LMS and Online Course Platforms: Selling Training and Courses Online in Ireland
The online learning market has exploded, and Irish businesses are perfectly positioned to capitalise. Whether you're a consultant packaging your expertise, a training company moving courses online, a fitness instructor offering virtual classes, or a professional body delivering CPD content, the right Learning Management System (LMS) or course platform turns your knowledge into recurring revenue.
This guide covers the main platform options, what they cost, how they compare, and practical advice for Irish businesses creating and selling online courses or training programmes.
Hosted Course Platforms (Easiest to Start)
Teachable (from €39/month): The most popular hosted platform for individual course creators. Handles hosting, payments, student management, and course delivery. You upload your content (video, text, PDFs, quizzes), set pricing, and Teachable manages the rest. Transaction fees on the Basic plan (5%) drop to 0% on higher tiers. Particularly good for coaches, consultants, and subject-matter experts selling directly to individuals.
Thinkific (free plan available, paid from €49/month): Similar to Teachable but with a more generous free tier and stronger customisation options. The site builder gives more control over your course website's look and feel. Better community features and stronger assessment tools. Good choice for businesses wanting a branded learning experience without heavy technical investment.
Start with a free or low-cost plan to validate your course concept with real students before investing heavily in course creation and platform fees. This "minimum viable course" approach saves thousands in wasted production time.
Kajabi (from €149/month): An all-in-one platform combining course hosting, website builder, email marketing, sales funnels, and community features. More expensive but eliminates the need for separate email marketing and website tools. Best suited to established creators or businesses where online courses are a primary revenue stream.
WordPress LMS Solutions (Maximum Control)
LearnDash (€199/year): The most popular WordPress LMS plugin. Transforms your WordPress site into a full learning platform with courses, lessons, quizzes, certificates, and drip content. Integrates with WooCommerce for payment processing and works with membership plugins for subscription-based access. Best for businesses that already have a WordPress website and want to add courses alongside their existing content.
WordPress LMS solutions give you complete ownership of your student data, course content, and platform. You're not at the mercy of platform pricing changes or feature restrictions, and you can integrate seamlessly with your existing business website.
LifterLMS (free core, add-ons from €99/year each): A flexible WordPress LMS with a free core plugin and paid add-ons for specific features (payment gateways, advanced quizzes, assignments). The modular pricing means you only pay for what you need. Strong for structured educational content with prerequisites, certificates, and achievement tracking.
Tutor LMS (free, Pro from €149/year): Newer WordPress LMS with a modern interface, strong Gutenberg integration, and competitive pricing. Growing quickly and well-suited to businesses wanting a clean, intuitive course creation experience within WordPress.
Enterprise and Organisation LMS
Moodle (free, self-hosted): The world's most widely used open-source LMS, particularly popular with Irish educational institutions, government bodies, and larger organisations. Moodle is free to download and use, but requires hosting, setup, and administration. Costs come from hosting (€20-€100/month), customisation, and ongoing management. MoodleCloud offers a hosted version from €80/year for small deployments.
Free and open-source platforms like Moodle require technical expertise to set up, configure, and maintain. Factor in hosting, security updates, backups, and plugin management costs when calculating true ownership costs.
Moodle excels at structured educational delivery: assignments, grading, forums, SCORM compliance, and detailed learner analytics. It's powerful but not pretty out of the box, and the administration interface has a steep learning curve. Best for organisations delivering formal training, accredited courses, or compliance education.
Membership Sites vs Course Platforms
Not all online learning requires a full LMS. If you're offering ongoing access to a library of content rather than structured courses, a membership site might be simpler. WordPress with MemberPress (€179/year) or Restrict Content Pro (€99/year) lets you gate content behind a subscription paywall. Combine with a basic page builder and you have a membership site for a fraction of a full LMS cost.
Membership sites work well for: ongoing professional development libraries, resource collections with templates and tools, community-based learning with forums and live sessions, and drip-content programmes delivered over weeks or months. For structured courses with assessments and certificates, a dedicated LMS is worth the investment.
Confusing membership sites with course platforms. A membership site is access control; a course platform includes progress tracking, completion certificates, and learning paths. Don't waste money on a full LMS if you just need to gate content behind a paywall.
Creating Course Content That Sells
The platform is just the delivery mechanism — the content is what people pay for. Effective online courses follow a clear structure: define the transformation (what will the learner be able to do after completing your course?), break it into modules and lessons, use a mix of video, text, and practical exercises, and include assessments that prove learning happened.
Video is the primary content format for online courses. You don't need a studio — a quiet room, good lighting, and a quality microphone produce professional results. Screen recordings (Loom, OBS Studio) work brilliantly for software training. Talking-head videos build personal connection. Slides with voiceover suit structured educational content. See our video production guide.
Pricing Your Online Courses
Irish course creators typically price at three tiers: mini-courses and workshops (€27-€97), comprehensive courses (€197-€497), and premium programmes with coaching (€997-€2,997+). Subscription/membership models typically range from €19-€49/month for content libraries or €97-€197/month for programmes including live elements.
Price based on the value of the outcome, not the quantity of content. A 2-hour course that teaches someone to save €5,000 on tax is worth more than a 40-hour course on general business knowledge. The transformation justifies the price.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which platform is best for a first-time course creator?
Teachable or Thinkific. Both are designed for individual creators, handle all the technical complexity, and let you focus on content creation. Start with Thinkific's free plan to test your concept before committing to paid features. Graduate to WordPress/LearnDash when you need more control.
Do I need to be VAT registered to sell courses?
Standard VAT registration thresholds apply (€37,500 for services in Ireland). Online courses are typically classified as electronically supplied services for VAT purposes. If selling to consumers in other EU countries, the €10,000 OSS threshold applies. Consult your accountant for your specific situation.
Can I use the Trading Online Voucher for an LMS?
Yes — building an online course platform is developing your online trading capability. The TOV can cover platform setup, course website design, and initial configuration. See our grants guide for details.
What's the best way to promote and market my online course?
Effective course marketing combines multiple channels: email lists, social media, content marketing (blog posts, videos), partnerships with complementary creators, and leveraging your existing professional network. Your email list is most valuable — focus on building it from day one through opt-ins before the course launches. See our content marketing guide for detailed strategies.
How do I ensure course completion and student success?
Set clear learning objectives, break content into manageable modules, include interactive elements (quizzes, assignments, discussions), and provide feedback on progress. Combat course abandonment with email reminders, community engagement (forums, cohorts), and optional office hours or Q&A sessions. Students who interact with community features are significantly more likely to complete. See our platform design guide for engagement best practices.
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Founder of Web Design Ireland. Helping Irish businesses make smart website investments with honest, practical advice.