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.
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.
Thinkific is arguably the most customizable and flexible course creation 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). Additionally, Thinkific provides live chat support, ensuring immediate assistance for users.
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. Teachable also features tools for scheduling, monetizing, and managing one-on-one coaching sessions, enhancing the overall experience for both instructors and students.
| 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 comparisonhere.)
Course Creation and Engagement
Course Builder
When it comes to building your online courses, both Thinkific and Teachable offer user-friendly drag-and-drop course builders that make the course creation process a breeze. Thinkific stands out with its extensive video library, allowing course creators to easily reuse videos across multiple courses. This feature can save a significant amount of time and effort, especially for those who produce a lot of video content. On the other hand, Teachable’s course builder, while lacking a dedicated video library, allows users to import content from existing course lessons, providing a different kind of flexibility.
Both platforms enable you to add various content types to the same lesson, such as videos, quizzes, and text, but Thinkific’s course builder is known for its more streamlined process. This can make a big difference in the overall efficiency of your course creation.
Learning and Engagement
Engaging your students and enhancing their learning experience is crucial for the success of your online courses. Both Thinkific and Teachable offer features designed to keep students engaged and motivated. Thinkific’s course player allows students to hide the sidebar, creating a distraction-free learning environment. This can be particularly beneficial for students who need to focus on complex material.
Teachable, on the other hand, offers a unique feature that allows students to take private notes directly within the video player. This can be a valuable tool for students who like to jot down important points as they go through the course. Additionally, Thinkific’s course player includes a lesson title search bar, making it easier for students to navigate through the course and find specific content quickly.
Thinkific also offers more customization options for the course player, allowing course creators to tailor the learning experience to their specific needs. This level of customization can help create a more personalized and engaging learning environment for students.
Site Design and Customization
Website Themes
The design and customization of your course website can significantly impact your brand’s perception and user experience. Thinkific offers a theme library with three beautiful site themes, each providing multiple styles that can be instantly applied to your website. This allows for a high degree of customization and flexibility, enabling you to create a site that truly reflects your brand.
In contrast, Teachable does not offer a real site theme feature but provides a default template that is clean and well-organized. While this may be sufficient for some users, it lacks the variety and customization options available with Thinkific.
One of Thinkific’s standout features is the ability to modify the theme code in the backend. This gives users more control over the design of their website, allowing for advanced customization that can make your site stand out. Teachable’s website design options are more limited, but they still offer a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate.
By comparing these aspects, you can better understand which platform aligns with your needs for course creation, student engagement, and website customization. Whether you prioritize extensive customization options or a straightforward, user-friendly interface, both Thinkific and Teachable have their unique strengths to offer.
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)
- Unlimited courses on paid plans, allowing you to expand your offerings without restrictions
Thinkific Cons
- Only allows 1 course under their free option
- No integrated email marketing or sales funnel builder
- No course marketplace/li>
–>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)
- Robust course creation tools for building and selling online courses
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. Additionally, Thinkific provides significant advantages for selling online courses, making it a top choice for educators and entrepreneurs.
What Sets Thinkific Apart From Other Providers?
- It has the only viable and truly free price plan
- It is arguably the most customizable and flexible course platform
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
Claire Fountain
