If you’re planning to launch or grow your online course business, choosing the right platform is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. Among the top contenders in 2025 are Thinkific and Teachable—two powerful platforms designed to help creators, coaches, and entrepreneurs turn their knowledge into a scalable product.
At first glance, both offer impressive course creation tools, flexible pricing, and the best marketing tools to support your growth. But when you take a closer look, one platform edges ahead in terms of flexibility, customization, and long-term value.
With greater control over your course content, more design freedom, and features tailored for serious course builders, Thinkific proves to be the smarter investment for those who want to build a truly branded and professional learning experience.
In this detailed comparison, we’ll break down everything you need to know—from features and pricing to usability and support—so you can confidently choose the platform that fits your goals.
Spoiler alert: Thinkific takes the lead.
Selection Criteria: How We Compared Thinkific and Teachable
To help you decide which platform best suits your online course business, we evaluated Thinkific and Teachable using the following key criteria:
Criteria | What It Means | Why It Matters |
---|---|---|
Pricing & Fees | Subscription plans, transaction fees, and available features per tier. | Directly impacts your profitability and growth opportunities as a course creator. |
Course Customization | Ability to control design, branding, and content presentation. | Helps establish a unique brand identity and better student engagement. |
Marketing & Sales Tools | Features like email marketing, coupons, and affiliate options. | Crucial for promoting your courses, increasing conversions, and boosting revenue. |
User Experience | Ease of use for both course creators and students. | Ensures a smooth creation process and enhances student satisfaction. |
Support & Community | Access to customer service, resources, and peer support. | Improves problem-solving and long-term platform success. |
Multimedia & Integrations | Support for video, audio, PDFs, and third-party tools. | Enriches the learning experience and allows for more creative content delivery. |
By focusing on these specific criteria, we ensure that the comparison between Thinkific and Teachable goes beyond surface-level features. Whether you're an experienced course creator or just starting out, understanding these differences will help you choose a platform that aligns with your teaching goals, audience needs, and long-term business vision.
Comparing Thinkific and Teachable: A Detailed Analysis
Thinkific and Teachable are great tools for people who want to create courses. They help you turn your skills into income. Both platforms are easy to use and offer many useful features. This makes creating, marketing, and selling online courses simple. In this guide, we will look at the main differences between Thinkific and Teachable.
You will learn what you need to make a smart decision. This will ensure that the platform you choose is a good fit for your online course business model and your growth plans.
Overview of Thinkific's
Thinkific is a popular online course platform. It allows you to create and sell courses without much hassle. The course builder is easy to use and has several helpful features. You can begin with a free plan or check out the paid plans to get a feel for how it works before making any decisions.
The platform is easy to use. It helps you make courses, manage your content, and connect with students easily. You can create fun learning paths on the right side. There are many options like videos, quizzes, assignments, and certificates to help you.
Thinkific is here to help you with marketing and sales. It provides tools such as coupons, affiliate marketing, and email marketing. These tools are designed to make it easy and effective to run your online course business.
Overview of Teachable's
Teachable makes it easy to create, start, and sell your online courses quickly. It aims to keep marketing and sales simple for you. This platform is user-friendly and offers great tools to help you create a fun learning experience online.
The easy course builder lets you add various content that teachable users like. You can put in video lessons, quizzes, and downloadable resources. Teachable also offers helpful affiliate marketing tools. These tools can help you connect with more people and boost your course sales through partnerships.
Teachable is not only for creating courses. It also offers helpful email marketing features. These tools help you reach out to potential customers, engage with students, and boost sales. You can easily communicate with your audience and create a strong community for your online course.
User Experience: Navigating Thinkific and Teachable
A good user experience is important for course creators and students. Thinkific and Teachable work on making navigation simple and the design easy to understand. They both offer user-friendly interfaces. This makes it easier for creators and students to find what they need and move around easily.
Their dashboards are simple to understand. The menus are tidy, and drag-and-drop tools make course creation easy. This setup also makes the learning experience enjoyable and effective.
Selection Criteria
When choosing between Thinkific and Teachable, there are several key points to consider. These can help you find what works best for you as a course creator. First, think about the pricing. Thinkific offers a free plan with no transaction fees. This is wonderful if you are starting with a tight budget. In contrast, Teachable has a free plan that charges a $1 fee plus 10% for each sale. This option might be better for those who value ease of use over starting costs.

When you look at pricing, also consider the tools for course creation. Thinkific gives you many options to customize your courses. Teachable, however, is very good for simple design and student management. The marketing tools are different too. Teachable has better features for promoting your courses. In the end, choose based on your budget, your comfort with technology, and your business goals.
Customization Options in Thinkific
Thinkific gives you several ways to customize your online courses to match your brand. You can include various types of content. This can be videos, audio, presentations, and documents.
With Thinkific, you can build landing pages and websites for your online school that fit your brand. You can choose from templates that are ready to use or create your own design. This lets you have complete control over the appearance of your school on the internet.
With Thinkific's customization choices, you can build a special and interesting learning space. This space will highlight your brand and draw in your audience.
Customization Options in Teachable
Teachable understands that having a good brand image is very important. It offers simple ways to customize your online courses and website. The landing page editor is user-friendly. With it, you can create appealing landing pages that attract more people.
You can adjust the colors, fonts, and logo of your course player to fit your brand. This improves the learning experience. Teachable's marketing tools work well with these changes. You can make your email campaigns, sales pages, and promotional materials feel more personal.
You can create a strong brand and properly advertise your online courses by using these features.
Multimedia Integration and Resources
Both platforms can handle many different multimedia formats well. This makes it simple to create enjoyable and engaging learning experiences. You can easily add the following to your online courses:
Video: You can include video lectures or content from sites like YouTube or Vimeo.
Audio: Share audio lectures, guided meditations, or extra materials for students who learn better through listening.
Presentations: Use slides, PDFs, or other visuals to explain ideas and provide downloadable resources.
Digital Downloads: Offer workbooks, templates, cheatsheets, or other useful materials to improve the learning experience.
Thinkific has a video library. This library helps you store and organize your videos. Teachable allows you to upload videos right into your course lessons. Both platforms aim to give easy tools for uploading, managing, and sharing engaging multimedia content with your students.
Pros and Cons Thinkific vs Teachable
Thinkific is a good choice for creators who want flexibility and to save money. It provides a free plan and does not charge transaction fees at any level. Its strong customization options, large video library, and helpful tools like surveys are great for creating unique learning experiences without extra costs. However, it lacks built-in coaching features and some marketing tools.

Teachable is a smart option for beginners and marketers. It has a simple interface that is easy to use. It comes with coaching tools and strong sales tools, like landing pages and funnels. However, there are transaction fees on the lower plans. Its course-building options are also not very flexible.
This might be a problem for creators who want to grow or lower their costs. So, Teachable works best for those who like simplicity and good marketing features instead of saving money over time.
Marketing and Sales Features Teachable vs Thinkific
To get students interested in your online courses, you need strong marketing and clear sales steps. Thinkific and Teachable understand this and provide useful tools. These tools can help you improve your marketing and boost your earnings.
These comparison platforms help you with email marketing and managing your affiliates. This can create a great experience for users. With these tools, you can reach a larger audience. You can connect with people and turn potential students into paying customers.
Pricing and Payment Options
Thinkific and Teachable offer different pricing plans to match many budgets and types of online businesses. You should examine their pricing closely. Focus on aspects like transaction fees, the number of courses you can create, and the features included with each plan. This will help you find the best option for your online course.
Plan |
Thinkific |
Teachable |
---|---|---|
Free Plan |
$0 (1 course, no transaction fees – unbeatable value) |
$0 (1 course, $1 + 10% fee – added costs) |
Basic Plan |
$49/month (no fees, affordable entry) |
$59/month (5% fee, less cost-effective) |
Pro Plan |
$99/month (no fees, scalable growth) |
$159/month (no fees, higher price) |
Advanced Plan |
$499/month (enterprise-ready, no fees) |
$675/month (enterprise, no fees, pricier) |
Transaction Fees |
None across all plans – keep all your earnings |
10% (Free), 5% (Basic), 0% (higher plans) – cuts into profits |
Best For |
Budget-savvy creators seeking value and flexibility |
Beginners okay with fees and higher costs |
Why Thinkific is Better Than Teachable
When comparing Thinkific and Teachable side by side, Thinkific clearly delivers more value for creators who want control, freedom, and long-term growth. One of the biggest advantages is its pricing model — Thinkific’s free plan comes with no transaction fees, while Teachable’s free and basic plans charge up to 10% per sale.

For creators starting out or scaling up, this means you keep more of your profits. Thinkific also offers greater customization, allowing you to fully brand your course site, design landing pages, and build a seamless learning experience that reflects your vision.
Additionally, Thinkific provides a more robust and scalable platform. With unlimited students on all plans, a powerful community feature, and flexible integrations with Stripe, PayPal, and its own Thinkific Payments, you have the tools to grow sustainably. In contrast, Teachable limits free users to just 10 students and offers fewer design options. For creators who value professional presentation, predictable pricing, and a platform built for growth — Thinkific is the clear winner.
All-in-One Course Growth Tools
Thinkific and Teachable provide all the tools you need to create, promote, and grow your online courses. You can tailor your website, use email marketing, and access everything on your mobile device. Both platforms give you detailed analytics to help you see your progress. With good options for branding and affiliate marketing, they help you connect better with your students. You will get reliable customer support to ensure a smooth learning experience. Everything you need is available in one place.
A Quick Comparison
Thinkific is unique because it doesn’t charge fees for any of its plans. You can begin with a free version that lets you have unlimited students. There is also a $499 per month plan designed for big businesses. Thinkific provides great customization, community tools, and flexible payment options. This makes it a great choice for creators. They can earn more money and manage their brand without extra costs.
Aspect |
Thinkific |
Teachable |
---|---|---|
Customization |
High (full site builder, custom domains, more templates) |
Moderate (basic editor, fewer design options) |
Student Limit |
Unlimited on all plans – no restrictions |
10 (Free), unlimited (paid plans) – capped initially |
Support |
Email + live chat (Pro and up, fast response) |
Email (all plans), live chat (higher plans) – slower on lower tiers |
Payment Gateways |
Stripe, PayPal, Thinkific Payments (flexible options) |
Teachable Payments, PayPal (limited flexibility) |
Community Features |
Built-in (Pro and up, seamless integration) |
Basic (add-on vibe, less polished) |
Best For |
Creators seeking value, flexibility, and growth |
Beginners okay with fees and simpler setup |
Teachable is user-friendly, especially for those just starting out. However, it does have some drawbacks. The lower plans come with transaction fees. You'll pay 10% for the free plan and 5% for the basic plan. Also, prices can go up to $675 a month for advanced features. Users face limited design choices, and free users can only teach 10 students. This makes it a more costly and less flexible choice for those wanting to create courses.
Thinkific is the best choice for several reasons. It has no fees for any of its plans. It also offers great ways to customize your course. Plus, new users can use a completely free option. In contrast, Teachable is simpler to set up. However, it has transaction fees for its lower plans. This can make Teachable more costly, which is not good for people who want a great deal and growth.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Thinkific and Teachable both offer solid tools for launching and managing online courses. However, Thinkific stands out as the stronger choice thanks to its advanced customization options, user-friendly design tools, and seamless multimedia support. It’s ideal for creators who want full control over branding and student experience.
While Teachable is known for its marketing and sales features, Thinkific offers greater flexibility and scalability—making it a better long-term investment for professionals aiming to build a polished and the best platform.
Your decision should align with your business goals and teaching style. To compare value for money, course design, and data security, check our detailed FAQ section. Choose Thinkific for a smarter, more powerful online teaching experience.
Last updated: 18.04.25
Mailchimp focuses a lot on email. This might make it hard for you to adapt when new channels show up. By choosing SendPulse, you pick a platform that prepares you for the future of marketing.
Scalability: Growing with Your Business
As your business gets bigger, your marketing platform needs to grow with it. SendPulse’s flexible pricing plans and features for different channels are great for businesses of all sizes. It doesn’t matter if you are a new startup sending your first campaign or a large company with lots of subscribers. SendPulse’s budget-friendly plans and helpful tools can adjust to fit your needs.
Mailchimp can expand with your business, but it gets much more expensive as your contact list grows. Its advanced features work best for larger companies that have dedicated marketing teams. If you run a small or medium-sized business, SendPulse is a better and more cost-effective choice for growth.
If you are still not sure about the best choice for you, feel free to reach out via our website. Our manager will get back to you fast and help you find the right solution for what you need. :)
Why SendPulse is better than Mailchimp
Choosing between SendPulse and Mailchimp depends on what you need. If you want something that is budget-friendly and easy to use, then SendPulse is the better option. It can assist you with multi-channel marketing and boost conversion rates. SendPulse has an excellent free plan and offers affordable paid plans. This makes it perfect for small to medium-sized businesses, especially for new users.
Thinkific usually provides more value. It has a free plan, offers good prices, and does not ask for credit card information. There are no transaction fees on its paid plans. In contrast, Teachable's free plan is more limited, and its basic plan has transaction fees.
You can move courses to different platforms, but it's not always easy. Course creators can take their content from one online course platform and put it into another. Still, they might need to redo some parts to improve the learning experience.
Thinkific’s page builder is special because it allows you to customize many features. This gives you more control over how your website appears. In contrast, Teachable’s course builder is easier to use. It helps you upload and organize your content quickly and effectively.
Both emphasize the need to keep data safe and take serious actions to protect your online school and digital products. They use encryption to safeguard important information. They also follow privacy policies to ensure that user data is managed in a responsible way.