If you want to create and sell an online course, you’re likely familiar with Udemy. With over 250,000+ courses and millions of learners, there’s no doubt that Udemy is a top player in the online learning space.
But Udemy isn’t for everyone. As an instructor, you’re competing for attention on a platform with over 75,000+ other teachers, trainers, and coaches.
Udemy operates on a revenue-share business model. So if someone finds your course directly from Udemy without your specific referral link, you only get 37% of the net sales. That’s right, Udemy can take a 63% commission of your course.
If you prefer a bit more control over your sales without being boxed into a specific platform, there are plenty of other Udemy alternatives that profit-driven instructors can consider. Whether you want to be a mobile-first instructor or you want to sell courses in a niche-specific industry, I’ve included something for everyone below.
1. Buildfire
Buildfire is a no-code app builder that’s been used to create over 10,000+ successful apps for iOS and Android. It’s the perfect option for instructors who want to sell profitable online courses through their own fully customized mobile app.
Research shows that 70% of people feel more motivated to learn when they’re taking courses on their smartphones. Studies also found that mobile learning improves productivity, as users complete courses 45% faster on their phones compared to computers.
With Buildfire, you’re in total control over every aspect of your online course—from the format to the revenue model, and you can keep 100% of your profits. You’ll also have the ability to:
- Charge a one-time fee, recurring subscription, or a combination of both.
- Upload video tutorials by integrating with YouTube and Vimeo.
- Add tests, quizzes, polls, and other interactive elements.
- Build slideshow lessons and combine them with audio and video files.
- Create access tiers so users who pay more can unlock premium perks.
Selling your course through an education app unlocks dozens of other features and capabilities that you wouldn’t otherwise get from a traditional online learning platform.
You can send push notifications directly to users’ home screens, set up message boards for your community, and ultimately provide a highly personalized experience to anyone who takes your course.
This also puts you in a unique position to sell multiple courses to the same people. Once the app has been installed on their phone, you can continue marketing new courses and add-ons while upselling your students.
The initial setup takes a bit longer since you’re building an app and an online course. But it’s worth it in the long run as you’ll have a much better opportunity to earn sky-high profits.
Plans start at just $85 per month, so you can break even with just one or two sales. Try a 30-day free trial of Buildfire to get started.
2. Teachable
Teachable is very similar to Udemy in the sense that they’re both popular online learning platforms. It’s trusted by over 150,000+ course creators, so you know that it’s reputable and has lots of the tools you need to get started.
But unlike Udemy, Teachable doesn’t take ultra-high commissions on your course sales.
You can use it to sell:
- Online courses
- Digital downloads
- Coaching services
- Memberships
If you’re on an entry-level Basic plan from Teachable, you’ll pay a 5% transaction fee. However, this plan really limits how many courses you can sell—and it only lets you create a single membership tier for your users.
The transaction fees are eliminated if you use Teachable payment gateway on higher plan tiers. But the monthly fee spikes significantly.
I think Teachable is fine for beginners or people who aren’t ready to jump in with both feet. Although I think your growth can be a bit limited at scale.
You’re boxed into a platform that isn’t super flexible or customizable. But it definitely earns a spot on this list simply because the commissions are drastically less than Udemy.
3. Educative
Educative is specifically built for developers who want to teach tech-related skills. In addition to generating revenue, many people use Educative as a way to build their online reputation in the development space—ultimately opening more doors and creating additional opportunities in their careers.
The platform currently has over 700+ courses related to coding, including programming languages and topics like:
- Python
- Java
- JavaScript
- React
- DevOps
- C#
- Machine Learning
- Data Science
You can also create courses related to things like tech interviews, surviving layoffs, and other industry-specific tips for developers.
One unique standout of Educative is that all the courses are text-based. This means you won’t need any cameras or studio equipment to create your course.
I’m personally more of a visual learner, so I don’t think I’d find this too helpful as a student, but it definitely lowers the bar for creators in terms of the time and effort they need to spend creating courses.
4. MasterClass
Full disclosure—not everyone can be an instructor on MasterClass. There’s no open application on the website, and most of the instructors have been invited to join.
That said, you can find some workarounds to reach out to someone at MasterClass directly to pitch your course idea. Just don’t waste your time doing this unless you’re truly an industry leader in your respective field.
You’ll see big names and celebrities teaching courses on MasterClass, including:
- Spike Lee
- Gordon Ramsey
- Steph Curry
- David Balducci
- Steve Martin
- Samuel L. Jackson
- James Patterson
- Mariah Carey
You get the idea.
There are still plenty of lesser-known people teaching online via MasterClass. But they don’t accept just anybody.
In terms of profitability, it’s been reported that MasterClass pays instructors an upfront fee of $100,000 to create a course and then a 30% commission on sales.
One of my knocks against Udemy was its high revenue-sharing model (not in your favor). While MasterClass does the same thing, there’s still an opportunity for huge profits—as there are over 11.4 million people using the platform.
5. Udacity
Udacity is another niche-specific online learning platform with a primary focus on coding, development, and data engineering.
It’s a bit different from the other options on my list because you aren’t actually creating and selling your own online course but rather becoming an online educator on an existing learning platform.
There are five different roles that you can apply for to teach on Udacity:
- Session Lead — Industry experts bringing real-world examples to virtual classes.
- Career Coach — Offering personalized learning experiences and mentoring students who want to sharpen their skills and advance their careers.
- Tutor — Guiding students through interactive webinars and giving advice through community boards.
- Guru — Freelance specialists who want to pass their skills to other freelancers.
- Project Reviewer — Industry professionals who help provide personalized feedback to users completing projects on Udacity.
Pay varies by position and expertise, but there’s definitely money to be made on the platform.
Just check out Udacity’s open positions online to apply as a mentor.
6. Thinkific
Thinkific is an online course builder that, unlike Udemy, is built specifically for instructors instead of a platform that facilitates teaching and learning under one roof.
People can’t go to Thinkific to browse and purchase your course—it’s on you to promote everything and get it in front of their eyes.
This is much more profitable for instructors, as you won’t be paying any commission fees. Although they do charge transaction fees if you’re using a third-party processor.
Similar to Teachable, Thinkific has different subscription tiers, with extra features and capabilities unlocked as you pay more. Every plan comes with unlimited courses, but you’ll need to pay extra if you want to access features like:
- Live lessons
- Memberships
- Unlimited coaching and webinar sessions
- Group orders
- Analytics
All of your courses will have Thinkific branding on them unless you pay for the top-tier package.
While Thinkific is solid, I think most course creators will end up paying more than they initially planned once they get the ball rolling beyond their first lesson. There are lots of paid add-ons, and the platform isn’t as customizable as other options out there.
I’ve already mentioned how important mobility is for online learning, and Thinkific does have a mobile app that you can use to distribute your course. However, it’s a $199 per month add-on at every plan tier.
Buildfire is less expensive, and it delivers far more functionality—including features that go beyond online courses.
7. Pluralsight
Pluralsight is a tech-specific online learning platform that’s better for those of you seeking a side gig as opposed to a new career as a digital educator.
You can create video courses, skills assessments, and hands-on labs using sandbox environments so students can really put their newly learned skills to the test.
The structure and flow is a bit different compared to other platforms. Each “assessment” (aka a new course) takes about three months to produce in a three-phase process:
- Blueprint (2 weeks) — Mapping out the outline of the course.
- Question Writing (4-6 weeks) — Creating actual course material.
- Reviewing (1-2 weeks) — Someone from Pluralsight checks the quality of your course before it goes live.
Compensation on Pluralsight isn’t quite as high as other platforms. They pay commissions based on video viewership on a quarterly basis.
That said, the upfront investment is low. So you can still earn high profits.
8. LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds is an AI-powered LMS that’s built for online course creators. In addition to selling courses and digital products, it comes with perks like marketing and sales tools.
One unique use case for LearnWorlds is its Enterprise LMS, which is useful for employee training programs. Beyond that, the platform is fairly versatile, and you can use it to create online courses across categories like:
- Healthcare
- Finance
- Customer education
- Online coaching
My favorite part of LearnWorlds is its ability to facilitate live 1:1 and group training sessions. This isn’t something you’ll find on many other platforms out there.
While it’s harder to scale this model, you can charge higher rates and earn some nice profits for your time.
9. Maven
Maven uses a community-driven approach as its unique differentiator for instructors. You can create cohort-based courses to teach groups of people looking to learn about similar topics or obtain specific skills.
Teaching via Maven gets you access to over 40,000+ students, and it appears as though many of the courses are priced for high profits—ranging anywhere from $1,000 to $4,000 per course.
Popular topics on Maven include:
- AI
- Engineering
- Marketing
- Design
- Business
- Leadership
According to Maven’s teaching resources, you can earn up to $30,000 when you launch your first cohort on their platform.
After lots of digging and research, I truthfully don’t know exactly where this number comes from. It’s a nice draw for a single course, but I’m not sure why it’s capped at that amount.
Final Thoughts
Udemy is a solid option for teaching online courses. But it’s not the only game in town.
As an instructor, you have plenty of other options to consider—especially if you want to earn higher profits.
Buildfire is the best Udemy alternative because it’s mobile-first and truly the only option that offers limitless customization and scalability. Anyone can use Buildfire to create their own mobile app without writing a single line of code, and it’s extremely versatile in terms of what you can teach. Sign up for Buildfire today and try it free for 30 days.