Published February 27, 2026 · 14 min read
The online course market is projected to exceed $450 billion by 2028. The best part? You no longer need to pay for hosting, software, or marketing tools to get started. Free platforms in 2026 give you everything you need to build, launch, and sell your first course without upfront investment.
This guide walks you through every step — choosing a platform, creating content, pricing, marketing, and launching — using only free tools and strategies that work right now.
Online courses offer a unique combination of advantages that other digital products cannot match:
The barrier to entry has never been lower. You need a topic you know well, a microphone (your phone works), and a free platform. That is it.
Each platform has different strengths. Here is how the major free options compare in 2026:
| Platform | Free Plan Limits | Transaction Fee | Best For | Custom Domain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teachable (Free) | 1 course, unlimited students | $1 + 10% | Polished course experience | No (free plan) |
| Gumroad | Unlimited products | 10% | Simple digital product sales | No |
| Udemy | Unlimited courses | 37-63% revenue share | Built-in marketplace traffic | No |
| Skillshare | Unlimited classes | Royalty pool model | Creative/skill-based topics | No |
| Thinkific (Free) | 1 course, unlimited students | 0% | Full course site | No (free plan) |
| Patreon | Unlimited content | 5-12% | Ongoing course/membership | No |
Teachable Free is the best starting point for most creators. The free plan allows one course with unlimited students. The trade-off is a $1 + 10% transaction fee, but you get Teachable's polished student experience, drip content, and basic analytics.
Gumroad is ideal if you want to sell your course as a simple digital product — no LMS features, but the checkout is frictionless, and you keep 90% after their fee. Great for PDF courses, video bundles, and cohort-based pricing.
Udemy takes a significant revenue share (37-63% depending on how the student found you), but provides access to millions of active learners. If you have no audience yet, Udemy's built-in traffic is valuable for your first 100 students.
Skillshare pays through a royalty pool based on minutes watched. Income per student is lower, but the platform drives discovery. Best for creative skills (design, photography, writing, music).
Thinkific Free stands out with 0% transaction fees on the free plan. You get one course with unlimited students and a basic course site. The cleanest deal for keeping maximum revenue.
Pricing is where most course creators overthink and undercharge. Here is what the data shows:
| Price Point | Best For | Expected Conversion Rate | Revenue Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free (lead magnet) | Building email list | 10-25% of visitors | Upsell to paid course |
| $27-$49 | First course, impulse buy | 2-5% of visitors | Volume sales |
| $97-$197 | Comprehensive course | 1-3% of visitors | Balanced revenue |
| $297-$497 | Premium/cohort course | 0.5-2% of visitors | High-ticket |
Start at $47-$97 for your first course. This price is low enough for impulse purchases but high enough to signal value. Underpricing ($10-$20) actually reduces conversions because buyers associate low price with low quality.
Launch discount strategy: Set your "regular" price at $97 and launch at $47 with a 7-day deadline. This creates urgency and lets early buyers feel they got a deal. After launch week, keep the price at $67-$97 depending on sales velocity.
The biggest mistake course creators make is building in silence. Start marketing before your course is finished.
Enter your topic and audience, and our Course Outline Generator creates a complete module-by-module curriculum with lesson titles, learning outcomes, and resource suggestions.
Open Course Outline GeneratorA focused creator can go from idea to published course in 4-8 weeks. Week 1-2: outline and validation. Week 3-5: recording and editing. Week 6-7: platform setup and beta testing. Week 8: launch. The most common mistake is spending months perfecting content instead of launching and iterating based on student feedback.
You do not need to be a world-class expert — you need to be two steps ahead of your students. If you have achieved a specific result (built a website, landed a freelance client, learned a software tool), you can teach others how to do the same. Beginners often make the best teachers because they remember what it is like to not understand something.
If you have zero audience, start with Udemy — it provides built-in traffic. If you have even a small audience (500+ social followers or email subscribers), start with Thinkific Free (0% fees) or Teachable Free. If you want the simplest possible setup, use Gumroad — upload your videos as a product and start selling in under an hour.