Most course businesses begin with six subscriptions: somewhere to host the course, somewhere to run the community, an email tool, a page builder, a payment provider and something to edit video. The all-in-one platforms exist to collapse that list into one bill.

The differences that actually matter are unglamorous — transaction fees, subscriber caps, enrolment charges, and how generous the AI allowance is on the tier you can realistically afford. Here is what eight platforms charge, and where the AI sits in each plan.

1. Kajabi — The All-In-One, With AI Credits That Scale By Tier

Kajabi consolidates course hosting, a private community, a website, email marketing and payments into a single subscription. It is the platform most often recommended to creators who want one tool instead of six separate ones.

Kajabi's own pricing page lists Basic at $179/month, Growth at $249 and Pro at $499, which fall to $143, $199 and $399 on annual billing. AI runs through Kajabi Cofounder, and the included monthly AI credits differ sharply by tier: 0 on Basic, 500 on Growth and 1,000 on Pro, with top-ups of 500 credits for $15/month. Extra contacts arrive in blocks of 25,000 for $125/month. See kajabi.com for the full breakdown.

Why it made the list: the most complete all-in-one here, but the entry tier ships with no AI credits at all.

2. Teachable — The Cheapest Credible Start, With a Fee to Watch

Teachable is built around selling a first course quickly: a course builder, student apps for iOS and Android, checkout and tax handling, with affiliate and upsell tooling as you climb.

The plans are $39/month on Starter, $89 on Builder and $189 on Growth, dropping to $29, $69 and $139 on annual billing. The catch is the fee ladder — Starter carries a 7.5% transaction fee, while Builder and Growth are 0% when you use Teachable Payments. AI is bundled as "Create with AI" on every plan, including an AI course starter that drafts a curriculum. Details at teachable.com.

Why it made the list: quick to launch, but the 7.5% fee on Starter can outgrow the subscription itself.

3. Thinkific — Commerce First, AI Assistant Held Back for Plus

Thinkific leans into selling rather than simply hosting: bundles, upsells, payment plans, B2B seat sales and invoicing, with communities that scale across tiers.

Published tiers are Start at $109/month, Grow at $219 and Expand at $499, or $82, $164 and $374 billed annually, with a branded mobile app as a $199/month add-on. Thinker AI, a course outline generator and AI landing-page building are named across the platform, while the AI teaching assistant appears on the pricing page's Plus column — a quote-only enterprise tier. See thinkific.com.

Why it made the list: the strongest selling toolkit here, but its most learner-facing AI is enterprise-gated.

4. Podia — The Lowest Entry Point, and No Fees Above Mover

Podia bundles courses, memberships, digital downloads, coaching, email and a simple website, aimed squarely at solo creators who want one login rather than a stack of tools.

Mover is $49/month, or $42 billed annually, and carries a 5% transaction fee with 100 email subscribers included. Shaker is $99 ($84 annually) with no transaction fees and 500 subscribers; Earthquaker is $179 ($150 annually) with 1,000 subscribers. Podia Agent, the platform's AI assistant, is bundled rather than sold as an add-on. Compare plans at podia.com.

Why it made the list: the cheapest way in, and the 5% fee disappears the moment you upgrade.

5. LearnWorlds — AI On Every Plan, But Starter Charges Per Enrolment

LearnWorlds is an academy-style platform: white-label branding, built-in community, SCORM support and e-commerce, pitched at trainers, coaches and small training businesses.

Starter is $49/month ($44 annually) with a $5 fee per course enrolment and 300 AI credits a month. Pro Trainer is $99 ($79 annually) with no enrolment fees and 500 credits, and Learning Center is $299 ($249 annually) with 1,000 credits a month. LearnWorlds AI — course building, assessments, emails and images — is listed as included on every plan. See learnworlds.com.

Why it made the list: the most generous AI inclusion here, as long as you avoid Starter's per-enrolment fee.

6. Circle — Community First, With AI Credits Priced Separately

Circle hosts paid communities, courses and live events, and treats the community rather than the course as the main product. That makes it a genuinely different purchase from the platforms above.

Professional is $89/month with 2,500 AI credits a month, Business is $199 with 2,500, and Scale is $419 with 5,000. Circle AI and its AI agents sit inside those plans, but extra credits are sold on top at $10 per 1,000 — a detail worth modelling before you lean on AI moderation or summaries. Contacts beyond 10,000 add $99/month. See circle.so.

Why it made the list: the best fit when the community is the product, with AI usage metered transparently.

7. Heights Platform — An AI Coach Bundled At Every Price Point

Heights Platform combines course creation, community and an embedded AI coach, aimed at creators running challenges, cohorts and knowledge businesses.

Challenge is $29/month, falling to $19 on annual billing; Basic is $49 ($39 annually); Pro is $119 ($99); Academy is $499 ($399). Heights AI — chat, website builder, product generator, quizzes, chart reports and community moderation — is described as included in all plans, which makes it the cheapest route here to bundled rather than metered AI. See heightsplatform.com.

Why it made the list: AI is bundled rather than metered, at a price below most of its larger competitors.

8. Mighty Networks — Community and Courses With an AI Cohost

Mighty Networks is a community-first platform for memberships, courses and events, and markets itself as the first AI community builder.

Launch is $79/month or $950/year, with two months free on annual billing; Scale is $179/month and Growth is $354/month, and Mighty Pro is quoted separately. AI Cohost — built on Community Design and GPT-4 — is a headline feature on every plan, alongside an AI-powered instant course outline and an optional AI writing assistant. See mightynetworks.com.

Why it made the list: the strongest option for community-led cohorts, with AI built into onboarding.

The Honest Baseline: Uscreen Publishes Prices But Names No AI

It is worth knowing what a platform looks like when it does not compete on AI at all. Uscreen sells Netflix-style video memberships, and neither its homepage nor its pricing page makes an AI claim. Pricing is unusually plain: Starter lists at $49/month (currently $39 for the first six months) with no subscriber fee and a 100-subscriber cap, Growth at $149 plus $1.99 per subscriber, and App Essentials at $449 plus $0.99 per subscriber. See uscreen.tv.

The AI-Native Alternative: Coursebox and Mini Course Generator

A second category generates the course for you. Coursebox runs a free tier covering three mini courses, then $30/month on Creator, $100/month on Pro and $300/month with an LMS attached — unlimited learners on every plan — with AI handling generation, quizzes, grading, video and a learner-facing tutor. Mini Course Generator is the cheaper middle ground at $39.49/month on Plus and $79.99 on Pro. See coursebox.ai and minicoursegenerator.com.

How to Choose Without Overpaying

Start with the fee model, not the feature list. A 7.5% transaction fee on Teachable Starter, a 5% fee on Podia Mover or a $5-per-enrolment charge on LearnWorlds Starter can cost more than the subscription itself once sales pick up. Run last month's revenue through each model before picking the cheap tier.

Then check where AI actually sits in the ladder. Kajabi's Basic plan includes no AI credits, Thinkific holds its teaching assistant on a quote-only Plus tier, and Circle sells credits at $10 per 1,000 above the plan. "AI included" and "AI available" are two different purchases.

Finally, decide what you are selling. If the community is the product, Circle or Mighty Networks fit better than a course host. If it is video, Uscreen charges for distribution rather than AI. If you need a first course fast, a generator costs less than any all-in-one.

The Honest Takeaway

There is no single best platform here, because the price of "AI included" varies by an order of magnitude — from a $30/month generator to a $499/month all-in-one — and the difference is usually volume limits and transaction fees rather than capability.

The practical approach is to pick the tier that matches your current revenue, model the fees against real sales, and treat metered AI credits as a genuine line item. Upgrade when the usage data says you have outgrown the plan, not before.