Online course platforms · 2026
Best online course platforms for creators 11 tools ranked by verified data
Data checked Oct 14, 2026 against the vendors' own pages. How we verify
We scored 12 online course platforms for creators with the same 7-criterion scorecard; 11 have enough verified data to be ranked.
Only tools listed for creators are included.
Tutor LMS ranks first with 99/100, followed by LifterLMS (89) and Heights Platform (89).
The lowest starting price among ranked tools (the least you can pay for a paid plan, for one user or account) is Tutor LMS's: $16.58 per month billed yearly on the Individual plan.
The ranking
| # | Tool | Score | Coverage | From, billed monthly | From, billed yearly | Free plan | Integrations | Public API | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Tutor LMS | 99/100 | 85%6 of 7 criteria | Not offered | $16.58/mo | Yes, unlimited members | – | – | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 2 |  LifterLMS | 89/100 | 75%5 of 7 criteria | Not offered | $16.58/mo | Yes, unlimited members | – | Yes | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 3 |  Heights Platform | 89/100 | 100%7 of 7 criteria | $29/mo | $19/mo | No | – | Yes | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 4 |  LearnWorlds | 88/100 | 85%6 of 7 criteria | $29/mo | $24/mo | No | 50 | Yes | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 5 |  paidtier | 79/100 | 80%5 of 7 criteria | $49/mo | Not offered | Yes, 10 transaction fee percent | – | – | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 6 |  Heartbeat | 74/100 | 100%7 of 7 criteria | $49/mo | $40/mo | No | – | Yes | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 7 |  Teachable | 71/100 | 90%6 of 7 criteria | $39/mo | $29/mo | No | – | Yes | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 8 |  Mighty Networks | 69/100 | 100%7 of 7 criteria | $79/mo | Not offered | No | 2,000 | Yes | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 9 |  MemberPress | 69/100 | 75%5 of 7 criteria | Not offered | $16.63/mo | No | – | Yes | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 10 |  Kartra | 69/100 | 90%6 of 7 criteria | $59/mo | $52/mo | No | – | Yes | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 11 |  ClickFunnels | 61/100 | 75%5 of 7 criteria | $97/mo | $81/mo | No | – | Yes | Oct 14, 2026 |
| – |  learnhouse | Not ranked | 50%4 of 7 criteria | Contact sales | Contact sales | No | 80 | Yes | Oct 14, 2026 |
Each value links the vendor page it was read from (hover for the check date). Coverage is the share of the scorecard's weight with verified data, and "N of M criteria" how many criteria the score is based on; a tool is ranked at 60% or more.
– = not published by the vendor, or not verified yet.
Why each one ranks where it does
- 1. Tutor LMS 99/100
WordPress LMS plugin for creating, managing and selling online courses with quizzes, assignments, certificates, memberships and an AI course generator.
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
- Verified features (100/100): 4 of 4 tracked features verified: analytics, team access, templates, ai assistant
From $16.58 per month billed yearly on the Individual plan.
Homepage captured Oct 14, 2026 - 2. LifterLMS 89/100
WordPress LMS plugin with paid add-on bundles for building and selling online courses and memberships, with quizzes, certificates and e-commerce add-ons.
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Core Plugin)
- Pricing transparency (100/100): 4 of 4 plans have a public price
From $16.58 per month billed yearly on the Earth Bundle plan.
- 3. Heights Platform 89/100
Platform for creating and selling online courses, challenges, memberships and digital products, with community channels and built-in AI tools.
- Verified features (100/100): 3 of 4 tracked features verified: analytics, team access, ai assistant
- Fee on sales (100/100): 0% fee on sales on Challenge ($29/month)
From $29 per month billed monthly ($19 billed yearly) on the Challenge plan.
- 4. LearnWorlds 88/100
Learning management platform for building, branding and selling online courses and training programs, with AI tools, assessments and a website builder.
- Verified features (100/100): 4 of 4 tracked features verified: analytics, team access, templates, ai assistant
- Students per plan (100/100): 1,000 students or members on Starter ($29/month)
From $29 per month billed monthly ($24 billed yearly) on the Starter plan.
- 5. paidtier 79/100
No-code platform for creators to build, sell and deliver courses and subscriptions to members through Telegram, Discord and a web dashboard.
- Free plan or trial (100/100): Free plan (Free)
- Verified features (100/100): 3 of 4 tracked features verified: analytics, team access, ai assistant
From $49 per month billed monthly on the Pro plan.
- 6. Heartbeat 74/100
Community platform that combines discussion channels, courses, events, payments and a branded app for people who sell memberships.
- Verified features (100/100): 2 of 4 tracked features verified: analytics, ai assistant
- Pricing transparency (100/100): 3 of 3 plans have a public price
From $49 per month billed monthly ($40 billed yearly) on the Build plan.
- 7. Teachable 71/100
Platform for creating and selling online courses, coaching, digital downloads and memberships, with payments, tax handling and student apps.
- Verified features (100/100): 4 of 4 tracked features verified: analytics, team access, templates, ai assistant
- API, integrations and export (100/100): public API
From $39 per month billed monthly ($29 billed yearly) on the Starter plan.
- 8. Mighty Networks 69/100
Community platform with native mobile apps for running paid communities, courses and events, with payments and automations built in.
- Verified features (100/100): 3 of 4 tracked features verified: analytics, team access, ai assistant
- API, integrations and export (100/100): public API, 2,000 integrations
From $79 per month billed monthly on the Launch plan.
- 9. MemberPress 69/100
WordPress plugin that adds membership sites, paywalled content, subscription billing, online courses and coaching tools to a site.
- Pricing transparency (100/100): 3 of 3 plans have a public price
- API, integrations and export (100/100): public API
From $16.63 per month billed yearly on the Launch plan.
- 10. Kartra 69/100
Business platform with landing pages, funnels, email marketing, online courses, memberships, checkouts and affiliate management in one subscription.
- Verified features (100/100): 4 of 4 tracked features verified: analytics, team access, templates, ai assistant
- Pricing transparency (100/100): 4 of 4 plans have a public price
From $59 per month billed monthly ($52 billed yearly) on the Essentials plan.
How we picked
Every one of these online course platforms is scored by the same 7 criteria (scorecard v1). Each criterion gives 0 to 100 from the vendor's published data; the total is the weighted average. A criterion without verified data is left out and the other weights are re-normalised. A tool with under 60% of the weight covered is listed as not ranked, and so is a tool with no verified price and fewer than 2 verified features (“needs a verified price”); each score shows how many criteria it is based on. The core criteria are the same in every category; the category criteria are specific to online course platforms. Nobody gets custom weights, including our own products.
| Criterion | Weight | Type | What we measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | 25% | Core | Price per month of the cheapest paid plan, against the prices of other online course platforms on the same billing basis (monthly-billed prices against monthly, annual-billed against annual).Log scale. Billed monthly: $26.52/month or less = 100, $106 or more = 0. Only billed annually: $15.58/month or less = 100, $399 or more = 0. Only free plans = 100. Usage-priced and one-time plans are not scored. |
| Free plan or trial | 15% | Core | Whether you can use the tool before paying: a free plan, or failing that a free trial, as shown on the vendor's pricing page.Free plan = 100. No free plan but a free trial = 60. The pricing page lists plans but shows neither = 0. No plans read = not scored. |
| Pricing transparency | 10% | Core | How much of the pricing is public: the share of plans with a published price ("contact sales" counts against), and whether there are at least 3 published tiers.80 x (plans with a public price / plans listed) + 20 x (public plans, up to 3) / 3. No plans read = not scored. |
| Verified features | 15% | Core | How many of the 4 features we track for this category the vendor's own pages verifiably show (analytics, team access, templates, ai assistant). This counts verified features only: a tool that documents less scores lower here, and only here.Linear: verified features / 2 (half the tracked list) x 100, capped at 100. No tracked feature verified = not scored. |
| API, integrations and export | 10% | Core | Whether a public API exists, how many integrations the vendor states, and whether the vendor documents a way to export your data.Average of the parts with data: public API yes = 100, no = 0; integrations on a log scale (100 or more = 100); a documented data export = 100. None verified = not scored. |
| Fee on sales | 15% | Category | The percentage of each sale the platform keeps, as the vendor states it (the cheapest paid plan that states a fee).Linear, lower is better: 0% = 100, 10% or more = 0. No stated fee = not scored. |
| Students per plan | 10% | Category | Students or members included on the cheapest paid plan that states a limit.Log scale: 1,000 or more (or unlimited) = 100. No stated limit = not scored. |
Sources are vendor pricing pages, docs and changelogs, each with the date we checked it. We did not test these tools hands-on unless a listing says so. Full formulas: methodology.
Questions, answered from the data
What is the best online course platform for creators?
Tutor LMS, with 99/100 on our scorecard; LifterLMS is second with 89/100.
What is the cheapest online course platform for creators?
By entry price among ranked tools, Tutor LMS: $16.58 per month billed yearly on the Individual plan.
Which of these have a free plan?
3 of the 12 tools have a free plan; the highest-ranked is Tutor LMS.
How did you rank these online course platforms?
Each tool gets 0 to 100 per criterion from its published pricing, limits and features; the total is the weighted average over the criteria with verified data. Tools with under 60% of the weight covered are not ranked.