SaaS e-learning platforms (Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi) taking 25--50% of revenue or limiting your pricing and content model?
Platform not supporting the content types, learner management structure, or revenue sharing model your e-learning business requires?
E-Learning Platform Development
Custom e-learning platforms built for your specific learning model -- course marketplaces, corporate training portals, and content delivery systems with the revenue model, learner experience, and content management your business requires.
100+ products shipped since 2019. We've built e-learning platforms for course creators, professional development providers, and corporate training programmes across multiple industries.
Course creation, publishing, and content management built for your content types
Learner enrolment, progress tracking, and completion certification
Revenue model support -- direct sales, subscription, cohort pricing, or marketplace with instructor revenue share
Video hosting integration, SCORM support, and multi-device content delivery
RaftLabs builds custom e-learning platforms -- online course platforms, course marketplaces with instructor revenue sharing, corporate training portals, and educational content delivery systems with video hosting, SCORM/xAPI support, progress tracking, and certification management. Custom e-learning platform development is appropriate for course creators, education companies, and corporates whose business model or content requirements don't fit Teachable, Thinkific, or Moodle's assumptions. Most e-learning platform projects deliver in 10--18 weeks at a fixed cost with full source code ownership.
100+Products shipped since 2019
·SCORMand xAPI support
·CustomRevenue model
·FixedCost delivery
Generic e-learning platforms are optimised for their business model, not yours
Teachable, Thinkific, and Kajabi are built for solo course creators selling individual courses with a simple checkout. Their revenue sharing model, content limitations, and learner management assumptions work well for that use case and fail for others: course marketplaces with instructor revenue sharing, corporate training portals with multi-tenant learner management, professional certification programmes with specific assessment requirements, and organisations with content volume that makes per-seat SaaS pricing unsustainable.
Custom e-learning platform development builds the platform around your specific learning model and revenue requirements.
What we build
Course marketplace
Multi-instructor course marketplace with instructor onboarding, course submission and review workflow, and revenue sharing with automated instructor payouts. Course catalogue with search, filtering, and recommendations. Learner accounts with enrolment history, progress tracking, and certificates. Stripe Connect for marketplace payment processing and instructor payouts. Review and rating system. The marketplace infrastructure for platforms where multiple instructors sell to a shared audience.
Corporate training portal
Corporate LMS for internal training programmes -- employee accounts linked to your HRIS, manager dashboards showing team training completion, course assignment by role or department, and compliance training tracking with audit reports. White-label branding with your company identity. SSO via SAML or OAuth for single sign-on with your corporate identity provider. Multi-tenant architecture for organisations managing training across divisions or subsidiaries. The corporate training infrastructure without the per-seat SaaS cost at scale.
Content delivery and video hosting
Video hosting integration with Mux, Cloudflare Stream, or Wistia for adaptive bitrate streaming -- video that works on any connection speed, any device, without buffering problems. DRM content protection for premium video courses. SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004 runtime for existing e-learning content. PDF, audio, and interactive content delivery. Mobile-responsive player interface. Offline content caching for learners who need to access content without consistent connectivity.
Revenue model and payments
Payment processing for your specific revenue model: one-time course purchase, subscription with access to a content library, cohort-based enrolment with specific start dates, bundle pricing, and institutional licensing with invoice billing. Coupon and promotional pricing. Affiliate and referral tracking for course promotions. Multi-currency support for international learners. The payment infrastructure that supports your actual business model rather than forcing a single-course checkout approach.
Assessment and certification
Quiz and assessment engine with multiple question types -- multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and scenario-based. Configurable pass mark, attempt limits, and retake policies. Course completion certificates with learner name, course title, completion date, and unique certificate ID. Verifiable certificate links for learners to share with employers. Skill badges and digital credentials via Open Badges standard where applicable. The assessment and certification layer that gives your programme commercial and professional credibility.
Learner experience and engagement
Learner dashboard showing enrolled courses, progress, and completion history. Course player with notes, bookmarks, and transcript access. Discussion forums and Q&A per course module. Cohort-based learning with peer visibility for group programmes. Learning path sequencing for structured curricula. Progress notifications and completion reminders. Mobile app option for learners who prefer native iOS/Android access. The learner experience that drives completion rates rather than just enrolment.
Frequently asked questions
Custom e-learning makes sense when: (1) Revenue sharing with SaaS platforms (typically 5--10% plus payment processing) is unsustainable at your revenue volume. (2) You're building a course marketplace with multiple instructors and need instructor revenue sharing and course review workflows that SaaS platforms don't support well. (3) Your content model includes types not well supported -- simulation-based content, complex branching scenarios, or SCORM content from authoring tools. (4) Corporate buyer requirements -- SSO integration, HRIS sync, compliance audit trails -- exceed what SaaS platforms offer in their B2B tier. (5) You need a fully white-label platform without "powered by Teachable" branding. We assess your specific requirements and tell you honestly whether a well-configured SaaS platform or custom development is the right answer.
The terms overlap but are often used differently in practice. A Learning Management System (LMS) typically refers to internal corporate training infrastructure -- employee-facing, managed by an L&D team, focused on compliance training, onboarding, and skill development tracking. An e-learning platform often refers to externally-facing consumer or B2B learning products -- course marketplaces, professional development platforms, certification programmes. The technical requirements are similar (course content, learner tracking, assessment, certification) but the business model differs: LMS is a cost centre for employee development; e-learning platform is a revenue-generating product. We build both, and the distinction shapes which features matter most.
We integrate with video hosting platforms built for e-learning: Mux (adaptive bitrate streaming, analytics, DRM), Cloudflare Stream (cost-effective, global CDN), or Wistia (analytics-focused). We don't self-host video on your application server -- video requires specialised infrastructure for transcoding, adaptive bitrate delivery, and global CDN distribution. Video is uploaded through your course authoring interface, transcoded automatically, and delivered via the hosted CDN. DRM content protection (preventing download of premium content) is available via Mux and Cloudflare Stream. Video hosting cost is typically $0.50--$2.00 per GB stored plus delivery bandwidth -- we include hosting cost estimates in the project proposal.
A course platform for a single creator or small publisher -- video hosting, course creation, learner enrolment, payment processing, and basic assessment -- typically runs $25,000--$60,000. A course marketplace with multi-instructor management, instructor revenue sharing, and Stripe Connect payouts typically runs $50,000--$100,000. A full corporate LMS with HRIS integration, SSO, multi-tenant management, compliance tracking, and mobile app typically runs $60,000--$150,000. Cost depends on the number of content types, revenue model complexity, integrations required, and mobile app scope. We scope every project before pricing it.
Talk to us about your e-learning platform project.
Tell us your learning model, content types, revenue structure, and what the SaaS platforms you've looked at can't do. We'll scope the right platform and give you a fixed cost.
