Teachable vs Thinkific

Updated October 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

Teachable

Course and digital product platform for creators, with built-in checkout and student apps.

Paid

Visit Teachable Teachable profile

Thinkific

Course platform for education businesses, with communities, commerce and branded apps.

Paid

Visit Thinkific Thinkific profile

The short answer

Teachable and Thinkific are both hosted platforms for selling online courses without building a site from scratch. Teachable is simpler and cheaper to start but its entry plan takes a 7.5% transaction fee; Thinkific costs more and puts more into the learning experience, with quizzes, certificates, learning paths, SCORM import and communities. Solo creators selling a few courses lean Teachable; course businesses and training companies planning to scale often prefer Thinkific.

Teachable or Thinkific: our take

Teachable focuses on getting a course and checkout live quickly. It hosts video courses, coaching, digital downloads and memberships, handles global payments and sales tax, and gives students a clean player on the web and in its iOS and Android apps. Thinkific, a Canadian platform, centres on a learner hub that combines courses, communities and live sessions. Its course tools are deeper: drip schedules, quizzes and assignments, certificates, learning paths, cohort or self-paced formats and SCORM import, with exams, more community spaces and branding removal on higher plans. Both leave much of the marketing to other tools.

On price, Teachable's Starter plan is $39/month billed monthly with a 7-day free trial and no free plan, but it charges a 7.5% transaction fee and caps products, so serious sellers usually move to Builder at $89/month billed monthly. Thinkific no longer has a free plan; Start is $109/month monthly or $82/month billed annually, and Grow is $219/month billed monthly. Annual billing reduces Thinkific's cost noticeably. A branded Thinkific mobile app is an add-on at $199/month, whereas Teachable's student apps are included.

The choice depends on what matters most. Teachable is the lower-cost route for an individual who wants a tidy storefront, accepts its plan limits, and values included student apps. Thinkific suits course businesses, training providers and anyone who needs assessments, certificates, SCORM or a community next to the content, and who expects to grow into higher tiers. Anyone comparing the two should check the effective cost at expected sales volume, since Teachable's fee on Starter and Thinkific's higher base price shift the balance.

Choose Teachable if…

Solo creators who want a simple hosted course store with payments and tax handled
Quick to set up a course and checkout
Handles global payments and sales tax

Choose Thinkific if…

Course businesses that want solid learning tools and room to scale into communities and apps
Strong course features: quizzes, certificates, learning paths, SCORM
Communities and live sessions sit next to courses

What is Teachable?

Teachable is one of the longest-running hosted course platforms. Creators build video courses, coaching offers, digital downloads and memberships, then sell them through Teachable's own checkout, which handles global payments and sales tax. Students get a clean course player on the web and in Teachable's iOS and Android apps. It is easier to learn than Kajabi and leaves marketing largely to other tools, though it now has upsells, cart recovery and AI course-outline help. The catch is in the plan structure: the entry plan carries a transaction fee and a low product cap, so anyone selling seriously ends up on a higher tier. Pricing is a monthly or yearly subscription with a short free trial; there is no free plan. Teachable runs in the browser. It suits individual creators who want a straightforward place to host and sell courses without building a site from scratch.

What is Thinkific?

Thinkific is a Canadian hosted platform for selling online courses, built around a learner hub that combines courses, communities and live sessions. Course tools are its strength: drip schedules, quizzes and assignments, certificates, learning paths, SCORM import and cohort or self-paced formats. Higher plans add exams with question banks, more community spaces, removal of Thinkific branding and better analytics, and a branded iOS and Android app is a paid add-on. Compared with Kajabi it is more focused on teaching than marketing, so many users still pair it with a separate email or funnel tool. Thinkific used to be known for a free plan, but current pricing starts with a paid Start plan after a free trial, and costs rise steeply for Grow and Expand. It runs in the browser. It suits course businesses and training companies that care most about the learning experience and plan to scale.

Side by side

Attribute	Teachable	Thinkific
Pricing	Paid	Paid
Open source	No	No
Self-hostable	No	No
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web, iOS, Android
Best for	Solo creators who want a simple hosted course store with payments and tax handled	Course businesses that want solid learning tools and room to scale into communities and apps
Status	Active	Active

Verified facts, compared

Facts both apps publish, checked on each vendor's own site.

Fact	Teachable	Thinkific
Starting price	$39/month billed monthly (Starter)	$109/month monthly, $82/month billed annually (Start)