In today’s world, there are an overwhelming amount of options for membership course platforms. There are key features an individual may be looking for in their membership course platform such as the ability to create tiered pricing, host a community within, and whether or not integrations are allowed or if they’ve already been built in. Not every individual’s needs are the same and not all membership course platforms are constructed the same but there surely is one for everyone.
Top 5 best membership course platforms
- WPQuickStart by Nexcess – The best membership site platform for WordPress
- Kajabi – Best high-end, all-in-one membership platform
- Thinkific – A well-known, drag and drop styled course builder
- Teachable – A course builder that is well suited for teachers/educators
- MightyNetwork – A community-building app with awesome course-building features
- NewZenler – An affordable all-in-one membership platform
1. WPQuickStart by Nexcess – The best membership site platform for WordPress
WPQuickStart by Nexcess is a well-known membership site platform with easy-to-use course-building features. Built-in integrations to assist with taking payments, sending emails, scaling the business, and more are just some of the modern features the software offers. This software is fully managed and hosted by Nexcess which in return takes the weight off of the shoulders of the individual using the software and adds a layer of security and reliability.
PRICING:
- Membership essential: $49 per month
- Membership Pro: $99 per month
- Membership premium: $149 per month
KEY FEATURES:
- Automated email blast system
- Built-in payment integrations like Paypal and Stripe
- In-depth analysis reports on business performance, profits, and subscriptions
- Auto-scaling feature
REASONS TO BUY:
- 24/7 monitoring by the WordPress security team
- Fully managed WordPress hosting by Nexcess
- Easy to use set-up wizard
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Expensive option
- No full access to Restrict Content Pro add ons
- Other software is better for community building
» MORE: Website Hosting For Membership Sites
2. Kajabi – Best high-end, all-in-one membership platform
PRICING:
- Basic: $119 per month
- Growth: $159 per month
- Pro: $319 per month
Kajabi is a hosted, all-in-one platform that boasts top-notch features such as community-building tools, course-building tools, and the tools you need to build a full-fledged website to host your business operations. Amongst those, Kajabi also offers impressive things such as sales and marketing tools, front-end website or blog building opportunities, and a free Apple/Android mobile app. The starting price to Kajabi isn’t cheap, but the service can prove to be worth it for individuals looking for an all-inclusive course-building platform.
KEY FEATURES:
- Native Community feature
- Sales and marketing tools
- 10+ product themes for your courses
- A diverse spread of multimedia
REASONS TO BUY:
- Ability to build front-end web pages, landing pages, or blog pages along with your course
- Members can pay weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually
- Ability to schedule content
- Free mobile app for Android/Apple
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Starting price is steep
- Doesn’t handle sales taxes
» MORE: Best Membership Database Software
3. Thinkific – A well-known, drag and drop styled course builder
Thinkific is a well-known, drag-and-drop-styled software that comes loaded with user-friendly course and website building capabilities. Some of the platform’s most impressive features are its embedded selling tools such as 1-click upsells and its automated progress emails and course completion tracking tools to keep your users engaged. Thinkific comes equipped with a community building part of the application which is essential for businesses in certain industries. Custom pages, the given ability to create learning paths, and Thinkifics’ built-in app store are some of the many impressive features loaded into the app.
PRICING:
- Free – $0
- Basic – $39 per month
- Pro – $79 per month
- Premiere – $399 per month
KEY FEATURES:
- Multiple instructor profiles
- Custom pages and restrictions to access
- Selling tools such as 1-click upsells, coupons, sale pages, and affiliate marketing
- Multiple media options – Videos, PDFs, quizzes, assignments
- Ability to create learning paths
- Automated progress emails and course completion tracking
Reasons to buy:
- Drag and drop
- Course building and Website building tools
- Community-building features within
- Has its own app store
- 24/7 server monitoring
- Downloadable content
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Doesn’t have its own mobile app
- Doesn’t handle sales tax
» MORE: Best Membership Website Builders
4. Teachable – A course builder that is well suited for teachers/educators
PRICING:
- Free: $0
- Basic: $29 per month
- Pro: $99 per month
- Business: $249 per month
If you’re strictly an educator, teacher, or someone who is solely interested in creating e-courses then Teachable could be the platform for you. A teachable free plan allows the educator to have an unlimited amount of students and even an unlimited amount of products or offerings. Teachable’s most notable features are its product for 1:1 coaching, its unlimited video bandwidth capabilities, and its live-chat support. Users should be aware that tiered pricing can be very difficult to set up and that there are no built-in community building features but you can integrate community-building applications such as Circle.so.
KEY FEATURES:
- User-friendly course builder
- Product for 1:1 coaching
- Graded quizzes and custom certifications
- Integration with popular help desk software and community building applications
- Forums and surveys to get feedback
REASONS TO BUY:
- The free plan allows you to have unlimited students and products
- Unlimited video bandwidth
- Live chat support
REASONS TO A:
- Tiered pricing is difficult to set-up
- No built-in community-building feature
- Doesn’t track subscription metrics
» MORE: Platforms for White Label Courses
5. MightyNetwork – A community-building app with awesome course-building features
PRICING:
- Community plan: $39 per month
- Business plan: $119 per month
MightyNetwork is a community-building app, but its impressive course-building functions were enough to get it on this list. MightyNetwork gives individuals the ability to create an engaged community in one all-inclusive app. The software gives users the ability to create posts, full articles, and polls while users are also able to send direct messages amongst themselves. Educators have the option to allow the larger group to be free access and have smaller “mastermind” groups be paid for. With progress tracking, live streaming capabilities, and a useful IOS and Android app, this community-building software can provide you with just that, in addition to being a course-builder.
KEY FEATURES:
- Community-building features – Ability to create posts, full articles, and polls
- Member directory
- Direct messaging capabilities between members
- One-time, monthly, annual payments
- Progress tracking
- Live streaming capabilities
REASONS TO BUY:
- Community building app with course builder features within
- Free IOS and Android app
- Ability to create paid or free groups/topics within
- Ability to make the larger community free and charge for courses or mastermind channels internally
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Clunky UI
- A high amount of networks makes navigation difficult for new users
» MORE: Online Email Marketing Courses
6. NewZenler – an affordable all-in-one membership platform
New Zenler is one of the most affordable all-in-one course-building membership platforms on the market. NewZenler comes equipped with inbuilt marketing tools, shopping cart capabilities, website building tools, and modern course-building functions. NewZenler also comes with native community building features as well, all in one platform for an affordable price. This software’s distinctive feature is the ability to offer live classes which can appeal to certain niches.
PRICING:
- Free beta plan – $0
- Pro Plan – $67 per month
- Premium plan – $197 per month
KEY FEATURES:
- Ability to offer live classes
- Website builder with blogging tools
- Inbuilt funnel building tools
REASONS TO BUY:
- Very affordable pricing
- Ability to run your entire website through marketing tools, shopping cart capabilities, website builder, and course builder
- Handles EU VAT with ease
REASONS TO AVOID:
- The platform is still in Beta
- No IOS/Android application yet
- Aesthetic UI issues
- No live chat support
- No website themes
» MORE: Best Online Course Platforms
References and Links
- https://sellcoursesonline.com/best-membership-site-platforms
- https://www.adamenfroy.com/membership-site-platforms
- https://codeless.co/membership-site-platforms/