Forento Reviews

Overall, I think this is a good product and a good value, *but* after digging into it and trying to use it for my needs, I think my biggest complaint is that the description in AppSumo is missing crucial details and is somewhat misleading. I don't expect a lifetime product to include all the functionality of a subscription product, but I definitely think some things should be clearly stated in the product description.

Let's start with the pros:
• it was easy to get started and add course details and information
• their legacy course layout option looks really nice and professional once you figure out image placement, etc.
• customer response is really friendly, quick, and helpful
• if you have a few courses that you are planning on hosting and charging for through a website you create with Forento, I think this might work for you.
• good functionality for the value. If I launch a new membership or program with limited courses, I will use this since I have already purchased it.

The cons:

• Limited community functionality on plans listed on AppSumo - I host my membership site elsewhere (started it before learning about Forento), so I needed a course delivery method for tiered memberships without charging, and I wanted a community interaction capability. I purchased the Startup 1 plan specifically because it states "Create your own community and interact with your followers & students." It doesn't state that the community under this plan has limited functionality and that you can't create channels, which is key to most online communities. To do this, you'll need to upgrade to a higher plan.

•Zapier integration
On the AppSumo description, Zapier is listed as an integration, which, to me suggests you'll be able to do this with the plans featured on AppSumo, but you can't, and that's not stated anywhere until you purchase and try to integrate and realize you have to upgrade plans. The upgrade is $29/month, not extravagant, but if you purchase a lifetime deal thinking what you need is in the lifetime deal, it's disappointing to learn it is not.

•Limited course layout options. Again, this isn't insurmountable, but you only realize the limitations after you start digging in.

I feel a clearer listing description here on AppSumo and more answers in the Forento Help Center (I had to go back and forth emailing questions when if I'd been able to find detailed answers in my Help Center search, I would have saved both me and Forento some time) would go a long way in clearing up the above misunderstandings about the product.

I wanted to love Forento. Its UI is clean, it's easier than WordPress, and it seems like a dream tool for course creators who want to avoid tech hell. But here’s the catch!!

You “own” the house but must pay monthly to unlock the doors.
Yes, I got the lifetime deal with four codes. But I quickly learned that basic business features are locked behind pricey monthly add-ons. For example:

$24 No commission addon (Completely remove the sales commission fee and use third-party payment gateways, automated with Zapier or manually from the Forento dashboard.)

$49 Scale addon (Get access to everything Forento has to offer, including powerful content delivery features and automated certificates.)

Want to remove someone from a course? Gotta pay.
Want to assign access manually? Gotta pay.
Want to use your own checkout or Zapier automations? Yep — pay up.
Want to stop paying 5% commission on your sales? Surprise: not part of the LTD (which I knew but still, sus).

These aren't bonus features. They're core functions that every serious creator needs.
If you're running a hobby blog, this LTD might be enough. But if you're trying to build a real business — control access, automate workflows, or scale offers — Forento holds your business hostage unless you upgrade.

It’s not a scam, but it’s a bait-and-upsell game.

I’m debating and will still use it for now because I already paid, and it’s clean for hosting content. But I’m building backup plans. If you're on the fence, just know: this isn't as “lifetime complete” as it looks.

I have tried several products on App Sumo but haven't liked most of them. I wasn't sure what I was looking for exactly. Something to help me turn my business into a way to passively sell content, and actively offer coaching sessions. Most of the sites I used were just overly complicated. I needed something simple. So when I started using Forento, it was mostly what I wanted.

The platform allows you to use your own videos and you can upload them or use the link. Some people might want an all inclusivie way to create videos, but I didn't care that much for that because I already have content that I created and edited myself using a video editing tool. It's very easy to upload your own videos, PDF's, and other content and offer to your audience. I wasn't sure what the difference between Text, Input, and Custom options were - honestly, I'm still confused. I tend to stick with whatever is easy, so I only use Text or Video for my courses. Setting up modules is very easy and Forento has a ton of tutorials which I still have to dig into and use.

The team at Forento is very responsive. I had a simple question, but they answered it within 24 hours (probably sooner than that!). I like the option to preview my content as well. Accepting payments is done solely through Stripe which is fine by me, but if that's an issue, I'm not sure if they will be adding more in the future. I bought 3 codes, so that limits what I get. No memberships, bundles, community, or website. I'm not sure if I'll need those in the future so I'm contemplating adding more codes.

Overall, this is a fantastic product and I'm so glad I'm finally able to create and publish my courses, products, and services. FYI, the getting started dashboard is great! Love seeing what else I can do that I wasn't aware of.

Update:

I knocked down a star. Mainly because simple things aren't working for me. I have 4 Tiers, so I added on the website and the membership. But a simple thing like having more image options for products or using the text editor without hassling with the text being all white has been a thorn in my backside. I wish the developers would take the time to update these simple things - when I ask, they give me a workaround instead of telling me its added to any future updates. I had issues with the DNS mapping with my own domain name so purchased one through the site instead. Everything I've been doing is a work around and it would be nice to not have to do that. For instance, instead of having product images being more than just one thumbnail, I'm having to create new pages for every product so I can do that. This seems counterproductive and a huge waste of my time. I would probably ask for a return but at this point I invested so many hours into it - it's unlikely. I do still appreciate the platform on many other levels but I wish they would work on a simple text editor, making the interface more user friendly, and allowing more images and options for the downloadables sections.

I had a few feature requests, they were implemented within a few days! What more can you ask for? The app is well featured and does the job really well, looking forward to see what is coming up.

So far the software is pretty good. There are some features I really wish it had.

1. A more robust text editor - currently when creating a course under the text section there is a lot left to be desired. There is not a WYSWYG editor and it doesn't even use markdown. so sections look really boring. Considering the website editor has about 1000 times more options. This wouldnt be hard to implement.

2. More options for content creation in general - Right now the app really makes you depend on creating content outside of their platform and then brining it in. It's a lot of extra steps as the content creator.

3. Better content creation for the community section - This section again doesnt have much.

Over all its a decent platform. It's just lacking when it comes to content creation. The website editor is an open sourced platform that you can get in a lot of different places for free and it has a lot of options but they didnt make this. I wish the rest of the platform was that easy and intuitive for creating content.