Top 5 Community Platforms for Courses and Memberships

When choosing a platform to host your online courses and build a community, it’s crucial to consider the community functionalities and features that each platform offers. Here, we compare Skool, Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi, and Circle, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses in terms of community and course functionalities.

1. Skool: Cohesive Community and Course Integration

• Community Features: Skool excels in integrating community functionalities directly with course content. Its platform features threaded discussions, leaderboards, and gamification elements that encourage participation and foster a competitive spirit. The intuitive design promotes active engagement and collaboration among members.
• Course Functionalities: Skool offers comprehensive tools for creating and managing courses. You can organize content into modules and lessons, embed multimedia, and track student progress. The seamless integration between courses and community features ensures that learners can easily interact with each other and the course material, enhancing the overall learning experience.
• Conclusion: Skool is ideal for those who want a tightly integrated community and course platform that encourages high engagement and collaboration through gamified elements.

Click here to try Skool at 14 day FREE trial. and get a free 60 min SKool Strategy and implementation call.

2. Teachable: Simplicity in Course Delivery with Basic Community Features

• Community Features: Teachable offers basic community functionalities, including discussion boards and comment sections. However, it lacks more advanced engagement tools, which can limit interaction and community building.
• Course Functionalities: Teachable shines in its ease of use for creating and delivering courses. It provides a user-friendly interface for building course content, quizzes, and certificates. The platform supports multimedia content and offers extensive customization options for course pages.
• Conclusion: Teachable is best suited for course creators who prioritize simplicity and ease of use in course delivery over extensive community interaction.

3. Thinkific: Robust Community and Course Tools

• Community Features: Thinkific offers a robust set of community features, including discussion forums, private groups, and customizable community spaces. These tools facilitate structured discussions and group activities, promoting a sense of community among learners.
• Course Functionalities: Thinkific provides powerful course creation tools, allowing for detailed structuring of course content, multimedia integration, and assessments. It also supports drip scheduling and membership sites, offering flexibility in how courses are delivered.
• Conclusion: Thinkific is a great choice for educators looking for a comprehensive solution that combines strong course creation capabilities with solid community engagement tools.

4. Kajabi: Comprehensive All-in-One Solution

• Community Features: Kajabi stands out with its extensive community functionalities, including forums, member directories, and event hosting. Features like live video sessions and automated engagement tools keep the community vibrant and active.
• Course Functionalities: Kajabi offers a wide range of tools for creating, marketing, and selling online courses. Its platform supports multimedia content, quizzes, and assessments, and provides powerful marketing automation features to help grow your audience and revenue.
• Conclusion: Kajabi is perfect for entrepreneurs seeking an all-in-one platform that deeply integrates community features with robust course creation and marketing tools.

 Click here to try Kajabi at 30 day FREE trial and get a bonus of FREE 1 hour tech support every month.

5. Circle: Flexibility and Advanced Community Features

• Community Features: Circle is designed as a dedicated community platform with advanced features such as real-time chat, spaces for different interest groups, and interactive events. Its flexibility allows for seamless integration with various course and membership tools.
• Course Functionalities: While Circle itself is not a course creation platform, it integrates smoothly with popular course platforms like Teachable, Thinkific, and Kajabi. This allows you to leverage its advanced community features alongside your preferred course delivery tools.
• Conclusion: Circle is ideal for those who prioritize advanced community functionalities and are looking for a platform that can integrate with their existing course tools for a richer community experience.

Click here for 14 day FREE trial plan for Circle

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right platform depends on your specific needs for community engagement and course delivery. Skool and Thinkific offer robust integrated solutions, while Teachable focuses on simplicity. Kajabi provides a comprehensive all-in-one platform, and Circle excels in advanced community functionalities with flexible integrations. Consider your priorities and goals to select the best platform for your online education and community-building needs.