Thinkific

Build and sell online courses.

Best for: Course creators who want more control over their school than Teachable offers.

Free plan

4.3/5Editorial score 82/100thinkific.com

Starts at

Free (1 course)

Get started free

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Editorial score82/100

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The editorial note

What to know about Thinkific

Thinkific is an online course platform that enables creators, coaches, and entrepreneurs to build, market, and sell online courses and membership communities without technical skills. With a drag-and-drop course builder, built-in video hosting, student community features, and a no-transaction-fee pricing model, Thinkific is designed for course creators who want maximum control over their content and revenue. Hosting over 50,000 creators and 50+ million enrolled students, it competes directly with Teachable as a dedicated course creation platform.

Is it right for you?

Who Thinkific suits

Choose it if

Course creators who want more control over their school than Teachable offers.

Look elsewhere if

Creators wanting an all-in-one business suite with integrated email marketing, pipelines, and website hosting — Kajabi provides a more unified platform for creators looking to consolidate email, courses, and community in one subscription

What you get

Key features

Online course creation and hosting
No-transaction-fee pricing
Drag-and-drop page builder
Cohort and drip course delivery
Student community platform
Quiz and survey builder
Completion certificates
Affiliate program management

Works with

Integrations8

Mailchimp ActiveCampaign Stripe PayPal Zapier Google AnalyticsFacebook PixelHubSpot

What it costs

Pricing

Thinkific pricing plans
Plan	Price	What it includes
Free	Free (1 course)Billed monthly	1 course, unlimited students, quizzes, basic community, no transaction fees
Basic	$36 / monthBilled monthly	Unlimited courses, email integrations, custom domain, coupons, 1 community
Start	$74 / monthBilled monthly	Assignments, live lessons, memberships, bundles, 3 communities, advanced pricing
Grow	$149 / monthBilled monthly	Unlimited communities, custom apps, API, white-label, advanced analytics

Prices are recorded from the vendor's public pricing page and can change. Check before you buy.

The trade-off

Pros and cons

Pros

Zero transaction fees on all plans including the free tier — keep 100% of your revenue
Strong page builder with drag-and-drop for creating custom landing pages and sales funnels
Community features (Thinkific Communities) enable building student discussion alongside courses
Flexible course structures including cohort-based, drip, and self-paced delivery options
Native quiz and survey tools with branching paths for adaptive learning experiences

Cons

Marketing automation is less developed than all-in-one platforms like Kajabi
Video hosting limits on lower plans require upgrading for high-volume course creators
Email marketing integration requires third-party tools — no native email automation built in
Mobile app for students launched later than competitors — functionality still catching up

Quick read

At a glance

Category: Education & Courses
Pricing model: Freemium
Entry plan: Free (1 course)
Free plan: Available
Free trial: Not listed
Website: thinkific.com

The verdict

Our take on Thinkific

Thinkific is the right choice for course creators who want more control over their school than Teachable offers. No transaction fees on paid plans and strong community features, making it one of the stronger options in its category. The main caveat: marketing tools less mature than Kajabi. It is free to start with paid upgrades, so factor that into your evaluation.

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