7 Best Platforms to Make Money Online: Thinkific vs Skool vs Kajabi vs Learnworlds

[00:02] online. So, the learning management platform that you pick is really going to make. And I've tried pretty much all of them. Now, in 2026, it can that's why in this video, I'm covering the seven best options, some new updates

[00:19] for 2026, and what is actually working. So, let's get into it. So, if you are a building a digital education business, selling digital products, to almost anyone watching right now, and I want to explain exactly why because

[00:33] it's just so popular. The reason Thinkific keeps winning every single video I make year after year. It's held the top spot on my list last year, and gotten more crowded, but Thinkific really grows with you. So, most people

[00:46] can launch a course, and you want to add coaching, and you want to add things together. You want to tie it to your WordPress website. You start thinking about building a community, then you want affiliates. So, that

[00:58] progression becomes completely normal when you're selling products online. A one phase of this. So, they're great when you're starting out, like School, ceiling when you're either building workarounds, migrating everything, using

[01:12] So, with Thinkific, you don't have to worry about that. You get the full course creation, community features, memberships, landing pages, analytics, integration into WordPress websites, all of it inside of one platform. It doesn't

[01:26] business model. So, the course builder is really clean, intuitive, simple to use. You build drip content, quizzes, completion certificates. There's membership and community side's gotten stronger over the last year, too. So,

[01:40] the affiliate management tool, it lets you build out your referral network without needing a third-party tool for that, so you can really get help. So, we're all trying to make money online, and there's affiliate marketing. There's

[01:52] also, you know, creating courses, selling digital products, teaching platform to do it. And this one is great cuz you don't have to have a ton of extra third-party tools to do it. It does it all in one place. You can build

[02:04] not overwhelming. So, it's not the flashiest tool on the list. It's not the most expensive, but it's the one you're least likely to outgrow. There's big companies, accounting firms, huge companies that are using Thinkific as a

[02:17] huge LMS, learning management system for them. So, I'm putting my Thinkific link in the description. You can get a free extended extended 30-day trial. And it's around, getting used to it, setting up your learning management system, your

[02:32] online courses for success. Number two on the list is a LearnWorlds, another one I really like. So, this is really deep education. So, this is where most platforms, they treat it like video. You upload a course, you upload some videos

[02:45] and some text. But LearnWorlds treats it a little bit different, like it's more LearnWorlds, you can embed like quizzes directly into the videos. You add clickable hotspots. You can create different branching scenarios and paths.

[02:59] There's assessments, certificates, tools designed specifically for like real library. So, LearnWorlds has more gamification, more quizzes, courses, and things like that. So, if you're building something that's like education-heavy,

[03:13] like a professional certificate program you want for your course or a training experience needs to feel very structured, rigorous, like a real college, LearnWorlds is worth a look.

[03:25] features, the more setup time you're spending. So, for a lot of creators just depth doesn't really need it. You can use Thinkific. But if you're creating something more educational, where you need branching videos, clear

[03:38] all of that, LearnWorlds is really good. So, again, high-end academy experience, list to do that job. Number three on the list is Kajabi. And Kajabi became famous

[03:50] for one promise. It puts everything in one place. So, email marketing, sales funnels, landing pages, automation, courses, everything inside of a single dashboard. So, for a certain type of creator that is a compelling offer. So,

[04:02] different tools, you just want one login that handles everything, then Kajabi is the best one. And it does deliver. So, the email and funnel tools are really launches, like I've done a lot of launches, or you're doing webinar

[04:15] sequences, you're building out automated email flows, Kajabi gives you a really about it, if you have like I've had over a 100,000 people in my email list. I've done launches and promotions where I've had 10,000 or 15,000 people in my email

[04:29] list. The price per month that you're paying for that, whether it's ActiveCampaign or something like that, it just scales up the more subscribers subscribers that you're sending emails to, you're probably spending at least

[04:42] $300 to $400 a month just on your email marketing tool. So, Kajabi is a more learning management and selling courses and stuff, but it makes up for it that you don't need to buy that $300 tool. So, again, if you're just starting out

[04:55] email list, then that savings isn't really working for you with Kajabi. But if you already have 10,000, then you're probably I'm saving How much are you provider and see. The course delivery, too, is really clean. The checkout

[05:08] experience is clean. The only trade-off is just price, being locked in. So, options on the list because everything lives inside the ecosystem. And switching later can be a project, right? So, you can kind of keep a road map to

[05:22] see what your business needs. So, if you're a marketer at heart and the launch and funnel side of your business is where you spend most of your energy, then Kajabi is a legitimate top-tier choice for you. Especially if you have

[05:34] knowing what you're signing up for, knowing that the price makes sense. And after that, the next platform barely feels like a traditional LMS at all. But number four is School. So, School exploded over the last couple of years.

[05:46] I use it for a couple of my courses and there's a real reason for it. So, it shifted the gravity away from the course itself towards the community. So, the model's built on engagement. There's leader boards, discussion feeds,

[05:58] easy to create. You just go to your school, you have a forum, you have your courses, a calendar of events. It's very simple to use. There's people that have do this with monthly memberships. They have multiple things going on every week

[06:11] and then it's like $100 a month or $200 a month or $20 a month. It doesn't really matter, right? It's It's the simplest version. It's a self-contained ecosystem. So, unlike Thinkific where you have your own website, you have your

[06:23] own course, a login portal on your own website, School is in School. So, you a social media platform of course content. So, it's super easy to use and it works really well for certain types of programs. So, like fitness, business

[06:37] where people want to connect with each other. It's like a mastermind group. They can learn from each other, do quick coffee chats and things like that. So, it's pretty easy to use. Like the course has videos that you have, text

[06:51] underneath, you can link to any type of documents you want. The courses are on the left side as a menu and you can just watch different things. So, the only limitation is like you're inside School, you're inside that platform and it feels

[07:03] doesn't feel not premium, but if you're you you know, there's people that are doing $6,000 school communities, you know, high-end B2B and still using if you're a beginner, but if you know, those limitations can hit if you're

[07:18] doing a higher end experience. So, it's one of the simplest platforms to get up Like they have I used to have to do Google Meets inside of there. Now, they have their own video meeting software in there and they have their own video

[07:30] hosting now. I used to have to host it through another tool, but now they host at the product road map and updating it as well. So, if community is central to strongest options on the list, for sure. Now, we're going to shift into a

[07:44] completely different category. Next on the list is Talent LMS. So, it's a very strong LMS platform, not built for the typical creators, but for like things like employee onboarding, compliance certifications, internal

[07:58] skill development, HR, things like that. Like, the feature sets are all designed around HR, learning and development, tracking who completed what, compliance reports, managing training programs across large teams. So, if you're inside

[08:11] of a company building internal training, Talent LMS is absolutely the best one. So, its purpose is built for that use case. So, there's lots of reporting and admin tools, best in class for that. But, if you're just a creator, a coach,

[08:24] business, this isn't really your tool. So, the interface is more designed for administrators, people managing employees, not necessarily creators just pure LMS system, it could be one of the best ones on the list. Just know the use

[08:38] case is fundamentally different from others on the list, more for corporate six on the list is Teachable. So, Teachable built its reputation by being the easy option, right? Simple interface, fast setup, minimal friction

[08:51] between you and getting it live. And for that specific job, someone going from zero to just getting launched, it still does that well. So, the upload process is really easy. Checkouts clean, all FAQs, upload your videos, create your

[09:03] needing to figure out any complicated systems. So, the only constraints people feel is on more of the higher-end customization. So, the tools for like affiliates, running promotions are a little more limited than like Thinkific

[09:18] other ones on this. So, Teachable's a good entry-level option for people that sell courses. And that said, though, if you're brand new or you don't need all definitely get you started. It's for early-stage creators who just need to

[09:31] their content. It's a solid starting point as well. Let's get to the last one on the list. One more before the final breakdown. Number seven on the list is kind of similar to School. It's more community forward, membership driven,

[09:45] together and the membership is more of the product. So, this blends community feeds, events, live sessions, and course content into one membership experience. is a good differentiator. School has that as well. Your members can engage

[10:00] with you on your phone. It's really for these live events and real, you know, building something where the network itself, so the relationships with the members, live events, almost like tickets for an event, exciting live

[10:13] sessions, things like that, then Mighty Networks is the one that delivers that tools are functional, not not the main thing here. This is a community platform not the other way around. So, if structured curriculum is central to what

[10:27] you're selling, you'll want to weigh that carefully. But, for community membership businesses specifically, it's one of the best options on the list. So, after going through all seven, here's what actually stands out. So, each one

[10:39] of these platforms has its own lane. So, it's genuinely not competing against So, LearnWorlds, deep interactive learning. Kajabi, all-in-one platform. School and Mighty Networks are best for community driven memberships. Talent LMS

[10:53] is for corporate training. Teachable for getting started fast with minimal friction. And then, Thinkific, probably best overall. When I look at the widest businesses to work and evolve, add

[11:06] want a platform that keeps up with all of it and does just the most well-rounded one, Thinkific is number one. It handles courses, coaching, LMS, memberships, communities, affiliates, digital products, without locking you

[11:20] flashiest one on the list. It's the most reliable foundation for building a real business that grows over time. So, if you're choosing a platform today, I would start there. Try it for free, build something inside of it, and to see

[11:33] the description. You get a 30-day trial of Thinkific. So, that was the seven helpful. If it was, please subscribe to the channel. Check out other videos on my channel on other things making money with AI, creating courses, doing

[11:46] affiliate marketing, making money online in the 2020s new and effective ways. Hope you like the video, and I will see you in the next one.