Build a complete course
Text lessons, video, PDFs, quizzes, discussions — organized into steps and activities. This is the same course builder paid users have. No features are held back.
Start Free — No Credit Card
Create, Sell, and Teach Your Course — Completely Free
Create your course, coaching program, or digital product for free. Enroll up to 5 paying students, pay zero transaction fees, and see if your idea works — before you spend anything.
No credit card required
0% transaction fees
Up to 5 paying students
Unlimited courses
Is This for You?
You have knowledge, experience, or a skill that others want to learn. You've been thinking about creating a course — but you haven't started yet.
Maybe you're not sure if people will pay for what you know. Maybe you don't want to commit money to a platform before you've tested the idea. That's a reasonable instinct — and it's exactly why this plan exists.
"Start Free" means exactly what it says: launch your first course or digital product for free, enroll real paying students, and keep every dollar you earn. No credit card. No trial countdown. No bait-and-switch.
A Real Course Platform — Not a Demo
The free plan includes everything you need to create, sell, and deliver a course. The only limit is 5 students.
Sell and get paid directly
Connect Stripe or PayPal, set your price, and share your course link. Students pay you directly — we never hold your money.
5 paying students included
Enough to validate your idea, collect feedback, and earn your first revenue — before you spend a dime.
0% transaction fees
We don't take a cut of your sales. Standard Stripe/PayPal processing fees apply, but nothing from us.
Built-in student support
Discussions, progress tracking, and email notifications — everything you need to teach well.
Why Starting Small Makes Sense
You don't need a perfect course or a big audience to get started. You need five students and the willingness to learn from them.
Validate before you invest
You don't need to spend money to find out if your idea works. Test your course concept with real students and learn what resonates before committing.
Learn from real students
Five students is enough to discover what's working and what to improve. A pilot launch gives you feedback more valuable than any course about courses.
Improve before you scale
Your first version won't be perfect — and it doesn't need to be. Our guide to creating your first course walks you through refining as you go.
Build confidence through action
The best way to feel ready is to start. Our free training, Five Steps to Your Online Course, gives you a clear path from idea to enrolled students.
"Ruzuku is a dream to use. This was the best business decision I have made to date."
Deb Porter
Hearing Out Life Drama
You'll Know What to Do Next
After your first students, you'll have real answers — not guesses.
Does this idea resonate?
If people sign up and engage, you have something. If they don't, you've learned that early — before investing in a full launch.
Should you grow, refine, or pivot?
Student feedback shows you the path forward. Maybe you expand the course. Maybe you adjust the audience. Either way, you're making decisions from experience.
When should you upgrade?
Only when you're ready. When you hit 5 students and want more, that's a sign your course is working. Upgrade then — not before.
A Platform That Respects Your Pace
Calm, supportive approach
No countdown timers. No "act now" pressure. We're here to help you teach well, not to rush you into decisions.
No artificial limits designed to force upgrades
The free plan gives you a real course platform with real tools. The only limit is student count — because that's a fair way to grow together.
Built for teaching, not funnels
Ruzuku is designed around the student experience: clear lessons, thoughtful discussions, and meaningful progress. Not upsell pages and conversion tricks.
Real humans behind the product
Founded in 2011, Ruzuku is built by a small team that answers every support email personally. We're educators building for educators.
32,000+
Courses Published
900,000+
Students
$80M+
Creator Revenue
2,000+
Creators Overjoyed
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about getting started for free.
Can I really sell a course for free?
Yes. Create your course, connect Stripe or PayPal, set your price, and share the link. Your students pay you directly. We don't charge a platform fee or transaction fee on any sale.
What's the catch?
There isn't one. The free plan is limited to 5 paying students. That's it. We make our money when you decide to upgrade — and only if your course grows to the point where that makes sense for you.
When do I have to pay?
Only when you choose to. The free plan doesn't expire. There's no trial period. You can use it as long as you like. If you want more than 5 students, our Core plan starts at $99/month.
What happens after I enroll 5 students?
You keep teaching them — nothing changes for your existing students. To enroll student number six, you'll need to upgrade. But at that point, you'll know your course works, which makes the investment much easier to justify.
What happens to my existing students if I downgrade from a paid plan to Free?
Your existing students keep full access to your courses — they're not removed or locked out, even if you have more than 5 enrolled. The 5-student cap on the Free plan applies to new enrollments only: if you already have more than 5, they stay, but you can't add new ones until your active enrollment count drops below 5. You can still run live meetings, release new lessons, and support the students you have.
Can I still sell courses and collect payments on the Free plan?
Yes. The Free plan includes full payment processing with zero platform transaction fees — the same as our paid plans. Connect your own Stripe or PayPal account, set your course price, and pay Ruzuku nothing on the sale — only your processor takes a cut (typically 2.9% + $0.30). You can sell paid courses and offer free enrollments. The only limit is you can have up to 5 students enrolled at a time across your account.
Can I upgrade back to a paid plan later, and will I lose any data if I downgrade?
Yes to upgrading back, no to data loss. You can upgrade or downgrade at any time, and your courses, students, enrollments, sales history, and content all stay intact when you switch plans. When you upgrade from Free to Core or Pro, the 5-student cap is lifted immediately. Ruzuku never deletes your courses when you cancel — your data is always preserved.
Do I need technical skills?
No. If you can write an email and upload a file, you can create a course on Ruzuku. The interface is designed to be simple and clear.
Is this really unlimited courses?
Yes. Create as many courses as you want on the free plan. The only limit is total paying students across all courses.
How do payments work?
You connect your own Stripe or PayPal account. When students purchase, the money goes directly to you. We don't hold your funds or take a cut. Standard payment processor fees (typically 2.9% + $0.30) apply — those come from Stripe or PayPal, not from us.
Why should I trust Ruzuku?
We've been helping course creators since 2011. We're rated 4.4 out of 5 on G2 and 5.0 out of 5 on Capterra. We're a small, independent team — not a faceless corporation. And our free plan isn't a trap. It's how we let you decide if we're the right fit.