BEST-OF · 2026

Best Course Platforms With No Transaction Fees in 2026

This guide is for creators, coaches, community owners and training buyers who care about margin, not just the lowest monthly price. A 0% platform fee can save money, but card, wallet, PayPal or Stripe-style processing still applies. The shortlist follows the fixed EverythingLMS index order, then checks the fee conditions behind each plan. That matters because several tools remove platform fees only on higher tiers, or when you use their preferred payment setup. For most dedicated course sellers, Thinkific is the cleanest pick if Thinkific Payments works for you. Teachable, LearnWorlds, Kajabi, Podia and Thrive Apprentice can also make sense, but only under the right plan and payment conditions.

Scored by the EverythingLMS review panel · Best-of hub · how we score · Last updated June 2026 · affiliate disclosure

PICK

Thinkific 90/100 · EXCEPTIONAL EDITOR'S CHOICE

Thinkific is the platform I most often suggest as the Teachable alternative, and for a lot of people it is the better choice. The course builder is clean and quick to learn, it charges 0% transaction fees on paid plans, and its free plan is the most genuinely usable of any tool here. You can build and launch a real course without paying a cent.

✓ PROS

0% transaction fees, even on paid plans
One of the most generous free plans available
Clean, intuitive course builder

✕ CONS

Marketing and email tools are lighter
Fewer advanced design options than LearnWorlds

Best for: Creators who want a solid course builder with no transaction fees, free to try

0% transaction fees

from $49/mo

Try free ↗ Read full review →

PICK

Teachable 88/100 · EXCEPTIONAL BEST FOR BEGINNERS

Teachable is the platform I recommend to anyone launching their first course who does not want to think about the tech. You can go from a blank account to a published, payable course in an afternoon. The interface gets out of your way, the course player is clean, and it quietly handles the annoying parts like EU VAT and payouts.

✓ PROS

Genuinely easy to set up your first course
Free plan to start with zero cost
Clean, reliable course player for students

✕ CONS

Transaction fees on the free and lower tiers
Site design and customisation are limited

Best for: First-time creators who want to launch a course quickly without a learning curve

Free plan (high fees)

from $39/mo

Try free ↗ Read full review →

PICK

LearnWorlds 86/100 · EXCELLENT BEST COURSE DESIGN

LearnWorlds is for creators who think of a course as a teaching product, not just a stack of videos. It does things the others do not: interactive video with questions baked into the timeline, rich assessments, proper certificates, and SCORM support for selling into companies. If learning outcomes matter to you, this is the platform that takes them seriously.

✓ PROS

Interactive video with in-video questions
Strong assessments, certificates and SCORM
The most flexible course design on this list

✕ CONS

Starter plan adds a $5 per-sale fee
Steeper learning curve than Teachable

Best for: Creators who want genuinely interactive, well-designed courses

Starter +$5/sale

from $29/mo

Start free trial ↗ Read full review →

PICK

Kajabi 84/100 · EXCELLENT

Kajabi is the most complete all-in-one for creators who want to run a whole knowledge business from one login — the reason is simple: it replaces about five separate subscriptions. You get the course builder, the website, the email tool, the sales funnels and the checkout in one account, and they actually talk to each other. For someone running a knowledge business rather than just publishing a single course, that consolidation is worth real money.

✓ PROS

Courses, website, email and funnels in one place
0% transaction fees on every plan
Strong marketing and automation tools

✕ CONS

Pricier than single-purpose course tools
Course-design depth trails LearnWorlds

Best for: Serious creators who want to run their whole business from one platform

0% transaction fees

from $89/mo

Start free trial ↗ Read full review →

PICK

Podia 84/100 · EXCELLENT BEST VALUE

Podia is the all-in-one for people who found Kajabi too much. It bundles courses, digital downloads, a community and email marketing into one tidy product that you can actually understand in an afternoon. For a creator who wants to sell a few different things without juggling tools, it hits a sweet spot of simple and affordable.

✓ PROS

Courses, downloads, community and email in one
One of the simplest tools to use
Free plan and affordable paid tiers

✕ CONS

Fewer advanced course and quiz features
No public API or deep integrations

Best for: Creators who want an easy all-in-one without paying Kajabi prices

Free plan available

from $39/mo

Try free ↗ Read full review →

PICK

Skool 83/100 · EXCELLENT BEST FOR COMMUNITY

Skool flips the usual model. Most platforms are a course tool with a community bolted on; Skool is a community tool where courses are part of the draw. The whole product is built to get members posting, replying and coming back, and the gamification, points and leaderboards, does that better than anything else here.

✓ PROS

Community, courses and gamification in one
Genuinely simple, almost no learning curve
Leaderboards and points drive engagement

✕ CONS

Course features are deliberately basic
Checkout and sales pages are limited

Best for: Creators building a paid community where courses support the discussion

Flat $99/mo, no tiers

$99/mo

Start free trial ↗ Read full review →

PICK

TalentLMS 83/100 · EXCELLENT BEST FOR TEAMS

TalentLMS is the tool I point small and mid-size teams toward when they need to train people, not sell courses to the public. It is a proper corporate LMS, course assignment, completion tracking, certificates, user groups, but without the enterprise weight or price of something like Docebo. You can have a working training portal up the same day.

✓ PROS

Fast to set up for a corporate LMS
Free plan for up to 5 users / 10 courses
Good completion, reporting and certification

✕ CONS

Some of the UI feels a little dated
Reporting is basic on the lower tiers

Best for: Teams running employee, partner or customer training

Free up to 5 users

from $69/mo

Try free ↗ Read full review →

PICK

Thrive Apprentice 82/100 · EXCELLENT BEST FOR WORDPRESS

Thrive Apprentice is the pick for people who already live in WordPress and want to own their course platform outright. Instead of renting space on a hosted tool and handing over a monthly fee plus a slice of sales, you run everything on your own site for a flat annual licence. Over a few years, that maths gets very appealing.

✓ PROS

Runs on your own WordPress site
One annual fee, no per-student or per-sale cut
Full design control via Thrive tools

✕ CONS

Needs WordPress and hosting to run
Not a hosted, set-up-for-you platform

Best for: WordPress users who want to own their platform and pay no per-student fees

No per-student fees

from ~$99/yr

See pricing ↗ Read full review →

At a glance

Tool	Index	Ease	From	Free	Best for
Thinkific	90	8.8	from $49/mo	✓	Creators who want a solid course builder with no transaction fees, free to try
Teachable	88	9.0	from $39/mo	✓	First-time creators who want to launch a course quickly without a learning curve
LearnWorlds	86	7.9	from $29/mo	—	Creators who want genuinely interactive, well-designed courses
Kajabi	84	8.4	from $89/mo	—	Serious creators who want to run their whole business from one platform
Podia	84	9.1	from $39/mo	✓	Creators who want an easy all-in-one without paying Kajabi prices
Skool	83	9.2	$99/mo	—	Creators building a paid community where courses support the discussion
TalentLMS	83	8.6	from $69/mo	✓	Teams running employee, partner or customer training
Thrive Apprentice	82	7.6	from ~$99/yr	—	WordPress users who want to own their platform and pay no per-student fees

RELATED SHORTLISTS

Keep narrowing the field

The Best LMS & Online Course Platforms in 2026 →The Best Platforms for Selling Online Courses →The Best Free Course Platforms in 2026 → Kajabi vs Teachable →Teachable vs Thinkific →Kajabi vs Thinkific →

HOW TO CHOOSE

Choosing the right tool

Separate platform fees from payment processing. A 0% transaction fee means the course platform is not taking an extra cut of each sale. Stripe, PayPal, card and wallet processing fees can still apply, so the sale is not fee-free.

Check the plan, not the homepage claim. Teachable Starter has a 7.5% transaction fee, while Builder and Growth are listed with 0% transaction fees. Podia Mover has a 5% fee, while Shaker and Earthquaker remove Podia fees.

Watch the payment setup. Thinkific is cleanest when using Thinkific Payments, because affected users avoid Thinkific’s third-party gateway fee. If you need third-party Stripe or PayPal, plan-level gateway fees can apply in affected regions.

Treat flat enrolment fees like transaction fees. LearnWorlds Starter includes a $5 fee per course enrolment, so it is not the no-fee choice. Pro Trainer and Learning Center are the cleaner LearnWorlds options for sellers focused on margin.

Do the maths at real sales volume. A cheaper plan with a fee can be fine for testing, but it gets expensive once sales pick up. Compare costs at 10, 50 and 100 enrolments per month before choosing.

Match the fee model to the business. Thinkific suits dedicated course sellers if Thinkific Payments fits. Thrive Apprentice suits WordPress users who want control, but hosting, security, checkout and plugin costs still matter.

FAQ

Does no transaction fees mean I pay nothing per sale?

No. It usually means the course platform is not taking its own extra cut of each sale. Standard payment processing fees from card networks, Stripe, PayPal or similar providers usually still apply.

Which course platform is best for most creators who want no transaction fees?

Thinkific is the strongest dedicated course-platform pick if you can use Thinkific Payments. The downside is that third-party gateway fees can apply in affected regions if you need your own Stripe or PayPal setup.

Is Teachable a no-transaction-fee platform?

Only on the right plans. Teachable Starter is listed with a 7.5% transaction fee, while Builder and Growth are listed with 0% transaction fees. It is beginner-friendly, but avoiding fees may mean upgrading.

Is Skool a good no-transaction-fee course platform?

No, not if no transaction fees are the priority. Skool’s listed plans include transaction fees, including 10% on Hobby and 2.9% on Pro. It can still make sense if paid community matters more than fee minimisation.