Claire FountainTrust me when I say we know online course platforms. We even made an AI writing course ourselves.
But before you dive in, there are two questions we get asked constantly. We've done the research so you don't have to.
Check out these free online course platforms so you can start making money sharing your knowledge with the world.
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Table of Contents
- See Which Online Course Platform Fits You Best
- Comparison of the Best Free Online Course Platforms
- Does Teachable Have a Free Plan?
- Does Thinkific Have a Free Plan?
- Best Free Online Course Platforms
- How Does A Free Online Course Platform Work?
- Who Should Use a Free Online Course Platform?
- How We Evaluate Free Online Course Platforms
- Frequently Asked Questions
We offer this website completely free to our visitors. To help pay the bills, we’ll often (but not always) set up affiliate relationships with the top providers after selecting our favorites. However, we do our best not to let this impact our choices. There are plenty of high-paying companies we’ve turned down because we didn’t like their product.
An added benefit of our relationships is that we always try to negotiate exclusive discounts for our visitors.
Comparison of the Best Free Online Course Platforms
| Best Free Online Course Platforms Comparison | |||||
| Course Platform |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best For | Best overall free plan | Best for beginners | Best course marketplace | Best for digital product creators | Best for onboarding & training |
| Editor's Notes |
The most generous free plan out there — funnels, email, and courses all at $0 forever. | Unlimited courses, 0% transaction fees, no coding required — capped at 25 students on the free plan. | Free to publish, but Udemy takes up to 63% of marketplace sales. Great reach, limited control. | Free plan works for downloads and coaching, but charges 8% per sale and doesn't include courses. | Free for up to 5 users and 10 courses. Built for employee training, not public courses. |
| Paid Plans Available? |
Yes | Yes | No (revenue share) | Yes | Yes |
Does Teachable Have a Free Plan?
No. Teachable retired its free plan in early 2025. It now offers a 7-day free trial on all paid plans, which start at $39/month (Starter) with a 7.5% transaction fee. If your sales volume grows, those transaction fees will quickly outpace the cost of upgrading — so plan accordingly.
Does Thinkific Have a Free Plan?
No — not anymore. Thinkific discontinued its free forever plan and replaced it with a 30-day free trial on all paid plans. The Basic plan starts at $49/month, or $36/month billed annually.
It used to be one of the best free options out there, but that changed in 2024/2025. If you need a truly free plan with no time limit, our picks below are your best bets.
Best Free Online Course Platforms
1. Systeme.io
Best overall free plan
If you want the most generous free plan in the online course space — and we mean it — Systeme.io is your answer.
Most platforms give you a stripped-down free tier just long enough to get hooked. Systeme.io gives you an actual business. Their free plan includes 2,000 contacts, unlimited email sending, 3 sales funnels, 1 membership site, 1 blog, and course creation tools — all for $0, forever. No credit card required.
It's an all-in-one platform that combines email marketing, sales funnels, course hosting, affiliate management, and a website builder under one roof. For creators who want to start lean and scale on their own terms, it's the obvious choice in 2026.
Features
- Truly free forever plan (no time limit, no credit card required)
- 2,000 contacts and unlimited email sending
- Course creation and membership site included
- 3 sales funnels and landing pages
- Built-in affiliate management
- Integrated payment processing with no transaction fees
- Blog and website builder
- Automation workflows
Pros
- The most generous free plan of any course platform — period.
- All-in-one: replace your email tool, funnel builder, course platform, and website builder with one free account.
- No transaction fees on any plan.
- Paid plans start at just $17/month, making it extremely affordable to scale.
- Founder actually lowered prices in 2025 while competitors raised theirs.
Cons
- Page load speed can be slower than some competitors.
- Design customization is more limited than dedicated website builders.
- Community feature lacks a dedicated mobile app.
- Basic analytics compared to enterprise-grade tools.
2. FreshLearn
Best for beginners
Does the thought of coding to create a course frighten you? FreshLearn has you covered.
With tons of code-free course customizations (say that three times fast!), there's no shortage of amazing course content you can offer students.
Not only can you create courses through FreshLearn, but you can also create cohorts for students to collaborate, host video masterclasses, and offer completion certificates. Their free plan includes unlimited courses with up to 25 student enrollments and charges 0% transaction fees — rare for a free tier.
They also have easy-to-navigate analytics and a mobile app to make learning easier for your students on the go.
Features
- Free plan with unlimited courses (up to 25 student enrollments)
- 0% transaction fees on all plans
- Cohorts and masterclasses
- Site Builder and Blog CMS
- Integrated payments
- Gamification
- Digital downloads
- Completion certificates
- Mobile apps
- Mandatory watch times for video content
- Analytics
Pros
- Zero transaction fees even on the free plan — rare in this space.
- The mobile app makes class accessible for your students anywhere.
- The code-free approach is less intimidating for beginners.
- Variable rewards and gamification make content more appealing and enjoyable for students.
- Plenty of easy customization options with 200+ landing page templates.
Cons
- Free plan capped at 25 student enrollments — you'll need to upgrade as you grow.
- Simple UI may be too basic for course creators with coding experience.
- Fewer third-party integrations than more established platforms.
3. Udemy
Best course marketplace
The biggest online course platform out there, Udemy, seriously knows what they are doing. They can help you create a stellar course for free.
They already have the framework in place to get you started in no time. The platform includes all of the resources you need for class success, including a built-in marketplace to get your course in front of millions of prospective students and the option to add video content to your lessons.
Just know the revenue share model before you sign up. If you drive sales yourself through your own links or coupons, you keep 97%. If Udemy's marketplace drives the sale, they take a much larger cut — and their Udemy Business revenue share dropped to just 15% as of January 2026.
Read our full Udemy review.
Features
- Instructor support team and teaching center
- Video content options
- Large course marketplace with millions of students
- The community can review your course
- No platform fees (but there are revenue share cuts)
- Built-in payment processing
Pros
- Huge course marketplace — get in front of students without building your own audience.
- The Udemy community is great at leaving reviews which is critical if you want to gain traction and have your course show up in searches.
- Built-in payment processing streamlines the process.
- No platform fees.
Cons
- If Udemy drives the sale, they take up to 63% of revenue.
- Udemy Business revenue share dropped to 15% as of January 2026.
- Limited pricing options — you must choose one of Udemy's pricing tiers and they max out at $199.99.
- Udemy requires you to apply to be a premium instructor and wait 2 days for approval.
- Courses must meet minimum standards and be approved by Udemy.
- You cannot offer students payment options like a monthly payment plan or subscription.
- You have to wait 2-3 months for course sale payouts.
- You cannot direct students to your own mailing list or sell them products outside Udemy.
- Lack of customization options.
4. Podia
Best for digital product creators
Podia is an all-in-one platform for creators who want to sell courses, digital downloads, coaching, and memberships from a single place — without needing a bunch of third-party tools stitched together.
Their free plan lets you get started at no cost, though there is an 8% transaction fee on sales. You're also limited to 1 digital download and 1 coaching product on the free tier. Courses and webinars require a paid plan. That said, Podia's built-in email marketing, community tools, and clean interface make it a strong choice for creators who are still figuring out what they want to sell.
Features
- Free plan with 1 digital download and 1 coaching product
- Built-in email marketing (250 broadcast emails on free plan)
- Membership and community tools
- Website and storefront builder
- Supports courses, webinars, coaching, bundles, and digital downloads on paid plans
- Integrations with Zoom, ConvertKit, MailChimp, and more
Pros
- Clean, intuitive interface — easy for non-technical creators.
- Built-in email marketing eliminates the need for a separate tool.
- Flexible product types: courses, downloads, coaching, memberships.
- 30-day free trial on paid plans to test premium features.
- No coding knowledge needed.
Cons
- 8% transaction fee on the free plan is one of the steepest on this list.
- Free plan does not include courses or webinars — only digital downloads and coaching.
- No custom domain on the free plan.
- No dedicated mobile app for creators.
- No built-in sales funnel builder.
5. TalentLMS
Best for onboarding and training
If you're looking for a free way to streamline your onboarding process and job training operations, look no further than TalentLMS.
The free plan can be used by up to 5 users for up to 10 courses and it includes email support.
While this is a more niche course option, it's a great resource for small businesses looking to turn their training process into a streamlined, online course.
They also have a paid plan that includes more features, users, and courses.
Features
- Specializes in onboarding and training courses
- Up to 5 users and 10 courses
- Paid plan available
- Very customizable (if you can code)
- Plenty of integrations and add-ons are available
Pros
- Great for training and onboarding
- Integrations make everything easier
- Customizability is great
- Many industries covered
Cons
- Niche-specific to employee training (not good for all courses)
- Limited users and courses in the free plan
- Customizations have a learning curve if you don't know how to code
How Does A Free Online Course Platform Work?
A free online course platform works as a customizable course creator.
They offer course-building tools that make it easy for teachers to set up different lessons, create assignments, enable students to discuss concepts with each other, and upload engaging video content.
Some also include features that allow teachers to integrate payment plans for students to pay for their courses as well as different tiers of payment.
A few free online course platforms offer additional useful features, including live class options where students get new information and assignments weekly or “evergreen” classes that allow students to work at their own pace, on their own time.
Some even offer marketing tools to spread the word about your class.
Ultimately, free online course platforms provide course creators with a way to easily make and host enriching classes without having to start from scratch.
Who Should Use a Free Online Course Platform?
Anyone who is curious about teaching an online course and sharing their knowledge with others should use a free online course platform.
They offer helpful tools and resources that make designing a class easy and, most importantly, they're free! So there's nothing to lose.
If you're looking to generate a course for yourself to learn a topic, check out these AI-powered free course generators.
How We Evaluate Free Online Course Platforms
When comparing these free online course platforms, I focused on 5 main components:
- The number of courses and students. Free platforms are limited in what they can offer at no cost. They limit the number of courses you're allowed to create and the number of students who can enroll in each course. I tried to find a good mix of course platforms that allowed creators to offer multiple courses to a larger number of students.
- Self-paced and live options. Sometimes, you want an interactive class to communicate with students and grade assignments in real time. Other times, you may want a hands-off course that allows students to work at their own pace. This is why I included a bit of everything.
- Ease of interface. I don't know about you, but I just can't code. Honestly, troubleshooting tech issues is beyond my scope of expertise. I went for options for people like me, who want to do as little designing and setting up as possible. But, I also included some options for folks with coding abilities to further customize their classes.
- Capabilities. I included some platforms that offer integrated payment solutions, some that allow for downloadable content, and some that can do it all. I also wanted niche options for you, so I included a couple that specializes in onboarding and training for new employees.
- Special features. Who doesn't love all the bells and whistles? I added options with special features like a voiceover PowerPoint tool, cohorts and community abilities, live-streaming capabilities, and even game-ability options make learning more fun and interactive for students.
If you already sell your courses, make sure you know how to handle course chargebacks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Teachable have a free plan?
No. Teachable retired its free plan in early 2025 and now offers a 7-day free trial on all paid plans. Plans start at $39/month (Starter) with a 7.5% transaction fee.
Does Thinkific have a free plan?
Not anymore. Thinkific discontinued its free forever plan and now offers a 30-day free trial instead. Paid plans start at $49/month, or $36/month billed annually.
What is a free online course?
A free online course platform is a site where people can create their own online courses for free. Free online course platforms offer things like course-building tools, templates, video features, forums, payment plans for students, and even marketing features to promote their courses to prospective students.
How can I create an online course for free?
To create an online course for free, simply create an account with a free online course platform like Systeme.io or FreshLearn. Then, set up information for your course, including slides, videos, and downloadable content, set a price for your class, and market it to get students to join.
How much money do online courses make?
Online courses can rake in $1,000 to $10,000 per month, depending on demand and marketing.
How long does it take to create an online course?
It can take anywhere from 25 hours to 2 months to create an online course depending on the content and length of the course.
What is the best free online course platform?
Systeme.io is the best free online course platform in 2026, thanks to its truly free forever plan that includes 2,000 contacts, unlimited email sending, sales funnels, course creation, and more — all at no cost with zero transaction fees.
