Question 1

Should I sell courses on a marketplace like Udemy or host on my own platform?

Accepted Answer

Marketplaces provide built-in traffic and discovery but take a significant revenue share (37-75% on Udemy) and give you limited control over pricing and student relationships. Your own platform on Teachable or Thinkific gives you full control and higher margins but requires you to drive your own traffic. Many successful creators use marketplaces for visibility and their own platform for premium offerings.

Question 2

What is the difference between an LMS and a course creation platform?

Accepted Answer

An LMS focuses on hosting, delivering, and tracking learning content with features like enrollment management, progress tracking, and certifications. A course creation platform adds tools for building the content itself, marketing the courses, processing payments, and managing student communities. Many modern platforms blur this line by offering both capabilities.

Question 3

How much does it cost to launch an online course?

Accepted Answer

Platform costs range from free (with revenue sharing) to $99-$499 per month for professional plans. Content creation costs depend on production quality -- a screen-recorded course can be created for under $500, while professionally produced video courses with animations may cost $5,000-$20,000. The biggest investment is usually your time creating the curriculum.

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