Zara Moreen
Updated on
When looking for software for creating online courses, there isn’t one tool that does everything. The tasks are varied and different, as are the tools and software.
To create an online course, you must build stunning graphics, shoot and edit concise videos, and write scripts that change people’s understanding of your topic. And you’ll need to plan and manage the tasks and place all the content into a platform that’s easy for your audience to access.
In this article, you’ll read about 31 different course creation tools and software that can simplify and expedite the course creation process. You won’t need all of these items. Instead, this list is like a buffet where you take what you need.
Let’s dive in.
Online course creation tools center on the design and scripting of your course. This means writing and producing scripts and designing the supporting materials, like handouts, visuals, or templates.
This tool’s powerful word-processing function brings it to the top of our list. It’s easy to use and integrates with several add-ons.
Because Google Docs is cloud-based, accessing your documents from any internet-connected device is easy. This also makes it simple to collaborate and share. Simply select the appropriate level of sharing for your document and send a link.
You can use Google Docs to write and edit your scripts, references, and workbooks. You can edit course content before you move it to another program, like Canva.
Google Docs compares favorably to Microsoft Word and doesn’t require a subscription or monthly fee. Instead, it comes with your free Google account.
Like Google Docs, Google Slides is free with a Google account. It is equivalent to PowerPoint and easy to use. This is helpful because most course creators use slides as a visual tool when they plan and record their courses.
In addition to using this for presentations, you can use slides like electronic sticky notes because they’re easy to move around. Used this way, you can create a course map that details each lesson’s purpose, content, and outcome.
While many AI tools for course creation are available, ChatGPT continues to rise to the top. This easy-to-use content generator helps you brainstorm ideas, polish your writing, and organize your modules.
There are so many uses for this content creation tool that we’ve provided more than 100 ChatGPT prompts you can use to help you design and develop your course.
This tool is so capable that it practically needs a warning. ChatGPT works ethically as your assistant. However, if you create courses using only the output from ChatGPT, it will simply regurgitate content from the internet. You must add your personality, perspective, and expertise.
The free version of ChatGPT 3.5 is all you really need to generate text. However, if you want advanced features, look at ChatGPT 4.0, which is currently $20/month.
Because corporations need rigorous data on employee training completion, their learning management systems have sophisticated tracking features. These require SCORM compliance.
A regular video course isn’t compatible. Instead, these are created in course authoring tools:
iSpring and Articulate are PowerPoint-based tools, so you’d need a Microsoft Office 365 subscription and the authoring service subscription. On the other hand, Captivate is a standalone authoring tool.
Course authoring tools are expensive. However, all offer free trials, and iSpring and Articulate offer special pricing for freelancers.
In a few short years, Canva has replaced many of our tools to become a leader in creating visual presentations, graphics, and printed materials. Its integration with a robust and searchable library of license-free images, graphics, and modifiable templates makes this a popular choice.
Its user interface is so simple that there is almost no need for instruction to create what you want. For those who want to learn more about visual design and Canva’s features, they offer their free Design School full of online training tutorials.
Course authoring tools are expensive. However, all offer free trials, and iSpring and Articulate offer special pricing for freelancers.
In a few short years, Canva has replaced many of our tools to become a leader in creating visual presentations, graphics, and printed materials. Its integration with a robust and searchable library of license-free images, graphics, and modifiable templates makes this a popular choice.
Its user interface is so simple that there is almost no need for instruction to create what you want. For those who want to learn more about visual design and Canva’s features, they offer their free Design School full of online training tutorials.
Canva offers a free account and provides even more graphics and templates with its Pro account, which costs $12.99/month or $119.99/year.
Wobo lets you create interactive workbooks. Unlike a static workbook, like one delivered as a PDF, you can add all sorts of interactive elements like video embeds and quizzes.
Your students can fill out the workbook, take notes, and even upload files. You can see their progress and privately communicate with them.
Wobo workbooks are a great supplement to any course, helping actively engage students and reinforce learning. We have a detailed guide on how to create a digital workbook with Wobo.
Wobo costs $39.99/month for its Basic account or $79.99/month for its Pro account.
If building a set of slides or workbooks causes anxiety, Creative Market is just what you need.
Creative Market is an online marketplace where talented graphic designers sell fonts, photos, themes, and templates that you can use to differentiate the look of your project.
The search engine is helpful because there are so many creative assets available. Consider adding these descriptors in the search bar:
Once you select a desired item, you’ll choose a license type. Pricing varies based on creator and license type. You might snag a workbook for under $20 or purchase a bundle of assets for over $1,000.
Thinkific will now take you to the page builder, where you can design your page and add content.
To add a video, click + Add Section and select the Video section. You’ll then be able to upload a video to your page section.
Most courses are delivered using video. This makes sense because video can create an emotional connection and stimulate our visual senses.
Here are some tools and software we recommend for producing quality videos.
Most videos require you to record your screen to show how to do something or to share a presentation. You’ll also need to do editing to drop in a title screen or fix the hesitations and mistakes in your presentation.
Our top two picks for screencasting software are
With software like this, you won’t need to be a video professional or waste hours figuring things out to create a polished video you’re proud of.
9. Blue Yeti Microphone
While there are a lot of great microphones in the world, the Blue Yeti Microphone is one of the most popular USB mics because it’s reliable and affordable.
If you have a different microphone and are unsure of the quality, try recording a sample of audio and listening on your best headphones. Make sure that the quality of your recording compares favorably to high-quality recordings available from your favorite news shows or podcasts.
Here’s what you want to listen for:
You don’t have to spend a fortune if you don’t already have a great camera. The Logitech Brio 4K HD Webcam is reliable and affordable. It has a built-in microphone, which makes this compact camera great for travel. Still, you’ll often get the highest quality audio using an external microphone.
If you already have a camera, test it to ensure it meets your needs. Run a trial setup with adequate lighting to see if your camera produces a sharp picture.
Murf.ai is a new tool that converts your text into an audio track. There are a few reasons you might consider a service like this:
Murf is easy to use, and there are a lot of voices to choose from. The pronunciation of some words still needs to be corrected, and you can adjust this manually.
If you have a project that benefits from AI voiceovers, the pricing at Murf.ai is reasonable.
With Synthesia, you can turn your text into an AI video, complete with an AI-generated person and voice. This solution can save a lot of time by helping you quickly produce high-quality learning content.
Synthesia even has the option to replicate a person’s look and voice. An AI stand-in like this can be helpful for someone with an unpredictable schedule, a speech impediment, disability, or a chronic illness.
If you can record your videos, that’s often the best option. But if you have a circumstance that prevents you from getting on camera, Synthesia can make this option accessible.
The price of Synthesia depends on the amount of content you generate. The Starter plan includes 2 hours/year, and the Creator plan has 3 hours/year.
The right tools for organizing a course project can depend on the size of the project and the size of your team. Let’s look at the tools and software that will keep your projects on time.
Your course’s project plan depends on a clear outline of the estimated work. And that starts with your course outline. With a clear outline, you can eliminate chaos and scope creep to ensure your production stays on schedule.
Our free Course Outline Generator uses AI to create great course outlines. The article accompanying the course outline generator includes tips to customize the outline for your needs.
The perfect outline gives you the structure of your modules and lessons. This structure makes it easier to list the tasks related to designing, developing, and deploying your course.
Naming a course can feel more difficult than naming your child. Our free Course Name Generator can help you brainstorm and find that perfect course name.
Check out the accompanying article for tips on determining the right name for your eLearning courses.
Google Sheets was not created as a project management tool, but its simple layout makes it easy to manage projects if you’re doing it on your own or working with a few freelancers.
The key to using Google Sheets to manage your course production is to organize tasks based on your course outline.
You can customize your tasks in the spreadsheet. This one works like this:
This tracker should be updated regularly and shared in weekly project update meetings.
ClickUp’s project management software is a better solution when there are many items to produce, when the team is large and remote, or when you have a lot of clarity about how you want a task completed.
Here are some of ClickUp’s features you can leverage to manage your course project.
ClickUp is free for single users. For teams, the Unlimited Plan is $7/member/month, and their Business plan is $12/member/month.
Slack is an excellent tool for dedicated project-related communication, like posting weekly updates, troubleshooting issues, and answering questions. You can even create project meetings within Slack.
While Slack offers various prices, the free basic plan is generally all that a small team needs.
Without a structured drive to contain your course materials, your files can get mismanaged, resulting in wasted time and frustration.
Generally, it helps to have folders for each module of your course. Within each module’s folder, you can create sub-folders for each lesson. Items within these folders include the following:
Here’s what the course material folder looks like for one of the courses I’m currently working on.
Google Drive is free with a Google account and has 15 GB of space. For those who opt into a Google Workspace account, which starts at $6/month, storage increases to 30 GB.
Google Keep is an excellent tool for capturing your thoughts and ideas on the go. While there are a lot of note-taking apps, Google Keep is at the top of our list because it’s integrated with all the other Google tools.
Google Keep is free and can be accessed on your computer or phone. It’s simple to add a thought, idea, or link and open it when you’re ready to work on a related task.
Course platforms are the obvious first choices for course delivery, and yet there are a few other ways to deliver your course, depending on your budget and whether your course is still in testing or ready to go live.
So, let’s dive into these.
Thinkific sits at the top of our recommended course platforms because it provides the best all-around solution. While there are a lot of reasons to like Thinkific, there are three main factors that make it stand out:
For more information about the features and setup, check out our complete Thinkific review.
We recommend Kajabi because it’s the best all-in-one online course creation platform. Again, Kajabi has excellent course creation tools, including free and branded mobile apps.
Kajabi can also function as your website builder, blogging platform, email tool, funnel builder, and more. So, while it’s pricier than other platforms, it can eliminate the need for multiple tools.
Check out our complete Kajabi review for more information about the features and setup.
The lines are beginning to blur with the rise of courses, online communities, and memberships. Ultimately, this leads to platforms that offer hybrids as they can do more than what they were initially designed for.
Circle is an example of this. Inside Circle communities, you can create discussion posts, full articles, group chats, live events, and even online courses.
Circle is an excellent choice whether you want to build a standalone community or create a community around your course. Check out our complete Circle review to learn more.
Facebook continues to be an easy place to set up a community to support your courses. Many of your audiences will likely be familiar with using Facebook, so it can be a great way to connect and engage with them.
If you’re considering a Facebook group to create a community for your course, check out our Facebook group name generator and our article on welcoming new members to your Facebook group, which can spark some engagement.
Google Meet lets you deliver live content to your audience. This free alternative comes with your Google account and is simple for others to join with a link. Plus, it’s integrated with other Google tools, like Gmail and Google Calendar.
Your free Google account comes with a 60-minute call limit, but if you have a Google Workspace account for your course business, the call limit is 24 hours, and you can access many more features.
While Google Meet is a free tool, many online course creators continue to use Zoom because it’s a reliable tool others are familiar with and integrates with many online tools and course creation software.
The limit on Zoom’s free plan is 40 minutes. So, if you prefer Zoom, you’ll likely need a paid plan starting at $159.90/year.
If your course platform doesn’t provide video hosting or its hosting limits are insufficient for your needs, you will need to host videos on video hosting platforms. Vimeo is our recommended solution for that.
Vimeo offers a better experience than free options like YouTube because your audience can access your videos without seeing ads or other video suggestions.
Here are some of the top reasons people choose Vimeo for course and marketing videos:
Vimeo offers four plan options, ranging from free to $65/month. You should check to see which plan is best for your needs.
Let’s review some odds and ends. Course creators use these tools and software that don’t fall into a particular category.
For the ultra-easy route to your next mini-course, check out Mini Course Generator. This tool will take your course idea and use AI to build a mini-course, including graphics and script. And, of course, you can tweak it to make it exactly what you want.
These minicourses are intended to be lead magnets you can use to attract people who are interested in your course topic and perspective. They can even be used to create microlearning segments within your course.
Mini Course Generator lets you put together three mini-courses at no cost, or you can subscribe to their Premium plan for $15/month and get unlimited mini-courses and advanced features.
Connecting with your ideal clients is one of the most effective ways to help people achieve lasting results. Acuity Scheduling helps make that happen.
Acuity Scheduling lets clients look at your availability and schedule a call. You can use this to set up research calls for your course, or you can use it to facilitate in-depth coaching sessions for those who want to go beyond what your course teaches.
An email marketing tool is among the most important for every course creator. You’ll use it to capture leads, keep your audience engaged, and market your offer. You can even create email courses that act as lead magnets.
ConvertKit is our recommended email platform because it is powerful and easy to use. If you need an email service provider or are considering switching from your current one, check out our in-depth review of ConvertKit.
If your list is under 1000, you can get the newsletter features for free, while the email automation features cost $29/month. Keep in mind that these prices scale based on the size of your email list.
You can create forms in Google Forms for free with a Google account.
Forms are helpful in several different stages of course building.
Google Forms is easy to set up and share. You can automatically move submitted data into a spreadsheet for further analysis.
While other paid form options can offer even more features, like Jotform, Typeform, or Paperform, Google Forms is a great starting place.
Zapier is an automation tool that connects multiple software packages. It lets you use an action from one tool or software to trigger an action on another unrelated one.
Here are a few popular ways to use Zapier:
If you need assistance with an aspect of course creation or production that’s causing delays or frustration, you can probably hire someone for a reasonable price and eliminate that task from your to-do list.
Upwork is a marketplace for freelance professionals. Some professionals that make sense for a course can include the following:
Creating a course involves a lot of skills, and it’s nice to know you don’t have to do it alone.
Creating a course can be a lot of work, yet new software for creating online training courses continues to emerge that helps us finish the tasks with greater polish and in less time.
Even though it’s tempting to get caught up in the wonder of these incredibly new tools, we must keep our eyes on their purpose. They help us deliver a sense of connection to our audience and build confidence that we can help them bridge the gap from where they are to where they want to be.
Which tool or software are you most excited to try? Was there something missing from our list? Tell us in the comments, as we’d love to hear from you.
You need a good microphone, like the Blue Yeti, a decent camera, like the Brio 4K HD, and a screen capture tool, like Screen Pal and Camtasia. Once recorded, a good video edit will improve the engagement of your completed video.
AI can help with every course creation stage, from when the idea forms in your head to creating your videos. You can use ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas, write video scripts, and do more. Then other tools like Murf.ai and Synthesia can be useful for your course videos.
We recommend Thinkific as the best all-around course platform and Kajabi as the best all-in-one platform. The best choice for you depends on your needs. You can read our Kajabi vs Thinkific comparison to decide which is best for you.
Course authoring software builds computer-based training for corporations. It creates an automated presentation that is interactive with questions and prompts. Most course authoring software is SCORM-compliant to work with a corporation’s learning management software.
Hey there! I'm Baidhurya, the brains behind SellCoursesOnline. I used to run a digital agency, where I helped course businesses launch their eLearning platforms. I also led the tech and marketing teams at StationX, helping it grow to 500K+ students. In addition, I created the popular supply chain network design course. With 8+ years of experience, I'm here to share my expertise and insights on course creation and platforms with you.
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