Thinkific vs Teachable: Prices, Transaction Fees, Limits and Course Tools Compared (2026)

Thinkific and Teachable are both built for selling online courses, so they often end up on the same shortlist. Both host your course and take payments, and neither has a free plan. They differ in how much you pay up front, how much of each sale the platform keeps, how many courses you can publish, and how many teaching tools you get.

This page compares the two using only what each company publishes on its official pricing, features and help pages, so you can choose based on your budget and the kind of course business you want to build.

Thinkific vs Teachable at a glance

Prices and plans

Prices checked October 2026 on the vendors' sites — promotions change, check the final price at checkout.

The real differences

1. Entry price vs fees on each sale

Teachable has the lower sticker price: $29 a month billed annually versus Thinkific's $40 (as of October 2026). But Teachable Starter takes 7.5% of every sale. On Builder ($69 a month billed annually), that fee drops to 0% with Teachable Payments.

Some simple maths from those published prices helps. Builder costs $40 a month more than Starter on annual billing. A 7.5% fee equals $40 once your sales reach about $533 a month. Above that level, Starter's fee costs more than the upgrade.

Thinkific's pricing FAQ says that if you use Thinkific Payments, you pay 2.9% and no third-party gateway fee. If you connect Stripe or PayPal directly instead, a gateway fee applies, and the amount varies by plan. We couldn't confirm the exact figures, so check the vendor's page before choosing that route. Likewise, if you plan to use Teachable Builder or Growth without Teachable Payments, check the vendor's page for the fee that applies.

2. How many courses you can publish

Every Thinkific plan includes unlimited published courses. The Basic, Start and Grow plans each allow up to 10,000 current students.

Teachable limits published products by plan: 5 on Starter, 10 on Builder and 50 on Growth. If you plan many small courses, mini-courses or separate offers, those caps may push you to upgrade sooner than revenue alone would.

3. Teaching and community tools

Thinkific's features page lists a wide learning toolset:

• a drag-and-drop course builder with AI-assisted course generation
• video and slide import
• quizzes, assignments and certificates
• self-paced, live-cohort and blended course formats
• a community inside the learner area

Not every feature is on every plan. Graded assignments, completion certificates, payment plans, subscriptions and bundles start on the Start plan ($82 a month billed annually). SCORM is available only on Thinkific Plus.

Teachable's published setup focuses on getting a course built quickly. Its wizard asks for a title, author, description and a 16:9 thumbnail (1024 × 576 px is recommended). You can then build your outline in one of four ways: Generate with AI, Start from scratch, Bulk upload (one lesson per file) or Copy from another course. The AI option drafts sections, lessons and sample content from your course description. A Setup Guide then takes you through the curriculum preview, sales page and thank-you page before you click Publish course.

We couldn't confirm Teachable's quizzes, certificates or community features. If those matter to you, check the vendor's page.

4. Pricing options for your students

Both platforms support one-time prices, payment plans and subscriptions.

• Teachable offers four pricing plan types: Free, One-time purchase, Payment plan and Subscription. One course can have several plans, each with its own checkout link. Prices start at $1. However, once you create a plan, you can't edit its price, currency or type. You have to archive it and create a new one.
• Thinkific supports one-time, subscription and payment-plan pricing, plus coupons, bundles and multi-currency checkout. Payment plans, subscriptions and bundles require the Start plan or higher.

5. Branding and team seats

Thinkific branding stays on your school until the Grow plan ($164 a month billed annually). Admin seats rise from 1 on Basic to 2 on Start and 6 on Grow.

Teachable gives 1 admin seat on Starter and Builder, and 5 on Growth. If you work with a partner or assistant, check how many seats you need before choosing a plan.

Who should choose Thinkific

Thinkific fits you if you:

• plan to publish several courses and don't want a product cap;
• want a community, quizzes and (from the Start plan) graded assignments and certificates;
• want to run live-cohort or blended courses, not only self-paced ones;
• want a custom domain on the entry plan;
• prefer to try the platform for 30 days before paying.

It's a weaker fit if you need the lowest possible monthly cost. It's also a weaker fit if you need payment plans or subscriptions on a budget, because those start on the $82 Start plan.

Who should choose Teachable

Teachable fits you if you:

• want a guided wizard and an AI-drafted outline to get your first course built quickly;
• are starting with one or a few courses and want the lowest entry price;
• want flexible pricing for each course: free, one-time, payment plan or subscription, with several plans and checkout links per course;
• are happy to move to Builder once sales grow, to avoid the 7.5% Starter fee.

It's a weaker fit if you plan many separate products. The 5, 10 and 50 caps can push you up a tier.

When neither fits

If you want to start for $0 and test demand before paying anything, neither platform is ideal, because both require a paid plan to keep selling. In our step-by-step guide to launching your first online course, we also cover Systeme.io. Its Free plan includes one course, sales funnels, email and 0% transaction fees, with no time limit (as of October 2026). Systeme.io offers fewer advanced learning features than a course-first platform, but it's a low-risk way to run a pilot.

FAQ

Is Teachable cheaper than Thinkific?

At the entry level, yes. Teachable Starter is $29 a month billed annually, and Thinkific Basic is $40 (as of October 2026). But Starter adds a 7.5% transaction fee on each sale. Once you sell regularly, compare your total yearly cost including fees, not just the subscription price.

Can I try either platform for free?

Thinkific offers a 30-day free trial. Teachable offers a free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. We couldn't confirm the length of Teachable's trial, so check the vendor's page. Neither has a permanent free plan.

Which is better for beginners?

If you want a guided setup with an AI-generated outline and a low starting price, Teachable is the easier on-ramp. If you already know you'll build several courses with quizzes, a community or cohorts, Thinkific's unlimited courses avoid an early upgrade.

Do I still pay card fees on 0% plans?

Yes. Teachable Payments lists 2.9% + 30¢ for US cards and 3.9% + 30¢ for international cards. Thinkific Payments lists 2.9%. These processing fees apply on top of your subscription.

How we compared

We based this comparison only on Thinkific's and Teachable's official pricing, features and help-center pages, checked in October 2026. We compared published plans, prices, transaction and processing fees, product and seat limits, trial terms and documented course-building and pricing features. Where a detail wasn't confirmed on those pages, we say so and point you to the vendor's page.