Overview

Today, a wide range of tools exist for creating and launching your online courses. The most preferred tool is Podia. Yes, it is the best online course creation platform available for educators today. From a user-friendly interface to accessibility to cost-effectiveness and easy installation, Podia ticks all the right boxes when building online courses efficiently. 

The landscape of online course platforms keep evolving, and finding the perfect platform for your needs seems intimidating. No doubt, Podia is a first choice for creators, but many other platforms come with advanced features to strengthen your learning journey.  

Whether you are a seasoned educator or just a novice in the digital journey, this detail will open doors to fresh opportunities and help you better create and sell online courses.
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About Podia 

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Podia is considered a behemoth in the learning management system fraternity. It is an all-in-one platform for businesses that want to create and sell online courses, run webinars, offer digital downloads, and much more. 

What Does Podia Offer to Users? 

Podia can be used by many digital creators for different objectives, from selling online courses to creating marketing campaigns; this platform offers almost everything to those who want to share and exchange their expertise with the learners. But let’s tour specific points that set Podia apart from competitors. 

1. Online Course Creator 

Podia offers an amazing solution for educators or creators who want to design, develop, and sell online courses and charge a certain amount of subscriptions from users. Using Podia, you can create a course from zero with the help of appealing templates and then add some gamification elements to make the entire course interesting. 

2. Memberships 

With the help of Podia, companies can build and launch a membership website. Build a membership website that fits your business personality and interacts with your community by offering members-only stuff like videos, blogs, and other downloadable digital content. 

3. Digital Downloads

Podia will permit you to achieve that if you're a digital content maker and wish to sell your goods online. You can do it here if you sell e-books, illustrations, music, quizzes, or any other digital material. Additionally, there are no restrictions on the quantity of files, downloads, sales, etc.

4. Landing Pages 

With Podia's simple drag-and-drop website designer, you can create landing pages, newsletter sign-up pages, and websites without coding knowledge. 

5. Embeds

Use Podia's embeddable buy button if you already have your domain and want to optimize it for digital sales. Customers can use this button to buy your goods without leaving your page.

Podia Pricing Plans

1. Custom : Startups and businesses with fantastic products but limited sales can use custom for $49 monthly.
2. Pro - $99/month - Established companies and organizations with large income who require additional functionality beyond what the Custom plan provides
3. Unlimited : Award-winning, high-growth, and scale-up businesses that require infinite features can have it for $249 monthly.

Podia employs the PodiaCMS, which consists of three parts: the Builder, the Commerce, and the Insight. If you choose the Custom plan, you will only have access to Podia Builder; the Pro and Unlimited plans offer you complete control over the design and content of your website, giving you the power to customize it to your heart's desire.

On Podia, a premium membership is also supported. You can do this to build sales pages using website builder just for your members.

One of the things that sets Podia apart from other online sales systems is its ability to link with Stripe. It's crucial to remember that you require a Swipe file to perform this, though. All the information you need to set up your payment method on Podia is in the Swipe file.

Upon signing up, Podia offers a free 14-day trial period; no credit card details are mandatory. There is an opportunity to upgrade to a premium subscription after the trial period has ended. Your page will be disabled and all of its material removed if you choose not to subscribe.
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5 Best Podia Alternatives to Create Online Courses

Podia is designed to provide a wide range of services, including websites, emails, memberships, courses, and digital download sales. Podia's product will be a challenge to create websites, membership communities, or online courses since it is an all-in-one solution for businesses. 

So, let's examine each popular Podia alternative in the market and give tough competition to Podia. Let’s start with it.

1. EdisonOS

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As a Podia alternative - EdisonOS is one of the best course builders that provides a one-stop solution to tutors, educators, and brands to build and launch online courses at their pace. 

EdisonOS is easy, affordable, and accessible to sell courses from anywhere, anytime, with modern features such as website builder, discussion forums, completion certifications, and real-time reports. 

This is the best platform for everyone looking to sell digital downloads of their products to their audience via social media or their website. Moreover, EdisonOS comes with many built-in marketing tools, such as email, discounts, and analytics. 

Pros 

1. EdisonOS is famous for its user-friendly interface and straightforward navigation, making this platform the best option for novice tutors and those looking for a more professional experience. 
2. EdisonOS offers modern features unlike other platforms, including course building, website building, analytics, live classes, and assessment. 
3. EdisonOS does not levy any transaction fees on sales, boosting educators' profitability. 
4. EdisonOS also allows creators to launch their App Store and Play Store mobile apps to make the learning experience more fun and interactive. 
5. EdisonOS has integrated marketing tools, enabling creators to leverage digital marketing power and speed up their course sales. 

EdisonOS is a finest alternative to Podia for building online courses with its modern powerpack features and customization options. It also boasts better community features, a powerful UI and is more inclined towards each field. So if we look from the usage purpose, versatility is everything, and EdisonOS wins the race here. 

2. Kajabi

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Kajabi is a one-stop solution that makes it easy for educators to create and sell online courses and membership sites. It allows content creators and online businesses a myriad of key features for website building, designing marketing campaigns, and much more. 

Over 50,000 users and 60 million students have used the platform since its launch in 2010, bringing in over $1.5 billion. You wouldn't have to pay for any of them because Kajabi offers advanced marketing features found on Teachable, WordPress, Kartra, and other platforms.

Users can create, market, and sell membership websites, digital products, and online courses using Kajabi, one of the best online platforms. It boasts various features and resources to help influencers, educators, and content producers establish and maintain their online presence.

In terms of comparison between Podia and Kajabi, Kajabi is more costly, with paid plans beginning at $149 per month. Nevertheless, email marketers will find Kajabi's features to be quite helpful. Thanks to a stunning visual email builder, an abundance of template options, and sophisticated segmentation, your emails will be more visually appealing and pertinent than ever.

Pros 

• Kajabi doesn’t need any introduction, as it offers a comprehensive suite of tools that makes course creation easy for users. 
• Kajabi is considered an ideal online course platform because it offers various course building options such as quizzes, gamifications, multimedia support, and much more that eventually make a course interactive. 
• Kajabi allows you to create a course with custom branding options that give a personalized feel to users. 
• In-built marketing tools and automation make it seamless to engage with audiences to boost sales. 
• Dedicated online communities offer exceptional support to users when they are stuck. 

For those looking for a more robust platform, Kajabi is a compelling alternative to Podia because of its customization and advanced marketing functionalities. The final decision between the two will rely on your needs and financial situation, but Kajabi's extensive offerings allow you to purchase fewer apps and worry about APIs and integrations, saving you a significant amount of money.

3. LearnWorlds

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If you are searching for an all-in-one platform with everything you need to create courses, your hunt ends at LearnWorlds. This is the best Podia alternative as it allows users to create unlimited courses, and each one comes with unlimited customization facility to meet online business goals. 

From interactive video features to pop-ups to buttons and website builders, Learn Worlds allows creators to make the entire course more engaging. Moreover, the platform’s built-in community makes it easy for students to interact with each other, and modern marketing tools help them to promote courses on social platforms.

Hence, LearnWorlds stands tall in the competition as an Podia alternative because the platform’s unique ability focuses more on user experience than anything else.

Pros 

• Without paying for third-party page builders or hiring web designers, you can quickly and easily create an online school using LearnWorld's user-friendly page builder.
• Make your videos more captivating and lively by incorporating interactive elements such as overlay images, buttons, questions, and titles.
• Selling your course on this platform is possible in a variety of currencies, such as $, €, £, A$, £, R$, CA$, DKK, €, and so on. 
• Additionally, it allows you to accept payments from your clients using a variety of payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, 2Checkout, and PagSeguro.

LearnWorlds is a great Podia alternative if you want to build and sell online courses without any complexion. With its modern features, integrations, and cost-effective pricing plans, LearnWorlds truly stands out in the competitive market.

4. Mighty Networks

Unlike other platforms, Mighty Networks offers something unique. Yes, it is not primarily an LMS-focused tool. You did indeed hear correctly. Like Facebook or Twitter, you can create a highly engaged community with its help. It creates communities. 

Additionally, you can sell three courses through this community: cohort-based, content-only, and community-based. Another significant advantage of this platform is that there is no cap on the number of courses or instructors.

Among Mighty Networks' most notable features are memberships and subscriptions, built-in live streaming, direct messages and chats, live events, group events, the ability to create infinite groups and spaces, course apps, etc.

Pros 

1. Mighty Networks has a user-friendly interface. Technical expertise is optional to set up your community.
2. Mighty Networks' adaptability is one of its greatest features. It can be altered to meet your requirements and give your members a special experience.
3. Mighty Networks provides a wide range of tools, including live streaming, chat, events, courses, memberships, analytics, and more, to assist you in starting and expanding your community.
4. The platform can be accessed online on iOS and Android devices. With the Mighty Pro plan, you can upgrade to your branded apps.
5. The purpose of Mighty Networks is to encourage communication and engagement among your users. You can make groups, spaces, polls, questions, and more to start discussions and forge connections.
6. You can build a lively, dynamic community with Mighty Networks that entices members to stay in. You can use live videos, events, polls, questions, and more to encourage conversations and interactions.
7. Mighty Networks lets you monetize your community by charging for memberships, courses, or community access. You can choose your own prices and keep all profits except for payment processing fees.

Creators, educators, and community leaders can connect and create vibrant online communities with the help of Mighty Networks. Mighty Networks' easily navigable interface, customizable features, and revenue-generating options enable users to establish captivating environments where community members can grow, learn, and work together. 

Restricted template options and cost implications could also be disadvantages. All things considered, Mighty Networks is an invaluable resource for people looking to promote deep connections and knowledge exchange within their communities.

5. Thinkific

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Thinkific is a well-known online course creation platform enabling educators and tutors to create, sell, and market online courses. It was launched in 2012 and has since grown to become one of the popular choices for organizations to build effective training programs. 

Thinkific is revolutionising the learning process; the platform boasts many sales features that allow brands to turn their expertise into profitable business that impacts them and their audience efficiently. To engage and educate your students, you can create a variety of multimedia content on Thinkific, such as surveys, quizzes, and videos. 

Furthermore, the platform offers an intuitive interface that simplifies the process of creating and tailoring courses to meet individual requirements and preferences. 

Thinkific is fully free to use, albeit with some restrictions. If you want more features for fewer limits, you will need to upgrade to one of their paid plans, which begins at $49 per month. A 25% discount is also available if you choose to sign up for one of their annual plans.

Pros 

1. Thinkific provides an intuitive interface for creating and modifying online courses.
2. Thinkific's extensive feature set includes tools for creating multimedia courses, marketing and sales services, student administration features, and integration possibilities.
3. Thinkific's scalability feature lets you increase the number of courses and students you offer without restricting your ability to reach a wider audience.
4. Thinkific provides features that can effectively drive sales and promote your courses, such as internet marketing tools, email marketing, custom website builders, and coupons.
5. Thinkific offers flexibility and expands functionality by integrating with well-known third-party tools that help you assess learner’s performance in real-time. 

If you are an entrepreneur looking to launch an online course business, Thinkific is a great platform. You can learn how to use the platform and upgrade your plans as your business grows by starting with a free trial or a free plan. But Thinkific is losing out on revenue opportunities by not offering additional features for creator monetization. Furthermore, Thinkific's base plans lack concierge migration or live chat support. And here Podia definitely is outgrowing.
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5 Parameters to Consider When Choosing a Platform to Sell Digital Products

Consider a few criteria before concluding if you are evaluating a new platform to manage members and sell courses.  

1. Price 

This is the foremost important point to consider. The question to answer here is, does a particular platform fit within your budget? 

Especially as you grow and add more courses or process more transactions, below are the points you need to consider, 

1. Is there a free plan? 
2. Do they charge transaction fees?

2. Features 

The following parameter is the set of features. Here are some mandatory features you need to take into consideration. 

1. Customization: Can you personalize the platform according to your preference? 
2. Domain: Can you use your custom domain name? 
3. Upsells: Can you quickly charge transaction fees from clients? 
4. API Integrations: An important thing to consider is whether the platform integrates with Slack Zapier or has an API. 
5. Marketing Features: What modern features are available to up your marketing game? Especially can you send bulk emails to new users to make announcements using notifications?

3. Ease of Using 

Apart from all of the above, this is the most crucial point. User-friendliness comes first when you choose any Podia alternative. The point is that if your clients find it too challenging or the complex UI, they won’t use it. 

1. Learning Curve: It should be simple and doesn’t require much coding knowledge. 
2. Onboarding: Does the platform help with onboarding? 
3. Maintenance: Can you modify the setup on your own, or will you need to pay a freelancer or agency to do it?

The golden rule here we suggest while choosing a membership software is to keep things simple. For instance, if your business only has a few members, choose the alternative based on that. If you are looking for specific features, consider other valuable options that help you tick all the right boxes. 

4. Support and Updates

And last, excellent support is crucial. After all, the software you use will significantly impact your business. Verify if the business provides phone support or a live chat feature (ideally one that is responsive!).

Not to mention, take a look at the product updates. Has the business recently released or enhanced features? If so, that indicates that the product will develop and become more valuable over time.

Wrapping Up 

So here are our final recommendations:

1. EdisonOS is for tutors and online EdTech schools who want to make their learning journey enjoyable. 
2. Kajabi for enterprises with a huge community and content creation requirements. 
3. LearnWorlds for creators selling high -ticket digital products. 
4. Mighty Networks for educators who want to set up lasting connections with community members. 
5. Thinkific for creators looking to establish meaningful connections with members.

The eLearning market is booming and showing no signs of slowing down. Hence, it is the best time for content providers to create and sell online courses because of the migration of offline learning to online and the easy access to knowledge from educators in almost all sectors. 

For creators who wish to launch an online business to sell digital products, plenty of platforms are at their disposal. Podia is a platform allowing content creators to create courses and sell them via an online store or sales funnel. 

Each and every one of these platforms is a viable Podia alternative. Your choice mainly depends on budget and the number of functionalities you want access to. If you are still in a dilemma, we encourage you to make the most of the solutions that come with free plans and offer dedicated customer support. That way, you can get to know more about the platform before investing your precious cash and time. 

And if you are looking for a platform that offers the best features and user experience, try EdisonOS.

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