Best ecommerce LMS platforms to scale and sell online courses

If you’re building a course business, you already know it’s not just about publishing content. It’s about selling it—reliably, smoothly, and in a way that scales with you. Most learning management systems do an okay job at hosting content. But when it comes to growing course sales, offering flexible pricing, or handling payments securely, too many of them fall short. That’s where a lot of creators and educators hit a wall.

I’ve spoken to course sellers who are juggling separate tools just to process payments. Others who’ve had international customers abandon checkout because their platform didn’t support multiple currencies or proper tax handling. These aren’t nice-to-haves. They’re business blockers.

In this guide, I’ll help you:

• Compare the top LMS platforms with built-in ecommerce features
• Highlight what actually makes a difference—like bulk sales, subscriptions, flexible payments and tax management, integrated payment gateways, selling tools, and revenue analytics
• Figure out which platform matches your goals, whether you’re selling a single course, running corporate training, or building a recurring revenue stream
• This isn’t a round-up of every LMS out there. It’s a practical overview for people who treat their course business like a business.

Why ecommerce features matter in an LMS

When I talk to course creators who’ve hit a plateau, it’s rarely about the content. It’s almost always the same issue: their platform doesn’t support the way they want to sell.
That might look like:

• Not being able to offer flexible payment options
• Losing sales because the checkout is clunky or lacks secure payment processing
• Struggling with multiple currencies or regional tax compliance
• Not having access to sales data to understand what’s working

If you’re serious about course sales, your LMS should do more than host content. It needs to support your business model end-to-end—from pricing plans to payment gateways, bulk sales, discount codes, and tracking learner progress and course performance.

And if you’re running compliance training, blended learning, or managing customer data for external partners, that complexity only grows. You don’t want to build a house of tools. You want an all-in-one platform that fits your workflows and gets out of the way.
Here’s what to look for:

• A user-friendly interface that makes the buying experience smooth
• Marketing tools and integrations to promote the right offer at the right time
• Secure, reliable payment processing (including options like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and multiple payment gateways)
• Ecommerce features built for growth—like subscriptions, bundles, and upsells

If your LMS can’t do those things, you’re leaving money on the table.

The rise of selling courses online

Not long ago, selling courses online was mostly for universities, big companies, or a few early adopters. That’s changed. Today, anyone with valuable knowledge can reach a global audience—and the tools to build a course business are more accessible than ever.
But with opportunity comes competition.

If you want to stand out, it’s not enough to offer great course content. You also need to offer a smooth learning experience, use smart marketing tools, and treat your courses like digital products that need real ecommerce capabilities behind them.
I see creators succeeding when they focus on:

• Building interactive courses that create engagement, not just passive consumption
• Packaging learning into single courses, bundled offers, or even full learning paths
• Using flexible pricing options like promotional pricing, memberships, or payment plans
• Offering free courses as a lead magnet to drive paid enrollments later
• Tracking course enrollments, learner progress, and sales performance to double down on what’s working

The course industry is moving fast. Selling online isn’t a side project anymore—it’s a serious business model. And the platforms that combine strong course management with powerful marketing integrations and tools for accepting international payments, streamlining the checkout process, boosting sales, and automating routine tasks, like managing invoices and refunds, are the ones setting creators up for real growth.

Monetization challenges and solutions for education businesses

If creating a course is hard, turning it into a predictable revenue stream can feel even harder. I see the same roadblocks come up again and again for course creators and education businesses trying to scale.

Common monetization challenges:

• Offering flexible pricing options without confusing your buyers
• Setting up secure payment processing without technical headaches
• Managing bulk sales for corporate clients or team licenses
• Handling multiple currencies and regional taxes without slowing down
• Turning a one-time course sale into a recurring revenue model with subscriptions or memberships
• Tracking sales performance and course enrollments to make smarter business decisions

Most creators don’t fail because they lack great courses. They struggle because their tech stack isn’t built for selling courses at scale.

What actually solves these problems:

• An all-in-one platform that supports different pricing structures: single payments, subscriptions, bundles, or free trials
• Multiple payment gateways (Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Stripe) built right into the checkout
• Features like bulk enrollment, discount codes, and smart pricing to create customized offers
• Sales analytics that go deeper than vanity metrics and show you real learner behavior and purchase patterns
• Secure hosting platforms that protect customer data and process payments securely

Your LMS shouldn’t just manage your content. It should drive your course sales forward, help you test pricing strategies, and make it easy to scale internationally without adding more tools to your tech stack.

Overview of LMS platforms with integrated ecommerce features

When I started looking at LMS platforms through the lens of selling—not just hosting—I realized how different they actually are.
Some platforms are great for course creation but leave you patching together external tools just to process payments or offer a subscription plan. Others nail the payment gateways but treat your course content like an afterthought.
If you’re serious about scaling course sales, you need a platform that combines strong learning management system (LMS) features with real ecommerce capabilities—in one place.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top platforms I’m focusing on in this guide:

If you’re aiming to sell courses online, manage bulk enrollments, process payments securely, and track course performance, choosing the right platform can either make scaling seamless—or incredibly frustrating.

Key features to look for in an ecommerce LMS

When you’re evaluating platforms, it’s tempting to focus on the basics: uploading learning content, enrolling students, maybe setting up a simple payment page.
But if you want to sell courses online and actually grow your business, you need more than basic. You need a platform that treats ecommerce as a core part of your success—not just an add-on.
Here’s what I always recommend looking for:

Flexible revenue and pricing models

• Offer flexible payment options like one-time payments, subscriptions, and bundles
• Set up promotional pricing for limited-time offers or discount codes
• Create smart pricing strategies like tiered access, group sales, or learning path bundles
• Support multiple currencies without juggling external tools

If you can’t customize your pricing, you’ll leave too much potential revenue on the table.

Streamlined purchasing experiences

• Accept payments through multiple payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay)
• Provide secure payment processing for peace of mind at checkout
• Offer bulk enrollment for teams or corporate clients
• Add gifting, wishlists, or discussion forums to create engagement and drive viral growth

The fewer the checkout obstacles, the higher your course enrollments and course sales.

Optimizing demand through scarcity

• Set enrollment caps for courses to drive urgency
• Offer free courses as a funnel to your paid offerings
• Automate access expiration to encourage fast decision-making

Scarcity done right boosts both perceived value and conversions.

Scaling to global markets

• Process payments securely across different regions
• Handle VAT, GST, and other taxes automatically
• Localize currencies, taxes, and even pricing tiers based on customer location

If you’re thinking globally (and you should), your platform needs to handle the complexity for you.

Empowering data-driven decisions

• Track learner progress, course performance, and sales performance all in one place
• Run cohort analysis to understand behavior trends over time
• Dive into customer segments based on geography, course bundles, and learning paths

The more you know about your buyers, the smarter your offers—and your growth—will become.

Recurring revenue opportunities

• Set up bulk sales or membership bundles for consistent income
• Automate renewals and retraining flows for compliance training and corporate programs
• Manage existing content and new launches without disrupting your tech stack

Recurring revenue isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s what makes your course business sustainable over time.

Over the next sections, I’ll break down these platforms one by one, looking specifically at how they handle the ecommerce side of your business: from flexible pricing and transaction fees to payment processing and customer data management.

Top ecommerce LMS platforms

LearnWorlds

When it comes to selling courses at scale, LearnWorlds stands out. It’s not just another hosting platform with basic checkout options—it’s built from the ground up to help course creators grow a real business.
Here’s why I recommend it if you’re serious about scaling:

• Advanced pricing and access features: offer one-time payments, subscriptions, bundles, time-limited access, or even free courses as lead magnets
• Recurring plan management: manage memberships or course subscriptions seamlessly, with built-in support for Stripe recurring payments
• Streamlined checkout: customize the checkout page to ensure a smooth user experience aligned with your brand, and enable secure payment processing via multiple gateways like Stripe, PayPal, and Shopify
• Smart ecommerce features: leverage preselling, bulk enrollments, discount codes, upsells, and sales funnels to boost conversions
• Sales and customer analytics: track learner progress, sales performance, geographic trends, and cohort behavior—giving you real data to grow smarter
• Interactive course creation: build engaging courses with quizzes, assessments, interactive videos, and certifications baked right into the platform
• Marketing integrations: connect with email marketing tools, CRM systems, and advanced workflows without needing workarounds
• B2B sales: sell multiple seats to companies, offer private branded portals (via multiple schools), let clients manage team access, assign managers to track learner progress, and support manual invoicing for offline deals

I especially like how LearnWorlds makes it easy to process payments securely, track course performance, and offer flexible pricing models that work for your business—all inside an intuitive interface designed for creators, not developers.

If you’re offering specific courses like compliance training, running virtual classrooms, or aiming for recurring revenue through memberships, LearnWorlds gives you the flexibility you need, without forcing you to build a complicated tech stack.

It’s an all-in-one platform that doesn’t feel bloated—and it’s built for course creators who think like business owners.

LearnWorlds is rated 4.7/5 on Capterra

Pros & Cons

Pricing

LearnWorlds offers multiple pricing tiers depending on your needs:

• Starter Plan: ~$29/month – best for testing with a single course or free lead magnets
• Pro Trainer: ~$99/month – includes subscriptions, payment integrations, and key ecommerce features
• Learning Center: ~$299/month – unlocks advanced analytics, white labeling, and bulk enrollments
• High Volume & Corporate: custom pricing – ideal for large teams, certifications, and compliance use cases

There’s a 30-day free trial, no credit card required. Pricing scales fairly with the features—especially if you’re planning to grow or manage a catalog of courses.

* Pricing retrieved from LearnWorlds on April 30, 2025

Thinkific Plus

Thinkific Plus is a strong option for course creators who prioritize a simple checkout experience and basic ecommerce flows without needing heavy customization.
It covers the essentials well:

• Easy payment processing: integrates with Stripe and PayPal for one-time payments and subscriptions
• Subscription support: set up recurring billing for memberships or bundled offers
• Integrations with popular email marketing tools and CRMs to automate promotions and learner engagement
• User-friendly interface: straightforward for creators who want to get up and running quickly

Thinkific Plus is a solid choice if your course business focuses mainly on single-course sales or small membership programs.

That said, if you’re planning to grow internationally or want more control over flexible pricing options, smart pricing strategies, bulk sales, or multiple currencies, Thinkific may feel limiting over time. You’ll also need to rely on external tools if you want more advanced features, like in-depth sales performance analytics beyond basic transaction reports.

Thinkific Plus is rated 4.4/5 on Capterra

Pros & Cons

Pricing

No publicly available pricing (before introducing a tiered Thinkific Plus plan, starting price was $950/month)
It includes:

• Dedicated account management
• Bulk enrollments and SSO
• Enterprise integrations and API access

There’s no free trial for Thinkific Plus, but there is for their lower-tier plans. Keep in mind: many ecommerce and analytics features only unlock at higher tiers or with additional apps.

* Pricing retrieved from Thinkific on April 30, 2025

Arlo

Arlo isn’t your typical course platform. It’s designed with training providers and corporate learning teams in mind—especially those running blended learning programs that combine in-person and online experiences.

Where Arlo shines:

• Strong tools for group training, team enrollments, and corporate packages
• Built-in support for live sessions, webinars, and face-to-face scheduling
• Includes a functional shopping cart and the ability to offer subscription plans and bulk registrations
• Works well for compliance training and regulated industries where tracking and certifications are key

If your business revolves around delivering workshops or managing multiple cohorts across organizations, Arlo could be a good fit.

But if your primary goal is to sell courses online at scale—especially to individuals—Arlo has some limitations:

• Fewer tools for gifting, wishlists, or creative pricing plans
• No built-in support for multiple payment gateways like Apple Pay or Google Pay
• Less emphasis on interactive course content or multimedia-first design
• Not ideal for creators offering digital downloads, free courses, or advanced course performance tracking

So while Arlo does well in structured training environments, it’s not built with the same ecommerce-first mindset that platforms like LearnWorlds bring to creators and educators selling directly to consumers.

Arlo is rated 4.7/5 on Capterra

Pros & Cons

Pricing

Arlo offers four structured pricing plans designed for training providers, with pricing based on both administrator access and registration volume:

• Simple – $105/month: Includes core features for running training efficiently. Charges $0.60 per free registration and $1.10 per paid registration.
• Professional – $179/month: Adds advanced features like a custom portal, recurring courses, API access, advanced reporting, and third-party integrations. The same registration fees apply.
• Enterprise – $240/month: Designed for large teams, offering additional tools like multi-portal management, custom branding, enhanced reporting, and white-labeling. Same per-registration fees.
• Scale – POA (Price on Application): Tailored for organizations with high volume needs. Includes volume pricing, priority support, and a custom SLA.

All plans include secure checkout, support for integrations, and CRM capabilities. Additional charges apply for optional services like implementation, website integration, or learning design.
Free 14-day trial available, no credit card required.

* Pricing retrieved from Arlo on April 30, 2025

eLeaP

eLeaP positions itself as a customizable LMS with a strong focus on certification, compliance, and training content delivery—especially for corporate and enterprise learning.

If you’re looking for flexibility in setup and need to support specific courses that require assessments, audits, or documented tracking, eLeaP delivers on those fronts. It supports:

• Course creation with assessments and multimedia
• Compliance training with full audit trails and automated certifications
• Secure hosting for sensitive content or internal company use
• Embedded payment tools for standalone sales

It’s especially useful for HR teams, training departments, or vendors who need a system tailored to regulatory standards.

But from an ecommerce perspective, eLeaP isn’t the most accessible option:

• It requires more hands-on setup and sometimes development work to activate ecommerce workflows
• You’ll need to build out or integrate many core payment processing and marketing tools yourself
• Support for multiple currencies, promotional pricing, and bulk sales is limited or not emphasized
• Not ideal if you’re a solo creator or small team looking for an intuitive interface to get started quickly

In other words, eLeaP offers powerful backend flexibility, but without the out-of-the-box ecommerce capabilities that creators using platforms like LearnWorlds might expect.

eLeaP is rated 4.6/5 on Capterra

Pros & Cons

Pricing

eLeaP uses quote-based pricing depending on your team size and requirements.
Rough estimates:

• Small teams: $120–250/month
• Larger businesses or compliance-focused setups: custom enterprise pricing

There’s no public pricing for ecommerce add-ons—many features require consultation or technical setup.
Best suited for companies with a clear compliance or certification training budget.

* Pricing retrieved from eLeaP on April 30, 2025

How to choose the right platform for you

It’s easy to get overwhelmed comparing features. I’ve been there—scrolling through endless product pages, pricing tables, and demo videos, trying to figure out what actually matters.
Here’s how I simplify it: I look at the business model first, not the feature checklist. Start with these questions:

1. How do you plan to make money from your courses?

Are you selling a single course at a fixed price? Launching a membership? Running compliance training for corporate teams?

• If you need recurring revenue, focus on platforms with subscription support, bundled pricing, and automated renewal flows.
• If you’re selling B2B, look for bulk sales, team enrollments, and secure payment processing with CRM systems and customer data tracking.

2. Who’s your audience—and where are they?

If your learners are global, your LMS should handle multiple currencies, regional tax compliance, and flexible pricing plans.
If you’re working locally, make sure your payment gateways are optimized for your region (Stripe, Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.).
Platforms like LearnWorlds take care of this out of the box. Others may need integrations or custom work.

3. What kind of learning experience do you want to offer?

If your brand depends on engaging courses, interactive features, and learning paths, don’t compromise on content delivery. Look for built-in tools that support interactive elements, virtual classrooms, and learner engagement.
If your main value is access to the material (like in compliance or certification programs), prioritize strong assessment tools, certificates, and learner tracking.

4. How much control do you want over the purchase experience?

If you want to offer gifting, discount codes, promotional pricing, or a smooth cart experience with multiple payment options, you’ll want a platform with a mature ecommerce engine—not just a Stripe plugin.
Thinkific and eLeaP give you some control here, but LearnWorlds goes further by offering smart pricing, secure payment processing, and a full cart system (coming soon) that supports everything from free courses to complex bulk enrollments.

5. Are you trying to grow or just get started?

If you’re testing the waters with a free course, just about any LMS will do. But if your goal is long-term growth, look at platforms that scale with you—where you won’t hit a ceiling on ecommerce, analytics, or integrations six months down the line.
Your course platform shouldn’t dictate how you run your business. It should support the business you’re building—and give you room to grow.

Final thoughts

Selling courses isn’t just about content anymore—it’s about the full experience: how learners discover your course, how they pay, and how you guide them through to results.
If your LMS can’t support flexible pricing, multiple payment gateways, or track course performance with real data, it’s going to hold you back. Especially if you’re trying to scale.
After comparing the top platforms out there, here’s my take:

• LearnWorlds is the most complete solution if you’re looking for a platform that blends course creation, ecommerce, interactive learning, and real business tools—all in one place
• Thinkific Plus works well for selling courses, memberships, and subscriptions, but it’s less flexible if you need advanced sales and customization options.
• Arlo is strong for blended learning and corporate training logistics, but not ideal for ecommerce-first course businesses
• eLeaP offers customization and compliance features, but it’s better suited for internal training than customer-facing course sales

The best LMS for you depends on your goals. But if you’re here because you’re trying to sell courses online seriously—not just host them—start by making sure your platform actually supports that business model.

Start a 30-day free trial with LearnWorlds and see how it supports everything from interactive content and secure payments to advanced ecommerce features—without needing extra tools.

Explore next:

• How much money can you make selling online courses
• How to sell online courses on your Shopify store (guide)
• Pricing strategies for your online courses
• Sell digital downloads: the complete guide
• The best platforms to sell digital products

Rosemary Georgarakou

Rosemary is LearnWorlds’ Content Marketing Manager. She has over 2 decades of experience in omnichannel marketing and content writing for the IT and SaaS industry. Her expertise lies in crafting effective content marketing strategies that attract, engage, and nurture customers, enabling LearnWorlds to reach its target audiences with precision.