Chris ChoThinkific and Teachable look similar from the outside. Both are course-focused platforms. Both handle video hosting, student management, and payments. Both sit in a similar price range.
But they are built around different priorities. Thinkific is built for building: deep course customization, unlimited courses on every plan, granular assessment tools, and fine-grained control over the learning experience.
Teachable is built for selling: a simpler checkout flow, native iOS and Android mobile apps, abandoned cart recovery, affiliate marketing tools, and a more streamlined selling experience out of the box.
Creators who switch from Thinkific to Teachable usually do it because they want a simpler selling setup and a better student mobile experience, not because they need more course-building power.
If that describes you, this guide covers exactly what moves, what you need to rebuild, and what to watch out for before you cancel anything.
At a glance
- Videos, PDFs, and course content transfer manually. There is no one-click import
- Student accounts do not transfer. Every student needs a new Teachable account
- Active subscriptions cannot be moved automatically and require direct student communication
- Drip schedules, quizzes, coupons, certificates, and affiliates all need to be rebuilt
- Student progress does not transfer except for fully completed courses
- Teachable has a simpler checkout flow and better mobile app than Thinkific
- A simple migration takes 1 to 2 weeks. A complex one takes 3 to 6 weeks
- Professional migration starts at $750
Thinkific vs Teachable: quick comparison
| Thinkific | Teachable | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (annual) | $36/mo (Basic) | $29/mo (Starter, 7.5% transaction fee) |
| Transaction fees | 0% with Thinkific Payments; up to 5% surcharge with own Stripe | 0% on Builder and above; 7.5% on Starter |
| Mobile app for students | iOS and Android; white-label option on higher plans | iOS and Android on all plans |
| Abandoned cart recovery | No | Yes, on Builder and above |
| Course customization depth | Deep (HTML/CSS editing, SCORM on Plus) | Standard |
| Unlimited courses | Yes, on all plans | Limited by plan (1 on Starter, 5 on Builder) |
| One-click migration | No | No |
| Free migration service | No | No |
Why creators move from Thinkific to Teachable
The most common reason is the selling experience. Teachable's checkout flow is cleaner and more optimized for conversion. It includes abandoned cart recovery on the Builder plan and above, which automatically follows up with students who started but did not complete a purchase. Thinkific does not have this natively. For creators running active launches and paid traffic, that single feature can meaningfully affect revenue.
The second reason is mobile. Teachable's student mobile apps for iOS and Android are well regarded and included on all paid plans. Students can download content for offline viewing and complete courses from their phone in a polished experience. Thinkific also offers iOS and Android apps, but the white-label option requires a higher plan and costs extra. For creators whose students are primarily mobile learners, Teachable's out-of-the-box mobile experience is often better.
The third reason is simplicity. Thinkific offers a lot of customization and control, but that depth can feel like overhead for creators who do not need it. Teachable is more opinionated. The course creation flow is more guided and there are fewer configuration decisions to make. Creators who found themselves spending time on Thinkific settings they did not fully understand often describe Teachable as easier to just run.
The fourth reason is the Thinkific Stripe surcharge. If you use your own Stripe account on Thinkific rather than Thinkific Payments, you pay a surcharge of up to 5% on the Basic plan, 2% on Start, and 1% on Grow. For creators who prefer to manage their own Stripe relationship and are doing meaningful volume, that fee adds up. Teachable charges 0% transaction fees on the Builder plan and above with no additional surcharge on top of standard Stripe processing.
A note on pricing as of 2026. Thinkific's plans run from $36 per month (Basic, annual billing) to $149 per month (Grow). Teachable's plans run from $29 per month (Starter, annual billing, with a 7.5% transaction fee) to $309 per month (Advanced). For most active course sellers, the Builder plan at $69 per month annually is the practical entry point on Teachable since it eliminates the transaction fee. If you want a fuller breakdown before deciding, see our full Thinkific vs Teachable comparison.
What actually transfers from Thinkific to Teachable
Your core course content moves but nothing transfers automatically. Everything requires deliberate manual work.
Thinkific does not offer a bulk download feature for your entire course library. You download content lesson by lesson: videos from the Video Library, PDFs from within individual lessons using the Download button, and audio files the same way.
Text lesson content needs to be copied and pasted manually. Quiz questions can be exported using Thinkific's Export Quiz Questions feature. Your student list can be exported as a CSV from your Users section including enrollment data and progress reports.
Your custom domain can move. If you have connected a custom domain to Thinkific, you can point it to Teachable once your new setup is ready.
What transfers
- Video files (downloaded lesson by lesson from Thinkific Video Library, then re-uploaded to Teachable)
- PDFs, audio files, and downloadable resources (downloaded from individual lessons)
- Text lesson content (copied manually)
- Student email addresses and enrollment data (via CSV export)
- Course structure (rebuilt manually in Teachable)
- Custom domain
- Transaction history (exportable from Thinkific for your records)
What does NOT transfer from Thinkific to Teachable
This is where most DIY migrations run into trouble. None of the following transfers automatically. Each needs to be handled deliberately before you go live on Teachable.
What does not transfer
- Student accounts and login credentials
- Active subscriptions and recurring billing
- Student progress (except fully completed courses)
- Drip schedules and content release logic
- Quiz data, grading rules, and student results
- Certificates earned on Thinkific
- Coupons and discount codes
- Sales pages and landing pages
- Order bumps and upsells
- Affiliate relationships and tracking links
- Community content and discussion history
- Thinkific App Store integrations and configuration
Will my students lose access when I move from Thinkific to Teachable?
Student accounts do not transfer between platforms. Thinkific and Teachable use different account systems and passwords cannot be imported. Every student who moves to your Teachable school needs to create a new account.
Teachable supports bulk enrollment via CSV on the Growth plan and above. You can import your student list from Thinkific and enroll students in courses. For students who have fully completed a course on Thinkific, you can import them with their completion status. Students who are partway through a course will start from the beginning on Teachable unless you manually adjust their access.
You need a clear communication plan. Email your students before the switch, tell them what is happening, and give them instructions for creating their Teachable account. Give at least two weeks notice and expect an increase in support questions during the transition period.
What happens to active Thinkific subscriptions during migration?
This is the highest-risk area of any migration. Active subscriptions are tied to Thinkific's payment system and cannot be automatically transferred to Teachable. Thinkific's own documentation confirms there is no way to migrate subscriptions from another platform because renewal data needs to be created natively within each platform's system.
The practical approach is to recreate your subscription offers in Teachable and contact active subscribers directly before you cancel Thinkific. Give them a clear path to re-subscribe on Teachable, typically with a coupon code to prevent double billing during the overlap period.
Do not cancel your Thinkific account until every active subscriber has either transitioned to Teachable or been properly handled.
Do drip schedules and student progress transfer?
Drip schedules do not transfer. The content release logic you set in Thinkific needs to be rebuilt inside Teachable's drip scheduling settings. Teachable supports drip content on all paid plans.
Student progress does not transfer with one exception: students who have fully completed a course can be imported with a completion date via Teachable's bulk enrollment CSV. Students who are mid-course will start from zero on Teachable unless you manually adjust their position, which Teachable does allow on a per-student basis.
Do quizzes, certificates, and coupons transfer?
Quiz data does not transfer to Teachable. Questions, answer options, grading rules, and student quiz results all need to be manually recreated in Teachable's curriculum editor. Note that Thinkific has a more feature-rich quiz system than Teachable, including randomized question banks and bulk question importing, so some quiz functionality you relied on in Thinkific may not have a direct equivalent in Teachable.
Students who have earned certificates on Thinkific will not see those in Teachable. Thinkific certificates live in Thinkific. Keep your Thinkific account active at a lower tier for a transition period so students can access historical certificates if needed.
Coupons and discount codes are platform-specific and need to be recreated in Teachable. Thinkific coupon logic does not export.
Do affiliate setups transfer?
Affiliate relationships, commission structures, and tracking links are Thinkific-specific. Teachable has affiliate functionality on the Builder plan and above. You need to onboard your affiliates again in Teachable, give them new tracking links, and communicate the switch ahead of time.
Do Thinkific App Store integrations transfer?
Thinkific has a robust App Store with integrations for email marketing tools, CRMs, analytics, and more. None of those integrations transfer to Teachable. You need to reconfigure any third-party tools you use, reconnect them to Teachable, and verify that enrollment triggers, tags, and automation logic all fire correctly on the new platform.
This is particularly important if you use an external email tool like ConvertKit or ActiveCampaign. The enrollment triggers that were set up in Thinkific need to be rebuilt using Teachable's webhooks or native integrations.
What you gain and what you give up
This migration involves real tradeoffs and it is worth being honest about both sides before you commit.
What you gain on Teachable
- Cleaner, more conversion-optimized checkout flow
- Abandoned cart recovery on Builder and above
- iOS and Android mobile apps included on all plans
- Simpler course creation interface
- 0% transaction fees on Builder and above with no Stripe surcharge
- BackOffice for automated affiliate payouts and tax form collection
What you give up from Thinkific
- Unlimited courses on every plan (Teachable caps you at 1 on Starter, 5 on Builder)
- Deeper quiz and assessment tools including randomized question banks
- HTML and CSS editing for full design control
- SCORM compliance (Thinkific Plus only, but no equivalent in Teachable)
- Bulk student enrollment without needing a higher-tier plan
- Thinkific's App Store ecosystem
For most creators making this move, the checkout and mobile improvements are worth the tradeoff. But if you sell more than five courses or rely on Thinkific's advanced quiz or customization features, check carefully that Teachable's plan limits and feature set will actually cover your needs before you start.
Risks during migration: what breaks when you rush
Common migration mistakes and what they cost
- Canceling Thinkific before active subscribers transition — recurring revenue stops
- Switching DNS before Teachable is fully tested — course site goes offline
- Not communicating with students in advance — support spike, refund requests, broken trust
- Skipping a real test purchase — broken checkout found by a paying student
- Forgetting to reconfigure third-party integrations — enrollment triggers stop firing, email sequences break
- Not checking Teachable plan limits against your course count — hitting a product cap mid-migration
Every one of these is avoidable with a proper migration plan and enough transition time.
How to migrate from Thinkific to Teachable step by step
Follow this order. Skipping steps or rushing the timeline is where things go wrong.
Step 1: Audit everything before you touch anything. Write down every course, every offer and pricing tier, every active subscriber count, every quiz, every automation rule, every integration, every affiliate relationship, and every coupon. Check your course count against Teachable's plan limits before you choose a plan. Take screenshots of your Thinkific course structures, drip schedules, and quiz settings.
Step 2: Back up everything from Thinkific. Download video files from the Video Library lesson by lesson. Export quiz questions using the Export Quiz Questions feature. Download PDFs and audio files from individual lessons. Export your student list and progress reports as CSVs from the Users section. Save transaction history for your records.
Step 3: Build your full Teachable setup before touching Thinkific. Create your course structure in Teachable. Upload your videos. Recreate your offers and pricing tiers. Rebuild drip schedules. Rebuild quizzes and assessments. Rebuild coupons. Reconnect your third-party integrations. Rebuild your sales pages. Set up your affiliate program. Connect your domain in Teachable but do not cut it over from Thinkific yet.
Step 4: Run a real test purchase. Before announcing anything to students, run an actual transaction through your Teachable checkout. Confirm payment processes correctly, access is granted, and any post-purchase automation or enrollment trigger fires. If anything is broken, find it now.
Step 5: Communicate with students before the cutover. Email your student list at least two weeks before the switch. Explain what is happening, what they need to do, and the timeline. Give them a way to ask questions.
Step 6: Handle active subscribers separately. Contact every student on a recurring subscription individually. Give them a Teachable checkout link with a coupon code so they can re-subscribe without being charged twice. Give them a clear timeline for when their Thinkific access ends.
Step 7: Switch DNS last. Once everything is built, tested, and your students are notified, update your DNS settings to point your domain to Teachable. Run both platforms in parallel for two to four weeks before canceling Thinkific.
How long does a Thinkific to Teachable migration take?
| Setup | Timeline |
|---|---|
| 1 to 2 courses, no active subscribers, no complex integrations | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Multiple courses, active subscribers, third-party integrations, email sequences | 3 to 5 weeks |
| Large course library, subscription billing, affiliates, complex quiz structures | 5 to 8 weeks |
These timelines assume focused, dedicated work, not something handled alongside a live launch or busy sales period.
How much does it cost to migrate from Thinkific to Teachable?
If you do it yourself, the only costs are your time and any overlap period where you pay for both platforms simultaneously.
If you hire a professional migration service:
| Migration type | Starting price |
|---|---|
| Starter: 1 to 2 courses, limited offers, no complex integrations | from $750 |
| Growth: multiple courses, student transfers, checkout flows, core email sequences | from $1,500 |
| Complex: subscription transfers, advanced quiz structures, affiliates, multiple integrations | custom quote |
Most migrations pay for themselves within 6 to 12 months if the monthly platform savings and improved conversion from Teachable's checkout tools are meaningful.
The honest summary
Moving from Thinkific to Teachable is one of the more manageable course platform migrations because both platforms are course-focused. You are not leaving an all-in-one marketing system. You are switching between two course tools with different strengths.
The practical work is still real: content downloads lesson by lesson, student accounts need to be recreated, active subscriptions need careful handling, and your integrations need to be rebuilt. But the scope is narrower than moving from Kajabi, and the timeline is shorter.
Before you start, check your course count against Teachable's plan limits, verify that Teachable's quiz tools meet your needs, and do the pricing math including the Stripe surcharge you are leaving behind on Thinkific and the transaction fee structure you are walking into on Teachable. If the numbers work and the selling experience improvement matters to your business, this is a straightforward migration to plan properly and execute cleanly.
Frequently asked questions
Can I import my Thinkific course directly into Teachable?
No. There is no direct import tool between Thinkific and Teachable. You download your content from Thinkific lesson by lesson and rebuild the course structure manually in Teachable's curriculum editor.
Will my students lose access when I move from Thinkific to Teachable?
They will if you do not plan the transition properly. Students need to create new Teachable accounts. With proper communication, a clear timeline, and bulk enrollment via CSV on the Growth plan, no student needs to lose access.
What happens to students on active Thinkific subscriptions?
Active subscriptions are tied to Thinkific's payment system and cannot be automatically transferred to Teachable. Contact each subscriber individually, give them a Teachable checkout link with a coupon code, and handle the transition before canceling Thinkific.
Can I keep my domain when moving from Thinkific to Teachable?
Yes. Run both platforms simultaneously during the transition. Your domain stays pointed at Thinkific until your Teachable setup is fully built and tested. Switch DNS last, once everything is confirmed working.
Does Teachable have the same quiz features as Thinkific?
No. Thinkific has a more feature-rich assessment system including randomized question banks and bulk question importing. Teachable supports quizzes but with less configurability. If advanced quiz features are important to your course design, test Teachable's quiz tools carefully before committing to the migration.
How many courses can I have on Teachable?
Teachable limits published courses by plan: 1 on Starter, 5 on Builder, 25 on Growth, and 100 or more on Advanced. Thinkific offers unlimited courses on all plans. If you have more than five courses, you need at minimum the Growth plan at $139 per month annually on Teachable.
Is it worth switching from Thinkific to Teachable?
It depends on what is driving the switch. If you want a better checkout experience, abandoned cart recovery, and a stronger mobile app for students, Teachable delivers on those. If you sell more than five courses, rely on Thinkific's deep quiz tools, or need unlimited course hosting on a lower plan, the tradeoffs need careful consideration. Not sure which platform actually fits your business? Use our free course platform finder before you commit.
