Podia vs Ruzuku (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Podia if

• Fits if you sell courses, downloads and coaching to one small audience
• Works for creators with a small email list, since email is priced by subscribers

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you have a big list, as 10,000 subscribers adds $56 a month billed annually
• Skip it if you plan to stay on Mover, because 5% of every sale goes to Podia
• Not for you if your members expect a phone app, as none is listed
• Watch out: PayPal, Zapier, affiliates, upsells and assistant seats need Shaker at $84 a month
• Watch out: there's no free plan, and refunds come only within 72 hours of the latest payment

Pick Ruzuku if

• Fits if you want to try one small course for free before paying
• Works for teachers who want live classes and no platform fee on sales

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you teach more than 5 students at once, since the free plan caps enrolments at 5 across all courses
• Pricey if you want branding, a custom domain, certificates or more than one instructor, which need Pro at $199 a month
• Skip it if you want a phone app, as it runs in a browser and the pages list no mobile apps
• Watch out: email invitations need a paid plan

Podia

• Mover adds a 5% Podia fee to each sale; Stripe or PayPal also charge their own fee of about 2.9% plus 30 cents.
• Plans include only 100, 500 or 1,000 email subscribers; 10,000 adds $56 a month billed annually ($70 monthly) on any plan.
• PayPal, Zapier, affiliate marketing, upsells and assistant seats need Shaker or Earthquaker.
• Refunds are given only within 72 hours of the latest payment; there is no free plan.

Ruzuku

• The free plan caps enrollments at 5 students at a time across all courses, and email invitations need a paid plan.
• White-label branding, a custom domain, certificates and multiple instructors need Pro at $199 a month.
• It runs in a browser only; the pages list no mobile apps.

Podia

Courses, downloads and coaching

Courses with drip lessons, quizzes, certificates and unlimited students, plus digital downloads, bookable coaching, and live or in-person events.

Community

Topic spaces, group chat, member-to-member messages, badges and paid membership tiers. Everyone who signs up or buys joins the community.

Website, blog and checkout

Pages, a blog and your own domain, with a one-page checkout, payment plans, coupons, subscriptions and tax handled for 230 jurisdictions.

Email marketing

Broadcasts to the whole list or a segment, welcome sequences and automations, and blog posts sent to subscribers as newsletters.

Podia Agent and MCP

A built-in AI assistant that works inside your account, and an MCP connection for Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor. Both are on every plan.

Ruzuku

Courses and cohorts

Unlimited courses on every plan, including live group cohorts, with videos up to 2 GB each (4 GB on Pro).

Live sessions

Zoom meetings are scheduled inside a course, and students see them in their own time zone.

Community and discussions

Each course has discussion areas for students, included on every plan.

Payments with no platform fee

Connect Stripe or PayPal and take payment plans or subscriptions. Ruzuku says it takes no transaction fee; the payment processor still charges its own.

Certificates and branding

Pro adds completion certificates, white-label branding with a custom domain, and several instructor accounts.

Support for students too

The vendor says its support team helps students with login and access problems, not only course creators.

Podia

• Mover$42

  per month for up to 100 subscribers, billed annually ($49 monthly)

  50 products, 500 videos, 25 community spaces. Podia takes a 5% transaction fee. $98 a month at 10,000 subscribers, billed annually.

• Shaker$84

  per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed annually ($99 monthly)

  150 products, 1,000 videos, 100 spaces, no transaction fee, 1 assistant, affiliates, upsells, PayPal and Zapier. $140 a month at 10,000 subscribers.

• Earthquaker$150

  per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed annually ($179 monthly)

  Unlimited products, videos, spaces and assistants, no transaction fee. $206 a month at 10,000 subscribers, billed annually.

Ruzuku

• Free$0

  Up to 5 student enrollments at a time, unlimited courses, live meetings, community, sales pages and payments. Email invitations need a paid plan.

• Core$99

  per month, billed monthly ($997 per year)

  Unlimited students and courses, unlimited course invitations, live meetings, community and discussions, sales pages and payments.

• Pro$199

  per month, billed monthly ($1,997 per year)

  Everything in Core, plus white-label branding and custom domain, multiple instructors, certificates, a storefront, AI captions and 4K streaming.

Podia

• Annual discount

  Lower monthly price with yearly billing

  Billed yearly, Mover is $42 a month instead of $49, Shaker $84 instead of $99 and Earthquaker $150 instead of $179.

Ruzuku

• Annual discount

  Pay yearly: Core $997, Pro $1,997

  The pricing page shows a yearly option of $997 for Core and $1,997 for Pro, which it describes as about $83 and $166 a month, against $99 and $199 monthly.

• Nonprofit

  Nonprofit and education pricing

  501(c)(3) nonprofits, NGOs and educational institutions can get 30% off annual plans, purchase order invoicing, or a one-time $4,950 Lifetime Pro grant option.