Which Learning Platform Pays the Most? An Honest 2025 Comparison

A lot of people assume all e-learning websites pay about the same. That's just not how it works. Your earnings can swing dramatically depending on which site you choose and how you set up your courses.

Some platforms splash big numbers in their ads, but dig deeper and you'll find a maze of splits, royalties, and even traffic bonuses. Let’s clear things up—some platforms hand you a slice of every sale, others work more like a Netflix model where you’re paid by minutes watched. And yeah, some take a bigger cut in exchange for traffic they drive to your course.

If you’re just tossing your online course onto any old site and hoping for a payday, you’re leaving money on the table. The right platform could literally double (or even triple) your take-home pay with the same material.

• The Most Popular Payout Models Explained
• Udemy: The Crowd Pleaser with Mixed Rewards
• Skillshare: Royalty System Demystified
• Coursera & EdX: Academia Goes Big League
• Rising Stars: Teachable, Thinkific, and Gumroad
• Tips to Maximize Your Online Teaching Income

The Most Popular Payout Models Explained

If you want to make the most money teaching online, you need to get familiar with how learning platform payouts actually work. Not all sites use the same system, and understanding the details can really boost your online teaching income.

Here’s a breakdown of the main payment models you’ll see on e-learning platforms in 2025:

• Revenue Share: This is the classic split. When a student buys your course, the platform takes a cut, and you get the rest. Udemy, for example, usually gives you 37% to 97% depending on how the sale happens. If the student found your course through a Udemy ad, they’ll take a bigger chunk; if you brought that student in with your own link, you keep most of it.
• Royalty Pool (Subscription-Based): Sites like Skillshare pay you based on how many minutes students watch your classes. The total revenue from subscriptions goes into a pool, then it’s divided up according to watch time. The more students binge your lessons, the bigger your check. In 2024, the average payout per minute on Skillshare hovered around $0.05 to $0.07, but it can vary month to month.
• Flat Rate or Contract: Sometimes, especially with big names like Coursera or EdX, you might get a flat fee for creating a course, or a contract with milestone bonuses. This is less common but can mean upfront cash, especially if you’re collaborating with universities.
• Self-Hosting (Full Control): Platforms such as Teachable or Gumroad let you set your own prices and collect student payments directly. After processing fees (think 3-8%), you keep the rest—no middleman taking a cut. You also have to handle your own marketing, which is both a freedom and a headache.

So, choosing a platform for your course isn’t just about popularity—it’s about how you want to get paid. If you’re after predictable monthly income, you might like Skillshare’s subscription pool. If you love control, Teachable and Gumroad let you pocket more, as long as you do the marketing. For big upfront deals, university partnerships or contract-based platforms could be your thing.

Udemy: The Crowd Pleaser with Mixed Rewards

If you’ve typed “best learning platform payouts” into Google, Udemy probably showed up first. This platform has around 75,000 instructors and over 200,000 courses, so you’re definitely not alone here. It's sort of like the YouTube of online courses; anyone can upload, and anything can happen.

The main reason so many people try Udemy is its huge built-in audience. They market your course for you. But the payout formula is where it gets tricky:

• If a student finds your course through their own search, you get 37% of the sale.
• If you bring in a student using a personal coupon or referral link, you keep 97% of that sale. (Yes, almost all of it!)
• If Udemy markets the course and sells it, you earn 37%—the rest covers their ads and platform costs.

Here’s the thing: Udemy runs massive discounts all the time—think $10 for a course that’s listed at $120. That means your payout per student might end up being $3 to $5 unless you’re actively promoting with your own links.

Take a look at some hard numbers:

One good thing: there's no upfront cost to launch on Udemy, and they take care of video hosting, payments, and refunds. But if you’re expecting to get rich just by listing a course and waiting for sales, it probably won’t happen. Most instructors see a spike on launch, then a trickle, unless they’re actively driving their own traffic.

If you already have a following—or don’t mind hustling to promote your coupon links—Udemy can score you bigger payouts. But for passive income, it’s a mixed bag. The platform is awesome for reach, but you’re handing over a big piece of your profits for the convenience.

Skillshare: Royalty System Demystified

When it comes to learning platform payouts, Skillshare stands out for using a royalty pool system. Most folks think being paid per enrollment, but Skillshare does things differently. Instead, it gathers all the revenue from its monthly subscriptions and puts a part of that into a pool—kind of like a tips jar for teachers.

Here’s how it actually works: every month, Skillshare takes about 30% of total subscriber payments and that’s the pool instructors get paid from. Then your cut depends on how many premium minutes students watch in your classes, compared to the total premium minutes watched across the site. So if your students account for 2% of total minutes watched that month, you get 2% of the pool. Pretty simple, but not always predictable.

To put numbers to it, Skillshare announced in a 2024 transparency report that the average teacher made $100 to $200 a month, and the top 1% hit $2,000 or more. Here’s a quick breakdown:

Skillshare also offers referral bonuses if you bring in new premium members. Every sign-up from your unique link nets a $10–$15 bonus. Those can add up, especially if you have a following.

A key quote from Skillshare’s CEO, Matt Cooper, sums it up:

“Our model rewards creators for engagement, not just sales. The more students complete your content, the more you earn.”

If you’re hoping for steady money, Skillshare’s system works best if you produce in-demand, binge-worthy classes. Remember, you’ll need to keep people watching—not just signing up. Quick tip: teachers who drop several short, highly-targeted classes earn more per minute than folks relying on just one long course.

Bottom line? Skillshare’s royalty pool is a bit of a gamble but if you know how to keep your audience hooked, it can pay surprisingly well among e-learning platforms.

Coursera & EdX: Academia Goes Big League

Coursera and edX play in a different league than most e-learning platforms. If you’ve taught on Udemy or Skillshare, get ready for a big change here. Instead of anyone uploading a course, Coursera and edX mostly partner with colleges, huge brands, and industry experts. So, it’s not as simple as signing up—your best shot is to team up with a university or land a deal as a recognized industry pro.

Here’s where things get interesting: payouts are often a share of total revenue, after platform fees and marketing costs. The exact cut? It's usually negotiated. Universities can get anywhere from 30% to 70% of course sales. Instructors themselves, if contracted directly by the institution, might be salaried or get a fixed percentage (sometimes 5-15%) depending on their contract. A course that smashes 100,000 enrollments? That can mean serious money.

Both platforms pour a ton into promotion, so the tradeoff is volume. Even with smaller royalties per student, sheer numbers can pump up your total income. According to a 2023 Inside Higher Ed report, "Successful courses on Coursera can pull in millions of dollars in annual gross revenue for top-tier universities, with courses in tech and business leading the pack."

"We see institutions regularly earning six or even seven figures on Coursera, but payout structures vary widely by contract," – EdSurge, 2023

But let’s talk real talk for individual instructors: unless you help create a course for your university (or you’re already a huge name in your field), expect payouts to flow to your institution first. Some teachers get a slice, others just see it as part of their day job.

Coursera’s rate for ‘Guided Projects’ is an exception: instructors can apply directly, and the pay ranges from $500 to $2,000 per project depending on the topic and projected demand—no need to partner with a university for those. EdX similarly offers a way for certain organizations to create content, though it’s much less open than other online teaching income sites.

If you have university contacts—or you’re up for some serious networking—these sites can pay out big time. But for most regular folks wanting to launch a quick course, start somewhere more accessible unless you land that academic partnership.

Rising Stars: Teachable, Thinkific, and Gumroad

If you want to keep more cash per sale and control how you teach, platforms like Teachable, Thinkific, and Gumroad are where a lot of instructors are heading. Unlike big marketplaces, these are tools that let you build your own course site, set your prices, and pocket a much bigger slice of every sale.

Here's what sets them apart from the usual suspects like Udemy:

• Teachable gives you a whole toolbox for making your own branded school. You set your price, manage your students, and Teachable just takes a flat fee per sale (5% on Basic plan or 0% on Pro after monthly fees). Want a coupon code? Your rules. Email your students? Easy. Some teachers report taking home 90% or more of the price, after payment processing.
• Thinkific offers similar freedom. There’s even a free plan if you’re just starting, though serious sellers move to paid plans (starting around $49/month) to unlock unlimited courses and zero transaction fees. You control it all, but you do need to drive your own traffic—it’s your site, after all.
• Gumroad goes even leaner. If you’re selling simple courses, guides, or downloads, Gumroad’s super simple. You pay no upfront cost and they take 10% plus processing fees, but you keep the rest. Some creators use Gumroad because it’s fast: upload, link, sell, repeat.

Here’s a quick payout comparison for these e-learning platforms:

The catch? You’re in charge of your own marketing. There’s no built-in marketplace sending customers your way. But if you’ve got a following—or are ready to hustle—these platforms can easily out-earn the big names on our online teaching income list.

Tip: If you're tired of giving away big cuts, start building your email list from day one. Every student is a repeat customer waiting to happen, and on these platforms, you finally own that relationship.

Tips to Maximize Your Online Teaching Income

Ready to bump up your online teaching income? It's not just about making a great course—it's about working the system in your favor. Whether you’re teaching on Udemy, Skillshare, or even through your own site, these steps make a real difference.

• Pick Platforms That Match Your Goals: Udemy is great for a crowd, but they take about 50% if they bring you the sale. Sites like Teachable and Gumroad let you own your audience and keep up to 90%, though you’ll handle your own marketing. Don't sign exclusivity clauses unless it's truly worth it.
• Drive Your Own Traffic: Most platforms pay you more if you bring the buyer. For example, Udemy gives you 97% of the revenue for instructor-driven sales. That’s a game changer. Build an email list, use your socials, or even start a blog with your own affiliate links.
• Keep Courses Updated: Fresh content ranks higher and gets promoted more. Some Skillshare instructors refresh high-performing classes every six months, boosting watch time and learning platform payouts.
• Go Niche, Not Broad: In crowded spaces like web development or photography, standing out is tough. If you drill into a specific topic—say, “watercolor techniques for beginners at home”—you’ll attract people who are ready to pay and less likely to leave for a cheaper option.
• Get Reviews Quickly: Strong early reviews help surface your course to more users. Offer discounts or give away free spots in exchange for honest feedback (but follow the platform’s rules so you don’t get dinged).
• Mix Free and Paid Content: Free intro sections or mini-classes can build trust. Some instructors on Skillshare report 30% higher earnings after introducing short, free segments that lead into their main class.
• Optimize for Each Platform: Skillshare pays by minutes watched, so shorter, bingeable lessons work best. Udemy rewards top-selling courses with more organic promotion. Tailor your course structure to each site’s payout models.

Here's a quick peek at average instructor payouts on major platforms (as of early 2025):

Chasing higher instructor earnings takes a little hustle. The more control you have over your traffic and audience, the better your cut. Always read the fine print before picking a platform—those details decide if you get paid like a creator or just another uploader.