7 Thinkific Alternatives (2026), Ranked by Fees and Fit

Thinkific works, and for some sellers staying put is the cheapest move. Switching to another account means that you have to account for the payment processing, transaction fees and the cost of any extra tools you need.

But in a case where you make $5,000 in monthly sales, which platform best justifies what you pay for in total and also fits the way you teach?

In this guide, we compare seven Thinkific alternatives by their total costs and teaching capabilities so you see where switching or staying makes sense.

Why people look for a Thinkific alternative

Thinkific is one of the apps that offer unlimited courses across its main plans. Yet this does not mean every plan suits every creator’s business needs. These are the concerns that help explain why creators may want to compare alternatives:

The total cost can outgrow the budget

Basic costs $54 a month and Start $109, or $40 and $82 a month billed yearly. On top of that, creators using an external payment gateway may pay additional fees.

In the r/elearning thread about replacing Thinkific, Reddit user u/sourcecraft described switching to another LMS even though they preferred parts of Thinkific’s interface, writing that “the savings is worth it to me.”

For sellers in the US, Canada and the UK who receive payments through Stripe, they pay Thinkific a gateway fee on top of Stripe’s own charges which amounts to 5% on Basic 2% on Start and 1% on Grow. Thinkific waives these charges after $1 million in sales in a year, but it does not apply to Thinkific Payments.

Some teaching and administrative features require higher tiers

You have to scale up to get access to certain teaching features on Thinkific and this is where it gets dicey for new creators. For features like live cohorts and coaching, assignments and completion certificates, you need to be on the Start plan which costs $109 per month.

This matters more for creators who train companies or manage separate learner groups. In the same r/elearning discussion, the original poster said they needed “an agency administrator that can assign courses, watch student progress, and run reports.” That kind of setup goes beyond simply publishing courses.

To gain access to group orders for selling seats to companies, you need to scale even higher to the Grow plan at $219. Even then, the Group Analyst role is read-only, and only views and exports progress for assigned groups.

Some sellers want more marketing tools in one plan

Thinkific's pricing page lists email automation, with templates and pre-built sequences. Sellers who also want funnels, a full website and broadcast email in the same bill tend to look at platforms that bundle them, such as Systeme.io and Kajabi.

How we compared them

We selected these alternatives based on the following criteria:

• Total monthly subscription costs, including platform and payment fees.

• Teaching setup, covering shared start dates, live sessions and assessments.

• Staff permissions, group management and reporting.

• Migration process for course content, students records and recurring payments.

For a fair comparison, we assume a US creator makes 50 sales of $100 each, totaling $5,000 per month. Costs include the monthly subscription, applicable platform or enrollment fees, and payment processing where verified.

For a 2.9% + $0.30 card-processing rate, 50 transactions equal $160 in processing fees. All prices are month-to-month billing, since yearly billing lowers most of them. LearnDash sells yearly plans only, so its figure is the yearly price divided by 12.

The alternatives

1. Heartbeat

Thinkific is built around the course, with a community alongside it. Heartbeat is built around the community: members talk to each other in channels, meet at live events and take courses together, with memberships and checkout in the same place. It fits when the community is what people pay for, such as a membership, a group program or a cohort course where members learn from each other.

Every plan includes unlimited courses, events and documents, and a course can run evergreen or as a cohort. Members use the Heartbeat app, and the Scale plan adds your own branded app in the App Store and Google Play. Heartbeat has a 14-day free trial, with no card required to start.

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2. LearnWorlds

If you want a platform that gives more than recorded lessons and a basic checkout, LearnWorlds offers assessment, interactive video, certificates and a more structured learning experience. One aspect where it beats Thinkific is in its cost-savings. Currently, the Starter charges $5 per course enrollment while the Pro trainer plan at $99 per month removes that fee.

At 50 paid enrollments, Starter costs $29 plus $250 in enrollment fees, or $279 before payment processing. Pro Trainer costs $99 before processing. The latter has a lower subscription-plus-enrollment subtotal once you exceed 14 paid enrollments per month, assuming the same plans and fee schedule.

3. Skool

Do your programmes revolve around regular calls? Do you find yourself constantly needing a shared member space instead of a complex school structure? Then Skool might fit more into your workflow. It offers a combination of lessons and live calls, calendar and community discussion in one interface. The best part is that all these come with unlimited courses and videos in the Pro plan. This comes at $99 a month plus a 2.9% fee on its pricing card.

However the pricing does not include quizzes, assignment or shared start dates. Similarly, the Hobby fee at $9 charges 10% which can become expensive as sales grow. Its join-date-based schedule may also not suit cohorts that must unlock lessons on shared calendar dates.

4. Systeme.io

Systeme.io is known for being a platform that houses email and funnels in one plan at a low cost. So if you’re looking at reducing the number of separate tools you pay for, it’s a practical option, but note that the features you get are determined by the plan you opt for. Systeme.io comes in four plans, all of which are advertised at 0% platform transaction fees, excluding Stripe or PayPal processing charges.

The Startup plan costs $17 per month and covers 5,000 contacts, 10 funnels and 5 courses. If this supports your course and contact requirements, the modeled monthly cost of $5,000 in sales is $177, including the $160 processing estimate.

Where it beats Thinkific: email and funnels come in the same low-priced plan, and its pricing page lists free migration. Where it doesn't: Startup caps you at 5 courses, while Thinkific's plans have no course limit.

5. Kajabi

Kajabi makes sense for businesses that do not mind a higher subscription bill for a platform that consolidates landing pages, funnels and a website in one. The point here is that if you're only looking for a place to just host lessons, then Kajabi is not the platform to start with.

Even for businesses considering Kajabi, knowing the right plan to opt for matters. For the Cohort courses features, you need the Growth or Pro plan. Growth costs $249 per month plus Kajabi payments at 2.8% and $0.30 equals an estimated $155 for processing, bringing it up to a monthly total of $404.

Where it beats Thinkific: email, funnels and a website come in one bill, and each cohort can have its own start date. Where it doesn't: Growth costs more than twice Thinkific Start ($249 against $109 a month).

6. Podia

Maybe you don’t just sell courses. You may have downloadable guides, workshops or other smaller digital products in your stack and you prefer to interact with buyers from one storefront. If this describes you, you should consider Podia. It’s an option for independent creators who prefer to keep their product catalogue and communication together.

For example, at $5,000 in monthly sales, the Mover plan at $49 a month ($42 billed yearly) adds $250 in transaction fees and an assumed $160 in payment processing, bringing your total to $459. Shaker, at $99 a month ($84 billed yearly), has no transaction fee and comes to about $259 under the same assumptions.

Where it beats Thinkific: downloads, workshops and courses sell from one storefront, with email included. Where it doesn't: Shaker caps email at 500 subscribers, so a larger list means a higher plan.

7. LearnDash

For creators who already have their website on WordPress, LearnDash gives you the option to add learning management functionality to your existing site. You can build courses around your existing website and choose the hosting, design, payment and other tools that fit your requirements.

LearnDash is sold on annual plans and features for delegated admin and group management depending on the tier. Elite costs $599 per year, which works out to approximately $49.92 per month before hosting, payment and processing fees.

Where it beats Thinkific: group management, seat selling and an instructor role come with Elite at $599 a year, where Thinkific's group orders need Grow at $219 a month. Where it doesn't: you run the WordPress site yourself, with hosting and payments on top.

Comparison table

Which one to pick, by reason

• If cost is the problem: first price your current setup on Thinkific Payments. Start with Stripe at $5,000 costs $109 plus $100 plus $160, $369. On Thinkific Payments it is $109 plus $160, plus a 0.5% sales tax fee ($25) where tax is assessed, $294, with no migration. If that still stings, Systeme.io ($177) and LearnDash Elite ($209.92 before hosting) cost less.

• If you teach in cohorts: Kajabi Growth or LearnWorlds Pro Trainer, depending on whether you want email and a site included or learning paths and certificates.

• If clients need their own administrators: LearnWorlds Learning Center or LearnDash Elite.

• If email and funnels matter most: Systeme.io or Kajabi.

• If community comes first: Skool or Podia.

Finally, staying is a fair answer if your sales run through Thinkific Payments and your teaching sits on Start.

How to move off Thinkific

Back up course assets

There is no option to export a complete course on Thinkific, but its documentation explains how to download lesson files including videos and PDFS. So ensure you save the originals, lesson text, and other materials separately.

Confirm what the new platform can accept

Your exports are only as good as what your destination platform can import. Check in with the receiving platform to confirm what it can transfer before committing.

Handle recurring payments separately

According to Thinkific’s FAQ, cancelling your platform subscription does not automatically stop recurring payments charged to students. You can cancel or migrate payments arrangements through the relevant payment processor, and explain any changes to learners before switching.

Test before launch

Before you cancel your existing setup, make sure that the replacement works. Start by making a test purchase, verify the access and payment notifications and confirm that existing learners can find their course materials.

Frequently asked questions

What are the disadvantages of Thinkific?

Subscription costs, additional gateway fees for some third-party payment arrangements, and restrictions on certain administrative permissions are some of the drawbacks of Thinkific. There's also no free plan for creators who are just starting out.

What are the top 5 LMS platforms?

There is no universal LMS ranking. If you sell courses, compare options like LearnWorlds, Kajabi, Podia, Systeme.io and Skool. If you’re already on WordPress, LearnDash may be a better fit.

Which is better, Skool or Thinkific?

Skool is a reasonable choice for instructors that combine community-led teaching and weekly calls while Thinkific is worth considering for structured course delivery.

Which is better, Thinkific or Kajabi?

Kajabi makes more sense if you want emails, funnels and website tools in one budget. But if course delivery is your main priority, then Thinkific is better.

Which Thinkific alternative costs less at $5,000 in monthly sales?

On this article's assumptions, with month-to-month billing: Systeme.io comes to $177, LearnDash Elite $209.92 before hosting (yearly plan), Skool Pro about $244, Podia Shaker and LearnWorlds Pro Trainer about $259, and Kajabi Growth $404. Thinkific Start on Thinkific Payments is $294.

Can I move my courses, students and subscriptions from Thinkific?

Courses and student lists can be moved with help from the destination, but active subscriptions may need students to resubscribe. Confirm each item with the receiving platform before you cancel.