Teachable vs Thinkific in 2023: Which is the Best Online Course Platform?
Teachable and Thinkific are two of the most popular online course creation platforms. Both platforms make it easy for anyone to create, sell, and host online courses. However, there are some key differences between Teachable and Thinkific regarding features, pricing, ease of use, and more.
This guide will compare Teachable vs Thinkific to help you determine which platform suits your needs as an online course creator in 2023. We’ll explore each platform’s pros and cons and provide tips on building great online courses using Teachable or Thinkific. A comprehensive Thinkific vs Teachable comparison reveals their strengths and differences in course creation.
Key differences between Thinkific and Teachable
While Teachable and Thinkific have some similarities, some notable differences exist between the two platforms. While Teachable and Thinkific are popular, Udemy offers another avenue for online course creation. Let’s look at some of the key differences between Thinkific and Teachable:
Thinkific pricing options
One major difference is the pricing structure. Thinkific offers more flexible and affordable pricing options for new course creators.
Thinkific has a free plan lets you create unlimited courses and sell to up to 10 students. Their paid Creator plan starts at just $39/month.
Teachable does not have a free plan. Their paid Basic plan starts at $29/month but has student limits. Overall, Thinkific’s pricing is better for course creators on a budget.
Teachable pricing options
Teachable has three paid plans:
- Basic plan ($29/month with limits)
- Professional plan ($79/month with higher limits)
- Business plan ($249/month with highest limits)
There are no transaction fees on the Business plan. On lower tiers, Teachable charges an additional fee per sale.
While Teachable can get pricy at higher usage levels, the plans scale well for established course creators running an online academy. But Thinkific is cheaper for new creators. Teachable also offers robust marketing and sales features.
Benefits of using Thinkific
Some key benefits of using Thinkific include the following:
- More features built-in, like advanced quizzes, forums, and drip content
- Highly customizable course pages and templates
- More sophisticated marketing and sales tools
- Affordable pricing, even for new course creators
- An intuitive platform that’s easy to use
Thinkific is an excellent “all-in-one” course platform with powerful creation, marketing, and analytics tools.
Benefits of using Teachable
Some benefits of using Teachable:
- Very simple and intuitive course builder
- Pre-built templates make creating basic courses easy
- Add functionality via third-party tool integrations
- Excellent analytics and reports on student progress
- Focus on core course building vs. extraneous features
Teachable excels at providing a streamlined course creation experience. The platform gets out of your way so you can focus on content. Teachable allows creators to build and customize online courses with user-friendly tools and templates.
Which is the best online course platform for course creators: Teachable vs Thinkific?
So which platform reigns supreme – Thinkific or Teachable? When comparing the two, Thinkific is the best online course platform for most use cases, thanks to its pricing, features, and versatility. However, Teachable has some advantages in certain situations.
Comparing Teachable and Thinkific Features
Thinkific offers more robust features and functionality out of the box. Advanced quizzes, content dripping, coupons, powerful analytics, and more give you more capabilities for creating engaging courses on Thinkific.
With Teachable, you often rely on external tools for features like email marketing, community forums, and webinars. It takes more work to piece together a full-featured online course experience. In addition to its robust course creation tools, Thinkific also offers comprehensive marketing and sales features.
Thinkific course creation platform
As a course creation platform, Thinkific gives you all the tools you need in one unified ecosystem:
- Customizable course builder
- Advanced multimedia and quiz options
- Built-in community and discussion forums
- Email and marketing automation
- Student management and analytics
- E-commerce and payment processing
Whether you want to create a simple online course or a full membership site, Thinkific enables it in its platform.
Teachable course creation platform
Teachable focuses exclusively on creating and selling online courses. The platform is more limited than Thinkific but highly optimized for that primary use case.
With Teachable, you get the following:
- Simple drag-and-drop course builder
- Basic quizzes and multimedia options
- Powerful analytics on student progress
- Easy course selling and transactions
- Robust affiliate marketing tools
It’s easier to create your first course on Teachable. But expanding beyond basic video courses requires third-party tools.
Differences in pricing plans
We’ve already covered the pricing differences in detail, but to recap:
- Thinkific offers more affordable pricing, starting with a free plan.
- Teachable has no free option and charges additional fees per transaction.
- Thinkific pricing remains consistent as you scale. Teachable gets more expensive with higher usage tiers.
Thinkific provides better overall value for new course creators with their pricing model.
Advantages of Teachable over Thinkific
Despite Thinkific being the superior platform overall, Teachable has some advantages:
- Simpler and more beginner-friendly course creator
- Pre-built templates make basic course creation easier
- Ability to focus purely on course content vs. extra features
- Seamlessly sell courses to your existing audience and email list
So for absolute beginners or established creators with an audience, Teachable can be a better choice in some cases.
How to create an online course on Teachable or Thinkific?
Whether you choose Teachable or Thinkific, both make it easy for anyone to start teaching online. Here are some tips for creating your first course on each platform:
Steps to create a course on Teachable:
- Sign up for a Teachable account
- Use pre-built templates to create your course structure
- Upload your video lessons and attachments
- Add quizzes and multimedia using the drag-and-drop builder
- Customize your course pages and configure settings
- Publish and sell your completed course
With Teachable’s intuitive builder and templates, you can create an entire online course in hours. No technical skills are needed!
Steps to create a course on Thinkific:
- Sign up for a Thinkific account
- Use the customizable course editor to add sections, lessons, quizzes, and more.
- Upload your videos, audio, PDFs, presentations, etc.
- Create your assessments using advanced quiz options
- Configure course settings and access rules
- Style your course pages and add branding
- Publish and promote your course!
Thinkific gives you more flexibility and options for creating an amazing online course experience.
Course creation features on Teachable
Key course creation features on Teachable include:
- Page editor with drag/drop blocks
- Basic quizzes and surveys
- Downloadable resources
- Discussion threads (via Comments)
- Custom domains
- Coupon codes
- Drip content via third-party integration
Teachers cover the course creation basics efficiently.
Course creation features on Thinkific.
Thinkific provides more advanced creation features:
- Customizable course editor
- Advanced quizzes and assessments
- Multimedia attachments
- Discussion forums
- Drip/sequential content
- Custom domains
- Coupon codes
- Native mobile app
- Site builder with themes
You get more robust tools for creating immersive, interactive online courses on Thinkific.
Comparison of Thinkific versus Teachable course creation tools
In summary, Teachable offers an easy course builder for simple video courses. Thinkific provides a wider array of content types and customizations for more versatility. Thinkific has a steeper learning curve but enables you to create more polished, professional online courses packed with features.
Which platform offers better pricing options: Teachable or Thinkific?
Pricing is often a major factor when choosing an online course platform. Regarding value and affordability, Thinkific beats Teachable on pricing for most use cases.
Pricing Plans on Teachable
On Teachable, all plans have limits except the Business tier. Transaction fees also apply on lower tiers:
- Basic: $29/month plus 5% + 10 cents per sale
- Professional: $79/month with higher limits
- Business: $249/month with unlimited courses, students, and no transaction fees
Without high student volumes, the lower Teachable tiers can get expensive.
Pricing Plans on Thinkific
Thinkific has simpler, more affordable pricing:
- Free: $0/month with up to 10 students
- Basic: $39/month with unlimited courses, students, and bandwidth
- Pro: $99/month with advanced features
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
No transaction fees except on the Basic plan. Much cheaper for new course creators.
Free plan options on Teachable
Teachable has no true free plan. You must pay a monthly fee to use the platform.
They offer a 30-day free trial of the Basic plan. But there is no long-term free option.
Free plan options on Thinkific
Thinkific offers a forever-free plan with the following:
- Unlimited courses
- Up to 10 students
- Basic course creation features
This allows you to create courses at no cost to test the platform.
Differences in pricing structures
Thinkific has more generous pricing, especially for lower usage tiers. Teachable pricing can scale better for high-volume creators but is costlier for new users.
Comparing Thinkific vs Teachable – Pros and Cons
Let’s recap some of the key pros and cons of each platform:
Pros of using Thinkific
Thinkific Pros:
- More features built-in
- Advanced quizzes and assessments
- Highly customizable courses
- Better pricing, starting with a free plan
- All-in-one platform with site builder and marketing tools
Cons of using Thinkific
Thinkific Cons:
- Steeper learning curve
- Potentially more complex to use
- Not as beginner friendly as Teachable
Pros of using Teachable
Teachable Pros:
- Very simple, intuitive course builder
- Pre-built templates make course creation easy
- Focus on core course functionality vs. extra tools
- Ability to sell courses with minimal setup
- Great for beginners creating their first course
Cons of using Teachable
Teachable Cons:
- The more expensive pricing model
- Must integrate external tools for additional features
- Less control over course design and branding
- Not as robust for building complex courses or membership sites
Both platforms have their strengths and weaknesses. Evaluate them against your specific needs and priorities.
Summary
Teachable and Thinkific empower you to create and sell online courses but go about it differently. Teachable and Thinkific excel in customer service, offering responsive live chat support.
Thinkific provides an all-in-one platform with powerful creation tools, while Teachable offers a streamlined course builder that gets out of your way.
For beginners and non-technical users, Teachable has the edge. But Thinkific enables more advanced functionality and customization for experienced course creators.
Ultimately, Thinkific emerges as the best online course platform for most users thanks to its excellent pricing, extensive built-in features, design flexibility, and versatile toolset.
However, Teachable can be a great choice if you prioritize simplicity or already have an audience to sell courses to.
Evaluate both platforms closely based on your needs and budget to determine the best option for your online teaching goals in 2023 and beyond.