Stefan SchulzIf you are in the market to find the best platform for your online course and are struggling to choose between Thinkific and Teachable, read my in depth analysis. I’ll provide a side-by-side comparison of each, including the the biggest pro’s and con’s so you can make the best decision for your business.
We offer this website completely free to our visitors. To help pay the bills, we’ll often (but not always) set up affiliate relationships with the top providers after selecting our favorites. However, we do our best not to let this impact our choices. There are plenty of high-paying companies we’ve turned down because we didn’t like their product.
An added benefit of our relationships is that we always try to negotiate exclusive discounts for our visitors.
Basic Overview
Thinkific is arguably the most customizable and flexible course platform. It's also the only course platform with a free plan option AND zero transaction fees.
Teachable had a free plan that has been discontinued and they charge 5% transaction fees for course sales under their Basic plan. They do have a pretty user friendly admin interface, and it has the only built-in payment processing system, Teachable Payments.
Key Differences Between Thinkific and Teachable
Who is more popular?
Thinkific has close to half of the course creators and 2 million less students than Teachable, but the income they have generated shows that they are making more per student than Teachable.
| 36,000 course creators | 68,000 course creators |
| 16 million students | 18 million students |
| over $200 million in sales | over $338 million in sales |
| Start a 1-month free trial of the Start Plan | Start a 14-Day Free Trial |
Who has the better pricing?
The main differences in their pricing options lie in the transaction fees and their basic plans. Thinkific charges $49 for their Basic plan but also charges zero transaction fees across the board. Teachable offers their basic plan for $29, but they don’t eliminate transaction fees until their Pro plan ($99/mo.)
| Course Platform | ||
| Monthly billing / tiers | $0 / $49 / $99 / $199 | $39 / $99 / $499 |
| Discount for annual pre-payment (all plans) | 25% | 20-26% |
| Transaction fees | 0% | 0-5% |
| Free Trial | Start a 1-month free trial of the Start Plan | Start a 14-Day Free Trial |
(You can find an in depth side by side comparison of the Thinkific Pricing Plan Guide and Teachable Pricing Plan Guide here.)
Who has the better features?
Thinkific offers a lot of flexibility when it comes to customizing your courses. It is also the only platform with a truly free user option (for up to one course) and both email AND chat support (which is HUGE.)
Teachable offers a user friendly interface, built-in course completion certificates and an exclusive teachable payments system. This built-in system makes the payment process more simple for you, and lets you avoid the process of having to go through a third party platform like PayPal.
| Course Platform | ||
| Exclusive Features | 100% free plan: For your first course, allowing you to boot strap your course business. | Teachable Payments System: A more seamless way to get paid through the platform and avoid configuring a 3rd party vendor |
| Main Features |
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| Missing Features |
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(You can find an in depth features list and side by side comparison here.)
Pro’s and Con’s Overview
Thinkific Pros
- Only site to offer a 100% free option (no hidden fees!)
- Extremely customizable designs and themes
- Custom domain, to make your course appear as if it is part of your site
- Voice over PowerPoint presentation tool that makes video production easy
- Phone and email support
- Student payment options (ex. Subscription for ongoing access or monthly payment plan for more expensive courses)
Thinkific Cons
- Only allows 1 course under their free option
- No integrated email marketing or sales funnel builder
- No course marketplace
–>Read my full Thinkific Review<–
Teachable Pros
- Exclusive built-in payment processing option
- Basic email marketing tools
- Offers course completion certificates
- Smart phone accessible through the Teachable iOS app
- Students payment options (ex. recurring subscription for ongoing access to a course)
Teachable Cons
- 5% Transaction fees under their Basic Plan
- Not extremely customizable
- No sales funnel builder
- No phone support
- No course marketplace
–>Read my full Teachable Review<–
Overall Winner
Thinkific! While both sites offer features like a visual page builder, bulk import course content and course completion certificates, only Thinkific offers course reviews and testimonials, phone support and a truly 100% free option to get you started. It also helps that they offer both phone and email support when you need it.
We've negotiated an exclusive offer for our visitors.
For a limited time you can try Thinkific's Start + Grow Plan, free for one month.
Alternatives to Thinkific and Teachable
Thinkific and Teachable are both good options for online course platforms, but if you're looking for more alternatives, check out our reviews of the best online course platforms or see how Teachable compares to Kajabi.
Geoff Cudd
