A lot depends on the platform you build and host your online courses on. You must consider everything from user experience to various tools before selecting one that would benefit you the most.

Podia stands out among all the options available due to its certain key features. However, it does not have an app option and lacks in multiple other aspects. If you are considering Podia as your ultimate pick, it would be best to evaluate some other lucrative alternatives and see which one would fit your needs the best.

In this article, we will discuss 11 great Podia alternatives that would bring you better overall results.

TL;DR – Top 11 Podia Alternatives

Podia either lacks essential features required in today’s market or has basic-level attributes. It’s too complicated to use and restricts users from editing its sales page too much.

Here are 11 better Podia alternatives that offer additional features to ensure better sales and community experience.

1. Hello Audio
2. Mighty Networks
3. Kajabi
4. Thinkific
5. Teachable
6. Kartra
7. Circlefunnels
8. Gumroad
9. Patreon
10. Circle
11. Shopify

These are all great options, but if you are looking for a private platform to help you build a close-knit community with an active audience, Hello Audio is what you need. This private podcast creation platform lets you repurpose your audio and video content into a course-type playlist that anyone can listen to on the go.

Sign up for our 7-day free trial to check how we can significantly enhance your audience engagement.

What is Podia?

Podia is an online course-creating and selling platform that lets your audience engage with your content/courses through memberships and downloads. One can also join discussions based on the course they have signed up for and create content.

You can also join webinars and access a few other essential community functions. The brand presents itself as an alternative to self-owned WordPress websites. Hence, it is a no-code website builder.

Why Do People Dislike Podia?

While it has some attractive features, people nowadays do not prefer it for online courses.

Here’s why:

• As mentioned earlier, Podia does not have a mobile application, which significantly hinders accessibility. About 92% of the US population own a smartphone, so not providing a mobile app is a substantial drawback for businesses. 
• In addition, its sales page has limited editing access, which makes it difficult for people to customize it. 
• The platform could be more user-friendly, and one must take additional time to figure out its different functions.

How Can I Connect With My Audience Better?

To improve your connection with your audience, you must first make your courses more accessible. To do that, here’s what we suggest:

• A good place to start would be to use a platform that has a mobile app. It will let your audience access the course materials even from their phone, no matter where they are. 
• You must also turn your courses into a complete experience instead of simple audio recordings. Numerous alternatives to Podia offer tools to make your courses more immersive, such as turning them into private podcasts. 
• Another great way to improve connection with the audience is to create a well-knit community where everyone feels heard. Having a membership-based online community can benefit your business significantly.

Top 11 Podia Alternatives

You can bolster your chances of creating a better audience community with your online courses by choosing one of the options below. Depending on your needs, these can be great alternatives to Podia and offer better assistance altogether.

1. Hello Audio

If you are trying to build a niche audience for your courses, Hello Audio is your ideal pick. It lets you turn audio and video files into educational podcasts that significantly enhance the learning experience.

As a private podcast creation platform, Hello Audio lets you provide a premium community experience to your audience. It makes your content more accessible and engaging.

Podia only lets you create courses, but Hello Audio takes the experience to another level with dedicated audio feeds that can be launched within 24 hours.

Sign up for a free trial to see the difference yourself.

2. Podia vs. Kajabi

Another great course creator you can choose instead of Podia is Kajabi.

Here’s why:

• It lets you create courses by uploading audio and video materials hosted by Wistia.
  
• It has numerous options for you to organize and present your content.
  
• It offers numerous options for creating complex marketing funnels and systems.

With Kajabi, you can automate marketing features and define your customer’s journey through an array of landing pages.

3. Podia vs. Teachable

Teachable is another great Podia alternative that you can use to create customized online courses. It is a great course platform that lets you create landing pages to improve conversions.

However, its most lucrative feature is that it lets you add an affiliate program and enlist assistance from others to sell you courses. These individuals can be your former students or even influencers from your niche endorsing your material on your behalf.

Podia does not offer such a facility, which can hinder you from leveraging the ever-so-popular influencer marketing tactic.

4. Podia vs. Thinkific

Thinkific is one of the highest-rated course creation platforms on this list.

Just like Podia, it also lets you:

• Build a website as per your own needs
• Choose a template from its existing list
• Offers multiple marketing options like coupons, bundling options, order bumps, etc
• Enjoy its ease of use, as it’s extremely beginner-friendly

While both Podia and Thinkific let you build courses for free, you would have to pay about $20 to sell them on Podia.

5. Kartra vs. Podia

Kartra, a well-loved platform due to its versatility, is used both by individual creators and huge organizations as it lets one build a membership-based audience.

Here’s what you get:

• Top-tier tools to create courses
• Additional tools to improve sales and your training process
• Vast marketplace to sell and buy services from other creators
• Custom forms, along with scheduling meetings on a calendar

The platform also gives you access to an affiliate network, so you can build a network to sell your courses.

6. Podia vs. Patreon

If you want to go beyond audio content, Patreon is a better alternative to Podia. Podia’s website builder limits you significantly, while Patreon lets you create a better user experience.

Moreover, it has more payment options than Podia, meaning you can sell your courses to a greater audience. With Patreon, you do not have to depend on ads or sponsorships, giving you a better financial stance.

In addition, the growth opportunities are immense with this platform, which might not happen in the case of Podia. This makes it one of the most profitable Podia alternatives out there.

7. Podia vs. Gumroad

You can sell almost anything on Gumroad. This platform has helped new and experienced creators sell their services, courses, consultations, etc.

Here’s what you can do on the platform:

• Create a better sales path for your audience for increased sales
• Manage everything from your website, or even create a store off-site
• Use editor features to customize your page front completely
• Enjoy subscriptions and membership options
• Create software keys and more

If all this will be beneficial for your business, goals go for Gumroad.

8. Podia vs. Clickfunnels

Clickfunnels probably is closest to having almost every feature Podia offers and much more. Here you can:

• Create, market, and sell various kinds of digital products.
• Build funnels to gain the interest of your customers.
• Use email marketing, A/B testing, CRM, and more segment-leading features.

If you want something with simpler course-making features and advanced marketing options, Clickfunnels would be a better choice.

9. Podia vs. Circle

Circle prioritizes building a strong online community over everything, which comes in handy considering the current market trends.

It has several features like:

• Online events
• Live streams
• Advanced admin settings, and more.

Setting up courses on Circle is quite user-friendly, letting even novice tech users create content. Apart from paid options, it allows your audience opt for free memberships.

You can connect Circle to Stripe or any other shopping cart platform of your liking and even create custom invitation links. While Podia also offers payment methods integrations, Circle’s user prioritization makes it a better choice.

10. Podia vs. Shopify

Shopify is a platform that enables people to create an online store irrespective of what they want to sell.

Here are three things we like the most:

• It is a subscription-based platform
• Provides you with numerous sales, marketing, and other essential features
• Lets creators sell products in physical locations through the Shopify POS app

Shopify has significantly more tools to enhance your client’s overall experience. Besides, its extensive market presence ensures greater traffic.

11. Podia vs. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is an all-in-one platform that is exceptionally adept at assisting course creators. With its help, you can post pre-recorded classes and take live sessions through a cohort course.

Its software creates an engaging amalgamation of community, courses, and commerce. Along with that, it has a multitude of engagement features, designs, and layouts, letting you create your unique online presence.

It is also a community-focused platform, so much so that you can create separate communities for each of your courses. Almost everything a thriving course business can require is available on Might Networks.

Podia vs. Kajabi vs. Teachable

Podia has no specific features to ensure proper marketing. However, both Kajabi and Teachable are known for having complex marketing systems.

While Teachable offers affiliate marketing options, Kajabi lets you create a seamless buyer journey. Moreover, Kajabi has great email marketing tools, which makes Podia’s solutions look rather basic.

Here’s a pricing breakdown of these platforms:

• Both Podia and Teachable have free plans
• Kajabi comes with only a 14-day free trial

So you can choose according to your marketing and budget needs.

Teachable vs. Thinkific vs. Podia

While Podia lets you sell digital downloads, with Thinkific, you can only have digital downloads attached to your courses.

Another great thing about Thinkific is that you can create student discussion communities, which aren’t possible in the other two. However, it falls short regarding features like email marketing or affiliate marketing, which are key features of Podia and Teachable, respectively.

All three platforms have free plans for you to try, and Teachable has the most expensive business-level package.

How to Choose the Best Platform For My Needs

Although all of these platforms are great, only a few would meet your course business’s specific needs. Hence, instead of simply selecting one of them, here’s how you can choose your ideal platform:

1. List Your Goals From Your Course Business

By listing your goals, you will clearly know exactly what you want the platform to do.

• Whether you only want to sell courses, or do you have other products that you wish to sell along with them?
• What kind of relationship do you want to have with your audience?
• Do you want your audience to help you sell your courses further?

2. Check the Sales Features of the Platforms

Once you answer these questions, check which platforms have tools to facilitate your goals. For example, you would need an e-commerce platform if you want to sell products along with your course.

3. Analyze the Feasibility of Creating Courses

Since your courses are the center of your business, you need a platform that lets you easily build them. Hence, you cannot choose one with many features but lacks options when creating the courses themselves.

4. See the Platform’s Commitment to Building a Community

Another critical aspect of your course business is a loyal community that comes back for more and brings others along with them. So, check for platforms that prioritize community over other unimportant features. Remember, if your audience isn’t happy, nothing else will matter.

If you want to create something exclusive, look for platforms offering private membership options.

5. Select the One That Fits Your Budget

All the cool features would not matter if you cannot afford to pay for the same. Choose a platform that offers free plans or fits your budget. You can always upgrade once you have a better flow of income.

Keep these pointers in mind, and you will be able to find a platform that will ensure that your course business thrives.

Conclusion

While Podia has been a popular name in the course-making industry, its numerous alternatives offer better assistance. Some have better course creation features, while others offer exceptional marketing options.

All the best alternatives to Podia are listed above, and you can use this article as a guide to find your ideal match. Alternatively, you can save your precious time and sign up for Hello Audio’s 7-day free trial. We help you convert your existing audio and video content into private podcasts with playlists. It levels up the experience for your audience with a more convenient and community-driven approach.