Last Updated Date 1 May, 2025
In today’s world of digital advancements, online education marketplaces are gaining traction. It brings together teachers, learners/peers, and education experts from across the world on a single platform. Online education marketplace breaks down geographical barriers and provides a cost-efficient learning environment.
According to Statista, the online education market is estimated to reach USD 279.30 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 8.20% from 2025 to 2029. Considering the vast potential and profitability of this sector, many entrepreneurs are looking to enter this industry by creating their own online education marketplace.
Therefore, to help out aspiring entrepreneurs, in this post, we outline the roadmap to create an online education marketplace in 5 easy steps. But before diving into the vast information, first, let’s know about the education marketplace niches, popular players, and monetization strategies.
An education marketplace connects learners with teachers for their online learning requirements. The marketplace owner launches the marketplace in the industry. The teachers interested in providing tutoring services register themselves on the marketplace. The admin approves or disapproves of the teacher’s request. The learners also enroll themselves on the platform and search for tutors as per their requirements. After shortlisting the tutor, learners can book sessions by paying the fee. The marketplace owners deduct the commission fee from the tutor’s fee and release the share of the tutor after successful completion of the session.
To keep pace with the shifting dynamics of learning and for better education delivery, many types of education marketplaces have come into existence. Mentioned below are some of them.
Online tutoring platforms help education to evolve a step in the right direction by creating a collaborative environment between learners and tutors, facilitating personalized learning experiences beyond the classroom.
Examples: First Tutors, GoStudent
Online course marketplaces provide various pre-recorded online courses on different subjects to individuals who are interested to acquire new knowledge, skills, and pursue professional or personal goals.
Examples: Coursera, Thinkfic
These platforms are redefining the language learning process by offering immersive language learning experiences to learners. Furthermore, they offer authentic pronunciation, idiomatic expressions that traditional setup of textbook and classroom learning fails to convey.
Examples: Preply, italki
Suggested Read: Cost To Build Platform Like Preply
Online K-12 education marketplaces are hubs that connect students, parents and teachers with a range of K-12 educational resources together in one-place. Moreover, teachers and parents can collaborate using these platforms to share insights in order to enhance learning outcomes.
Examples: Teachers Pay Teachers, K12
According to an article (Harvard Business Review), “universities are the gatekeepers of knowledge and stewards of human capital.” Hence, by harnessing the power of digital technologies, higher education websites are empowering students at a global level by making university curricula more accessible to them.
Example: FutureLearn
For a world that is being overturned by technology, people are forced to reexamine their career trajectory. It is getting increasingly difficult to chart a career path on the basis of existing skills and knowledge. Hence, online career coaching platforms play a crucial role in allowing individuals to cultivate career agility.
Examples: Koachee, Stay Nimble
Now more than ever, individuals need a supportive mentor who can assist them in finding their strengths and a learning-forward mindset. This is where online mentoring platforms play a pivotal role.
Examples: Clarity.fm, GrowthMentor
In response to disruption brought about by technological advancements, many corporate leaders and entrepreneurs are investing in their workforce by providing them corporate training through courses or resources available on corporate training marketplaces.
The shift of learners to online education marketplaces is enthralling, with a few dominant players who are disrupting the space by offering flexible learning opportunities. Mentioned below, are a few of the famous education marketplace players.
A top online education marketplace that allows instructors to create and upload courses on their preferred topics and earn. Instructors can also interact with users via online discussion boards.
Coursera is another online education marketplace that was founded by Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng in 2012. The platform offers online courses and degrees from leading universities and companies.
Preply is a leading language learning platform that was founded in the United States by Serge Lukyanov, Dmytro Voloshyn, Kirill Bigai in 2012. The official website was made available in 2013. Currently, Preply has over 32,000 tutors who offer classes in 50 languages.
Cambly is a California based education app that started its journey in 2012 as a simple iPad app. It is co-founded by Kevin and Sameer. The students can now either use its platform or app to connect with native English speakers to improve their speaking and listening skills.
Founded in August 2014 by Dave Frey and Rene Frey, Skooli is an online education platform that connects tutors with K-12 and college students. It provides one-on-one tutoring sessions that allows students to get personalized assistance for difficult to understand topics.
Launching an online education marketplace presents numerous advantages for business owners. Let’s have a look at them:
Cater to High Demand: The demand for the online education marketplace is on the rise. In the USA alone, the revenue of the online education marketplace is expected to reach US$144.29 billion by 2029. This rising growth offers a profitable business opportunity for aspiring edupreneurs.
Break Geographical Barriers: By creating an online education marketplace, you can cater to a global audience. Reach out to students and tutors across the globe and connect them seamlessly, irrespective of the physical distance between them. This global reach and connection is impossible with a physical education business.
Cater to Diverse Fields: There are several niches within the online education industry providing lucrative opportunities for business owners to launch an online education marketplace in unique fields. Entrepreneurs can tap into the unique domains which may have been left untouched by others.
Diverse Revenue Channels: By launching an online education marketplace, business owners can tap into multiple revenue streams and generate sustainable revenue which may not be possible with a traditional offline business.
Analytics and Insights: Marketplace owners can gain complete insights into the performance of their business. This helps in making informed business decisions for the consistent growth of the business.
Next, let’s look at one of the most essential aspects while launching an online education marketplace, i.e, its features. The features play an important role in making or breaking the success of an online education business. Let’s dive in.
Online education marketplaces stand out from other marketplaces because of the unique and specialized learning experience provided to users, however, this goal can be achieved by incorporating a variety of features that are highly essential. Here, we walk you through the must-have features for an online education marketplace.
In the current scenario, online education has become extremely popular. Teachers and students across the globe are opting for online methods to fulfill their learning needs. Hence, to meet this rising demand and capitalize on this trend, understanding how to create an online education marketplace that offers a unique value proposition is essential. Here are the steps:
This is the first and the most important step when you create an online education marketplace. It is a crucial aspect to understand the market anatomy. Moreover, conducting a competitor analysis is pivotal because it will help you identify any gaps in the market, the strengths and weaknesses of players, and their marketing strategies.
After understanding the pain points and gaps in the market, it is time for you to define your value proposition, i.e., determine what will set your education marketplace apart from the competition.
To attract a more engaged audience, in this step, you need to identify the target audience for your online education marketplace. Moreover, choosing to cater to a specific niche for your online education marketplace helps you to avoid competing head on with more established players, enabling you to earn higher profits and growth.
Different Education Marketplaces that can be launched for different target audience include:
Create an online education marketplace that has high demand among the audience and will prove to be a profitable business venture in the future.
Deciding on the business model is crucial for setting a solid foundation for a successful online education business. Business owners should be familiar with the diverse business models present in the online education industry before starting their online education platform. The most popular business models to kickstart your online education platform are:
Examples: Verbling, Preply, and more
Examples: Varsity Tutors & TakeLessons
Example: Skillshare
Examples: Udemy & Masterclass
Education marketplace working on a certification-based business model enables learners to get certification after the completion of the courses in return for a fee. Marketplace owners can either charge a monthly fee or a one-time fee from users for enrolling in the courses.
Examples: Coursera and Udacity
Online education marketplaces are reshaping the educational landscape in the digital age. But for them to sustain and scale, having monetization strategies in place are critical, and diversifying them can be a game changer. Mentioned below are popular monetization strategies.
The admin of the education marketplace can make money by predefining the commission on every session or course.
This strategy can be used to display ads on the education marketplace as a way to earn money.
This strategy allows the admin to charge learners a fee to enroll in individual courses.
This strategy allows learners to access premium content such as courses and other study material for as long as the subscription is active.
This strategy allows learners to get a certificate after course completion, which they can add to their resumes. While the course could be free of cost, to get a verified certificate, a fee would be levied.
Features play an important role in providing personalized learning experiences and enhancing the effectiveness of your online education platform, making it more student-centric. Discussed below are a few features of the education marketplace for each user type.
Admin
Tutor
Learner
To build an effective online education marketplace, in this step, you need to select a development approach to turn your vision into reality. There are primarily two types of development approaches to create your online education marketplace:
In custom development, entrepreneurs need to hire a team of web developers and designers to create an online education marketplace from scratch. This development approach requires a high investment of financial resources as well as time. The business owner is dependent entirely on the team if not familiar with basic technical aspects, coding, and more.
An alternative to custom development is opting for readymade software to create an online education marketplace. A ready-made software offers all the essential capabilities to launch and run an online education marketplace effortlessly. Moreover, these software solutions are customizable enabling you to implement enhancements as per the business requirements. The ready-made software solutions are highly affordable and enable business owners to launch their online education marketplace in a very short time.
Yo!Coach is one such cutting-edge readymade software solution that can help you create an online education marketplace seamlessly. This software has all the essential features and capabilities required for an online education business.
The final step is to launch your marketplace in the industry and ensure it reaches out to your target audience effectively. Implement diverse marketing strategies so that your audience can easily get to know the services and facilities you are offering on your marketplace.
Yo!Coach is a globally trusted readymade education marketplace solution that is meticulously designed to cater to the needs of tutors, learners, and administrators. With a user-friendly interface and a rich suite of features, Yo!Coach helps entrepreneurs create an online education marketplace that is fully customizable and scalable. Additionally, mobile apps for learners are also available for both Android and iOS users. Using Yo!Coach entrepreneurs can quickly create and launch their education marketplace with ease, and they do not need to have technical expertise. Moreover, 12 months of free technical support is also provided.
Yo!Coach has helped several aspiring entrepreneurs in launching their online education marketplaces in diverse domains. Here are some of the key players that have successfully entered the online education industry with Yo!Coach, and are still leveraging its rich capabilities and features to efficiently run their online education businesses.
Sophos Education: This online education platform built with Yo!Coach is successfully catering to a large number of students. By leveraging rich features of Yo!Coach, this marketplace is effectively connecting students with tutors depending on their unique preferences. Sophos Education offers personalized as well as group sessions. Moreover, Yo!Coach team implemented a unique requirement of the client, including offering credit packages for booking sessions on the platform.
WTutors: Another online education platform powered by Yo!Coach that successfully connects tutors with students across the globe. This marketplace has seen tremendous growth since its launch. The number of learners and tutors is continuously growing on this platform. Till now, this marketplace has catered to 20,000+ users.
BeeTot: An online education platform built specifically to cater to the diverse academic needs of learners is successfully providing courses in 10+ fields through this online education marketplace. Since its launch, 160+ tutors have enrolled themselves on this marketplace.
Explore the portfolio to gain more insights into Yo!Coach global client base.
Needless to say, online education has gone mainstream. Both students and teachers are now enjoying opportunities that weren’t previously available. Emerging technologies have transformed the education landscape, where online education marketplaces have taken education beyond the traditional classroom setting. Hence, if you are looking to create an online education marketplace, the time is ripe. For more information on how to get started, you can get in touch with us.
Q 1. How do you create an online education platform like Coursera, Udemy, Preply, Cambly, and more?
Ans. An easy and cost-effective way to create an online education platform like Coursera, Udemy, Preply, Cambly, and more is to opt for readymade software like Yo!Coach. Such software comes pre-integrated with all essential features and functionalities needed to successfully launch and run platforms like Coursera, Udemy, Preply, Cambly, and more.
Q 2. What is the total cost to create an online education marketplace?
Ans. The total cost to create an online education marketplace depends on the following factors:
The approximate total cost of creating an online education marketplace may vary from $20,000 to $200,000 if you choose custom development. Whereas, if you choose readymade software the cost may vary from $2,000 to $25,000.
Q 3. How do I promote my online education marketplace?
Ans. It is not enough to just create an online education marketplace, you need to promote it efficiently to get the desired growth and success. Here are the tactics to effectively promote your online education marketplace:
Q 4. How much time does it take to create an online education marketplace?
Ans. The time involved in building your online education marketplace will depend primarily on the development approach you choose. If you opt for readymade software, then the time may vary from a few days to weeks. Whereas, if you choose custom development, then the development time may vary from a few months to even years. The development time varies depending on the feature integrations, customization requirements, branding needs, and more.
Q 5. Which is the best software to create an online education marketplace?
Ans. Yo!Coach is the best software to create an online education marketplace in the industry. This software is feature-rich and caters to all the essential needs of an entrepreneur. Moreover, it is highly secure, GDPR compliant, and offers 1 year of free technical support. Yo!Coach team has already helped numerous clients across the world in successfully establishing their online education businesses.
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Vibha Sharma is an accomplished senior content writer and marketer at FATbit Technologies, where she brings her passion for storytelling and digital expertise to create compelling narratives. With a Master’s Degree in Computer Applications, Vibha successfully blends creativity with technical acumen. Outside of her professional pursuits, Vibha is a voracious reader, an avid traveler, and a lifelong learner.
