Heights Platform is an online course platform that lets you build and sell not only courses but also challenges, membership communities, digital products and coaching.
The course platform provides innovative tools for creators to monetize their knowledge. A focus on gamification and community helps motivate your audience to fully engage with your courses, increasing completion rates and retention.
There is also a high level of customization available for creators to make the platform their own with landing pages and selling tools that allow you to charge and promote your courses in multiple ways. Bundling, coupons, payment plans and more allow you to give your customers to pay and subscribe how they want to.
Getting started with Heights Platform is easy. They offer a 30 day free trial with no credit card necessary. Furthermore, the signup process is just 1 step before you get to the creator dashboard.
There are four pricing plans starting at $29/month that allow you to scale your business according to the number of students and contacts you have and with the features you want.
On this page, I’ll show you how to get started with Heights Platform and also give you additional information you may need to decide if this course platform is worth your time.
Starting Your Heights Platform Free Trial
There is only one step in the signup process for Heights Platform which makes it easy to start your free trial.
When you click on the “Start Free” button on the site or enter your email in the form on the homepage, you’ll be taken to the account creation form.
In the form, you’ll choose a subdomain that relates to your brand or business. Then enter your name, email address and choose a password to complete the form. Check the box to accept the terms and privacy police then click the signup button to submit the form.
Wait while your account is being created and then you’ll be asked to login at the subdomain you chose at signup.
When you login, you’ll be taken directly to your dashboard where the first thing you’ll encounter is an 8 step tour that shows you some of the most important parts of your account.
You can exit the tour at any time but it’s just 8 steps which may help you get to know key features of Heights.
You should also watch the introduction video in your dashboard homepage to get you familiar with how to create on the platform. Also like every other page, there’s a green help button in the top right hand corner of the dashboard that gives you an overview of the homepage.
At this point, you’re all set and ready to start creating your course with Heights.
What You Get On Heights Platform Free Trial
The features you get on the 30 day free trial best matches what’s available on the Basic plan (see below).
On this plan, you get access to all the core features available in Heights Platform. This includes:
- courses and challenges
- student projects
- Heights AI
- digital product creation and sales
- communities and discussions
- bundle products for sale
- affiliate program management
They also let you create landing pages and blog posts which aren’t available on the Basic plan but you cannot add a custom domain (a Pro plan and up feature).
Other features include the ability to create badges and certificates of completion, color theme customization, learner analytics and more features available on all plans.
You”ll also be able to upload native video and connect to thousands of integrations compatible with Heights Platform either natively or through Zapier.
Heights Platform Pricing After Trial
The Heights Platform free trial doesn’t ask for billing information so you’re not automatically charged when the trial is up.
Instead, you will be prompted to choose from one of these four available plans:
- Challenge – $29/month ($19/month with annual billing)
- Basic – $49/month ($39/month with annual billing)
- Pro – $119/month ($99/month with annual billing)
- Academy – $499/month ($399/month with annual billing)
All of the plans come with messaging between the creator and student, learning analytics, guided setup and support, Heights AI, customize theme colors, completion certificates, a customizable support page for students, and custom badge creation.
There is also no transaction fees on any of the paid plans which makes Heights a great alternative to platforms that charge fees on paid plans.
The plans are built for scaling and there are some expected differences between them. The Challenge plan is the entry plan and doesn’t allow you to create courses or build communities. However, you can create challenges that are like courses but start on a fixed date so that the majority of your students can start them at the same time and end on a date that you specify.
The core features are introduced on the Basic plan – unlimited courses, digital products, student projects, and communities. You will also be able to do bundles and add hidden courses along with providing an affiliate program so users can promote your products.
The most popular plan is the Pro plan which adds white-label branding and custom domains so that you can put your brand front and center instead of Heights Platform branding.
You’ll also be able to add landing pages, a blog, and one other lesson author. Limitations do exist on this plan for 2000 active students and unlimited emails to up to 10,000 contacts.
The most expensive plan on Heights is the Academy plan which is great for big brands and organizations with huge requirements and volume. You’ll be able to have unlimited active students and send unlimited emails to up to 100,000 contacts.
On this plan, you will benefit from a personal setup consultation and priority support. New features are only limited to customizable student roles.
You wouldn’t have to choose a plan now. Instead, take the free trial and see how the platform works. Then you will be able to know which plan fits best with your business needs at the end of the 30 days.
5 Best Heights Platform Alternatives
Heights Platform may not be the perfect platform for you and this could be for a number of reasons. Heights is just one of the dozens of course platforms available to creators who want to get their courses in front of the audience that needs them.
Here are five of the best alternatives you can use for courses instead of Heights. They all have either a free trial or a free plan to get started.
1. Thinkific
When it comes to course platforms, Thinkific is one of the best options you can go with. It’s a great alternative to Heights as they offer courses and a very powerful community product. And though digital products aren’t available for sale as a core product, they can still be offered through integrations in the Thinkific app store.
Thinkific has lots of integrations via their app store that you can use to add even more features that are not on their official feature list. You can integrate with apps you already use and third-party apps that allow you to offer more to your students.
Not only does Thinkific offer a free plan unlike Heights, but they also offer a full 30-day free trial on their most popular paid plans. There are no transaction fees on any plans including their free plan.
Heights is relatively more affordable than Thinkific when it comes to their paid plans. Thinkific plans start at $49/month or $36/month when you use annual billing. The comparable $99 plan on Heights has everything the platform has to offer while Thinkific’s most comprehensive plan is their Grow plan which costs $199/month.
2. LearnWorlds
Like Heights Platform, you can start with a 30-day free trial without having to submit your credit card details if you want to try LearnWorlds.
LearnWorlds has some great features available for building and marketing your courses. Their most popular plan seems to be the Learning Center plan which is also their most expensive plan apart from the Corporate plan. It costs $299/month which is more than Height’s most popular plan but about $200 less than the most expensive plan on Heights.
With LearnWorlds, you can also get your own branded app for both iOS and Android devices which is something not all course platforms offer. There’s an additional cost for this but it’s worth all of the benefits that it brings.
Finally, if you’re looking for a course player with interactivity built-in, LearnWorlds is a great option.
3. Kajabi
This is a popular alternative to Heights Platform. They also have some great features but there are caps on how many students you can have on each plan and a limited number of products.
Heights Platform doesn’t have caps on how many students can be enrolled but they do limit the number of active users logging in each month.
Kajabi does have 0% transaction fees on all paid plans which is a plus. However, Kajabi starts at $149/month about five times the cost of Heights Platform’s cheapest plan. You can join with a 14-day free trial before upgrading to one of their three paid plans.
Kajabi has a great email marketing product, possibly the best of any course platform. They also have a very good community product as well. While Heights does have both email marketing and community, they don’t shine as much as this alternative’s offering.
4. Podia
Podia is another great option that lets you offer unlimited courses. They don’t have a free trial anymore but you can sign up for a free account to test drive and get started.
As an all-in-one platform, you can also sell courses, downloads, webinars, coaching, and memberships. They also do not have transaction fees on any paid plan. The only thing you can sell on the free plan are downloads and this comes at a cost in the form of 8% transaction fees on sales.
This platform has three paid plans which appear to be much more suited for creators on a budget. The platform is also much simpler to use than Heights and has a focus on creator-friendliness.
5. Teachable
Teachable is a very popular choice for many creators and a good alternative to LearnWorlds. You can have unlimited courses and sell unlimited downloads on all plans (except for the free plan).
Users on Free and Basic plans are charged transaction fees while there are no fees on higher plans. LearnWorlds wins on pricing as the plans are way cheaper than Teachable’s.
You can start using Teachable with a free account with limitations. This is your only way of trying Teachable as there are no trials for any of the paid plans.
Should You Use Heights Platform?
Heights Platform is a solid course creation platform with a focus on community and gamification to keep students highly engaged and willing to stick around.
They give you all the tools you need in one platform to run your course business. You can sell unlimited courses and challenges along with digital courses and community/membership access.
While some of the plans have limitations, two of them are quite affordable and have a monthly pricing of less than $100. The most popular plan, Pro is $119/month and is the recommended plan if you want to get the most out of Heights Platform.
In comparison to other course platforms, Heights Platform is a tough competitor that can be an easy choice for many creators.
A full 30-day free trial is available for you to try Heights and make a decision on whether or not this course platform is for you.
