Udemy Alternative for Instructors: Where Else to Sell Your Course

How selling on Udemy works

Sikhami wrote this comparison, and we make Sikhami, so please read it with that in mind. We checked every detail about Udemy, Teachable and Graphy on their own websites on 18 October 2026. Prices and features change, so check them again before you decide. Udemy, Teachable and Graphy are trademarks of their owners; Sikhami is not connected with any of them.

How Udemy pays instructors

• Udemy charges no plan fee. It keeps part of each sale instead.
• When a student buys with your coupon or referral link, you receive 97% of the net amount.
• For other sales, you receive 37% of the net amount, unless you join one of Udemy's optional programs, which have their own terms.
• The net amount is what Udemy receives, minus taxes, app store fees on mobile purchases, and a 3% service and processing fee on other purchases.
• Subscription plans, such as Udemy Business and the Personal Plan, pay from a monthly pool. It is 15% of the subscription revenue, split by the minutes learners spend on each instructor's courses.
• Udemy pays in US dollars, by PayPal, Payoneer or a bank account in some countries. A payment is made once you are owed at least $25.

Who sets the price

You choose a base price for your course, sometimes from a list of price tiers, or you make it free. Prices in other currencies come from Udemy's price tier table, not from a plain currency conversion. If you opt into the Udemy Deals Program, Udemy can offer your course at a discount or change its list price, usually not below $9.99 USD or the local equivalent. You can opt out of the Deals Program at any time, though deals already running continue until they end.

Course rules

• Every course must pass Udemy's quality review before it is published in the marketplace. Udemy says a review usually takes 2 business days.
• If your course joins a subscription collection, you agree not to offer competing recorded courses on any other platform. Your own site is allowed.

Udemy and Sikhami side by side

Setting up and using Sikhami is free, with no subscription. Sikhami earns only when a learner buys something paid online, such as a video course, notes or a club. It keeps a share of that sale, and Google Play also takes its fee on purchases in the Android app. Before you save a price, Sikhami shows what you will receive per sale on the website and in the app.

Two more options: a course site in your own name

Course builders give you a school or website in your own name. Instead of a marketplace share, you pay a plan fee, and some plans add a fee per sale. Two examples, from their own pages:

Read more on our Teachable alternative and Graphy alternative pages. With either one, plan how buyers will reach your site, and count that marketing time as part of the cost.

When Udemy is the better choice

• Your topic, such as software, design or languages, has buyers all over the world. A marketplace can show your course to them.
• You would rather not run your own marketing, and you are happy for Udemy to discount your course in its Deals Program.
• You want to earn from subscription plans such as Udemy Business, where learners watch many courses without buying each one.
• You are happy to be paid in US dollars, by PayPal, Payoneer or a bank account where Udemy offers it.

When Sikhami is the better choice

• You want to set your own price, with access for 6 months, 1 year, 2 years or lifetime.
• You want to see what you will receive per sale, on the website and in the app, before you save a price.
• You want to turn your YouTube playlist into a free course with tests and a certificate.
• You also teach face to face and want batches, attendance and fee receipts next to your courses.
• You want to earn in more ways than courses: paid notes, clubs, meetups, study rooms and memberships.
• You want learners to follow you on a social network for learners.

See selling courses online on Sikhami for how it works, step by step.

How to sell on Sikhami alongside Udemy

You do not have to leave Udemy to try Sikhami. Keep one Udemy rule in mind: if your course is in one of its subscription collections, you agree not to offer competing recorded courses on other platforms. So read Udemy's terms before you put the same lessons on Sikhami, or use different lessons.

1. Sign up on Sikhami. In Learning studio, make a free teacher profile so learners can follow you.
2. Choose New institute, then Create institute. In Details, add your logo, username, about section, email, phone, full address and map location, so it can go live.
3. Add your bank details for payouts in Details.
4. On the website, under Courses, choose New course, then Video course and Upload videos.
5. Build the curriculum, mark a lecture or two as free previews, and add tests.
6. Set prices for the access periods you want, and check what you will receive per sale.
7. Share the course link with your students and followers.

Questions to ask before you choose where to sell

1. Who will bring most of my buyers: me, or the platform?
2. What share of each sale do I keep in each case, after all fees?
3. Who sets the price, and can the platform discount it?
4. Can I offer the same lessons free elsewhere, such as on YouTube?
5. How am I paid, and in which currency?
6. Can I contact my students, and keep my list if I leave?
7. Do I need my own website or app, and what will it cost each year?

Our guide on how to create and sell online courses covers planning, recording and pricing a course, wherever you sell it.

Good to know before you start

• On Sikhami, a course is sold through an institute. Publishing one needs a full address and map location, which only signed-in learners see.
• Sikhami does not give you your own app, your own web address or a website builder.
• Your course gets a public page that learners can find, but plan to bring your own students too, by sharing its link.
• Video courses are made on the website. A paid course uses uploaded videos, because playlist courses are always free.
• Tests are multiple choice with one correct answer, and there are no PDF lectures inside a course.
• There is no DRM or download protection for videos.
• Classroom and batch fees are paid to you directly, and Sikhami takes nothing from them. See everything in Sikhami's free LMS.