With more students learning remotely, the need for an easy-to-use e-learning platform has become essential. But while the demand for flexible online learning grows, so do the challenges.
Many students struggle with staying motivated or managing inconsistent course quality. For creators, building a course that helps students succeed isn’t always as simple as it sounds.
Delivering great education online requires thoughtful course creation, structured learning paths, and tools that support both students and instructors throughout the entire learning journey.
In this guide, we’ll explore what makes an effective e-learning platform, how it impacts the student experience, and which platforms stand out for creators who want to offer more than just content.
If you're ready to build an online course that truly delivers, this is where it starts.
Benefits of Using an E-Learning Platform
Choosing one of the best online learning platforms can improve how you deliver content and connect with learners.
If you're just starting out or scaling an existing education business, purpose-built platforms offer more than just content hosting; they support long-term success in online training.
Here are some key advantages:
Reach a Global Audience of Students
With a dedicated platform, your video tutorials and educational materials are accessible to learners worldwide. Unlike live classrooms, this approach eliminates time zone barriers and allows people to learn whenever it suits them.
Purpose-built e-learning platforms offer advantages that go far beyond basic file hosting or video uploads. They’re designed to support the full lifecycle of online teaching and help you grow your educational brand.
Build a Sustainable Income Stream
Selling online courses can become a source of passive or recurring income. Once you create the content, it can be sold repeatedly without much additional cost.
With the right online learning platform, your courses are available around the clock, no matter where your learners are. You're no longer restricted by geography or time zones, as you can teach from anywhere and connect with a global audience.
This accessibility makes it possible to serve professionals, creatives, and learners pursuing remote learning programs or flexible upskilling options.
Create Self-Paced Learning Experiences
Once you publish your online courses, they can generate income again and again with minimal overhead. A well-designed platform gives you everything you need to manage payments, host content, and sell courses confidently.
Whether you're creating beginner guides or advanced professional development programs, you can package your knowledge and turn it into a repeatable business model.
Using an e-learning platform can offer videos, modules, and quizzes that students complete whenever it’s convenient, rather than coordinating live classes.
This opens the door to working professionals, parents, and anyone who needs flexible timing.
Scale Your Teaching Business
An online platform allows you to teach 10 or 10,000 students with the same content, something not possible in person. There’s no limit to how many students can enroll in a digital course.
As your audience grows, a robust e-learning platform will handle the increased traffic, content delivery, and user management. You can also expand your product offerings without needing a bigger team or classroom.
This scalability means you can increase your impact and income once you find a formula that works, all while maintaining a similar workload to teach each course.
Monitor Student Engagement and Improve
Many top platforms include built-in analytics so you can track progress, see where learners drop off, and identify what’s working. These insights help you refine your content and create a better experience with each iteration.
Whether you’re focused on beginner lessons or advanced skill development, being able to measure and improve over time leads to better learning outcomes and better results for your business.
In short, using a dedicated platform lets you teach more people and offers more financial rewards than many other methods.
Now, not all platforms are equal, and you’ll want to pick one that aligns with your goals and audience. Let’s go through the key factors to consider when choosing the best platform for your needs.
How to Choose the Best E-Learning Platform
Not every platform will suit your course business or the kind of online learning experience you want to offer. It’s important to compare the top e-learning platforms based on factors that impact both your workflow and your learners’ outcomes.
Below are the essential areas to evaluate when choosing the right online learning platform:
Ease of Use
A good platform should feel simple to navigate for you as the creator and for your learners.
The best content management systems let you quickly organize specific courses, manage users, and track performance without a steep learning curve.
Look for features like drag-and-drop course creation, dashboard simplicity, and minimal setup time. If the platform is too complex or requires heavy customization, it can slow you down and lead to a poor learning experience.
Engagement and Interactive Features
Learner engagement is what separates average courses from transformative ones. The best online platform options include tools like quizzes, discussion areas, polls, and certificates that keep people motivated.
Completion tracking and feedback options can also encourage users to stay on track and finish what they started. These tools help monitor learner behavior and ensure participants stay motivated throughout the experience.
If you're teaching creative skills, professional development, or business strategy, engagement tools are the backbone of a great experience that can rival the teaching quality of prestigious universities.
Monetization and Control Over Paid Courses
When it comes to selling your content, the pricing structure matters. Some platforms offer fixed monthly rates, while others take a percentage of your revenue.
You need to choose a system that allows you to offer free trials, subscriptions, or memberships, depending on your business model.
For example, if you’re offering video courses or full-length university courses, you’ll want flexible tools for monetization and delivery. Being able to manage all the courses from one place simplifies your revenue strategy.
Flexibility Through Seamless Integration
The ability to connect with your existing tools can make or break your operations. Whether it’s your CRM, email platform, or eCommerce tools, the platform you choose should offer simple integration with third-party apps.
Scalable learning software also allows for custom domains, branded portals, and integrations through API access so you can future-proof your business as you grow.
Support and Resources
Even seasoned creators need support. Whether it’s setting up your first course or troubleshooting a launch issue, you’ll want access to reliable technical support, a searchable help center, and onboarding assistance.
Some of the top universities and expert instructors prefer platforms that not only empower educators with technology but also provide strategic guidance along the way.
CustomerHub, for example, is known for personalized onboarding, unlimited live chat, and a growing library of tutorials and best practices.
5 Best E-Learning Platforms for Course Creators
Each of these platforms enables you to create and sell courses to students, but they differ in features and ideal use cases.
1. CustomerHub
CustomerHub simplifies the way course creators build and manage programs, offering a clean and focused alternative to feature-heavy platforms. It’s ideal for those who want to monetize their expertise without investing weeks into tech setup or hiring outside help.
Unlike platforms designed for general use, CustomerHub emphasizes a seamless student experience and gives creators the ability to deliver high-quality digital learning.
Simplified, Focused Learning
Many course platforms overwhelm students with cluttered dashboards, unnecessary navigation, or overly complex content organization. CustomerHub takes a different approach.
It gives you tools to design a clean, distraction-free environment where your students know where to start and what to do next.
Creators can build guided paths with clear prerequisites, keeping learners on track as they move through modules. Instead of students dropping off midway due to confusion, they stay engaged because the experience feels structured and purposeful.
Fast Access Means Faster Results
With CustomerHub, launching a course doesn’t take weeks. And when you launch fast, your students benefit right away. After someone purchases, they’re instantly granted access to your content.
Updates and announcements are handled through a private customer feed, where you can communicate directly with your members. It’s a focused space compared to social platforms, so learners are less likely to miss important updates and more likely to stay involved.
Integrations That Just Work
CustomerHub connects to CRMs, payment tools, and email platforms so your tech stack works in harmony behind the scenes. That’s good for your business, but it’s also a win for students.
Smooth automation means they get timely reminders, lesson unlocks, and even course certificates without confusion or delays. These subtle, seamless touches make the experience feel more curated without extra effort from you.
Personalized, Progress-Driven Learning Paths
People learn best when they feel like they’re moving toward something. CustomerHub lets you create a journey for your students, where each step builds on the last, and their progress is tracked.
Students see which modules they’ve completed, what’s up next, and where they left off. That visibility helps with motivation and reduces the mental load of trying to keep track of it all.
Since you can gate content behind prerequisites, you control how the learning unfolds. It ensures students don’t skip ahead and miss key foundational concepts.
Built-In Community That Stays Focused
Engagement matters, but not every creator wants to manage a full-blown community platform. CustomerHub includes lightweight but effective tools to create interaction within your learning environment.
Students can comment under lessons, view member directories, and see updates through the internal feed. It creates a sense of presence and connection without relying on outside platforms.
These features are useful for blended learning support, where part of your content might be live, and the rest is self-paced. Students stay connected and supported, even when they’re not in a live session.
Built by Experts for Experts
CustomerHub was created with the needs of experienced course builders in mind. It’s used by coaches, consultants, and educators. They want to share what they know and make it easy for people to learn, and that’s what this platform helps them do.
That focus on real-world expertise translates to a better student experience. It’s delivered in a way that’s easy to absorb and act on.
Less Setup, More Time to Teach.
Instead of spending hours or days setting up pages, plugins, and tech workflows, you can use that time to refine your course material or engage with students directly.
CustomerHub’s interface is intuitive, and for creators who want a head start, Done-for-You services are available to take care of the setup.
When you’re not bogged down with backend tasks, your students feel it. They get better content, quicker responses, and an overall smoother experience.
Start your free 14-day trial with CustomerHub and organize all your digital learning in one place.
2. Thinkific
Thinkific is a learning management system built to serve creators who want more customization and branding control. It’s widely used by small businesses, consultants, and even educational institutions, offering both free and paid content.
You can use your own domain, set up custom pages, and structure content into degree programs or workshops. Creators who want more technical flexibility often gravitate toward Thinkific for its site design options and analytics tools.
You can use your own domain name and customize the look and feel without needing to code. This platform appeals to both beginners and more advanced edupreneurs who want to create a unique student experience.
Some users find that Thinkific’s site design options, while good, could be more modern or flexible. It provides several themes and the ability to customize via the site builder or code. But out-of-the-box, it may not have as many template designs as, say, Kajabi or Squarespace-based course sites.
Another minor drawback is that certain advanced features like assignments, communities, or priority support are only available through higher-tier plans. With the lower-tier plans, you might find some limitations; for example, the Basic plan doesn’t include paid memberships and has a cap of only five digital downloads.
3. Teachable
Teachable provides an all-in-one environment for hosting videos, creating quizzes, collecting payments, and even sending basic emails to students. It’s popular among YouTubers, bloggers, and coaches who want a simple solution to monetize their content via courses.
On the downside, some users find that the platform lacks advanced features or flexibility as their needs grow. Teachable doesn’t have a sophisticated community feature, such as a built-in student discussion forum, aside from comments under lectures.
Its website builder, while easy, is somewhat limited in design options. A few users mentioned that the landing pages are a bit basic and that more customization options are needed.
Another commonly cited con is Teachable’s transaction fees on lower-tier plans. If you’re on the Basic $59/mo plan, Teachable takes a 5% fee on each sale. This can add up and eat into your revenue, which makes the platform more costly until you can upgrade.
4. Kajabi
Kajabi is often considered the premier all-in-one platform for knowledge entrepreneurs. You can launch online teaching programs and even offer coaching, all from one backend.
The platform also lets you build marketing funnels called “pipelines,” complete with landing pages, email sequences, and checkout pages.
The primary con of Kajabi is the higher price point. It’s one of the more expensive platforms on the market, which can be a barrier for beginners or those not generating a lot of revenue yet.
The lowest Kickstarter plan starts at around $89 per month, which is substantially more than the entry-level plans of other platforms. Along with cost, Kajabi has usage limits on each plan.
Another downside noted by some users is that Kajabi’s all-in-one nature can be overwhelming at first. There are a lot of features to learn, and the interface is quite powerful, which means a learning curve.
5. Podia
Podia is a learning management system (LMS) geared towards creators who want a simple and affordable way to sell online courses, memberships, and digital downloads. It’s known for its clean design and user-friendly interface.
The platform's philosophy is to offer the core features creators need to sell content online without unnecessary complexity or steep prices. You can host unlimited courses or products, set up a storefront, process payments, and communicate with your students via email.
While Podia covers the essentials, it’s not as feature-rich in certain areas as some competitors. One con is that the site customization is fairly basic. The design options for your storefront and course pages are limited to Podia’s templates.
How Much Do E-Learning Platforms Cost?
The cost of e-learning platforms varies depending on the type of platform, the features included, and the user’s goals (whether you're a learner, course creator, or part of an organization).
Some platforms offer completely free access, while others charge monthly subscriptions, per-user fees, or tiered pricing based on feature access.
Free vs. Premium E-Learning Platforms
When you're selecting an e-learning platform for training employees or launching internal education programs, you’ll need to decide whether you go with a free or premium solution.
While free platforms can seem appealing at first glance, especially for pilot programs or small teams, premium platforms offer far more control, scalability, and support.
Free platforms like Google Classroom, TalentLMS Free Plan, or freemium tiers of platforms, such as Thinkific and Teachable, are typically limited in features. They’re a solid starting point if you're testing content, rolling out a proof of concept, or delivering very simple learning materials.
Here’s what you’ll usually get with a free or freemium plan:
- Basic course hosting (typically 1–5 courses)
- Limited users or admin roles
- No integrations with third-party tools
- Limited to no analytics or reporting
- Generic branding (you can’t use your own logo/domain)
- Little to no automation (manual workflows only)
If you’re running a lean operation or exploring e-learning for the first time, this could be enough. However, as your team or client base grows or if you're focused on ROI or performance tracking, these limitations will quickly become blockers.
What Premium Platforms Deliver for Growing Businesses
If you're looking for a scalable, branded, and automated learning experience, premium e-learning platforms are built for that exact purpose.
Platforms like CustomerHub offer intuitive, professional-grade tools that help you deliver structured learning journeys without the tech overwhelm.
Here’s what you unlock with a premium platform:
- Unlimited courses and modules to scale your offerings as your business grows
- Team collaboration and multiple admin roles to streamline internal workflows
- White-label branding and custom domains to deliver a fully branded experience
- Advanced analytics and performance dashboards for tracking progress and outcomes
- Native CRM, payment gateway, and email marketing integrations to connect your existing tech stack
- Certificates of completion and advanced assessments to enhance learner engagement and credibility
- Automation features like enrollment triggers, milestone actions, and follow-up emails for hands-off scaling
- Personalized onboarding and responsive customer support to guide your success every step of the way
These tools improve the learner experience and help you deliver measurable outcomes. Whether it’s reducing onboarding time or certifying partners or franchisees, premium features empower you to build a repeatable and efficient training system.
Common Pricing Models for E-Learning Platforms
The way a platform charges for its services can affect how scalable your training program is, how predictable your costs are, and how flexible you can be with learners or internal teams.
Below are the most widely used pricing models you’ll come across, each with its own strengths and considerations.
Subscription-Based Pricing
This model charges a fixed monthly or annual fee based on the features and service tier you select. Most platforms offer multiple plan levels that unlock different capabilities, such as additional admin accounts, integrations, branded learning portals, or priority support.
Subscription pricing works well for businesses that want predictable costs and full access to a defined set of features. It’s best suited if you plan to offer training consistently, expect to grow, or want full ownership of the learning experience without constant per-user calculations.
Per-User Pricing
In this model, you’re charged based on the number of active learners using the platform. You typically pay a monthly fee per user, and some platforms offer tiered discounts as your user base scales.
Per-user pricing is ideal if your training efforts are closely tied to headcount, such as internal employee onboarding or structured compliance training. It gives you direct visibility into per-learner ROI, but it can also limit flexibility when scaling rapidly or supporting large numbers of occasional users.
Freemium Model
Freemium platforms provide a limited set of features for free, with the option to upgrade when you need additional functionality. Free plans often include basic course-building tools, a limited number of learners, and minimal branding control.
This model is most beneficial for small businesses testing e-learning for the first time. However, keep in mind that essential features like custom domains, automation, analytics, or integrations are usually locked behind paid tiers.
Revenue Share Model
Some platforms, especially course marketplaces, don’t charge you upfront. Instead, they take a percentage of each course sale. This revenue share model can be attractive if you want exposure to a larger learner base and don’t want to handle your own marketing or infrastructure.
The downside is that you typically give up pricing control, branding, and access to learner data. If you’re building a long-term brand or private training ecosystem, this model may limit your growth and profit margins.
Enterprise or Custom Pricing
Custom pricing is available on many platforms for larger organizations with specific needs. This often includes private onboarding, advanced reporting, multi-team permissions, and white-label environments.
Contracts are usually billed annually and include service-level agreements and dedicated account managers. It's appropriate for businesses delivering large-scale internal training, partner education, or external certification programs.
If you require integrations with HR systems, complex user segmentation, or branded environments across regions, custom enterprise pricing is the most flexible, though also the most expensive.
E-Learning Platforms vs Course Marketplaces: What’s the Difference?
When you’re ready to launch and sell your online course, one of the most important decisions you’ll face is where to host it.
Should you use one of the many available e-learning platforms or list it on a popular course marketplace?
While both options have value, they cater to different goals, especially when it comes to branding, pricing, customization, and control over the learning materials.
Here’s a comparison to help you understand:
Branding and Experience Control
Hosting your course on your own platform gives you full control over branding, content presentation, and user flow. You decide how the learning experience looks and feels, whether you’re offering quick-start individual courses, immersive workshops, or long-form degree programs.
By contrast, course marketplaces group your content with thousands of others. That means your material is judged side-by-side with competitors, and you often can’t customize the design or control how your learners engage with your interactive videos or assessments.
You’re also limited in how you can communicate with learners. Marketplaces often restrict access to email lists or contact details, which makes nurturing long-term relationships harder.
Revenue and Pricing
Platforms designed to help you create courses typically offer better margins and more freedom. You can bundle products, set pricing for free access or premium models, and include upsells under your own rules.
Marketplaces often take a significant revenue share and may enforce fixed pricing structures. This limits your ability to grow profitably if you're offering high-value programs like executive coaching or employee training.
Traffic vs. Targeting
Marketplaces attract large audiences, which is helpful if you’re just starting out. You might get visibility via search, browsing, or algorithmic promotion.
But you’re also competing with thousands of other instructors, and the system may favor lower-priced or high-volume courses.
If you're building courses based on new skills, niche topics, or custom training programs, you may be better served by your own platform. This allows you to position your content better and highlight features like personalized learning paths or downloads.
Content Structure and Creative Freedom
With your own platform, you're free to develop your course using custom formats, learning courses, and multimedia tools. You can layer in assessments, quizzes, grading assignments, and downloadable training materials tailored for your exact audience.
Marketplaces often force standardization: lecture length, quiz format, and even how video lessons are displayed may be dictated. If you want to deliver high-quality or complex instruction, this lack of flexibility can feel limiting.
Plus, marketplaces rely heavily on reviews to establish course quality. While reviews can help, a few negative ratings early on may damage your visibility. On your own site, you control your narrative, whether it’s through testimonials, peer learning, or learner success stories.
Support and Administrative Overhead
When you own your platform, you also own your policies. You decide your refund terms, offer social learning tools, and manage tech support. It takes effort, but it also allows you to create an environment that reflects your brand and values.
Marketplaces handle support for you, which can be helpful, but they also make decisions that affect your course without your input. If you want to build a sustainable business or share insights from industry experts, having control over delivery and strategy is essential.
Build Better Learning Experiences in Less Time With CustomerHub!
If you're building an online course and want to give your students more than just another login and a list of videos, CustomerHub is the best choice.
As an intuitive e-learning platform for students, it helps you deliver real results without dealing with complicated tools or expensive add-ons. Whether you're teaching soft skills or course creation essentials, your content deserves a platform that makes learning seamless.
CustomerHub is designed to keep students focused and engaged through clean interfaces, guided learning paths, and built-in progress tracking.
You can organize multiple courses in one place, connect with your learners through a private member feed, and automate delivery with tools that integrate into your existing systems.
Because it’s built for creators, you can launch quickly and spend more time improving your content, not managing tech.
Ready to deliver a smoother, smarter learning experience? Start your 14-day free trial with CustomerHub today and see how easy it can be to build a powerful course platform that both you and your students love!
FAQs About E-Learning Platforms for Students
What is the best e-learning platform?
The best e-learning platform depends on your goals, learning style, and subject of interest.
Platforms like Linkedin learning are popular for professional development and allow users to learn at their own pace. Look for solutions that offer user-friendly interfaces, strong support, and the key features that matter most to you.
If you're diving into creative skills, Skillshare and MasterClass are great. And if you're looking to teach or sell your knowledge, CustomerHub is the best plug-and-play platform for building online courses and memberships.
What is an e-learning platform?
An eLearning platform is a digital space where educators create and deliver online lessons. These platforms host course content, track learner progress, and support interaction between instructors and students.
Modern e-learning solutions are built to provide engaging and accessible online education for learners worldwide.
Which is the best online platform to study?
The best platform varies depending on what you're trying to learn. If you're focused on career growth, LinkedIn Learning offers structured paths and course content tailored to real-world skills.
For casual learners or students on a budget, platforms offering free courses are a great way to start. Choose a platform that aligns with your goals and gives you the ability to study at your own pace.
What is an example of e-learning?
An example of e-learning is an online course created by a business coach to help entrepreneurs build better sales funnels and create impactful learning experiences. The course might include:
- Pre-recorded video lessons explaining funnel strategies
- Downloadable worksheets to apply the concepts
- Quizzes or assessments to test knowledge
- Certificates of completion for motivation and credibility
- Discussion threads or community spaces for learner interaction
If this course is hosted on a platform like CustomerHub, the coach can automate enrollments, track learner progress, and even drip content over time without needing to code or juggle multiple tools.
