The online learning industry is growing at a rapid rate, and since the recent COVID-19 pandemic, online teaching has become increasingly popular.
Forbes reported that the online learning market, also known as the e-learning market is expected to hit $325 billion by 2025. That’s a whopping number. So, if you’re a teacher, instructor, or freelancer looking to share your knowledge and passion with others – you’re on the right path.
Launching an Online Teaching Business – Where to Start?
We’ve been working with a number of entrepreneurs, teachers, instructors, and coaches over the years. And we’ve found that most of them feel they really started to see a positive change in their business once they invested in a best-in-class online teaching platform.
Now, online video streaming platforms aren’t always the first thing you may want to invest in. Maybe you’re looking to get your website up and running first. Or you’re interested in making teaching videos and hosting them online. You might even be starting to get your own merchandise ready for selling.
If you’re doing all of the above – we’re here to tell you that some of the best online teaching platforms out there can do all of that for you – and more.
That’s right – online teaching platforms help you manage your customers, content, marketing, and communications all in one place.
Intrigued?
Read on to find out which online teaching platforms you should consider and why!
10 of the Best Online Teaching Platforms for Teachers in 2023
Here are our top ten online teaching platforms of choice. We believe that each of these online coaching platforms has key features that help you do your job more efficiently and help set you up for success from day one.
- Mastera
- Udemy
- Skillshare
- LearnWorlds
- Podia
- Teachable
- WizIQ
- LearnDash
- Thinkific
- Kajabi
Let’s look at each of these online teaching platforms in a bit more detail now:
1. Mastera
If you’re searching for a modern video experience platform, then Mastera is the best choice for you. This online teaching platform was designed to help instructors, designers, entrepreneurs, and teachers run their online tutoring business effectively. With bookings and scheduling, video hosting, membership management, and marketing tools, teachers can streamline business operations using just one tab.
But Mastera also lets you manage more than business operations. You can even host live teaching sessions using their Zoom integration, message customers via the platform, conduct effective email marketing, receive auto-payments, and even sell merchandise. This online teaching platform’s simple yet effective interface can be set up within minutes. This is what makes Mastera stand out from other online video streaming platforms out there.
Mastera also offers a free 14-day trial to anyone who wants to review the platform before paying for it. You can also get a free version if you wish to.
Key Features:
- Unlimited video hosting
- Unlimited customers
- Zero transaction fees
- Customer messaging
- Website included
- Email marketing
- Templates
- Integration with Zoom
- Auto payments
- Selling physical and digital merchandise
Pricing:
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- Starts from $39 per month.
2. Udemy
If you’re looking for an online teaching platform that has a large footprint and audience – then Udemy is it. The platform hosts over 40 million students and focuses on making educational courses accessible to people globally.
But Udemy has a few rules of its own:
- Not everyone can host a course on this platform.
- If you want to charge for your course, you have to apply to do so and get approved by Udemy.
- If approved, you must feature a minimum of five video lectures.
- Courses have to be at least half an hour in length.
As you can see, you may have access to a plethora of students, but Udemy isn’t a “plug-and-play” type of teaching platform. But if you do choose this route, you can be sure that you’ll gain access to great marketing support, a wide audience, and detailed analytics.
Key Features:
- Curated courses
- A wide audience
- Marketing support
- Good reporting and analytics
Pricing:
- Contact the sales team for pricing
3. Skillshare
This online course platform is all about creativity. Skillshare hosts paid courses for people looking to teach anything from photography to marketing, design, and more. Most courses are all based on microlearning, with some courses being just five minutes in length. Anyone is able to sign up for free, access the Skillshare platform, and create a free online course.
So, how do you monetize your online courses? Well, that’s the catch. You can do so, but you need to have your course in the premium catalog in order for it to be a paid course. Students can pay Skillshare a monthly subscription fee to access all the premium content on the platform. This is how Skillshare differs slightly from other online teaching platforms out there.
Key Features:
- Easy to set up for free
- A good way of getting your name known in a popular community
- Monetization only on the premium catalog
- Focus is predominantly on courses
Pricing:
- No pricing available on their website. Sign up for free to gain access to pricing plans.
4. LearnWorlds
Sometimes teachers need a platform that allows them to quickly setup a variety of courses for their students and have multiple instructors manage these courses. If this rapid set up and execution is what you’re looking for, then LearnWorlds may be an ideal choice for you.
The platform is built to help you create and sell online courses directly from your very own website. You can build courses with ease, add instructors to your school, and set various permission levels for each instructor. This comes in handy when you need others to teach the materials but not edit them. You can also enjoy a branded app from LearnWorlds – a very useful tool when needing to tutor on the go.
Key Features:
- Branded app
- Multiple courses
- Multiple instructors with varied permissions
- Good management features
- Fair branding and setup
Pricing:
- Starts from $24 per month, billed annually
- 30-day free trial is available
5. Podia
Sometimes teachers want more than a course builder. Sometimes, having integrated eCommerce functionality really boosts a business. It means that tutors can have varied revenue streams and always have more than one type of product or service to offer their customers. With Podia, you are able to have your online school, products, and community all in one space.
The online video streaming platform also manages all your digital product operations. This is extremely handy to have as it consolidates all your work into one space. This makes your day-to-day tasks much more manageable, and the best part is that you can do it all by yourself. However, it’s good to note that the course builder on Podia isn’t as powerful as others on this list.
Memberships are the way in which most Podia clients make their money. You can also grow a community once you’re established. This is an excellent way to build long-term relationships with clients.
Key Features:
- eCommerce features
- Memberships
- Pre-launch campaigns
- Simple templates
- Community
Pricing:
- Free version available
- Mover plan starts from $33 per month, billed annually
6. Teachable
If you’re looking for something that is easy to set up and won’t break the bank – Teachable may be a good platform to consider. This popular online coaching platform is designed to help tutors of various industries and fields to sign up and begin course-building within minutes.
Teachable is also known for its incredible course customization capabilities. This allows you to brand each course so that your business colors, logo, and themes look consistent. You can customize your course colors as well as marketing elements like your landing pages. This is what truly makes Teachable stand out from many other online teaching platforms. You can also use marketing tools such as email to engage with your audience and notify them of upcoming courses and products.
Key Features:
- Easy setup
- Flexible payment plans and subscriptions
- Branding customization within courses
- Handy marketing tools included
- Good pricing tiers
Pricing:
- Free version is available for 14 days
- Basic starts from $29 per month, billed annually
7. WizIQ
Source: WizIQ
WizIQ differentiates itself by selling itself as an online teaching platform in real time. What does this mean? Some online streaming platforms specialize in creating courses where students can study at their own pace. But not all teaching techniques or topics are effective this way. For example, if you’re a teacher who teaches a very “hands-on” topic, you may want students to follow you step by step. This is where WizIQ really packs a punch.
This educational platform helps tutors offer both self-paced and live classes. This way, if you want the best of both worlds – you can have it with ease. You are able to build and sell online courses directly on the platform. The software is also favored by companies who want to use it as an online tutoring platform for their employees.
Key Features:
- Real-time tutoring
- Virtual classrooms that can be tailored
- Mobile app learning
- Works similarly to an LMS (learning management system)
- eCommerce capabilities
Pricing:
- Starts from $25 per month, billed annually
8. LearnDash
If you’re looking for a solution where you can add courses to your already-done WordPress website, then you should consider LearnDash. LearnDash is a little different when compared with other online teaching software on this list in that it is a plugin more than a platform.
How does it work? Well, all you have to do is purchase the software and then add LearnDash as a plugin within your WordPress website. Once you have done this, you can add courses directly to your website. This works well if you’re already established and have a website running for a while. Although, LearnDash won’t give you access to live teaching features, it’s only available for WordPress websites.
Key Features:
- Course functionality on your website
- Simple setup
- Designed to work with WordPress themes
- Quizzes, certificates, assignments
- Tiered course structures
- Flexible pricing models and payment gateways
Pricing:
- $199 per year for the WordPress plugin on 1 site
9. Thinkific
Thinkific is one of the most well-known online teaching platforms around. It is designed to help teachers create websites and add an eCommerce element to their sites. From there, you can build courses with quizzes or surveys using the platform. This online course building platform also accepts global payments and uses a subscription-based model, like Mastera.
The only catch with Thinkific is that it is much more expensive than other platforms on this list. You can sign up for a free version, but like other things, the free version is limited – but a good choice if you want to get a feel for the platform.
Key Features:
- Unlimited students
- Administrator roles
- Community
- Customer support via email and chatbot
- Website themes
- Integrated eCommerce
- Courses with surveys and quizzes
Pricing:
- Free version available
- Paid plans start from $74 per month, billed annually
10. Kajabi
Kajabi is like many others on this list in that it specializes in offering companies and entrepreneurs a platform where they can build online courses. Kajabi’s USP (unique selling point) is that it allows teachers to sell digital products and podcasts in addition to their online courses. (Most platforms only focus on digital courses.)
Another one of Kajabi’s powerful features is its templates. There is a wide range of templates to choose from. These can be used to create marketing collateral like landing pages in just minutes. The online teaching platform’s analytics is also advanced, offering data on end-to-end user journeys.
Unfortunately, Kajabi does not offer a free plan. Instead, you can sign up for a free 14-day trial. Their plans are more pricey than others on this list, and this online teaching software does focus on medium to larger companies as clients.
Key Features:
- Offers the selling of a variety of products like podcasts, courses, and digital products
- Good templates for marketing collateral
- Landing pages
- Intuitive course builder
- Quick setup
- Community
- Good sales funnel analytics
Pricing:
- 14-day trial is available, but no free plan.
- Paid plans begin at $119 per month, billed annually
Launch Your Tutoring Business with the Best Online Teaching Platform
As you can see, each premium online teaching platform on this list has its own pros and cons. If you want one that will tick the most boxes for you and let you monetize your content with ease, we suggest considering Mastera.
Mastera is designed with minimal limitations for its clients. It’s all about empowering teachers to do what they do best and get paid for it. If you want to look into creating online courses with ease in a decent amount of time and not have to pay tens of transaction fees – why not speak to our team?
We can help you understand how our online teaching platform can elevate your business and keep it running for the long term. Schedule a demo with us to learn more today.
Co-Founder, Gleantap & Mastera