Online Course Platforms: Selling Courses Under Your Own Brand

Own brand versus marketplace

On a marketplace such as Udemy you get discovery, but pricing is largely set by the platform's discounting, the commission is significant, and the student belongs to the marketplace. On your own platform you keep more of the price and own the student list, but you must generate all the demand yourself. Educators with an existing audience almost always do better on their own platform; those with no audience often use a marketplace to build one and then migrate.

Content protection is not optional in India

• DRM or encrypted streaming rather than plain video files
• Device limits per student account, with a controlled reset process
• Dynamic watermarking with the student's name, phone or email on the video
• Screen-recording blocking on mobile apps, as far as the OS allows
• Download control — offline access inside the app only, never as a file
• Concurrent-session limits to stop account sharing

Payments, GST and refunds

You will need a payment gateway supporting UPI, cards and net banking, and ideally EMI for higher-priced courses. Online educational courses attract GST for most private providers, so confirm how the platform handles tax on the invoice and whether it collects on your behalf or you invoice directly. Have a refund policy and make sure the platform can execute it — partial refunds after partial consumption are a common dispute.

Pricing models and the maths that matters

Platforms charge either a flat monthly or annual fee, or a percentage of sales, or a combination with a lower percentage on higher plans. A revenue-share model is attractive when you are starting and expensive once you scale; a flat fee is the reverse. Model both against your realistic annual course revenue before choosing, and check what happens to your content and student data if you leave.