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LMS · head to head

Skilljar vs Thinkific

Skilljar logo

Skilljar

LMS

Customer education platform that treats training completion as a commercial signal in the CRM

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Thinkific logo

Thinkific

LMS

Create and sell online courses your way

From
$36/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Skilljar pricing is an enterprise annual commitment, so a first certification pilot costs more than it can demonstrate and teams should prove the programme elsewhere first.; Thinkific no free plan, 14-day trial only
  • They diverge on capability: Skilljar covers Branded course catalogue, Thinkific covers Course builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Skilljar and Thinkific actually diverge.

Attributes where Skilljar and Thinkific differ
AttributeSkilljarThinkific
Starting priceOn request$36/month
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Mobile
FoundedUnknown2012

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Skilljar

  • Branded course catalogue
  • CRM data write-back
  • Certification with expiry
  • Domain and theme control
  • Self-paced and instructor-led
  • Engagement analytics

Only in Thinkific

  • Course builder
  • Website builder
  • Quizzes
  • Certificates
  • Communities
  • Memberships
  • Marketing tools
  • Analytics

What people use each for

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

Skilljar

  • A software company whose support ticket volume is driven by customers who were never trainednot Thinkific
  • Customer success teams that want training engagement visible next to renewal risk in Salesforcenot Thinkific
  • Partner certification programmes where credentials must expire and be renewednot Thinkific
  • Reducing time to first value during onboarding by giving customers self serve training before implementationnot Thinkific

Thinkific

  • Course creationnot Skilljar
  • Membership sitesnot Skilljar
  • Coaching programsnot Skilljar
  • Corporate trainingnot Skilljar

Where each one falls short

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

Skilljar

  • Pricing is an enterprise annual commitment, so a first certification pilot costs more than it can demonstrate and teams should prove the programme elsewhere first.
  • The commercial value depends on the Salesforce integration being properly configured, and companies with messy CRM data get engagement reporting joined to accounts that do not reflect reality.
  • It is built for external audiences, so using it for internal employee compliance means paying for capability that internal training does not need.
  • Content authoring is not a strength, so most customers licence an authoring tool separately and run two content workflows.
  • Attribution remains contested. The platform shows that trained accounts renew better, but establishing that training caused the renewal rather than that engaged customers train more is a problem the reporting cannot solve for you.

Thinkific

  • No free plan, 14-day trial only
  • Transaction fees on third-party payment processors (5% on Basic tier)
  • PayPal only available on Grow plan ($199/month), not on Basic or Start
  • Limited customization on lower-tier plans
  • Cannot embed courses in external domains or iframes
  • Limited number of spaces per plan
  • Less interactive community features compared to alternatives
  • Features continuously moved to higher-priced tiers
  • Payment processing delays reported (up to 90 days)

Pricing, plan by plan

Skilljar

On request
  • Skilljar$undefined/year
    • Annual enterprise contract, quoted
    • Entry point sits well above self-serve course platforms
    • Implementation and integration services quoted separately

Thinkific

$36/month
  • Basic$36/month
    • 1 course
    • Up to 500 students
    • Thinkific Payments (0% fees)
  • Start$74/month
    • Up to 3 courses
    • Up to 2,000 students
    • Third-party payment (3% fees)
  • Grow$149/month
    • Unlimited courses
    • Unlimited students
    • Third-party payment (0% fees)

Which should you pick?

Choose Skilljar if

  • You need branded course catalogue.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want crm data write-back.
Skilljar review

Choose Thinkific if

  • You need course builder.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want website builder.
Thinkific review

Questions people ask

Is Skilljar or Thinkific better?
Neither clearly leads. Skilljar starts at On request and Thinkific at $36/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Skilljar or Thinkific?
Skilljar starts at On request and Thinkific at $36/month.
Does Skilljar or Thinkific run on more platforms?
Skilljar runs on Web, iOS, Android. Thinkific runs on Web, Mobile.
What is Skilljar best used for?
Skilljar is most often used for a software company whose support ticket volume is driven by customers who were never trained, customer success teams that want training engagement visible next to renewal risk in salesforce, partner certification programmes where credentials must expire and be renewed, reducing time to first value during onboarding by giving customers self serve training before implementation. Of those, a software company whose support ticket volume is driven by customers who were never trained and customer success teams that want training engagement visible next to renewal risk in salesforce are not what Thinkific is typically brought in for.
What can Skilljar do that Thinkific cannot?
Skilljar covers Branded course catalogue, CRM data write-back, Certification with expiry, Domain and theme control. Thinkific covers Course builder, Website builder, Quizzes, Certificates.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Skilljar: How is Skilljar different from a corporate LMS?

A corporate learning platform reports on employees for compliance. Skilljar reports on customers for retention and expansion, and writes that activity into the CRM so account teams see it.

Thinkific: Does Thinkific have a free plan?

No. Thinkific does not offer a free plan but provides a 14-day free trial. Paid plans start at $36/month (Basic tier).

Source
Skilljar: Do learners need accounts before they can browse?

No. Catalogues can be public so prospects and customers browse and enrol without a sales conversation, which is a large part of the self serve onboarding case.

Thinkific: Are there transaction fees on Thinkific?

Thinkific charges no transaction fees when using their built-in Thinkific Payments. Third-party payment processors incur 5% fees (Basic) down to 0% (Plus), plus 3.6% for Stripe with subscriptions.

Source
Skilljar: Is it worth it for a small customer education team?

Usually not at the start. The contract floor assumes an established programme, so prove the value on a cheaper platform and move once retention or revenue evidence exists.

Thinkific: What payment methods does Thinkific support?

PayPal is locked to Grow plan ($199/month). Basic and Start plans do not support PayPal, limiting payment options for international creators and potentially reducing conversions.

Source
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