14 Membership Platforms for online courses
Your course is ready, or almost ready, and now you need to decide where students will watch the lessons. That decision comes down to choosing a membership platform: the environment where students access their lessons and course materials after purchasing. And your choice affects both your business costs and the experience your students will have.
In this guide, you'll learn the most important criteria to consider and compare 14 membership platforms, including what each one offers, its key features, and pricing.
What is a Membership Area?
A membership area is a password-protected environment where students access the content they've purchased, such as video lessons, supporting materials, and a community. Access is automatically granted after purchase, and creators can organize their courses, track student progress, and, on many platforms, sell additional products.
If your goal is to train teams, it's worth learning what an LMS is and checking out our list of LMS platforms.
How to choose a Membership Platform
These are the factors that make the biggest difference when comparing your options:
Cost as your student base grows: Platforms generally charge either a percentage of each sale or a fixed monthly fee, so calculate how much you currently generate in monthly sales. On platforms that charge per sale, fixed transaction fees have a greater impact on low-ticket products.
Where your videos are stored: Check whether video hosting is included, what the limits are, and whether the player protects against downloads and piracy. In many cases, it's worth hosting your videos on a dedicated video platform and embedding your lessons in the membership area.
Student experience: An organized, easy-to-navigate interface, mobile app, custom domain, and white-label branding.
Engagement: Communities, gamification, certificates, quizzes, and scheduled lesson releases help keep students engaged until they finish the course.
Integrations: Checkout, email marketing, and automations.
Ease of switching platforms: Check whether you can export students, progress data, and content if you decide to move to another platform in the future.
The 14 best Membership Platforms in 2026
Below, you'll see what each platform offers, how its pricing works, and who it's best suited for. The order of this list is not a ranking.
Whichever platform you choose, Panda Video integrates with all of them. This means you can host your lessons on Panda and display the videos inside the membership platform you prefer.
1. Teachable
Teachable is one of the longest-established course platforms in the United States, built around selling courses, coaching programs, and digital products from a single storefront.
It's a good fit for creators who want a dedicated course platform that's already widely used, without needing an entire marketing suite.
Key features
iOS and Android apps, included starting with the entry-level plan;
Global payments and taxes: Teachable collects and remits sales taxes on behalf of creators;
Upsells and abandoned cart recovery built into the checkout;
AI-powered course creation: builds the course structure and drafts lesson content;
Coaching programs and downloadable materials sold alongside courses.
Pricing
No free plan: 7-day free trial and 30-day money-back guarantee. Monthly prices, with up to 22% off annual billing:
Starter: $39/month, 5 products, with a 7.5% transaction fee per sale;
Builder: $89/month, 10 products, no transaction fees;
Growth: $189/month, 50 products, no transaction fees;
Custom: Pricing upon request.
2. Podia
Podia brings together courses, digital products, communities, and email marketing in a single subscription, with an intentionally simple interface.
It's a good fit for solo creators who prefer using one tool instead of five, spending their time teaching rather than configuring software.
Key features
Courses, downloads, webinars, and coaching programs sold through the same storefront;
Community included in all plans;
Built-in email marketing, with contact limits based on your plan;
Website builder with a custom domain;
Podia Agent: AI assistant for content creation and setup.
Pricing
14-day free trial. Annual billing prices:
Mover: $42/month ($504/year), up to 100 email contacts, 50 products, 5% transaction fee per sale;
Shaker: $84/month ($1,008/year), up to 500 contacts, 150 products, no Podia transaction fees;
Earthquaker: $150/month ($1,800/year), up to 1,000 contacts, unlimited products, no Podia transaction fees.
Payment processor fees (Stripe or PayPal, approximately 2.9% + $0.30) apply to all plans.
3. Skool
Skool is a community-first platform: courses live inside the group, while a points and levels system encourages students to come back every day.
It's a good fit for creators selling a paid community with courses included, who want fixed pricing regardless of group size.
Key features
Unlimited members, courses, videos, and live calls on all plans;
Ready-to-use gamification: points, levels, and leaderboards, with no setup required;
Everything in one feed: discussions, classrooms, and calendars on the same screen;
Custom URL and affiliate program included;
Fixed pricing that doesn't change as your community grows.
Pricing
Free trial, with two months free when billed annually:
Hobby: $9/month, with a 10% transaction fee per sale;
Pro: $99/month, with a 2.9% transaction fee per sale.
4. Circle
Circle is a white-label community platform that also supports courses, events, and subscriptions, with its own apps for web and mobile.
It's a good fit for creators who want their community to feel like a product from their own brand, rather than software from another company.
Key features
Branded apps for iOS, Android, and desktop;
Courses and live events within the community;
Subscriptions and paid plans with built-in checkout;
Automations and API access for automated enrollment and onboarding;
AI credits included in all plans for content creation and moderation.
Pricing
14-day free trial, no credit card required. Monthly prices:
Professional: $89/month, 2% transaction fee per sale;
Business: $199/month, 1% transaction fee per sale;
Scale: $419/month, 1% transaction fee per sale;
Circle Plus: Pricing upon request, 0.5% transaction fee per sale.
Additional administrators, moderators, and branded email are charged separately on lower-tier plans.
5. Mighty Networks
Mighty Networks combines communities, courses, and events. It's known for allowing creators to launch their own branded apps.
It's a good fit for those building a community where people return to connect with each other, not just to watch lessons.
Key features
Branded app on the App Store and Google Play with the Mighty Pro tier;
Courses, challenges, and events in the same space;
AI Cohost: helps design your community and suggests discussion topics;
Subscriptions in multiple currencies and individual ticket sales;
Automations and API access starting with the Scale plan.
Pricing
Free trial, with two months free on annual plans:
Launch: $79/month, or $950/year, 2% transaction fee per sale;
Scale: $179/month, 1% transaction fee per sale;
Growth: $354/month, 0.5% transaction fee per sale;
Mighty Pro: Pricing upon request, 0.5% transaction fee per sale, including your own branded app.
6. Kartra
Kartra is a complete marketing suite: funnels, pages, email, automations, and a membership area, all under one login.
It's a good fit for creators who sell through funnels and want to deliver their courses using the same tool that runs their campaigns.
Key features
Membership area with scheduled content releases and access levels;
Sales funnels and pages with ready-made templates;
Unlimited email and SMS starting with the Starter plan;
Built-in affiliate program and scheduling;
Automations that respond to each student's actions.
Pricing
Free trial and money-back guarantee. Prices in US dollars:
Essentials: $59/month, or $52/month with annual billing, 10,000 emails/month, 5% transaction fee per sale;
Starter: $119/month, or $99/month with annual billing, unlimited email and SMS, no transaction fees;
Growth: $229/month, or $189/month with annual billing, 3 custom domains, no transaction fees;
Professional: $549/month, or $429/month with annual billing, 25,000 contacts, no transaction fees.
7. LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds is a complete online school platform, with interactive videos, assessments, and white-label apps on higher-tier plans.
It's a good fit for creators running a full online school rather than a single course, especially when exams and certificates are part of the learning experience.
Key features
Interactive videos: questions, links, and different learning paths within lessons;
Assessments and certificates, with course completion requirements;
Full white-label branding starting with the Learning Center plan;
AI assistant for course creation, with a monthly credit allowance;
Single sign-on (SSO) and API access on higher-tier plans.
Pricing
Free trial available on all plans. Prices in US dollars:
Starter: $29/month, or $24/month with annual billing, 1,000 active students, $5 per paid enrollment;
Pro Trainer: $99/month, or $79/month with annual billing, 2,000 active students, no enrollment fees;
Learning Center: $299/month, or $249/month with annual billing, 2,000 active students, 25 administrators;
Enterprise: Pricing upon request.
8. MemberPress
MemberPress is a WordPress plugin that turns an existing website into a membership area, with courses, scheduled content releases, and access rules.
It's a good fit for creators who want to keep everything on their own domain and pay a fixed annual fee instead of a monthly subscription.
Key features
Unlimited members, plans, and subscriptions on all plans;
Courses and quizzes through its built-in LMS;
Rule-based access control for any page, post, or file;
CoachKit for coaching programs, included starting with the Growth plan;
Affiliate platform included in the Scale plan.
Pricing
Annual billing, with a 50% discount:
Launch: $399/year, with a 4.9% transaction fee per sale;
Growth: $699/year, no transaction fees;
Scale: $999/year, no transaction fees.
You're responsible for hosting your WordPress website.
9. Memberful
Memberful is a membership solution that integrates with your existing website, managing registration, payments, and access without taking over your branding.
It's a good fit for creators who already have an audience and want to make some of their content accessible only to registered members.
Key features
Works with WordPress or independently, on your own domain;
Unlimited members on all plans;
Global tax collection, gift purchases, and group plans;
Native integrations with Discord, Mailchimp, and Kit;
Referral program and automatic retention discounts.
Pricing
Free until you start receiving payments:
Standard: $49/month + 4.9% transaction fee per sale;
Enterprise: Pricing upon request, with volume-based rates.
10. Uscreen
Uscreen is a video-focused membership platform, featuring a Netflix-style catalog and apps for mobile devices and TVs.
It's a good fit for creators who deliver almost everything through video — lessons, workouts, and live sessions — with relatively little written content or supporting materials.
Key features
Netflix-style catalog on your own domain;
Mobile and TV apps on the App Essentials plan;
Live streaming and community features within the membership area;
Subscriptions, rentals, and one-time purchases;
Unlimited contacts and offers on all plans.
Pricing
14-day free trial. Monthly prices:
Entry-level plan: $49/month, limited to 100 subscribers, with no per-subscriber fees;
Growth: $149/month + $1.99 per subscriber, with unlimited subscribers;
App Essentials: $449/month + $0.99 per subscriber, including two apps;
Custom: Pricing upon request.
With around 300 paying students or more, App Essentials becomes cheaper than Growth.
11. systeme.io
systeme.io combines courses, funnels, email marketing, and an affiliate program in a single tool, with a free plan that never expires.
It's a good fit for creators launching their first course who don't want to spend anything until sales start coming in.
Key features
Free plan with no expiration date and no credit card required;
Unlimited emails on all plans, including the free plan;
No transaction fees on any plan;
Sales funnels and landing pages in the same tool;
Built-in affiliate program.
Pricing
Free: 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, 1 course, 500 students, 1 custom domain;
Startup: $17/month, 5,000 contacts, 10 funnels, 5 courses;
Webinar: $47/month, 10,000 contacts, 50 funnels, plus evergreen webinars;
Unlimited: $97/month.
12. Academy LMS
Academy LMS is a WordPress plugin that turns your website into a course platform with a membership area. According to the company itself, more than 2,000 platforms use the plugin.
It's a good fit for creators who already have a WordPress website and want to host their courses directly on it, without paying the platform a fee on each sale.
Key features
Sell courses and subscriptions with integrated payments;
Communities and groups where students can interact;
Class and team management, including enrollment limits;
Quizzes, certificates, and live lessons;
Integrations with WooCommerce, Elementor, and Zoom.
Pricing
Free version available on WordPress.org;
Pro: Starting at $99/year, according to the Academy LMS website. You're responsible for hosting your website.
13. Kajabi
Kajabi is a US-based platform that combines courses, websites, email marketing, funnels, and automations in a single subscription.
Key features
Everything in one subscription: website, sales pages, email marketing, and funnels;
Kajabi AI: the platform's artificial intelligence helps create course outlines, write lessons, and generate emails and sales pages from a prompt. It's already included in the Basic plan;
Advanced automations and an affiliate program available on the Growth and Pro plans;
Branded app available on the Growth and Pro plans.
Pricing
No free plan, with a 14-day trial. Prices in US dollars, with monthly or annual billing:
Basic: $179/month, or $143/month with annual billing;
Growth: $249/month, or $199/month with annual billing;
Pro: $499/month, or $399/month with annual billing.
14. Thinkific
Thinkific is an international online course platform that includes communities and live events.
It's a good fit for creators who want to grow gradually, unlocking more features as they upgrade their plans.
Key features
Communities on all plans, with more spaces available on higher-tier plans;
Live events within communities;
Certificates and subscriptions starting with the Start plan;
Branded app available as an add-on for $199/month;
App store with integrations.
Pricing
No free plan, with a 30-day trial. Prices in US dollars:
Basic: $54/month, or $40/month with annual billing;
Start: $109/month, or $82/month with annual billing;
Grow: $219/month, or $164/month with annual billing;
Plus: Pricing upon request.
On the Basic plan, using a payment system other than Thinkific's own adds a 5% fee per sale.
Conclusion
The right membership platform depends on how you sell and how many students you expect to have. Creators who are just starting out often benefit from platforms that charge per sale without a monthly fee. Those with a large student base tend to save money with fixed pricing or fees based on active students.
In every case, it's worth considering the experience you want to offer your students, from mobile apps and communities to gamification and certificates.
Whichever option you choose, Panda Video integrates with every platform on this list. Your videos are hosted on Panda and play directly inside your chosen membership platform. If you ever switch membership platforms, your videos stay right where they are.
Start a free trial on Panda Video and make your lessons available on the membership platform of your choice.
