Software · head to head
Teachable vs Thinkific
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Teachable starter plan charges 7.5% transaction fee, significantly higher than other plans; Thinkific no free plan, 14-day trial only
- They diverge on capability: Teachable covers Coaching products, Thinkific covers Website builder.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Teachable and Thinkific actually diverge.
Identical on both: pricing model (Unknown), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Teachable
- Coaching products
- Payment processing
- Affiliate marketing
- Email marketing
- Google Analytics
- Facebook Pixel
Only in Thinkific
- Website builder
- Communities
- Memberships
- Marketing tools
- Stripe
- PayPal
Both cover
- Course builder
- Quizzes
- Certificates
- Analytics
- Zapier
- ConvertKit
- Mailchimp
- Web support
- IOS support
- Android support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Teachable
- Course creation
- Coaching servicesnot Thinkific
- Digital productsnot Thinkific
- Membership sites
Thinkific
- Course creation
- Membership sites
- Coaching programsnot Teachable
- Corporate trainingnot Teachable
Both are used for course creation, membership sites, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Teachable
- Starter plan charges 7.5% transaction fee, significantly higher than other plans
- Student limits lift only at $10k+ annual sales for higher plans
- No free tier, only 7-day trial
- Custom plan requires sales contact with minimum $30k/year revenue
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
Teachable
$29/month- Starter$39/month
- 5 products
- 100 active students
- 7.5% transaction fee
- Builder$89/month
- 10 products
- 1000 active students
- 0% transaction fee
- Growth$189/month
- 50 products
- 5000 active students
- 0% transaction fee
- Custom$null/month
- Unlimited products
- Dedicated success manager
- Custom pricing
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 Thinkific if
- You need website builder.
- You work on Web, Mobile.
- You also want communities.
Questions people ask
- Is Teachable or Thinkific better?
- Neither clearly leads. Teachable starts at $29/month and Thinkific at $36/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Teachable or Thinkific?
- Teachable starts at $29/month and Thinkific at $36/month.
- Does Teachable or Thinkific run on more platforms?
- Teachable runs on Web. Thinkific runs on Web, Mobile.
- What is Teachable best used for?
- Teachable is most often used for course creation, coaching services, digital products, membership sites. Of those, coaching services and digital products are not what Thinkific is typically brought in for.
- What can Teachable do that Thinkific cannot?
- Teachable covers Coaching products, Payment processing, Affiliate marketing, Email marketing. Thinkific covers Website builder, Communities, Memberships, Marketing tools. Both handle Course builder, Quizzes, Certificates, Analytics.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Teachable: Does Teachable have a free plan?
Teachable offers a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, but no permanent free plan. The Starter plan costs $39/month (or $29/month annually).
SourceThinkific: 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).
SourceTeachable: What are the transaction fees?
Starter plan charges 7.5% transaction fee. Builder, Growth, and Advanced plans charge 0% transaction fees. Additional payment processing fees of 2.9%-4.99% plus per-transaction charges apply depending on payment method.
SourceThinkific: 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.
SourceTeachable: What integrations are available?
Teachable integrates with Zapier, Stripe, PayPal, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Google Analytics, Calendly, Zoom, and other tools via the App Hub.
SourceThinkific: 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.
SourceTeachable: How many courses can I create?
Starter plan allows 5 products, Builder allows 10, Growth allows 50, and Advanced allows 100 courses.
SourceTeachable: What is included in certificate features?
Course certificates are available starting on the Growth plan ($139/month annually). Certificates can be customized with branding and are generated automatically when students complete courses.
Source