Best free course & membership platforms (2026)

This is the honest shortlist of course & membership platforms you can run at $0, with the real limits spelled out.

We split tools you can use indefinitely for free from ones that only offer a trial, and for each we note the concrete limit and the catch. Figures reflect public plans at the time of writing and can change.

The free tools at a glance

Tool	Free offer	What you get free	Best for
Gumroad	Free plan	10% + $0.50 per direct sale	Selling single digital products fast
LifterLMS	Free plan	Basic course creation	WordPress memberships + courses
Podia	Free plan	Free plan (high transaction fee)	Simplicity-first creators
Systeme.io	Free plan	2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, 1 course	Budget-conscious creators
Teachable	Free plan	Free plan (high transaction fees)	Beginners launching a first course
Thinkific	Free plan	Free plan (1 course)	Course-first creators
Tutor LMS	Free plan	Unlimited courses, course builder	WordPress course marketplaces
Udemy	Free plan	Revenue share model	Reaching a built-in audience
Whop	Free plan	2.7% + $0.30 processing + 3% platform fee	Selling community/membership access
Memberful	Free plan	Free plan (higher platform fee)	White-label memberships on your own site
Patreon	Free plan	Free to start	Fan-funded creators
TalentLMS	Free plan	5 users, 10 courses	SMB employee training
Circle	free trial	trial only	Premium branded communities
Disco	14-day free trial	trial only	Cohort-based courses
LearnWorlds	free trial	trial only	Interactive and assessment-heavy courses
Skool	14-day free trial	trial only	Coaches and group programs

The picks, ranked

1. Gumroad digital product marketplace

Dead-simple storefront to sell digital products, courses, memberships and downloads with pay-as-you-go fees and a built-in marketplace.

Free plan: 10% + $0.50 per direct sale

Standout feature: Storefront for digital products, courses, ebooks and memberships.

Best for: Side-project creators and indie sellers shipping single digital products without a monthly commitment.

Full Gumroad overview

Try Gumroad free →

2. LifterLMS WordPress LMS plugin

Flexible WordPress LMS for courses and memberships with strong e-commerce, engagement and membership features built in.

Free plan: Basic course creation

Standout feature: Free core plugin in the WordPress repository.

Best for: WordPress owners building a self-hosted membership + course site who want to start free and add modules.

Full LifterLMS overview

Try LifterLMS free →

3. Podia online course platform

Simple all-in-one for courses, digital downloads, coaching, communities and email, with a clean creator-friendly interface.

Free plan: Free plan (high transaction fee)

Standout feature: Communities with spaces.

Best for: Solo creators who value an easy, bundled setup over deep customization.

The catch: Free plan was removed (Oct 14, 2024).

Full Podia overview

Try Podia free →

4. Systeme.io all-in-one course + funnel platform

Generous free all-in-one for courses, funnels, email, memberships and automation, positioned as a low-cost Kajabi alternative.

Free plan: 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, 1 course

Standout feature: Online courses and memberships.

Best for: Budget-conscious creators who want to start free and run courses plus funnels plus email cheaply.

The catch: Free and Startup plans cap courses, funnels and contacts.

Full Systeme.io overview

Try Systeme.io free →

5. Teachable online course platform

Beginner-friendly course platform to create, host and sell courses, coaching and digital downloads with built-in checkout and student management.

Free plan: Free plan (high transaction fees)

Standout feature: Course builder with video, downloads and quizzes.

Best for: Beginners and solo creators launching their first course, coaching offer or digital download.

The catch: Free plan was discontinued in the 2025 pricing restructuring.

Full Teachable overview

Try Teachable free →

6. Thinkific online course platform

Course creation platform with no transaction fees on paid plans, strong course-building tools and an app marketplace.

Free plan: Free plan (1 course)

Standout feature: Drag-and-drop course builder, unlimited courses on paid plans.

Best for: Course-focused creators who want to scale a catalog without per-sale platform cuts.

The catch: Permanent free plan was retired (now a 30-day trial only).

Full Thinkific overview

Try Thinkific free →

7. Tutor LMS WordPress LMS plugin

Modern WordPress LMS with a drag-and-drop course builder, front-end course creation and built-in marketplace features.

Free plan: Unlimited courses, course builder

Standout feature: AI Studio for AI-powered course generation (all paid tiers).

Best for: WordPress owners building a multi-instructor course marketplace with a drag-and-drop builder.

Full Tutor LMS overview

Try Tutor LMS free →

8. Udemy course marketplace

Massive open course marketplace with built-in audience and discovery, where instructors publish courses to a global learner base.

Free plan: Revenue share model

Standout feature: Udemy Business subscription catalog.

Best for: Instructors prioritizing volume and a built-in audience over per-sale margin or brand control.

The catch: Only 37% revenue share on organic marketplace sales.

Full Udemy overview

Try Udemy free →

9. Whop digital products + community marketplace

Marketplace and creator platform to sell access to communities, courses, software and digital products, with discovery and built-in affiliates.

Free plan: 2.7% + $0.30 processing + 3% platform fee

Standout feature: Marketplace discovery.

Best for: Creators selling community/membership access, digital products and courses with built-in discovery.

Full Whop overview

Try Whop free →

10. Memberful membership platform

White-label membership and subscription software (owned by Patreon) that plugs into your own site for paid memberships, newsletters and content access.

Free plan: Free plan (higher platform fee)

Standout feature: Plugs into your own website (WordPress and others).

Best for: Publishers and creators wanting branded paid memberships and newsletters on their own website.

The catch: All payments go through Stripe only (no PayPal or alternatives).

Full Memberful overview

11. Patreon membership platform

Best-known membership platform for creators to earn recurring income from fans via tiered memberships, posts and perks.

Free plan: Free to start

Standout feature: Built-in fan discovery.

Best for: Fan-funded creators, podcasters and artists wanting recurring memberships with minimal setup.

Full Patreon overview

12. TalentLMS corporate LMS

Easy-to-use cloud LMS for employee, partner and customer training with a fast setup and transparent per-user pricing.

Free plan: 5 users, 10 courses

Standout feature: Branching / separate portals per client or department.

Best for: SMBs running employee, partner or customer training who want quick setup and predictable pricing.

The catch: Free plan capped at 5 users and 10 courses, no custom domain/SSL/branching.

Full TalentLMS overview

Free trials (no permanent free plan)

These aren't free forever, yet a no-cost trial lets you evaluate them first:

Circle — free trial. Premium branded communities. Start Circle trial →
Disco — 14-day free trial. Cohort-based courses. Disco details →
LearnWorlds — free trial. Interactive and assessment-heavy courses. Start LearnWorlds trial →
Skool — 14-day free trial. Coaches and group programs. Start Skool trial →

How to pick a free tool

Start with the free plan whose limit you'll hit last for your use case — seats, items or sends — not the longest feature list. Free tiers are for validating fit; upgrade only when a real ceiling, not a nice-to-have, gets in your way.

FAQ

Which of these are genuinely free, and which are just trials?

12 tools here offer a permanent free plan you can keep using at $0 — including Gumroad, LifterLMS and Podia. Circle, Disco, LearnWorlds and Skool only offer a time-limited free trial, not a standing free plan.

What's the catch with a free plan?

Free tiers trade away scale or polish. The usual limits are usage caps (seats, contacts, sends, storage), a reduced feature set, vendor branding or watermarks, and gated automations. Each pick above lists its specific limit and catch where the data names one.

How were these chosen?

We include a tool only when its own pricing or an independent source confirms a real free plan or trial — no assumed free tiers. Details, limits and facts are drawn from the vendors' plans and the reviews cited in Sources below.

Can you actually run a business on a free plan?

For early-stage or low-volume use, often yes — several plans here carry real work until you hit a seat, contact or usage cap. Past that point the paid tier usually pays for itself.

Sources

Free-plan limits and facts above are drawn from these vendor pages and independent reviews: