Thinkific alternatives in 2026: 8 course platforms compared
Thinkific starts at $54 a month, and Basic skips bundles, memberships, and certificates. Here are 8 Thinkific alternatives with prices checked September 2026.
Thinkific's Basic plan costs $54 a month ($40 billed yearly) and gives you unlimited courses, but bundles, memberships, order bumps, and certificates start on Start at $109 a month. There's no free plan, only a 30-day trial. The best Thinkific alternative for creators who sell from social media is Eden: courses, cohorts, coaching, and an AI tutor for $29 a month plus 5%. Teachable is the closest swap, LearnWorlds is best for interactive lessons, Maven fits live cohorts, and Payhip is the cheapest way to start.
This guide is for creators on Thinkific now, or comparing it before they build a first course. Full disclosure: we make Eden, which is first on this list. Every price and fee below was checked on each company's own pricing page or help center in September 2026. Payment processing (usually 2.9% + 30¢ per US card sale) applies everywhere unless we say otherwise.
What Thinkific costs now
| Plan | Monthly | Billed yearly | Digital downloads | Communities | Admins | Certificates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $54 | $40/mo | 5 | 1 | 1 | No |
| Start | $109 | $82/mo | Unlimited | 1 | 2 | Yes |
| Grow | $219 | $164/mo | Unlimited | 3 | 6 | Yes |
| Plus | Custom | Custom | Unlimited | Unlimited | Custom | Yes |
Every plan has unlimited courses, quizzes, a custom domain, coupons, and affiliate reporting. Start adds bundles, order bumps, memberships and subscriptions, assignments, and live cohorts. Grow adds removing Thinkific's branding, the API, and bulk enrollment. A branded mobile app is a $199 a month add-on.
On fees: Thinkific Payments costs 2.9% per sale with no Thinkific cut. If you use Stripe or PayPal directly instead, Thinkific's help center lists an extra gateway fee of 5% on Basic, 2% on Start, and 1% on Grow, on your first $1 million in sales each year.
Where Thinkific wins
Be fair to it before you leave. Thinkific is a real learning platform, and a few things are hard to match:
- Course depth. Quizzes on every plan, assignments and certificates from Start, and unlimited courses even on Basic.
- Community built in. Each plan includes at least one community with its own spaces, so students can talk to each other.
- A branded app. If you want your own app in the App Store, Thinkific sells it as an add-on.
- An AI teaching assistant, on Plus. Thinkific's assistant, Thinker, answers learner questions from your course content. It's only on Thinkific Plus, the custom-priced plan.
Why people look for Thinkific alternatives
- Basic is thin for selling. No bundles, no order bumps, no memberships, and only 5 digital downloads. Most of the selling tools are on the $109 plan.
- Certificates cost $109 a month. If your buyers expect a certificate, Basic won't do it.
- Stripe or PayPal cost extra. Skip Thinkific Payments and you pay a gateway fee on top of processing, 5% on Basic.
- The AI tutor is enterprise-only. Thinker needs Plus, so most course creators can't turn it on.
- It's a course site, not a social store. Thinkific is built for a school website. If your buyers come from Instagram or TikTok, you still need a link-in-bio page in front of it.
The short version
| Platform | Best for | Price from | Platform fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eden | Courses with an AI tutor, plus coaching | $29/mo | 5% |
| Teachable | A like-for-like course platform | $39/mo ($29 yearly) | 7.5% on Starter |
| Kajabi | Site, email, funnels, and courses | $179/mo | 0% on Kajabi Payments |
| Podia | Simple all-in-one with community | $49/mo ($42 yearly) | 5% on Mover |
| LearnWorlds | Interactive video and assessments | $29/mo ($24 yearly) | $5 per sale on Starter |
| Maven | Live cohort courses | $0 | 10% |
| Stan Store | Selling from your link in bio | $29/mo | 0% |
| Payhip | No monthly bill, tax handled | Free | 5% Free, 2% Plus, 0% Pro |
1. Eden
Eden is a creator workspace with a store. You write lessons as documents, add video, and sell the course from your free link-in-bio page at your-handle.eden.so.
What it does well:
- An AI tutor on the entry plan. A course can come with an AI that knows which lesson the buyer has open. It explains the idea, runs the exercise, quizzes them, and checks their work. On Thinkific, the closest thing is Thinker, and it's Plus only. See how to sell a custom AI.
- More than courses. Sell cohorts with seats and live sessions, coaching with packages and applications, memberships, digital downloads, and bundles from one store.
- Selling tools on the $29 plan. Order bumps, bundles, discount codes, timed sales, and testimonials. Pro at $79 adds up to 3 one-click upsells after checkout and an affiliate program. Thinkific puts bumps and bundles on Start at $109.
- Built for social selling. Content links open your page with the right product on top, and UTM tracking shows which posts sell. Meta Pixel tracking is on Pro.
- Your own Stripe. Money goes to your Stripe account, and Eden takes 5%.
Where it falls short: Eden has no graded quizzes, no certificates, no community or forum, no custom domain, and no branded app. There are no built-in email broadcasts; buyers and signups go to your email list in Kit, beehiiv, GoHighLevel, or Substack. Eden isn't a merchant of record, so sales tax through Stripe is yours to handle.
The fee math: Eden Starter ($29 + 5%) costs less than Thinkific Basic ($54) until you sell about $500 a month, or about $220 a month against Basic billed yearly. Against Start at $109, which is where bumps, bundles, and memberships live, Eden is cheaper until about $1,600 a month.
Price: free to build. Selling needs Starter at $29/mo, Pro at $79/mo, or Studio at $199/mo. Eden takes 5% per sale, and Stripe's processing comes out of your share.
Best for: creators who sell from social media and want buyers to get help, not just videos.
2. Teachable
Teachable is a course platform first, and the closest like-for-like swap for a Thinkific school.
Where it falls short: Starter takes 7.5% of each sale and allows 5 products. The fee drops to 0% on Builder (with teachable:pay). Certificates start on Growth at $189 a month. More in Teachable alternatives.
Price: Starter $39/mo ($29 yearly), Builder $89/mo ($69 yearly), Growth $189/mo ($139 yearly).
Best for: course-only businesses that want a similar setup with a lower entry price.
3. Kajabi
Kajabi covers the course plus the rest of the business: landing pages, funnels, and unlimited marketing emails on every plan. Kajabi says it takes no revenue share.
Where it falls short: it starts at $179 a month, and Basic allows 5 products and 2,500 contacts. Using a third-party payment provider adds 2% on Basic. More in Kajabi alternatives.
Price: Basic $179/mo ($143 yearly), Growth $249/mo ($199 yearly), Pro $499/mo ($399 yearly).
Best for: creators who want email and funnels in the same tool as the course.
4. Podia
Podia sells courses, downloads, coaching, and community from one simple site, with email included.
Where it falls short: Mover takes 5% per sale and includes only 100 email subscribers. See Podia alternatives.
Price: Mover $49/mo ($42 yearly), Shaker $99/mo ($84 yearly), Earthquaker $179/mo ($150 yearly). 14-day trial.
Best for: small creators who want courses and a community without much setup.
5. LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds goes deeper than Thinkific on the lesson itself: interactive video, assessments, and certificates.
Where it falls short: Starter charges $5 per paid enrollment and has no certificates or interactive video. Those start on Pro Trainer at $99 a month.
Price: Starter $29/mo ($24 yearly), Pro Trainer $99/mo ($79 yearly), Learning Center $299/mo ($249 yearly).
Best for: educators who care most about interactive lessons and assessments.
6. Maven
Maven is built for live cohort courses. It's free to use until a student pays.
Where it falls short: Maven keeps 10% of each paid enrollment, which adds up on high-priced cohorts.
Price: no monthly fee. 10% per paid enrollment, plus Stripe.
Best for: experts running live cohorts. See how to run a cohort-based course.
7. Stan Store
Stan turns your link in bio into a store for courses, downloads, coaching, and memberships, with 0% transaction fees.
Where it falls short: discount codes, upsells, order bumps, and email broadcasts are on Creator Pro at $99 a month. Its courses are simpler than Thinkific's. See Stan Store fees.
Price: Creator $29/mo, Creator Pro $99/mo.
Best for: creators who sell from Instagram or TikTok and want one flat price.
8. Payhip
Payhip sells courses, downloads, memberships, and coaching with every feature on every plan. It collects and pays EU and UK VAT and US and Canadian sales tax for you.
Where it falls short: the storefront is plain, and the course player is simpler than Thinkific's. See Payhip alternatives.
Price: Free with a 5% fee, Plus $29/mo with 2%, Pro $99/mo with 0%.
Best for: testing a first course with no monthly bill.
Which one should you pick?
- Choose Eden if you sell from social media and want an AI tutor and coaching on a $29 plan, with upsells on the $79 Pro plan.
- Choose Teachable if you want the same kind of course platform at a lower entry price.
- Choose Kajabi if you want email, funnels, and courses in one place and can pay $179 a month.
- Choose LearnWorlds if interactive video and assessments matter most.
- Choose Maven if your course is live and runs in cohorts.
- Choose Payhip if you want no monthly bill and tax handled.
- Stay on Thinkific if your students need quizzes, certificates, and a community, and you're already on Start or above. Few alternatives match its course depth at that price.
How to move from Thinkific to Eden
- Rebuild the course. Create a course in Eden, add sections and lessons, and paste each video as a YouTube, Loom, or Vimeo link or upload the file. See sell a course.
- Turn on the AI (optional). Pick Custom AI as the product type so buyers can ask about the lesson they're on. Paste video transcripts under each video so the AI can use them.
- Bring your students. Import your existing customers so they get access without paying again.
- Publish. Connect Stripe, pick Starter or above, and put the course on your page.
More on pricing and launch in how to sell an online course.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Thinkific cost in 2026?
Basic is $54 a month, Start is $109, and Grow is $219. Billed yearly, they come to $40, $82, and $164 a month. Plus is custom-priced.
Does Thinkific have a free plan?
No. Thinkific offers a 30-day free trial instead.
Does Thinkific charge transaction fees?
Not on Thinkific Payments, which costs 2.9% per sale. If you use Stripe or PayPal directly, Thinkific adds a gateway fee: 5% on Basic, 2% on Start, and 1% on Grow.
Which Thinkific plan has certificates?
Start and up. Basic has quizzes but no certificates.
What's the cheapest Thinkific alternative?
Payhip has a free plan with a 5% fee. For courses with coaching and an AI tutor, Eden starts at $29 a month plus 5%. Upsells need Pro at $79.
Want to see your course with an AI tutor inside it? Start Eden free, build the course, and publish when you're ready.