Alva Courses vs Skola
Alva Courses is a Shopify app that builds, sells and delivers online courses natively through the Shopify checkout — with built-in video hosting, certificates, drip scheduling and branded email. Skola is another option for selling courses on a Shopify store. Here's how the two compare across features, pricing, and the merchants each one fits best — with Skola's specifics drawn from its own Shopify App Store listing.
Side by side at a glance.
| Feature | Alva Courses | Skola |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $9.99/mo · Pro $14.99/mo · 14-day trial | See Skola's App Store listing for current pricing |
| Primary focus | Course delivery, video hosting, certificates | Selling courses on Shopify; see listing for scope |
| Built-in video hosting | Alva Video Hosting: 50 GB, no per-video limit (Pro) | Check Skola's current listing |
| External video sources | YouTube · Vimeo · VdoCipher · Loom | Check Skola's current listing |
| Completion certificates | Custom template, auto-awarded & emailed | Check Skola's current listing |
| Quizzes & assessments | Built into lessons | Check Skola's current listing |
| Drip scheduling | Drip by days after enrolment + scheduled publish | Check Skola's current listing |
| Per-lesson discussions | Native comments with moderation | Check Skola's current listing |
| Branded email + custom domain | Customizable templates, send from your domain | Check Skola's current listing |
| Native Shopify checkout delivery | Checkout · thank-you · order status · account | Runs inside Shopify |
| Member & enrolment management | CSV import/export, per-course & global views | Check Skola's current listing |
| Limited-time access | Sell time-boxed course access | Check Skola's current listing |
Skola is listed on the Shopify App Store as an option for selling courses, and its features and pricing tiers are defined there and can change over time. This page documents what Alva Courses does in detail; for Skola's exact current capabilities and plans, check the Skola app listing on the Shopify App Store before deciding.
When Alva Courses is the better fit.
Skola is one of several ways to sell courses on Shopify, and the right tool depends on the specifics you need. Many merchants want a focused course platform: clean delivery, video that isn't capped by Shopify's file limits, certificates students can show off, and email that comes from their own brand. Five reasons merchants pick Alva Courses:
Alva Video Hosting on the Pro plan gives you 50 GB of dedicated storage with no per-video limits, so you're not boxed in by Shopify's 1 GB / 10-minute cap. You can also pull in YouTube, Vimeo, VdoCipher or Loom on any plan.
Alva keeps the workflow lean: build sections and lessons, add quizzes and certificates, drip the content, and ship. Discussions live per-lesson with moderation. The whole app is built around getting a course live and getting students through it, with little to configure.
Award a custom-designed certificate automatically on completion and email it to the student. Drip lessons a set number of days after enrolment, or schedule them to publish on a date — built in, not bolted on.
Enrolment and certificate emails are fully customizable — from-name, subject, message, footer and a "Start Learning Now" CTA — and you can verify your own sending domain so students hear from your brand, not a third party.
Courses are delivered the moment an order is paid — on the thank-you page, the order status page, and in the customer account. Students watch lessons in a branded storefront player with no second login and no separate platform.
Choose Alva Courses if you…
- Want a lean, course-first builder rather than a community hub
- Need video hosting that bypasses Shopify's 1 GB / 10-min cap
- Award completion certificates and run quizzes
- Drip content or sell time-boxed access
- Send branded enrolment email from your own domain
- Prefer two simple flat plans at $9.99 and $14.99/mo
Skola may suit you if…
- Its plan structure or pricing fits your budget better
- It offers a specific feature you need that Alva does not
- You're already set up on it and migration isn't worth it yet
- Its listing matches your workflow — confirm details on the App Store
Three differences, in detail.
Video hosting: dedicated storage vs Shopify's file cap
Shopify's native files have a 1 GB and 10-minute limit per file. For a course with long-form lessons, that ceiling is the first thing merchants hit. How Skola handles large video isn't documented here — check Skola's Shopify App Store listing for its current video and storage limits before you commit.
Alva Courses solves this directly. Alva Video Hosting on the Unlimited Pro plan ($14.99/mo) gives you 50 GB of dedicated storage with no per-video limits, so multi-hour lessons upload and stream without workarounds. On the Unlimited plan ($9.99/mo) you can still host through Shopify within the file cap, and every plan supports YouTube, Vimeo, VdoCipher and Loom for hybrid setups.
- Alva video
- 50 GB hosting on Pro, no per-video limit
- External sources
- YouTube · Vimeo · VdoCipher · Loom
- Skola
- See App Store listing for video handling
A focused, course-first workflow
Course apps differ in how much they ask you to set up. Skola's exact workflow and feature depth are described on its own Shopify App Store listing, so review that to see how building and selling a course maps to your day-to-day. What follows is how Alva Courses approaches the same job.
Alva Courses takes the leaner route. The core loop is build, sell, deliver: a drag-and-drop builder, a rich lesson editor with text, video, PDF, audio, ePub, MS Office, quiz, Zoom and button blocks, plus sequential gating and drip. Discussion is native but lesson-scoped — students comment on a lesson, you moderate, and email notifications keep you in the loop. Less to set up, fewer moving parts, and a clearer focus on completion.
- Alva model
- Course-first, per-lesson discussion
- Skola model
- See Skola's App Store listing for scope
- Best for
- Alva: focused course delivery with video hosting
Native delivery and a branded learner experience
Both apps run inside Shopify, which already beats sending students to a separate platform. The difference is in how delivery and branding are handled day to day.
Alva delivers a course the moment an order is paid — on the Shopify thank-you page, the order status page, and in the customer account under "My Courses." Students watch in a branded storefront player with a lesson sidebar, progress bar and completion ticks; no second login. Enrolment and certificate emails are fully customizable and can send from your own verified domain, so every touchpoint stays on-brand.
- Delivery surfaces
- Checkout · thank-you · order status · account
- Learner login
- Shopify customer account — no second login
- Branding
- Custom email domain + storefront player
Two flat plans, no surprises.
Alva Courses keeps pricing simple: two flat monthly plans, both with unlimited courses, members and comments, and a 14-day free trial. Skola's pricing is set on its own Shopify App Store listing and can change over time, so check Skola's current listing for exact figures rather than relying on a number here.
| plan | Unlimited $9.99/mo Everything to sell courses | Recommended Unlimited Pro $14.99/mo Adds Alva Video Hosting |
|---|---|---|
| Courses, members & comments | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Quizzes, certificates & drip | ||
| Branded email + custom domain | ||
| Limited-time access | ||
| Alva Video Hosting (50 GB, no per-video limit) | — | |
| 14-day free trial |
Compare Skola's tiers directly on the Skola Shopify App Store listing. Full details on Alva's pricing are on the Alva Courses pricing page.
Moving from Skola to Alva.
- Install Alva Courses from the Shopify App Store and start the 14-day free trial — no separate platform to set up.
- Rebuild your structure in the builder. Create courses, sections and lessons by dragging; use "Create Multiple" for bulk lessons and reorder freely.
- Bring your videos across. Upload to Alva Video Hosting (Pro), or link from YouTube, Vimeo, VdoCipher or Loom. Add quizzes, PDFs, audio and certificates per lesson.
- Import your students via CSV. Bulk-import members, map them to courses, and set drip or limited-time access where needed.
- Run a test enrolment, then switch. Place a test order and confirm delivery on the thank-you page, order status page and customer account. You can keep Skola installed during the transition.
Alva Courses fits a wide range of teachers on Shopify — see how it works for coaches & consultants and online educators. Comparing the whole category? Read the guide to the best Shopify course apps in 2026.
Answers before you switch.
Build it, sell it, and deliver it — all inside Shopify.
Install Alva Courses from the Shopify App Store. Build a course in the drag-and-drop editor, add a video lesson, place a test order, and watch it delivered on the thank-you page and in the customer account. Alva can run alongside Skola during your transition, and the 14-day trial means no commitment to start.