So you aren’t impressed by Passion.io?
No worries!
eLearning market is expected to reach $375 billion by 2026. That’s why you should finalize your online teaching platforms asap!
Through extensive research, we have come up with 5 unique Passion.io alternatives that you can try today. All tools mentioned in this post come up with a free trial or have a free version.
Let’s disclose the alternatives now:
Without boring you, let’s explore the Passion.io competitors in detail…
Should You Look for Passion.io Alternatives? Are You Sure?
Passion.io is a great LMS app maker [Over 7500+ creators have] and has been earning FIVE figures with it. It has amazing features like smart templates, live streaming, upselling tools, community builder, etc.
So why is there a need for its alternatives?
By analyzing deeply, we found these MAIN reasons for which alternatives may be considered. Please note these are not the Passion.io limitations.
1. Expensive Pricing:
Users may find Passion.io expensive. But did you know there is a hidden discount running on the Passion.io Ultimate plan? Yes, on our Passion.io pricing page, we have revealed the special discount in which you get an Ultimate plan at a pro plan cost.
Quick note: Stop looking at the alternatives, and instead get a great deal on Passion.io
2. Lacks Email Marketing Tool:
Yes. Passion.io doesn’t have an inbuilt email marketing tool. But with Zapier you can integrate Passion.io with your favorite email marketing tool. Example: Integrate Passion.io and MailChimp by Zapier.
3. Lacks Free Forever Plan:
Actually, you don’t require a free plan when Passion.io offers a 14-day free trial. Even most of the Passion.io alternatives free plans are useless or insufficient in features.
4. Lacks Affiliate Program:
Again this problem could be resolved through Passion.io and Tapfiliate zapier integration.
5 Best Passion.io Alternatives (The Handpicked List)
As mentioned, all Passion.io alternatives are unique. Hence you have to go through them one by one and make a final decision.
Quick note: We liked LearnWorlds, Thinkific and Mighty Networks the most. Mighty Networks is a special one, don’t forget to check.
1. LearnWorlds: Setup Online School
LearnWorlds is the #1 recommended Passion.io alternatives (rated 4.7 on G2). Because it is one of the few LMS tools which also allows coaches to build a fully-fledged white-label mobile app for their teaching business.
LearnWorlds is not a simple easy to use LMS tool as compared to Passion.io. But that’s not a limitation.
LearnWorlds is specially designed for advanced creators & online schools who are looking to build unlimited courses and want to enable advanced testing for their students. Plus multiple instructors can be enrolled for teaching in LearnWorlds – A BIG advantage over Passion.io
Passion.io is more suitable for selling digital products where various types of assignments & testing is not required. Or simply you’re fine with quizzes & surveys.
Through LearnWorlds, you can add over 16 types of questions.
Besides testing & assessments, one of the most notable features of LearnWorlds is Video Lessons. You are not just able to upload video lessons, but can edit video as well inside the course builder. In other words, you can add interactive buttons, logos, pointers, images, and transcripts to the video easily.
When to Choose LearnWorlds as a Passion.io Alternatives:
- Consider LearnWorlds when you’re looking to set up an entire school with multiple instructors and conducting various types of tests is your main priority.
- When you also want to build a course app (along with web based coaching)
- When the budget is small – You can start here only with $24/month
Features Comparison Table (LearnWorlds vs Passion.io)
| Features | LearnWorlds | Passion.io |
|---|---|---|
| Drag & Drop Builder | ✓ | ✓ |
| Done for you app creation | ✕ | ✓ |
| Own Course App | ✓ | ✓ |
| App Builder | ✓ | ✓ |
| Site Builder | ✓ | ✕ |
| Gamification | ✕ | ✓ |
| Habit Tracking | ✕ | ✓ |
| Email Marketing | Via Integrations | Via Integrations |
| Sales Funnel Features | Basic | Basic |
| Progress Tracking | ✓ | ✓ |
| Unlimited Lessons & Courses | ✓ | ✓ |
| Course content accessibility | App & Web | App & Web |
| Custom Branding & Domain | ✓ | ✓ |
| Course Templates | ✓ | ✓ |
| Push Notifications | ✓ | ✓ |
| Content Dripping | ✓ | ✓ |
| Course Pricing | Recurring/One time/Free | Recurring/One time/Free |
| Assessments & Testing | Advanced | Basic (Quizzes & Surveys only) |
| eBooks & Question Banks | ✓ | ✕ |
| Affiliate Management | ✓ | ✕ |
| Live Streaming | ✓ | ✓ |
| Community Builder | ✓ | ✓ |
| Interactive Content | ✓ | ✓ |
| Certificate Generator | ✓ | ✕ |
| Payment Gateways | Stripe, PayPal & 10 More | Stripe & Passion Payments |
| Free Trial | 30 Days | 14 Days |
| Pricing | Starts from $24/month | Starts from $79/month |
| Money Back Policy | 30 Days | 30 Days |
| Start Now |
Plans & Pricing of LearnWorlds:
LearnWorlds offers a total of 3 plans. The initial 2 plans only allow you to build a web based course. For a mobile based course app, you have to opt for the “Learning Center” plan.
LearnWorlds Pros and Cons:
Pros:
- The complete ownership of the Course app would be granted to the coaches only
- Starting plans are cheaper
- The LearnWorlds assessment builder is more powerful than other tools including Passion.io
- More than one instructor can teach
- School management features have given
- The affiliate management system is inbuilt for extra earning
Cons:
- The feature of the app builder is included only in the the “Learning Center” plan
- Email marketing features are absent
- Might involve a learning curve
2. Thinkific: The Free Web Based Course Builder Platform
Thinkific – Another web based course creation platform [rated 4.6 on trustpilot] allows coaches to create & sell their course via the Thinkific platform.
In comparison with Passion.io, The Thinkific doesn’t allow coaches to build their own course app. In simple words, the students are only able to access the Thinkific courses through the web.
Apart from that, Thinkific has a free forever plan in which one course can be created and an infinite number of students could be enrolled. Passion.io lacks a free plan.
Quick note: Despite a free plan, we recommend you to try Thinkific 30 Days free trial. So that you can try all the features available inside this LMS platform.
Thinkific Highlighted Perks: Live lessons with Zoom, Live events in the community, 100% ownership of content, custom domain for hosting a course, etc.
When to Choose Thinkific as a Passion.io Alternatives:
- Prefer Thinkific only when you are looking to experiment if an online coaching business is for you or not. With a free plan, you can be free from the initial investment.
- Consider Thinkific over Passion.io when you are happy to offer course content via web, and not with mobile apps
Features Comparison Table (Thinkific vs Passion.io)
| Features | Thinkific | Passion.io |
|---|---|---|
| Own Course App | ✕ | ✓ |
| Web Accessibility | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free Forever Plan | ✓ | ✕ |
| Interactive Content | ✕ | ✓ |
| Coding Required | ✕ | ✕ |
| Website Builder | ✓ | ✕ |
| Lesson Types | Text, PDF, Videos, Images, Files, etc | Text, PDF, Videos, Images, Files, etc |
| Drag & Drop Course Builder | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sales Page Builder | ✓ | ✓ |
| Drip Content | ✓ | ✓ |
| Habit Tracking | ✕ | ✓ |
| Quizzes & Surveys | ✓ | ✓ |
| Push Notifications | ✕ | ✓ |
| Progress Tracking | ✓ | ✓ |
| Course Drop-offs | ✓ | ✕ |
| Course Templates | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live Classes | ✓ | ✓ |
| Completion Certificates | ✓ | ✕ |
| Zoom Meetings | ✓ | ✕ |
| Course Fees | Flexible | Flexible |
| Email Marketing Tools | ✕ | ✕ |
| Downloadable Content | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free Trial | 30 Days | 14 Days |
| Pricing | Starts from $36/month | Starts from $79/month |
| Money Back Policy | 60 Days | 30 Days |
| Start Now |
Pricing & Plans of Thinkific
Well, the Paid plans of Thinkific are relatively cheap compared to Passion.io. Thinkific plans start from just $36/month.
Thinkific Pros & Cons:
Thinkific Pros:
- Initially, Zero investment is needed
- Supported all types of content (quizzes, videos, PDFs, etc)
- 60 Days money refund policy is a huge perk
- 0% transaction fees
- The list of supported Inbuilt app integrations are huge
- Community builder is present inside the free plan
Thinkific Cons:
- The course cannot be accessible through the mobile app.
3. Podia: Simple Web Teaching Platform
Podia is one of the simple LMS platforms, especially for those instructors who just have a requirement of only essential features in their LMS tool and nothing else. And because of this, the coaches can save a huge amount of LEARNING time and start quickly.
Compared to Passion.io, here you can’t create a white label course app. Your course will be built as well as hosted through Podia and only be accessible through the web.
However, some of the highlighted perks of Podia over Passion.io are: Free Plan, Affordable Pricing ($33/month), Website Builder, Live Chat (Messaging), Inbuilt Email Marketing, Embeddable Checkout Button, etc.
Quick note: The “Embeddable Checkout Button” is one of the unique feature which coaches can use to embed their course checkout button on any external site (WordPress, Wix, etc)
Quick note: Podia doesn’t have any pre-made course templates as you see in Passion.io – One of the major disadvantages of Podia.
When to Choose Podia as a Passion.io Alternatives:
- Start with Podia when you’re looking to host your course app only on the web and not on the Mobile app.
- Start with Podia when the budget is extremely low. The free forever plan is always there & paid plans are pocket friendly too.
Features Comparison Table (Podia vs Passion.io)
| Features | Podia | Passion.io |
|---|---|---|
| Drag & Drop Builder | ✓ | ✓ |
| Own Course App | ✕ | ✓ |
| App Builder | ✕ | ✓ |
| Web Accessibility | ✓ | ✓ |
| Website Builder | ✓ | ✕ |
| Live Chat (Messaging) | ✓ | ✕ |
| Gamification | ✕ | ✓ |
| Habit Tracking | ✕ | ✓ |
| Email Marketing Tools | Inbuilt | Via Zapier |
| Sales Funnel Features | Basic | Basic |
| Pre selling (Crowdfunding) | ✓ | ✕ |
| Progress Tracking | ✓ | ✓ |
| Unlimited Lessons & Courses | ✓ | ✓ |
| Course content accessibility | App & Web | App & Web |
| Custom Branding | ✓ | ✓ |
| Course Templates | ✕ | ✓ |
| Push Notifications | ✓ | ✓ |
| Content Dripping | ✓ | ✓ |
| Subscription Based Pricing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Affiliate Marketing | ✓ | ✕ |
| Community Builder | ✓ | ✓ |
| Zoom Integration | ✓ | ✕ |
| Certificate Generator | ✓ | ✕ |
| Free Trial | N/A | 14 Days |
| Pricing | Starts from $33/month | Starts from $79/month |
| Start Now |
Pricing & Plans of Podia
Apart from the free plan, Podia offers 4 paid plans at a super pocket friendly price. For those who can’t afford Passion.io or other expensive LMS tools can start with the Podia basic plan ($33/month)
Podia Pros & Cons:
Podia Pros:
- All the essential LMS features present to run a successful online teaching business
- Affordable paid plans in the market
- Email Marketing tools are the plus point
Podia Cons:
- No course app can be created through Podia
- The 8% transaction fee would be applied to the free plan
- Free trials on paid plans are not available.
4. Kajabi: Complete Solution for Coaches
Kajabi is a web based drag & drop online course builder [rated 4.6 on trustpilot] that helps users to create online courses, conduct coaching and deliver Podcasts.
Remember, it is a course hosted platform with all the LMS features present. Meaning you can’t build your own dedicated course app through this. The students have to access the course material through the Kajabi app only. This is the main difference between Kajabi & Passion.io
Kajabi is a whole online teaching solution. Alongside course creation, the coaches can create their site as well through inbuilt website builders, enable membership & subscriptions on courses, and finally grow their business with the help of tremendous marketing tools.
When to Choose Kajabi as a Passion.io Alternatives:
- Kajabi is suitable when you’re happy to sell your course via the Kajabi app and not with your own app. In simple words, Custom branding is not possible here.
- When budget is not a concern. If you feel Passion.io is expensive then you are 100% WRONG. With Kajabi, extra investment is required.
- Kajabi is perfect in a situation where you don’t have a course site. Unlike Passion.io, Kajabi allows you to create a course site with its website builder which you can use as a sales funnel and attract users through landing pages.
- When advanced email marketing & upselling features are highly important to you. Compared with Passion.io, Kajabi offers additional inbuilt marketing features like Email broadcasts (Send emails to all students), Email sequences (follow-ups), Landing page builder (for upselling outside the app), Order Bumps, etc.
Features Comparison Table (Kajabi vs Passion.io)
| Features | Kajabi | Passion.io |
|---|---|---|
| Drag & Drop Builder | ✓ | ✓ |
| Done for you app creation | ✕ | ✓ |
| Own Course App | ✕ | ✓ |
| App Builder | ✕ | ✓ |
| Course Drop-offs | ✓ | ✕ |
| Gamification | ✕ | ✓ |
| Habit Tracking | ✕ | ✓ |
| Email Marketing | Inbuilt | Via Zapier |
| Sales Funnel Features | Advanced | Basic |
| Progress Tracking | ✓ | ✓ |
| Unlimited Lessons | ✓ | ✓ |
| Course content accessibility | Via Kajabi App | App & Web |
| Custom Branding | ✓ | ✓ |
| Course Templates | ✓ | ✓ |
| Push Notifications | ✓ | ✓ |
| Content Dripping | ✓ | ✓ |
| Course Pricing | Recurring/One time/Free | Recurring/One time/Free |
| Quizzes | Advanced✓ | ✓ |
| Community Builder | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live Streaming | ✓ | ✓ |
| Certificate Generator | ✕ | ✕ |
| Interactive Content | ✕ | ✓ |
| Free Trial | 14 Days | 14 Days |
| Pricing | Starts from $119/month | Starts from $79/month |
| Money Back Policy | 30 Days | 30 Days |
| Start Now |
Plans & Pricing of Kajabi
As mentioned earlier, Kajabi is going to cost more than you would pay for Passion.io. Gladly, Kajabi offers an initial 14 days free trial so that you can start right now.
The Kajabi plans are available on a monthly and annual basis:
- Annual plans start from $119./mo (20% savings)
- Monthly plans start from 149/mo
Kajabi Pros & Cons:
Without learning the advantages & limitations of Kajabi, it would be unfair to proceed.
Pros:
- 14 days free trial and the 30 days money back guarantee is there for risk free start
- 0% transaction fees is a major plus point
- Coaches can also create their site with Kajabi website builder
- Email marketing & sales funnel features are powerful
Cons:
- Kajabi course creation platform might be expensive for new creators
- It won’t help in building a course app. Your course will be hosted on a Kajabi app and will compete with other courses available on a Kajabi university.
- Doesn’t support full white label
Mighty Networks [rated 4.5 on G2] is a unique platform that is not PRIMARILY an LMS-focused tool. Yes, you have heard it right. It is a community builder (A powerful one) that allows you to create a highly engagement rich community just like Facebook or Twitter.
And through this community, you have been given the option to sell 3 types of courses (Cohort based, Content only based & Community Based). There is no restriction on the number of courses & instructors which is again a big benefit of this platform.
Not just that, you can also build your white label course app through Mighty Networks.
Mighty Networks Highlighted Features: Memberships & Subscription, Built-in Live Streaming, DM’s and Chats, Live Events, Group Events, Unlimited Groups & Spaces Creation, Course App Creation, etc.
Mighty Networks Compared with Passion.io:
Passion.io is built by keeping LMS as an idea in mind. Hence you find a lot of LMS oriented features missing inside Mighty Networks. Plus, Email Marketing, Upselling & Sales funnels-related features are also missing from Mighty Networks. However, via Zapier some of the functionality could be added.
Enable Monetization either by paid memberships, online courses or via live events – You’re all set.
Try something new – Mighty Networks risk free 14 days free trial is waiting for you!
Mighty Networks Pricing
Comparing pricing, Mighty Networks is going to be EXPENSIVE than Passion.io
Mighty Networks has offered 3 plans:
- Community Plan – $33/mo – Lack of Online Courses Feature
- Business Plan – $99/mo – Community, Membership & Online courses are included
- Mighty Pro – For Building a Course App – Get a Quote & determine charges
Mighty Networks Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Unique LMS platform with a tremendously powerful community builder
- Course apps for Android & iOS can be built
- Ownership & complete white label benefit
Cons:
- Lacks email marketing, upselling & few LMS features
- Expensive! The initial 2 plans are useless if you require a mobile app for your course
FAQs: Passion io Alternatives
What are the best alternatives to Passion.io in 2023?
The best online course builders you can consider over Passion.io are LearnWorlds, Kajabi, Thinkific, Podia, and Mighty Networks.
Which Passion.io alternatives offer a lifetime plan?
Which are the free alternatives to Passion.io?
Podia and Thinkific are the two course builder platforms that have a free forever plan.
Which Passion.io alternatives have more features?
LearnWorlds is the most complex course app platform and has a lot of features compared to other alternatives.
How to migrate from Passion.io?
For migration, contact the customer support team of the LMS platform on which you want to migrate from Passion.io
Final Thoughts
Are you still confused? Well, Try any Passion.io alternatives from the above list. They all are the best, and unique, and are filtered through the huge list of online course builder platforms.
Remember, these are just tools. Try to make a decision quickly and focus on the course creation part. Real success will only come from your course content. So clear your head, and make a decision from our recommended Passion io alternatives.
Have any questions? Let’s discuss this in the comments.
