Technology has come a long way over the past few years, and fortunately, it doesn't take a lot of equipment or software to create an online course. And you don't have to break the bank to get everything you need either. Whether your budget is a few hundred or a few thousand dollars, it is definitely possible to create an online course that your students will love.
After checking in with our community of online course creators and other members of the Thinkific team, I've compiled a complete list of the most popular equipment and software that people are using to create their online courses.

I've organized all of these recommendations into specific categories (microphones, accessories, screen recording programs, and so on). Within each category, I've listed the recommended products/programs in order from least expensive to most expensive.

Before you dive in, I will say that you absolutely do not need the best and most expensive equipment and software to create an online course. Most of the successful online course creators that we've spoken to all created their first course using pretty basic and inexpensive setups.

Related: Learn how to set up a DIY home video production studio for cheap
Once they launched their first course successfully, they used some of their earnings to purchase higher quality equipment, and from there, they recorded new content for their course, recorded new courses, or both.

Deanne Love from HoopLovers, for example, recorded her first course in a park using her iPhone. With the revenue she earned from her first online course, she purchased more equipment that she used to re-shoot her video lessons and later to create more courses for her audience.

So if you're about to create your first online course, don't feel compelled to spend thousands of dollars on equipment and software in order to get started. It is more important to actually create your online course, publish it, and get feedback from your students than it is to wait until you have all the best equipment before you record anything.
Once your first course is created, you can always circle back and re-record your lessons, add new lessons, or create an entirely new course with a higher production value. Stepping stones, stepping stones.