Own course website vs course marketplace: which suits you?
Lumna LMS gives you your own website where you sell your courses under your name, while a course marketplace lists your course beside everyone else’s on its own site. On Lumna your students are enrolled in your academy and we take no commission on your sales, and on a marketplace the student is the marketplace’s customer and it takes a share of every sale. A marketplace suits you if you want someone to bring you buyers, and Lumna suits you if you already have students and want them to stay yours.
How is Lumna different from a course marketplace?
The difference is who owns the relationship with the student. On Lumna the academy is yours and the student is your student, and on a marketplace you are a seller on someone else’s site.
| Lumna | Course marketplaces | |
|---|---|---|
| Commission on your sales | No commission | A share of every sale |
| Who owns the student? | You | The marketplace |
| A site under your name and domain | Yes | A page inside the marketplace |
| A complete Arabic interface | Built Arabic-first | Usually |
| CliQ, bank transfer and coupons | First-class | Set by the marketplace |
| Cohorts and local invoicing | Yes | Usually not |
When does a course marketplace suit you better?
When you have no audience yet and want buyers to find your course while they browse the marketplace. The marketplace brings the visitors and handles the sale and the payment, and in return it takes a share of every sale, and the student stays its customer.
When does Lumna suit you better?
When you have students who already know you, in WhatsApp groups or at your centre, and you want to sell to them under your name. You set the price, your students pay by bank transfer or CliQ, and the money reaches you directly. Your students stay enrolled in your own academy.
Questions about Lumna and course marketplaces
Does Lumna take a commission on my sales?
No. You pay for your plan only, and everything your students pay goes directly to you.
Do my students see other instructors’ courses?
No. Your site belongs to your academy alone: there is no shared marketplace and nobody else’s courses beside yours.
Does Lumna bring me new students?
No. Lumna is not a marketplace and does not show your courses to anyone else’s visitors. You bring your own students, and for that we give you a site under your name, a WhatsApp button and tracking pixels for your advertising campaigns.
Can I sell on a marketplace and on Lumna at the same time?
Yes. Your content is yours, and your students on Lumna are enrolled in your own academy. What you list on a marketplace is governed by that marketplace’s terms.
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