What Thinkific does well
Thinkific has been a serious course platform for a long time, and plenty of people should stay on it. Its strengths are real:
- A strong course builder. Lessons, quizzes, surveys, assignments, drip schedules and certificates, all laid out clearly.
- No cut of your sales on its paid plans. You pay the plan and card processing, nothing more.
- Communities and an app store. You can add a community to a course and plug in extra tools when you need them.
- Room to grow. Thinkific Plus is built for larger schools and teams, with its own sales team and support.
- A branded mobile app, sold as an add-on of ~$199 a month on top of a plan.
If you're happy with the price and you mostly sell courses, there's no pressing reason to move. This guide is for when the bill, the add-ons or the tools around it start to feel like too much.
Why people look for a Thinkific alternative
- The price climbs with the plan. Start is ~$109 a month and Grow ~$219 billed monthly, or ~$82 and ~$164 a month if you pay a year up front.
- The app is extra. Your own branded app adds ~$199 a month, which can double the bill.
- Marketing lives elsewhere. Many course creators still pay separately for email marketing, sales funnels, live calls and booking.
- It never ends. The fee runs for as long as the school does, and Thinkific sets next year's price.
- Your school is on their system. You can export students, but the platform, the pages and the app are rented.
Thinkific alternatives compared
| Option | Best for | Price shown | Who owns it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thinkific, for reference | Course builders who want a mature, focused tool | ~$109 to ~$219 a month (less billed yearly); app ~$199 a month extra | Thinkific |
| Teachable | The cheapest start, and selling coaching and downloads beside courses | Starter ~$39 a month plus 7.5% of sales; Builder ~$89 a month | Teachable |
| Kajabi | Courses with email marketing, funnels and a website in one subscription | ~$179 to ~$499 a month | Kajabi |
| LearnWorlds | Interactive video, assessments and training for teams | Starter ~$49 a month plus ~$5 per course sale; Pro Trainer ~$99 a month | LearnWorlds |
| Podia | A simple all-in-one for courses, downloads and email | Mover ~$49 a month plus 5% of sales; Shaker ~$99 a month | Podia |
| Your own platform Deedmade™ | Course businesses that want their own website, app and member list | $2,499 once, 0% of your sales | You |
Each alternative, honestly
Teachable is the cheaper way in. Its Starter plan costs less a month but takes 7.5% of each sale, so it suits the first few sales more than a steady business. Builder removes that fee. If you're torn between the two, read Teachable vs Thinkific.
Kajabi costs more than Thinkific but bundles a website, email marketing, sales funnels and a community into one subscription. It's the pick when most of your sales come from launches and email sequences, and you'd rather not glue tools together.
LearnWorlds is the one to look at if your course is the product: interactive video, question banks, assessments and reports, and a strong fit for training teams. Its Starter plan adds ~$5 to each course sale, so most serious users end up on Pro Trainer or above.
Podia is the simple option: courses, downloads, webinars, a community and email in one tidy place. Its lowest plan takes 5% of sales; Shaker at ~$99 a month doesn't. More in our Podia alternatives guide.
Owning your platform means the school runs on accounts in your own name. With Deedmade™, you pay $2,499 once (the early-bird price until December 31, 2026; the regular price is $3,900) for your own website and your own members app, with every feature included: courses with quizzes, certificates and drip schedules, a community, live sessions, booking, email marketing, sales funnels, a shop and an Owner's Portal to run it. There's no monthly fee required, and we take 0% of your sales. What it doesn't have is an app store of third-party add-ons, and it costs more on day one than any monthly plan.
Side by side over the years
| Thinkific Start | Thinkific Grow | Deedmade™ Everything | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | ~$1,310 | ~$2,630 | $2,499 |
| Year 3 | ~$3,920 | ~$7,880 | $2,499 |
| Year 5 | ~$6,540 | ~$13,140 | $2,499 |
| Who owns the platform | They do | They do | You do |
| If prices go up | You pay more | You pay more | Nothing changes |
| Your member list | In their system | In their system | In your own accounts |
| Your name on members' phones | Varies by plan | Varies by plan | Yours, with your icon |
Owning has cost less from month 23. After that, renting keeps going and owning doesn't.
Owning still has small running costs: the card fee on each sale (as anywhere), your domain, and hosting that's free or about $5 a month. And you can try it before paying anything: build yours free in early access and see it working first.
Add the branded app and Thinkific Start comes to ~$11,090 over three years. With Deedmade™, the members app with your name and icon is part of the platform; listing it in the App Store and Google Play is an optional $99 a month add-on.
How to choose
- Stay on Thinkific if you love its course builder, you sell mostly courses and the monthly bill is small next to what you earn.
- Choose Teachable if you want the lowest monthly price while you find out whether people will buy.
- Choose Kajabi if email and funnels drive your sales and you want them in the same subscription.
- Choose LearnWorlds if the learning experience itself, with interactive video and tests, is what you sell.
- Own your platform if the school already sells, you plan to keep going for years, and you'd rather pay once than forever.
Moving off Thinkific
Export your students and their purchases, rebuild the courses on the new platform (videos, lessons, quizzes), import the students so access is waiting, then email them their new sign-in. Keep Thinkific running for a few weeks until everyone has moved. With Deedmade™, we build the platform first and you check it before you pay. The full plan is in how to move your members to a new platform.
See it with your own course first: build yours free, with no credit card until you approve it. Compare feature by feature on our Thinkific alternative page.
Prices of other companies are approximate, from their own pricing pages on October 11, 2026 (yearly-billing prices, add-ons and plans not in our calculator were checked on November 6, 2026), and they change. Where a page shows a monthly price that is billed a year at a time, we say so. Check their websites for today's prices.
Questions people ask
What is the best Thinkific alternative?
It depends on what you want to change. For a cheaper start, Teachable. For email and funnels in one subscription, Kajabi. For interactive video and tests, LearnWorlds. For simple, Podia. To stop paying monthly and own it, Deedmade™ at $2,499 once (the early-bird price until December 31, 2026; the regular price is $3,900) with 0% of your sales.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Thinkific?
Teachable Starter and Podia Mover cost less a month, but both take a share of each sale. Owning costs more on day one and less over time: against Thinkific Start billed monthly, Deedmade™ has cost less from about month 23.
Does Thinkific take a cut of my sales?
Not on its paid plans: you pay the plan and card processing. Check thinkific.com for today's plans and prices.
Thinkific vs Teachable: which is cheaper?
Teachable's Starter plan is cheaper a month (about $39) but takes 7.5% of sales. Thinkific starts higher with no platform cut. Once you sell regularly, the difference shrinks.
Can I get my own app with a Thinkific alternative?
Thinkific sells one for about $199 a month. Deedmade™ includes your own members app with your name and icon; the App Store and Google Play listing is an optional $99 a month.
Can I move my Thinkific students to another platform?
Yes. Export your students from Thinkific, import them into the new platform so access is waiting, and email them their new sign-in before you switch. Run both for a few weeks.
Stop renting. Own it.
Build your platform free in early access and see it working, usually within the hour. You pay only if you approve it, once, and keep today's price.
- No card
- Pay once, no monthly fee
- 0% of your sales
- On your own accounts