Four platforms you can sell a course on, side by side on what matters to a salon: what you pay each month, what comes off each sale, whether learners can pay by card or Apple Pay, whether a certificate is included and where your practical day goes.
The Avana Academy is the course platform from Avana for salons and beauty professionals in the UK: you sell your own course with lessons online, a practical day in your calendar and a certificate with the learner's name on it, and no commission is taken from your course price. Of the four platforms below, it is the only one that puts a practical day into your salon calendar as an appointment, between your clients.
If you only sell online courses, it depends on what else you want. A broad online audience and a simple start: Teachable. Live sessions and a community: Thinkific. Funnels, email sequences and a membership business: Kajabi.
| Platform | Price per month from | Per sale | Card and Apple Pay | Certificate | Practical day or calendar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avana Academy | £8.99 with your Avana plan, £9.99 on its own (VAT included) | No commission; any online service fee is included in the price learners see | Yes, built in | Yes, named, with a check number | Yes, in your salon calendar with set places |
| Teachable | $39 (Starter), $29 billed yearly | 7.5% on Starter, none from Builder up | Yes, through Teachable Payments | From a higher plan | No |
| Thinkific | Basic plan; see their pricing page for your currency | Card fees through Thinkific Payments | Yes, through Thinkific Payments | From the Start plan | Live sessions over Zoom, no practical day |
| Kajabi | $179 (Basic), $143 billed yearly | Card fees through Kajabi Payments | Yes, through Kajabi Payments | Yes, on every plan | No |
Prices and features as the providers show them on their own pricing pages, checked on 10 October 2026. Teachable and Kajabi charge in US dollars; Thinkific shows prices in your local currency. Avana prices include VAT. Rates change, so check with the provider before you decide.
Salons and independent pros who teach a course with a practical day. Also available on its own, without the Avana booking system.
See the AcademyOnline courses for a broad, international audience.
Teaching online with a community and live sessions.
An online business with funnels, email sequences and a community.
Look at both. A low subscription with a percentage per sale gets expensive once your course costs a few hundred: 7.5% of a £400 course is £30 per learner. The Avana Academy costs £8.99 a month on top of your plan, £24.98 together with Business, VAT included, and takes nothing from your course price.
In the UK, people expect to pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, and all four platforms handle that through their own payments. In the Avana Academy you can also let learners pay you directly, by a bank transfer, cash or a payment link you already use, and invite them once the money is in.
A beauty course is usually theory plus a day on a model. A course platform sells the theory; the day then has to be typed into your calendar by hand. In the Avana Academy learners choose a day with a set number of places themselves, and it appears straight away between your appointments.
Thinkific includes certificates from its Start plan, Teachable from a higher plan, and Kajabi on every plan. In the Avana Academy every learner who finishes gets a named certificate with a number anyone can check on the certificate check page. None of them is a regulated qualification.
With the Avana Academy, 3 courses can be online at once on its own and with Business, and as many as you like with Business Plus and Max, always with unlimited learners. See Academy pricing for the details.
For a salon with a practical day, the Avana Academy: your lessons, payment, the practical day in your salon calendar and a named certificate are all in one place, for £8.99 a month on top of your Avana plan or £9.99 on its own. If you only sell online, look at Teachable, Thinkific or Kajabi as well.
The Avana Academy takes nothing from your course price, and any online service fee is already in the price learners see. Teachable keeps 7.5% on its Starter plan and nothing from Builder upwards. Thinkific and Kajabi charge card fees through their own payment systems.
From £8.99 for the Avana Academy (on top of your plan) to $179 for Kajabi Basic. Teachable starts at $39 a month, or $29 billed yearly. Check what is included: certificates, for instance, are not in every plan.
You can with two separate systems, and then you enter the practical day in your calendar by hand. In Avana they are one: the Academy sits on top of your booking system for £8.99 a month, on the same invoice. See the pricing.
If your learners expect proof that they finished, yes, and a certificate they can share on Instagram brings in your next learners as well. In the Avana Academy it is sent automatically when everything is done, or when you mark the learner present on the practical day.
Set up your first course with lessons, a practical day and a certificate. Try it for 7 days with everything switched on, for one learner and one course.
Create your course