The global market of Learning Management Systems (LMS) is projected to grow to $43.95 billion by 2028. Around 77% of students in public colleges enroll in at least one online course. And, the number of creators is likely to rise by 10-20% every year.
Here is something to note down. Most of them will be either selling courses or digital products.
Now, why are we sharing these stats with you? Because we want to show you the business opportunity here. So, why not create a marketplace for people who make courses?
"Now" is the perfect time to learn to build an online course marketplace. It will be a place where creators share their skills, learners find amazing courses, and you earn a good income from every sale.
And you don’t need any coding skills to build the marketplace. Now ask us how? Well, stick around for a bit.
Today, we’re going to give you a simple, step-by-step guide. It’ll show you how to build a marketplace website for course creators without coding skills. Let’s get started!
What Is An Online Course Marketplace And Their Business Models
A marketplace is basically a platform that connects buyers and sellers. It lets DIFFERENT sellers sell their goods or services to buyers. You’ve likely heard of Amazon. The website has many stores, sellers, and brands. Yes, it's an online marketplace.
Now, when we think about courses, they are very similar. An online course marketplace is where people sell their courses—not one but many. It connects course creators (educators) with learners (students).
In this way, you don't just sell your own courses on a site. You create a place where many creators can share their knowledge.
So you might now be feeling curious to know more, right? If so, let's discuss some of its common models.
Common Business Models of Online Course Marketplaces:
Open Marketplaces: Anyone can create and sell courses here. If you sell courses, you might know Udemy and Skillshare. On these platforms, any person can sign up and begin teaching.
Curated Marketplaces: These online marketplaces don't allow everyone to offer courses.
Whoever wants to list a course on this marketplace has to go through many rules and regulations. If you value quality more than the number of options, this model is a great choice. A good example is MasterClass.
Subscription-Based: We know, these are so common types of online marketplace models. One needs to first subscribe to the marketplace by paying a weekly, monthly, or yearly fee. Then they get access to marketplace courses. Some good examples are LinkedIn Learning and Coursera.
Niche Marketplaces: This is the best choice to get more people involved and keep them coming back. All you have to do is pick a narrow topic and stay with it.
There are endless types and models that already exist and in the future, there will be more.
You can even make your own specific types and start the marketplace today. But before that let's learn how online course marketplaces are different from others.
How Are Online Course Marketplaces Different From Online Course Platforms: Which One To Choose?
You have to agree that when a person talks about online course marketplaces, software that lets host online courses automatically comes up. The same goes for the opposite, right?
These two are actually closely related, and we've often seen people searching for the differences between them here and there.
And then? They become unable to decide whether to go for an online course marketplace or choose online course software.
As you know, we're here to show you a detailed guide on how to build online course marketplace, but before that, let's briefly cover the differences.
Let’s just get straight to the point about which one you should pick.
Here are the differences between online course marketplaces and online course websites, along with which option will give you the highest benefits:
1) Ownership and Control:
If you’re into content creation, you know it can be hard to grow on your own. That’s why many creators sell their courses on a marketplace.
It helps them reach more learners. You can either be a master who controls the marketplace or be a seller in the marketplace. But whatever you say, the master is the master.
2) Revenue and Pricing:
Have you ever used a marketplace? It might be Gumroad, Amazon, or another one. If you have, you may already know this. When someone runs a marketplace, they earn money from every sale made by creators.
Your income can grow as your market grows. However, with online software, creators usually sell independently. This way can limit how much money you earn.
3) Custom Branding and Site Customization :
Creating your own marketplace lets you choose its look and feel. You select the design for the landing page, the courses you want to showcase, and the instructors you want to feature.
4) Marketing and Audience Reach:
When creators share their courses, they help promote your platform. Ultimately, this indicates that it’s not just one person or a small team handling all the marketing.
Many people are spreading the word about your brand, even if they don’t fully know it.
5) Support and Maintenance:
To be honest, this is where solo course creators win. They do not need to stress much about support or how to keep things going. But as a marketplace owner, you might feel the weight of those responsibilities.
We can give you more reasons to choose to build an online course marketplace over online course software.
However, we will stop here. Let’s focus on the profit margin. After all, this is what matters most in the end.
If you prefer an online course software instead of a marketplace, here are the 15 best wallet-friendly online learning platforms for 2024.
How Profitable Is Building A Course Marketplace Website?
Now, there could be one thing to be upset about. You can ask us whether online courses are in demand or not as the market is already saturated. We get it. But stats say this is just the beginning. The market is growing fast.
Let’s look at the stats again.
In 2023, the online course industry earned $3.1 billion. By 2029, online learning platforms will have around 1 billion users as per Statista. And Statista's other finding is the average revenue per user will be $74.59.
Asia Pacific will have the most users. Here are the numbers:
Asia Pacific: around 740.8 million.
Europe, Middle East, and Africa: 173.5 million.
North America: 130 million.
Latin America: 109.5 million.
The Middle East and North Africa: 23.8 million.
Talking about the creator’s stats shows there will be more creators in the future. A recent study says the creator economy will hit $500 billion by 2027.
(All The Above Data Source: Whop.com)
Online courses are popular and they will remain so in the future. The main changes include more people creating courses, increased competition, and more learners getting involved. A good choice is to start now.
And about profits? Here are some of the sources you can consider where they’ll come from:
Selling different kinds of courses directly to learners.
Setting up a subscription model for premium course access.
Taking a small portion of each sale made by other teachers.
Charging extra fees for things like certificates or one-on-one sessions.
Earn money from sponsors and ads when your platform grows.
We hope you see the good things about making an online course marketplace. Now, let’s move on to the next topic.
How To Build A Marketplace Website For Course Creators
People often think building an online course marketplace requires huge investments, a large number of courses, sellers, buyers, and more.
But the truth is, many of you are overthinking it. Yes, it was hard before. However, in this era of technological advancement, you don’t need massive capital or numerous courses, buyers, and sellers at the start.
All you need is a platform that lets users build a marketplace, like EzyCourse and similar options. What’s more essential are planning, research skills, designing, launching, and driving traffic to your site.
You might ask, "You said we don't need coding skills, so what does designing mean?"
Well, we mean giving your marketplace the look you want.
You don’t need coding skills because most marketplace builders offer drag-and-drop solutions.
Now, let’s get straight to the three options to build an online course marketplace without any coding skills.
1. Hiring Freelancers for Custom Marketplace Website Development
One well-known option for building a marketplace without coding knowledge is hiring a freelancer who knows coding. They can develop the marketplace according to your needs.
However, this can be quite costly. We’re just giving you options here. We don’t recommend this one unless you’re prepared for a bigger budget.
2. Using WordPress with Marketplace Plugins
WordPress is popular because it’s easy to use and customizable. You can turn any new website into a marketplace by adding plugins like Dokan or WC Vendors.
These free plugins will let you turn a simple WordPress site into a fully functional marketplace where instructors can sell their courses.
3. Using No-Code Marketplace Builders:
This is the most recommended option for those who want to build an online marketplace but don’t know anything about coding. For this, use EzyCourse.
Yes, there are other options too but EzyCourse is an all-in-one learning management platform.
It provides ready-to-use templates, drag-and-drop features, and integrated tools for payments, course management, and marketing. You can launch a course marketplace without dealing with any technical details.
Well, we’ll talk more about EzyCourse later. But for now, it’s time to show you how to build an online course marketplace right from scratch.
How To Build A Marketplace Website For Course Creators: Step By Step
Let's look from the start again. First, we’ve covered what an online course marketplace is and how it’s different from online course software. We also shared some growing stats about online course revenue.
Now, let’s get to the steps you need to follow to create your own online course marketplace.
1. Idea Stage
You are already ahead of many people who are thinking of building a marketplace but don’t know their niche. You know your target is creating a course marketplace.
So, all your ideas will be focused on course creators and learners. Your niche is clear: courses.
Now, you need to come up with some ideas that will set your marketplace apart from giants like Udemy or Coursera.
What’s going to make your platform unique? This is where your creativity needs to be better than the rest.
Take your time to figure out what will make your marketplace special.
2. Research Your Audience
This is the second stage where you identify your audience. Since you're building a course marketplace, your audience will be:
Course creators (people who make the courses)
Learners (people who take the courses)
Now, who do you want to reach? Are they businesses (B2B), individual learners (B2C), or people learning from each other (C2C)?
Once you've identified your ideal audience, let’s move to the third stage.
3. Choose Your Marketplace Model
As we mentioned earlier about all the marketplace models, you must choose the type of online course marketplace you want to create. There are two main strategies to implement: Horizontal and Vertical.
Vertical: Focuses on a specific topic
Horizontal: Covers many subjects
4. Select the Right Platform
Here comes the pain point for every dreamer. Choosing the best learning management software to build an online course marketplace could be a real pain in the ass.
However, our experts have managed to curate the top three online course marketplace builders after spending hours. So, let's see what they are:
4.1. EzyCourse: The Best Online Course Marketplace Builder for Beginners
There aren't many marketplace builders that let you create a marketplace without any coding knowledge. On top of that, the cost, hidden fees, and other complications can make you say, "Okay, I’m done, I’m out."
But the point is, while there aren’t many, a few are absolutely mind-blowing. One of them is EzyCourse.
EzyCourse's marketplace add-on lets you make your marketplace from scratch with a simple drag-and-drop feature.
It has dedicated drag-and-drop marketplace product listing widgets. Once you get started, you’ll find that every single thing can be controlled by you, such as:
Who can sign up as a creator
What courses they will be able to list, and
Whether they are well-qualified or not?
You can enable or disable online course creator's signups, set auto-approvals, require email verifications, set default commission percentages per sale, create dedicated seller pages, and enable real-time notifications, among other features.
You can even set a best-seller badge, which will be assigned based on criteria.
Plus, you can approve more products to sell beyond just courses, such as digital products, physical products, or community-building services.
There are seller profile options available for people who want to be creators in your marketplace. You will decide who will get course access, coupons, and access to payment gateways.
Since EzyCourse is a dedicated online course marketplace builder with tons of features, your sellers will get their own dashboard access.
There, they can see their courses, deals, sales, certificates, question banks, assignment submissions, survey submissions, and more.
They will be able to create coupons anytime to activate discounts for their own courses. Simply put, you can:
Approve who can sign up as a creator
Set commission rates for sellers
Add badges for best-sellers
Approve or disapprove products beyond courses, like digital or physical products.
Creators will get their own dashboards where they can manage courses, coupons, sales, and much more.
Pros of EzyCourse Marketplace Builder:
No coding required
Drag-and-drop
Complete control over who signs up as creators
Set commission percentages for sellers
Real-time notifications for users
Give certificates, and run quizzes or surveys.
Customizable seller pages
Dashboard access for creators
Approve or disable products
Seller profile customization
Payment gateway access
Great for selling other digital or physical products too
Built-in email marketing and push notifications
Create a community and get access to multiple marketing features.
Blogging options
SEO features to attract search engine visitors
Affordable pricing and plans
White-label mobile app.
Available marketing tools like email marketing, private chats, events, etc.
Cons Of EzyCourse Marketplace Builder:
Requires a bit of time to learn all the existing features fully.
There is an additional onboarding fee for each new seller added after reaching the maximum limit of 40 sellers.
Is EzyCourse Affordable?
We know well that even if a platform offers hundreds of features, it has to be affordable. So, you might wonder whether it is budget-friendly or not.
The good news is that EzyCourse is a budget-friendly LMS system whose basic plan is only $39 dollars per month (for the annual plan).
EzyCourse’s Marketplace comes as an add-on. You can go with a monthly marketplace subscription priced at $105/m and a yearly subscription model of 99/m. Or, if you prefer a one-time payment, there's a lifetime deal available for $1615.
4.2. WordPress: The Plugin-Powered Marketplace Builder
Plugin-powered? Yes!
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) used for building websites. This includes creating online course marketplaces.
It's all about using the right plugin.
Some marketplace builder LMS plugins allow users to create and design online marketplaces with the help of the WooCommerce system.
The two most used WordPress marketplace plugins are:
Dokan: A free plugin with over 700 ratings. It can easily turn any WooCommerce website into a marketplace. Now it depends on you what kind of marketplace you want to create.
WCFM Marketplace: Another free plugin for WordPress users. It currently has a total of 443 ratings.
The downside is that it's not as easy to set up a marketplace even though there are tons of plugins and templates. You will need to adjust and customize many things.
This includes marketplace page designs, font adjusting, section matching, setting up payment processors, and integrating with more platforms and pages.
And while these plugins are free, there are costs you will find as you continue.
Pros of WordPress Marketplace Builder:
You can customize everything with free or paid plugins.
WooCommerce system makes marketplaces easy to set up.
It scales up as your marketplace grows.
SEO features to help you grow organic traffic.
Great for small marketplaces without huge upfront costs.
Plenty of features to grow your online business.
Large discussion forums for support and resources.
Cost-effective for smaller marketplaces.
Cons of WordPress Marketplace Builder:
Has an advanced learning curve compared to other platforms.
Premium features, hosting provider, maintenance, WordPress themes, and plugin costs.
Requires regular maintenance and updates.
Not as user-friendly as some drag-and-drop dedicated marketplace platforms.
Potential performance issues with too many plugins.
Is WordPress Affordable?
WordPress website starts cheap, but costs add up quickly. You’ll need to pay for plugins for things like web hosting, SEO, security, and backups.
WooCommerce add-ons and custom designs will also raise the price.
So, it can be affordable, but you’ll still need a mid-range budget. We assume it could be around $1,500 to $2,500.
4.3. Sharetribe: Build Any Type of Marketplace Without Coding
Our last and third marketplace builder is Sharetribe.
Yes, it’s not focused specifically on online courses or digital products, but you can still manage to create one.
You’ll find many options while building a marketplace with it, like an option to localize your products by search filtering, customizing topbars, footers, and much more.
You can choose the user type, what they need to fill out to get started with your marketplace, and design.
When we tested it, we liked the onboarding process. You can build listing-type marketplaces, rental marketplaces, service-based marketplaces, or literally any type of marketplace you want.
However, since it's not course-focused, you might find many features lacking for course builders, such as certification, learning management, etc.
So, let’s check out some of its pros and cons now.
Pros Of Sharetribe Marketplace Builder:
There are built-in tools for marketing.
Quick and no-coding setup for builders.
It's easy to get social proof of your product.
Available marketplace templates and open-source options.
Advanced security systems for users.
There are lots of resources for vendors to get started with Sharetribe.
Easy to manage customer support.
Cons Of Sharetribe Marketplace Builder:
You will have limited control over branding.
Not ideal for course marketplace building.
No specific features for course builders.
Limited options for tracking and progress monitoring.
There are transaction fees per sale after a limited number of transactions.
Is Sharetribe Affordable?
We can say Sharetribe is affordable, but their Build ($39/month) and Lite plan ($99/month) don't even offer custom domain options. Yeah, crap!
This will limit your branding opportunities for sure.
Although the Extend Plan ($299/month) seems more flexible, you'll still face transaction fees of $0.19 per initiated transaction once you exceed 500 transactions.
Whatever platform you choose, our next step is designing the marketplace.
5. Design Your Marketplace
Your marketplace design is your audience’s first impression. You have to make sure it's clear and attractive.
Tell visitors what your marketplace offers and why it’s valuable. Online course creators should know what options are available to them.
Let them know what they can do and what they cannot. Keep sections, several pages, and a great sales page. This page should explain what users will get and how your marketplace can help them.
You need to ensure that whenever you list courses, they have great names. Each video course and tutorial should have a better resolution. Sort courses by ideas to increase sales.
This will make your listings attractive to your target audience and students.
6. Create A Revenue Model Of Your Marketplace
Here, you need to choose how you will earn. Will you take a part of their sales, charge a monthly fee, or monetize by ads?
Choose what fits best for your marketplace growth.
Here are some popular revenue models:
Freemium
Listing Charge
Subscription
Commission Fee
Transaction Fees
Affiliate
Advertising
7. Select Payment Processors
Individual creators understand how crucial and difficult payment processors can be. As a marketplace owner, you need to handle this challenge and set everything up.
But if you choose EzyCourse, you can relax.
EzyCourse works with payment processors like PayPal, Stripe, and several local gateways. It offers pay-by-card options, manual payments, and ways to pay with coins or a wallet.
However, PayPal and Stripe are usually the first choices for creators and learners. Make sure they work well with your platform and allow different payment methods.
8. Launch Your Marketplace
All your hard work is going to pay off soon. You may not have any sellers or buyers right now, but you are close to reaching your goal of building an online course platform.
You're set to show everyone your platform for learners around the globe. You should try out your platform before the public launch. Look over the course details and materials. Make sure the payment options work.
Then, launch it.
9. Scale and Grow
Scaling your marketplace is a key step in this guide on how to build online course marketplace. You will need to include more courses to attract more creators and learners.
Meanwhile, find the gaps in your business model. Learn about what people like and dislike. This is where you will grow. Focus on user feedback and make changes to how you create courses.
Try to add things like community forums, extra payment options, or more services like coaching or certifications. This can help you keep growing.
10. Onboard Sellers and Buyers
You wanted to find a guide on how to build a marketplace website. Just look at how far you have come! Now you have a marketplace.
It's time to look out for course creators and learners. It won’t be too hard if you use social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
Create course-related lead magnets. Introduce them with a free plan first. Then plan for the premium course launch.
People love opportunities, so present your marketplace as an opportunity for creators. Show them the value, and they will surely come to you.
Then, be strategic in giving them the best possible experience. Create clear, simple guides or tutorials that show them how to use your marketplace.
Offer support and be available to answer any questions. The smoother the onboarding process, the faster you’ll build a strong community of creators and learners.
That's it! You successfully read each step and now you know how to build an online course marketplace just by following a few steps.
However, we know you are still in doubt about what platform to use to build an online course marketplace. So, here is the solution below.
Top 7 Reasons Why People Choose EzyCourse To Build A Marketplace over others
There are some platforms that let people create courses and host them with many features to improve their marketing and sales.
Others offer a marketplace-like platform that lets people build the marketplace and connect creators and learners.
However, most do not focus solely on building online marketplace platforms for courses.
Luckily, EzyCourse gives you both options. EzyCourse cares more about course creators than other sites. You can sell your courses or create any type of marketplace from the start without needing to code.
Now let’s explore the key reasons why people choose EzyCourse to build a marketplace rather than other platforms.
1) Affordable Pricing for Individuals to Enterprises:
The first and foremost factor that people think is important to consider before going for any software to build a marketplace is the price.
We believe you are too. Will you go for something that offers huge features but beyond your buying capability?
Even though you want to, you can't because of the budget.
That's why we offer pricing that fits individuals ($105/m for the marketplace add-on) to Enterprises.
2) Drag and Drop Marketplace Builder:
How many people do you think are needed to build a marketplace by coding? And the time that it takes?
Before you learn how to build a marketplace website, first lookout for the platform you will use to build the marketplace.
You can create a marketplace easily by dragging and dropping widgets and elements with EzyCourse. You also have many other choices to turn it into a multi-vendor marketplace.
3) Assigning Marketplace Roles (Owner, Seller, and Customers):
You know why people choose EzyCourse over other marketplace builders is because there are tons of features available for the marketplace owner, sellers, and potential customers.
As the owner, you have full control over your marketplace, and here’s what you can do:
Create and customize seller signup pages using the builder.
Turn on the marketplace to show products on your site.
Allow users to sign up as sellers and adjust settings like "Best Seller" or "Auto Seller Approval."
Let sellers manage products, coupons, and payment gateways.
Set and approve commissions for sales.
Approve seller products to display on the marketplace.
Handle payouts to sellers.
Temporarily hide or permanently remove a seller's products.
Gamification for a better learning experience, and a top-notch learning management system.
When users start as sellers, they can add their own products to sell in the marketplace. The number of courses or products they can add depends on what the admin or the marketplace owner permits.
Here are some key things you should know:
Sellers can use the dedicated seller dashboard to manage their activities.
Based on what the admin allows, sellers can create and manage different types of products like courses, communities, digital items, or physical goods.
They can see details about their orders and make invoices from their dashboards.
Each seller can update the text and add social media links on their marketplace profile page.
Create special offers and discounts.
They can choose how products are accessed.
Private products will send purchase requests to the seller’s dashboard.
Now, here are some key points about how customers can engage with the marketplace:
Customers can see all product listings available in the marketplace.
They can check out different sellers' profiles to learn more about them.
Customers can order products directly from the marketplace.
They can only use the payment gateways that you’ve set up for the seller or product owner.
If the seller has created any coupons, customers can apply them at checkout.
Don't you think these are what you need to create an online marketplace? If you think yes, we recommend you get the marketplace add-on from here. Who knows, prices can quickly go high.
4) Multiple Revenue Streams:
At EzyCourse, we want you to succeed in your marketplace. It's not just about getting sellers and learners onboard. It’s about maximizing your earnings. Here are some great ways to do that:
Set transaction fees: You can set transaction fees for each sale. In this way, you can keep more of your profits. We let you adjust these fees whenever you need them.
Set commission fees: Consider setting commissions for each seller. You can decide how much you earn from every sale they make. Plus, you have the power to approve or reject these commissions.
Blog Monetization: Blogging is a good way to make some extra money from your marketplace and help your seller publish content. We let you do that without any extra costs.
Here you will find more about how to start blogging using EzyCourse.
Community building and membership: Lastly, you can create a community. Offer memberships for exclusive content or courses. This is the best way to engage your audience while increasing your revenue.
Read our guide on the 10 Best Successful Membership Site Business Models to Start in 2024!
However, there are many other ways to maximize your profit from your marketplace.
The fact is we will gradually expand the ways to get the most out of your marketplace soon.
5) Build Any Kind of Marketplace
EzyCourse allows you to create any type of marketplace. You are not just limited to a course marketplace.
Use our builder and templates to design multi-vendor platforms and create digital product marketplaces. It's another way of passive income.
Learn how much can you make selling digital products from here.
Don't think that is where we stop! The good news is you can build more types of marketplaces just by following the same process.
You can make art marketplaces, digital downloads marketplaces, e-commerce marketplaces, or membership sites with our builder.
6) Advanced Security
Security is important for any marketplace, and you know that. Many owners worry about issues like data breaches and fraud.
EzyCourse provides strong protection for your user's data.
We guard against hacking and fraud. Our tools protect your content with Digital Rights Management. Plus, there are two-factor authentication and user verification systems too.
7) Control Every Single Thing
As the owner of the marketplace, you decide who can use the platform. Then pick what they can change. You can set the rates and manage the products.
Find out what you control and more from here: Creator's marketplace.
Ready To Start Your Own Online Course Marketplace?
That's what we have for you today in this guide on how to build a marketplace website for course creators. There are very few course marketplace builders out there, and EzyCourse is the best among them.
Try us for one month to see what we have and what you need. If you like it, you can stay with us. We promise that making and keeping your marketplace will be easier with our builder.
Are you ready to start your online course marketplace with EzyCourse?
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Does It Cost to Create An Online Course Marketplace?
The cost will totally depend on your needs, the software platform you choose, labor costs, and other side costs. Depending on these factors, the cost can be between $2,000 and $150,000.
How Much Money Can I Make Building an Online Course Marketplace?
Though we can't tell you the exact amount, many are earning thousands of dollars per month. However, some earn only a few bucks from their courses.
Which Online Course is Best for Making Money?
Courses related to passive income guidelines, skills development, and productivity are known to be the best for making money online. Still, there is demand for many other course topics if you do your research well.
Who Buys Online Courses?
Online courses are purchased by a wide range of people, including students, professionals looking to upskill, hobbyists, and those seeking personal development. Different people have different motives and they all are seeking knowledge.
