The most common mistake new course creators make with tools is buying too many of them. You don't need a professional studio, a $500 microphone, or six different software subscriptions. Here's what you actually need at each stage — from "getting started this weekend" to "running a polished course business."
The Starter Stack (Week 1)
If you're creating your first course, you need exactly two things: something to capture your teaching and somewhere to host it. That's it.
For capturing: If you're teaching by talking through slides or demonstrating something on screen, use Loom (free tier) or ScreenPal (formerly Screencast-O-Matic). Both record your screen and webcam simultaneously, and Loom gives you a shareable link immediately — no uploading, no file management.
If you're teaching a hands-on skill (art, cooking, fitness), your smartphone camera is genuinely good enough. Prop it on a stack of books, make sure you have decent lighting (a window works), and hit record.
For hosting: You need a platform that handles content delivery, payments, and student management. Don't cobble together a WordPress site with five plugins — you'll spend more time troubleshooting tech than teaching.
See how Ruzuku handles hosting, payments, and student management →
Pro tip: Many first-time creators never launch because they're still "setting up tools." If you can record a Loom video and upload it to a course platform, you have enough technology to teach your first lesson today.
The Production Stack (Month 2+)
After your first round of teaching, you'll know what to improve. These tools address the most common quality gaps:
Video editing — Descript: This tool changed the game for non-editors. You edit video by editing the transcript — delete a sentence of text and the video cut happens automatically. It also removes filler words ("um," "uh," "you know") with one click and generates captions. If you only add one production tool, make it Descript.
Audio enhancement — Descript or Adobe Podcast: Clean audio is the single biggest quality signal for students. Background hum, echo, and uneven volume make even great content feel amateur. Both tools offer AI-powered audio enhancement that takes a recording from "okay" to "professional" in seconds. This is especially important if you're recording in a home office or shared space.
Presentation design — Canva: If your course uses slides, Canva's templates help you create professional visuals without design skills. It's also excellent for worksheets, checklists, and course marketing graphics. The free tier covers most needs; the Pro tier adds brand kit features that save time if you're creating multiple courses.
The AI Layer (Use With Care)
AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT can accelerate several parts of course creation:
- Brainstorming: "Give me 10 possible lesson topics for a course on [subject]" — generates a starting list in seconds.
- Outlining: "Help me break this topic into 4 modules with 3 lessons each" — creates a scaffold you can rearrange and refine.
- Quiz questions: "Write 5 multiple-choice questions testing whether someone understands [concept]" — drafts questions you can edit for accuracy.
- Scripts and summaries: Paste your rough notes and ask for a polished lesson script or a concise module summary for students.
The important caveat: AI produces generic, average content. Your value as a course creator is your unique perspective, your specific experience, and the judgment calls you've made through years of practice. Use AI for the scaffolding; bring yourself for the substance.
Try our course outline generator →
Planning and Organization
Before you create content, you need to organize your ideas. A simple outlining tool prevents the "I have 47 ideas and no structure" problem:
- Workflowy — Infinitely nested bullet lists. Perfect for course outlines, launch checklists, and brainstorming sessions. Free tier is generous.
- Notion or Google Docs — Good for longer-form planning where you need to include images, tables, or collaborate with others.
The tool matters less than the habit. Pick one place to collect all your course ideas, outlines, and notes. Don't scatter them across five apps.
What You Don't Need
A few things that feel essential but aren't — especially for your first course:
- A professional microphone — Your laptop mic or phone mic is fine for a pilot course. Upgrade after you've confirmed people want your content.
- Video editing skills — Descript handles 90% of what you need. Don't learn Premiere Pro.
- A fancy website — Your course platform handles the student-facing experience. You don't need a separate marketing site until you're running multiple courses.
- Custom branding — Canva templates are more than enough. Don't hire a designer for Course 1.
The best equipment is what you'll actually use. A $30 course created with free tools and real expertise is more valuable than a $300 production with nothing to teach.