5 Best AI Course Builders for Hair Salons

TopHat is a cloud‑based learning platform originally designed for higher education but increasingly adopted by industry professionals for training and certification. Its core strength lies in AI‑powered tools that enhance engagement, such as the Ace AI assistant that can answer student questions in real time and provide feedback on assignments. For hair salons, TopHat’s interactive content features—polls, quizzes, and discussion boards—allow instructors to create dynamic, interactive tutorials that keep learners engaged. The platform also offers robust analytics dashboards that track student progress, completion rates, and assessment scores, giving salon owners actionable insights into course effectiveness. TopHat’s pricing model is tiered, with a free basic plan that includes essential features and paid plans that unlock advanced AI tools and higher user limits. While exact pricing is not publicly disclosed, the platform typically offers a Professional tier around $50 per user per month and an Enterprise tier that requires a custom quote. Integration with common LMSs and learning management systems is available via LTI, and the platform supports SCORM-compliant content, making it easy to repurpose existing training materials. For salons, TopHat provides a versatile environment to host certification courses for stylists, product knowledge training, and continuing education. The AI assistant can automate routine Q&A, freeing instructors to focus on higher‑level mentorship.

Thinkific is a popular all‑in‑one course platform that allows users to create, market, and sell online courses. Its intuitive drag‑and‑drop course builder supports multiple media types—videos, PDFs, quizzes, and surveys—making it ideal for hair salons that want to offer video tutorials, product guides, and certification programs. Thinkific is known for its flexible pricing structure: a free tier provides core features, while the Pro plan costs $39 per month (billed annually) and adds advanced marketing tools, email automation, and custom domain support. The Premium plan, at $149 per month, offers additional features such as advanced reporting, certificates, and priority support. Thinkific’s strengths include a built‑in e‑commerce engine that lets instructors sell courses directly, integrated payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal), and a marketplace for course discovery. The platform also offers marketing automation, allowing salons to nurture leads through email sequences and drip campaigns. However, Thinkific lacks native AI chat or knowledge‑graph capabilities, which may limit real‑time personalization. For hair salons, Thinkific provides a straightforward way to monetize training content and expand reach beyond the physical location.

LearnDash is a WordPress‑based learning management system that turns a website into a fully functional LMS. It offers a powerful drag‑and‑drop lesson builder, quiz creation, and robust conditional logic for adaptive learning paths. Hair salons that already use WordPress can integrate LearnDash with minimal setup, leveraging existing themes and plugins for a seamless look and feel. LearnDash supports multiple payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.Net) and offers flexible pricing plans: the Standard plan is $199 per year, the Plus plan is $299 per year, and the Pro plan is $399 per year, each adding more features such as advanced reporting, certificates, and third‑party integrations. While LearnDash excels in content delivery, it does not natively include AI chat or knowledge‑graph features. Salons can, however, use third‑party chatbot plugins to add conversational elements. The platform’s strengths lie in its integration with the WordPress ecosystem, allowing salons to maintain full control over branding and design.

Kajabi is an all‑in‑one platform that combines course creation, marketing, and hosting into a single suite. Its visual course builder supports video, audio, text, and quizzes, while its marketing automation tools allow salons to nurture leads, automate email sequences, and upsell products. Kajabi’s pricing tiers—Starter at $149 per month, Growth at $199 per month, and Pro at $399 per month—include unlimited courses, members, and customers, making it scalable for salons that plan to grow their digital presence. Kajabi also offers a built‑in chatbot feature that can answer FAQs and guide visitors through product catalogs, though it does not provide advanced AI capabilities or knowledge‑graph integration. The platform’s strengths are its all‑in‑one nature and robust marketing tools, which reduce the need for multiple third‑party services. For hair salons, Kajabi can centralize training, product sales, and membership management, offering a cohesive customer experience.