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LMS · head to head

Seesaw vs Thought Industries

Seesaw logo

Seesaw

LMS

Student-driven digital portfolios and family communication

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Thought Industries logo

Thought Industries

LMS

External learning platform for companies that sell training to customers and partners as a product

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Seesaw has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Seesaw seesaw Starter limited to 1 active class per teacher and 35 students maximum; Thought Industries the annual floor is an enterprise number, so organisations with modest training revenue pay more in platform fees than a revenue share would have cost them.
  • They diverge on capability: Seesaw covers Digital portfolios, Thought Industries covers Commerce engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Seesaw and Thought Industries actually diverge.

Attributes where Seesaw and Thought Industries differ
AttributeSeesawThought Industries
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, IOS, Android, ChromebookWeb, iOS, Android
Founded2013Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (LMS).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Seesaw

  • Digital portfolios
  • Creative tools
  • Family messaging
  • Activity library
  • Assessment
  • Translation
  • Multimodal responses
  • Mobile apps

Only in Thought Industries

  • Commerce engine
  • Licence and seat management
  • Multi-tenant panorama delivery
  • Certification programmes
  • Learning path personalisation
  • Analytics on revenue and consumption

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Seesaw

  • Student portfoliosnot Thought Industries
  • Family communicationnot Thought Industries
  • Formative assessmentnot Thought Industries
  • Student voicenot Thought Industries

Thought Industries

  • A software company whose customer certification programme has grown past what a creator platform can administernot Seesaw
  • Professional bodies selling continuing education with certification renewal cyclesnot Seesaw
  • Manufacturers training distributor and dealer networks who each need their own branded environmentnot Seesaw
  • Any training business where a percentage of revenue model has become more expensive than a flat platform feenot Seesaw

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Seesaw

  • Seesaw Starter limited to 1 active class per teacher and 35 students maximum
  • Free tier only offers 35 activities and 5 multimedia items per post
  • No individual teacher subscriptions available; requires school or district purchase
  • Paid licenses start at $2,500 USD minimum per school or district

Thought Industries

  • The annual floor is an enterprise number, so organisations with modest training revenue pay more in platform fees than a revenue share would have cost them.
  • Implementation is measured in months and needs an internal owner, so the platform sits unused and paid for during a slow rollout.
  • It is designed for external audiences, so using it for internal employee compliance training means paying for commerce and multi-tenancy capability that internal training does not need.
  • Configuration depth for commerce and tenancy means the administrator role is a real job, and organisations that assign it as a fraction of someone else's role underuse the system.
  • Content authoring is not the strength, so most customers pair it with a separate authoring tool and manage two vendors and two content workflows.

Pricing, plan by plan

Seesaw

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Digital portfolios
    • Family messaging
    • Basic activities
  • Seesaw Plus$12/month
    • All free features
    • Advanced activities
    • Skill-based learning
  • Seesaw for Schools$undefined/month
    • Admin tools
    • Analytics
    • SSO

Thought Industries

On request
  • Thought Industries$undefined/year
    • Annual platform fee, quoted
    • No percentage taken of course revenue
    • Implementation and success services quoted separately

Which should you pick?

Choose Seesaw if

  • You need digital portfolios.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android, Chromebook.
  • You also want creative tools.
Seesaw review

Choose Thought Industries if

  • You need commerce engine.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want licence and seat management.
Thought Industries review

Questions people ask

Is Seesaw or Thought Industries better?
Neither clearly leads. Seesaw starts at Free and Thought Industries at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Seesaw or Thought Industries?
Seesaw has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Seesaw and On request for Thought Industries.
Does Seesaw or Thought Industries run on more platforms?
Seesaw runs on Web, IOS, Android, Chromebook. Thought Industries runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Seesaw for free?
Yes. Seesaw has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Thought Industries starts at On request.
What is Seesaw best used for?
Seesaw is most often used for student portfolios, family communication, formative assessment, student voice. Of those, student portfolios and family communication are not what Thought Industries is typically brought in for.
What can Seesaw do that Thought Industries cannot?
Seesaw covers Digital portfolios, Creative tools, Family messaging, Activity library. Thought Industries covers Commerce engine, Licence and seat management, Multi-tenant panorama delivery, Certification programmes.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Seesaw: Is Seesaw free to use?

Seesaw offers a free tier called Seesaw Starter. Effective June 30, 2026, Seesaw Starter is limited to 1 active class per teacher, 35 students maximum, 35 activities, and 5 multimedia items per post. Paid plans are available for schools and districts only.

Source
Thought Industries: Does Thought Industries take a percentage of course sales?

No. It charges an annual platform fee. That is more expensive than a revenue share at low volume and considerably cheaper once training revenue grows.

Seesaw: What grade levels does Seesaw support?

Seesaw is designed for elementary education from pre-kindergarten through 6th grade. It serves as the only elementary Learning Experience Platform with award-winning tools for joyful, inclusive instruction.

Source
Thought Industries: Can one platform serve several corporate customers separately?

Yes. Multi-tenant delivery gives each business customer its own branded environment and administrator while content stays centrally managed.

Seesaw: What new features are coming to Seesaw in 2026?

As of June 30, 2026, Seesaw Starter users gain AI-powered tools with included credits, Student Highlights Folders, and Post Visibility Settings to control who can see sensitive student work.

Source
Thought Industries: Is it suitable for internal employee training?

It can do it, but you would be paying for commerce and tenancy features that internal compliance training does not use. A corporate learning platform is usually the better fit.

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