ChatGPT answers, unedited

If your #1 priority is getting your first students without having to build an audience, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for your situation

Why Udemy: It is explicitly a marketplace rather than just course-hosting software. Udemy currently reports 80M students and 1.1B enrollments, and it has a Marketplace Insights tool to help instructors identify promising topics. www.udemy.com It also distributes selected courses through external resellers, potentially exposing them to additional audiences. support.udemy.com

Skillshare is the other one I'd seriously consider. It has a large existing creative-learning community and says classes can continue generating earnings through ongoing discovery. www.skillshare.com However, there's an important 2026 caveat: new teachers currently need approval, and Skillshare is only accepting new classes in certain categories such as AI & Innovation, Design, Photography, Art, Film & Video, and Creative Career. help.skillshare.com

What I'd actually do

If this is your first-ever course and you have little/no audience:

1. Put the first course on Udemy.
Don't spend months building a website, email funnel, or social following first.

2. Pick a very specific, searchable problem.
For example, rather than:

"Learn Excel"

go narrower:

"Excel Financial Modeling for Real Estate Analysts"

The marketplace is much more useful when people are already searching for the problem you're solving.

3. Use the first 50–100 students as validation.
Watch which lessons get engagement, what students ask, and what reviews say.

4. Then consider moving your business to your own platform.
Once you know people will pay for the subject, a platform like Teachable/Kajabi becomes much more attractive because you're no longer relying entirely on marketplace discovery.

The key distinction is:

Udemy/Skillshare = audience acquisition
Teachable/Kajabi = owning the business

So if you tell me what your course is about, who it's for, and roughly what you'd charge ($20, $100, $500, etc.), I can tell you which platform I'd choose specifically—and whether I'd use Udemy, Skillshare, or a cohort platform.

If your #1 priority is getting students without having to build an audience first, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for your situation

Why Udemy: It is explicitly a marketplace, rather than merely course-hosting software. Udemy currently reports 80M students and 1.1B enrollments, and instructors can use its marketplace to get discovered by people already looking for courses. www.udemy.com

There's also a useful validation strategy: Udemy says instructors can use a free course to build a student audience and test demand before committing heavily to a paid course. support.udemy.com

The tradeoff is important: you sacrifice some revenue and control in exchange for access to Udemy's audience. That's a reasonable trade for your first course if your alternative is spending months trying to build an audience.

Skillshare is #2

If your course is about design, photography, illustration, video, animation, creativity, or AI for creatives, I'd seriously consider Skillshare Teach.

Classes are automatically placed in Skillshare's catalog once published, where members can discover and watch them. help.skillshare.com However, Skillshare currently requires first-time teachers to apply and be approved, and new-teacher topics are restricted to selected categories. help.skillshare.com

What I'd actually do

Course #1 → Udemy
Use it to prove that strangers will actually pay to learn what you're teaching.

Course #2 → potentially your own platform
Once you've figured out your topic, positioning, and gotten some students/reviews, move toward something like Teachable/Thinkific/Kajabi if you want higher margins and more control.

So I wouldn't start with Teachable or Kajabi if you currently have zero audience. They're excellent at selling to an audience you already have, but they don't solve the "where do my first students come from?" problem. startsitenow.com

If you tell me what your course is about, I can tell you whether Udemy, Skillshare, or another marketplace is most likely to bring you your first 100 students.

If your #1 priority is getting students without having to build an audience first, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for your situation

Why Udemy: it's fundamentally a course marketplace, so people are already searching for things to learn. Udemy also distributes selected courses through reseller partnerships, giving instructors additional exposure beyond Udemy itself. support.udemy.com

Skillshare is my #2. It actively promotes high-quality classes through search, browsing, recommendations, and curated features. help.skillshare.com But there's an important 2026 caveat: Skillshare is currently accepting new teachers primarily in AI & Innovation, design, photography, art, animation, film/video, crafts, and related creative categories. help.skillshare.com

What I'd actually do

If you don't have an audience yet, I'd use:

Udemy → get your first 50–100 students → learn what they actually want → then build a higher-priced version on your own platform.

The key is not to make a giant "Complete Guide to X" course. On a marketplace, I'd target a very specific search intent, e.g.:

"Excel for Real Estate Agents: Build a Property Analysis Spreadsheet"

rather than:

"Complete Excel Masterclass"

That gives the marketplace a much clearer idea of who should see your course.

One caveat: marketplace students aren't the same as owning your own audience. You trade some pricing/control/revenue for discovery. That's why I'd treat Udemy as your student-acquisition and validation platform, rather than necessarily your forever home. www.ruzuku.com

If you tell me what your first course is about, I can tell you whether I'd choose Udemy, Skillshare, or another marketplace, and how I'd position the course so the platform has a chance of bringing you students organically.

If your #1 priority is getting students without having to build an audience first, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for your situation

Why Udemy

Udemy is specifically designed as a course marketplace, rather than simply course-hosting software. Its marketplace can surface your course to people already searching for something to learn. Udemy even provides instructors with Marketplace Insights, showing demand, search volume, and revenue information for potential topics. support.udemy.com

The important tradeoff is revenue:

• If a student buys through your coupon/referral link, you receive 97% of the net amount.
• If Udemy brings the student through its marketplace/advertising, you receive 37% of the net amount. support.udemy.comsupport.udemy.comhelp.skillshare.com
• There's no fee to create and host courses. support.udemy.comsupport.udemy.comhelp.skillshare.com

For someone starting with little/no audience, I'd gladly sacrifice some margin in exchange for access to existing demand.

Skillshare is my #2

Skillshare also has an existing member audience and actively promotes selected high-quality classes through search, recommendations, curation, and features. help.skillshare.com

But I'd be more cautious with it in 2026. Skillshare changed its teacher payout requirements, including a 50-follower minimum, and in July 2026 introduced additional eligibility requirements for monthly royalties. help.skillshare.com

So I wouldn't choose Skillshare if your goal is simply "publish one course and immediately start earning."

What I'd actually do

I'd use a two-stage strategy:

Stage 1 — Udemy:
Create your first course specifically around a topic people are already searching for. Use Udemy's marketplace to get your first students, reviews, and proof that people will pay for the information.

Stage 2 — Your own platform:
Once you've validated the topic and understand what students actually want, move future/premium offerings toward something like Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi, etc., where you have much more control over pricing, branding, and the customer relationship.

The mistake I'd avoid is starting with something like Kajabi/Teachable and then discovering you have to spend months building an audience just to get your first 20 students.

If you tell me what your course is about, I can also tell you whether I'd choose Udemy, Skillshare, or another marketplace specifically for that topic—and how I'd position the first course to maximize the chance of getting organic students.

If your main goal is “I have no audience yet and I don’t want to spend months marketing my first course,” you want a marketplace, not a course-hosting platform. Marketplaces already have students searching for things to learn. www.ruzuku.comcreatorstackclub.com

My ranking for a first course:

1. Udemy — best overall for a first-time creator

Best if you teach a specific skill people already search for:

• Excel, coding, AI tools
• marketing
• business skills
• design software
• productivity
• career skills

Why:

• Students are already browsing/searching.
• You don’t need an email list to get your first learners.
• Reviews can create momentum over time. stevewootten.com

Downside:

• You compete against thousands of courses.
• Pricing is heavily influenced by the marketplace, so it’s harder to sell a $500 premium course there. creatorstackclub.com

My pick for a first validation course: Udemy.

2. Skillshare — good for creative topics

Better if your course is:

• illustration
• photography
• writing
• design
• crafts
• creative projects

Students often browse for inspiration and short practical classes. stevewootten.com

Downside:

• It’s less suited to high-ticket courses because the model is based around membership/royalties rather than selling your course at your own price. stevewootten.com

3. Coursera — usually not for a solo beginner

Great brand recognition, but it is generally oriented around universities, companies, and established institutions rather than a first independent creator uploading a course. www.biztoolkit.co

Platforms I would not start with if you have zero audience:

• Teachable
• Kajabi
• Thinkific

These are good tools, but they are basically your own storefront. They help you deliver and sell a course; they generally do not bring you a built-in pool of students. www.ruzuku.comcreatorstackclub.com

A common strategy is:

1. Launch a smaller course on Udemy/Skillshare to prove demand.
2. Collect testimonials and learn what students struggle with.
3. Create a premium version on your own platform later.

The biggest factor is not the platform — it’s whether the topic already has search demand. “Learn Python for Beginners” has a built-in audience; “My 7-step personal productivity philosophy” usually requires you to create the audience yourself.

If you tell me what your course topic is, your target student, and whether you want $50 sales or $500+ sales, I can suggest the best platform.

If your #1 priority is “I want the platform to bring me students so I don't have to build an audience first,” I’d start with Udemy.

The important distinction is that you want a marketplace, not just a course-hosting platform.

Why I'd choose Udemy

Udemy explicitly has a marketplace where learners search for courses, and it provides instructors with Marketplace Insights showing demand, search volume, and revenue information for topics. There's also no fee to become an instructor. support.udemy.com

That makes it particularly useful for your situation:

You → create a course around an existing demand → Udemy puts it in front of people already searching for that subject.

The tradeoff is economics. You give up a substantial portion of revenue on sales Udemy generates, whereas a platform like Teachable lets you retain much more but requires you to find the customers yourself. www.ruzuku.com

Skillshare is my #2

If your course is creative—for example photography, illustration, graphic design, video, writing, freelancing, productivity, etc.—I'd seriously consider Skillshare.

Skillshare has a built-in community of students, and teachers earn based largely on qualifying minutes watched. However, there's now a significant catch: as of 2026, teachers need at least 50 followers plus the applicable watch-time/publishing requirement to qualify for monthly royalty payments. help.skillshare.com

So I'd favor Udemy for a first course when you have essentially zero audience.

One strategy I'd strongly recommend

Don't think of your first course as your forever business.

I'd do:

1. Launch Course #1 on Udemy
↓
2. Choose a topic with demonstrated search demand
↓
3. Get your first students/reviews
↓
4. Use those results to make Course #2
↓
5. Eventually move your best customers toward your own ecosystem (email list, website, community, premium course, coaching, etc.)

That way you're using Udemy's existing traffic to validate your idea before spending months trying to build an audience.

If you tell me what you want your first course to teach, I can also tell you whether I'd choose Udemy, Skillshare, or another marketplace for that specific subject, and what type of course is most likely to get organic students.

If your #1 priority is getting your first students without having to build an audience, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for your situation

🥇 Udemy

Udemy is the closest match to what you're asking for because it's a course marketplace, rather than merely software for hosting your course. Public courses can be discovered through the Udemy marketplace, meaning you don't have to bring every student yourself. support.udemy.com

The tradeoff is significant: you sacrifice some pricing/revenue control in exchange for access to Udemy's marketplace traffic. That's a reasonable trade for your first course if your immediate goal is validation rather than maximizing profit per student.

I'd use it like this:

Course #1 → Udemy → get reviews/students → learn what people actually want → build audience → eventually move premium offerings to your own platform.

🥈 Skillshare

I'd consider Skillshare if your course is in AI, design, illustration, photography, video, creativity, etc. Skillshare currently has hundreds of thousands of learners and is explicitly built around discovery of creative classes. www.skillshare.com

There is an important catch in 2026: Skillshare now requires teachers to have at least 50 followers to qualify for monthly royalty payments, alongside other eligibility requirements. help.skillshare.com

Also, new teachers currently need approval, and Skillshare is only accepting new teachers in selected categories. help.skillshare.com

So I wouldn't choose Skillshare blindly.

What I would NOT do

I wouldn't start with Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi, Podia, etc. if you currently have little/no audience.

They're excellent tools for owning your course business, but that's different from bringing you students. You'd essentially build the storefront and then discover that you're responsible for filling it.

The strategy I'd recommend

If you tell me what your course is about, who it's for, and roughly what you'd want to charge (e.g. "$50 Excel course for beginners" or "$300 AI automation course for small businesses"), I can tell you which marketplace I'd actually put it on and why, including what kind of student demand you could realistically expect.

If your #1 priority is getting students without having to build an audience first, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for your situation

Why Udemy: it's a marketplace rather than merely course-hosting software, so people are already searching for courses there. Udemy also has distribution through external reseller partners for selected courses, giving instructors additional potential exposure. support.udemy.com

Skillshare is the other one I'd seriously consider, particularly if your course is in AI, design, photography, illustration, video, creativity, or another creative field. Skillshare explicitly promotes classes through search, browse, recommendations and curated features. help.skillshare.com However, there are currently restrictions on which categories new teachers can enter, and you have to be approved before publishing your first class. help.skillshare.com

One important distinction:

Don't choose Teachable/Kajabi just because they're better-looking.

They're excellent when you already have an audience. If you're starting from zero, you're essentially building the store and having to bring the shoppers.

What I'd do

I'd launch course #1 on Udemy, optimize it for something people are already searching for, get your first reviews/students, and use that experience to create course #2.

Then, once you have some proof that people will pay to learn from you, you can move toward a platform where you control the customer relationship and pricing.

If you tell me what your first course is about, I can tell you whether Udemy, Skillshare, Coursera, or another marketplace is actually the best fit—and how much built-in demand that topic appears to have.

If your #1 priority is getting students without having to build an audience first, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for your situation

Why Udemy: It's a marketplace rather than simply course-hosting software. Students are already searching Udemy for courses, and Udemy explicitly supports using its marketplace to build a student audience and test demand. support.udemy.com

The tradeoff is that you sacrifice some control over pricing and revenue in exchange for that discovery. That's a worthwhile trade for a first course when you don't have an audience yet.

When I'd choose Skillshare instead

If your course is in AI & Innovation, design, photography, illustration, video, animation, crafts, or another creative category, Skillshare is worth serious consideration. Skillshare currently has built-in search, browse, recommendations, and promotional features, and followers are automatically notified when you publish new classes. help.skillshare.com

There's an important 2026 caveat: Skillshare has changed its teacher program and earnings requirements, and new teachers currently need approval. It also isn't accepting new teachers in several categories, including business, marketing, productivity, and writing. help.skillshare.com

What I'd actually do

For your first course, I'd use:

Udemy → validate the topic → get your first students/reviews → then build an independent version on your own platform.

That lets the marketplace do much of the initial customer acquisition instead of you spending months trying to build an Instagram/YouTube/email audience before you've even proven people want the course.

If you tell me what your course is about, I can tell you whether Udemy, Skillshare, Coursera, Maven, or another marketplace is likely to give you the best shot at getting those first students without heavy marketing.

If your #1 priority is getting students without having to build an audience first, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for your situation

Why Udemy: it's a true marketplace rather than merely course-hosting software. Instructors can see their student reach, geographic distribution, interests, and marketplace opportunities, which is useful when you're trying to figure out what to create next. support.udemy.com

The downside is important: you trade some revenue and control for that built-in discovery. Marketplace platforms generally give you reach that you'd otherwise have to create through marketing. www.ruzuku.comwww.skillshare.com

When I'd choose Skillshare instead

If your course is about AI, design, photography, video, illustration, animation, creativity, or a creative career, I'd seriously consider Skillshare. Those are among the categories Skillshare is currently accepting from new teachers. help.skillshare.com

Skillshare explicitly says it has hundreds of thousands of learners, and its model pays teachers through monthly royalties based largely on watch time. www.skillshare.com

There is one catch: Skillshare currently requires first-time teachers to apply and be approved. help.skillshare.com

What I'd actually do

For a first course with zero/minimal audience, I'd use this strategy:

1. Put the first course on Udemy.
Don't spend months building a website, email funnel, or social following first.

2. Pick a very specific problem.
Instead of "Learn Excel," do something like "Excel for Small Business Owners: Build Your First Financial Dashboard."

3. Optimize for Udemy search/discovery.
Your title, thumbnail, description, reviews, and early student satisfaction matter enormously.

4. Use the first course as market research.
Look at what students ask, where they struggle, and what related topics they're interested in.

5. Once you've proven demand, build your own platform.
That's when I'd consider Teachable/Kajabi/etc., because you can start capturing the economics and control that a marketplace doesn't give you.

So the short answer is:

No audience → Udemy first.
Creative/AI topic → consider Skillshare.
Existing audience → Teachable/Kajabi/your own platform.

If you tell me what your course is about, I can tell you which marketplace is likely to be the best fit—and, more importantly, whether people are already searching for that topic there.

If your #1 priority is getting students without already having an audience, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for your situation

Why Udemy: your course gets placed in a marketplace where students are already searching for courses. Once approved, it's discoverable in Udemy's marketplace, and Udemy also distributes some courses through external resellers to reach additional audiences. support.udemy.com

Skillshare is the other one I'd consider, particularly if your course is creative. Skillshare explicitly uses search, browse, recommendations, homepage features, and staff picks to help students discover classes. support.udemy.comhelp.skillshare.comhelp.skillshare.com However, there's an important 2026 change: Skillshare is accepting new teachers only in selected categories, and its current focus is heavily on creative disciplines. help.skillshare.com

What I'd actually do

If this is your first course and you have essentially zero audience:

Start on Udemy → validate the topic → get reviews → create course #2 → eventually build your own email list/site.

Don't spend months building a beautiful Teachable/Kajabi setup before you know people will buy the course. Those platforms give you much more control, but they don't solve the "where do my first students come from?" problem.

One caveat: "built-in audience" doesn't mean zero marketing. Even Skillshare says teachers should actively promote a new class initially because early engagement can help its search visibility. support.udemy.comhelp.skillshare.comhelp.skillshare.com

If you tell me what your course is about, I can tell you whether I'd choose Udemy, Skillshare, or another marketplace specifically for that topic—because the answer changes quite a bit by niche.

If your #1 priority is getting your first students without having to build an audience first, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for your situation

Why Udemy: its marketplace itself can generate sales. For sales that come through Udemy rather than your own coupon/referral, instructors currently receive 37% of the net amount; sales you generate yourself through an instructor promotion pay 97%. There's also no fee to create and host courses. support.udemy.com

More importantly, Udemy gives instructors Marketplace Insights, which shows demand, search volume and revenue information for potential course topics. That's extremely useful when you're trying to pick a topic that already has buyers rather than creating something and hoping people find it. support.udemy.com

One important caveat

I wouldn't choose Skillshare just because it has an audience. Skillshare does promote classes through search, recommendations and curated features, but its 2026 earnings model has become more restrictive: teachers need at least 50 followers to qualify for royalty payouts, along with other eligibility requirements. help.skillshare.com

So if you're starting from zero audience, I'd do:

1. Udemy → validate the course and get your first students
2. Build reviews/social proof → improve the course
3. Later move/direct new customers toward your own platform → keep more of the revenue

The key is that you shouldn't pick a platform first—you should pick a topic that already has marketplace demand. Udemy is particularly useful for this because of its Marketplace Insights data.

If you tell me what your first course would be about, I can compare Udemy vs. Skillshare vs. Coursera specifically for that topic and tell you which one is most likely to bring you students organically.

If your #1 priority is getting your first students without having to build a big audience, I’d start with a marketplace, not a platform like Teachable/Kajabi where you have to bring your own traffic.

My ranking for your situation

🥇 If I were you: start with Udemy

Udemy is the closest match to "I want the platform to bring me students." It's a marketplace rather than simply course-hosting software, so people are already searching for courses there. The tradeoff is that you sacrifice some pricing/revenue control.

That makes it particularly attractive for a first course where your goal is validation and your first reviews, rather than maximizing revenue immediately.

🥈 Skillshare if your topic fits

Skillshare also has its own audience, search, browse and recommendation systems, and it actively promotes selected high-quality classes. help.skillshare.com

The catch is that you're paid largely based on member engagement/watch time rather than simply selling a $500 course. Skillshare also changed its teacher-earnings requirements in July 2026, so I'd view it more as an audience-building/volume play than a premium-course business. help.skillshare.com

🥉 Maven — interesting, but different

Maven is much more attractive if you're teaching something like:

• AI for professionals
• Product management
• Marketing
• Sales
• Data/engineering
• Leadership/career skills
• A specific business outcome

It has a marketplace and thousands of students browsing, but there's an important catch: Maven explicitly says its marketplace isn't a replacement for distribution. You currently need 100 waitlist leads or 2 paid enrollments before your course can qualify for marketplace listing. help.maven.comhelp.maven.com

So I wouldn't choose Maven if your requirement is literally "I don't want to market my first course."

Its upside is that once you have traction, marketplace discovery, recommendations and trending placements can amplify it. help.maven.comhelp.maven.com

The strategy I'd recommend

Don't try to build a $2,000 flagship course first.

Instead:

1. Put a narrowly focused course on Udemy.
Aim for a specific search-driven problem rather than "Complete Guide to X."

2. Price/structure it to get your first students and reviews.

3. Watch what students actually want.

4. Turn the validated topic into a higher-priced version later on your own platform or Maven.

That gives you a progression like:

Udemy → reviews + proof → audience → premium course

rather than:

Build expensive course → spend months marketing → hope people buy.

If you tell me what you want to teach, I can tell you which platform is likely to be best for that specific subject and whether Udemy, Skillshare, or Maven already has enough demand to make your first students relatively easy to find.

If your main goal is “I want my first course to get students without me having to build an audience first,” you should prioritize a marketplace, not a course-hosting platform. The platforms that bring their own learners are mainly: www.ruzuku.com

1. Udemy — best overall for a first course

Best if you teach: practical skills people already search for.

Examples:

• Excel
• coding
• AI tools
• marketing
• business skills
• design software
• productivity
• certifications

Why it fits your situation:

• Students are already browsing and searching there.
• You don’t need a big following to get your first enrollments.
• You can validate whether your topic has demand.

Downside:

• Lower revenue per student than selling direct.
• You have less control over pricing and the customer relationship. creatorstackclub.com

My pick for a first-time creator with no audience: Udemy.

2. Skillshare — good for creative topics

Best if you teach:

• illustration
• photography
• writing
• crafts
• design
• creative projects

Students often discover classes through browsing rather than searching for a specific “buy this course” solution. stevewootten.com

Downside: it is less suited for high-ticket professional courses because the model is built around membership access rather than selling your course at your own price. stevewootten.com

3. Coursera — usually not the easiest first step

Great credibility, but it is more geared toward universities, companies, and established instructors. It’s not usually the fastest path for an individual creator trying to get their first students.

Platforms I would not start with if you have zero audience:

• Teachable
• Kajabi
• Thinkific

They are excellent for building a long-term course business, but they generally expect you to bring the traffic. creatorstackclub.com

A practical first-course strategy:

1. Put a focused version on Udemy.
2. Get your first reviews and learn what students struggle with.
3. Improve the course.
4. Later create a premium version on your own platform (higher price, email list, community, coaching, etc.).

The biggest factor is not the platform — it’s whether the topic already has buyer demand. A mediocre course in a high-demand category usually beats a great course nobody searches for.

If you tell me what your course topic is and whether you want to sell it for $20–50, $100–500, or $1,000+, I can suggest the best platform and launch approach.