Softwr

LMS · head to head

Podia vs Skilljar

Podia logo

Podia

LMS

Sell online courses, memberships, and digital downloads

From
$42/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Skilljar logo

Skilljar

LMS

Customer education platform that treats training completion as a commercial signal in the CRM

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Podia mover tier charges 5% transaction fees on all sales; higher tiers offer fee-free processing; Skilljar pricing is an enterprise annual commitment, so a first certification pilot costs more than it can demonstrate and teams should prove the programme elsewhere first.
  • They diverge on capability: Podia covers Course hosting, Skilljar covers Branded course catalogue.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Podia and Skilljar actually diverge.

Attributes where Podia and Skilljar differ
AttributePodiaSkilljar
Starting price$42/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android
Founded2014Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (LMS).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Podia

  • Course hosting
  • Digital downloads
  • Memberships
  • Email marketing
  • Webinars
  • Community
  • Affiliate marketing
  • Custom website

Only in Skilljar

  • Branded course catalogue
  • CRM data write-back
  • Certification with expiry
  • Domain and theme control
  • Self-paced and instructor-led
  • Engagement analytics

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Podia

  • Content creators selling digital courses with email marketing integrationnot Skilljar
  • Coaching businesses managing memberships and community spacesnot Skilljar
  • Newsletter publishers monetising subscriber base with events and digital productsnot Skilljar

Skilljar

  • A software company whose support ticket volume is driven by customers who were never trainednot Podia
  • Customer success teams that want training engagement visible next to renewal risk in Salesforcenot Podia
  • Partner certification programmes where credentials must expire and be renewednot Podia
  • Reducing time to first value during onboarding by giving customers self serve training before implementationnot Podia

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Podia

  • Mover tier charges 5% transaction fees on all sales; higher tiers offer fee-free processing
  • Mover plan capped at 50 products maximum; Shaker at 150 products; only Earthquaker offers unlimited
  • Video storage limited by plan: 500 videos (Mover), 1,000 (Shaker), unlimited (Earthquaker)
  • Email subscriber limits tiered: 100 (Mover), 500 (Shaker), 1,000 (Earthquaker); overage model not stated
  • Annual billing required for all plans with 72-hour refund window; partial refunds excluded

Skilljar

  • Pricing is an enterprise annual commitment, so a first certification pilot costs more than it can demonstrate and teams should prove the programme elsewhere first.
  • The commercial value depends on the Salesforce integration being properly configured, and companies with messy CRM data get engagement reporting joined to accounts that do not reflect reality.
  • It is built for external audiences, so using it for internal employee compliance means paying for capability that internal training does not need.
  • Content authoring is not a strength, so most customers licence an authoring tool separately and run two content workflows.
  • Attribution remains contested. The platform shows that trained accounts renew better, but establishing that training caused the renewal rather than that engaged customers train more is a problem the reporting cannot solve for you.

Pricing, plan by plan

Podia

$42/month
  • Mover$42/month
    • Up to 100 email subscribers
    • 5% transaction fees
    • 50 products
  • Shaker$84/month
    • Up to 500 email subscribers
    • No Podia fees
    • 150 products
  • Earthquaker$150/month
    • Up to 1,000 email subscribers
    • No Podia fees
    • Unlimited products

Skilljar

On request
  • Skilljar$undefined/year
    • Annual enterprise contract, quoted
    • Entry point sits well above self-serve course platforms
    • Implementation and integration services quoted separately

Which should you pick?

Choose Podia if

  • You need course hosting.
  • You also want digital downloads.
Podia review

Choose Skilljar if

  • You need branded course catalogue.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want crm data write-back.
Skilljar review

Questions people ask

Is Podia or Skilljar better?
Neither clearly leads. Podia starts at $42/month and Skilljar at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Podia or Skilljar?
Podia starts at $42/month and Skilljar at On request.
Does Podia or Skilljar run on more platforms?
Podia runs on Web. Skilljar runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Podia best used for?
Podia is most often used for content creators selling digital courses with email marketing integration, coaching businesses managing memberships and community spaces, newsletter publishers monetising subscriber base with events and digital products. Of those, content creators selling digital courses with email marketing integration and coaching businesses managing memberships and community spaces are not what Skilljar is typically brought in for.
What can Podia do that Skilljar cannot?
Podia covers Course hosting, Digital downloads, Memberships, Email marketing. Skilljar covers Branded course catalogue, CRM data write-back, Certification with expiry, Domain and theme control.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Podia: How much does Podia cost?

Podia offers three plans: Mover at $42/month, Shaker at $84/month, and Earthquaker at $150/month. All plans include a 30-day free trial and can be billed monthly or annually with cost savings on annual billing.

Source
Skilljar: How is Skilljar different from a corporate LMS?

A corporate learning platform reports on employees for compliance. Skilljar reports on customers for retention and expansion, and writes that activity into the CRM so account teams see it.

Podia: Does Podia charge transaction fees?

Yes, the Mover plan charges 5% Podia transaction fees. Higher tiers (Shaker and Earthquaker) include no Podia fees. However, all plans are subject to payment processor fees of 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction.

Source
Skilljar: Do learners need accounts before they can browse?

No. Catalogues can be public so prospects and customers browse and enrol without a sales conversation, which is a large part of the self serve onboarding case.

Podia: Is there a free trial for Podia?

Yes, Podia offers a 30-day free trial. No credit card is required to start the trial, allowing you to explore all features before deciding on a plan.

Source
Skilljar: Is it worth it for a small customer education team?

Usually not at the start. The contract floor assumes an established programme, so prove the value on a cheaper platform and move once retention or revenue evidence exists.

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