Embarking on the journey to create and share your knowledge with the world is an exciting endeavor, especially once you discover what’s possible in terms of monetization. You can create the lifestyle of your dreams by simply sharing what you know.
But it can also be overwhelming when faced with the decision of choosing the right platform to showcase your content. With countless options available, narrowing down the search can feel like an uphill battle. This is where we come in to provide clarity and guidance.
As you've researched potential platforms, you've likely stumbled upon Podia and Mighty Networks. Both are reputable choices, but how do you know which one is the perfect fit for your unique needs and vision? Fear not, as we're here to help you navigate this decision with confidence.
In this comprehensive comparison of Podia vs Mighty Networks, we will examine the key features, pricing, and customization options offered by both platforms. Our goal is to equip you with the knowledge to make an informed choice that will set you on the path to success in your online journey.
No longer will you feel overwhelmed or uncertain about the direction to take. Instead, you'll gain a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of Mighty Networks vs Podia, empowering you to choose the platform that aligns with your goals and aspirations. So let's dive in and unravel the mystery behind these two powerful contenders in the world of online content creation.
Podia vs Mighty Networks: Introducing the Two Platforms
We’ll compare Mighty Networks vs Podia side by side in just a moment. First, we need to set the stage for this conversation by introducing the two platforms on their own. Let’s start with the platform that’s been around longer: Podia.
What is Podia?
Podia says it best themselves: they’re an all-in-one alternative to Mighty Networks that doesn’t limit you to just communities. Instead, you’re ablet o sell everything under one roof - courses, coaching, digital downloads, webinars, and more.
Podia has a free plan, which grants you access to just about everything you need to get your business off the ground. While it will eat at your profits with an 8% transaction fee, it’s a great way to get started with virtually no costs.
However, you’ll eventually need to upgrade to one of the two paid plans to reap all the benefits Podia has to offer - Mover ($39/month) or Shaker ($79/month).
With each of these plans, you’ll enjoy zero transaction fees, along with your own online storefront where you can offer online courses, digital downloads, and webinars. You gain access to email marketing, messaging, 7-day-a-week-live chat, free migrations away from other platforms, a custom domain, and integrated payment processing.
Everything is unlimited on each of these plans. So, what makes them different? On the Shaker plan, you get a few more features. You can charge for memberships, take advantage of blog functionality, embed purchase buttons, leverage affiliate marketing, Zoom integration, and support for 3rd party code.
Across both tiers, you can add additional team members for just $20/member. From there, you’re able to define custom user roles to run your business smoothly.
What is Mighty Networks?
Now, Mighty Networks is a platform that focuses on community - and allows you to build courses around that community. That’s really the biggest difference between these two platforms. While Mighty Networks supports other digital products, everything is centered on community - which comes first.
More than 50,000 creators have chosen to build on Mighty Networks, and there are quite a few reasons for that.
There are three plans available through Mighty Networks. On each tier, you’re allowed unlimited members (with the ability to charge for membership), landing page creation, iOS & Android apps, and direct messaging with your membership. Here’s how the plans differ, though:
- Free (5% transaction fee): 3 admins, activity feed (for text, links, and video), sharing to other networks, the ability to invite or import members, member profiles, and find members by location.
- Community ($28/month + 3% transaction fee): All free plan features with unlimited admins & moderators, a featured section at the top of your feed, the ability to find members by customizable categories, polls, “icebreaker” questions, a referral program, integrations with 3rd party apps like Zoom, and the ability to set your group to private, public, or secret.
- Business ($98/month + 2% transaction fee): All features mentioned thus far, along with the ability to sell online courses. Plus, you gain access to more advanced admin features, integrations, and data.
Podia vs Mighty Networks: Comparing and Contrasting to Help You Choose the Right Platform
First, let’s quickly touch on what makes Podia and Mighty Networks similar. Both offer a storefront with a web builder, allowing you to sell your offers with ease. Members and students are unlimited regardless of plan.
You can add pages as you see fit to create a more cohesive experience for users and sell more offers. You can also use your own domain name.
In terms of communicating with your customers, you can direct message them or send mass emails to customers on either platform - with a slight edge going to Podia in terms of automation here. You can pull detailed analytics on both platforms, but you’ll need to be on the Mighty Networks business plan for this.
Now, let’s get into what you really came here for today - to compare and contrast Mighty Networks vs Podia side by side in an effort to find out which is right for you.
Pricing
Pricing is undoubtedly an important consideration for creators - as it influences just how profitable you can be in creating your products and building your community. In looking at Podia vs Mighty Networks plans, it’s clear to see that the former is the more affordable solution.
Not only does Podia offer a free plan - something Mighty Networks does not - but you can get more value from the Mover plan at $39/month than Mighty Networks’ Community plan at $39/month.
We know what you’re thinking…how? They’re the same price, after all. Well, that’s because Mighty Networks doesn’t just charge a flat monthly fee - you’re hit with transaction fees on everything you sell. These fees can range from 2-5%. And they can really eat into your profits, which is why Podia has such an edge here (zero transaction fees across the board).
Course Creation & Other Digital Products
While you can create unlimited courses for unlimited members on both Podia and Mighty Networks, you’ll have to pay a bit more for the latter. Course creation is only allowed on the Mighty Networks Business plan.
And, Podia’s courses are far more robust than Mighty Networks. They support a variety of quizzes, and you can drip course content to your students. Plus, you’re able to pre-sell or create product bundles.
The one edge Mighty Networks has in terms of courses actually has more to do with community. Each course you create comes with its own personal community - so your students can interact with one another.
But that’s not all. With Podia, you can sell a myriad of other digital products - including webinars, e-books, PDFs, and more. You just have more ways to earn an income with Podia - whereas Mighty Networks limits you to the basic courses and community. That’s not to say you can’t offer digital downloads or coaching - you just have to get a bit more creative with how you go about it.
Now - beyond what you can offer, it’s also important to consider how you can offer it. We’re talking about creator friendliness here. This is a crucial consideration for anyone looking to get started building their online business. After all, you want to get up and running fast with as few headaches as possible. And for that, you can trust Podia is the preferred solution.
You don’t just have to take our word for it, either. Each of these platforms has been awarded a Creator Friendliness Index: an unbiased, 3rd party metric for how “friendly” a platform is to creators. It accounts for ease of use, support, transaction fees, and more. And, Podia blows Mighty Networks out of the water here:
- Podia: 90.91
- Mighty Networks: 59.74
In fact, Podia currently has the highest Creator Friendliness Index of any platform for creators. Furthermore, Podia’s customer satisfaction (NPS) scores are in the top 0.01% of every company online. That’s pretty impressive! But if you’re just focused on creating the most cohesive, powerful online community possible, you may be willing to overlook all this in favor of Mighty Networks…
Community Features
While you’ll find that Podia takes the cake in terms of course creation and other digital products, it’s fair to say that Mighty Networks has an edge in terms of community creation and management.
In fact, it’s been said by those who use Mighty Networks that the platform is essentially like having your own social media platform just for your members without any of the noise or ads. Members can interact with one another in a far more engaging, natural way - similar to a Facebook group.
Community is a secondary offering for Podia - but with Mighty Networks, it is the main offering. This is laid out right in the Mighty Networks slogan: build a business powered by community.
Now - what exactly makes the community-building process so special with Mighty Networks, and where does Podia fall short here?
For one, there is a local component that allows groups to meet in person. As a community curator, that face-to-face connection with your membership will take the group to new heights. Plus, you gain access to membership across all Mighty Networks plans. On Podia, though, you must be on the Shaker plan.
Apps
One key advantage Mighty Networks has over Podia is the iOS or Android app functionality. This means your customers can take their learning on the go with a more seamless experience than if they were to try and access your community on their phone’s web browser. And on Mighty Pro, you’re even able to use your own branding on these apps.
Think about how many of your customers or members would benefit from the ability to pull up information quickly and easily in a more seamless mobile app. This is a powerful benefit that Podia doesn’t offer at this time.
Other Takeaways
Before we wrap up this comparison of Podia vs Mighty Networks, we want to touch on a few other things you should keep in mind before pulling the trigger on either of these platforms.
If you’re migrating from a separate platform, you’ll enjoy the free migration service that Podia offers. They do all the heavy lifting of bringing your existing products and members over to their platform, eliminating a huge source of stress.
And, Podia also offers a more robust support solution - with 7-days-a-week live chat. The platform also supports unlimited video hosting, so you won’t be shackled to certain upload thresholds.
Podia also empowers you to grow your business with a more robust email marketing solution - one that supports automation. This is powerful for welcoming new members, scheduling flows based on course completion, etc.
So, Which is Better: Mighty Networks vs Podia?
The answer should be clear now for which is better for you: Podia vs Mighty Networks. While they serve similar purposes, and can help you build a thriving online business, the way they go about it is entirely different.
Podia is the most simple, seamless way to sell anything digital: courses, coaching, downloads, or community. On the other hand, Mighty Networks focuses on helping creators build thriving communities - and then selling offers that support those communities.
So think carefully about how you envision yourself creating…are you looking to sell products? Stick with Podia. Do you just want to monetize a community, and potentially build products that support your community down the road? Mighty Networks will support your goals in a more cohesive manner.
Ultimately, you can accomplish your goals on either platform - but one will be more advantageous depending on your specific preferences or desires. And frankly, the best way to make this decision is to try both and see which you enjoy creating in more. Podia offers a free plan, and you can get a free trial on Mighty Networks.
But as we’ll quickly touch on below, there are many other solutions worth considering before you get started building…
These Aren’t the Only Two Solutions You Can Choose From, Either…
As creators ourselves, we’re constantly looking for the latest and greatest tools and platforms to power our businesses. While Podia and Mighty Networks are two great choices, there are so many others out there - and there’s a chance that neither of these two options is best for you.
We’ve used our years of experience as digital creators to build similar comparison guides for Podia vs Teachable, Podia vs Kajabi, Podia vs Thinkific, or Learnworlds vs Podia. Similarly, you can read up on Circle vs Mighty Networks or Mighty Networks vs Kajabi. Or, learn about Circle vs Tribe or Thinkific vs Kajabi.
The possibilities are endless - and it’s easier than ever to get started turning your expertise and experience into a paid business. So what are you waiting for?
Bringing Our Mighty Networks vs Podia Comparison to a Close
There you have it - everything you need to know about Mighty Networks vs Podia. While each of these platforms has helped countless creators earn a living turning their passion and knowledge into a paying business, only one of them is right for you. So, which is it?
While Podia is the preferred platform for course creation and other digital products, Mighty Networks stands alone as the premier solution for community building and monetization. With that said, you can still build a thriving community on Podia - and you can still sell courses and digital downloads on Mighty Networks. It just comes down to which is more important to you, and choosing the right solution accordingly.
Hopefully, the answer as to which platform is best for your goals is clear after reading this Podia vs Mighty Networks comparison. So, get to work creating today!