How to choose an online course platform with a built-in website and checkout

An online course platform with built in website and checkout is for creators who want more than course hosting. You want a branded site, sales pages, payment collection and enough selling tools to launch without stitching together five apps.

That can be the right move if you want your own course business rather than a marketplace listing. The trade-off is that built-in tools vary a lot, and the simple-looking plan can become expensive once fees, usage limits and payment processing are added.

This guide is about the practical checks before you commit. It focuses on website depth, checkout quality, fee maths, payment options, plan limits and the point where an all-in-one platform starts to make sense.

Quick answer: which platform should you start with?

Start with Thinkific if you want the strongest all-round course-first option in the EverythingLMS index. It ranks first with an Index score of 90.0, starts from $49, and suits creators who want a solid course builder with no platform transaction fees on the recorded positioning.

The catch is that Thinkific is still a course-first platform, not a full business suite like Kajabi. Its pricing page lists site builder, landing pages, custom domain and TCommerce checkout infrastructure, but you still need to check payment processing and third-party gateway fees in your region.

Choose Teachable if you are launching your first course and want the shortest path to selling. It ranks second with an Index score of 88.0, starts from $39, and is strongest for product sales pages, payments, taxes, upsells, cart recovery, certificates and student apps.

The limitation is that Teachable is better treated as course commerce than a full website and marketing hub. It can work well beside an existing website or email stack, but Starter has a 7.5% Teachable transaction fee through Teachable Pay.

Compare Kajabi if you want the most complete all-in-one business platform among these four. It ranks fourth overall, starts from $89, and its pricing page lists websites, unlimited landing pages, marketing emails, custom domain, checkout pages and payment integrations.

Kajabi’s downside is cost and complexity. Kajabi Payments has published U.S. card rates from 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic down to 2.7% + $0.30 on Pro, and third-party provider fees can apply when you do not use Kajabi Payments.

Look at Podia if you want a simpler all-in-one for courses, downloads, memberships, community, website and checkout. It ranks fifth overall, starts from $39, and all plans include a website, custom domain support, blog, landing pages and built-in checkout.

Podia is easier to reason about than Kajabi for many solo creators, but the limits matter. Its Mover plan has a 5% Podia transaction fee, while Shaker and Earthquaker have no Podia transaction fees, apart from standard Stripe or PayPal processing.

What does “built-in website and checkout” need to include?

A useful built-in website should replace the basic public face of your course business. At minimum, check for hosted pages, product pages, landing pages, a custom domain and simple editing that does not need a developer.

That is enough if your site mainly sells courses and explains your offer. It may not be enough if you need a complex blog, advanced SEO controls, a large resource library or a heavily customised brand site.

A useful checkout should handle the way you sell, not just take a card payment. Check coupons, order bumps, upsells, payment plans, subscriptions, refunds, tax support, currencies and payment methods before you build your launch around it.

The catch is that platforms use different language for similar features. A “checkout” can mean a basic payment page on one tool and a full selling workflow on another, so test the buyer journey yourself.

Can the built-in website replace WordPress or Squarespace?

It can replace a separate website if your business is simple: a homepage, course pages, checkout, blog or basic landing pages. Podia and Kajabi are the clearest all-in-one examples, while Thinkific gives course creators a capable hosted site layer.

The limit is control. Dedicated website builders and WordPress usually give more flexibility for content-heavy sites, complex design requirements and unusual integrations.

Thinkific says creators can build an entire website on Thinkific and do not need a separate web host. That is useful if you want courses, hosting and payments in one place, but you should still compare its site controls against your actual page needs.

Kajabi goes further on the business-site side, with websites, landing pages, marketing emails, custom domains and checkout pages listed on its pricing page. The trade-off is that you pay from $89 and need to understand its plan limits before moving your whole business there.

Podia includes a website, blog, landing pages, custom domain support and built-in checkout on all plans. That is attractive if you want simple publishing, but its current plan limits include products, videos, spaces, subscribers and assistants.

Teachable is strongest if your website needs are tied to selling courses rather than running a full content site. Its public pricing page includes product sales pages, global payments and taxes, upsells and cart recovery, but it is not the deepest general-purpose website builder here.

How do checkout fees work on course platforms?

Separate three costs before you choose a plan: the monthly subscription, the platform transaction fee and the payment-processing fee. A plan can advertise 0% platform transaction fees while card, PayPal or buy-now-pay-later fees still apply.

This distinction matters because the percentage fees grow with revenue. A $39 plan can cost more than a higher plan if it takes a slice of every sale.

Teachable Pay charges a 7.5% transaction fee on Starter and 0% Teachable transaction fee on Builder, Growth, Advanced and Business. Processing fees are separate, with U.S. card processing listed at 2.9% + $0.30 and U.S. PayPal at 3.49% + $0.49.

Podia charges a 5% Podia transaction fee on Mover and no Podia transaction fees on Shaker and Earthquaker. Standard Stripe and PayPal processing fees still apply and vary by location.

Kajabi Payments lists U.S. card rates of 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic, 2.8% + $0.30 on Growth and 2.7% + $0.30 on Pro. If you use third-party payment providers instead, Kajabi lists additional fees of 2%, 1% and 0.5% by plan, excluding PayPal and Kajabi Payments.

Thinkific Payments lists card and wallet processing for the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand at 3.9% + $0.30, with BNPL at 6.5% + $0.30. Thinkific also applies additional third-party gateway fees by plan in select regions when creators use third-party gateways instead of Thinkific Payments.

When does the cheap starter plan stop being cheap?

The cheap plan stops being cheap when transaction fees cost more than the upgrade. Before choosing a starter tier, estimate monthly course revenue and multiply it by the platform transaction fee.

For example, if a plan charges 5% and you sell $2,000 in a month, that is $100 in platform fees before payment processing. If the next plan costs less than that difference and removes the fee, upgrading may be the cheaper route.

Podia is a good example because Mover has a 5% Podia transaction fee and Shaker has no Podia transaction fee. Mover can suit early testing, but steady sales make the fee maths more important than the headline monthly price.

Teachable has a sharper version of the same issue. Starter carries a 7.5% Teachable transaction fee, while Builder and above have 0% Teachable transaction fee, so creators expecting regular sales should work out the break-even point before launch.

This is why the lowest subscription is rarely the safest choice for a paid course. It is fine while you validate demand, but it can punish you once your launch starts working.

Which plan limits matter after your first few sales?

Plan limits matter once you move beyond one course and a handful of students. Check products, courses, videos, contacts, active students, imported students, communities, spaces, admins, email subscribers and assistant seats.

Kajabi’s limits vary across products, contacts, websites, communities and admins. That is manageable if you sell a focused offer, but it can matter quickly if you run multiple programmes or brands.

Podia now makes limits clearer across products, videos, spaces, subscribers and assistants. That is useful for planning, but it also means you should check whether your next product line forces an upgrade.

Teachable lists usage limits and overage fees for products, active students, imported students and video storage. That can be fine for a lean course business, but it is risky if you plan a large content library or big student import.

Thinkific’s plan differences can affect course operations, communities, payments and advanced selling workflows. It remains the strongest EverythingLMS pick overall, but you still need to map the plan to your selling model.

Ask one practical question before you sign up: what happens if you double your students, upload twice as much video or add a second product line? If the answer is a forced upgrade or overage fees, include that in your budget.

Do you need an all-in-one platform or a course-first platform?

Choose an all-in-one platform if you want one login for website, checkout, email, funnels, community and automations. Choose a course-first platform if you already have a website, CRM, funnel tool or email system you like.

Kajabi is the main all-in-one route here. It can reduce tool sprawl for serious creators, but it starts from $89 and its 2026 pricing update means existing users should check plan changes carefully.

Podia is the simpler all-in-one route. It covers courses, website, blog, checkout and community without Kajabi-level complexity, but creators should check product, video, space and subscriber limits before assuming it will stay cheap.

Thinkific is the course-first route with serious website and checkout capabilities. It is the top-ranked tool in our index, but creators who want built-in email funnels and a broader marketing suite may still prefer Kajabi.

Teachable sits closer to beginner-friendly course commerce. It is a good fit if you want to get a course sold with product pages and payments, but less compelling if you need your course platform to replace your whole marketing stack.

What should you check about trials, free plans and recent changes?

Do not rely on old free-plan claims. Course-platform pricing has changed enough that an outdated comparison can point you at a plan that no longer exists.

Thinkific’s public FAQ says there is no free plan and instead offers a 30-day free trial. That is still useful for testing the builder, but it is different from running a long-term free course business.

Podia currently promotes a 30-day free trial, which is enough time to build a small site and test checkout. The limit is that a trial does not reveal your real processing costs or upgrade pressure after launch.

Teachable describes itself as a paid service with a free trial and money-back guarantee. Before picking Starter, check the transaction fee, product limits, active-student limits and usage-fee rules.

Kajabi’s trial wording can vary between standard and promotional offers, so check the live pricing page before signing up. Also review AI credits if transcription, translation or dubbing matters, since Growth includes 500 monthly AI credits and Pro and Founders include 1,000.

Recent product changes matter too. Podia has become more community-centred with spaces, feeds, chat and notifications, while Thinkific’s new course builder beta supports mixed content in a single lesson, live preview and auto-save.

A simple decision flow for choosing the right platform

If you want the strongest all-around course platform from the EverythingLMS index, start with Thinkific. It is the best first comparison point if your priority is course quality, website basics and checkout in one platform.

If you are launching a first course and want the lowest learning curve, compare Teachable next. It is easier to start with, but its Starter transaction fee can bite once sales become consistent.

If you want one system for website, checkout, email, funnels, community and automations, compare Kajabi. It costs more than the creator-first tools, but it can replace several subscriptions if you use the whole stack.

If you want a simple website-plus-checkout system for courses, downloads, memberships and community, compare Podia. It is less complex than Kajabi, but plan limits and the Mover transaction fee need checking.

The right choice is the platform that matches your selling workflow, fee tolerance and growth plan. Pick the tool after you know how you will sell, what you will charge and what happens when your student numbers double.