CourseHorse
CourseHorse is an online marketplace connecting consumers and corporate clients with 75,000+ local classes and experiences across 17+ U.S. cities, earning revenue through transaction commissions, gift cards, and a corporate team-building sub-brand.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What CourseHorse does
CourseHorse is a two-sided online marketplace that aggregates local in-person classes and experiences across 17+ U.S. cities, connecting individual consumers and corporate clients with third-party class providers across categories that include art, cooking, technology, professional development, performing arts, and children's activities. The core platform supports discovery, review-driven comparison, and direct booking of approximately 75,000 courses, and is supplemented by a corporate team-building sub-brand (CourseHorse Events), a digital and printable gift card product with a two-year 'Inflation Buster' price-lock feature, a 10% rewards loyalty program, and a $15-per-friend referral program. The platform has accumulated 87,000+ verified customer reviews averaging 4.6/5, which functions as a trust layer distinguishing it from unverified local class providers.
The business operates on a transaction-commission model, taking a percentage of each booking made through the marketplace, with prices set by individual providers and ranging from roughly $30 for short hobby classes to nearly $1,500 for technology bootcamps. Distribution is driven primarily by SEO on coursehorse.com, supported by email marketing, earned media coverage (Forbes, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, TimeOut), and a dedicated inside-sales motion for corporate group events that serves 4,000+ enterprise clients including Meta and Moss Adams. The company was founded in 2011 in New York, operates with 11–50 employees, and has raised approximately $5.8M in disclosed funding across three rounds (2012 seed, 2014 seed extension, 2016 Series A led by Red Ventures and Learn Capital). In 2026, CourseHorse extended its footprint into online creative education through the acquisition and relaunch of CreativeLive.
CourseHorse firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CourseHorse
- Legal name
- CourseHorse, Inc.
- Website
- https://coursehorse.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- CourseHorse is an online marketplace connecting consumers and corporate clients with 75,000+ local classes and experiences across 17+ U.S. cities, earning revenue through transaction commissions, gift cards, and a corporate team-building sub-brand.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CourseHorse industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Class & Activity Marketplace
- NAICS
- All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Instructor Marketplaces (Find-a-Teacher / Book-a-Class) (EDAFAIAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Online Learning Content & Course Publishing Platforms (BPAMAJAL), Group & Class-Based Live Tutoring Platforms (EDANAGAB), Digital Learning & Course Subscriptions (CRAFAIAD), Workshops, Webinars & Live Masterclasses (MPACALAD)
Keywords
Where CourseHorse is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
CourseHorse business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Transaction Commissions: CourseHorse earns revenue through transaction fees on class bookings made through their platform. Users pay for classes at the time of booking, and CourseHorse retains a portion as commission.
- Gift Card Sales: Sale of gift cards for classes and experiences. Gift cards never expire and purchasers earn 10-15% reward points on purchases.
- Referral Program: Referral program where users can earn $15 for each friend who takes their first class through their referral link.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Individual class bookings |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
CourseHorse product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CourseHorse operates an online marketplace that aggregates 75,000+ local classes and activities from third-party providers across 17+ U.S. cities, covering categories such as art, cooking, technology, professional development, performing arts, and kids activities. Individual consumers self-serve book classes through coursehorse.com, while the company also runs a dedicated corporate team building and group events service with event planning support. The company earns revenue primarily via transaction commissions on bookings, supplemented by gift card sales and a referral program.
Product overview
CourseHorse operates as a unified marketplace platform connecting learners with local class providers. The core product is the CourseHorse Marketplace, which aggregates over 75,000 courses across art, cooking, tech, professional development, language, performing arts, and kids activities. The platform is complemented by the CourseHorse Events sub-brand focused on team building and corporate group activities. Additional offerings include Gift Cards (with a unique Inflation Buster Price Adjuster feature), the CourseHorse Rewards loyalty program providing 10% cashback, and a Friends Referral program. In 2026, CourseHorse expanded its portfolio by acquiring and relaunching CreativeLive, an online creative education platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CourseHorse Marketplace Online marketplace for discovering and booking 75,000+ local classes and activities from third-party providers across categories including art, cooking, tech, professional skills, language, performing arts, and kids activities, across 17+ U.S. cities and online.
- CourseHorse Events (Team Building & Group Events) Team building and group events platform offering curated activities (cooking classes, arts and crafts, games, trivia, mixology, professional workshops) with free event planning services for corporate clients. Has served 4,000+ corporate clients and 80,000+ attendees.
- CourseHorse Gift Cards Digital and printable gift cards for classes and experiences, available in customizable amounts with no expiration date. Includes the Inflation Buster Price Adjuster feature that locks in course prices for up to two years. Purchasers earn 10% back in reward points.
- CreativeLive Online creative education platform acquired by CourseHorse in 2026, offering live classes and expanded content in creative education, relaunched with community engagement initiatives.
Quantifiable outcome
- 87,000+ verified reviews with 4.6 average rating demonstrates high customer satisfaction
Companies that use CourseHorse
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
CourseHorse technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
CourseHorse partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- CreativeLivemajorCourseHorse acquired CreativeLive in 2026 and relaunched the online creative education platform after its previous closure in 2025. The relaunch includes live classes, expanded content, and community engagement initiatives like Reddit AMAs. This acquisition represents CourseHorse's expansion into the online creative education space.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
CourseHorse competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Peerspace: Peerspace is a marketplace for booking event and activity spaces, often used for workshops, classes, and team-building. It is an adjacent enabler to CourseHorse's ecosystem — many providers on CourseHorse rent space through Peerspace for their listings.
Direct peers
- Udemy: Udemy is a global online course marketplace with multi-instructor catalogs across tech, business, and creative topics. It is comparable to CourseHorse on the online component (especially post-CreativeLive) and competes for the career-focused professional segment.
- ClassPass: ClassPass is a subscription marketplace for fitness and wellness classes across major cities. It mirrors CourseHorse's category breadth in lifestyle classes and its city-by-city rollout strategy, with similar supplier dynamics and consumer onboarding mechanics.
- Meetup: Meetup connects people to local groups, classes, and experiences in their city. It overlaps directly with CourseHorse's discovery and booking of local activities and competes for the same leisure-and-learning consumer.
- Eventbrite: Eventbrite operates a ticketing and discovery marketplace for live experiences and classes. It overlaps with CourseHorse in class/workshop ticketing, provider onboarding, and consumer discovery, and competes for both consumer enrichment and corporate events.
- Skillshare: Skillshare is an online learning community and marketplace for creative and lifestyle classes. It overlaps with CourseHorse's creative-education and hobby categories and now directly competes with the relaunched CreativeLive vertical.
Broad incumbents
- Groupon: Groupon is a broad local deals marketplace that has historically listed local classes, workshops, and experiences. It is comparable to CourseHorse on the consumer side as an alternative discovery and booking channel for the same enrichment category.
Emerging players
- MasterClass: MasterClass offers premium online video classes from notable instructors across creative and lifestyle domains. It is a comparable premium-format alternative to CourseHorse's online and creative offerings, particularly for the gift/experience buyer.
- Airbnb Experiences: Airbnb Experiences is a marketplace of host-led activities and classes bookable alongside stays. It is comparable in product shape (third-party-led experiences, reviews, city coverage) and increasingly competes with CourseHorse in cooking, art, and craft experiences.
Regional players
- Activity Hero: Activity Hero is a marketplace for kids and family activities, camps, and classes, primarily in the U.S. It overlaps with CourseHorse's kids-and-families segment on discovery, reviews, and booking mechanics.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
CourseHorse social profiles
Digital presenceCourseHorse financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CourseHorse leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
CourseHorse funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors9 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CourseHorse M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CourseHorse
What does CourseHorse do?
CourseHorse operates an online marketplace that aggregates 75,000+ local classes and activities from third-party providers across 17+ U.S. cities, covering categories such as art, cooking, technology, professional development, performing arts, and kids activities. Individual consumers self-serve book classes through coursehorse.com, while the company also runs a dedicated corporate team building and group events service with event planning support. The company earns revenue primarily via transaction commissions on bookings, supplemented by gift card sales and a referral program.
Is CourseHorse a public or private company?
CourseHorse is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was CourseHorse founded?
CourseHorse was founded in 2011. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is CourseHorse based?
CourseHorse is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does CourseHorse make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Transaction Commissions are the primary driver. The others are gift Card Sales and referral Program.
Who are CourseHorse's main competitors?
Peerspace is listed as an others. Direct peers are Udemy, ClassPass, Meetup, Eventbrite and Skillshare. Groupon is listed as a broad incumbent. Emerging players are MasterClass and Airbnb Experiences. Activity Hero is listed as a regional player.
Does CourseHorse have an API?
No public API is recorded for CourseHorse.
What industry is CourseHorse in?
CourseHorse's product category is Online Class & Activity Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFAIAD, Instructor Marketplaces (Find-a-Teacher / Book-a-Class), with a secondary code of BPAMAJAL, Online Learning Content & Course Publishing Platforms. Its NAICS code is 61169 and its SIC code is 8200.