ChatGPT answers, unedited

If your #1 constraint is “I have no audience, so the platform needs to bring me students,” I’d put Udemy first.

My ranking for a solo creator

Why Udemy: it is actually a marketplace rather than merely course-hosting software. Your course can be discovered through Udemy's marketplace, search, recommendations, promotions, etc. Udemy explicitly provides a Marketplace Insights tool showing student demand, search volume, and revenue data before you create a course. support.udemy.com

The tradeoff is economics: for a sale that comes through Udemy without your own promotion, instructors currently receive 37% of net revenue; sales through your own instructor coupon/referral can pay 97%. support.udemy.com

That's actually a reasonable trade when you're starting from zero audience: you're effectively exchanging some margin for distribution.

One important caveat: Skillshare

Skillshare has real internal discovery—its search, browse, recommendations, and editorial features can surface classes to members. help.skillshare.com

But I'd rank it below Udemy for your particular situation because as of 2026, Skillshare requires teachers to have at least 50 followers to qualify for monthly royalty payments, along with other eligibility requirements. help.skillshare.com

So if you're literally starting at 0 followers + 0 audience, that's a meaningful disadvantage.

The strategy I'd use

Don't think of this as:

“Which platform should become my entire business?”

Instead:

Udemy = discovery engine → validate topic → get first students/reviews → learn what people actually want → eventually build your own higher-margin product.

Udemy's marketplace is particularly useful for this because it gives you demand information before you invest heavily in production. support.udemy.com

If you tell me what you want to teach (e.g. AI, coding, fitness, language, art, business, music, etc.), I can narrow this down considerably—because the best marketplace changes a lot by subject.

If your #1 constraint is “I have no audience, so the platform needs to bring me students,” I’d put Udemy first, Skillshare second, and Maven a distant third.

1. 🥇 Udemy — best match for your situation

udemy.com

This is the one I'd test first if you're starting from zero audience.

Udemy explicitly has a marketplace where students discover courses, and its Marketplace Insights tool gives instructors data on student demand, search volume, and revenue for particular topics. Udemy Udemy Support

That makes it particularly good if you're teaching something people already search for, such as:

• Software / AI tools
• Coding
• Business skills
• Excel / data
• Career skills
• Productivity
• Marketing
• Professional certifications

The tradeoff is economics: you're essentially renting distribution. Udemy controls much of the marketplace experience, and you'll generally earn less per student than you would selling directly.

For a solo creator with zero audience, though, I'd prioritize distribution over margin initially.

2. 🥈 Skillshare — potentially better for creative subjects

skillshare.com

Skillshare has genuine internal discovery through search, browse, recommendations, staff picks, and its own marketing. Its recommendation system shows classes to members based on their interests, while search uses things like your title, description, tags, and student engagement. Skillshare Help Center

It's particularly attractive for:

• Design
• Illustration
• Photography
• Video
• Animation
• Creative software
• Creative careers

One important 2026 wrinkle: Skillshare now requires at least 50 followers to qualify for monthly royalty payments, so I wouldn't choose it purely because you're starting with zero audience. Skillshare Help Center Skillshare Help Center

3. Maven — only if you're selling a premium cohort experience

help.maven.com

Maven does have marketplace discovery, including search, category browsing, and algorithmic trending placement. But Maven itself describes discovery as an “accelerant, not a replacement, for distribution.” Maven Help Center

So I wouldn't pick Maven if your primary requirement is:

“I have nobody following me. Please find my first students.”

I'd consider it if you have a compelling expertise-based course that can command hundreds or thousands of dollars, particularly a live cohort course.

My recommendation

If I were starting as a solo creator with zero audience today, I'd do:

Udemy → validate demand → build audience → eventually move premium products to your own platform.

The key is to choose the marketplace based on how students search, rather than simply uploading something you're interested in teaching.

For example, a course called:

“Learn AI”

is a weak marketplace product.

Something like:

“ChatGPT for Real Estate Agents: Automate Listings, Emails & Lead Follow-Up”

has a much clearer search/discovery proposition.

If you tell me what you want to teach, I can rank Udemy vs Skillshare vs Maven specifically for your topic and tell you which one has the best chance of getting your first 10 students without an audience.

If you’re a solo creator with no audience and your top priority is built-in student discovery, you generally want a marketplace, not a course-hosting platform. The best fits are:

Steve Wootten Ruzuku## My recommendation for your situation

1. Start with Udemy if your topic is searchable

For a creator starting from zero, Udemy is usually the strongest first bet because students actively search for specific skills there. Examples:

• Python programming
• Excel
• AI tools
• Photoshop
• marketing
• project management
• language learning
• business skills

The downside: you compete with many instructors, pricing is often marketplace-driven, and you have less control over the student relationship. Ruzuku CreatorStackClub

2. Pick Skillshare if your content is creative

Skillshare is attractive for creators teaching things like:

• illustration
• photography
• filmmaking
• writing
• crafts
• design
• creative workflows

Its discovery model fits shorter, practical classes where students browse and try projects. Steve Wootten CourseFacts

3. Avoid starting with Teachable/Kajabi-style platforms alone

Platforms like Teachable are better once you have:

• an email list
• YouTube/social traffic
• a community
• a personal brand

They give you more control, but they generally do not solve the “how do I get my first students?” problem. Steve Wootten CreatorStackClub

A practical beginner strategy

For a solo creator at zero audience:

1. Put a focused, searchable course on Udemy (or Skillshare if creative).
2. Use student questions/reviews to improve the course.
3. Build an audience channel alongside it (YouTube, newsletter, LinkedIn, etc.).
4. Later move higher-value offers (coaching, advanced courses, community) to your own platform.

A marketplace is best viewed as a student acquisition channel, not necessarily your forever home. Ruzuku

If you tell me what you want to teach (coding, fitness, art, business, language, etc.) and whether it’s live/cohort-based or prerecorded, I can narrow this to the best platform.

If your #1 requirement is built-in student discovery and you’re a solo creator starting from zero, I’d put Udemy first.

My ranking for your situation

1. Udemy — my default recommendation

Udemy is specifically built around marketplace discovery. Udemy currently says it has 80 million students, and courses are discoverable through its marketplace, search, recommendations, promotions, and other distribution channels. It also provides Marketplace Insights to help instructors assess demand before creating a course. Udemy

That's a particularly good combination for someone with zero audience:

Search demand → discoverability → first students → reviews → more discoverability

The catch is economics and control. You're competing against lots of courses, Udemy influences pricing/promotions, and you don't get the same ownership of the student relationship that you'd have with your own platform.

I'd choose Udemy if: you're teaching something people actively search for, such as Excel, Python, design software, AI tools, photography, business skills, project management, etc.

2. Skillshare — potentially better for creative subjects

Skillshare has genuine internal discovery through search, browsing, recommendations, and editorial promotion. Skillshare explicitly says its search/recommendation systems help students discover classes, and it publishes data about topics students are actively searching for. Skillshare Help Center Skillshare Help Center

However, there's an important 2026 caveat: Skillshare has narrowed its focus toward creative disciplines. New teachers are currently being accepted primarily in areas such as AI & Innovation, Design, Art & Illustration, Animation, Photography, Film & Video, and Creative Career. Skillshare Help Center Skillshare Help Center

Also, Skillshare isn't an individual-course marketplace in the same way Udemy is: students subscribe to Skillshare and access the catalog rather than buying your class individually. Skillshare Help Center

The interesting strategy

If I were starting completely from scratch, I'd use a marketplace to acquire the first students rather than paying for a standalone course platform immediately.

I'd probably do:

Udemy → validate topic → get reviews/students → build audience → eventually add your own platform

The important thing is to choose a topic with existing marketplace search demand, rather than making a course around something you personally think people should want.

If you tell me what you want to teach (e.g. AI, fitness, music, coding, business, art, language, etc.), I can tell you which marketplace has the strongest discovery potential for that specific subject.

If your #1 requirement is built-in student discovery and you have zero audience, I’d narrow it to Udemy vs. Skillshare.

My pick: Udemy

For a solo creator starting from scratch, Udemy is probably the strongest default.

Udemy explicitly has a marketplace search system and a Marketplace Insights tool showing student demand, search volume, and revenue data for potential topics. support.udemy.com It also allows free courses as a way to build an initial student audience and test demand. support.udemy.com

Udemy instructor resources

When I'd choose Skillshare instead

Choose Skillshare if your subject is design, illustration, photography, video, writing, freelancing, productivity, or another creative-oriented skill.

Skillshare has search, browse, personalized recommendations, and staff curation for discovering classes. Its current search system considers things such as relevance, student engagement, and new classes. help.skillshare.com It also publishes current data on what members are searching for, which is useful when you're trying to choose a topic without an existing audience. help.skillshare.com

One important caveat: Skillshare changed its teacher earnings system in July 2026, including new eligibility requirements for monthly royalty payments, so I'd evaluate the economics carefully before committing heavily to it. help.skillshare.com

Skillshare for teachers

What I would not choose first

I wouldn't start with Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi, Podia, etc. if you literally have zero audience.

They're better thought of as your own storefront/course business, not marketplaces. You generally have to bring the students yourself. A marketplace gives you a shot at being discovered before you've built an email list, YouTube channel, or social following.

The strategy I'd use

Start on Udemy → validate demand → build your own audience → eventually move/expand onto your own platform.

The key isn't simply picking the marketplace with the most users. It's picking a specific problem people are already searching for.

For example, instead of:

"Learn Excel"

I'd target:

"Excel Financial Modeling for Real Estate Investors"

or:

"How to Automate Your Small Business With Zapier"

That gives the marketplace search algorithm a much clearer audience/problem to match you with.

If you tell me what you want to teach (and whether it's video course, cohort, templates, coaching, etc.), I can tell you which marketplace I'd choose and how I'd position the first product for discovery.

If your #1 requirement is built-in student discovery and you have zero audience, I’d put Udemy first, with Skillshare second—but they suit different kinds of creators.

🥇 My pick: Udemy

For your specific situation—solo creator + no existing audience + need students to find you—Udemy is probably the strongest starting point.

Its marketplace is specifically designed around students searching/browsing for courses, and Udemy even provides Marketplace Insights showing student demand, search volume, and revenue information for potential topics. support.udemy.com

The tradeoff is economics: for a sale generated through Udemy's marketplace rather than your own coupon/referral, instructors currently receive 37% of the net amount. If you bring the student yourself through your promotion, the share is 97%. support.udemy.com

That's actually a reasonable trade if your alternative is 100% of nothing because nobody knows you exist.

Udemy

🥈 Skillshare is interesting if you're a creative

Skillshare has genuine internal discovery through search, browse, recommendations, curated features, and Staff Picks. Its search algorithm considers relevance while also giving exposure to new classes and student engagement. help.skillshare.com

However, there's an important 2026 caveat: Skillshare has recently tightened its focus and teacher eligibility, concentrating on a smaller set of engaged teachers and creative categories. New teachers currently have to apply and be approved, and the categories open to new teachers include areas such as AI & Innovation, Art & Illustration, Design, Photography, Film & Video, and Crafts & DIY. help.skillshare.com

Its monetization is also different: teachers earn primarily through royalties based on member engagement/watch time rather than simply receiving a percentage of an individual course sale. help.skillshare.com

Skillshare

The strategy I'd use

If you're starting from literally zero audience, I'd do:

1. Start on Udemy → validate demand → get your first students/reviews.

2. Don't make a huge generic course. Pick a very specific problem people are already searching for.

For example, instead of:

"Learn Excel"

do:

"Excel Financial Modeling for Real Estate Analysts"

The narrower course gives the marketplace a much clearer idea of who should discover you.

3. Once you've proven demand, consider adding your own platform.

That's when Teachable/Thinkific/Kajabi become much more attractive: you can capture the higher-margin sales and own the customer relationship, while using marketplaces as discovery channels.

So if I had to give you one answer:

No audience → Udemy.
Creative subject → consider Skillshare.
Existing audience → Teachable/Thinkific/Kajabi.

If you tell me what you want to teach, I can also tell you which marketplace is likely to give that specific topic the best built-in discovery.

If your #1 constraint is “I have no audience, so the platform must help me get discovered by students,” I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for a solo creator

Why Udemy is probably your best fit

Udemy is actually designed around marketplace discovery. Its Marketplace Insights tool gives instructors data on student demand, search volume, and revenue for topics, which is particularly useful when you don't already have an audience. support.udemy.com

More importantly, Udemy distinguishes between sales you generate yourself and sales generated through the marketplace. For marketplace-driven sales, instructors currently receive 37% of the net amount; sales through your own coupon/referral can yield 97%. support.udemy.com

So the tradeoff is basically:

Udemy:
less revenue per sale → much better chance of getting discovered

Your own course site:
more revenue per sale → you have to find the students

For someone starting from zero, I'd take the first deal.

Skillshare is the main alternative

If you're teaching illustration, design, photography, video, freelancing, creative software, or another creative subject, I'd seriously consider Skillshare. Its marketplace is explicitly centered on discovery within a community of creative learners, and teachers earn through royalties based on minutes watched plus referrals. www.skillshare.com

Skillshare also has programs specifically intended to help promising teachers grow their audience and gain additional platform promotion. help.skillshare.com

One important caveat

Don't choose a marketplace merely because it has lots of students. Your topic needs to have marketplace demand but not be hopelessly saturated.

If I were starting with zero audience, I'd do this:

1. Research 5–10 course topics on Udemy Marketplace Insights.
2. Look for topics with meaningful search demand and manageable competition.
3. Make one narrowly targeted course, rather than a giant generic course.
4. Optimize the title/thumbnail/description around what students actually search for.
5. Use the first course to generate reviews and discover what students want next.
6. Once you have some traction, consider adding your own site/email list so you aren't permanently dependent on marketplace economics.

Bottom line:
👉 No audience + need built-in discovery = Udemy.
👉 Creative subject + discovery = consider Skillshare.
👉 Existing audience = Teachable/Kajabi/etc. become much more attractive.

If you tell me what you want to teach (e.g. AI, coding, fitness, music, business, art, language, etc.), I can tell you which marketplace is likely to give that specific topic the best student discovery.

If your #1 constraint is “I have no audience and need the platform to bring me students,” I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking

1. 🥇 Udemy — best for a zero-audience creator

Udemy is explicitly a course marketplace, so students can discover you through marketplace search and browsing rather than requiring you to bring your own traffic. It also gives instructors Marketplace Insights, showing demand and search volume for potential course topics. support.udemy.comsupport.udemy.com

That's a particularly good fit if you're willing to make courses around specific problems people are already searching for.

For example, I'd favor:

“Excel for Small Business Bookkeeping”

over:

“My Complete Productivity System”

The first has much clearer marketplace search intent.

The downside is that you sacrifice some pricing/control and revenue compared with selling directly. But when you have zero audience, paying that price for distribution can be worthwhile.

Udemy

2. 🥈 Skillshare — excellent if you're in creative territory

Skillshare also has meaningful internal discovery. Its recommendations and search algorithms surface classes based on relevance, engagement, titles, descriptions and tags. help.skillshare.com

It's particularly attractive for things like:

• illustration
• graphic design
• photography
• video
• writing
• animation
• crafts
• creative software
• creative business

One important difference: Skillshare isn't primarily an individual-course marketplace. Students subscribe for access to the catalog rather than purchasing your course individually. help.skillshare.com

Skillshare is also currently being more selective about teachers and content, with first-time teachers requiring approval. help.skillshare.com

Skillshare

What I would not do initially

I wouldn't start with Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi, etc. if you literally have zero audience.

They're excellent infrastructure, but they're primarily tools for selling to an audience you already have. A beautiful course website doesn't solve the hardest problem you're describing: “Where do my first 100 students come from?”

The strategy I'd use

Start on a marketplace → validate demand → build your audience → eventually move/expand to your own platform.

For a solo creator, I'd probably do:

Udemy → 2–3 narrowly targeted courses → identify what sells → build email/social audience around the winning topic → eventually add your own higher-priced product.

The especially useful part is that Udemy gives you marketplace demand data before you commit to a topic. support.udemy.comsupport.udemy.com

If you tell me what you want to teach, I can also tell you whether Udemy, Skillshare, or another marketplace is likely to have the best student discovery for that specific subject.

For a solo creator with no audience, the best choice is usually a true marketplace, not a course-hosting platform. You need discovery more than you need fancy branding at the start. creatorstackclub.comwww.ruzuku.com

My ranking:

techsifted.com

My recommendation for your situation

Start with Udemy if:

• you have zero audience
• your topic has search demand (coding, business tools, productivity, language, design, career skills)
• you want your first students and reviews
• you are willing to treat it as a discovery channel, not your forever home

Udemy is probably the closest thing to “Amazon for courses”: students are already searching, and a good title, thumbnail, curriculum, and reviews can create organic sales. creatorstackclub.comwww.ruzuku.com

Start with Skillshare if:

• your course is creative and project-based
• you teach illustration, photography, crafts, writing, animation, etc.
• you prefer a subscription audience model

techsifted.com

A common solo-creator path

1. Publish your first course on Udemy/Skillshare to get discovered.
2. Collect testimonials and learn what students actually want.
3. Build an email list or community.
4. Move premium offerings (coaching, cohorts, advanced courses) to your own platform later.

The mistake many new creators make is starting with a platform like Kajabi or Teachable because it looks professional—but those tools help you sell to an audience you already have. They generally do not solve the “nobody knows I exist” problem. creatorstackclub.com

If you tell me your course topic, I can suggest the marketplace where you’re most likely to get discovered.

If your #1 requirement is built-in student discovery and you have zero audience, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for your situation

Why Udemy: students actively browse/search its marketplace, and Udemy provides a Marketplace Insights tool showing student demand, search volume, and revenue information for potential topics. There's also no fee to create and host courses. support.udemy.com

The major downside is economics: when Udemy itself drives a marketplace sale, instructors currently receive 37% of net revenue; if the student buys through your own coupon/referral, you receive 97%. support.udemy.com That's a worthwhile trade if you're deliberately using Udemy to acquire your first students rather than maximize margin immediately.

What about Skillshare?

Skillshare is attractive if you're teaching illustration, design, photography, video, animation, creative careers, etc. www.skillshare.com It has a genuine built-in student community.

However, there's an important 2026 catch: since July 16, teachers need at least 50 Skillshare followers plus additional watch-time/publishing requirements to qualify for monthly royalty payments. help.skillshare.com For someone starting from literally zero audience, that makes it less attractive as your first marketplace.

The strategy I'd use

Start on Udemy → get discovered → collect proof → build your own platform later.

Don't start by building a beautiful course website nobody knows exists. Instead:

1. Find a topic with demonstrable Udemy demand.
2. Make a narrowly focused course solving one concrete problem.
3. Optimize the title/thumbnail/description around what students actually search for.
4. Get your first reviews and students.
5. Once you have traction, launch a higher-priced version or companion product on your own platform.

The key distinction is: Udemy is a customer-acquisition channel; Teachable/Kajabi/etc. are business infrastructure. With no audience, acquisition is the bottleneck.

If you tell me what you want to teach (e.g. coding, fitness, drawing, AI, language learning, business, music), I can tell you which marketplace is likely to have the best built-in discovery for that specific subject.

If built-in student discovery is your #1 requirement and you have zero audience, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for a solo creator with no audience

1. Udemy — best starting point

Udemy is unusually well suited to your situation because students are already searching its marketplace. Udemy even provides instructors with Marketplace Insights showing student demand, search volume, and revenue data for potential topics. support.udemy.com

The big tradeoff is economics: when a student finds you organically through Udemy's marketplace, instructors currently receive 37% of the net amount; sales driven by your own coupon/referral can pay 97%. support.udemy.com

That's actually a reasonable trade if you're starting from zero distribution. You're essentially exchanging margin for access to Udemy's existing demand.

Especially good for: software, AI, business, marketing, productivity, technical skills, certifications, professional skills, etc.

2. Skillshare — potentially better for creative subjects

Skillshare has genuine internal discovery through search, browsing, recommendations, and staff curation. Its search algorithm considers relevance and student engagement, and Skillshare explicitly provides teachers with data about topics students are searching for. help.skillshare.com

The catch is that Skillshare is much more oriented toward creative learning—design, illustration, photography, video, animation, creative careers, etc. www.skillshare.com

Also, the business model is different: students generally subscribe rather than buy individual classes, and teacher earnings are based largely on engagement/watch time rather than a straightforward course purchase. help.skillshare.comhelp.skillshare.com

One important 2026 wrinkle: Skillshare recently changed its teacher-earnings model and eligibility requirements, so I'd examine those carefully before making it your primary income platform. help.skillshare.comhelp.skillshare.com

What I would not start with

Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi, Podia, etc. are better thought of as your own storefront/course business, not student marketplaces.

That's a critical distinction:

Marketplace: "I need the platform to find my customers."
Course platform: "I already have customers and need somewhere to sell to them."

With no audience, the first problem is much more important.

My recommendation

If I were starting from zero:

Udemy → prove demand → build reviews/students → establish an email audience → eventually move higher-value products to your own platform.

And I wouldn't start by making a giant 20-hour course. I'd use Udemy's marketplace/search data to identify a specific problem people are already looking for, then make the smallest excellent course that solves it.

If you tell me what you want to teach, I can also compare Udemy vs. Skillshare vs. other marketplaces specifically for that subject and tell you where a zero-audience creator has the best chance of getting their first 100 students.

For a solo creator with no audience, the key requirement is not course-building features — it’s built-in student discovery. That narrows the field a lot.

My ranking would be:

www.ruzuku.com

Best default choice: Udemy

If you have zero audience, Udemy is usually the strongest first marketplace because students are already searching there. It works especially well if your course solves a clear search problem:

• “Excel dashboards for beginners”
• “Python programming”
• “SQL interview preparation”
• “AI tools for marketers”
• “Photoshop basics”
• “Project management fundamentals”

The downside: you are competing inside a crowded marketplace, and the platform controls much of the pricing/discovery experience. floatjet.com

Choose Skillshare instead if you teach creative skills

Skillshare is often better for:

• illustration
• photography
• graphic design
• writing
• crafts
• creative workflows

Students tend to browse for inspiration and projects rather than searching for a career outcome. stevewootten.com

A strategy many solo creators use

1. Publish a focused beginner course on Udemy or Skillshare to get discovery.
2. Collect reviews and learn what students struggle with.
3. Build a more premium offer later on your own platform (community, coaching, advanced course, templates, etc.).

Marketplaces are good for finding your first students; owned platforms are better for building a long-term business. www.ruzuku.com

If you tell me what you want to teach (e.g., coding, fitness, language, art, business, music, AI, etc.), I can recommend the best marketplace for that specific niche.

If your #1 requirement is built-in student discovery and you have zero audience, I’d put Udemy first.

My ranking for your situation

Why Udemy: students actively search its marketplace, and Udemy even provides Marketplace Insights showing student demand, search volume, and revenue potential for topics. You can also start without paying to host courses. support.udemy.com

The important catch is economics: when Udemy generates the sale through its marketplace rather than your own promotion, instructors currently receive 37% of the net amount. If you bring the buyer through your coupon/referral link, the share is 97%. support.udemy.comsupport.udemy.com

Skillshare is the runner-up

I'd choose Skillshare over Udemy if you're teaching something like illustration, design, photography, video, writing, animation, or another creative/project-based skill. Skillshare explicitly positions itself around creative learning and says it has hundreds of thousands of learners. www.skillshare.com

However, there's an important 2026 change: starting July 16, Skillshare requires teachers to have at least 50 followers plus a watch-time/publishing requirement to qualify for monthly royalty payments. help.skillshare.com That makes it less attractive than it used to be for a completely unknown creator.

What I'd do in your shoes

Start with Udemy → validate demand → build your own platform later.

Don't begin by paying $30–$150+/month for Teachable/Kajabi/etc. if your biggest problem is "How do I get my first students?" Those platforms give you much more ownership, but generally expect you to bring the traffic. Marketplace platforms trade some revenue/control for access to existing demand. creatorstackclub.com

The bigger strategic question is what you're teaching. If you tell me your course topic (e.g. coding, fitness, language, AI, music, career skills, art, etc.), I can tell you which marketplace has the strongest built-in discovery for that specific niche and how I'd position the first course.

If your #1 requirement is built-in student discovery and you have zero audience, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for a solo creator with no audience

Why Udemy: its marketplace is explicitly designed to generate sales from people browsing Udemy rather than only from your own audience. For sales not attributed to your own promotion, instructors currently receive 37% of net revenue; sales through your own coupon/referral get 97%. support.udemy.com

More importantly for your situation, Udemy has Marketplace Insights, which lets you examine student demand, search volume, and revenue for topics before you build the course. support.udemy.com

Udemy instructor information

Skillshare is the strongest alternative

If you're teaching design, illustration, photography, video, writing, productivity, or other creative skills, I'd seriously consider Skillshare. Its search/recommendation system actively surfaces classes to members, and Skillshare publishes data on what students are searching for to help teachers choose topics. help.skillshare.com

However, there's an important 2026 wrinkle: Skillshare changed its teacher-earnings model and eligibility requirements beginning July 16, 2026. help.skillshare.com So I'd evaluate the economics carefully rather than assuming the old Skillshare model still applies.

The key distinction

If you're starting from zero audience, don't confuse:

Marketplace

"People are already here looking for something. Can my course get surfaced to them?"

with

Course-hosting platform

"Here's my beautiful course website. Now I need to find people to send to it."

For your situation, I'd choose the first category initially.

My default strategy:
Udemy → validate demand → get your first students/reviews → build an email list/audience → eventually add your own platform.

If you tell me what you want to teach (e.g. coding, AI, fitness, music, design, business, language, etc.), I can narrow this down to the 2–3 marketplaces where a completely unknown creator has the best chance of getting discovered, including their current revenue splits and audience size.

For a solo creator with no audience, the key requirement is different from what most “course platform” comparisons emphasize: you need distribution, not just course hosting. Platforms like Teachable, Thinkific, and Kajabi are excellent for creators who can already bring traffic, but they generally do not solve the “where do my first students come from?” problem. creatorstackclub.com

My shortlist:

stevewootten.comzapier.com

My recommendation by situation

1. You have zero audience + teach a searchable skill → start with Udemy

• Good examples:
  • Excel
  • coding
  • AI tools
  • design software
  • marketing skills
  • business skills
  • languages
• Students are already browsing/searching there.
• Your first goal is validation: “Will strangers pay attention to this topic?” stevewootten.com

2. You teach creative skills → consider Skillshare
Good fits:

• illustration
• photography
• writing
• crafts
• design
• productivity projects

Skillshare’s discovery model fits classes where learners browse for inspiration and projects rather than searching for a specific professional outcome. stevewootten.comzapier.com

3. Avoid starting with Teachable/Kajabi/Thinkific if discovery is your #1 need
They are better once you have:

• an email list
• YouTube/social following
• clients you can upsell
• SEO traffic

They help you own the business, but they are not marketplaces in the same way. creatorstackclub.com

A practical solo-creator path

1. Publish a focused beginner course on Udemy or Skillshare.
2. Use student questions/reviews to improve it.
3. Build an email list from your broader content.
4. Move your premium offer to your own platform later.

A common mistake is making a huge “complete masterclass” before knowing whether anyone is actively looking for that outcome. A smaller, searchable course usually gives a better first test.

If you tell me what you want to teach (e.g., coding, art, fitness, business, language, AI, music, etc.) and whether you want income or audience-building first, I can narrow this to the best platform.