Navigating the world of course marketplaces and e-learning can get overwhelming, especially if you are an aspiring instructor looking to publish your first course. There is so much to consider. This guide will help you understand the landscape and find the right home for your courses.
Before diving into the marketplaces, it’s important to understand the difference between a Learning Management System (LMS) and a course marketplace. This distinction will shape your strategy for delivering, pricing, and organizing your expertise.
What Is the Difference Between a Learning Management System (LMS) and a Course Marketplace?
A Learning Management System (LMS) is used by organizations or individuals to create, deliver, and track training programs. It’s best suited for structured learning within an institutional or corporate setting, and importantly, an LMS does not come with a built-in student base. This means you’re responsible for marketing and attracting learners yourself, but in return you typically keep most of the revenue.
In contrast, a Course Marketplace is a large online platform where many learners browse and enroll in courses offered by various instructors. Marketplaces are ideal for self-directed learners seeking specific skills or knowledge. As an instructor on a marketplace, you can focus on building content and teaching while the platform handles much of the marketing, infrastructure, and audience – though they will take a share of your course revenue.
If you’re an expert looking to share and monetize your knowledge with eager learners worldwide, consider applying to be an instructor on one of these top course marketplaces. Each platform provides a unique set of tools and audiences to help you make an impact.
The Top 12 Best Online Course Marketplaces for Instructors
Below are 12 popular online course marketplaces (in no particular order) that accept instructor applications or proposals, updated with their status in 2025. We’ll cover what each platform specializes in, how to apply as an instructor, and any key points about being an instructor there.
- DataCamp is for instructors enthusiastic about data science and technical content.
- Pluralsight is for experts who can help companies and teams enhance their tech skills and innovate with artificial intelligence.
- Skill Success is for instructors who are looking for a broad audience.
- LinkedIn Learning is the perfect platform for teaching both technical and creative skills and contributing to corporate learning paths.
- Domestika is the perfect home for teaching vibrant creative skills and tools.
- Alison is for courses that come with certificates and diplomas.
- Udemy is great for launching your first course.
- Coursera is for those excited to make courses alongside degrees from universities and other companies.
- edX is the perfect place for teachers with courses comparable to college classes.
- Skillshare is great for creative instructors and microlearning.
- Udacity is for courses about product management, programming, and similar technology and business areas.
- FutureLearn is best suited for instructors who are affiliated with a university or organization
1. DataCamp
DataCamp actively recruits subject matter experts with a passion for teaching. They often have a “wishlist” of course topics they want, and you can apply by submitting an online form with your background and a proposed course outline. If your outline aligns with their needs and is approved, the next step is an audition: you’ll be asked to create a 3–5 minute screencast video teaching one of the concepts from your course. This lets DataCamp evaluate your teaching and presentation skills. If that goes well, you’ll move on to a contract and the full course development phase.
DataCamp often reaches out to potential instructors (through channels like LinkedIn) when they spot qualified experts, but you can also proactively apply via their instructor application page. As of 2025, DataCamp continues to expand its library (500+ courses) in data science and AI, so they are very much open to new instructors who can cover in-demand topics. The platform handles the tech side (interactive coding environment, exercises, etc.), allowing you to focus on content. Successful DataCamp instructors typically have strong data science skills and some teaching or communication experience.
2. Pluralsight
For those looking to share their expertise through Pluralsight, the platform offers opportunities to create video courses, assessments, and hands-on labs. As a Pluralsight author, you can educate a global audience, build your brand as a tech expert, supplement your income, and make an impactful contribution to the world of technology. To begin your instructor journey, you can get in touch with their team through the Pluralsight teaching page.
3. Skill Success
Skill Success provides a diverse collection of courses, which means the world is your oyster as an instructor. Take advantage of this website’s broad audience and feel free to launch several different genres of courses on this platform. To apply to start a course, you need to provide a compelling description of your proposed course and outline your course clearly. You also need to submit a link to a website, drive, or folder where a video sample of your course can be reviewed by their team of professionals.
4. LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com)
LinkedIn Learning offers a vast library of high-quality courses in business, technology, and creative skills, all aimed at helping learners achieve their personal and professional goals. This platform is amazing for instructors who want a driven audience with career-driven mindsets. It has a built-in base of college students and professionals who are passionate about learning new skills. To apply as an instructor, you need to include your LinkedIn profile’s URL, as well as the number of LinkedIn followers you currently have. As with the other applications, you will also have to fill out other information as well as answer several questions describing your course and its objectives. You will also have to provide a video sample of your course.
5. Domestika
For creatives looking for a community and a place to teach, Domestika is the go-to platform. It focuses on creative courses across various disciplines such as illustration, photography, and design. If you have an interest in teaching artists both discipline and artistic expression, you should strongly consider hosting your course here. Many artists come to Domestika to learn creative skills for their personal satisfaction and career ambitions. Make sure to include your course specialty, and then talk about your proposed courses. You can also include details about your experience and they can help with your specialty. The application for Domestika is fairly straightforward and can be found at the bottom of the page under “Ready to suggest a course?”. Just click the button “Teach a course” to open up the form.
6. Alison
Alison is a free online education platform that mainly focuses on workplace-based skills. It offers a wide range of free, comprehensive classes on technology, languages, science, financial literacy, personal and soft skills, entrepreneurship, and more. They have two applications for instructors. You can republish a course you’ve already published, or you can become a new course creator with them.
7. Udemy
Udemy is one of the largest global course marketplaces for learning and teaching online. It has an extensive selection of over 150,000 courses in various categories, taught by expert instructors. Udemy is an amazing option for launching your very first course. It’s a pretty easy platform for instructors to understand and it helps its instructors achieve success. If you want to get started with Udemy, you can apply with ease.
8. Coursera
Coursera partners with universities and organizations around the world to offer courses, certifications, and degrees in a variety of subjects, including engineering, data science, machine learning, mathematics, business, computer science, digital marketing, humanities, medicine, biology, social sciences, and others. If you are a teacher who is ready and excited to work with these institutions, then this is the perfect platform for you. It is recommended that you have a strong professional background if you want to submit your course to Coursera.
9. edX
EdX, a nonprofit organization created by founding partners Harvard and MIT, brings the best of higher education to students around the world. Edx offers MOOCs and interactive online classes in subjects including law, history, science, engineering, business, social sciences, computer science, public health, and artificial intelligence (AI). If you are developing a course that is comparable to college classes, this is an incredible place to publish it and grow an audience. However, high standards are held for these courses and it is not easy to get approved. Make sure you have a compelling application. You can start the process by filling out a form.
10. Skillshare
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes for creative and curious people. Their core topics include illustration, design, photography, video, freelancing, and more. It is probably one of the most popular and well-known sites to the general public, which means there is a strong demand for courses on this platform but also a lot more competition. With that, Skillshare is a great place to start publishing courses and refining your teaching skills.
11. Udacity
Udacity specializes in technology courses with a strong focus on computer science and programming. That makes this platform perfect for courses focused on teaching different coding languages and techniques. It also has a robust business course section for anyone interested in teaching business skills. For example, this is a great place to publish courses about product management and project management. Udacity is a bit trickier than other platforms. Right now, they are not really looking for new courses. However, they have a page dedicated to their course development process. You can also see the positions they are looking for currently.
12. FutureLearn
FutureLearn operates as a curated academic and professional course marketplace. Courses are developed in partnership with universities, colleges, and recognized industry organizations. This means that to publish a course on the platform, you must be affiliated with an approved institution. FutureLearn does not offer an open “apply to teach” page for individuals. Instead, institutions apply through the “Become a Partner” page on FutureLearn’s website. Once approved, staff or faculty members from those institutions are responsible for developing and delivering the courses.
As of 2025, FutureLearn hosts more than 1,300 courses across a wide range of subjects including healthcare, psychology, information technology, education, business, and language learning. The platform has over 22 million registered learners and continues to grow. Course formats vary from free short courses with optional paid upgrades to full microcredential programs and professional certifications. FutureLearn handles all course promotion, learner onboarding, and platform infrastructure, making it an ideal solution for educators within institutions seeking global reach and academic credibility. While not an open marketplace, it remains one of the most respected platforms in the online education space.
Summary
We hope you found our guide useful and good luck with your first course! This is our summary status for 2025, and we will try to update these regularly.
| Platform | Status in 2025 | How to Apply |
|---|---|---|
| DataCamp | Open — actively recruiting | Online form, review of outline + screencast |
| Pluralsight | Open but selective | Apply via Teach portal |
| Skill Success | Open | Proposal, outline + demo video submission |
| LinkedIn Learning | Open but rigorous review | Application with LinkedIn profile + sample |
| Domestika | Open but competitive | Submit creative proposal; Domestika handles production |
| Alison | Open | Self-publish or assisted; apply via site |
| Udemy | Open | Self-sign up; course undergoes review |
| Coursera | Institutional only | Through partnered universities or orgs |
| edX | Institutional only | Via content partnership or institutional pitch |
| Skillshare | Open | Create teacher account; no formal gatekeeping |
| Udacity | Contract-based | Apply via careers/mentor opportunities |
| FutureLearn | Institutional only | Through partnered universities or orgs |