What does Thinkific do?
Thinkific is an online course platform for building and selling courses, communities, digital downloads, coaching and memberships on your own site. It includes AI course outlines, hosted checkout and optional branded mobile apps. Pricing: Basic $54/mo ($40/mo billed yearly), Start $109/mo ($82/mo yearly), Grow $219/mo ($164/mo yearly); Plus is custom-priced.
- Course builder. Drag-and-drop builder for video lessons, quizzes, assignments and certificates, with self-paced, live-cohort and blended formats.
- AI course tools. AI-assisted course generation and a Course Outline Generator; an AI teaching assistant is listed on the Plus plan.
- Communities. Public or private spaces tied to course access, with posts, direct messages, live events and weekly email digests.
- Checkout and payments. Hosted checkout with one-time, subscription and payment-plan pricing, coupons, order bumps, multi-currency checkout and automated sales tax and VAT.
- Digital downloads, coaching and memberships. Sells e-books and templates, bookable coaching and webinars, and memberships (memberships from Start).
- Branded mobile apps. Native iOS and Android apps with push notifications, as a $199/mo add-on or on select Plus contracts.
Who is Thinkific for?
Thinkific is a good fit if you're a course creator or a business owner, and you need help selling online courses.
How much does Thinkific cost?
Thinkific starts at $40/mo. It has no free plan. Its pricing page lists a free trial. We checked this on Oct 17, 2026 on the official pricing page.
- Starts at
- $40/mo
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- 30 days
Basic billed yearly ($54/mo billed monthly): unlimited courses, 1 community, 5 digital downloads, 1 admin, custom domain. Start is $82/mo yearly ($109 monthly). Thinkific Payments charges 2.9% processing; Stripe or PayPal add a gateway fee. No free plan.
Thinkific plans compared
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $54/mo | $40/mo | Unlimited courses, 1 community, 5 digital downloads, 5 coaching/webinar products, 1 site admin, 100 GB video bandwidth a month, custom domain |
| Start | $109/mo | $82/mo | Unlimited downloads and coaching, live cohorts, certificates and assignments, bundles, upsells, payment plans, memberships, 2 site admins |
| Grow | $219/mo | $164/mo | Removes Thinkific branding, 3 communities, 6 site admins, API and webhooks, PayPal, invoicing and B2B sales, priority support |
| Plus | Custom | Custom | Custom pricing: AI teaching assistant, SSO, SCORM and learning paths, CRM integrations, dedicated success team |
Prices read from a US connection on 17 Oct 2026 (shown in $). Thinkific Payments charges a 2.9% processing fee; Stripe or PayPal add a third-party gateway fee that varies by plan. A branded mobile app is a $199/mo add-on. The page's stated yearly savings for Basic ($173) and Start ($330) don't match the plan prices, which work out to $168 and $324.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 on Thinkific's pricing page. Prices change often, so confirm before you buy.
Thinkific pros and cons
What stands out
- Unlimited courses on every plan, including Basic
- 30-day free trial
- Communities included on all plans
- Thinkific Payments charges no extra gateway fee on top of 2.9% processing
- Works alongside an existing WordPress or custom site
Watch out for
- No free plan
- Basic caps digital downloads and coaching at 5 each
- Memberships, payment plans and certificates need Start ($82/mo billed yearly)
- PayPal and removing Thinkific branding need Grow
- SCORM is Plus-only
Based on Thinkific's own pages, not hands-on testing.
What are the alternatives to Thinkific?
We list 3 other Online Course Platforms tools: Kajabi, LearnWorlds, Teachable. Each one below shows its starting price and when you might pick it instead.
Kajabi · From $143/moChoose Kajabi if you'd like a second option to compare for selling online courses.
Compared in
Thinkific FAQ
How much does Thinkific cost?
As of Oct 17, 2026: Basic $54/mo or $40/mo billed yearly; Start $109/mo or $82/mo yearly; Grow $219/mo or $164/mo yearly. Plus is custom-priced.
Does Thinkific have a free plan?
No. The FAQ points to a 30-day free trial instead, available on Basic, Start and Grow.
Does Thinkific charge transaction fees?
With Thinkific Payments you pay a 2.9% processing fee and no third-party gateway fee. If you use Stripe or PayPal instead, a gateway fee that varies by plan applies on top of their standard fees.
Can I sell memberships on Thinkific?
Yes, from the Start plan, which adds memberships, subscriptions, bundles and payment plans.
Sources and how we checked
- Official pricing page, checked Oct 17, 2026
- Official website
- Thinkific homepage (checked Oct 17, 2026), checked Oct 17, 2026