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ToolGPA

Price against what you get

Best-value course and community platforms

Going by our grades, Simplero, Heartbeat, Heights Platform and Maven give the most for the money among course and community platforms: no tool on this chart scores higher without costing more.

Paid plans start at a middle price of $41 a month across the 18 that charge, from $9 (Skool) to $399 (Disco). 1 more costs nothing at all. 5 of the 19 score above the category's average while starting at or below its middle price. 4 cost more than the middle price and score below the average.

Set price against

Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged

C2.0B3.0A4.0Free$5$10$20$50$100$200$500More for lessCosts more, scores moreCosts less, scores lessCosts more, scores lessSimpleroHeartbeatHeights PlatformMavenCirclesysteme.ioDiscoKartra

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

  • Nothing scores higher without costing more
  • The best score at each price
  • Has a free plan
  • No free plan
19 of the 19 course and community platforms in this directory. Scores are ToolGPA’s own grades; prices are each vendor’s own, read up to Oct 17, 2026. The lines cross at the middle starting price ($41) and the average score (2.6). The data as JSON · The chart as a picture
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Paste this where you want it. The picture links back here and is redrawn whenever a price or a grade changes. Use it freely, with the link left in.

<a href="https://toolgpa.com/charts/courses-communities"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/charts/courses-communities/chart.svg" alt="19 course and community platforms by starting price and by ToolGPA score" width="1200" height="675" style="max-width:100%;height:auto"></a>

The best at every price

Each step is the highest score course and community platforms reach at that price or below. Nothing on the chart beats these without costing more.

  1. Free

    No paid plan · scores 2.3 of 4

  2. $19

    a month to start · scores 2.7 of 4

  3. $40

    a month to start · scores 3.0 of 4

    • Heartbeat$40 per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)BCA

  4. $59

    a month to start · scores 3.3 of 4

    • Simplero$59 per month, billed annually ($70 billed monthly)BAB

Paying more for less

The course and community platforms that the most others beat on both counts: a higher score and a lower starting price.

  1. DiscoStarts at $399 a month and scores 2.3 of 4.10 of 18 score higher for lessCCB
  2. KartraStarts at $52 a month and scores 2.3 of 4.6 of 18 score higher for lessCCB
  3. GraphyStarts at $49 a month and scores 2.3 of 4.6 of 18 score higher for lessCCB
  4. TeacheryStarts at $49 a month and scores 2.3 of 4.6 of 18 score higher for lessCCB
  5. KajabiStarts at $143 a month and scores 2.7 of 4.3 of 18 score higher for lessBCB

A high starting price often means a product is sold to companies and has no small plan, and a score is three letters, not the whole product. Read a tool’s own page before ruling it out.

The four quarters

Where the tools fall when the chart is cut at the middle price and the average score.

More for less5

Each scores above the category's average and starts at or below its middle price.

Heartbeat, Heights Platform, LearnWorlds, Teachable, Thinkific

Costs more, scores more5

Each scores above the average and starts above the middle price.

Simplero, Circle, Podia, Mighty Networks, Kajabi

Costs less, scores less5

Each scores below the average and starts at or below the middle price.

Maven, Skool, systeme.io, LearnDash, MemberPress

Costs more, scores less4

Each scores below the average and starts above the middle price.

Graphy, Teachery, Kartra, Disco

All 19 on the chart

Highest score first, then lowest price. The last column counts the tools that score higher and start lower.

#ToolScoreFeatures, ease, platformsA monthAs its listing states itScore higher for less
1Simplero3.3BAB$59$59 per month, billed annually ($70 billed monthly)None
2Circle3.3BAB$89$89 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)None
3Heartbeat3.0BCA$40$40 per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)None
4Heights Platform2.7BCB$19$19 per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly)None
5LearnWorlds2.7BCB$24$24 per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly)None
6Teachable2.7CBB$29$29 per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly)None
7Thinkific2.7BCB$40$40 per month, billed annually ($54 billed monthly)None
8Podia2.7BCB$42$42 per month for up to 100 subscribers, billed annually ($49 monthly)1
9Mighty Networks2.7BCB$79$79 per month, billed annually ($950 a year)2
10Kajabi2.7BCB$143$143 per month, billed annually ($179 billed monthly)3
11Maven2.3CCBFreeFreeNone
12Skool2.3CCB$9$9 per month, billed monthlyNone
13systeme.io2.3CCB$17$17 per month for up to 5,000 contacts, billed monthlyNone
14LearnDash2.3CCB$33.25$399 per year3
15MemberPress2.3CCB$33.25$399 per year at renewal, after a first year for $199.503
16Graphy2.3CCB$49$49 per month, billed monthly6
17Teachery2.3CCB$49$49 per month, billed monthly6
18Kartra2.3CCB$52$52 per month for up to 500 contacts, billed annually ($59 monthly)6
19Disco2.3CCB$399$399 per month, billed annually ($499 billed monthly)10

How course and community platforms grade

Every bar is all the course and community platforms we grade, cut by the letter each got on that count.

  • Value for moneyaverage 2.0
  • Free plan and trialaverage 1.9
  • Featuresaverage 2.5
  • Ease of useaverage 2.3
  • Platforms and integrationsaverage 3.1

An A is worth 4 and an F nothing. C is the ordinary grade. Every courses grade in one table

Common questions

Which course and community platforms give the most for the money?

Simplero, Heartbeat, Heights Platform and Maven. Each is the highest-scoring tool at its price or below: Maven scores 2.3 out of 4 and is free; Heights Platform scores 2.7 out of 4 and starts at $19 a month; Heartbeat scores 3.0 out of 4 and starts at $40 a month; Simplero scores 3.3 out of 4 and starts at $59 a month. This goes by ToolGPA's own grades for features, ease of use and platforms, averaged out of 4, set against the price each tool's paid plans start at.

Which are the best free course and community platforms?

Of the 1 course and community platforms here with no paid plan at all, Maven scores highest, at 2.3 out of 4. 1 more have a free plan beside their paid ones.

Which course and community platforms are best for under $20 a month?

Heights Platform, with a score of 2.7 out of 4: the highest among the 4 that start at $20 a month or less. Heights Platform starts at $19 a month.

Which course and community platforms cost the most for what they offer?

On this chart, Disco (starts at $399 a month, scores 2.3 out of 4, and 10 tools score higher for less), Kartra (starts at $52 a month, scores 2.3 out of 4, and 6 tools score higher for less) and Graphy (starts at $49 a month, scores 2.3 out of 4, and 6 tools score higher for less). A high starting price often means a product is sold to companies and has no small plan, so check what the price includes before ruling one out.

How much do course and community platforms cost?

The middle starting price is $41 a month: half of the 18 course and community platforms with a recurring price start below that and half above. 1 of the 19 in this directory have no paid plan, and 1 of those that charge also have a free plan.

How is the score on this chart worked out?

It is the average of three of the five grades ToolGPA gives every tool: features, ease of use, and platforms and integrations, with an A worth 4 and an F worth 0. The other two grades, value for money and the free plan, are about price, so they are left out and price gets an axis of its own. 19 of the 19 course and community platforms are on the chart.

How this chart is made

  • The score is the average of three of a tool’s five grades: features, ease of use, and platforms and integrations. An A is 4 points and an F none. Value for money and the free plan are left out because they are about price, and price has an axis of its own.
  • The price is what paid plans start at, in dollars a month, on the cheapest way of paying the listing names. A yearly price is divided by twelve, and a price in another currency is converted. A price for each person is shown for one person.
  • A tool with no paid plan sits in the band marked Free. A tool with a free plan beside paid ones is placed at its paid price and drawn as a filled dot.
  • The grades are ToolGPA’s own judgement from each vendor’s pages and from public reviews, not from testing, and no vendor can pay for one. How we grade

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