SamCart Courses is a powerful native app that allows all users to create unlimited courses, host unlimited videos, and use the SamCart platform to sell through.
We like the intuitive builder, gamification features, and drip-content features.
You must be a SamCart subscriber to use the Courses app, but you also gain access to the platform’s other features.
Key Takeaways:
- SamCart Courses app is a core feature available on all subscription plans
- After testing the platform, we would recommend the Grow Plan to course sellers
SamCart Courses Review at a Glance
To help you get a high-level overview of our SamCart Courses review, we’ve categorized and rated it based on the features, user experience, and pricing.
Here are our thoughts:
We liked the fact that the app has many great core features, such as unlimited courses, unlimited video uploads, and an intuitive builder.
Other SamCart Course features we thought were great were the quizzes, assignments, drip content, and auto-enroll. All worked well and improved the learning experience for course customers.
Moreover, if you use the SamCart platform to sell your course, you can offer free and paid trials and multiple payment options and are charged 0% in processing fees.
When advertising the SamCart Courses app, they claim that you can set up a complete course in two minutes. Although it took us longer than two minutes to complete, it was an intuitive experience.
The course builder uses units and lessons, making organizing and managing your content easy.
The SamCart Courses app is a core feature, and the platform includes it on all subscription plans.
However, after testing the app alongside the platform, we would recommend the Grow Plan to course sellers. This subscription plan costs $119 per month but can be reduced to $79 when paid annually.
The Grow Plan is the platform’s mid-range offering; they do have a lower-priced plan that allows you to sell courses, but we felt it lacked some key features.
Overall, we think that subscribing to the annual plan at the reduced rate of $79 per month offers good value for money.
What Is SamCart Courses?
SamCart Courses is a native app on the SamCart platform that lets you create, sell, and deliver courses.
As Courses is a SamCart app, you must be a platform subscriber to access all its features.
Many of these additional features, such as checkout, landing pages, email automation, and payments, can be utilized to grow your course business.
SamCart Courses Pros
After creating courses on the platform, we’ve come up with a list of our five favorite things about the SamCart Courses app:
- Core Feature – As the app is a core feature, you don’t have to pay extra to gain access to additional courses features.
- Unlimited Features – The app allows you to create unlimited courses and upload unlimited videos.
- Pricing – The pricing is low for the number of course features you have. When you research other course platforms, you’ll see that most entry-level plans do not include unlimited features.
- Checkout Focused – The platform started as an online checkout; therefore, the features work well and allow you to offer many payment options.
- Other Features – As previously mentioned, you must subscribe to a SamCart plan to access the Courses app. Once subscribed, you can use these additional features to sell your courses.
SamCart Courses Cons
Despite the fact that there were many things we liked about the platform, there are a few key cons that you should be aware of:
- Subscription Plan – Although you can access the SamCart Courses app with a Launch plan, the entry-level offering if you’re selling courses through the platform lacks certain features. For example, you can’t offer payment plans and free trials.
- No Mobile App – Course students can access your lessons through their desktop and mobile browser but can’t download an iOS or Android app to consume the content.
- One Page Site Only – The platform allows you to create a single-page website rather than a complete site.
- Course Analytics – There is no student or video-specific analytics for you to review, which can be frustrating, as course creators will not be able to see where students drop off and consequently will be unsure of how to improve their content.
SamCart Courses Review of Features
Drag-And-Drop Course Builder
We found creating a course on SamCart to be very straightforward.
The first step when setting up is to add general information, such as the course name, description, and thumbnail.
After completing this, you can then navigate to tabs to start uploading content and configuring your settings.
We found the process simple. We started by clicking the Unit & Lessons tab and then named and organized our units and lessons.
This makes it easy for course creators to identify the lesson when adding content.
When we started uploading content to the lessons, we had three options: video embedding, video URL link, and video upload.
For users that use external video hosting providers, such as Vimeo, they will not have to re-upload all of their content; instead, they can just add the link.
We liked the fact that you have multiple options for linking to your content, as it gives creators more flexibility.
For lesson thumbnails, SamCart gives you the option to use both image and video thumbnails – we like the fact that you can also use video thumbnails as not all platforms offer this.
To keep your course customers engaged, in addition to video, the platform lets you upload different types of content to the lessons, which include:
- Text
- Image
- Audio
- Downloadable
Increased engagement will result in higher retention rates, higher satisfaction, and better student results.
Drip Content
SamCart courses drip content feature can be found under the Scheduling tab.
Inside, you can decide which content students have access to and when.
We liked that if you decide to drip-release content, you can do so based on the day of the week or the number of days after the previous piece of content.
For example, when testing it, we drip-released one lesson per day to students.
Other tools in the Scheduling tab we liked:
- Required Content – This makes sure students complete certain or all lessons before progressing to the next one.
- Instant Access – This gives students access to all content as soon as they purchase it.
- Bulk Editor – This allows you to simultaneously change any scheduling feature for multiple units and lessons.
Overall, we found the drip content and scheduling features to meet our needs.
Gamification
The two gamification features we found when testing the platform were quizzes and worksheets – both can be found within the lesson editor section.
When creating a quiz, we noticed that SamCart only offers multiple-choice questions. This feature will be limiting for course creators that want their members to write long-form answers.
What we did like when using it was that you could require a student to complete the quiz before they proceed to the next lesson. This allows you to identify and address any gaps in their knowledge from that lesson.
Worksheets are another feature that creators can use to test a student’s understanding of a specific lesson or topic.
We found this feature to be very comprehensive, as it allows you to use many different types of content to create a worksheet. Examples include:
- Text
- Images
- Videos
- Audio
In addition, you can also customize your form for students to complete:
- Text fields
- Essay fields
- Dropdown boxes
- Check boxes
- Matrix
We would suggest using worksheets as a workaround solution if the quiz feature didn’t contain all the required tools.
Another tool we liked about this feature was the email notification option. You will be notified via email each time a student has completed a worksheet.
Course Cross-Sell
Course Cross-Sell is a powerful tool that enables you to offer other products to customers that purchase your course.
When you offer customers a complementary course at checkout, it is called a course cross-sell.
An example of a course cross-sell is offering a photography editing course when a customer purchases a photography course.
We like this feature, as it can increase the lifetime value of each customer.
We found that if you have a best-selling course, creating a more in-depth or variation of this course may appeal to your existing customers.
Sales and Checkout Page Templates
When we were customizing our sales and checkout page design, we saw that SamCart offered a range of templates for us to pick from.
As each template is slightly different, you can find the right one for your course.
Having many checkout design options is a great feature the platform offers, especially when compared to other platforms since most offer few options for checkout design.
Analytics and Reporting
Unfortunately, SamCart offers limited analytics and reporting for courses.
Most course creators will want to know key statistics, such as video watch times and student performance, to make changes and improvements.
Therefore, we found it very frustrating that SamCart Courses doesn’t offer these.
Payment Options
SamCart Courses lets customers checkout using all major credit and debit cards. When we went to the settings section, we could easily configure both Stripe and PayPal.
In addition, when selling courses on SamCart, you can offer your customers two payment options:
- One-Time Payment – A single payment made to purchase the course.
- Multiple Payments – The payment is split over several transactions, which are spread out.
We thought that the multiple payments feature is a great tool, as it makes your course far more accessible to customers and can increase your conversion rates.
Another tool SamCart offers is a Free Trial feature, which allows you to offer customers the chance to access your course for a limited time. Once the free trial is over, they can choose to pay to continue their access or cancel.
SamCart Courses Cost Review
The SamCart Courses app is a core feature and is, therefore, available on all subscription plans.
However, many course businesses will want to leverage the platform’s additional features to market, manage, and offer multiple payment options to customers.
Therefore, we will review each of SamCart’s subscription plans so that you can find the best one for you.
| SamCart Subscription | SamCart Courses App | Price per Month (Monthly Plan) | Price per Month (Annual Plan) | Annual Plan Saving (per Month) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launch Plan | ✅ | $59 | $39 | $20 |
| Grow Plan | ✅ | $119 | $79 | $40 |
| Scale Plan | ✅ | $299 | $159 | $140 |
| Enterprise Plan | ✅ | Not-disclosed | Not-disclosed | N/A |
Launch Plan Pricing Review
The Launch Plan costs $59 per month, but can be reduced to $39 per month if you opt for the annual plan.
This subscription plan gives you access to SamCart Courses and also lets you create unlimited courses.
When compared to other platforms, being able to create and sell unlimited courses is a great feature for an entry-level plan.
Other features we like include the ability to upload unlimited videos, unlimited memberships, unlimited products, and pages, access to gamification tools, and a full template library.
Other features you’ll have access to
- Pricing Features
- 0% transaction fees
- Apple and Google Pay
- Pay-what-you-want pricing
- Coupons and discounts
- Sales and VAT tax support
- Integration engine
- Reporting and Analytics Features
- Sales reporting dashboard
- Smart pixel tracking
- Education and Support
- 99.9% Uptime
- Weekly webinars
- Email support
- Free preview of CreatorU
Unfortunately, this subscription plan does not offer email customization. If it is necessary for your business, you must use a third-party provider.
Moreover, you cannot offer free or paid trials, which could negatively affect your conversion rate and sales.
Grow Plan Pricing Review
SamCart’s Grow Plan costs $119 per month, which can be reduced to $79 when paid annually.
In our opinion, the Grow Plan is the minimum plan recommended for selling courses because it gives you access to the following key features:
- Email customization
- Free and paid trials
- Post-order upsells
- Advanced integrations
- Multiple payment options
Other Grow Plan features:
- Product Features
- Custom thank you pages
- Order bump collections
- White-label branding
- Additional Features
- Subscription charge reminder
- Advanced subscription cancellation
- UTM tracking
- 1-day email support
- Priority email support
Scale Plan Pricing Review
The Scale Plan is the platform’s third-highest tier subscription, which is reflected in the $299 per month price.
However, you can significantly reduce the price by subscribing to an annual plan, which costs $159 per month.
If you’re a course seller considering this plan, then unfortunately, there are not many additional features specifically designed for courses.
The extra features that can help grow the course business are CRM integrations and the affiliate center. These features will let you reward those who refer people to purchase your courses and help set up sales funnels to track your sales pipeline.
Other Additional Features:
- Subscription saver
- Cart abandonment
- Custom API access
- Admin user roles
- Customer hub
- Customer self-cancellation
- A/B Testing
For these reasons, this plan is not recommended for most course creators.
Enterprise Plan Pricing Review
The platform does not disclose the Enterprise subscription plan’s price.
However, it is likely to be considerably more expensive than the Scale Plan’s $299 price tag.
Given the lack of additional features, the only reason to consider this subscription is if you need the Subscription Migration Support feature.
For companies already running a course that uses a subscription pricing model, migrating platforms can be daunting – therefore, this feature could come in handy.
The other features are unlikely to make you want to pay for the Enterprise Plan; here’s the list of additional tools:
- Multiple sub-accounts
- Custom reporting and exports
- Dedicated account manager
- Technical set-up support
- Product roadmap prioritization
How SamCart Courses Compare to the Competition
SamCart Courses main competitors include Kajabi, ClickFunnels 2.0, and Thinkific.
Therefore, for this analysis, we’ll compare the platforms.
All the platforms, including SamCart Courses, allow you to effectively organize your lessons and courses for easy viewing.
Moreover, they let you drip content and let you process transactions on the platform.
Kajabi and ClickFunnels 2.0 both allow you to create a complete website with multiple tabs and native blogging features. SamCart can’t compete with these platforms when it comes to website functionality.
Other features that Kajabi and Thinkific have an edge on are gamification, quizzes, surveys, and assignments – SamCart Courses has limited functionality.
Overall we would say that SamCart Courses doesn’t yet have the features to be considered better than these three-course platforms for creating, hosting, and selling.
SamCart Courses User Reviews
SamCart reviews on Trustpilot were extremely negative – they currently score 1.6 stars out of 5.
Although the reviews are for SamCart and not SamCart Courses specifically, we’ve summarized the negative feedback:
- Course building takes longer than advertised
- Unclear pricing and billing issues
- Automatic annual renewal
For balance, we’ve also summarized the positive reviews:
- Responsive customer service
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Sell Courses on SamCart?
Yes, SamCart has a Courses app native to the platform. The app lets you create, organize, and sell courses through the platform. Moreover, you can use the other additional features available to SamCart subscribers.
What Course Features Does SamCart Have?
SamCart Courses has unlimited hosting, unlimited courses, a drag-and-drop course builder, drip content, quizzes and assignments, auto-enroll, course cross-sells, sales and checkout page templates – all of these features are available to all SamCart subscribers.
What Subscription Plan Do I Need to Sell Courses on SamCart?
SamCart Courses is an app, which is available to all platform subscribers. The lowest-priced plan is the Launch Plan costing $59 per month, and the price can be reduced to $39 when paying annually.
