Choosing Your Course Platform: Hosted vs Self-Hosted Showdown

You've got your course idea. You've outlined the modules. You might even have a few lessons recorded.

And then you hit the wall.

Which platform should you use to actually sell this thing?

You start researching. Teachable looks promising. But wait, Kajabi has better marketing tools. Oh, but someone in a Facebook group swears by Thinkific. And your tech-savvy friend insists you should just use WordPress with an LMS plugin because "you'll own everything."

Three hours later, you've got 47 browser tabs open, a spreadsheet that makes no sense, and zero clarity.

Sound familiar? You're not alone. Platform paralysis is one of the biggest reasons aspiring course creators never launch. They get so stuck comparing features and pricing tiers that they never actually create the course.

Let's fix that today.

The Two Worlds of Course Platforms

At the highest level, you've got two choices:

Hosted platforms like Teachable, Kajabi, and Thinkific handle everything for you. They provide the technology, hosting, payment processing, and student management in one package.

Self-hosted solutions mean you run your own website (usually WordPress) and add LMS functionality through plugins like LearnDash, LifterLMS, or Tutor LMS.

Neither is universally better. The right choice depends entirely on your situation—your technical skills, budget, goals, and how much control you need.

Let's break down each approach.

Hosted Platforms: The "Just Works" Approach

Hosted platforms are the all-in-one solution for course creators who want to focus on teaching, not technology.

The Major Players

Teachable is the popular choice for first-time creators. Clean interface, straightforward pricing, and enough features to launch and grow. Their free plan lets you test the waters, though transaction fees bite into profits until you upgrade.

Kajabi positions itself as the premium option for serious entrepreneurs. Beyond courses, you get email marketing, landing pages, podcasting, and community features. The price tag is steeper, but you're replacing multiple tools with one platform.

Thinkific sits somewhere in the middle, offering solid course features with a generous free tier. Their student experience is polished, and they've added community features and app integrations over time.

Podia appeals to creators who want simplicity without feeling limited. Courses, downloads, memberships, and email in one clean package at reasonable prices.

Skool takes a community-first approach, with courses embedded within a community platform. Great if your business model centers on ongoing engagement rather than standalone courses.

Why Creators Love Hosted Platforms

Zero technical headaches. No servers to manage, no plugins to update, no security patches to worry about. The platform handles it all.

Launch faster. You can go from zero to selling in a weekend. Upload your content, set up payments, and you're live.

Built-in payment processing. Stripe and PayPal integrations come standard. No merchant accounts to set up or payment gateway configurations to troubleshoot.

Professional look without design skills. Templates ensure your course looks polished even if your design experience is limited.

Support when things break. Something goes wrong? Submit a ticket. Someone else's job to fix it.

Self-Hosted: The "Own Everything" Approach

Self-hosted means you run your own website and add course functionality through plugins or custom development.

The WordPress + LMS Route

LearnDash is the industry standard for WordPress-based courses. Powerful features, extensive add-on ecosystem, and a track record with enterprise clients. The learning curve is steeper, but capabilities are nearly unlimited.

LifterLMS offers a freemium model that lets you start without upfront costs. Core features are free; advanced functionality comes through paid add-ons.

Tutor LMS has gained popularity for its modern interface and competitive pricing. Good balance between ease of use and functionality.

WooCommerce + extensions can work if you're already running a WooCommerce store and want to add courses to your existing product mix.

Why Creators Go Self-Hosted

Complete control over your platform. You decide how everything works. No feature requests to a product team—if you want something changed, change it.

No revenue sharing or transaction fees. What you earn is what you keep (minus payment processor fees, which are typically 2.9% + $0.30).

Unlimited customization. Match your exact brand, add any functionality, integrate with any tool. Your platform can be as unique as your teaching approach.

Own your data and relationships. Students are your customers in your database. No platform sitting between you and your audience.

Lower long-term costs at scale. Once you're earning significant revenue, the math often favors self-hosted.

The Comparison: Side by Side

| Factor | Hosted Platforms | Self-Hosted | |--------|------------------|-------------| | Setup time | Hours to days | Days to weeks | | Technical skill required | Minimal | Moderate to high | | Monthly cost | $0-399+/month | $20-100/month (hosting + plugins) | | Transaction fees | 0-10% depending on plan | Payment processor only (2.9%) | | Customization | Limited to templates | Unlimited | | Data ownership | Platform controls | You control | | Maintenance | Platform handles | You handle (or pay someone) | | Scalability | Built in | Requires planning | | Migration difficulty | Can be painful | Full control |

When Hosted Makes Perfect Sense

You're launching your first course. Don't let technology slow you down. Use Teachable's free plan or Thinkific's basic tier, validate your idea, and make sales. You can always migrate later once you know your course has an audience.

You value your time over everything. If you're a consultant billing $300/hour, spending 40 hours setting up WordPress makes zero financial sense. Pay for a platform that lets you focus on what you're good at.

You want all-in-one simplicity. Kajabi users love having email, sales pages, courses, and community in one login. Fewer tools means fewer integration headaches and one support team to contact.

Tech gives you anxiety. Be honest with yourself. If the phrase "install a WordPress plugin" makes you nervous, a hosted platform will make you dramatically happier.

You're testing multiple course ideas. The speed of hosted platforms lets you experiment quickly. Launch a mini-course, gauge interest, and iterate without significant technical investment.

When Self-Hosted Makes Perfect Sense

You're already running a WordPress site. If your blog or business site is on WordPress, adding LearnDash keeps everything in one place and maintains a consistent brand experience.

Margins matter and you're at scale. Selling $100,000+ in courses annually? The percentage fees on hosted platforms add up. Self-hosted can save you thousands.

You need deep customization. Complex gamification, custom learning paths, advanced integrations with your existing tools—self-hosted gives you the flexibility to build exactly what you envision.

You have technical skills or resources. If you're comfortable with WordPress or have a developer on retainer, the maintenance burden isn't a significant factor.

Long-term ownership is a priority. Building a course business you might sell someday? Owning your platform and customer data makes that exit cleaner and more valuable.

The Hidden Costs Nobody Mentions

Hosted Platform Hidden Costs

Transaction fees eat into profits. Teachable's free plan takes 10% + payment processing. Even their basic plan still charges transaction fees. At $50,000 in sales, that's $2,500-5,000 going to fees.

Feature upgrades get expensive fast. Want affiliate management? Advanced analytics? Removed branding? Each unlocks at higher pricing tiers.

Add-on tool subscriptions. Kajabi includes email, but Teachable doesn't. Now you need ConvertKit or Mailchimp at $29-99+/month.

Graduating to the next tier. That affordable starter plan has student or course limits. Growing means upgrading.

Self-Hosted Hidden Costs

Your time is money. Setup, troubleshooting, updates, and maintenance take hours. What's that time worth to you?

Premium themes and plugins. LearnDash is $199/year. Add a theme ($59), landing page builder ($99), membership plugin ($149), quiz add-ons ($49). It compounds.

Quality hosting isn't cheap. Reliable WordPress hosting for a course business runs $30-100+/month, not the $4/month shared hosting that'll crash during your launch.

Development costs. Customization often requires hiring help. A few hours with a WordPress developer at $75-150/hour adds up quickly.

Security and backup services. You're responsible for protecting your site and student data. Premium security plugins and backup services cost $100-300/year.

The Migration Problem

Here's something nobody talks about until it's too late: getting your content out of a platform is often painful.

Hosted platforms want to keep you. They don't make exporting easy. Student data, course content, and purchase history might not transfer cleanly. Email lists might stay behind. You could lose years of student progress and completion records.

Before choosing any platform, ask:

• Can I export my course content (videos, PDFs, quizzes)?
• What format will my student data export in?
• Will purchase history and access come with me?
• Are there any restrictions on moving to a competitor?

Self-hosted gives you more control here since you own the database. But even LearnDash to LifterLMS migrations aren't seamless.

The takeaway: Choose like you might be here for years. Because switching costs are real.

The Hybrid Approach: Best of Both Worlds?

Some creators build a hybrid setup:

Website and marketing on WordPress. Blog posts, SEO content, sales pages, and email opt-ins live on your owned platform.

Course delivery on a hosted platform. Students access content through Teachable or Thinkific after purchasing.

This gives you brand control and SEO benefits while avoiding the LMS technical complexity. Your email list stays in your email tool. Your content ranks in Google. The course platform just handles the classroom experience.

The downside? You're managing two systems, which means more complexity than either pure approach.

Questions to Ask Before Choosing

Work through these honestly:

1. What's my technical comfort level? Scale of 1-10, where 1 is "I struggle with Gmail" and 10 is "I build websites for fun."

2. How soon do I need to launch? This week, this month, or no rush?

3. What's my realistic year-one revenue projection? Be conservative. This affects whether transaction fees matter.

4. Do I already have a website and email tool? Starting from zero versus adding to an existing ecosystem changes the math.

5. How important is brand customization? Generic template fine, or must it match your exact vision?

6. Will I sell just courses or multiple product types? Memberships, coaching, downloads, physical products?

7. What's my monthly budget for tools? Include everything: hosting, email, platform, add-ons.

8. Do I have access to technical help when needed? Friend, contractor, or agency you can call?

Recommendations by Creator Type

The First-Time Creator

Recommendation: Thinkific Free or Teachable Basic

Just launch. Validate your idea before optimizing your tech stack. You can migrate later with battle-tested content and an audience.

The Busy Professional

Recommendation: Kajabi

You're not here to manage technology. Pay more for the all-in-one solution, reclaim your time, and focus on your expertise.

The Budget-Conscious Creator

Recommendation: WordPress + LifterLMS

Free core features let you start without monthly fees. Add premium extensions only when you need them. Requires some tech comfort.

The Established Business

Recommendation: WordPress + LearnDash

You have traffic, an email list, and likely some technical resources. Own your platform, keep your margins, and build exactly what you need.

The Community Builder

Recommendation: Skool or Circle + course integration

If community drives your business more than content consumption, start community-first. Add course features to the engagement hub.

The Multi-Product Creator

Recommendation: Podia or Kajabi

Courses, memberships, downloads, coaching—you need one platform that handles it all without frankensteining together tools.

Your Action Steps

Stuck in platform paralysis? Here's how to break free:

1. Answer the eight questions above. Write down your honest responses.

2. Pick your likely path. Based on your answers, lean toward hosted or self-hosted.

3. Test two options max. Sign up for free plans or trials. Actually click around. Upload a test lesson.

4. Give yourself a deadline. One week to decide. Not one month. Not "when I have more information."

5. Choose and commit. The best platform is the one you actually use to launch your course.

Remember: your course content matters infinitely more than your course platform. A transformative course on an imperfect platform will outsell a mediocre course on the perfect platform every single time.

Stop researching. Start creating.

Next Step

Now that you've got platform clarity, you need students. Learn how to build an audience before you launch in our guide: Pre-Launch Marketing Strategies That Actually Work.