Have you ever thought of creating a video course? It’s a great time, with an expanding market for online courses and more and more tech out there for course creation.
But, if you're getting started with an online course for the first time, the options can be overwhelming. We get it. There are a lot of choices.
So, our goal in this article is to introduce you to the best online video course software. Each of these options has different strengths, so there's something here for everyone.
Let's check out 6 great online video course software options.
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1. Mighty Networks
Mighty Networks is a powerful cultural software platform that lets you bring together courses, community, content, commerce, and live events.
When you build a course Space in Mighty, you get the option to teach a synchronous or asynchronous course (AKA live or pre-recorded). This means you can either use our awesome native live streaming, or the one-click Zoom integration, to deliver your course to a live audience.
Or, if you prefer, you can pre-record your course and plug it into our beautiful, responsive LMS.
And you don't actually have to choose. You can teach a live course and plug the recording into the LMS after. Totally doable.
When you build a course Space, you have the option to add features like discussion forums, Q&As, short and long-form content, member profiles, chat and messaging, and even live events. So, for example, if you have a pre-recorded course, you could set up a regular "office hours" session for students to drop in and get live help.
Mighty makes it easy to mix courses with community. And you can sell your course in 135 different currencies, or even monetize with token-gating. Plus, you get an intuitive app for every device.
There's really no other online video course software that compares.
2. Mighty Pro
If you love the features of Mighty Networks and want to add a totally branded, custom app to your offering, then you need to check out Mighty Pro.
With a Mighty Network, you get access to our app in the App Store and Google Play store. With Mighty Pro, it all happens under YOUR app, under your brand. That means completely branded live streaming and an LMS.
We've built custom course apps for creators like Adriene Mishler – YouTube's top yoga instructor, the TED presenters community, and psychologist and speaker Marisa Peer.
Book a call with us and we'll show you what you could do for your brand!
3. Thinkific
If you're looking for another option for an online video course software, Thinkific is pretty solid. Thinkific is a learning management system that works great for teaching a pre-recorded (asynchronous) course. It comes with some good evaluation options, and like Mighty, you can drip content and add Q&As.
One of the best features of Thinkific is its website builder. It lets you create customizable landing pages, choosing from different pre-built themes and pages to sell your course. And if you upgrade to TCommerce, you can generate bookkeeping reports and have other marketing data to work with.
Thinkific isn't as strong as Mighty on some features like community, events, and customizable spaces. (Click here for a full comparison.)
4. Zoom
Zoom is a well-known video conferencing platform, and it can double as a free online video course software.
First, let's be upfront that it lacks a lot of the capability of a proper online course platform. It's tricky to collect payments with Zoom, although it is possible. You don't really build landing pages or add your own branding.
But if you're teaching a live, cohort course, Zoom can work okay. You would share your link with your students before your classes. Of course, you can also share slides easily. And Zoom will store recordings after, so you can share it with your students if they want to watch the session again.
Zoom doesn't have a learning management system. So it would really only work for a really bare-bones cohort course, not a traditional, asynchronous course.
5. YouTube
Sticking with the free options, YouTube is another possibility for a free, online video course software. It would only really work for a cohort course too – although like Zoom, your students could watch the videos after.
You can teach via a live stream in YouTube. Once you're done, you can set it as a private video and share a link. Or, you can post it live and let the world see it – which is cool too!
Again, there are a lot of limitations with this option. YouTube lets you teach a basic online video course. But it doesn't give you anything in the way of sales, marketing, communicating, etc.
Still, if you're looking for something that's totally free and well-known, it's an option.
6. Skillshare
If you are looking for an online video course software that functions like a course marketplace, Skillshare might be an option for you.
Skillshare lets you post a pre-recorded video course on its platform. It has a built-in learning management system that works well.
The biggest advantage of choosing Skillshare is that it comes with a giant, built-in audience of students who are searching for courses every day. This means that it might be easier to get eyes on your course, especially if you have an in-demand subject.
You can build out the lessons and add projects. And, your students can give you a rating to help future students know if they should take your course or not.
The downside to Skillshare? You are going to give up some of the course revenue. Unlike video course software options that let you build and sell the course yourself, and let you keep 100% of your revenue, Skillshare it's a percentage of its revenue to its instructors and divides that revenue according to how long people spend on their courses.
This means it can be a great way to get visibility, but it's probably not the best way to create solid course revenue.
Ready to start?
We hope this list has helped you choose an online video course software. And if you're looking for an option that gives you everything you could ever need to build, market, sell, and host your online course, come give Mighty a try!
You can try it free for 14 days, no credit card required.
