2024's Best LMS for Small Business (Free/Paid)

Starting or managing a small business in 2024? Did you know that creating a community as part of your marketing strategy can supercharge your efforts?

Customers change how they buy a product and an online community, forums, and user-generated content work very well. Explore the best LMS for small business to begin or continue running your customer communities!

What we'll explore together:

• Finding the importance of customer communities as a marketing strategy for small businesses, plus two other case studies on how LMS solutions are used by small businesses such as solopreneurs, digital creators, and learning businesses.
• A comprehensive guide on what to look for in a learning management system as a small business, showcasing the features and key touch points.
• Introducing a curated and handpicked list of the best LMS for small businesses, their key features, pricing plans, and their limitations. Disco is the overall best LMS for entrepreneurs and the five major reasons why it is the top choice of businesses this 2023-2024.

Customers Trust Communities in Their Buying Decisions

A recent survey about how customers decide to buy online products and services shows that they trust communities and forums rather than sources. This is the major reason why customer communities are becoming a trend, and why this marketing strategy works to retain customers and attract leads at the same time.

Another source--Studocu said, "42% of companies who use e-learning generate more income." Therefore, this is where the power of learning + community comes from!

Customer communities aren't just good for larger organizations and scaled-up companies. It's a good start for small thriving businesses. However, building a community isn't just starting a Slack or WhatsApp group--and it will gain success. Small businesses need to nurture and put effort, and time so their communities can flourish. This is where learning management systems can help the most!

Other LMS Solutions

For Employee Development and Training Programs

Fundamentally, an LMS solution is not just for customer communities. It could also be used as an organization's internal learning software for employee training programs, employee engagement, and employee development. In short, LMS software is an all-around solution for business success, whether you want to nurture your customers or upskill your employees.

For Solopreneurs Running Small Businesses

Solopreneurs, often handling multiple roles within their business, can benefit from streamlined processes in creating, marketing, and selling online courses. The platform offers a professional and structured environment for course creation, allowing solopreneurs to showcase their expertise and build credibility.

With features like customizable branding, content organization, and user analytics, an LMS empowers solopreneurs to tailor the learning experience for their audience. Moreover, the automation capabilities of an LMS enable solopreneurs to focus on content creation while automating tasks such as user enrollment, progress tracking, and communication.

This not only saves time but also ensures a consistent and engaging learning journey for customers. Additionally, the ability to monetize courses, integrate with various tools, and provide customer support within the LMS makes it a comprehensive solution for solopreneurs aiming to scale and succeed in the digital education landscape.

What To Look For In A Learning Management System?

When choosing a Learning Management System (LMS), it's crucial to consider key features that align with the goals and dynamics of your learning community. Here are crucial considerations for selecting an LMS that aligns with the vision and objectives of your learning community.

Diverse & Personalized Learning Experiences

According to Studocu, e-learning increases the retention rate by 82%. This includes both self-paced and cohort-based formats and is likely because e-learning is more accessible to the masses and, therefore, learners can be more intentional with the subjects or topics they're choosing to learn. Regardless of the format or subject, online learners are retaining the information they're learning within these online courses and using their newfound skills both professionally and personally. ‍

Whether your learning community features synchronous, asynchronous, or blended learning, your LMS software should have the functionality and the integrations to support all models, such as:

• Video conferencing integrations with services like Zoom so you can hold live courses, events, and other online training
• Bulk calendar invites so everyone in your community can join in their respective time zones
• Member profiles and progress reporting so you can track the learning process and coursework proficiency of each student
• Course creation and duplication so you can repeat a successful curriculum with each new synchronous or asynchronous cohort

Great learning management systems support all kinds of learning experiences — not just sync or async opportunities — because offering more experiences unlocks more revenue opportunities. (More on that later!)

Highly Customizable Environment

Put your best face forward with a branded, customizable interface so your LMS platform is yours and yours alone. A customizable environment lets members know what your community is all about and allows you to integrate brand elements like logos, banners, subdomains, and colors.

Another consideration for your learning management software of choice is the user interface. In addition to helping founders and business owners seamlessly sell interactive courses, top learning management systems make it easy to develop customized learning paths, create mobile learning programs, and manage the online learning experience by making features and customer journeys simple to use.

When your environment feels true to you and the impact you want to have on members of your community (and is easy for both your students and your support team to use), your content will resonate that much more powerfully.

Focus on Community Cultivation and Growth

If you look at any successful learning community, they all share one key element: a strong, active community.

When you bring customers or employees together in the spirit of learning a new skill, discovering how to use your product well, or mastering a new interest, the community is critical to shaping that online education experience — and an LMS that fosters that community is critical to keeping it alive and prosperous through social learning tools.

Look for a learning management system that either integrates with communication tools like Slack or offers a proprietary messaging system that allows direct messaging between members, as well as community-wide posting, dedicated channels to different groups and interests, and feeds so you can follow specific topics.

Giving your members different opportunities to share knowledge, experiences, and feedback in a variety of forums only adds to the learning enrichment and the network they're inevitably building with others in the community.

A good learning management system can support the communication tools for small, intimate groups of collaborative learning up to massive open online courses.

Member profiles are a must-have so you can log info about members, track student progress, and pair kindred learners together for even more impactful, intimate learning. With features like polls, Q&A, and other custom content widgets, you can engage your community efficiently and frequently.

In-depth Analytics and Reporting Capabilities

Your community can only grow and thrive if you can gauge how your members are performing and feeling about their experience. An LMS should offer reporting and analytics around the health of your community as well as your membership.

Take Disco, for example our comprehensive reporting dashboards let you view all types of data about your members, like:

• Member engagement (including what content is resonating with them and what's not sticking within your learning experience)
• Attendance reports for live lectures, courses, and events (or any other types of learning experiences you offer)
• Training program effectiveness so you know what to keep or change about your training materials like your online courses
• Daily member progress to ensure learners are completing relevant coursework, so you know to step in if need be
• Feedback reports that help you iterate and improve coursework and community offerings

A good learning management system creates tailor-made reporting decks so you can share feedback internally and make pointed efforts to improve the learning experience for your entire membership or individual members specifically.

Automation Capabilities

Starting a community shouldn't swallow all your time. Intelligent automation within an LMS is a game-changer for small businesses, offering streamlined operations and enhanced user experiences.

For instance, with Disco's automation, small businesses can effortlessly set triggers and automate various actions without the need for coding skills. This functionality ensures a personalized and timely approach to member interactions, from welcoming new members with tailored messages to segmenting them into appropriate groups or online courses.

By customizing member journeys based on their interactions, small businesses can deliver a cohesive and seamless experience, optimizing engagement and fostering a sense of community. Intelligent automation is a valuable tool for small businesses seeking efficiency, personalization, and a hands-free approach to community management within their online learning platforms.

Growth Loops through the Rewards System

Establishing growth loops with rewards and perks is important for fostering a thriving customer community. By implementing a system that recognizes and incentivizes active engagement, businesses can create a continuous cycle of growth.

Offering rewards for desired actions not only acknowledges and appreciates community members but also encourages them to contribute more frequently. This positive reinforcement enhances community participation, attracts new members, and builds a self-sustaining ecosystem.

The reciprocal relationship between the community and the rewards system creates a dynamic loop where increased engagement begets more rewards, fueling continuous growth and solidifying a sense of belonging among community members. In essence, implementing a well-designed rewards program or incentives catalyzes sustained community development and customer satisfaction.

Monetization Opportunities for Revenue Generation

Revenue is the name of the game, so an investment in a learning management system should not only pay for itself — it should pay off in additional profit.

To start, the best LMS tools on the market allow you to collect payment directly on the platform by integrating with payment processors, rather than adding yet another tool to your tech stack. That way, you can track revenue alongside other data reports and see how your learning community improves over time, and you can create discount codes or scholarships based on your unique pricing plan.

A stellar LMS unlocks additional monetization opportunities and supports them in the same way they support other aspects of your learning community. Some tools create affiliate selling opportunities. Others allow you to host unlimited training content, and sell online courses so you're consistently generating revenue by hosting diverse learning experiences such as cohort-based or self-paced courses.

Moreover, you can host event series, lectures, or additional features outside of your base offerings so that eager members can pay for even more learning enrichment.

7 Best LMS For Small Business Carefully Reviewed (w/ Free Trials)

Now that you know what to look for in an LMS for small businesses, let's move forward to the best learning management systems for 2024 with free trials:

• Disco. Overall Best Learning Management System for Small Businesses
• Kajabi. Empowering Small Businesses to Monetize and Thrive
• Thinkific. A Customizable Option for Learning Management System
• Podia. A User-Friendly CMS for Entrepreneurs
• LearnWorlds. Empowering Small Businesses to Create & Sell Online Courses

Without free trials, only custom quote:

• Docebo. The Premium Choice for Enterprise-Level Businesses
• Absorb LMS. AI-powered Learning Management System

#1 Disco: Overall Best Learning Management System for Small Businesses

If you want a partner-in-crime that won't let you down in running your community, then pick Disco.

Disco is one of the younger LMS options on the market, but we've made a name for ourselves in a short time by bridging the gap between learning and community in a way that allows founders to build, operate, scale their learning communities, and create something that changes the lives of others.

Disco makes social learning accessible to both customer communities and employee communities. It is a flexible learning platform that lets you own the experience from end to end.

5 Major Reasons Why Disco is the Best Overall LMS

If you simply want to put a course online and generate passive income while people learn your curriculum, Disco isn't for you. We're the LMS for people who want to have an active role in their learning community and the lives of their members.

Trusted Platform for Leading Online Communities

Disco stands as the go-to platform for industry giants, facilitating the efficient management and expansion of diverse learning communities. Tailored for accelerators (YSpace), cohort-based platforms (Dribbble), virtual academies (altMBA), membership communities (WeAreNoCode), and certification programs (Hyper Island). Recognized for its versatility, it empowers industry leaders to deliver impactful learning experiences within their communities, fostering growth and operational excellence.

Award-Winning Software for Community Builders

In 2023, Disco achieved acclaim by securing the title of EdTech Startup of the Year at the EdTech Breakthrough Awards and earning a spot on Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in Education list. These accolades underscore Disco's innovative contributions to the educational technology landscape, solidifying its position as a leader in the field.

Comprehensive Tools to Manage, Operate, and Scale

Explore Disco's robust toolkit comprising five key features crucial for modern learning platforms: intelligent automation, integration, customization, scalability, and affordability. The platform serves as a Course Creation Tool, offering advanced learning tools for educators. It functions as a Community and Engagement Tool, seamlessly merging community and learning experiences. As an AI Assistant and Productivity Tool, Disco redefines efficiency with its innovative AI Co-Pilot. Finally, Disco is a Revenue Accelerator, transforming learning businesses with customizable membership tiers and enterprise features.

Seamless Migration Process to Disco Platform

Switching from your current learning management system (LMS) or community platform to Disco? It's no headache when you switch to Disco. In fact, it can be a smooth and efficient experience with a host of features designed to simplify migration.

Disco provides a comprehensive guide on transitioning, covering crucial aspects such as leveraging bulk invites, customizing the platform, integrating tools like Zoom and Slack, duplicating courses with a click, and receiving dedicated support from the Disco team throughout the journey. Understanding the challenges of platform migration, Disco emphasizes the importance of a seamless transition for both administrators and community members.

Free Online Learning Community for Small Businesses

Disco is not just an LMS, it is also a learning community for small businesses to help the ecosystem improve the future of learning, community, and education. Joining Thrive, the online learning community of Disco for small businesses offers a plethora of benefits to its members. Participants gain access to curated programming within a supportive community, engaging in interactive sessions and discussions led by industry experts.

This unique platform allows members to build powerful relationships with peers, mentors, and experts worldwide, fostering meaningful connections and expanding their professional network. Moreover, Thrive provides exclusive content, premium experiences, and practical resources, empowering members to propel their businesses forward.

From accessing proven strategies for expanding revenue to learning from transformative experiences shared by fellow members, Thrive offers a comprehensive package to support the growth and success of learning community businesses.

Thrive members also benefit from the collective wisdom of an incredible community, including businesses like YSpace, Eskwelabs, Learn Biomimicry, Agile Academy, WeAreNoCode, BatteryMBA, and more. The community shares insights, experiences, and resources through events like the Learning Revolution Series, featuring expert-led sessions on cultivating vibrant learning ecosystems, leveraging AI for engagement, and building thriving learning communities.

Overall, Thrive serves as a dynamic hub for collaboration, contribution, and learning, ensuring that every member can build and grow a thriving learning community.

Join now free through this link!

Other Key Features of Disco

• Support for all kinds of learning experiences, including both synchronous and asynchronous courses, live events, pre-recorded events, and masterminds
• Advanced integrations with hundreds of tools
• Membership profiles and progress tracking (so you know when to step in and offer support)
• Full monetization functionality, from collecting payments to creating discount codes

Some learning management systems only support particular types of learning experiences. Others are purely focused on helping you make money which, while great, defeats the purpose of creating a vibrant learning community. 

With Disco, you can host event series, cohort-based courses, and self-paced courses right on the platform, where your community lives and thrives. With our deep integrations and easy functionality, Disco becomes more than just a platform — it becomes the central, and possibly only, hub for your growing community.

#2 Kajabi: Empowering Small Businesses to Monetize and Thrive

Kajabi serves as the ultimate platform for a diverse range of small businesses of content creators, including YouTubers, coaches, podcasters, musicians, speakers, influencers, authors, and founders. The platform enables creators to not only build their brand but also effectively turn their audience into loyal customers, offering a space for revenue diversification and brand enhancement.

Kajabi has facilitated creators in earning over $6 billion in revenue, establishing 100,000 businesses, and serving 75 million customers. Its standout feature lies in allowing creators to diversify revenue streams through courses, memberships, podcasts, community building, and coaching.

Kajabi further supports creators with live 24/7 human support, a vibrant creator community, live webinars, and Kajabi University, making it an all-encompassing solution for digital business success. With features like email marketing, customizable landing pages, and AI-powered tools, Kajabi ensures creators can efficiently turn followers into customers while maintaining complete ownership of their brand and content.‍

Key features of Kajabi

• Support for memberships around online courses, personal coaching, and podcasts
• Additional marketing features to launch web pages, sales funnels, and email campaigns for growing your learning community
• Differentiation between premium paid content and free content on your platform

If profit is your ultimate goal, Kajabi provides a ton of features dedicated to helping founders make money. But learning communities thrive when people are put before profit, and if your goal is to enrich the lives of your members, Disco may be the better option for scaling your community.‍

#3 Thinkific: A Customizable Option for Learning Management

Thinkific is a comprehensive online learning platform that simplifies the process of turning expertise into revenue. With a focus on customization and flexibility, it allows users to create and sell online courses, build vibrant communities, and monetize memberships on a scalable platform.

The platform's standout features include the ability to offer multiple learning products, from courses to memberships, providing creators with diverse revenue streams. Thinkific empowers users to engage with their communities through collaborative learning experiences accessible across various devices. The introduction of a branded mobile app enhances the learning experience.

‍Notably, small businesses have full control over pricing, revenue, and the overall learning environment. The Thinkific App Store facilitates seamless integration with trusted tools for enhanced marketing and business operations. Detailed analytics enable creators to optimize content and user experience, while robust support, including first-time creator resources and a dedicated community, ensures assistance at every stage.

As businesses grow, Thinkific's flexible pricing plans and advanced features, such as the Expert Marketplace, support seamless transitions and scalability, making it an ideal choice for those aiming to expand their online education ventures.

Key features of Thinkific

• Thinkific offers one product — their online course platform — and everything you need to market and sell that course. It doesn't support other types of learning experiences
• They have strong community features like member profiles and spaces for members to communicate within, but they don't have features like Disco's Progress Tracker to ensure members are engaged and up-to-date on coursework and event attendance

Thinkific is a strong learning management system, but it won't support your current and future learning experience endeavors if you want to create more touchpoints for your members.

#4 Podia: Great for Passive Income Makers

Podia is as user-friendly as it gets for uploading, marketing, and selling online courses, but it's not a functional learning management system like Disco and other platforms. Rather, Podia lets anyone create online workshops, courses, or sessions to monetize for their community. The platform is not only free to start but also grows with you, offering all the necessary tools as your business expands.

Key features of Podia

• Anyone can use Podia, whether you want to be hands-on in your business or create a one-stop shop where new people can access your digital product offerings
• Podia is not a learning management system. You cannot host live courses, events, or other learning experiences. You also can't track member progress and guide them through your curriculum through mentorship

Podia is great for passive income makers and folks who want to sell a digital learning product. Creators, founders, and operators of live learning who want to move the industry forward and build lasting, successful learning communities will find more comprehensive support on platforms like Disco.

#5 LearnWorlds: Empowering Small Businesses to Create & Sell Online Courses

LearnWorlds stands out as the best platform for small businesses aiming to create and sell online courses. With a focus on monetizing skills and experiences, it provides a user-friendly interface and a versatile course creation experience. The AI Assistant enhances course quality, offering engaging learning experiences through interactive videos, ebooks, assessments, and more. The platform's flexibility allows users to choose from various course pathways, ensuring a customized and effective learning journey.

Key features of Learnworlds

• Extends beyond course creation, emphasizing the importance of a high-converting website.
• The platform offers easy-to-use, SEO-optimized, and fast page-building capabilities with beautiful templates and responsive designs.
• The inclusion of profitable marketing funnels enables users to sell courses, bundles, and memberships effectively.

LearnWorlds supports upselling and cross-selling through enticing promotions, high-converting sales pages, and customizable checkout experiences. As a true White Label course platform, it allows users to use their own domain name, imprint their brand identity, and have full control over the customer experience. Integration with top marketing tools further enhances the platform's capabilities, ensuring seamless connectivity with various applications.

Additionally, LearnWorlds offers a unique mobile app solution, allowing users to unlock the power of mobile for business growth, extended reach, and enhanced student engagement. With 360˚ support, including customer service, expert consultations, daily webinars, and a wealth of resources, LearnWorlds empowers edupreneurs to thrive in the online education landscape.

#6 Docebo: The Premium Choice for Enterprise-Level Businesses 

If Docebo's offerings sound like they come at a premium, that's because they do. While AI-powered learning management and in-depth business analytics are incredibly useful tools, they aren't feasible or necessary for businesses below the enterprise level. Docebo works with corporate partners and massive learning communities to scale their offerings and weave learning seamlessly into a company's culture.

Key features of Docebo

• AI-Powered Learning Management System (LMS): Docebo's LMS leverages generative AI to deliver personalized and scalable learning experiences for diverse audiences, driving engagement, performance, and growth.
• Comprehensive Content Ecosystem: The platform offers AI-driven Content Creation tools for efficient content generation, a curated Content Marketplace with world-class resources, and features for measuring Learning Impact and Intelligence to showcase the ROI of learning initiatives.
• Holistic Learning Platform and Services: Docebo provides a suite of services, including the innovative Docebo Platform with embedded learning capabilities, specialized solutions like LearnGOV for government entities, and Strategic Services for comprehensive support. The ecosystem is enhanced by partnerships and seamless Integrations to optimize the learning technology stack.

#7 Absorb LMS: AI-powered Learning Management System

Absorb LMS is an AI-powered Learning Management System designed to simplify and personalize enterprise learning experiences. It seamlessly blends an engaging learner interface with an effective admin experience, making learning accessible everywhere. The platform caters to diverse use cases, from compliance training to employee development, customer and partner training, and even selling unique course content.

Key Features of Absorb LMS

• AI-Powered Learning: Utilizes powerful AI and intuitive interfaces to drive learner engagement and simplify on-demand learning.
• Comprehensive Use Cases: Addresses diverse training needs, including compliance training, onboarding, employee development, customer and partner training, and selling courses online.
• Trusted by Major Brands: Trusted by leading brands like Sony, Johnson & Johnson, Samsung, and more.
• Exceptional User Experience: Praised for its user-friendly interface, Absorb LMS is recognized as a partner rather than just a vendor.
• Advanced Reporting: Empowers administrators with robust reporting tools to measure the impact and effectiveness of training programs.
• Flexible and Scalable: The platform is designed to scale with organizational growth, offering flexibility and adaptability.

Due to Absorb LMS pricing, it is hard to tell solopreneurs and small businesses if the platform is the right fit for you without any free trials. For you to ensure that you select the perfect LMS for your business goals, try Disco instead with a 14-day free trial, interactive product tour, plus a live demo with the team.

Wrapping Up

Selecting the right LMS software is a crucial aspect of achieving success in your learning business. While it may not always seem apparent, choosing the wrong LMS for your small business can result in not just financial implications but also consume the valuable time and effort of your team. It is imperative to make a wise choice and opt for the best solution.

Among the listed LMS options, Disco stands out as the overall best LMS for small business and is the preferred choice for small to mid-size businesses. Not only is it cost-effective compared to other world-class LMS platforms, but it also boasts unparalleled customization, garnering awards for its 24 cutting-edge technology features that exceed expectations in managing, operating, and scaling your business.

Don't overlook Disco's 14-day free trial and interactive product tour, allowing you to experience the platform firsthand without committing. For a deeper immersion, consider booking a demo to engage with our team and explore the full potential of Disco for your business.