7 Best Online Course Platforms in 2023 | Teachable vs. Thinkific vs. Kajabi vs. Podia

[@witandwire]

All the tools mentioned in this video (and more!) can be found in my free Online Course Creation Toolkit: witandwire.com/coursetoolkit-youtube And if you have any other course creation questions, let me know in the comments!

[@sarsorh]

About teachable how much are they charging for my course because some other website the course prices is very low ? Also do they charge anything if am having my course in their website ?

[@ralphwarom2514]

I've used Teachable, you can decide on the pricing yourself. @@sarsorh

[@Kidsknowledgenetwork07]

Hy hi I need help me😢

[@lazymillionaireofficial]

I love this breakdown! My current fave is Teachable, I've been using it for years and it truly has helped me become a multi-million dollar business owner!

[@witandwire]

That's amazing! I'm so glad it was helpful!

[@JessiMelani]

I love financial transparency and that you commented this! Been looking for people making 6 figures a MONTH with their digital products on KZbin and just found your video!!! Thank you! And period!!!🎉❤

[@CandessMCampbell]

Kajabi has good reviews because of the network marketing. There are major issues with email and support. I paid over $3500 to have the website build because the site is not user friendly and the videos do not match the site. After 20 minutes of trying to get one photo on the site and it continually messing up, I realized the lie. My WP site - thank God I kept it is much better! Getting out now!

[@witandwire]

An incredibly important point on tools with great affiliate programs. (There are a few out there, where their marketing team is excellent, so you start to see them everywhere.) I'll definitely agree that Kajabi's all-in-one nature can cause more technical headaches than the rest, although some business owners are really happy with it. But I'm really sorry to hear you had such a headache. Did you end up using a WordPress plugin, or what did you switch to for course creation?

[@CandessMCampbell]

@@witandwire At this time I’m just trying to restore my business email which I can’t get now for a month because of K. I’m one support for hours and they are D students I suppose.

[@CandessMCampbell]

@@witandwire What happens is people pay $3500 for the website to be built and then flop. The problem is they are dishonest in their sales and promises. It is sad. I loved K when I was working with Brendan and Jeff. Now its all hype.

[@elisabethmanning8670]

Agree- Kajabi not easy to navigate and not intuitive - looking for beautiful design friendly platforms to move to and not many that wow me - still on the search 😅

[@sergiotlx]

Hi, Elisabeth. I'm curious, what platform did you end up using? Personally, nowadays I prefer Google Sites. But of course I can't offer the benefits of grading and user data being saved, or completion progress. So, what do you recommend in your own experience nowadays?

[@LeadershipHeather]

This video is probably the most helpful I've ever watched on KZbin! So clear and to the point as I'm just about to host my first course. Thank you

[@witandwire]

This made my day. Thank you, Heather! I'm so thrilled it helped 🥳

[@MYZTICTRAVLER]

Glad you confessed to your bias for Teachable up front. You spent the first six full minutes hard selling it. I will research the OTHER platforms mentioned here. Thanks for putting this video together!

[@witandwire]

It's true that I worked there, but after testing all the tools, I still sincerely believe it's one of the best options for course creators. I try to review all the tools annually to keep my recommendations current. But of course, I think it's definitely worth research a few options to see what suits you. I'm glad it was helpful!

[@mdeorian]

If I spent that much time working on a product, I’d default to be talking about it too… for example: I worked for Disney for 6 years. While I left them, I still referenced them a lot in future work…… our brain kinda just defaults to what we know most! But yes, you are right, she said that out front! This was a great and very helpful video. :)

[@elisodav]

Thanks for this video! Now I'm considering trying Teachable. However, I would like to share my 1-year experience with Podia: I make descriptions under the video lesson where you can have hyperlinks, so I easily embed dowbloadable pdf links and files this way. So, I didn't even notice the problem that you mentioned 💜

[@witandwire]

I'm so glad this was helpful!

[@duaitami]

​💫Also good to know: If you press "/" in your keybord in the "Content" section, a small menu will popup, allowig you to insert images, files, buttons, the classic grey line, embed forms, surveys, etc...

[@BestAudiovisualTricks]

Wow. You have no idea how helpful this video is. I had my course at Udemy and they unpublished it a few months later due to poor sales. They never told me that ‘before’ I invested the time to create the course for their platform. It was a complete waste of my very valuable time. That was about a year and a half ago. Now, I am thinking about repurposing my course onto a different platform and this is the most perfect video I can find on the topic. Thank you SO much W&W! You are wonderful! I will definitely try Teachable as soon as I get to reorganize my course! Kudos to your success! “Your success is my success because you are my friend.” Cheers from New London, New Hampshire! 👏🏻

[@witandwire]

How frustrating to hear about your Udemy experience. I'm really glad this video was helpful, and I hope it helps you start a new course creation chapter. (And thank you for the kind words!)

[@BestAudiovisualTricks]

@@witandwire It’s a really a silly business move from Udemy’s part. People are not stupid and through our own research, we can easily find great influencers such as yourself in the teaching/learning space and realize there are much better options out there like Teachable. Because we, creators / educators are also customers of these platforms. I will never create content for Udemy again and I am moving to Teachable thanks to your wonderful video. Thank you so much again!! 😊👍🏻👍🏻

[@witandwire]

@@BestAudiovisualTricks you're very welcome! I'm glad I could help.

[@billbuckleytutorials]

Finally . Someone that isn't just a kajabi fan . ( mainly because if you sign up through their links they get a % of your monthly payment ) As someone that's on Skillshare and Udemy . I agree with you Udemy gets you approx $3 each time for s course , and it's so big that it's almost impossible to compete with the instructors that have been on their for 10 years with 45K students base already. Was going to go with Kajabi but seems expensive and theirs actually a lot more backend knowledge needed to customize email/domain names hosting etc once you dig a little deeper . great video by the way!

[@witandwire]

Thanks, I'm glad you found it helpful! There are a lot of online course platforms with a lot of different functionality, so hopefully you'll find one to suit your needs.

[@mommyscribbles]

I am a kajabi user and moved my course over to them even though I love the teachable interface way better because I like that I can do SO many things with kajabi. Also found teachable a bit confusing when it came designing the website and sales pages. I also found it way better to use then my WordPress website.

[@witandwire]

Hi there, thanks for sharing! There are a lot of tools and online course platforms out there. It sounds like you've found a great solution to suit your needs, which I think is great! Team Wit & Wire

[@foursite]

Thank you! I am trying to launch a nursing course. This video was most helpful! Keep doing what you are doing. It’s working!

[@witandwire]

Thank you! That made my day to hear :) Good luck with your nursing course, and hopefully I can continue to be helpful for you!

[@caxtonopereministries1779]

Great video. Really one of its kind! Kajabi is phenomenal but they kept adding new features until it was no longer possible to catch up. It came to a point that it felt I was paying too much monthly for features I don’t know exist for my Covid-19 courses from 2 years ago. I pulled out in June this year.

[@witandwire]

Thank you! Yes, it doesn't make sense to pay for an all-in-one platform unless you are utilizing all of the features. - Team Wit & Wire

[@keithjenkins2862]

A good summary, well done. HOWEVER, one of the things I find that is TOTALLY overlooked by reviewers is how to stop a paid Subscriber from sharing their Course login details with their peers. 2FA is an option, as the paid Subscriber will probably get sick of their buddies calling them for an authorisation code every few days or so (as far as I can tell, none of these platforms offer 2FA anyway). The ideal solution appears to be Digital Rights Management (where, as I understand, the viewer can only view the content if they have a proprietary viewer downloaded on their PC and there is some confirmation that the machine they are trying to view the content on has been properly registered as a paid platform). This type of technology seems to be very expensive though. I would be interested to know if you have any thoughts regarding this. After all, you can spend hundreds of hours creating Course content and it can be absolutely crushing if you find that people are piggybacking off their buddies login to gain access to Course content for free - a real grrrrrr moment. Thinkific seems to have the edge here. A major problem IMHO.

[@witandwire]

That’s a fair point! I don’t think any of these platforms have a unique difference, which is likely why none of the reviews (including mine) address it. I agree that it’s important, but I don’t personally know of a better solution than what’s built into the main platforms currently in the space.

[@milathepsychologist]

Kajabi now offers 2FA. They introduced recently. And me as a methodologist. I do get sick and tired trying to log into my clients accounts 😅

[@jdstarek]

I love this input. I'm guessing you were in Marketing (Demand Gen or Ops) in your former life. You are totally speaking my language.

[@witandwire]

I was the Director of Marketing Engagement at Teachable & a Sr. Marketing Director for Ramit Sethi, so you're spot on. I'm glad it was helpful!

[@The_Sovereign_Shakti]

I’ve used Podia all of 2023 - you can add PDFs, images etc under a lesson that’s a video product. It is super simple but that’s been updated

[@witandwire]

Agree! I think that was a great update from Podia, and they’ve rolled out a lot of great updates since this video was filmed.

[@khushayarshah5595]

This is my first time teaching online. Thanks!

[@witandwire]

I'm so glad it was useful!

[@gohighhustle]

Great video, thank you! I've been dealing with a LOT of analysis paralysis around picking my niche and picking the right course. Ultimately, I've decided to just start creating!

[@witandwire]

I think that's a great idea! And so glad to hear this video was helpful for you 🙌

[@nzshareman]

May i say u are the most excellent explainer I ever come across on KZbin.

[@witandwire]

Thank you!

[@heyolandscape]

Super helpful! I use Kajabi but this was a VERY good overview and I loved how you talked about how to think about each platform

[@witandwire]

Thank you - I'm so glad it was helpful!

[@AllieYamaguchi]

This was so helpful! I guess what I am looking for is a course creation platform but I would also like to have a community. I want to be interactive with my student and create a space where we can not only purchase trainings but have a space where they can pay monthly to have access to continued education, blog post, webinars and monthly zoom meetings!

[@witandwire]

I'm so glad it was helpful! And great point. If commuity is crucial for you, I'd probably go with one of these two options, which both released updates in Q4 2022: Circle: Originally a community forum plaform, they now include a courses option, where you can sell live workshop series or self-paced courses (witandwire.com/circle --> 14 day free trial) Thinkific: They just announced a more robust community option, where you can sell courses, communites, or courses WITH a community option. (witandwire.com/thinkific --> free plan & paid options)

[@AllieYamaguchi]

Thank you! You are awesome!

[@KerrieRedgate]

I hit a game-changer *snag* with Teachable!!! : As the course teacher, I have NO CONTROL over the copyright notice on my own courses. The copyright they audio-add to the footer there is *not* correct. It even puts the year in the wrong place - it should always follow the copyright symbol. They auto create the copyright notice from the name of the school, and most teachers, especially starting out, may not have their school registered as a business name, which means it should either be the name of the teacher or the name of the company or business responsible for the course content - this is not necessarily the school name! I have been touch with Teachable Support over this, and the reply was that their legal team are happy with the way the copyright notice is, they won’t change it! This puzzles me. Open any book or website, and you will see the year follows the copyright symbol - if the year is at the end of the copyright holder’s name, it appears as part of that name, not as the year of copyright. I always keep the original year of my websites with an en dash between it and the current year. Plus I add “All rights reserved”. Thinkific gives you full control over your own footer and copyright notice. But I’m also looking into LifterLMS for Wordpress, as I design my own sites with Divi. I do like that Teachable takes care of all foreign taxes, but the copyright is an extremely important part of a course website, as piracy is rife in this industry, and we need proper deterrents.

[@witandwire]

That's an interesting point. It's something I haven't looked into since I've linked my own Terms and Privacy in my Teachabls site footer, and I'll admit I didn't know that the order of the copyright was a significant difference. It's something I'll have to research more. I appreciate you pointing it out!

[@KerrieRedgate]

@@witandwireIt really puzzles me that Teachable do this, as I've found so many improvements since the Hotmart takeover. One other thing I've discovered is that it's Stripe that takes care of charging all the correct international taxes on the actual student/customer/client Checkout invoices (but of course, they can't file them on our behalf), and for only an extra 0.5% per transaction. So this can be utilised on any platform that can integrate with stripe, or even where we can use Stripe Payment Links (which are brilliant!), etc. So this tax charge service could be used on virtually any course platform.

[@KerrieRedgate]

@@witandwire I did try one work-around: If you go into "Custom Text" in your Teachable dash, and go to the "Copyright" "©" (symbol code), you can type your full copyright notice in there, and put the year(s) *after* the copyright symbol, and even add " | All rights reserved | ", but it will still add the text of your school name after that, which is OK. It gives you proper protection and claim to your site and courses content, but it makes for a cumbersome footer on a mobile phone.

[@witandwire]

@@KerrieRedgate makes sense!

[@tesciu00]

Props for not being shity marketing guru. Very informative and easy to consume video. Thank you for the recommendations.

[@witandwire]

You're welcome!

[@imr4nkhan]

Thanks, Melissa. I didn't know about Teachable. Well, I just started my research and was playing around with Thinkific. Definitely, one step checkout in today's hyper world is an advantage. Have a cool weekend)

[@witandwire]

Yes, we agree. One step checkouts are helpful!

[@dianejooris]

Great video thank you! And congratulations for taking the time to answer most of the questions asked in the comments. Your answers are very helpful!

[@witandwire]

I'm so glad they are helpful!

[@QueenSanity]

Thank you so much! I’ve been researching Teachable for some time and you definitely confirmed it for me. You also clarified a lot of questions about the user experience and plug ins. Thank you 😊

[@witandwire]

That's great! I'm so glad I could be helpful!

[@LadyBerryCupcakes]

Please reconsider its not great at all as a user of over 2years and investing a year adding all my products! ☹️

[@ByronHerbalist]

@@LadyBerryCupcakes what do you see as the main issues of teachable? I'm considering now

[@BhamGirl39]

This video was very helpful. Glad to have found you and looking forward to exploring your other videos and future content. I really appreciated the tip that a 1-step checkout increases conversion, and it makes sense now that I hear someone share that. We’re seeking an avenue that will support both synchronous and asynchronous trainings, plus efficiently offering several handouts easily accessible per training. Any advice? Thanks for the work you’re doing to support other course creators!

[@witandwire]

I'm so glad it was helpful! Depending on what you're looking for, I think any of these course creation platforms would work. You'd pair it with a tool like Zoom, where you'd teach some trainings live and upload the replays into a tool like Teachable (witandwire.com/teachable). I hope I understood correctly and that the suggestion makes sense!

[@areluc]

I liked your comparison. However, you didn't mention that Teachable only allows 10 videos on the free plan, whereas there's no limit on Thinkific. Both now allow only one course. That means, unlike Teachable, you can actually create and publish a working course on the Thinkific's free plan. Incidentally, Teachable also conveniently "forgets" to mention it in their features comparison blog post. Btw, Thinkific now has a one-step checkout.

[@witandwire]

They've both updated their free plans quite a bit in the last 6 months, so it's tough to keep up! Currently, Teachable has a free plan - not a free trial - and there is no video limit. It's limited to one course, but you can publish it and enroll students. And yes, I'm looking forward to checking out Thinkific's new checkout flow. I appreciate you jumping in! Anyone can check out both free trials here: - witandwire.com/teachable - witandwire.com/thinkific

[@diegocaracasfc]

@@witandwire is there a limit in hosting videos on teachable?

[@witandwire]

@@diegocaracasfc individual files can't be more than 2 GB, but you can house an unlimited number of videos in your Teachable courses

[@diegocaracasfc]

@@witandwire so for 4k video that wouldn't be enough. So do you recommend filming at 1080p? For online courses is more than enough?

[@witandwire]

@@diegocaracasfc for most creators, yes, 1080p works for an online course.

[@AntonioJavar]

Thank you for clarifying this! Wow. I just wrote out my course curriclum and thank God I saw this video because I was about to use udemy lol

[@witandwire]

I'm so glad it was helpful!

[@dutyfreeadventures5924]

By designing your own sales page on wordpress, you essentially have turned the 1-step checkout into a 2-step checkout. But still better than asking to create an account first.

[@witandwire]

Yes, keeping account creation after checkout is what tends to affect conversion most. - Spring, Team Wit & Wire

[@MylesBelland]

Hi Melissa! Just wanted to say thank for your making this video and help break down the different options available out there. :)

[@witandwire]

Thank you! I'm so glad it was helpful! :)

[@wellspentsolutions7547]

We are searching for a new platform after a very rough launch with Learnworlds. The user experience is very important to us. I agree with you! I don't prefer the student experience in Kajabi for the courses I take personally. So that is definitely driving our decision!

[@witandwire]

I'm so glad this video was helpful as you make your decision!

[@SimonaRich]

Thank you for this video. You get straight to the point, which is very appreciated.

[@witandwire]

You're welcome, glad it was helpful!

[@TeacherKellyTag]

Thanks for this. I think I’m going to try Thinkific

[@witandwire]

I'm so glad this was useful!

[@filippoargenti77]

Great content Melissa, thank you very much! Which tools do I need to use alongside teachable to create email automation, a\b tests etc. ?

[@witandwire]

Thank you! And great question. I cover my favorite email marketing platforms in our free Course Creator Toolkit (witandwire.com/coursetoolkit-youtube). Those platforms can do A/B testing on things like subject lines and automations. But if you’re looking for A/B testing on landing pages, like sales pages, you’ll most likely need a third party tool like one of these: witandwire.com/convertri witandwire.com/leadpages swipepages.com

[@traderight1446]

Wow, for me this video is the best so far in explaining what I need to do. Excellent!! Thumbs up and I subscribed!

[@witandwire]

So glad you found it helpful! Thanks for subscribing!

[@tammay7254]

Thank you for this comprehensive video! I'm just exploring course creation in my field and met with a business consultant who suggested Udemy or LinkedIn Learning. I wasn't feeling it (as I started to use Teachable a few years ago to create a course but life got in the way and I had to cancel my subscription and focus on other things) but I figured I would do research and came upon your video. Your explanation of the course marketplace vs. course creation platform made me realize that, for my goals, I definitely do not want a marketplace situation. Not that a marketplace is bad in any way, but it's just not where I want to go with this business. So thank you for breaking that down!

[@witandwire]

Thank you! I'm so glad this video was helpful!

[@victoriamoser]

575! You’re getting closer 😆 loved the video!!!

[@witandwire]

Thank you! I'm so glad!

[@kelly_browning]

Really great, unbiased comparison. Thank you for creating this!

[@witandwire]

So glad you found this helpful!

[@moutassem]

Thanks for the comparison! Personally, I've been using Teachable for the last 6 years, and I love their easy to create courses and beautiful overall pages. But lately their customer support has been very slow. I have an issue with billing students (and loosing money in the process) and I've submitted three tickets over the last 15 days and still no response. Plus, they increased their prices and went from unlimited courses to a very limited number of courses for the same plan. I wanted to stay with Teachable (the hassle of moving platforms) but they are pushing me away with such bad customer support.

[@witandwire]

I don’t think you’re alone. I agree that Teachable has changed quite a bit since I filmed this video, and it’s a shame to see where they’ve been headed. I’m planning to release an updated version of this video soon, so I appreciate hearing about your experience.

[@learndarijawithkawtar4075]

@@witandwire oh then what platform I can use, I'm trying to look for the best option to sell my courses and I want my student to be happy with it. an advice please, I don't mind paying extra if its one time payment + good service

[@ByronHerbalist]

great input! I've been looking into teachable but this is a bit of a dealkiller! What are you thinking as a good replacement?

[@moutassem]

Thinkific ... I like it so far

[@madnessintomagic]

Dang. Was hoping Trainer Central was in the video too. I liked their live video options.

[@ArchitectureDrawingsAcademy]

Thank you very much. It's worth to note that the big advantage of Kajabi is the possibility to upload 4k videos. I was so sure I was going to use teachable unless I uploaded the first video and saw it downgrading to 1080p. Had to find another platform

[@witandwire]

That's a good point! It's a criteria that may not matter to all creators, but would be crucial for others. I will say that a possible workaround could be to use Loom (witandwire.com/loom) to host and embed videos in Teachable or any course creation platform. The main reason to go that direction, in my eyes, would be if you prefered the rest of the platform UX in one tool, and 4k was the only thing they didn't offer. That said, I think Kajabi has a lot to offer too, and I firmly believe there's no such thing as one right tool for everyone, just different options that suit each of us based on our individual criteria. So I really appreciate you pointing that out!

[@ArchitectureDrawingsAcademy]

@@witandwire That's a good idea, thank you! I'm not sure yet if I want to split between two services, but that may be the possibility. Maybe do you have your Kajabi affiliate link as well?

[@witandwire]

@@ArchitectureDrawingsAcademy I do, thanks for asking! It's witandwire.com/kajabi

[@markdjolly]

This was such a solid and insightful introduction to the options out there. Thank you.

[@witandwire]

Thank you! I'm so glad it was helpful.

[@adelineooi5208]

Thank you so much. Your video is very informative with very honest recommendation.

[@witandwire]

You're welcome! Glad it was helpful.

[@bellaechanted2552]

Hi Melissa! This was very helpful ☺️ thank you for the content! I was wondering what were your thoughts on making an online course for someone who doesn’t have a following. Can it still be profitable? And if so, do you think there’s a better platform in that particular case?

[@witandwire]

Great question! For anyone just getting started, I typically recommend getting started by building an email list. I have a program on that here: witandwire.com/email-engines I also have a free toolkit on recommended email marketing platforms here: witandwire.com/emailtoolkit-youtube

[@katherineryanmusic]

awesome video! :) THANK YOU!! Going to have to check out teachable now!

[@witandwire]

Awesome! I'm so glad this was helpful!

[@theartofhosting]

Your videos are great, thank you!! Quick question - Is there a way of seeing which students are currently logged in to your teachable course?

[@witandwire]

Good question! You're able to view when the student last logged in and number of logins.

[@dollymamabeauty6114]

Love this video! Thanks for all the information. I can't wait to start working on course building.

[@witandwire]

I'm so glad it was helpful!!

[@socialmedianovice3943]

Thanks for this informative video, just subscribed 👍

[@educationforlife387]

Hello! I'm in Africa/Rwanda, so I wanna to start an online business using one of these platforms, but I need a serious guide. So what would be your advice to me for starting such business! Thanks

[@witandwire]

Great question! In terms of how we can help, I recommend browsing our other KZbin videos here and checking the descriptions for any related resources: youtube.com/@witandwire

[@edubowman]

Great video. Lots of good info condensed in a few minutes!

[@witandwire]

Thank you! I appreciate that, and glad it was helpful.

[@johnnygames4427]

This is so Helpful, I think I will go for Teachable!

[@witandwire]

I'm so glad it was helpful!

[@paveinailanah9903]

OMG! You are Godsent. I needed to hear this today. Thank you so much!! Stay Blessed!!

[@witandwire]

You're welcome! I'm so glad it was helpful!

[@flippedbyabby]

Can you do a video on stan store?

[@witandwire]

Great suggestion, so I'll bookmark this for a future video idea.

[@luis5382]

thank you for your video was about to start with Skillshare

[@witandwire]

I'm so glad it was useful!

[@ExpressedWordz]

This is a great video, thank you! I use Wix for my website and they now have the ability to build in online courses. Do you have any insight into this? I am wondering what's the best route to take, but I like the idea of having everything on my website. However, at minute 6:04 you mentioned your wordpress site drives them to the checkout on teachable, I just found out about this platform now haha. Is this something that I could possibly setup under Wix I wonder (if you know?)

[@witandwire]

Great question! I haven’t personally tested Wix’s course builder yet, although I have a few Wit & Wire students testing it out with early positive feedback. So I think you have two options: Option 1: Try Wix’s course builder. (It could make sense to start here and see how you like it.) Option 2: Keep your Wix site and use a course creation platform to process payments and deliver the curriculum. Rather than Teachable, I’d recommend ThriveCart for that: witandwire.com/thrivecart. You can also see my full tutorial on ThriveCart Learn here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ooHSgYesg9SIrtE

[@elviraejang9224]

Thank you for this video. The only thing stopping me from using teachable is the “ 30 day refund “. For someone like myself who wants to sell my recipes/skill set ( a particular technique), I feel that the nature of my content shouldn’t be refundable because the student will go away with my technique or recipe, then still ask for a refund. Is there a way to prevent this on teachable?

[@witandwire]

I'm so glad it was helpful! I have two answers: the first is that as a course creator, I actually do believe in having a refund policy. Your situation might be different if it's more of a recipe collection - i.e. a digital recipe book - but refund policies lower the perceived risk of purchasing, and it typically means you'll convert more people into buyers (and earn more). Of my programs, I've rarely had any refund requests. They're tied to external factors. And I like to believe that people are good, but that's my personal philosophy. If you don't want the refund policy though, the way around it is to use a different checkout platform, like Thrivecart (partner link w/special offer: witandwire.com/thrivecart). If you use another checkout, Thrivecart can automatically enroll students into your Teachable courses, but since you've used a different checkout tool, the 30 day policy doesn't apply. I hope that helps!

[@rhondacosta160]

I'm trying to leave teachable because I find it tooo expensive for new course creators who aren't very very good with tech. And where it may seem intuitive for some it's not for everyone. I spent way too long trying to build it - write content for it - and make a LOT of mistakes that had to be solved via email. Email answers for a non-intuitive-tech person can feel maddening. They won't take a call even when a client truly has a problem and it's not for me. $39/mth for worthless customer service when you need em' - I'd rather be on vimeo. To be clear I meant build - write content for - build sales pages for TEACHABLE not the course I was selling. I already have a website. I didn't want to build another one.

[@scottarmstrong2691]

Your video is incredibly helpful. I have been a legacy plan Kajabi user for 6 years but have only scratched the surface of functionality. I was considering teachable but as you mentioned, all in one simplicity is a key value for me. Q - can you use Kajabi as a CRM?

[@witandwire]

I’m glad the video was helpful, and great question! If you’re looking for a true CRM - with deal management - Kajabi (witandwire.com/kajabi) doesn’t have that type of functionality (they’re an email marketing platform, at best). If you’re looking for a CRM, you could try ActiveCampaign: (witandwire.com/activecampaign), or you could run a needs assessment to see what functions you really need. It could be possible that Kajabi still works for email marketing if you only have basic CRM needs, but if you want something more robust, or an all-in-one, then AC will be a better bet. The rest of your business could continue as-is in Kajabi, you’d just migrate your contacts over. I hope that helps! Team Wit & Wire

[@soniateach]

I’d love to see an update video to this!

[@witandwire]

We have one in the works! :)

[@SoundItOutFilms]

Exactly what I needed, thank you!

[@witandwire]

I'm so glad it was helpful!

[@angesomdah]

A great video! Very helpful! Thank you Melissa!

[@witandwire]

Thank you!

[@themeditationguru8032]

Question, please - I want a tool where I can manually drip parts of the course - say I have one weekend and after open the course for Module 1 - and then they do Module 2 - We open the course for that module in Teachable, etc. But we want to do this individually - do you know a system where this is possible, please? Loved the video - so helpful. Thank you.

[@witandwire]

Great question, and thank you! Of the options listed in this video, I believe almost all of them have this feature (called Drip content). These definitely do: Teachable (witandwire.com/teachable) ThriveCart (witandwire.com/thrivecart Kajabi (witandwire.com/kajabi) Thinkific (witandwire.com/thinkific) Circle (witandwire.com/circle) Podia (witandwire.com/podia) Systeme (witandwire.com/systeme)

[@inkofthedragon]

Hello, I am a dog trainer. Each of my clients will receive new exercises per week. I need an easy way to add exercises to my clients profile. It would be ideal if I could finish up their in person class, then go to my car, load up an app and simply select the specific exercises from a database then add to their profile right there. So it's not so much courses I'm looking to build but rather have a huge database of exercises that I can select from to add to specific client's profiles. Is there an app or service that fits these needs? I've been searching all over but all I can find is services that offer course building. As in a select group of students can enroll in the same course. In my case, each client will have their own unique set of exercises that can be updated each week. Sorry for the redundancy in explanation but it's difficult to explain :) Hopefully you can help steer me in the right direction, thanks!

[@witandwire]

Great question! I agree that I'm not sure of a course platform that would allow you to do exactly what you're describing. You might try client portals like HoneyBook (witandwire.com/honeybook ), Dubsado (witandwire.com/dubsado ), or similar. It might not have the database feature, but you can at least share unique material with each client in their own hub.

[@gurpreetbajaj7205]

Great education! Thanks Melissa! I am building a course right now but want to test in a live webinar format (approx 8 weeks journey with weekly sessions and some mini assignments). Basis the response and learnings, I may wanna create and sell a self paced course version. Now for my phase 1- webinar format- i may still want a 'platform' for post zoom call experience (hosting docs, journals, pre read docs, community features). Do these platforms offer integrated zoom/googlemeet features? Is it worth signing up only for these features?

[@witandwire]

Great question. Some of the platforms (like Thinkific and LearnWorlds) offer Zoom integrations, while others (like Kajabi) have native livestream features. But in my experience, unless you’re using a native livestream tool - and therefore saving money by not needing another tool - then it isn’t usually worth the integration. Instead, you can just house the recordings in the course post-event, if that makes sense.

[@gurpreetbajaj7205]

@@witandwire yes makes sense! Thx for your advise. Hmm what about my need for all coaching participants to have some social community platform to keep the engagement going. Do i need to buy one of these or are there cheaper alternatives like FB group etc

[@Jony156]

Thanks for sharing very informative. I understand the difference now thanks.

[@witandwire]

You're welcome, glad I could help!

[@Heeect00rrr]

Which one do you think I should use to create & grow a community, have a course, but also the option to give personalized content to my students/subscribers? I don't even know if there actually is a software that can do all that but I would appreciate your opinion.

[@Heeect00rrr]

also thanks for putting so much effort in these free & helpful videos!!

[@witandwire]

It's ultimately up to your preference and your business needs, but if you'd like to see our current recommendations, you can download our Course Creator Toolkit: witandwire.com/download-course-creation-toolkit/ - Team Wit & Wire

[@piranhamusic1331]

Thanks for the the video, I am looking to get my music theory & guitar courses published soon. Also, you have beautiful eyes.

[@witandwire]

Best of luck with your upcoming course building! - Team Wit & Wire

[@AverageJacksPodcast]

Great video! Thank you so much for this. You’ve made my decision a lot easier 🎉

[@witandwire]

I'm so glad this video was helpful! Which did you go with?

[@AverageJacksPodcast]

@@witandwire I went with teachable in the end. I’ve completed courses myself with their programme and it was very smooth. Just setting it all up now 💪

[@witandwire]

That's great news! Congrats!

[@vanessa_souli]

What is your opinion of hosting all on wix? What could be a cheap alternative for an all-in one marketing platform like j´kajabi?

[@witandwire]

Great question. I have a few Wit & Wire students who are happy with the Wix course platform, but I haven’t personally tested it out myself. If you already have a Wix website, I think it would be worth testing!

[@kokoalert]

@@witandwire thank you for answering so promptly! I think I'll try it cause all the hustle of different platforms makes me dizzy!

[@Kitakueigo]

I use Thrive Apprentice and recommend it. 👍

[@witandwire]

That's great!

[@ojasmehta]

15:28 What she said is gold. Valuable when making any purchasing decision.

[@witandwire]

I'm glad you caught that tip! It's helped me make a ton of decisions over the years, so I'm glad to share it.

[@EscapadelaMatrix]

Thank you so much. I have a question. I'm not a very established out there, I'm just starting. I give holistic therapies and online courses on my website which has NEVER taken off properly. My main sales market is Airbnb experiences. Not a single therapy has been sold through my website, and I've sold a few courses after investing a thousand dollars in facebook ads to realize it's not worth it. So, just like the Airbnb platform worked to sell my therapies I'm looking for a platform to sell/market my courses. To me, it's not important if the course looks great if nobody buys it, what I care the most is to sell it. I can design the best course in the world, what I need is a platform/market place that will sell it. What do you recommend?

[@witandwire]

Hi there! Although we don’t offer personalized recommendations via KZbin, we do have a full free side-by-side comparison of our recommendations in our downloadable guide here, the Course Creation Toolkit: witandwire.com/coursetoolkit-youtube That said, none of the platforms on our list do any marketing on your behalf. So although we usually recommend using a platform, if you’re looking for a course marketplace, it might be worth exploring Udemy or Skillshare (witandwire.com/skillshare) intead. - Team Wit & Wire

[@mizcreativelyme]

🍃🌸Very helpful video! Planned to go with teachable for my baking from scratch courses and this helped confirm my decision. They’re currently running a contest to win 100k 🤑 And… nice outro 🎶 music. Adding to my chill vibes playlist. Thanks for sharing 🌸🍃

[@witandwire]

I'm so glad it was helpful! And yes, it's a great time to join with their current promo. (Depending on when people find this comment, you can learn more about their current promo(s) at witandwire.com/teachable)

[@ndz7372]

You speak so well and provide really helpful info. Thanks

[@witandwire]

Thanks! I'm glad you found it helpful.

[@LizzyAshton-24]

Great comparison video! Have you tried FG Funnels? What are your thoughts about it?

[@witandwire]

Great question! I've only tested it a little bit, so I don't have enough info to compare how it stacks up. It's also a newer tool, so my main takeaway when I was testing was that they still had some bugs to work out, and it has a steeper tech learning curve than I anticipated.

[@TaraWagner]

So many great tips! Kajabi is completely user friendly and well known for my audience. However, after a few years with Kajabi I recently made the switch to Xperiencify. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on XP.

[@witandwire]

Thanks Tara! I only know a couple of people on Xperiencify - now including you! - so admittedly I haven't tested it out much yet. It's definitely on my radar for newer tools to test out in 2022, so hopefully I'll have a more educated opinion soon. After your trial, I'd love to hear what you think!

[@gallatingroup]

I found Kajabi bewildering for course creation. I never even made it to user experience because the course creation tools were about as un-intuitive as I've ever come across, and I bailed on them.

[@billbuckleytutorials]

@@gallatingroup I found the same thing. Also their naming convention is strange. A "product" is 1 mini course. So on ther $150 a month plan you basically can only have 3 mini courses . unless you move up to the $200 a month plan crazy

[@yassina-r6806]

​@The Gallatin Group Inc. Real Estate thanks. What do you find to be better or make more sense?

[@Karl__Pierre]

Great piece thanks. Seems like teachable is the best option.

[@witandwire]

I'm so glad it was helpful!

[@abansalspslt3679]

Thank you so much for this video. Can I use Thinkific or Teachable to plan free courses for an NGO I work for? Or is it only for teaching businesses? Thanks.

[@witandwire]

You're welcome! You would be able to use both options.

[@abansalspslt3679]

@@witandwire Thanks again.

[@kidleadacademy]

You are awesome! Thanks for your expertise!

[@witandwire]

Thank you!

[@LoveGuruGreg]

So apprecaite your insights! Love your clear approach! Peace!

[@witandwire]

Thanks, Greg! I really appreciate that. And glad to hear I've been helpful!

[@LadyBerryCupcakes]

Thank you for this video. If you just wanted to sell online video classes, none of the thrills what platform would you recommend?

[@witandwire]

Great question. Everyone has their own definition of “no frills,” but I think Podia (witandwire.com/podia) is the most well-rounded simple option, and ThriveCart (witandwire.com/thrivecart) is the best value long-term, since they’re a one-time payment. But Podia has a simpler UX. Lastly, it might be worth checking out this free option: witandwire.com/systeme.io

[@Grapplinginstructionals]

Hi Melissa. Happy to have been your subscriber #1000 :) I really enjoyed your content and your voice, so I will definitely watch your future content as well. For the moment, I am hosting my domain and online course on Kajabi, but to be quite honest, I think they are very overpriced and so I am looking to migrate elsewhere. Teachable seems to be a good option, but since my next course is going to be sold in Sweden, I need to know that I can integrate Klarna and Swish payment systems (Swedish). Kajabi only uses Zapier, so there was no way to integrate. Thinkific on the other hand confined that they can integrate these, so if Teachable doesn't then I will have to go with them. Thanks again for the information

[@witandwire]

What a fun milestone! Thanks for being the 1,000th 🥳 It sounds like you have a solid grasp on your must-have features for your course creation platform. I've heard a lot of similar feedback about Kajabi. (It's a great tool for a specific business owner, but either overpriced or not customizable for others who aren't using all features.) Teachable has a good reputation of accepting many international currencies. And although they don't integrate with Klarna, you can create payment plans via Teachable, which I believe accomplishes the same goal. (Teachable's support would have more detailed info if you reach out via their site. Partner link: witandwire.com/teachable.) I hope that helps, and best of luck choosing!

[@madnessintomagic]

May I ask your thoughts on using Patreon? And forgive me, I’m only 2 minutes in. We’re making education videos for a clinical technique, and trying to figure out what would be the best platform for course creation and income, but also exposure. Just doing some research for now.

[@witandwire]

Great question! Patreon has great use cases for some creators, but since they take 8% or more of your revenue, the cost ends up being far too steep for most course creators I work with. For Trainer Central, I haven’t had a chance to test it in-depth, but I think they’ve been marketing it more lately since I’ve gotten asked about it twice. But I’ll make a note for the updated video I’m working on. I hope that helps!

[@SimplySars]

Hello, If i will recommend a platform for a client who is in coaching business, what is the best? Thank you

[@witandwire]

Each business owner has their own unique needs when it comes to selecting a course creation platform, so it's not a one-size-fits-all answer. You can find all of our current recommendations inside our free Complete Course Toolkit: witandwire.com/download-course-creation-toolkit/ You can also watch the 2024 version of this video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4XdeHR_r7VmqcU We hope this helps, - Team Wit & Wire ✨

[@SimplySars]

@@witandwire wow. Very fast reply. Thank you. Some of KZbinrs, I have to wait for days to weeks for them to reply 😊 . I will definitely check first your kit and the new updated video. And ask you if my concerns are not found.

[@alisonjonespharmacist]

Great video! You explained everything so well. Do you know if Teachable allows course creators to add a URL link within a lecture? It would be a link to an ispring quiz. Thanks for your analysis, especially explaining the difference between course market place and course creation platform.

[@witandwire]

Thank you! And great question. Yes, you can include hyperlinks within lessons in Teachable. You can also embed iFrames; for example, some quiz platforms give you copy/paste code you can use in Teachable so that the form actually appears to be within the lecture instead of opening a new window. I hope that helps!

[@alisonjonespharmacist]

@@witandwire Very helpful, thanks for the information.

[@elvisguallpa9119]

I am trying to do a membership plan so that users have access to my courses. Do you have one you recommend or to check out? Thank you for your video and it was very helpful.

[@witandwire]

Great question! There's not a one-size-fits-all answer, but depending on the type of membership you want to create, I'd check out any of these: - Circle (includes discussions, live calls, and courses): witandwire.com/circle - Kajabi (includes the option for a recurring subscription with access to 1+ courses; can also include community): witandwire.com/kajabi - Podia (similar to Kajabi, but a budget option): witandwire.com/podia I hope that helps!

[@matthewgilfillan2946]

This is a very informative video, well done! Thank you for this! ❤

[@witandwire]

Thank you! I'm so glad you found it useful!

[@LifeinGlow]

Note: a few weeks ago Thinkific CS rep replied that there is only 1 free course you can make. they used to have 3 but not anymore.

[@witandwire]

Wow, that is a new update. Thank you for sharing!

[@astridpinel2789]

incredible content. thank you so much!

[@witandwire]

Glad it was helpful!

[@DrCharlesParker]

Well said! Much appreciated!

[@witandwire]

Thank you!

[@alieeeson]

Thank you for this information. It’s so useful. 🙏

[@witandwire]

You're welcome! Glad it was helpful.

[@khushayarshah5595]

Hi Melissa, thanks for the informational video. I'm rather in an indecisive situation where I don't know which teaching platform to use. I'm an EFL teacher and trainer currently employed full time. I started learning how to use Canvas but recently I was told not use this because of its limitations. I'm currently learning how to create content on Canvas as a free user. I had to spend a lot of learning how to use Canvas. I really can't afford to try and work on something else unless the alternative is really a good one. Which one do you suggest I should use? Should I continue with Canvas or try something else. Thanks!

[@witandwire]

Great question. For any teacher or course creator, my best recommendation is to start with a list of the must-have features you’d need in a tool. I call that your Needs Assessment. From there, you’ll be able to have a clearer idea of which tool might be right for you based on which tools fit your personalized criteria, rather than which tools you might see other people using. To help, you can check out the side-by-side comparison in my free Course Toolkit download: witandwire.com/coursetoolkit I hope that helps!

[@khushayarshah5595]

Dear Melissa, thanks for your response. It's a great encouragement for me to go ahead. Although I have done an assessment of the tools I need for my online classes, I would love to watch your recommended video as I'm sure I find value in it. Thanks!

[@EscapadelaMatrix]

Thanks for your previous answer. I have another question: I've resently realized that the ads for my course have a good click-through-rate. So, ultimately my problem is that the sales page is not good enough, not converting. So the question is: which platforms offer the best course sale landing pages, and can those course pages be integrated on my website using the same domain or the customer is taken to a different domain?

[@witandwire]

Great question. Every business will have different needs, but we usually say that Kajabi has the best page builder of the course platforms (Extended 30-day trial here: witandwire.com/kajabi), and they have perfectly good checkout pages. For business owners who are already happy with their own website (ex: Squarespace, WordPress, ShowIt, etc.), you can build your sales pages on your existing site and link to ThriveCart, which has the best checkout pages (witandwire.com/thrivecart). We’re working on more ThriveCart tutorials coming soon to illustrate, but you can check out the Course Builders sales page in the meantime to see how a landing page can just go directly to a TC checkout page (no integration needed): witandwire.com/course-builders. The domain question doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all answer, but you’ll need a different domain (or more commonly, subdomain) for each platform you use. I hope that helps! - Team Wit & Wire

[@tusharg2751]

This content is awesome, value adding. Thanks.

[@witandwire]

Thank you! I'm glad it's helpful!

[@finderskeepers8]

very very insightful and helpful thank you!

[@witandwire]

You're welcome! I'm so glad it was helpful!

[@blakeculig]

How are you able to link your Wordpress site to the checkout page for the teachable course? This would be very beneficial, so I really want to know how to do it. Thank you, and loved the video!

[@witandwire]

Great question! This is something I can make a note about as an idea for future content, since I think it’s easiest to show, but the short answer is that you build a page in WordPress and add a button. That button will link to the Teachable checkout page URL. (I hope that makes sense. There’s no integration involved.)

[@OliviaSmithR]

Very helpful and timely. Can you also share your opinion about Vonza?

[@witandwire]

Glad you found it helpful! I haven’t heard of Vonza, although I know there are countless newer tools that are always coming out. I tend to choose more proven tools that have been around a little longer with bigger support teams, but if you find a tool you like, I think it’s always worth checking out!

[@jaedadiller2011]

Would you recommend using teachable free just to start with? When you don't have the money you want to put down till you get money coming in?

[@witandwire]

Yes - we'd recommend trying the free version. You can click here to sign up for free: witandwire.com/teachable (partner link)

[@indimonk9584]

It’s informative Teachable bad at customer support I had good time teaching on teachable but I faced problem receiving payments

[@witandwire]

Thanks for your comment! I'm sorry you didn't have the best experience, but hopefully one of the other suggested platforms will work for you. Team Wit & Wire

[@SoTabitha]

Awesome information and super helpful!!

[@witandwire]

Glad it was helpful!

[@MrAntpre]

I m searching for an lms that can host courses, webinars and downloads. Podia does that, do you know any other solution that provides support for all of these. Tks for the very comprehensive review.

[@witandwire]

Great question. Most great course platforms don't include webinar functionality. (It's the difference between tech that can host pre-recorded videos vs. run live stream webinars.) My best recommendation is to use two different tools. For webinars, I like: - EasyWebinar: witandwire.com/easywebinar - Demio: witandwire.com/demio

[@ginopoore]

Great Vid, Do you have an opinion on LMS called Skool?

[@witandwire]

Great question! Skool are direct competitors with a lot of similar features to Circle. Skool’s community includes only one forum while Circle gives you multiple spaces. Skool has a leaderboard function. I’m guessing various business owners will have their own preferences.