What are the best elearning platforms and why should you care? The global elearning market, according to Forbes, will grow to $325 billion by 2025, doubling its gains over the past decades.
Already in 2015, 49% of learners worldwide reported having taken an online course in the last 12 months. Without going any further, just look back to 2020. The global pandemic brought with it major transformations, especially in education, where thousands of colleges and universities were forced to close their classrooms, causing more than 177 million students to be affected.
This led to the birth of the elearning boom. A methodology that, despite already being used in some academic fields, increased considerably throughout 2020. Therefore, this new learning adapted to the digital environment is here to stay. It is not for less if we think about all the advantages that this new study alternative offers us.
Below, we take this opportunity to explain what an elearning platform is and which the most prominent ones in this sector are. Read on because this will be of interest to you.
What is an elearning platform?
An elearning platform or online learning platform is a virtual learning space to facilitate the distance training experience for students. It allows the creation of “virtual classrooms” in which the interaction between tutors and learners, and the learners themselves, takes place.
In addition, there are also evaluations, file sharing, chats, a wide range of additional tools, and participation in forums. Therefore, we could say that it is a classroom like any other center, but virtual and everyone connects from home or wherever they are.
Within the elearning platforms we can find: free or open source and commercial or paid.
Each of them consists of:
Open source elearning sites: their license is public domain, so they can be developed and distributed freely. Some of them may involve maintenance costs.
Commercial elearning platforms: in this case, the subscriber pays on a pay-as-you-go basis. This means that the license is paid for.
Compare the best elearning platforms available on the market
Looking for the best elearning platforms? You’ve come to the right place. Teaching an online course is one of the best ways to build a profitable online business.
While setting up an online store is still a popular option for those who want to get involved in digital sales, online learning is growing at a rapid pace. The market is currently valued at approximately $190 billion USD, with an annual growth rate of 7%!
Unfortunately, just knowing that your customers want to share is not enough. You need a way to cultivate that knowledge and place it in an environment where your customers can benefit from it. That’s where elearning platforms come in.
Today’s best elearning platforms give you the tools you need to not only share your knowledge, but also to engage your students.
Let’s take a look at some of the best online learning tools you can access today when you want to make your voice heard.
What makes an online learning platform great?
But, how do all of these options work when it comes to teaching new skills to your audience?
Top online learning platforms
The following platforms aren’t really designed for course creation. While you can partner with companies if you’re already involved with a huge learning institution like Stanford, these solutions are more for students than teachers.
- expertshare – best elearning platform
- Coursera
- Learning LinkedIn
- CompetenceShare
- EDX
- “MOOC”
- Udacity
- Docebo
1. expertshare – Best online learning platform
Fully fledged E-Learning Platform System solutions
expertshare allows you to build powerful fully integrated online courses all the way to creating virtual Bachelor’s & Master’s courses. With a full system from course creation, to student management all the way to creating online test for courses. expertshare allows you to create tasks and curriculum all from our web based platform
Platform used by thousands of users
Our e-learning platforms are used by thousands of users worldwide – a living proof that they work. We facilitate both e-learning and e-learning management, making sure you can reach internal employees as well as external, paying customers.
Trainings or collaborative solutions
expertshare helps you embrace various learning technologies, so you can share your expertise while letting others grow alongside your business. Customize every feature of our online e-learning software to suit the needs of your brand and accurately convey your message.
Additional Features: Automatic certifications, multi-language, task creations, quizzes & exams.
2. Coursera
What makes Coursera different from the other tools we’ve reviewed so far is that it doesn’t allow you to create and host your own online course experience with all the custom branding you love. Instead, you join a community and submit your courses to the elearning platform.
Getting involved with Coursera as a creator is often very difficult. You have to approach the business as part of a business or online learning center. However, the good news is that there are many ways to learn on Coursera if you want to improve your knowledge.
3. Learning LinkedIn (formerly Lynda.com)
Learning LinkedIn is another fantastic course marketplace designed to help professionals accelerate and improve their skills. You can’t be an online educator on this platform, but you can learn a lot. There are over 1,000 XNUMX business courses to choose from, on top topics from project management to web development.
Linkedin Learning was known as Lynda, one of the leading digital learning solutions on the web. The company stands out by offering an easy-to-access environment for students. Plus, you can earn certificates that you add directly to your LinkedIn profile. If you are looking for a way to increase the value of your resume, LinkedIn Learning can help.
4. Skillshare
Skillshare is another solution for online education that takes a slightly different approach to sharing content online. If you’re looking to teach your trade online, you can sign up for free with SkillShare and start creating various unique course experiences.
Most Skillshare classes include video lessons, discussions and community projects. Rather than focusing on certificates and final results, Skillshare is about sharing their progress and getting feedback. This is great if you are involved in the creative environment.
Unfortunately, the earning potential of Skillshare is pretty limited, so you’re probably not going to make a fortune if you use this platform.
Pricing: Free to start, but your earning potential is also very low.
5. EDX
EDX is another course solution similar in style to Coursera. It hosts many premium and free online courses designed for dedicated scholars. EDX offers customers many ways to consume educational materials, from XSeries programs that get to the heart of specific topics, to various professional certification programs.
Compared to some of the other solutions on the market for online learning, the EdX experience appears a bit simple and low-tech. However, it’s very clear how authoritative this site is. There are plenty of trust badges on the site showing that there are educators here from Berkeley, Harvard and more.
Clicking ‘like’ Coursera, it’s not really possible to launch a course on EDX unless you are part of a learning institution. However, you can access the EdX platform for businesses that allows you to teach and train other team members in your community. This could be a good option if you are looking for a new learning solution that does not involve in-person teaching for your company.
Pricing: Not much of an option for course creators, as Edx will only work with other top educators.
6. MOOCs
On the other side of the EDX.org coin is Mooc.org.
Massive Open Online Courses is a term often used to refer to free online learning opportunities that anyone can sign up for online. However, there is also a company called Mooc.org that functions as an extension of EdX. This solution basically offers a slightly different learning experience for Edx, with flexible tools for growth.
Again, this isn’t really an option for course creators, but you can use MOOC to find out about things like professional certificates and online masters if you want to expand your skills.
7. Udacity
Udacity comes to us from the Silicon Valley environment, characterized by renowned partnerships with Google and other tech giants. The focus here is on cutting-edge topics and machine learning, deep learning, artificial intelligence and other disruptive technologies.
While there are many ways to learn on Udacity, you can’t launch your own online courses on the platform, which is a shame for course creators. This means that we can only really recommend this course solution as an educational environment for learners.
8. Docebo
Docebo is another LMS that is suitable only for partners. You can access Docebo for a small fee, starting at about $3.33 per user per month. However, this is for educational purposes only. If you want to launch your own learning solution through Docebo, you need to partner with the brand.
One good thing about Docebo for business owners who want to access training for their teams is that the service is full of things like gamification and community collaboration. There’s also a wide range of third-party integrations to explore.
Best online course platforms
Let’s continue by looking at some of the biggest course creation tools available on the market today.
9. Teachable
Teachable is probably one of the most popular learning platforms to ever appear in the digital education landscape. The solution was initially created to solve the problems faced by other basic elearning marketplaces, such as limited branding, for example.
Because of this, Teachable comes with many options to make it easy to customize your website. You can eliminate some of the more common cookie cutter templates provided with options like Udemy. Multilingual support is a plus for Teachable, as is the fact that you can access things like SEO, discussion forums, quizzes, and more. Engaging your audience is a breeze.
Other features of Teachable include a drag and drop generator for your course delivery solution, support for a wide selection of files, and more.
Ideal for: Teachable is ideal for those who want access to fantastic course creation features at a low price. The monthly rates are very reasonable, especially considering all the incredible features built in. In addition, the marketing and analytics are also excellent. There’s even integration available with things like Ontraport, Mailchimp and lots of e-commerce tools too.
Pricing: Starts at $29 per month for the smallest plan and goes up to $299 per month depending on what you need. A free plan is also available but is limited to 10 students
10. Podia
Podia is a solution designed to help build a site with as little work and effort as possible. It is designed to build your learning experience in digital downloads, online courses or membership sales.
If you don’t want to worry about things like e-commerce and selling from a traditional point of view, then Podia could be exactly what you need. It comes with a clean and easy to use interface, as well as a range of options to help you customize your site. Podia is simple for beginners, but it also has very limited functionality when it comes to advanced tools.
Ideal for: The Podia experience is ideal for anyone who has found Gumroad and other competitors in the learning environment too complicated or too expensive. Podia makes sharing knowledge online as easy as possible.
Pricing: Podia’s pricing is pretty straightforward, with the Mover plan for $39 per month, or the Shaker option for $79 per month.
11. Thinkific
Thinkific offers a great experience compared to other course creation platforms for several reasons. First and foremost, its course designer is one of the most advanced on the market today. If you’re not really a coding expert or have never used code before, Thinkific is a good choice.
All the content you need to build a successful “education empire,” as the company calls it, is available via a drag-and-drop editor. You can add your own branding to the mix, which is great for building a name for yourself online.
To engage your audience, there are plenty of fabulous features such as downloads, quizzes, polls, discussions, etc. Also, unlike many competing online course platforms, the Thinkific solution is available to access for free initially.
Ideal for: If you are looking for a way to design a new learning experience from scratch, Thinkific is the tool for you. With many great features for engagement and a handful of customization tools as well, Thinkific is a great choice for any
Ideal for: If you’re looking for a way to design a new learning experience from scratch, Thinkific is the tool for you. With many great features for engagement and a handful of customization tools as well, Thinkific is a great choice for any business owner.
Pricing: A free option is available to get you started, or you can pay for the basic platform at $49 per month. There is also a professional platform for $99 per month, or premier for $499 per month. If you need additional features, you can get add-ons such as the Growth package, or Thinkific Plus
12. Academy of Mine
Another brilliant elearning solution, Academy of Mine gives users access to an all-in-one solution for a personalized online course experience. You don’t have to settle for one-size-fits-all experiences with Academy of Mine. One of the things that makes this solution so high quality is that you can really drill down into your customization options.
If you need help getting started, you have the option to select a fully hosted template with galleries, landing pages, and offer pages. Academy of Mine is a solid choice, as the solution comes with a full course creation and learning management offering. There is also the ability to accept PayPal and credit cards when selling your courses.
If you want to increase your chances of gaining learners, various marketing features are also available from the Academy, such as affiliate programs and email marketing.
Ideal for: The Academy of Mine The solution comes with a complete learning management system, or LMS, so you really do get everything you need to create massive open online courses. If you’re selling your course content upfront and want to make sure your brand is front and center, Academy of Mine can help with that. However, the price is quite high.
Pricing: Prices start at $499 per month, but you get two months free if you pay annually. Additionally, there is a “professional” plan for $899 per month with additional development hours and features included. If you need a higher level plan, you will need to contact the team for a quote.
13. Teaching
Teaching is another elearning platform that aims to make selling online as simple and seamless as possible. With this amazing service, you can create and sell your online courses with no fees. Which is a huge bonus. No transaction fees means you can focus more on building your sales strategy as much as possible.
Teaching comes with a bunch of features to help you get started, including access to unlimited courses, lessons and student access. There’s also the ability to duplicate existing courses at the touch of a button and make changes using the platform’s built-in live course editor.
In addition to uploading PDF text and other content into your course, you can also embed video, audio, images, and slides. However, Teachery does not host your video, audio and other content for you
Ideal for: Anyone serious about selling online courses will love the range of great tools Teachery offers. You’ll have plenty of features on this platform, and you won’t have to worry about transaction fees that reduce your earning potential.
Pricing: Teachery pricing starts at about $49 per month, or $470 per year. This is the simplest pricing we’ve seen.
14. Ruzuku
Ruzuku is another leading online course solution that is packed with incredible features. For starters, course management for this service is quick and easy to understand. You can upload virtually any type of learning material to quickly sell to your customers. You can also help your customers track their achievements in your online training platforms with certificates and course milestones.
One thing we particularly like about Ruzuku is the fact that you can give your customers a chance to really engage with their community. As they progress through the learning paths you set for them, your students can connect with other online learners in forums and chat.
Plus, to enhance your engagement strategies, you can integrate Ruzuku with email marketing tools like Mailchimp and set up automated emails to let your customers know what’s next.
Ideal for: This is one of the best elearning platforms for those who want to connect with their learners on a deeper level. Different types of media are supported on the Ruzuku platform and you can run webinars as you wish. Ruzuku is also good for drip content delivery based on different schedules. You don’t even need much technical knowledge to get started.
Pricing: Ruzuku pricing starts at about $74.75 per month for the lower level and goes up to $125 if you pay annually. You’ll pay a little extra if you use a monthly plan.
15. Udemy
Udemy is probably one of the most popular solutions we’ve seen online when it comes to selling learning courses. The solution has mixed reviews online, probably due to the huge amount of money you pay in fees to Udemy to help you attract customers to your online courses.
However, while there are significant fees to consider, it’s also worth noting that the Udemy online education network is unmatched in attracting sales opportunities. If you want your subject matter experts to be heard online, this could be one of the best online course platforms for you.
With Udemy, you can create an online course using all the different types of media you like. However, you should keep in mind that Udemy will keep up to 50% of your earnings when they help promote the course you create to another student. However, if you earn students without Udemy’s help, you keep the profits.
Ideal for: If you’re not sure about creating a website and selling your courses from scratch, Udemy might be a better choice for you. You will lose some of your revenue if you rely heavily on Udemy’s help, but you can greatly increase your online presence with this service.
Pricing: The Udemy platform is free (it’s a learning marketplace), but you’ll pay up to 50% of your sales to Udemy for every student the company helps you earn.
16. Kajabi
Kajabi is another truly market leading tool in the world of online course creation. If you are looking for the best elearning platforms, but also want something that will help you create sales funnels and landing pages, then Kajabi is the option for you.
Perfect for those who want extra help converting their leads into paying customers, Kajabi offers everything from email marketing campaigns managed from your dashboard to integrations with top services like Active Campaign and MailChimp.
Kajabi also offers a pretty solid blogging platform. It’s not as great as WordPress, for example, but it offers a lot of features compared to some of the other blogging tools available on the web-based elearning platforms.
Ideal for: Kajabi is a great choice for anyone who needs a sophisticated elearning solution. Appealing to solopreneurs, coaches and lecturers, Kajabi has a lot of incredible potential to offer, and it’s also available at a relatively reasonable price. Most importantly, Kajabi is surprisingly beginner-friendly. You don’t need to become a code expert to get started. There are templates to help you offer everything from ongoing training to membership products.
Pricing: Prices start at around $119 per month, making Kajabi one of the most expensive options on the market right now. However, it’s worth noting that Kajabi can prevent you from needing to access additional features and tools elsewhere, saving you money in this regard.
17. WizIQ
WizIQ is an easy-to-use and affordable solution for classroom and LMS software. Designed to make it easy to create online courses, WizIQ offers access to everything from tests and assessments for your customers, to e-commerce features and in-depth analytics.
With WizIQ, you can create MOOCs to increase your revenue stream, enroll students from around the world, and create new sources of cash flow. There’s also the ability to deliver live training, learn on the go via smartphone apps, and much more. You can create and sell your online courses via a comprehensive system, or you can manage a virtual classroom, which is ideal for things like teaching colleagues and internal partners. While this solution has many of the market-leading tools that we’ve covered when looking at other leading platforms, it’s the little extras that set WizIQ apart.
Things like the ability to deliver course content via smartphones and use an interactive whiteboard to demonstrate your knowledge to students are incredible. There are also many ways to engage with your students via chat, forums, and polls.
Ideal for: WizIQ is ideal for the modern course creator who wants to stay ahead of the curve. You can access all the features you need with this solution to tutor clients online, train your partners and more. Plus, since the service comes with a free plan, it means it’s very easy to get started.
Pricing: There is a free plan available with the basics, or you can have a free trial and see how you feel about the software first. The average plan starts at $83 per month, which is quite reasonable for a premium service.
18. Learning
Learning is a popular online course platform that continues to grow in features and functionality. Used by countless major universities and Fortune 500 companies, Learndash offers many features and speed to course creators. The platform includes many of the tools associated with a traditional elearning site, including dripping content, rewarding learners and more.
Learndash’s pricing comes on an annual basis, which means it comes with discounts, but it also leaves you quite “locked in” to the environment. Learndash supports professional training opportunities, higher education, WordPress projects, etc. You can even issue certificates and badges to learners and access a range of engagement triggers to interact with your customers.
One thing to note about Learndash is that it’s available as a sort of WordPress LMS plugin, which means you can integrate it into your existing WordPress website. If you’ve already started developing your online presence and don’t want to start from scratch, this could make Learndash a more attractive option for you.
Pricing: Pricing starts at about $159 per year for a website. If you want to upgrade and have more websites to play with, you can pay $189 for 10 sites, which is a very reasonable price. Unfortunately, there is no free trial to get you started, so it’s hard to test the functionality of this service before handing over your money.
Elearning, the Basis of Online Training
In the field of online training, elearning is the branch of distance education provided through electronic channels such as the Internet. It uses tools such as web pages, e-mail, discussion forums and instant messaging. Generally, these services are centralized in training platforms to facilitate student support during the teaching and learning process.
In addition, as it is a massive and bidirectional teaching system, personal interaction is replaced by the provision of educational resources and tutorial organization to facilitate autonomous learning. With regard to its influence in the field of pedagogy, elearning is based on the change of the classical model of the teaching and learning process, since the teacher ceases to be the active part of the master class in favor of the student.
In fact, the teacher becomes an online training instructor who provides the necessary resources or tools and solves the students’ doubts.
Advantages of the best elearning platforms
- Personalized training without space and time barriers
- Active role of students and immersion in the web 2.0 environment.
- Facilitates the exchange of ideas, content creation and collective enrichment.
- Immediate in the search for information and constant updating.
- Allows internships in virtual environments
- It is more economical and generally requires less time.
Disadvantages
- Overcoming the technological barrier
- Requires more organizational work, planning and knowledge of ICTs
- Need for a technical production and management team
- The learner is responsible for his or her own learning
- Loneliness and isolation of the student
- Quality of educational material to avoid demotivation
Frequently asked questions
What is the best elearning platform?
Undoubtedly the best elearning platform is Moodle. It is open source and its usefulness is recognized by thousands of users who use it daily all over the world.
How to use elearning platforms?
The first step is to download them to the device to be used and you will be able to access the learning designs already integrated through a personal password. It is a private space with all the necessary tools to learn.
How many elearning platforms are there?
There are many other elearning platforms. In addition to those already mentioned, we can also find: Canvas, Sakai or LMS for WordPress, among others. These are the most used free elearning platforms.
