ChatGPT answers, unedited

If your priority is getting in front of learners without having to buy ads or already have an audience, I’d look first at marketplaces rather than course-hosting platforms.

My shortlist

For a brand-new creator with essentially no audience, Udemy is the most straightforward place to test a course. Udemy says there is no fee to create/host courses, and its marketplace can generate sales without you bringing the student yourself. For marketplace sales where no instructor promotion is involved, instructors currently receive 37% of net revenue; sales through your own coupon/referral link pay 97%. Udemy Support Udemy Support

Skillshare is another marketplace-style option worth considering, particularly if your subject fits its audience. Its economics are different: creators earn from a royalty pool tied to learner engagement rather than simply receiving a percentage of each course purchase. Ruzuku supatutor.in

What I'd do on a tight budget

Start with Udemy, not an expensive all-in-one platform. Put your first course there, use its marketplace search/discovery, and treat the first course partly as market validation. You can then use whatever you learn—topics students search for, reviews, completion/engagement, questions—to decide whether it's worth building your own higher-margin storefront later.

The key distinction is:

• Need learners to find you: marketplace → Udemy / Skillshare
• Already have learners to sell to: own storefront → Thinkific / Teachable
• Want both: marketplace for discovery + your own platform later

Also, don't spend weeks building a giant course before validating the topic. Udemy has a Marketplace Insights tool specifically for researching course topics and learner demand. Udemy Support

If you tell me your course topic and roughly how much you can spend per month ($0, $20, $50, etc.), I can narrow this down to 2–3 platforms and compare their current fees and learner-discovery mechanics.

What I'd do on a tight budget

Start with Udemy, not an expensive all-in-one platform. Put your first course there, use its marketplace search/discovery, and treat the first course partly as market validation. You can then use whatever you learn—topics students search for, reviews, completion/engagement, questions—to decide whether it's worth building your own higher-margin storefront later.

The key distinction is:

If your main constraint is “I need the platform itself to put my course in front of learners”, rather than “I need software to host a course I already know how to market,” the distinction matters.

The short list

Udemy is particularly relevant to your constraint: there is no fee to create/host courses, and sales can come from students browsing the Udemy marketplace or from Udemy's own advertising. For marketplace-originated sales, instructors currently receive 37% of the net amount. support.udemy.com

Skillshare also has an existing learner ecosystem, but its economics changed in 2026. As of July 16, teachers need at least 50 followers plus additional publishing/watch-time requirements to qualify for monthly royalties. help.skillshare.com

Teachable is different: it's primarily your own storefront rather than a learner marketplace. Its current Starter plan is $39/month monthly (or $29/month when billed annually), with a 7.5% transaction fee; it does provide Google discoverability for product pages, but you'll generally need to create the demand yourself. www.teachable.com

For a genuinely tight budget and little existing audience, I'd start by investigating Udemy first. The tradeoff is that you surrender a larger percentage of marketplace-generated sales in exchange for access to an established pool of learners.

A sensible low-budget approach would be: publish one tightly targeted course on Udemy → optimize its title/thumbnail/description around an actual learner search → use the first course to learn what sells → only pay for a standalone platform once you have an audience to bring to it.

If your priority is getting discovered without spending much on ads, I’d start with Udemy rather than a standalone course platform.

My ranking for a new, low-budget creator

Why Udemy: it is an actual marketplace, so you don't have to manufacture all of your own traffic. There is no fee to create/host courses, and Udemy says marketplace sales that aren't driven by your own promotion pay instructors 37% of the net amount. Udemy Support Udemy Support

The tradeoff is important: you sacrifice margin for distribution. If a learner finds you through Udemy's marketplace, you get less per sale, but you're getting access to demand you probably couldn't generate yourself with a tiny advertising budget. Udemy also has subscription/business channels that can generate additional instructor revenue based on learner engagement. Udemy Support

Skillshare is my second choice, particularly if your course is creative. Its model is different: teachers earn based largely on qualifying minutes watched, plus referrals and other rewards. Skillshare Help Center Skillshare However, there are now meaningful eligibility requirements: as of July 16, 2026, teachers need at least 50 followers plus a publishing/watch-time requirement to qualify for monthly royalties. Skillshare Help Center

What I'd do on a tight budget

1. Put your flagship course on Udemy.
2. Pick a topic with obvious existing demand rather than something extremely broad.
3. Use Udemy's marketplace/search data before producing the whole course.
4. Make the course highly specific—e.g. “Excel Dashboards for Small Businesses” beats “Learn Excel.”
5. Don't buy ads initially. Let marketplace discovery prove whether people want the course.
6. Once you have reviews and some sales, build an email/social audience so you eventually have a channel you own.

One particularly attractive aspect for a cash-strapped creator: Udemy's 97% instructor share applies when a student purchases through your own coupon/referral link; the lower 37% rate applies to marketplace sales that Udemy generates. Udemy Support So you can use the marketplace for discovery while gradually developing your own audience.

Bottom line: Udemy for reach, Skillshare for creative subjects, and Teachable/Kajabi-style platforms later when you have an audience. I wouldn't pay for a standalone course platform as your first move if your biggest problem is finding learners, not hosting the course. Ruzuku

If you tell me your course topic + target learner + approximate course price, I can recommend the best marketplace and a low-budget launch strategy for that specific course.

If your priority is getting in front of learners without spending heavily on ads, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for a new, budget-conscious creator

1. Udemy — best overall

• Built-in marketplace traffic and search discovery, so you aren't solely responsible for bringing an audience.
• Free to publish and host courses. Udemy Udemy
• Udemy's Marketplace Insights tool shows demand, search volume, and revenue data for topics—useful for choosing a course idea before you spend time creating it. Udemy
• The tradeoff: Udemy takes a significant cut of sales that don't come through your own promotion; its current share is 37% to the instructor on those sales, versus 97% when a student buys through your coupon/referral link. Udemy
• Skillshare — worth considering for creative/visual subjects

• Discovery is built into a subscription learning marketplace, so you don't need to sell every enrollment yourself.
• However, it's less attractive for a brand-new creator now: as of July 16, 2026, teachers need at least 50 followers plus additional publishing/watch-time requirements to qualify for monthly royalties. Skillshare Help Center
• I'd favor it if your subject is something like design, illustration, photography, animation, or another creative skill.
• Your own course website — better later

• Gives you much more control over pricing, branding, customer relationships, and margins.
• But you're effectively responsible for generating the traffic, which makes it a poor first choice if you have neither an audience nor an ad budget.

What I'd do in your shoes

Start on Udemy, but treat it as a discovery channel rather than your entire business.

Before recording 10 hours of content, use Marketplace Insights to find a topic with existing learner demand but manageable competition. Then make a focused course around a specific outcome rather than a broad subject.

For example, instead of "Learn Excel", target something like "Excel for Small-Business Financial Dashboards."

That approach gives you the best shot at getting organic marketplace discovery while keeping your upfront cost close to zero.

If you tell me your course topic + approximate price you want to charge, I can compare Udemy, Skillshare, Coursera, and the main alternatives specifically for that niche.

If your top priority is getting discovered without spending much on ads, I’d start with Udemy.

My shortlist

• Udemy — best overall for a new creator with no audience. There’s no fee to create/host courses, and Udemy’s marketplace can put your course in front of learners searching for your topic. For marketplace-driven sales, instructors currently receive 37% of the net amount; sales through your own coupon/referral link can pay 97%. Udemy Support Udemy Support
• Skillshare — worth testing for creative/skill-based courses. It has built-in discovery and is free for teachers, but earnings come from a royalty pool based largely on watch time rather than a fixed price per course sale. SavingSec
• Teachable / Thinkific — better later, not for your immediate goal. These give you much more control over pricing, branding, and the student relationship, but they don't provide the same built-in marketplace audience. You generally have to generate the traffic yourself. Ruzuku CreatorStackClub

What I'd do on a tight budget

Start with Udemy → prove demand → build your own storefront later.

Don't spend months building a giant 20-hour course first. Make a focused course around a problem people are already searching for, publish it on Udemy, and use the marketplace's organic demand to test whether learners actually buy it.

Once you have traction, you can use something like Thinkific or Teachable for your higher-priced flagship course, where keeping more of each sale and owning the customer relationship matters.

Bottom line: If you have little/no audience and little/no ad budget, Udemy is the strongest first bet. If you already have an audience, I'd flip that recommendation and use a direct course platform instead. Udemy Support Ruzuku

If you tell me your course topic and roughly how much you want to charge, I can recommend the best marketplace and a low-budget launch strategy for it.

If your main constraint is “I have little/no audience and don’t want to buy ads,” I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking

1. udemy.com — best overall for your situation

• It’s a true marketplace, so you can benefit from Udemy’s existing search traffic rather than having to build all your own demand.
• There’s no fee to create or host courses. Udemy also provides Marketplace Insights showing demand, search volume, and revenue for topics before you build. Udemy Support Udemy Support
• The trade-off is revenue share: when Udemy brings the buyer, you currently receive 37% of the net amount; when a student buys through your coupon/referral, you receive 97%. Udemy Support
• Udemy is particularly attractive for practical, searchable subjects—software, business skills, certifications, productivity, professional skills, etc.
• skillshare.com — good if your course is creative

• Strong fit for illustration, design, photography, video, animation, creative careers and similar subjects. Skillshare
• You earn primarily from learner watch time rather than individual course sales.
• Important 2026 catch: Skillshare now requires at least 50 followers plus additional monthly publishing/watch-time criteria to qualify for royalty payments. Skillshare Help Center Skillshare Help Center
• That makes it less attractive than Udemy if you're literally starting from zero.
• Your own course platform (Teachable/Kajabi/etc.) — probably later

• Better economics and brand ownership once you have an audience.
• But you're essentially responsible for bringing the learners yourself, which conflicts with your current goal of minimizing ad spend.

What I'd do with a tight budget

Put the first course on Udemy and treat the marketplace as your acquisition channel. Don't spend heavily on production or ads initially.

Before recording 10+ hours of content, use Udemy's demand data to find a topic with existing search demand but manageable competition. Then make the course unusually specific rather than broad.

For example, instead of:

“Learn Excel”

try:

“Excel for Small-Business Owners: Automate Your Monthly Reports”

The second gives the marketplace a much clearer learner/search intent.

One other reason I favor Udemy: its scale is substantial—Udemy reported that 85% of marketplace traffic in 2025 originated outside the U.S., so you're not dependent solely on your own local audience. SEC

Bottom line: If you have zero audience + little ad budget + a commercially searchable topic → Udemy is my first choice. If you're teaching a creative subject and can build a small following, Skillshare becomes more compelling.

If you tell me your course topic and target learner, I can suggest the marketplace and a few low-competition course angles I'd investigate.

If your priority is getting discovered without spending much on ads, I’d start with udemy.com.

My budget-conscious ranking

1. Udemy — best overall for a brand-new creator

• No upfront instructor fee. Udemy Support
• It has an established marketplace, so learners can discover you through search, browsing, promotions, and Udemy advertising rather than you having to buy all the traffic yourself. Udemy Support
• Udemy also provides Marketplace Insights, showing demand, search volume, and revenue information for course topics—useful before you spend weeks recording. Udemy Support
• The catch: when Udemy generates the sale without your coupon/referral, you receive 37% of net revenue. If you personally drive the sale with your promotion, the share is 97%. Udemy Support
• Skillshare — worth considering for creative/visual subjects

• There's no upfront marketplace cost, but the economics are different: teachers earn from a subscription-based royalty pool based largely on qualifying watch time. Skillshare Help Center
• Important 2026 change: you now need at least 50 Skillshare followers plus additional publishing/watch-time requirements to qualify for monthly royalties. Skillshare Help Center Skillshare Help Center
• So I wouldn't make it your only bet as a complete beginner.
• Teachable / Thinkific / Kajabi — better later

• These give you much more control over pricing, branding, and your customer relationship, but they're primarily course-hosting businesses, not learner marketplaces. You generally have to generate the audience yourself.
• For someone specifically trying to avoid ad spend and who doesn't yet have an audience, that's a major disadvantage.

What I'd do in your shoes

Start on Udemy, not with your own course website. Pick a narrow topic with demonstrated demand, use Marketplace Insights before recording, make one genuinely useful course, and optimize the title/thumbnail/landing page around the problem learners are already searching for.

Then use free distribution—YouTube tutorials, LinkedIn, Reddit/community participation where appropriate, email, etc.—to gradually build an audience you can eventually sell to directly.

Bottom line:
No audience + tiny marketing budget → Udemy.
Creative niche + some audience → consider Skillshare too.
Existing audience → your own platform becomes much more attractive.

If you tell me what topic your course is about, I can suggest which marketplace is likely to give you the best shot at organic discovery and how I'd position the course.

If your priority is getting in front of learners without spending much on ads, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for a tight-budget beginner

1. Udemy — best overall for organic reach

• No fee to create or host courses. Udemy Support Udemy Support
• Its marketplace can generate sales from people already searching for courses, so you don't need to build the entire audience yourself.
• The trade-off is revenue share: you get 37% on sales where Udemy brings the buyer, versus 97% when the buyer purchases through your coupon/referral link. Udemy Support
• Best if: you have expertise in a searchable topic and little/no existing audience.
• Skillshare — worth considering for creative courses

• You don't sell individual courses in the traditional way; earnings are largely based on member watch time and engagement.
• There's a significant catch in 2026: you need at least 50 followers, plus the required publishing/watch-time threshold, to qualify for monthly royalty payments. Skillshare Help Center Skillshare Help Center
• Best if: your course is in design, illustration, photography, creativity, etc., and you're willing to build an audience on the platform.
• Teachable / Thinkific / Kajabi — not my first choice for your situation

• These are better thought of as your own course business/storefront, rather than marketplaces that bring you lots of learners.
• If you don't already have an audience, you'd generally have to generate traffic yourself—which works against your "no big ad spend" requirement. Ruzuku

What I'd do in your shoes

Start with Udemy, not an expensive all-in-one platform. Build one tightly focused course around a problem people already search for, optimize the title/thumbnail/description for that search demand, and use Udemy's marketplace to test whether people will actually buy it.

Once you've proven demand, you can graduate to your own platform where you have more control over pricing and the customer relationship.

One important distinction: "no ad spend" doesn't mean "no marketing." Your biggest advantage as a new creator is choosing a high-intent, low-competition topic rather than trying to sell a generic course like "Learn Excel."

If you tell me what topic you want to teach, I can suggest the best marketplace and 3–5 course niches I'd target first.

If your main constraint is “I need learners without paying for ads”, you should prioritize a marketplace with built-in discovery, not a course-hosting tool. The tradeoff is that marketplaces usually take a bigger cut and give you less control over your brand/customer list. Ruzuku

Here are the strongest options for a new creator on a tight budget:

My recommendation for your situation

Start with a two-stage approach:

1. Launch on Udemy first

• Pick a narrow, searchable problem (“Excel dashboards for nonprofit managers” beats “Learn Excel”).
• Use it to test demand and collect reviews.
• Improve the course based on learner questions and feedback.
• Build your own audience alongside it

• Start a free newsletter, YouTube channel, LinkedIn presence, or community around the same topic.
• Later move premium offers (coaching, advanced courses, memberships) to your own platform.

A few examples:

• Programming, AI tools, business skills, software training: Udemy is usually the first place I’d test. Biztoolkit
• Art, design, photography, crafts, creative workflows: Skillshare is worth considering. Business Insider
• Professional certification-style training or a premium brand: build toward your own platform.

For a creator with $0–$100 to spend, I would avoid expensive all-in-one platforms at the beginning. Your biggest challenge is usually not hosting the videos—it’s finding learners. A marketplace can help you solve that first. Ruzuku

If you tell me your course topic, target learner, and whether you already have an audience (even a small one), I can narrow this to the best platform and launch strategy.

If your priority is getting discovered without spending heavily on ads, I’d start with udemy.com.

My ranking for a new, budget-conscious creator

1. Udemy — best overall for marketplace discovery

• No upfront fee to create/host courses. Udemy Support Udemy Support
• You can benefit from Udemy’s existing marketplace traffic, rather than having to build the audience yourself.
• The tradeoff: Udemy takes a substantial share of sales it generates. For marketplace sales without your coupon/referral, instructors receive 37% of net revenue; instructor-driven sales can pay 97%. Udemy Support
• Best for: practical topics with clear search demand—Excel, coding, business skills, design software, AI tools, certifications, etc.
• skillshare.com — worth considering for creative/skill-based courses

• You don't sell at a conventional per-course price; earnings come primarily from a Teacher Fund based on qualifying watch time, plus referrals and other opportunities. Skillshare Help Center
• There's an important catch in 2026: teachers need at least 50 followers, plus publishing/watch-time requirements, to qualify for monthly royalties. Skillshare Help Center Skillshare Help Center
• Best for: illustration, photography, design, crafts, animation, creative software and similar subjects.
• coursera.org — not my pick for you initially

• It's much more partnership/institution-oriented than a straightforward self-publishing marketplace, so it's not the easiest route for a solo creator trying to launch cheaply.

What I'd actually do

Put your first course on Udemy, not on an expensive "all-in-one" course platform. Your biggest asset right now isn't a fancy website—it's getting evidence that strangers will actually pay to learn your topic.

Before recording 20 hours of video, use Udemy's topic/marketplace research to find a specific problem with existing demand but manageable competition. Then make a tightly focused course around that problem.

For example, instead of:

"Complete Digital Marketing Course"

go narrower:

"Google Ads for Local Plumbers: Build Your First Campaign"

That makes marketplace search and conversion much easier.

Bottom line: For a new creator with little money and little existing audience, Udemy is probably the strongest first bet. Skillshare can be a good second channel if your subject fits its creative-learning audience. Udemy Support Skillshare Help Center

If you tell me what your course is about, I can also suggest the best marketplace + course title/niche angle for getting organic learners.

If your main goal is getting discovered by learners without spending heavily on ads, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for a new, budget-conscious creator

1. Udemy — best overall for organic reach

• No upfront fee to create and host courses. Udemy Support Udemy Support
• Its marketplace itself can generate sales from people browsing Udemy or responding to Udemy advertising. You receive 37% of net revenue on those non-instructor-promoted sales. Udemy Support
• You can also benefit from Udemy Business subscriptions, where instructor compensation is based on learner engagement. Udemy Support
• Catch: Udemy controls pricing/promotions heavily, and the revenue share is much better when you bring the buyer (97% via your coupon/referral link).
• Skillshare — good if your topic fits its creative-learning audience

• You don't need to sell each course individually; earnings come primarily from the platform's Teacher Fund based on qualifying watch time and engagement. Skillshare Help Center
• However, the economics changed substantially in 2026: you now need 50 followers plus additional publishing/watch-time requirements to qualify for monthly royalties. Skillshare Help Center Skillshare Help Center
• I'd choose it particularly for design, illustration, photography, creative software, freelancing, and similar subjects.
• Teachable — better later, not for initial discovery

• It's primarily your own storefront rather than a large learner marketplace. Its catalog visibility exists, but you're largely responsible for bringing people to your school. Teachable Help Center
• Current Starter pricing is $39/month monthly ($29/month annually) with a 7.5% transaction fee; higher plans remove the transaction fee. Teachable
• Great once you have an audience/email list, but I'd avoid paying for it before you've validated your course.

What I'd do with a tight budget

Start on Udemy → validate the topic → build an audience → eventually move/expand to your own platform.

The key is not simply uploading a generic course. Before recording 10+ hours of material, use Udemy's marketplace demand signals to identify a topic with existing learner demand but manageable competition. Then make the course unusually specific—for example, “Excel for nonprofit grant managers” is generally a stronger positioning strategy than “Complete Excel Course.”

If you tell me what your course is about, I can compare Udemy vs. Skillshare specifically for that subject and suggest the best low-budget launch strategy.

If your priority is getting in front of learners without spending much on ads, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for a new, budget-conscious creator

1. Udemy — best overall for organic discovery

• No upfront fee to create or host courses. Udemy Udemy
• Its marketplace can generate sales from people already searching for courses, rather than requiring you to bring all the traffic yourself.
• Udemy also gives instructors Marketplace Insights showing demand, search volume, and revenue for potential topics—very useful when you don't have an audience yet. Udemy
• Tradeoff: Udemy takes a substantial share when the sale comes through its marketplace—currently 37% of the net amount for sales without your coupon/referral link. Udemy
• Skillshare — good if your topic fits creative/project-based learning

• You earn based largely on member watch time rather than individual course purchases, plus referral earnings. Skillshare Skillshare Help Center
• But there's a significant catch for a brand-new teacher: as of July 16, 2026, you need 50 followers plus a publishing/watch-time requirement to qualify for monthly royalties. Skillshare Help Center Skillshare Help Center
• So I wouldn't choose it primarily for immediate income if you're starting from zero.
• Your own course site — best later, not first

• Platforms such as Teachable/Kajabi give you much more control over pricing, branding and the customer relationship, but they don't solve your initial audience problem. You'd generally have to generate the traffic yourself. Ruzuku

What I'd do in your shoes

Start on Udemy, not with paid ads. Pick a narrowly defined topic with demonstrated search demand, use Marketplace Insights before recording, and optimize your title/subtitle/thumbnail around the actual problem learners are searching for.

Then, once you have reviews and some sales, use those results to decide whether it's worth building your own higher-priced course business.

The key is not simply "put my course on a marketplace." It's choosing a topic where the marketplace already has buyer intent. That's what can substitute for an advertising budget.

If you tell me your course topic + target learner + approximate course length, I can suggest the best marketplace and a low-budget launch strategy for it.

If your priority is getting discovered by learners without spending much on ads, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for a tight-budget beginner

• 🥇 Udemy — best overall for organic discovery. You pay nothing to create/host courses, and Udemy has an established marketplace where learners search for courses. For sales generated without your own coupon/referral link, instructors currently receive 37% of net revenue; sales driven by your own promotion pay 97%. Udemy Support Udemy Support

support.udemy.com

• 🥈 Skillshare — worth considering for creative/design topics. There’s no traditional upfront course-hosting fee, but the economics are different: teachers earn from a shared fund based largely on qualifying minutes watched, plus referrals and other programs. Importantly, as of July 16, 2026, you need at least 50 followers plus additional publishing/watch-time requirements to qualify for monthly royalties. Skillshare Help Center Skillshare Help Center

skillshare.com

• 🥉 Teachable / Thinkific / Kajabi — not my first choice for your situation. These are better thought of as platforms for building your own course business, rather than marketplaces that bring you a large pool of learners. If you don't already have an audience, you're generally taking on more of the marketing burden.

What I'd do in your shoes

Start with Udemy, not a standalone course platform. Pick a narrowly defined problem people are already searching for—e.g. “Excel for nonprofit finance managers” rather than “Learn Excel.”

Then:

1. Research demand before recording using Udemy's marketplace/topic tools.
2. Make the first course highly specific and outcome-oriented.
3. Optimize the title, thumbnail, description and first few lectures for conversion.
4. Price competitively rather than trying to maximize price immediately.
5. Get your first legitimate students/reviews and use their questions to build the next course.
6. Once you have traction, consider moving your best learners into an owned audience (email list/community) so you're not permanently dependent on marketplace algorithms.

Bottom line: For a brand-new creator with little money and little audience, Udemy is probably the strongest starting bet because you're trading some revenue share for access to an existing learner marketplace. Udemy Support

If you tell me your course topic + target learner + approximate course price, I can also tell you which marketplace is likely to fit that specific course best.

If your priority is getting discovered without spending much on ads, you probably want a course marketplace, not a standalone course platform. Marketplaces already have learner traffic; tools like Teachable, Thinkific, or Kajabi give you more control but usually require you to bring your own audience. Webflow

Here are the strongest budget-friendly options for a new creator:

My recommendation for a first course

For most new creators with little budget and no audience:

1. Start on Udemy if your course solves a specific search problem:

• “Excel dashboards for beginners”
• “Python automation for accountants”
• “How to pass [specific certification]”
• “Canva for small businesses”
• Use Skillshare if your course is creative and project-based:

• “Draw your first character”
• “Make a portfolio website”
• “Photography basics”
• Avoid paying for expensive all-in-one platforms at first.

A tool like Kajabi can be excellent later, but early on the bottleneck is usually finding learners, not building a fancy storefront. Webflow

A low-budget launch approach

• Pick a narrow topic with existing demand (avoid “general productivity” or “learn marketing”).
• Publish a strong free preview/mini lesson.
• Optimize your title and thumbnail for marketplace search.
• Ask early students for honest reviews.
• Create a second, related course once you see what attracts learners.

A common path is: marketplace first for discovery → own platform later for higher-priced offers and email ownership. Webflow

If you tell me your course topic, target learner, and whether you already have an audience (even a small one), I can suggest the best marketplace and launch strategy.

If you’re brand new, have little/no audience, and don’t want to buy ads, prioritize a platform that already has learners searching for courses. The trade-off is that marketplaces usually take a larger share of revenue and give you less control over pricing and the student relationship. Ruzuku CreatorStackClub

My shortlist:

My recommendation for your situation

Start with Udemy if your course topic is something people already search for. Examples:

• Excel, coding, AI tools, software tutorials
• Business skills
• Career skills
• Language learning
• Productivity

The strategy:

1. Publish a focused “starter” course on Udemy.
2. Optimize the title, thumbnail, description, and first lessons for search/conversion.
3. Collect reviews and learner questions.
4. Use what you learn to create a deeper premium version later on your own platform.

If your course is creative (drawing, photography, design, crafts, writing), I’d consider Skillshare first. Steve Wootten

A few things I’d avoid on a tiny budget:

• Paying for ads before you know your course converts.
• Starting with expensive all-in-one platforms before you have demand.
• Building a beautiful website before you have learners.

A lean setup could be:

• Discovery: Udemy or Skillshare
• Audience building: free YouTube/TikTok/LinkedIn content + email list
• Higher-priced offer later: Teachable/Thinkific/your own site

If you tell me your course topic, target learner, and expected price ($20 vs $200 vs $1,000+), I can narrow this down to the best fit.

If your priority is getting in front of learners without spending much on ads, I’d start with Udemy.

🥇 My pick: Udemy

Udemy explicitly says there's no fee to create and host courses, and you can publish free and paid courses. More importantly for your situation, sales that happen through the Udemy marketplace—rather than your own promotion—currently pay instructors 37% of the net amount. If you bring the customer through your coupon/referral link, the instructor share is 97%. Udemy Support Udemy Support

That trade-off is actually pretty attractive when you're starting with little/no audience: you're giving up some margin in exchange for Udemy's marketplace, search, promotions, and ecosystem doing some of the customer acquisition.

Udemy also has a Marketplace Insights tool you can use to investigate demand before spending weeks producing a course. Udemy Support

🥈 Skillshare is worth considering

Skillshare can work particularly well for creative skills, design, illustration, photography, animation, freelancing, and similar topics. Teachers earn primarily from a subscription-funded pool based on qualifying watch time, plus certain engagement, referral, and partnership opportunities. Skillshare Help Center Skillshare Help Center

However, there's an important 2026 wrinkle: since July 16, Skillshare requires teachers to have at least 50 followers plus either recent class publication/watch-time criteria to qualify for monthly royalty payments. Skillshare Help Center

So for a brand-new creator with zero audience, I'd currently favor Udemy over Skillshare.

What I'd do with a tight budget

Don't build an enormous $200 "masterclass" first. Instead:

1. Pick a narrow problem people are already searching for.
2. Validate the topic using Udemy's marketplace data.
3. Make a focused 1–3 hour course that solves one concrete problem.
4. Put serious effort into the title, thumbnail, description, and first few lectures—these matter enormously for marketplace conversion.
5. Use the marketplace to get your initial students/reviews.
6. Once you have proof of demand, expand the course and start building an email list/audience you own.

Bottom line: If your constraint is "I don't have an audience and can't afford ads," choose Udemy first. If your course is strongly creative-oriented, test Skillshare alongside it—but don't rely on Skillshare royalties immediately because of the new eligibility requirements. Skillshare Help Center Udemy Support

If you tell me what your course is about and roughly who it's for, I can recommend the best marketplace and suggest 5–10 course topics/titles with the best chance of getting organic marketplace traffic.

Udemy also has a Marketplace Insights tool you can use to investigate demand before spending weeks producing a course. Udemy Support

🥈 Skillshare is worth considering

Skillshare can work particularly well for creative skills, design, illustration, photography, animation, freelancing, and similar topics. Teachers earn primarily from a subscription-funded pool based on qualifying watch time, plus certain engagement, referral, and partnership opportunities. Skillshare Help Center Skillshare Help Center

However, there's an important 2026 wrinkle: since July 16, Skillshare requires teachers to have at least 50 followers plus either recent class publication/watch-time criteria to qualify for monthly royalty payments. Skillshare Help Center

So for a brand-new creator with zero audience, I'd currently favor Udemy over Skillshare.

What I'd do with a tight budget

Don't build an enormous $200 "masterclass" first. Instead:

1. Pick a narrow problem people are already searching for.
2. Validate the topic using Udemy's marketplace data.
3. Make a focused 1–3 hour course that solves one concrete problem.
4. Put serious effort into the title, thumbnail, description, and first few lectures—these matter enormously for marketplace conversion.
5. Use the marketplace to get your initial students/reviews.
6. Once you have proof of demand, expand the course and start building an email list/audience you own.

Bottom line: If your constraint is "I don't have an audience and can't afford ads," choose Udemy first. If your course is strongly creative-oriented, test Skillshare alongside it—but don't rely on Skillshare royalties immediately because of the new eligibility requirements.

If your priority is getting in front of learners without spending much on ads, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for a shoestring-budget creator

1. Udemy — best overall

• No upfront fee to create or host courses. Udemy Udemy
• You can earn 37% on marketplace sales you don't directly generate, meaning Udemy is doing some of the customer acquisition for you. If you bring the buyer yourself through your coupon/referral link, the share is 97%. Udemy
• It also has Marketplace Insights to help validate course topics before you build. Udemy
• Best for: business, software, professional skills, career, practical how-to courses.
• Skillshare — good for creative/skill-based courses, but harder for a brand-new teacher now

• You don't need to sell individual courses; teachers earn from a subscription-funded pool based largely on qualifying watch time. Skillshare
• However, as of July 16, 2026, you need 50 followers plus additional publishing/watch-time requirements to qualify for monthly royalties. Skillshare
• Best for: design, illustration, photography, creative software, crafts, personal creative skills.
• So I'd consider it second, rather than your first platform, if you have zero audience.
• Your own course website — don't start here if discovery is your biggest problem

• Platforms such as Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi, etc. give you more control over pricing, branding and customer relationships, but they don't inherently solve the "where do my first students come from?" problem.
• With a tight budget, I'd use a marketplace first to validate demand, then move toward owning your audience.

What I'd actually do

Start with Udemy, spend $0 on ads, and treat the first course as a market-validation experiment.

Pick a narrowly defined problem rather than a broad topic—for example, "Excel dashboards for nonprofit managers" beats "Learn Excel." Build the course around a search-friendly promise, use Udemy's marketplace data before committing to the topic, and optimize your title/thumbnail/description for discovery.

Once you have students and reviews, you can use that proof to build an audience outside the marketplace and eventually sell a higher-priced version directly.

Bottom line: If you have no audience + little money + need marketplace discovery, Udemy is the strongest starting bet. Skillshare is worth adding if your subject fits its creative-learning audience, but its current 50-follower royalty threshold makes it less attractive as your only starting channel. Skillshare Udemy

If your priority is getting discovered without spending much on ads, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for a new, budget-conscious creator

1. Udemy — best overall starting point

Udemy is explicitly a marketplace, so you don't have to build an audience from scratch. There is no fee to create and host courses, and Udemy itself can generate sales through marketplace browsing and its promotions. For sales that come through Udemy without your own coupon/referral, instructors currently receive 37% of the net amount; sales you drive yourself through an instructor promotion pay 97%. Udemy Support Udemy Support

That tradeoff—giving up some revenue in exchange for access to an existing marketplace—is exactly what I'd want on a tight budget.

support.udemy.com

2. Skillshare — worth considering for creative subjects

Skillshare can also put your class in front of an existing subscriber base, but its economics are different: teachers earn primarily from a pool based on qualifying minutes watched. And there's an important 2026 catch: since July 16, teachers need at least 50 followers plus additional publishing/watch-time requirements to qualify for monthly royalties. Skillshare Help Center Skillshare Help Center

So I'd favor Skillshare if you're teaching things like design, illustration, photography, writing, or other creative skills—not necessarily as your first choice for every niche.

help.skillshare.com

3. Teachable — great software, wrong first move if you have zero audience

Teachable is more of a storefront/course-business platform than a discovery marketplace. Its current Starter plan is $39/month ($29/month annually) and charges a 7.5% transaction fee; higher plans remove the transaction fee but cost considerably more. Teachable

I'd use it after you've demonstrated demand and have an audience/email list. Paying monthly to host a course doesn't solve the hardest problem for a new creator: getting learners to find you.

teachable.com

What I'd do in your shoes

Start on Udemy, not with your own course website. Pick a narrow topic with demonstrable search demand, make the course genuinely useful, optimize the title/thumbnail/description around the learner's problem, and let Udemy's marketplace do some of the customer acquisition.

Then, once you have students and reviews, build an audience outside the marketplace and consider moving higher-value offerings to your own platform.

Bottom line: If you have little money + little audience + one course, Udemy is probably the strongest starting point. If your course is strongly creative-oriented, put Skillshare in the mix too.

If your priority is getting discovered without spending heavily on ads, I’d start with a marketplace, not an all-in-one course platform.

My pick: Udemy

Udemy is probably the strongest fit for a brand-new creator with little or no audience.

• $0 upfront to create and host courses. Udemy Support Udemy Support
• It has an established learner marketplace, so you can potentially get sales from people already searching for courses rather than buying all your own traffic.
• Udemy gives instructors a Marketplace Insights tool showing demand, search volume, and revenue indicators for topics—particularly useful when you're deciding what course to make. Udemy Support
• The tradeoff is revenue share: you get 37% of net revenue on sales generated without your promotion, versus 97% when the student buys through your coupon/referral link. Udemy Support

That last point is important: Udemy is effectively trading some margin for access to its marketplace.

How I'd rank the options

Skillshare can be attractive because students browse its existing catalog, but its economics changed substantially in 2026. Royalty eligibility now has minimum requirements, including a 50-follower threshold, and payouts depend on qualifying watch time and engagement. Skillshare Help Center Skillshare Help Center

Teachable is a different proposition: it's primarily your own course business rather than a marketplace that supplies lots of organic learner demand. Its current plans start at $29/month when billed annually. Teachable Help Center

What I'd do on a tight budget

Start with Udemy → validate the topic → build an audience → eventually add your own platform.

The biggest mistake I'd avoid is spending $50–$200/month on sophisticated course software before you know people want the course.

Instead:

1. Use Udemy's demand/search data to find a narrow topic with actual learner interest.
2. Make one excellent, outcome-focused course rather than five mediocre ones.
3. Optimize the title, thumbnail, description, and preview for marketplace search/conversion.
4. Use free organic channels—YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit communities where appropriate, newsletters, etc.—to bring your first learners.
5. Once you've proven demand, consider moving your highest-value audience to your own branded platform, where you have more pricing and customer-relationship control.

Bottom line: If you're starting from zero audience + very little ad budget, I'd choose Udemy first. Skillshare is worth considering if your subject fits its creative-learning audience, but its 2026 payout requirements make it less straightforward for a complete newcomer. Skillshare Help Center Skillshare Help Center

If you tell me what your course is about and roughly what you'd charge ($20, $50, $200, etc.), I can recommend the best marketplace and a low-cost launch strategy for that specific niche.

What I'd do on a tight budget

Start with Udemy → validate the topic → build an audience → eventually add your own platform.

The biggest mistake I'd avoid is spending $50–$200/month on sophisticated course software before you know people want the course.

If your main constraint is “I need learners to find me without spending much on ads,” I’d start with a marketplace rather than an all-in-one course-hosting platform.

My ranking for a new, budget-conscious creator

1. Udemy — best overall

• $0 upfront to create and host courses. Udemy Support Udemy Support
• Its marketplace already has learners searching for courses, so you aren't entirely dependent on your own audience or paid ads.
• Udemy even provides Marketplace Insights showing demand, search volume, and revenue data for potential topics. Udemy Support
• The trade-off: Udemy takes a substantial cut when the sale comes through its marketplace—currently 37% of net revenue to the instructor for sales without your promotion. You get 97% when a student buys through your coupon/referral link. Udemy Support

Verdict: Probably your best first experiment if you have little/no audience.

2. Skillshare — interesting, but harder for a brand-new teacher in 2026

• You can publish without a conventional monthly software subscription.
• Discovery comes from Skillshare's existing membership ecosystem, and earnings are based largely on qualifying watch time and engagement. Skillshare Help Center
• However, as of July 16, 2026, teachers need 50 followers plus additional publishing/watch-time requirements to qualify for monthly royalties. Skillshare Help Center

Verdict: Attractive for creative/design-oriented classes, but I'd put it behind Udemy for a complete beginner.

3. Gumroad — good supplement, not my first choice

• No monthly subscription; direct sales cost 10% + $0.50.
• Its Discover marketplace can introduce products to new customers, but you first need to reach $100 in genuine sales and pass its review process. Discover sales carry a 30% fee. Gumroad Gumroad

Verdict: Great once you have some audience or social traffic; less compelling if you're starting from zero.

What I'd do in your shoes

Start with Udemy, not Teachable/Kajabi/Thinkific. Those platforms are better when you already have an audience because they primarily give you the infrastructure to sell—not a large built-in pool of learners. Current comparisons similarly distinguish marketplaces such as Udemy/Skillshare from owned storefront platforms. Ruzuku

The bigger strategic point: don't spend months recording a giant course before validating demand. Use Udemy's Marketplace Insights to find a narrow topic with demonstrated demand, make a focused course around a specific outcome, and let marketplace search do some of the acquisition work.

If you tell me your course topic + roughly how much you want to charge ($20, $50, $100, etc.), I can recommend the best marketplace and a low/no-ad launch strategy for it.

If your priority is getting in front of learners without spending much on ads, I’d start with a course marketplace rather than a standalone course platform.

My pick: Udemy

For a brand-new creator with little or no audience, Udemy is probably the strongest first bet:

• No upfront hosting fee and you can publish paid courses after becoming a Premium Instructor. Udemy Support Udemy Support
• It has a large existing learner marketplace, so discovery doesn't depend entirely on your own Instagram, email list, or paid ads.
• Its Marketplace Insights tool lets you investigate learner demand, search volume, and competing courses before you build. Udemy Support
• The major downside is revenue share: Udemy says instructors receive 37% of net revenue on sales generated without an instructor promotion, versus 97% when the learner buys through the instructor's coupon/referral link. Udemy Support

So you're essentially trading margin for access to Udemy's existing traffic—a pretty reasonable trade when you're starting from zero.

What about Skillshare?

Skillshare can be attractive if your course is particularly suited to creative fields such as design, illustration, photography, animation, or crafts. Its model is subscription/royalty-based rather than selling your course at a fixed price. Skillshare Help Center

However, there's an important 2026 catch: Skillshare now requires teachers to meet eligibility thresholds to receive monthly royalties, including a 50-follower minimum, and it has introduced additional requirements effective July 16, 2026. Skillshare Help Center Skillshare Help Center

That makes it less attractive than Udemy for a creator starting with literally zero audience.

What I wouldn't start with

Platforms such as Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi, or Podia are better when you're ready to build your own course business. They give you more control over branding, pricing, and the customer relationship, but they generally don't solve your biggest problem yet: finding learners. Ruzuku

The budget-friendly strategy I'd use

Start on Udemy → validate the topic → build reviews → then diversify.

Before recording 10 hours of video, use Udemy's demand data to find a topic with clear search demand but manageable competition. Make the first course narrowly focused rather than "The Complete Guide to Everything."

Then, once you have learners and some proof that people will pay, you can introduce a higher-priced version on your own platform and use Udemy primarily as a discovery channel.

Bottom line: If you have $0–$100 to spend on marketing and no established audience, I'd choose Udemy first. Its revenue share isn't ideal, but its built-in marketplace is exactly what you're looking for. Udemy Support Udemy Support

If you’re a new course creator with little or no audience and almost no ad budget, prioritize a platform that already has learner traffic. The trade-off is usually lower revenue per sale and less control. Ruzuku CreatorStackClub

Here are the strongest options:

My suggested low-budget path

1. Launch your first version on Udemy

• Pick a narrow, searchable topic (for example, “Excel dashboards for nonprofit managers” instead of “Excel mastery”).
• Use Udemy’s marketplace search to learn what learners already want.
• Focus on getting reviews early; reviews often matter more than fancy production. Mighty Networks
• Repurpose content into discovery channels

• Turn lessons into short YouTube videos, LinkedIn posts, TikToks, newsletters, or free mini-lessons.
• Use those channels to eventually move learners to your own platform.
• Move your best-selling course to your own platform later

• Once you know the topic sells, a platform like Teachable or Thinkific gives you more control over pricing and the customer relationship. CreatorStackClub

If I had to pick one for your situation:

• No audience + need learners now: Udemy
• Creative course: Skillshare
• You already have followers/email subscribers: Teachable or Thinkific
• You’re validating an idea before investing: Gumroad

A useful question before choosing: What type of course is it (career skill, software, hobby/creative, fitness, business, etc.) and do you already have any audience at all? The best marketplace changes a lot by niche.

If your priority is getting discovered without spending much on ads, I’d start with udemy.com.

My ranking for a bootstrapped creator

Why Udemy: there's no fee to create or host courses, and its Marketplace Insights tool lets you research learner demand, search volume, and revenue potential before you build. Udemy Support Udemy Support Most importantly for your situation, Udemy itself supplies marketplace traffic: instructors receive 37% of net revenue from sales that aren't driven by their own promotion, versus 97% when the student buys through the instructor's coupon/referral. Udemy Support

That tradeoff is actually attractive when you don't have an audience yet: you're giving up a larger percentage of each sale in exchange for access to Udemy's existing learner traffic.

Skillshare is worth considering if your course is in areas like design, illustration, photography, animation, or other creative subjects. But its economics changed in 2026: as of July 16, teachers need 50 followers plus a publishing/watch-time requirement to qualify for monthly royalties. Earnings are primarily based on qualifying minutes watched rather than a straightforward sale of your course. Skillshare Help Center Skillshare Help Center

What I'd do with a tiny budget

1. Research 3–5 potential course topics on Udemy before recording anything.
2. Pick a narrowly defined problem with existing learner demand but manageable competition.
3. Launch a genuinely useful, focused course rather than trying to make a giant "complete masterclass."
4. Optimize the title, thumbnail, description and first few lectures for marketplace conversion.
5. Use Udemy's own discounts/promotions and occasional organic content (LinkedIn, YouTube, Reddit communities where appropriate) rather than buying ads.
6. Once you have proof that people will pay, consider moving some of your audience toward your own platform, where you retain more revenue and control.

Bottom line: If you're starting from zero audience + near-zero ad budget, I'd choose Udemy first. If you're teaching a creative subject, I'd test Skillshare alongside it, but I wouldn't make Skillshare your only bet given its new follower/engagement thresholds. Skillshare Help Center

If you tell me what your course is about and roughly how much you want to charge, I can narrow this down to the best marketplace and a realistic launch strategy.

Skillshare is worth considering if your course is in areas like design, illustration, photography, animation, or other creative subjects. But its economics changed in 2026: as of July 16, teachers need 50 followers plus a publishing/watch-time requirement to qualify for monthly royalties. Earnings are primarily based on qualifying minutes watched rather than a straightforward sale of your course.

What I'd do with a tiny budget

If your priority is getting learners without spending heavily on ads, I’d start with Udemy.

🥇 My pick: Udemy

Udemy explicitly has no fee to create and host courses, and its Marketplace Insights tool lets you research student demand, search volume, and revenue potential before you build the course. support.udemy.com

The trade-off is revenue share: for sales generated organically through Udemy rather than your own promotion, instructors currently receive 37% of net revenue. But if you bring the student yourself through your coupon/referral link, the share is 97%. support.udemy.com

That makes Udemy particularly attractive when you don't have an audience yet: you're effectively exchanging some margin for marketplace distribution.

🥈 Skillshare is worth considering

If your course is about design, illustration, photography, video, writing, freelancing, or another creative skill, Skillshare can be interesting. Teachers earn primarily from a pool based on qualifying watch time and engagement rather than conventional course purchases. support.udemy.comhelp.skillshare.comwww.ruzuku.com

However, there's an important 2026 wrinkle: since July 16, teachers need at least 50 followers plus a watch-time/publishing requirement to qualify for monthly royalty payments. help.skillshare.com

So for a brand-new creator with zero audience, I'd favor Udemy first.

What I'd do on a tight budget

Don't buy Kajabi/Teachable/Thinkific yet. Those are useful when you already have an audience; they generally don't solve your biggest initial problem—finding learners. A marketplace does. www.ruzuku.com

Instead:

1. Research 5–10 course topics on Udemy Marketplace Insights.
2. Pick a narrow problem with clear buyer intent, rather than a huge topic like "Learn Marketing."
3. Build one excellent, focused course.
4. Optimize the title, thumbnail, description, curriculum and reviews for marketplace discovery.
5. Use organic content (YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, Reddit where appropriate) to get your first students/reviews rather than buying ads.
6. Once you have traction, consider adding your own storefront so you can capture more of each sale.

Bottom line: For a new creator with little money and little/no existing audience, Udemy is probably the best first marketplace. Skillshare is the runner-up, particularly for creative subjects.

If you tell me your course topic + roughly how much you want to charge, I can recommend the best marketplace and a low-budget launch strategy for that specific course.

If your priority is getting in front of learners without spending much on ads, I’d start with Udemy.

Why I'd pick Udemy

You don't pay to create or host courses, and Udemy has its own marketplace where learners can discover courses. support.udemy.com

The tradeoff is revenue share: you receive 37% of the net amount on sales generated without your promotion, while you receive 97% when the student buys through your coupon/referral link. So you're effectively trading some margin for Udemy's ability to bring you buyers. support.udemy.com

That makes it particularly attractive when you're starting with little or no audience.

Skillshare is worth considering—but with a caveat

Skillshare can also provide discovery without you buying ads. Teachers earn from a subscription-based royalty pool based largely on qualifying minutes watched. help.skillshare.com

However, as of July 16, 2026, Skillshare requires teachers to have at least 50 followers plus additional publishing/watch-time requirements to qualify for monthly royalties. help.skillshare.com That makes it less attractive as your very first marketplace if you're starting from zero.

My low-budget strategy

I'd do this:

1. Publish one narrowly focused course on Udemy.
2. Use Udemy's marketplace demand to validate whether people actually buy the topic.
3. Don't spend heavily on ads initially.
4. Optimize the title, thumbnail, description and first few lectures around the exact problem learners are searching for.
5. Once you have traction/reviews, consider moving toward a platform you control—where you keep more revenue and own more of the customer relationship.

Bottom line: If you're a brand-new creator with no significant audience + very little ad budget, choose Udemy first. If your subject is primarily design, illustration, photography, creative software, or similar, I'd seriously test Skillshare alongside it.

If your priority is getting in front of learners without spending much on ads, I’d start with Udemy.

🥇 My pick: Udemy

You don't pay to create or host a course, and Udemy explicitly says instructors can publish free and paid courses without a hosting fee. support.udemy.com

More importantly for your situation, Udemy itself supplies marketplace traffic. In 2025, Udemy reported more than 90,000 instructors and said 85% of its marketplace traffic originated outside the U.S. www.sec.gov

The tradeoff is revenue share:

• 97% of net revenue when a student buys through your instructor coupon/referral link.
• 37% when the sale comes through Udemy without your promotion—for example, marketplace browsing or certain Udemy advertising. support.udemy.com

For a cash-strapped beginner, I'd gladly accept the lower organic share if it means you don't have to buy the traffic yourself.

🥈 Skillshare is worth considering

Skillshare can also put your classes in front of an existing subscriber base, but its economics are different: teachers primarily earn based on qualifying watch time from paid members. www.sec.govhelp.skillshare.com

There's an important 2026 wrinkle: starting July 16, Skillshare requires at least 50 followers plus either recent publishing with sufficient watch time or a higher watch-time threshold to qualify for monthly royalties. help.skillshare.com

So I wouldn't make it your only bet as a brand-new creator.

What I'd do with a tiny budget

Don't start by paying for ads.

1. Put your first course on Udemy.
2. Choose a narrowly defined topic with obvious learner intent—e.g. “Excel dashboards for nonprofit managers” rather than “Learn Excel.”
3. Use Udemy's marketplace/search data to validate demand before spending weeks producing it.
4. Make the first course exceptionally focused and outcome-oriented.
5. Use your first students' questions/reviews to create a second, related course.
6. Once you have some traction, consider moving your best-selling material to a platform you control, where you can keep more revenue.

In other words: marketplace first for discovery, owned platform later for margin and customer ownership.

If you tell me your course topic + approximate price ($20, $50, $100, etc.), I can compare Udemy vs. Skillshare vs. other marketplaces specifically for that niche and tell you where I'd launch first.

If your priority is getting discovered without spending much on ads, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for a shoestring-budget creator

1. Udemy — best overall bet

Udemy is unusually well suited to your situation because you don't pay to create or host a course, and its marketplace can generate sales without you bringing every learner yourself. For sales generated through Udemy's marketplace rather than your own promotion, instructors currently receive 37% of net revenue; sales through your own coupon/referral can pay 97%. support.udemy.com

It also has Marketplace Insights, which lets you investigate learner demand, search volume and revenue for potential topics before you spend weeks creating a course. support.udemy.com

Udemy instructor information

2. Skillshare — worth considering for creative subjects

Skillshare also has marketplace discovery and doesn't require a monthly platform subscription to teach. But I'd put it second for a brand-new creator: as of July 16, 2026, teachers need 50 followers plus a publishing/watch-time requirement to qualify for monthly royalties. Earnings are primarily tied to qualifying watch time and engagement rather than individual course purchases. help.skillshare.com

Skillshare teacher earnings information

What I'd do with $0–$100

Start on Udemy, not a standalone course platform. Pick a narrowly defined problem with demonstrable search demand, use Marketplace Insights before recording, and make the first course relatively focused rather than trying to build a giant "complete" program.

Then use your first course to learn:

• what learners actually buy
• which lessons they finish
• what questions/reviews reveal about demand
• which related course you could create next

Once you have some organic traction, then consider moving toward your own branded platform, where you keep more revenue but have to generate much more of the traffic yourself.

Bottom line: For a new creator with little money and no established audience, Udemy is probably the strongest first marketplace; Skillshare is a good second choice, especially for creative subjects.

If your priority is getting in front of learners without spending much on ads, I’d start with Udemy, with Skillshare as a secondary option.

My pick: Udemy

Udemy doesn't charge instructors to create/host courses, and its marketplace can generate sales without you buying ads. For sales that happen organically through Udemy—for example, someone browsing the marketplace—the instructor share is currently 37% of the net amount. If you drive the sale through your own coupon/referral link, the share is 97%. support.udemy.com

That's a pretty attractive trade for someone who has more time than marketing budget: you're essentially paying Udemy with a percentage of revenue in exchange for access to its existing learner marketplace.

There's also a potential second discovery channel through Udemy Business, where instructor compensation is based on learner engagement rather than individual course purchases. support.udemy.com

Skillshare: worth considering, but I'd rank it #2

Skillshare can work particularly well for creative subjects, but its economics changed significantly in 2026. As of July 16, teachers need at least 50 followers plus a publishing or watch-time requirement to qualify for monthly royalty payments. Earnings are primarily based on qualifying watch time and other engagement/referral factors. help.skillshare.com

So for a brand-new creator with zero audience, I'd rather test Udemy first.

What I'd do on a tight budget

1. Pick one narrow, searchable course topic rather than a huge "complete course."
2. Research the marketplace before recording—look for topics with substantial learner demand but mediocre existing courses.
3. Publish on Udemy first.
4. Make the course title/thumbnail/first few minutes extremely competitive; marketplace discovery doesn't help much if people don't click or finish.
5. Use free organic promotion—YouTube shorts, LinkedIn, Reddit communities where appropriate, etc.—but don't make paid ads a prerequisite.
6. Once you've validated that people actually buy/watch the course, consider putting a higher-priced version or complementary products on your own platform.

Bottom line: If you're starting from $0–$100 marketing budget and little/no audience, Udemy is probably the best first marketplace to test. You trade margin for distribution, which is exactly the trade-off that makes sense when cash—not time—is your constraint. support.udemy.com

If you tell me your course topic + target learner, I can also compare the best 3 marketplaces for that specific niche and tell you where I'd launch first.

If your main constraint is “I have little/no audience and don’t want to buy ads,” I’d prioritize a true marketplace over software that merely hosts your course.

My ranking for a new creator

Why I’d start with Udemy: the marketplace model is specifically designed to put courses in front of learners who are already searching for things to learn, rather than requiring you to generate all the traffic yourself. The tradeoff is that you surrender more control over pricing and revenue compared with owning your own storefront. www.ruzuku.com

Skillshare is worth considering, especially if your course is in areas like design, illustration, photography, animation, branding, or other creative subjects. Skillshare says it promotes selected high-quality classes through search, browse, recommendations, and curated placements. help.skillshare.com However, its economics changed substantially in 2026: teachers now need at least 50 followers plus additional publishing/watch-time requirements to qualify for monthly royalties. help.skillshare.com

Gumroad is a different proposition. Its Discover marketplace can recommend your products to prospective customers, but you first need to reach a $100 balance from genuine sales and pass its review process before becoming eligible for Discover. Marketplace-discovery sales also carry a 30% fee. gumroad.com So I wouldn't choose it primarily for cold-start discovery.

What I'd do on a tight budget

Start on Udemy → validate the topic → build an audience → eventually move/expand into your own storefront.

The key is not just uploading a course and hoping. Pick a specific search-driven problem (“Excel dashboards for nonprofit managers,” rather than “Learn Excel”), make the course inexpensive enough to generate initial enrollments/reviews, and optimize the title, thumbnail, description, and curriculum around what learners are actually searching for.

If you tell me what your course is about and roughly how long it is, I can recommend the best marketplace for that specific topic and show you how I'd position it to get organic learners.

If your priority is getting discovered without spending much on ads, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for a cash-strapped new creator

1. Udemy — best overall bet

Udemy is explicitly a marketplace, so learners can find courses through its own search and marketplace activity rather than you having to generate all the traffic yourself. It also provides Marketplace Insights, showing demand, search volume, and revenue information for potential topics. support.udemy.com

There's no fee to create or host courses. The tradeoff is revenue share: Udemy says instructors receive 37% of net revenue on sales that don't use an instructor promotion, while instructor-driven coupon/referral sales pay 97% of net revenue. support.udemy.comsupport.udemy.com

That's actually a reasonable trade for your situation: you're giving up some revenue in exchange for access to an existing learner marketplace.

Udemy for instructors

2. Skillshare — worth considering if your subject fits

Skillshare can provide built-in exposure, but its economics have changed substantially in 2026. Teacher royalties are based largely on qualifying watch time, and as of July 16, 2026, teachers need at least 50 followers plus additional publishing/watch-time requirements to qualify for monthly royalty payments. help.skillshare.com

So I'd favor Skillshare if you're teaching something like design, illustration, photography, animation, branding, or other creative skills, rather than making it your default for every type of course.

Skillshare for teachers

What I'd do in your shoes

Don't spend on ads initially. Instead:

1. Pick a narrowly defined problem people are already searching for.
2. Use Udemy's Marketplace Insights before recording anything.
3. Make the course highly practical and outcome-focused.
4. Optimize the title/subtitle around the learner's problem, not your credentials.
5. Publish a strong free preview/intro.
6. Use your own social/content efforts to generate the first students and reviews.
7. Once you have evidence that the topic sells, consider building an independent course business where you keep more of each sale.

The key distinction is marketplace vs. course-hosting software: Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi, etc. can give you a nicer storefront, but they generally don't solve your biggest problem as a new creator—where the first learners come from.

Bottom line: start with Udemy, validate demand, then graduate to your own platform once you've built an audience.

If your priority is “get discovered without spending much on ads,” I’d start with Udemy.

My budget-conscious ranking

Why Udemy wins for a new creator: it is explicitly a marketplace, has no instructor fee, and provides Marketplace Insights for researching learner demand before you build. support.udemy.com

The tradeoff is revenue share: for sales generated through Udemy's marketplace rather than your own promotion, instructors currently receive 37% of net revenue. If you personally bring the buyer through your coupon/referral link, the share is 97%. support.udemy.comsupport.udemy.com

One important 2026 caveat: Skillshare

Skillshare can be attractive if your course is creative—illustration, design, photography, branding, animation, crafts, etc. But its economics have become less beginner-friendly. Since July 16, 2026, Skillshare has new eligibility requirements for monthly royalty payments, following an earlier 50-follower requirement introduced in January. help.skillshare.com

So I wouldn't choose Skillshare primarily because it's free to upload.

What I'd do with a very small budget

Put your first course on Udemy, but don't just upload it and wait.

1. Use Udemy's Marketplace Insights to find a topic with existing demand but manageable competition.
2. Make the course narrowly outcome-focused rather than a giant “complete guide.”
3. Optimize the title, thumbnail and first few lectures for marketplace conversion.
4. Get your first legitimate reviews/students through your existing network or organic content—not paid ads.
5. Once you've proven people will buy, consider moving toward your own storefront, where you keep more of each sale.

Bottom line: If you have little/no audience and don't want to buy ads, Udemy is probably the best first marketplace. If you already have an audience, a direct platform can become more profitable because you aren't surrendering marketplace revenue share.

If you’re a new course creator with little or no ad budget, prioritize platforms that already have learner discovery rather than just course-hosting tools. The trade-off is that marketplaces usually take a bigger cut and give you less control over the student relationship. creatorstackclub.com

My shortlist:

What I’d do with a very small budget:

1. Put a discovery-friendly version on Udemy
   • Make it a focused “solve one problem” course (for example, “Excel dashboards for small businesses” rather than “Complete Excel Mastery”).
   • Use learner search data and reviews to refine your topic. creatorstackclub.comwww.mightynetworks.com

2. Build your own asset at the same time
   • Collect emails from interested learners.
   • Create a higher-priced version later on Thinkific or Teachable where you control pricing and customer relationships. creatorstackclub.comwww.mightynetworks.com

3. Avoid paying for premium all-in-one tools early
   • Platforms like Kajabi are powerful, but they make more sense once you already have sales volume or an audience. www.mightynetworks.com

A simple rule:

• No audience → Udemy/Skillshare first
• Small audience → Thinkific/Teachable
• Established audience → your own platform + email funnel

If you tell me your course topic (business, coding, fitness, language, creative, professional skills, etc.) and whether you already have any audience, I can narrow this to the best 1–2 options.

If your main constraint is “I don’t have an audience and I can’t afford ads,” I’d start with a marketplace, not Teachable/Kajabi/Thinkific. Those are better once you already have traffic to send to your course.

My pick: Udemy

Udemy is probably the strongest fit for a first course because:

• No upfront course-hosting fee. You can publish free or paid courses without paying a monthly platform fee. support.udemy.com
• Built-in learner marketplace: Udemy can sell your course to people browsing/searching its catalog, meaning you aren't solely responsible for generating traffic. On sales it generates without your coupon/referral, instructors currently receive 37% of net revenue. support.udemy.com
• Its Marketplace Insights tool gives you data on learner demand, search volume, and revenue for potential topics—very useful when you're trying to avoid wasting months creating something nobody searches for. support.udemy.com
• You can potentially get additional revenue from Udemy Business and subscription programs, where instructor payouts are based on learner engagement. support.udemy.com

The tradeoff is that you give up pricing/control and a substantial portion of marketplace revenue. But for “I need learners more than I need maximum margin right now,” that's a reasonable trade.

Runner-up: Skillshare

Skillshare makes sense if your course is in design, illustration, photography, video, animation, creative careers, or another creative subject. It has a built-in community and pays teachers primarily according to learner watch time rather than individual course purchases. www.skillshare.comhelp.skillshare.com

One important 2026 wrinkle: you now need at least 50 Skillshare followers plus the applicable watch-time/publishing requirement to qualify for monthly royalty payments. www.skillshare.comhelp.skillshare.com So I wouldn't choose Skillshare solely because it looks easy to monetize from zero.

What I'd do on a tiny budget

1. Validate the topic on Udemy first.
Use Marketplace Insights before recording everything.

2. Make one narrowly targeted course.
“Excel for beginners” is crowded. Something like “Excel dashboards for nonprofit program managers” gives you a much clearer search/marketing angle.

3. Optimize for marketplace search rather than buying ads.
Title, subtitle, thumbnail, course outline, reviews and early student engagement matter enormously when you don't have an audience.

4. Don't build your own course website yet.
Once you've proven that strangers will pay to learn your topic, then consider moving/upgrading your business infrastructure.

Bottom line: Udemy first for most new creators seeking organic learner acquisition; Skillshare first if you're specifically teaching creative skills. I'd spend your scarce money on better course production and topic validation, not ads.

If you tell me what your course is about and roughly what you'd charge, I can tell you which marketplace is likely to give you the best shot at organic learners.

If your main constraint is “I need the marketplace itself to help me find learners”, I’d start with Udemy.

Why I'd pick Udemy first

You can get started without paying to host the course. For sales generated organically through Udemy's marketplace, instructors currently receive 37% of net revenue; sales through your own instructor promotion/referral link pay 97%. support.udemy.com

More importantly for your situation, Udemy has Marketplace Insights, which gives you information on student demand, search volume, and revenue for a topic. That lets you avoid spending weeks making a course nobody is searching for. support.udemy.comsupport.udemy.com

The tradeoff is that Udemy is highly competitive and its marketplace pricing can be aggressive. So I wouldn't try to win with a giant, generic course like “Complete Excel Course.” I'd target a specific problem + specific learner, e.g. “Excel Dashboards for Nonprofit Managers.”

My low-budget strategy:

1. Use Udemy Marketplace Insights to find a topic with existing demand.
2. Make a narrowly targeted course rather than a huge one.
3. Optimize the title/thumbnail around the learner's search intent.
4. Get your first reviews ethically through people who genuinely take the course.
5. Let Udemy's marketplace supply discovery before spending on ads.
6. Once you know what sells, consider moving your highest-value offer to your own platform.

One important 2026 wrinkle: I would not make Skillshare your first bet if you're starting from zero, because its new 50-follower threshold makes the initial monetization hurdle considerably higher. help.skillshare.com

If you tell me what topic your course is about and roughly what you'd charge for it, I can rank the best 3 marketplaces for that specific course and show you the lowest-cost path to your first 100 learners.

If your #1 constraint is “I have little/no audience and don’t want to buy ads,” I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for a new, budget-conscious creator

Why Udemy: it is explicitly a marketplace, so learners can discover your course through Udemy search, browsing and promotions rather than you having to generate all the traffic yourself. There is no fee to create/host courses. Udemy says instructors receive 37% of net revenue on sales not generated through their own coupon/referral, while sales through an instructor's promotion pay 97%. support.udemy.com

Udemy also provides Marketplace Insights, which lets you investigate learner demand, search volume and revenue for potential topics—very useful when you're trying to avoid spending money on a course nobody wants. support.udemy.com

Skillshare is my second choice, particularly if your course is in illustration, design, photography, video, animation or another creative field. But its economics changed substantially in 2026: as of July 16, teachers need at least 50 followers plus additional watch-time/publishing requirements to qualify for monthly royalties. help.skillshare.com

What I'd do with a $0–$100 marketing budget

1. Validate the topic on Udemy Marketplace Insights first.
2. Make a tightly focused course rather than a giant “complete guide.”
3. Optimize the title/thumbnail around what learners actually search for.
4. Use Udemy's marketplace to get your first students and reviews.
5. Don't spend heavily on Facebook/Google ads until you've proven people will buy.
6. Once you have traction, consider adding your own platform so you're not dependent on marketplace economics.

Bottom line: for your particular situation, Udemy is the strongest starting bet. If you're teaching a creative subject, I'd seriously consider Skillshare alongside it, but I wouldn't make Skillshare your only channel until you've built the required following.

Udemy instructor information
Skillshare — teach on Skillshare

If your main constraint is “I have little/no audience and don’t want to buy ads,” I’d start with a marketplace rather than an all-in-one course platform.

My pick: Udemy

For a new creator, Udemy is probably the strongest fit because its marketplace is designed to put courses in front of people already searching for things to learn. There’s no fee to create or host courses, and Udemy says marketplace sales that aren't driven by your own promotion currently pay instructors 37% of net revenue. Sales through your own coupon/referral can pay 97% of net revenue. support.udemy.comsupport.udemy.com

That tradeoff is actually attractive when you're cash-constrained: you give up margin in exchange for access to Udemy's existing learner traffic.

Second choice: Skillshare

Skillshare is worth considering if your course is particularly suited to creative skills, design, productivity, or project-based learning. Its model is different: teacher earnings are primarily based on qualifying minutes watched from the Teacher Fund rather than individual course purchases. Skillshare changed its teacher-earnings eligibility requirements in July 2026, so I'd check those requirements before committing. help.skillshare.com

What I'd avoid initially

Platforms such as Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi, and similar hosted-school products are better once you can bring your own audience. They give you more control over branding, pricing, and the customer relationship, but they generally don't solve your biggest problem right now: discoverability. www.ruzuku.com

The bigger strategy: don't try to make one giant “complete course.” On Udemy, research a specific learner problem with existing search demand, create a focused course around it, and use the marketplace to validate demand. Udemy even provides a Marketplace Insights tool for researching course topics. support.udemy.comsupport.udemy.com

If you tell me your course topic and roughly how much you can spend ($0, $50, $100/month, etc.), I can compare the best 3 marketplaces for that specific course and tell you where I'd launch first.

If your priority is getting discovered by learners without spending heavily on ads, I’d start with Udemy.

My ranking for a cash-strapped new creator

Why Udemy wins: you don't pay to create or host courses, and Udemy's marketplace can generate sales you didn't personally acquire. For marketplace sales where you aren't supplying the coupon/referral, instructors currently receive 37% of net revenue; sales generated through your own promotion pay 97%. support.udemy.com

Udemy for instructors

Skillshare is the runner-up, especially if your subject is creative. But there's an important 2026 catch: starting July 16, teachers need at least 50 followers plus a publishing/watch-time requirement to qualify for monthly royalties. That makes it less attractive if you're starting literally from zero. help.skillshare.com

Skillshare teacher earnings information

I wouldn't start with Teachable if your problem is audience acquisition. It's excellent for owning the storefront and customer relationship, but you're largely responsible for bringing learners yourself. Its Starter plan is currently $29/month when billed annually ($39 month-to-month). support.teachable.com

What I'd do in your shoes

Put your first course on Udemy, not your own LMS. Pick a narrowly defined topic with obvious learner intent, use Udemy's marketplace/search data to validate the topic before producing 10+ hours of content, and focus on getting your first reviews.

Once you have traction, you can add your own platform and use Udemy as a discovery channel, rather than trying to build an audience from scratch.

If you tell me what your course is about, I can also compare Udemy vs. Skillshare specifically for that niche and tell you which one is more likely to bring you organic learners.