Our separate course-platform guide evaluates the learning product. Here the question is commercial: checkout, platform fees, payment plans, upsells, affiliates, coupons, email, funnels and the cost of acquiring a student.

Shortlist

  • Teachable: course commerce with global payments/taxes; watch Starter's 7.5% transaction fee.
  • Kajabi: premium integrated marketing + course stack with no revenue sharing listed on current pricing.
  • Podia: courses plus downloads/community; Mover has a 5% platform transaction fee while higher plans remove it.
  • Thinkific: course-first platform when selling tools need to sit around a stronger learning core.
  • SamCart: specialist checkout option; Pro is the relevant tier when upsells/order bumps/affiliates matter.
  • Systeme.io: low-cost funnels + email + course selling in one stack.

Revenue changes the plan decision

A low subscription with a percentage fee can become more expensive as sales grow. Conversely, paying for advanced checkout tools can be wasteful before an offer has demand. Model subscription + platform fee + processing + any external email/funnel tools at your expected revenue.

Verdict

For straightforward course commerce, Teachable belongs on the shortlist but its relevant tier depends on revenue. Kajabi is the integrated premium choice. Systeme.io is the budget consolidation choice. SamCart is the specialist choice when checkout optimization has enough revenue leverage to justify the subscription.

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Sources and verification

  1. Pricing — Teachable
    Plans, fees and commerce features. Accessed 2026-09-10.
  2. Pricing — Kajabi
    Plans and no revenue sharing. Accessed 2026-09-10.
  3. Pricing — Systeme.io
    Plans and integrated selling tools. Accessed 2026-09-10.

This page intentionally targets course commerce, not the broader “best online course platform” learning intent. Facts checked September 10, 2026.