The Best Platform to Sell Online Courses: Custom Setup vs All-in-One Tools

When you're ready to turn your expertise into an online course, one of the first questions that hits you is: "What’s the best platform to sell online courses?"

Google that question and you’ll be hit with a million options—Kajabi, Teachable, Systeme.io, Thinkific... it’s overwhelming. Everyone claims THEIR platform to be the easiest, the fastest, the most affordable, the most powerful.

And then there’s the custom route—building a tech stack with tools like WordPress, ConvertKit, ThriveCart, and Zapier, tailored to your exact business needs.

So, how do you actually decide?

It comes down to one big question:

Do you want convenience, or do you want customization?

Let’s break down what that really means for your course business.

What is an All-in-One Platform?

All-in-one platforms like Kajabi, Kartra, or Systeme.io bundle everything you need to sell your online course into one dashboard. Website, checkout, email marketing, automations, course hosting—it’s all included.

They’re often promoted as the best platform to sell online courses because they’re easy to use, especially for beginners who don’t want to mess with tech.

When All-in-One Tools Work Well:

• You want to launch quickly and don’t want to hire help

• You’re not super tech-savvy and want a single tool that handles everything

• You only have one or two offers and don’t need a complex setup

• You’re on a tight budget and need something affordable (Systeme.io really shines here)
  

Where These Tools Fall Short:

• You’re stuck using their templates and workflows

• Customizing design and automations can be really limited

• Scaling your business or adding more complex funnels gets messy (and possibly super expensive fast—lookin' at you, $399/month Kajabi plan!

  
  

If you start on one of these platforms, it’s often a solid short-term solution—but many course creators eventually outgrow them.

The Downsides of "Easy"

Here’s what many entrepreneurs realize a few months into an all-in-one solution:

• Lack of flexibility: You have to build your business the way they think a business should run. Want a unique checkout flow? Too bad. Wish you could use more than 2 fonts on your website? Better break out your coding skills.
  

• Design limitations: If you’re picky about branding, design, or UX, be prepared to compromise—or hack together some clunky workarounds.
  

• Feature bloat: You’re often paying for tools you don’t use... or worse, trying to make do with features that almost do what you want.
  

• Scalability: Once your business grows, these platforms can become bottlenecks rather than boosters. Integrations are limited. Reporting is basic. Custom automations? Good luck.

Custom Business Setups: The Power of Precision

A custom setup means picking tools that are actually built to support how you want to run your business.

Instead of an all-in-one, you’re using best-in-class tools that each do one job really well—and linking them together for a streamlined workflow.

Here’s what that might look like:

• Wix for your website (fully customizable and SEO-friendly)
  

• Systeme.io to host and sell your courses and digital products, handle payments, and set up simple automations without paying Kajabi prices
  

• MailerLite for email marketing, with smart tags and advanced automations based on what people are actually doing (or not doing) in your funnel
  

• ClickUp to manage projects, organize your weekly workflows, and create client portals that make everything look smooth and professional
  

• Zapier to connect the dots so everything runs on autopilot behind the scenes

This kind of setup gives you way more flexibility, stronger branding, and a smoother experience—for both you and your customers.

Instead of forcing your business into a one-size-fits-all platform, you’re creating systems that match your vision and scale with you as you grow.

When Custom Setups Make Sense:

• You care about branding, experience, and functionality

• You’re scaling and need more flexibility

• You want automations and workflows that match your customer journey—not generic ones

• You want your business to feel elevated and professional—not like a patchwork quilt

  
  

The downside? It takes longer to set up and means managing multiple tools.

But the upside is huge: you’re building a business that works for you, not the other way around.

The result? You’re building a business infrastructure that supports your vision, not just trying to fit everything in an oddly-shaped box.

But Custom = Complicated, Right?

Not necessarily.

Yes, building a custom setup takes more planning on the front end. But it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. In fact, it’s a hell of a lot easier than trying to finagle your dream business into someone else’s generic template.

A good strategist (or done-for-you service provider) will:

• Help you map out your business workflows

• Choose only the tools you need (nothing extra)

• Set it all up for you—automations and all

• Train you so you’re not dependent on them forever'

  
  

Think of it like building a house. You could buy a prefab that looks like every other house on the block… or you could hire an architect who designs something that fits your life.

Where All-in-One Platforms Might Make Sense

To be fair, the plug-and-play platforms aren’t always the villain.

Here’s when they do make sense:

• You have zero tech experience and just want to get started

• You prefer to have as few moving parts as possible (no stressing if Zapier goes down!)

• Your offer suite is small and simple, with no plans for big changes

• You’re not ready to invest in strategy or tech support yet

If you go this route, choose a platform that won’t lock you in forever. Systeme.io, for example, is far more affordable and flexible than Kajabi—and won’t make you cry when you need to migrate later.

The Real Question: Are You Building a Business or a Temporary Setup?

Convenience is tempting. But if you're serious about building something sustainable, you’ve gotta ask:

“Am I setting this up for today… or for the business I want a year from now?”

If your current system can’t grow with you, it’s going to cost you more time, money, and sanity in the long run.

I’ve seen it too many times—business owners spend months inside these platforms trying to make them work, only to rip them apart and rebuild later.

That “easy” solution? Not so easy anymore.

What's the Best Platform to Sell Online Courses ForYou?

If you’re still Googling "best platform to sell online courses," here’s the truth:

There is no one-size-fits-all answer. The best platform is the one that fits your stage of business, your budget, and your goals.

That said, here’s a quick breakdown:

You Should Use...	If You...
Systeme.io or Kartra	Want an affordable way to sell digital products or courses with solid built-in automations
Kajabi	Want a simpler, cleaner tool to use, want to offer a podcast or coaching and sell these in the same place, you want to offer students a mobile app
Custom Setup	Want full control, a branded experience, and a setup that supports long-term scaling

The Bottom Line

Convenience helps you start. Customization helps you grow.

If you’re selling your first course, an all-in-one business platform like Systeme.io can be a great place to begin.

But if you’re serious about not just creating a course but building business designed to scale, the best platform to sell online courses might not be a platform at all—it might be a custom setup that fits your business perfectly.

So… What’s Your Move?

If you’re tired of spinning your wheels inside cookie-cutter platforms and ready to build something that works for you—not the other way around—I can help.

Here’s how:

🛠️ The Shortcut: My signature program where we set up your business operations and your strategy—done-for-you and built to grow with you

Because here's the thing—you don’t need another tool—you need a strategy that actually fits.

Let’s build that together.