketing
- Podia for selling digital products and memberships
- Thinkific for building a course from scratch
- Kajabi for marketing a course on autopilot
- Mighty Networks for building a paid community
- Simplero for managing your business
- TrainerCentral for a simple online course platform
Udemy for launching your first course
Udemy is a popular online learning platform that offers an excellent opportunity for launching your first course. Here are some reasons why Udemy can be a great choice for course creators:
Large User Base:
Udemy has a vast user base of millions of students from around the world. By publishing your course on Udemy, you gain access to a wide audience of potential learners who are actively seeking online courses.
Built-in Marketing and Promotion:
Udemy has a robust marketing and promotion system in place. They invest heavily in marketing efforts to attract students to the platform, which can help increase the visibility and discoverability of your course.
Course Creation Tools:
Udemy provides user-friendly course creation tools that make it easy to organize and structure your course content. You can create video lectures, add quizzes, assignments, and supplementary resources to enhance the learning experience.
Revenue Potential:
Udemy offers a revenue-sharing model where you can earn money from your course sales. While the revenue share is determined by Udemy’s pricing and promotional strategies, it provides an opportunity to generate income from your course.
Support and Community:
Udemy provides support and resources to help course creators succeed. They offer a knowledge base, instructor community forums, and regular communication to assist you with course creation, marketing strategies, and addressing any questions or concerns.
Analytics and Insights:
Udemy provides analytics and insights that allow you to track your course’s performance. You can monitor enrollment numbers, student reviews, completion rates, and revenue generated, which can help you optimize your course and improve student engagement.
Flexibility in Content Creation:
Udemy allows you to create courses on a wide range of topics, giving you the flexibility to share your expertise in your chosen field. You can create courses in various formats, including video lectures, presentations, screencasts.
Continuous Learning Opportunities:
As a course creator on Udemy, you have the opportunity to learn from other instructors and improve your teaching skills. Udemy offers resources and support to help you enhance your course creation abilities and stay up to date with best practices.
Feedback and Reviews:
Udemy provides a platform for student feedback and reviews, which can help you gather valuable insights and improve your course based on student suggestions. Positive reviews and ratings can also boost the credibility and visibility of your course.
It’s important to note that while Udemy offers significant advantages, it’s also a competitive marketplace with a large number of courses. To succeed on Udemy, it’s crucial to create high-quality, engaging content, invest in marketing and promotion efforts, and continuously engage with your students.
Overall, Udemy can be a valuable platform for launching your first course, providing you with a global reach, marketing support, and revenue potential to kickstart your online teaching journey.
Factors to Consider Before Choosing a Free LMS Platform
When selecting a free LMS (Learning Management System) platform, it’s important to consider several factors to ensure it meets your specific needs. Here are key factors to consider before choosing a free LMS platform:
Features and Functionality:
Assess the features and functionalities offered by the LMS platform. Consider whether it supports essential features such as course creation tools, assessments, progress tracking, discussion forums, multimedia support, and integration with other tools or platforms you may need.
Ease of Use:
Evaluate the user-friendliness of the platform. Look for an intuitive interface, easy navigation, and simple course creation and management processes. Consider whether the platform provides a smooth learning experience for both course creators and learners.
Customization Options:
Determine the extent of customization available. Can you personalize the appearance of the platform, including branding and design elements? Does it allow you to tailor the course layout and structure according to your specific requirements?
Scalability and User Limits:
Consider the scalability of the LMS platform. Determine if it can accommodate your current and potential future number of learners. Check if there are any user limits or restrictions on the free plan that may hinder your growth.
Technical Support and Documentation:
Assess the availability and quality of technical support. Check if the platform offers documentation, tutorials, or a knowledge base to help you troubleshoot issues or learn how to use the platform effectively.
Data Security and Privacy:
Consider the security measures implemented by the LMS platform to protect your data and the privacy of your learners. Ensure the platform follows industry-standard security practices, provides secure data storage, and complies with relevant data protection regulations.
Integration Capabilities:
Evaluate the platform’s integration capabilities with other tools or systems you may use. Check if it can integrate with payment gateways, email marketing platforms, analytics tools, or other systems that are essential for your course creation and delivery process.
User Feedback and Reviews:
Look for user feedback and reviews from other course creators who have used the platform. Their experiences can provide valuable insights into the platform’s strengths, weaknesses, and overall user satisfaction.
Limitations and Restrictions:
Understand the limitations and restrictions of the free plan. Some LMS platforms offer limited features, impose restrictions on the number of courses or learners, or display their branding on your course material. Assess if these limitations align with your goals and requirements.
Future Growth and Monetization Options:
Consider your long-term goals and whether the LMS platform can support your future growth and monetization plans. Evaluate if it provides options for upgrading to paid plans, offering premium content, or integrating with e-commerce features for generating revenue from your courses.
By considering these factors, you can make an informed decision and choose a free LMS platform that aligns with your specific needs, budget, and long-term goals.
Skillshare for teaching creative skills
If you’re looking to teach creative skills, Skillshare is an excellent platform to consider. Skillshare focuses specifically on creative and artistic subjects, making it a popular choice for course creators in fields such as design, illustration, photography, writing, and more. Here are some reasons why Skillshare can be a great option for teaching creative skills:
Targeted Audience:
Skillshare attracts a community of learners who are specifically interested in creative skills and self-improvement. This means that your courses will be reaching an audience that is already passionate about the subject matter, increasing the potential for student engagement and interest.
Creative Course Formats:
Skillshare offers a variety of course formats that suit creative subjects. You can create video-based lessons, project-based courses, or workshops that allow students to actively participate and practice their skills. This interactive approach is particularly effective for teaching creative skills.
Membership Model:
Skillshare operates on a subscription-based membership model, where students pay a monthly or annual fee for access to the entire course catalog. This encourages students to explore multiple courses, giving your course the opportunity to be discovered by a wider range of learners.
Community Engagement:
Skillshare fosters a sense of community and encourages student engagement. Learners can participate in discussions, share their projects, and provide feedback to one another, creating a collaborative learning environment. Engaged students are more likely to complete courses and leave positive reviews.
Revenue Potential:
Skillshare offers a royalty payment system for course creators. You earn royalties based on the number of minutes watched by premium members, providing an opportunity to generate income from your courses.
Promotional Opportunities:
Skillshare provides promotional opportunities for instructors, such as being featured in curated lists, newsletters, or through their social media channels. This can help increase the visibility of your course and attract more students.
Support and Resources:
Skillshare offers support and resources for course creators. They provide guidelines, best practices, and a dedicated support team to assist you throughout the course creation process. You can also connect with other instructors through their community forums.
Continuous Learning:
As a Skillshare instructor, you can continue to learn and grow your skills by exploring courses created by other experts in your field. Skillshare offers a vast library of courses that you can access as part of your instructor membership.
When teaching on Skillshare, it’s important to create high-quality, engaging content that provides value to learners. Additionally, actively participating in the community, responding to student inquiries, and incorporating feedback can help you build a positive reputation and attract more students.
Overall
Skillshare offers a dedicated platform for teaching creative skills, a community of eager learners, and opportunities for income generation. It’s an excellent choice for sharing your expertise and helping others develop their creative abilities.
Teachable for creating an online school with advanced marketing
Teachable is a powerful platform for creating your own online school and implementing advanced marketing strategies.
Here’s why Teachable can be an excellent choice for building your online school with advanced marketing capabilities:
Full Control and Branding:
Teachable allows you to have complete control over your online school’s branding and customization. You can personalize the look and feel of your school to align with your brand, creating a seamless and professional user experience for your students.
Course Creation and Management:
Teachable offers robust course creation and management tools. You can easily organize your course content, create multimedia-rich lessons, set up quizzes and assignments, and track student progress. The intuitive interface makes it simple to create and update your courses as needed.
Advanced Marketing Features:
Teachable provides advanced marketing features to help you promote and sell your courses effectively. You can implement various marketing strategies such as coupon codes, affiliate programs, upsells, and email marketing integrations to attract and retain students.
Sales Page Customization:
With Teachable, you can customize your sales pages to optimize conversions. You have the flexibility to design and optimize your sales pages, including headlines, pricing, testimonials, and persuasive copy, to maximize your course sales.
Integrated Payment Processing:
Teachable includes built-in payment processing, allowing you to accept payments directly on your online school. You can set up pricing plans, offer payment options, and securely process transactions without the need for additional payment gateways.
Student Engagement and Interaction:
Teachable offers features that foster student engagement and interaction. You can facilitate discussions, create community forums, and provide opportunities for students to connect and collaborate, enhancing the learning experience.
Analytics and Insights:
Teachable provides detailed analytics and insights into your online school’s performance. You can track enrollment numbers, revenue, student progress, and engagement metrics. This data helps you measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and make data-driven decisions.
Integrations:
Teachable offers integrations with various third-party tools and services. You can connect your online school with email marketing platforms, CRM systems, analytics tools, and more, allowing for seamless workflow integration and advanced marketing automation.
Mobile Responsiveness:
Teachable ensures that your online school is mobile-responsive, providing an optimal learning experience on various devices. This flexibility allows students to access your courses conveniently from their desktop, laptop, or mobile devices.
Support and Resources:
Teachable provides extensive support and resources to help you succeed. They offer a knowledge base, tutorials, live chat support, and a community of course creators where you can seek guidance, share insights, and learn from others’ experiences.
Teachable empowers you to create and market your online school effectively, providing advanced marketing features, customization options, and user-friendly course creation tools. With its robust set of features and resources, Teachable can help you build a successful online school while implementing advanced marketing strategies to attract and engage your target audience.
Podia for selling digital products and memberships
Podia is an excellent platform for selling digital products and memberships. It offers a range of features and tools to help you monetize your digital content and build a thriving online business.
Here are some reasons why Podia is a great choice for selling digital products and memberships:
All-in-One Platform:
Podia is an all-in-one platform that allows you to sell digital products, memberships, online courses, and more from a single place. You can streamline your business operations by managing all your products and memberships in one central dashboard.
Digital Product Sales:
Podia makes it easy to sell digital products such as e-books, guides, templates, software, and any other downloadable files. You can upload your products, set pricing, and offer secure delivery to your customers.
Membership Subscriptions:
With Podia, you can create and sell membership subscriptions. Whether you want to offer exclusive content, community access, or recurring services, Podia provides the tools to set up and manage membership tiers and recurring payments.
Customizable Storefront:
Podia allows you to customize your storefront to match your brand identity. You can design your sales pages, product pages, and membership pages to provide a seamless and personalized experience for your customers.
Payment Processing:
Podia handles payment processing securely and efficiently. It supports major payment gateways, allowing you to accept payments from customers worldwide. You can also offer flexible payment options, including one-time payments, payment plans, and recurring subscriptions.
Email Marketing Integration:
Podia integrates with popular email marketing services, allowing you to build and nurture your customer relationships. You can set up automated email campaigns, send newsletters, and engage with your customers to drive sales and increase customer retention.
Course Hosting:
In addition to selling digital products and memberships, Podia also offers course hosting capabilities. You can create and deliver online courses, with options for multimedia content, quizzes, certificates, and student progress tracking.
Drip Content:
Podia supports drip content, enabling you to release your digital products or course content gradually over time. This feature is useful for providing a structured learning experience for your customers or members.
Analytics and Reporting:
Podia provides comprehensive analytics and reporting features. You can track sales, revenue, customer behavior, and other key metrics to gain insights into the performance of your products and memberships. This data helps you make informed decisions and optimize your offerings.
Customer Support:
Podia offers reliable customer support to assist you with any questions or technical issues you may encounter. Their support team is responsive and dedicated to ensuring a smooth experience for both you and your customers.
With its user-friendly interface, integrated features, and comprehensive support, Podia provides a powerful platform for selling digital products and memberships. Whether you’re a solopreneur, content creator, or small business owner, Podia offers the tools you need to monetize your digital content effectively and build a thriving online business.
Thinkific for building a course from scratch
Thinkific is an excellent platform for building a course from scratch. It provides a comprehensive set of tools and features to help you create, market, and deliver online courses.
Here are some reasons why Thinkific is a great choice for building a course from scratch:
Course Creation Tools:
Thinkific offers an intuitive and user-friendly course builder that allows you to create engaging and interactive course content. You can easily upload videos, documents, quizzes, and other multimedia elements to deliver a rich learning experience to your students.
Customizable Course Design:
Thinkific provides a range of customizable templates and themes, allowing you to design your course to match your branding and style. You can customize colors, fonts, layouts, and more to create a visually appealing and cohesive course experience.
Multimedia Support:
Thinkific supports a variety of multimedia formats, including video, audio, PDFs, and presentations. This allows you to incorporate diverse content types and instructional methods to enhance student engagement and understanding.
Advanced Course Delivery Options:
Thinkific offers versatile course delivery options to suit different teaching styles. You can choose between drip content, pre-requisites, and self-paced or scheduled learning formats to deliver your course in a way that best meets your students’ needs.
Student Engagement Features:
Thinkific provides built-in features to encourage student engagement and interaction. You can incorporate discussion forums, student comments, and community features to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among your students.
Marketing and Sales Tools:
Thinkific offers powerful marketing and sales features to help you promote and sell your course. You can create customized sales pages, offer coupons and promotions, set up payment plans, and integrate with popular marketing tools to drive course enrollment.
Secure Content Delivery:Thinkific ensures the secure delivery of your course content to enrolled students. It protects your content with encryption and access controls, preventing unauthorized distribution and maintaining the integrity of your intellectual property.
Student Progress Tracking:
Thinkific provides tools to track and monitor student progress throughout the course. You can view individual student analytics, track completion rates, and identify areas where students may need additional support or guidance.
Integrations and Add-ons:
Thinkific integrates with a wide range of third-party tools and services. You can connect your course with email marketing platforms, analytics tools, payment gateways, and more, to streamline your workflow and enhance your course functionality.
Support and Resources:
Thinkific offers comprehensive support and resources to help you throughout your course creation journey. They provide a knowledge base, tutorial videos, webinars, and a responsive support team to assist you with any questions or technical issues you may encounter.
Thinkific empowers you to build a professional and effective online course from scratch. Its feature-rich platform, customization options, and marketing tools make it a great choice for both beginners and experienced course creators. With Thinkific, you can create and deliver a high-quality course that engages your students and helps them achieve their learning goals.
Kajabi for marketing a course on autopilot
Kajabi is an excellent platform for marketing a course on autopilot. It offers a range of powerful marketing automation features that allow you to automate various aspects of your course promotion and sales process.
Here are some reasons why Kajabi is a great choice for automating your course marketing:
Marketing Automation:
Kajabi provides robust marketing automation capabilities that enable you to set up automated email sequences, sales funnels, and customer journeys. You can design customized workflows that automatically deliver targeted messages, offers, and content to your audience based on their behavior and interactions.
Email Marketing:
With Kajabi, you can build and manage your email list directly within the platform. It offers email marketing tools that allow you to create visually appealing newsletters, automated campaigns, and personalized communications to nurture and engage your subscribers.
Sales Funnels:
Kajabi allows you to create automated sales funnels to guide your prospects through a strategic buying process. You can design landing pages, create upsells and downsells, and configure automated email sequences to convert leads into customers without manual intervention.
Landing Page Builder:
Kajabi offers a user-friendly landing page builder that enables you to create high-converting sales pages, opt-in forms, and lead capture pages. You can customize the design, layout, and content to create compelling landing pages that drive conversions.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management):Kajabi includes a built-in CRM system that helps you manage and organize your customer data. You can track interactions, view customer profiles, and segment your audience based on their behavior and preferences, allowing for more targeted marketing campaigns.
Analytics and Reporting:
Kajabi provides detailed analytics and reporting features that give you insights into your course performance and marketing efforts. You can track metrics such as sales, conversions, engagement, and email open rates to measure the effectiveness of your marketing automation.
Membership Site Management:
Kajabi offers a comprehensive membership site management system, allowing you to create and manage membership levels, content access, and community features. You can automate the onboarding process, create exclusive member-only content, and engage with your community to enhance the overall learning experience.
Integrations:
Kajabi integrates with popular third-party tools and services, including email marketing platforms, payment gateways, and analytics tools. This enables you to connect and automate your workflows across different systems, further enhancing your marketing automation capabilities.
Support and Resources:
Kajabi provides extensive support and resources to help you make the most of their marketing automation features. They offer tutorials, knowledge base articles, and a dedicated support team to assist you with any questions or technical issues you may encounter.
By leveraging Kajabi’s marketing automation features, you can create a highly efficient and targeted marketing system for your online course. Automating tasks such as email communication, lead generation, and sales funnels allows you to focus on creating valuable content while your course marketing runs on autopilot.
Mighty Networks for building a paid community
Mighty Networks is a platform that allows you to build and manage a paid community. It provides tools and features to create an online space where you can connect with your audience, share content, and monetize your community through membership fees or other paid offerings.
Here are some key features and benefits of using Mighty Networks for building a paid community:
Community Building:
Mighty Networks provides a user-friendly interface for creating a branded community space. You can customize the appearance, layout, and features to align with your brand and community goals.
Content Sharing:
You can easily share various types of content, including articles, videos, photos, and files, within your community. This allows you to provide valuable resources, engage your members, and foster discussions around specific topics.
Membership Options:
With Mighty Networks, you have the flexibility to offer different membership levels or subscription plans to your community members. You can set up tiered access to exclusive content, premium features, or personalized support, allowing you to generate recurring revenue from your community.
Community Engagement:
The platform includes features that encourage member engagement and interaction. You can create discussions, polls, and events, enabling your community to connect, learn from each other, and collaborate.
Mobile Apps:
Mighty Networks provides mobile apps for iOS and Android, allowing your members to access and participate in the community from their smartphones. This enhances convenience and engagement, as users can stay connected and receive notifications on the go.
Monetization Tools:
In addition to membership fees, Mighty Networks offers various monetization options. You can sell digital products, courses, or event tickets directly within your community, providing additional revenue streams.
Analytics and Insights:
The platform provides analytics and insights to help you understand your community’s growth, engagement, and revenue metrics. This data can guide your decision-making and enable you to refine your community strategy.
Support and Resources:
Mighty Networks offers support resources, including a knowledge base and customer support channels, to assist you in setting up and managing your paid community effectively.
It’s worth noting that while Mighty Networks provides a robust platform for building a paid community, there may be other alternatives available as well. It’s a good idea to research and compare different options to find the platform that best suits your specific needs and community goals.
Simplero for managing your business:
Simplero is a platform designed to help entrepreneurs and businesses manage various aspects of their online business. It offers a range of features and tools that can streamline and automate processes related to marketing, selling, and delivering digital products and services.
Here are some key features and benefits of using Simplero for managing your business:
Sales and Marketing:
Simplero provides tools for creating and managing sales funnels, landing pages, email campaigns, and marketing automation. You can easily build and customize these components to attract leads, convert them into customers, and nurture ongoing relationships.
Membership Sites and Online Courses:
The platform enables you to create membership sites and online courses, allowing you to deliver content and training to your customers or clients. You can structure your courses, drip content, and provide quizzes or assessments to enhance the learning experience.
Payment Processing and Subscriptions:
Simplero integrates with various payment gateways, making it easy to process payments securely. You can set up one-time payments, recurring subscriptions, or payment plans for your products or services.
CRM and Customer Management:
Simplero includes customer relationship management (CRM) features that help you manage customer information, track interactions, and segment your audience. You can view purchase histories, communication logs, and engagement metrics to better understand and serve your customers.
Email Marketing:
Simplero has built-in email marketing capabilities, allowing you to create and send targeted email campaigns. You can segment your audience based on various criteria, track email performance, and automate sequences to nurture leads and build relationships.
Affiliate Management:
If you have an affiliate program, Simplero provides tools to manage and track your affiliates’ performance. You can set up commission structures, provide promotional materials, and monitor affiliate activity and sales.
Customer Support and Onboarding:
Simplero offers features to provide customer support and onboarding materials. You can set up knowledge bases, deliver welcome sequences, and provide access to support tickets or forums to assist your customers.
Analytics and Reporting:
The platform provides analytics and reporting tools to track your business performance. You can monitor sales, engagement, and marketing metrics to gain insights and make data-driven decisions.
Integrations:
Simplero integrates with various third-party tools and platforms, such as payment gateways, email marketing services, and webinar platforms. This allows you to connect your business ecosystem and streamline your workflows.
Data Security and Compliance:
Simplero prioritizes data security and compliance with privacy regulations. It employs secure data storage, encryption, and regular backups to protect your business and customer information.
Before choosing Simplero or any other business management platform, it’s important to evaluate your specific needs, budget, and technical requirements. Consider comparing different options, reading reviews, and exploring demos or trial versions to determine which platform aligns best with your business goals.
TrainerCentral for a simple online course platform:
TrainerCentral.com is an online platform designed for trainers, coaches, and consultants to create and deliver their online courses and training programs. It offers a range of features and tools to support course creation, management, and delivery.
While I don’t have detailed information about its specific features or offerings, based on its website, TrainerCentral appears to provide the following:
Course Creation:
The platform allows trainers to create and organize their course content, including videos, documents, quizzes, and assignments.
Course Management:
Trainers can manage their courses by setting up pricing, enrollment periods, and access controls. They can also track student progress and engagement.
Interactive Learning:
TrainerCentral.com may offer features to foster student engagement, such as discussion forums, live chats, and interactive assessments.
Payment Processing:
The platform likely provides payment processing capabilities, allowing trainers to sell their courses and process payments securely.
Analytics and Reporting:
Trainers can access analytics and reporting tools to track student performance, engagement, and other course metrics.
Customization:
TrainerCentral.com may offer customization options to brand the course materials and create a personalized learning experience.
User-Friendly Interface:
The platform likely provides an intuitive and user-friendly interface for both trainers and students to navigate and access the course materials easily.
Since TrainerCentral.com is a specific platform, I recommend visiting its website for more detailed information about its features, pricing, and support options. It’s also helpful to read reviews or reach out to their customer support for any specific questions or inquiries you may have.
