If you’ve been trying to find the best platform to create online courses, you may have discovered Thinkific at some point. You’ve probably explored the platform yourself and ran into some challenges, which could be why you’re seeking alternatives.
Generally, Thinkific is a great platform for creating and selling online courses, especially if you’re just starting. It offers a good combination of tools for setting up your course, but it has a few limitations, which we’ll go through in a bit.
This post will give you a detailed review of various Thinkific alternatives, comparing core features and pricing.
Pros and cons of using Thinkific
Thinkific is a powerful online course creation platform for educators, businesses, and entrepreneurs. It provides an extensive toolkit for creating engaging courses, making it a good starting point for anyone looking to monetize their knowledge.
A few reasons users like Thinkific include the following:
- The drag-and-drop builder allows users to organize course content.
- Unlimited course creation
- Multimedia support for content like videos, audio, PDFs, or surveys
- Flexible pricing models for selling online courses
On the other hand, some challenges with Thinkific have caused users to seek worthy alternatives. For instance, here’s a customer’s complaint about Thinkific’s slow customer service:
Pricing is another big issue with Thinkific. While the base plan includes basic features, some essential tools require an upgrade to a more expensive plan.
For example, one user pointed out that offering a course in another language costs about $2,000/month under the Plus plan. Also, as you’ll soon see in this post, the regular plan doesn’t support multi-sites and other features that other course platforms would include at a lower cost.
For instance, all GetResponse price plans include full access to every feature available. The only difference is the number of students and contacts. For starters, you can have up to 500 students at $41.06/month and still access all the tools you need to create and market your course—landing pages, marketing automation, course hosting, and so on.
Check out our comparison of GetResponse vs Thinkific for more insights into how the two platforms approach course building and promotion.
That said, the next section will explore some top course builders that compete with Thinkific.
[TL;DR] Top alternatives to Thinkific comparison
Here’s our short list of the best Thinkific alternatives that can help you build and sell your online course.
| Platform | Key features | Best for | Pricing |
| GetResponse | AI course builder, marketing automation, sales funnels, landing pages, webinars | All-in-one course creator and marketing. | Starts at $41.06/month |
| Mighty Networks | Community engagement, live/pre-recorded courses, dedicated spaces, various customization options | Community-based learning and course creation | Starts at $41/month |
| Kajabi | Drag-and-drop builder, AI assistant, cohort-based courses, pre-recorded/live courses | Memberships, coaching, and comprehensive course creation | Starts at $71/month |
| LearnWorlds | Intuitive course builder, content dripping, assessment builder, SCORM-compliant LMS, site builder | Interactive learning and course creation | Starts at $24/month. |
| Teachable | Drag-and-drop course builder, content dripping, group coaching, quizzes and assessments | Simple to comprehensive course creation | Starts at $39/month |
| LearnDash | AI outline builder, community forum creation, assessments, assignment management | Self-hosting courses on WordPress | Starts at $199/year |
| Udemy Business | Instructor dashboard, multimedia, content support, content management, structured learning | Extensive course marketplace for wider reach | 37% for organic sales |
| Podia | Video hosting, SEO, email forms, live chat, media library, website builder | User-friendly course creation | Starts at $33/month |
8 best Thinkific alternatives to consider
Now, here’s a detailed round-up of 8 major Thinkific alternatives you may want to consider:
1. GetResponse
GetResponse tops our list of Thinkific alternatives, and that’s not just because it’s our platform.
While GetResponse primarily offers an all-in-one marketing platform, we also have a content monetization platform to help business owners, thought leaders, and content creators sell digital products.
Within our monetization platform, you’ll find an easy-to-use course builder. It’s loaded with various features for creating and selling your online course.
The GetResponse course builder is one of the best alternatives to Thinkific. Its intuitive drag-and-drop builder, AI assistance, and affordable course hosting make it a great choice.
Also, you can create and sell courses in various formats, including videos, texts, and audio.
Other notable features in the GetResponse online course builder include:
- Interactive quizzes: You can create quizzes and assessments to keep students engaged. Even better, our AI can scan your course content and suggest relevant quizzes for each lesson.
- Course structure: You can organize courses into modules and lessons to help your students navigate with more ease.
- Live webinars: You can host live webinars to build your audience and upsell attendees to your paid online course. Content from the webinar can also be incorporated into your online course.
- Community features: GetResponse includes community features like commenting and rating. Students can share feedback about your course and leave comments, which may be helpful to you and other prospective students.
- Certification: You can create certificates for students who complete your course.
Also, as an online course creator, you can create a profile through which students can see all your published courses. This improves your discoverability, making it easier for you to build a successful online business.
Beyond course creation, you also access various marketing tools, like landing pages, marketing automation, conversion funnels, etc., to promote your course. How great is it to have a single platform for creating and marketing your online course to attract potential students?
Did I mention you get unlimited access to those marketing tools at no extra cost? Yes, you only pay for one affordable plan, and you get access to both the course builder and the marketing tools.
Getresponse also offers a mobile app so your students can conveniently access and take courses at any time.
Pricing
Pricing for GetResponse is based on the size of your contact list:
- The cheapest plan starts at $41.06/month for 1,000 contacts. The plan includes up to 500 active students.
- For $47.01 monthly, you can have up to 2,500 contacts.
- Five thousand contacts will cost $64.68/month and allow up to 2,000 active students.
All paid plans come with free onboarding, migration support, and 24/7 chat support.
2. Mighty Networks
Mighty Networks is a community-focused platform where creators can sell their digital products.
With Mighty Networks, you can build an engaging community through which learners can take your online courses. There’s an intuitive AI guide to help:
On Mighty Networks, you can present courses via pre-recorded content or hold live sessions. The platform also allows you to offer courses for free or sell them through one-time payments or recurring subscriptions.
Other key features of Mighty Networks include:
- Course creation: Offer tools to create and structure online courses. It also includes quizzes and assessments.
- Community building: Includes robust community features like member profiles, discussion forums, and direct messaging to engage your students. You can also create posts, polls, and articles your audience can interact with.
- AI tools: Includes AI assistance for generating outlines and landing pages.
Pricing
Mighty Networks offers a 14-day free trial to help you explore the platform.
Besides that, there are four price plans:
The Community Plan starts at $41/month (billed annually). Allows unlimited hosts, moderators, spaces, and members, as well as 5 hours of live streaming. This plan does not offer access to course creation, though.
The Courses Plan starts at $99/month and allows you to create courses and resource libraries. It also supports quizzes, assessments, unlimited course videos, 20-hour live streaming, and course-specific automation.
The Business Plan costs $179 monthly and includes automated questions and polls, white-labeled emails, unlimited course communities, and 30-hour live streaming.
The Path-to-Pro Plan costs $360 monthly. Key features include custom space banners, unlimited course communities, custom member tags, 40-hour live streaming, and advanced automation triggers. Community members can also upload videos.
3. Kajabi
Kajabi is a comprehensive platform for creating and selling online courses, memberships, coaching programs, and similar digital products.
Kajabi lets you create self-paced online courses with videos and live rooms for student interactions. You can also create cohort-based online courses for students who want to learn at the same pace. You can host live or pre-recorded sessions for this.
With Kajabi, you can include downloadable resources or training materials students can access offline. The platform also allows you to add quizzes for student assessment and issue certificates upon completion.
Other key features include:
- Drag-and-drop editor for designing courses.
- AI content assistant for generating content outlines.
- Easy-to-use email editor for promoting your course.
Pricing
Kajabi offers a 14-day free trial to test out its features. Paid plans include:
Kickstarter: Starts at $71/month and allows you to create only one course and website. It supports up to 250 students and unlimited landing pages. You can create up to 7,500 marketing emails and access Kajabi AI.
Basic plan: Costs about $119/month (paid annually). Here, you can create up to 3 courses, unlimited marketing emails, unlimited landing pages, and one website. The plan also allows up to 10,000 contacts (students).
Growth: Starts at $159/month. Allows up to 15 products, 25,000 contacts, one website, and custom branding. Includes all features in the basic plan and 24/7 customer support.
Pro: Costs $319/month. Allows up to 100 products, 100,000 contacts, and three websites alongside all features in the Growth plan.
All price plans in Kajabi do not charge you any transaction fees.
4. LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds is another remarkable Thinkific alternative for businesses, creators, and educators. The platform offers different tools for building and selling online courses with ease.
The online course platform also allows you to create a friendly e-learning community for your students.
LearnWorlds has an intuitive course builder for organizing and creating content and customizing access types (e.g., free, paid, or private courses). Content drip lets you schedule how students access your course content within a specific duration.
LearnWorlds has an assessment builder too. You can create two assessment types:
- Non-graded (self-assessment)
- Graded assessments (exams)
Also, you can feature interactive content like quizzes and other gamified activities.
LearnWorlds also supports SCORM files, making it easy to upload existing eLearning content from another platform if you wish to migrate.
Pricing
LearnWorld’s Starter plan costs $24/month. It allows unlimited paid courses but includes a $5 transaction fee for every sale. You get a basic site builder, three landing pages, quizzes, exams, and content dripping. Other plans include:
- The Pro Trainer plan starts at $79/month. It allows up to five admin accounts to manage your course and includes everything in the Starter plan.
- The Learning Center costs $249/month. Includes all features in the pro plan. Also, it allows interactive video courses and custom branding and supports up to 20 admin accounts.
- The High-volume & corporate plan for larger organizations. Pricing for this isn’t public. The plan includes additional features like custom no. of admins/collaborators, custom no. of seats/user groups, tailored pricing options, and flexible invoicing.
If you’re curious about LearnWorlds, they have a 30-day free trial you can use to explore the features.
5. Teachable
Teachable is one of the more popular Thinkific alternatives. The platform provides a thorough set of tools for creating and marketing engaging online courses.
Teachable is ideal for both new online educators who want a simple platform and more experienced course creators who need advanced features.
Key features you’ll find in Teachable include:
- A simple drag-and-drop course builder for mapping out your course.
- Content dripping to release course sections at specific time intervals.
- Interactive quizzes and surveys for student assessment.
Pricing
Teachable’s paid plans include the following:
Basic: Costs $39/month. Features include five published courses, unlimited coaching, live group coaching, two admin seats, and custom domains.
Pro: Starts at $1199/month. Includes advanced features like graded quizzes, course completion certificates, affiliate marketing capabilities, advanced reporting, and priority support.
Business Plan: $299/month. This plan allows unlimited published courses, coaching, and downloads. It also includes live chat support, five admin seats, and custom branding.
6. LearnDash
LearnDash is a WordPress plugin that lets you create and manage online courses from your website. It’s commonly used by universities, corporations, and experienced course creators.
This Thinkific alternative offers a friendly drag-and-drop builder for creating an engaging learning experience in your course. You can also build courses from existing videos on platforms like YouTube and Vimeo.
The LearnDash LMS plugin also has a drip content feature for releasing courses in a sequence.
Other top features include:
- Quizzes and assessments
- Community forum creation
- Assignment management
- An AI course outline builder
LearnDash also helps you monitor how students progress through your course. There are gamified badges and certificates for those who complete your course.
Pricing
LearnDash does not provide a free trial. However, all plans have a 15-day money-back guarantee.
Here’s a breakdown of Learndash’s price plans:
Single site: Goes for $199/year. Allows installation on one site. Includes unlimited students, courses, AI course outline and quiz builder, assignment management, and team collaborations.
Ten sites: Costs $399/year. It includes the same features as the single site plan. It also allows installation on up to 10 sites, perfect for managing multiple projects.
Unlimited sites: Costs $799/year. It includes all features from the previous plans and is ideal for large organizations or agencies.
7. Udemy Business
Udemy is an online learning platform that offers a wide variety of courses for different topics, skills, and industries. It’s more of an online course marketplace that makes education globally accessible to learners.
Udemy Business, on the other hand, is tailored specifically for organizations looking to provide training resources to employees.
Companies can create custom courses or use existing Udemy content. However, if you’re an online educator who caters to a more corporate audience or covers professional skills, your content can be used by any of Udemy’s subscribed organizations.
Key Udemy features include:
- A thorough activity dashboard.
- Assessment and assignment management
- Content management and course planning
- Multimedia/interactive content support, including texts, videos, PDFs, etc.
Pricing
Udemy doesn’t require initial payments when setting up your course. But, they use a revenue-sharing payout model that works like this:
- You keep 37% of the revenue generated from your course when students discover you via Udemy’s marketplace.
- You keep 97% of your course revenue when students buy through your referral link, coupon, or other external source.
8. Podia
Podia is the final platform on our list of Thinkific competitors. It’s an all-in-one platform designed to help creators build, market, and sell digital products. It’s a good choice if you want an affordable platform with a user-friendly interface.
With Podia, you can host and sell your online courses, templates, ebooks, and coaching programs.
Key features of Podia include:
- Drag-and-drop course builder
- Drip course content creation
- Built-in search engine optimization (SEO) tool
- In-built video hosting
Podia has pre-selling options that let you sell courses before you launch. The platform also has native integrations with third-party platforms like CRM systems, landing page builders, and email marketing platforms. There’s a GetResponse integration too.
Pricing
Podia has a free 30-day trial. Paid plans include:
- The Mover plan. Costs $33/month and comes with unlimited products, an online store, a media library, email forms, course certificates, a custom domain, and webinars. This plan has a 5% transaction fee.
- The Shaker plan costs $75 monthly. It offers all the features of the Shaker plan plus affiliate marketing and has no transaction fee.
In closing
Thinkific is quite a popular platform for selling online courses, and it’s not a bad choice either. But as with every software, some limitations make it necessary to consider alternatives.
Online course creation tools like GetResponse, Mighty Networks, Kajabi, LearnWorlds, Teachable, LearnDash, and Podia are great options. Each has unique offerings, which we’ve seen in this post.
However, if you want a flexible platform that makes it easy to build your course according to your learner preferences, you should try the GetResponse Course Builder. Our platform makes it really easy for anyone to create courses, premium newsletters, and membership sites. To crown it all, you get unlimited access to our popular email marketing and automation toolkit to promote your course and engage your audience.