Top Passion.io Alternatives & Competitors (2024)

Looking for a more user friendly or affordable Passion.io alternative? In this guide we explore the top alternatives to Passion.io in 2024 for online course creation

Joanna TaylorJoanna Taylor

By Joanna Taylor  •  Updated 5 April 2024

Monetizing your knowledge has never been easier. Platforms like Passion.io allow you to build your own app and offer your services to users while the nitty gritty is handled directly by the developers.

However, Passion.io comes with quite the hefty price tag attached and has other limitations that leave much to be desired.

We looked for some of the best passion.io alternatives that offer more features, are more user-friendly, and overall better to work with.

What Makes a Good Course Creation Platform?

Before you go ahead and pick a platform to host your online courses on, it's important to know what makes it a good platform. Here are some key factors you should be on the lookout for when deciding which course creation platform you want to go with.

  • Features: Look for platforms that allow you more freedom in the type of content you can upload. Ideally, you should be able to post video, audio, and text content without too much trouble.
  • Engaging: Tools that keep users engaged when watching your course are a must. Quizzes, assessments, assignments, and a ranking system can make your viewers feel a sense of accomplishment upon completion of each segment and have them recommend it to others to compare results.
  • Community: A community feature where all users can discuss and have conversations with each other can set you aside from other creators and make your viewers feel more than faceless strangers. Look for platforms that offer a service or integration with a tool that allows you to create a discussion page.
  • Marketing: Not all of your viewers will see through the course to its end. An email marketing feature can come in handy and rope back in customers who have abandoned the course. Look for integration abilities with an email marketing platform or a built-in tool with a similar functionality.
  • Payments: If your customers can't subscribe to the course with the most commonly used payment gateways, they probably won't. Check beforehand whether the course generation platform offers all popular types of payment options.

8 Best Passion.io Alternatives

We’ve tried out a few competitors to see how they stacked up against Passion.io, here is a curated list of the best.

1. Kourses

Kourses was created out of the need for online courses, membership content and communities in one beautiful platform.

With Kourses, your content is made to look beautiful, engaging, and the setup process is streamlined so you can launch faster.

Kourses Passion.io Alternative

Uploading your lessons is a breeze. You can easily organize them into modules and utilize the Hubs feature to interconnect your various courses. Content within hubs can function as standalone courses, or members can opt to pay extra for expanded access.

You have the option to schedule your videos for gradual release, keeping your viewers engaged and eager for more content. Additionally, each video includes a comment section where viewers can interact and discuss the content.

You can join the waitlist today to be among the first to use Kourses upon release. Early adopter members will enjoy access to all upcoming premium features within their plan, without any additional charges.

Kourses Pros

Keep track of member progress.
Attach text content and download options.
Build communities for your students.
Set up different membership options or integrate with existing checkout solutions.
Connect your Kourses account to third-party autoresponders or CRMs.
Automatically AI-generated transcriptions of all your videos.

Kourses is currently in early access release, and you can signup for the waitlist to be notified when the next cohort of new members is allowed in.  

2. Kajabi

Kajabi is a popular name among course creators. It offers the whole nine yards, including marketing funnels, email marketing options, course templates and more.

The platform walks you through building your entire site through its website builder. Pick a layout and use the drag-and-drop capabilities to customize it as you please, with no technical knowledge required.

Kajabi Passion.io Alternative

Kajabi's marketing features are impressive. Their email marketing tool comes built-in and ready to use with little to no setup on your part.

What really sets it apart from competitors is the sales funnels. These funnels guide a potential customer through a series of stages, namely Awareness, Interest, Decision, and Action. This feature is entirely automated and will help you generate sales even as you sleep.

Kajabi Pros

Customizable course templates with branding options.
Powerful email marketing tools and funnel creation.
24/7 live chat support for prompt assistance.
Comes with a web and mobile app.

Kajabi Cons

If you have a video or audio file in a lesson, you won't be able to include quizzes in that same lesson.
Very pricy when compared to competitors.
Some integrations, such as WebinarJam and Klaviyo, will require you to pay extra outside your plan.

Kajabi Pricing

Starts at $149 per month (14-day free trial).

3. Teachable

Teachable is another worthwhile Passion.io alternative for those looking for an easy-to-use, beginner-friendly platform to host their courses.

The course creation process is straightforward, with a guided course builder that simplifies the setup. You can add your custom domains or use one of Teachable's sub-domains that come attached to your website by default.

You can add multiple content types to the same lesson including video, audio, text, downloads, and quizzes – which is an upgrade from Kajabi.

Teachable Passion.io Alternative

While not as versatile as Passion.io or other competitors, customization isn't completely out of the question with Teachable. You can choose between two themes and change the signature colors and font of your website as you desire.

The cherry on top, however, is that Teachable comes with a free plan. It has limited features and the platform still charges a 5% commission on your revenue, but that's more than what most other platforms offer. If you're just getting started, are on a limited budget, and don't have an audience, this is the perfect option.

Teachable Pros

Tools for student engagement, including graded quizzes and certificates.
Decent customization options for site design.
User-friendly course creation and management.

Teachable Cons

Doesn’t have an Android app.
Has a basic email marketing tool and lacks any comprehensive marketing suite.
Live chat support is only available during specific hours on weekdays, which is not ideal for users in different time zones.
The available design templates are very basic.

Teachable Pricing

Has a free plan. Pricing starts at $59 per month for the Basic Plan.

4. LearnWorlds

With LearnWorlds, course creation is an uncomplicated process. Its intuitive interface guides users through outlining course structures, uploading content, and designing engaging learning experiences.

The platform boasts interactive videos, transcripts, and ebooks, enhancing learner engagement. Plus, you get the standard email marketing features to keep new users coming in.

LearnWorlds Passion.io Alternative

One of LearnWorld's strong suits lies in its assessment capabilities. Educators can leverage features like quizzes, exams, and question banks. It has a particular advantage if you teach programming, thanks to its support for hosting various multimedia files, including HTML5 and SCORM.

The platform also offers custom-made, white-labeled mobile apps made particularly for your school for both iOS and Android, available on the App Store and Play Store respectively.

To top it off, LearnWorlds provides round-the-clock support, including phone assistance and personalized onboarding, ensuring users' needs are met promptly.

LearnWorlds Pros

Intuitive course creation with a user-friendly interface.
Extensive website customization options tailored to your brand.
Interactive videos and ebooks.
Versatile assessment tools encompassing quizzes and exams.
While labeled Android and iOS app tailored particularly for your course.

LearnWorlds Cons

No options to develop sales pipelines.
You cannot automate emails.
The mobile app is only available with the most expensive plan.

LearnWorlds Pricing

Starts at $29 per month for the Starter Plan (30-day free trial).

5. Podia

Podia is another course platform that simplifies sharing your knowledge with paying members without having to wreck your head by building a website from scratch.

One of Podia's standout features is its user-friendly interface, making it an excellent choice for beginners. Navigating the platform is intuitive, allowing you to focus on creating and selling your courses without getting bogged down by technicalities.

Podia Passion.io Alternative

Where Podia truly excels is in email marketing. It provides a plethora of options, from customizable templates to advanced filtering and campaign automation, making it a robust tool for reaching your audience effectively.

Podia also offers a built-in community feature, simplifying student interaction and enhancing the learning experience. Additionally, their customer support, including email and chat options, is solid.

Podia Pros

Versatile subscription models, including a free plan.
User-friendly interface, perfect for beginners.
Built-in community feature for enhanced student interaction.
Responsive customer support through email and chat.

Podia Cons

Only comes with a web app. No mobile apps are available either on Android or iOS.
Affiliate marketing option is only available on the most expensive plan.
Limited information about the progress of your students.

Podia Pricing

Starts at $39 per month for the Mover Plan (also comes with a free option).

6. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is another decent alternative to Passion.io which offers course hosting and community-building features.

One of the standout features of Mighty Networks is its flexibility. You can create custom Spaces within your network to host a combination of courses, community discussions, events, and more.

Added to the usual, pre-record courses option most platforms offer, Mighty Networks comes with a live-streaming feature as well.

Mighty Networks Passion.io Alternative

Moreover, Mighty Networks goes beyond being just a course platform. It's a comprehensive community-building tool that provides everything you need to establish a vibrant online community business.

They also offer the Might Co-Host feature, which runs on ChatGPT and can help build landing and sales pages or more.

With Mighty Pro, you also get your very own white-label app available for your students to download from either the App or Play Store. You can work with industry experts who have experience scaling apps past the six-figure mark.

Mighty Networks Pros

Versatile platform for courses, events, and community building.
AI-powered features like Mighty Co-Host improve workflow.
Native mobile apps for seamless member experience
Flexible monetization options, including token-gated communities.

Mighty Networks Cons

Less intricate marketing features than some other competitors.
Lacks advanced course creation features as it is primarily a community-building platform.
Limited control over how courses are laid out for the students.

Mighty Networks Pricing

Starts at $33 per month for the Community Plan (14-day free trial).

7. Kartra

As far as hosting courses and managing member subscriptions go, Kartra is pretty similar to Passion.io and most other competitors. However, its strength lies in its email marketing capabilities.

With dozens of customization options, you can design eye-catching emails and send them to your segmented audience. The A/B split testing feature ensures that you're always optimizing your email campaigns for better results.

Kartra Passion.io Alternative

The platform also comes with several advanced automation tools. With Behavioral Adaptive Marketing (BAM) you can target leads with highly relevant messages based on their actions, improving engagement and conversions.

Besides its marketing features, Kartra offers interactive video options and allows you to build your personalized course page through a series of drag-and-drop features.

The platform also offers more than 500 page and section templates for you to choose from, you won't need to spend time and effort designing your own.

Kartra Pros

Cost-effective pricing plans.
Comprehensive marketing features.
User-friendly drag-and-drop page builder.
Advanced email marketing with A/B split testing.
Behavior-based automation for targeted campaigns.

Kartra Cons

Limited bandwidth on the starter plan.
No mobile app.
No community feature.
The blogging feature is not available.

Kartra Pricing

Starts at $119 per month for the Starter Plan (comes with a free trial).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about Passion.io and its alternatives.

1. What does Passion.io do?

Passion.io provides users with a place to host, market, and sell their courses without having to worry about its technical aspects. Using Passion.io you can build your own branded website, upload your videos, and build a community for your students to talk and interact in.

2. How much does Passion.io cost?

Pricing for Passion.io starts at $97 per month for the Pro plan, $297 per month for the Ultimate Plan, and a custom quote depending on your needs for the Passion Plus plan.

3. What’s better, Kajabi or Passion.io?

Both Kajabi and Passion.io are similar when it comes to hosting courses, managing subscriptions, and providing a personalized space to share your knowledge. However, Kajabi goes a step further and offers several advanced marketing features you won't find on Passion.io.

Passion.io Alternatives: Which is best?

Passion.io is just one of the many players in the course creation field. While it offers a platform to share your knowledge, there are alternatives that provide more features and flexibility, catering to various needs.

Whether you're seeking comprehensive options like Kajabi or user-friendly platforms like Teachable, each choice comes with its own set of advantages.

Remember, the best choice for you ultimately depends on your specific goals, content, and audience. So, weigh your options carefully, considering factors like the provided engagement tools and community-building options.

Create. Engage. Profit

Start building a better membership site.

The power to create beautiful membership portals that make your content the star of the show. Engaging experiences. Powerful business tools.

Kourses Founders Club Waitlist

Secure your space on the limited founders club release of Kourses. Spaces opening September 2023.

Close