Thinkific review (2026): features, pros and cons, pricing
Course-creation and course-selling platform that also sells a Plus tier for customer and employee training.
Verdict at a glance
Thinkific is a course creation and selling platform with a hosted site, payments and community features. Its Plus tier extends it to customer and employee training, though reviewers flag limited SCORM and reporting.
Pros
- Customizable course sites and easy setup.
- Responsive support for many reviewers.
- Integrates with common payment and marketing tools.
Cons
- Add-ons and plan upgrades make it expensive.
- Limited SCORM and reporting features.
- Some reviewers report weaker support after onboarding.
What is Thinkific?
Course-creation and course-selling platform that also sells a Plus tier for customer and employee training. It is built for creators and training businesses selling paid courses to external customers and teams that want a hosted course site with built-in payments and communities. Thinkific was founded in 2012 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.
Category: Learning Management Systems
Thinkific key features
| Feature | What we found |
|---|---|
| Content authoring and SCORM support | Built-in course builder with unlimited published courses; reviewers report limited SCORM support (G2 review summary) |
| Compliance tracking and certifications | Plus tier has a compliance training offering (thinkific.com/get-started/plus-compliance-training); depth not confirmed by the vendor. |
| Reporting and analytics | Basic reporting; G2 reviewers cite limited reporting. |
| HRIS and tool integrations | Payments (Thinkific Payments, Stripe, PayPal); SSO via OpenID Connect on Plus; SAML reportedly not supported (Thinkific developer docs) |
| Customer and partner training | Core use case: sells courses and communities to external customers with built-in payments. |
Thinkific pricing
Thinkific sells flat plans per site. Start is $82 per month annually or $109 monthly with 2 administrators, 1 community and 200 GB of video bandwidth. Grow is $164 or $219 with 6 administrators and 3 communities. Expand is $374 or $499 with 15 administrators and 10 communities. Annual billing saves about 25% on each. Plus is quote-only. A branded mobile app add-on is $199 per month. Thinkific Payments charges 2.9%, and Stripe or PayPal fees come on top. The pricing page shows euros to visitors in Europe.
| Plan | Price | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | $82/mo annual, $109/mo monthly | per site | 2 administrators, 1 community, 200 GB video bandwidth/mo |
| Grow | $164/mo annual, $219/mo monthly | per site | 6 administrators, 3 communities, phone and priority chat support |
| Expand | $374/mo annual, $499/mo monthly | per site | 15 administrators, 10 communities |
| Plus | Talk to sales | custom | SSO, dedicated customer success team |
USD prices from Thinkific's pricing page and FAQ (Start and Grow rose about 10% from Aug 13, 2026 per Thinkific support notice); the vendor pricing page shows EUR for visitors in Europe (currency follows visitor location). Plans list 10,000 current students on Start to Expand. Branded mobile app add-on $199/mo. Thinkific Payments standard rate 2.9% per the pricing page; Stripe/PayPal add third-party gateway fees on top. 30-day free trial, no free plan.
Who Thinkific is best for
Best for
- Creators and training businesses selling paid courses to external customers.
- Teams that want a hosted course site with built-in payments and communities.
Not ideal for
- Corporate compliance training that needs deep SCORM and reporting (reviewers flag gaps)
- Buyers who want per-seat pricing or SAML SSO below the Plus tier.
Thinkific alternatives
TalentLMSSmall and mid-size companies wanting a published LMS price.
DoceboMid-market and enterprise with extended enterprise (customers, partners)
Absorb LMSMid-market and enterprise training teams, including customer education.
LitmosMid-size companies with compliance and customer training needs and a five-figure budget.
LearnUponCompanies with 100+ users wanting a managed implementation and 24/7 support.
360LearningTeams that want employees and subject experts to author courses collaboratively.
What Thinkific really costs
- Billing
- Monthly and annual.
- Annual discount
- Start about 25% vs monthly (82 vs 109); Grow about 25%; Expand about 25%.
Add-ons and extras to budget for
- Branded mobile app $199/mo (included on select Plus plans)
- Third-party gateway fees on Stripe/PayPal.
Questions to ask about price
- Is there a minimum number of seats or a minimum annual spend?
- How much can the price rise at renewal, and is the increase capped in the contract?
- Are there one-time costs for implementation, onboarding or data migration?
Is Thinkific worth the price?
Thinkific is good value for creators and training businesses selling paid courses to outside customers, since there is no per-seat charge and payments and communities are built in. It gets expensive when you need more administrators, add the $199 mobile app, or pay gateway fees on top. For internal corporate training, the admin caps and Plus-only SSO make it a poor value.
Worth it if
- Creators and training businesses selling paid courses to external customers.
- Teams that want a hosted course site with built-in payments and communities.
Look elsewhere if
- Corporate compliance training that needs deep SCORM and reporting (reviewers flag gaps)
- Buyers who want per-seat pricing or SAML SSO below the Plus tier.
Pricing details most reviews leave out
- SSO is listed only on the Plus plan; Thinkific developer docs say SSO uses OpenID Connect and SAML is not supported.
- Prices scale by plan caps (admins, communities, video GB), not by seat.
- Start allows 2 administrators, so a 20-person training team would need Plus (custom) or shared logins.
- Grow and above include phone support; Start is email and chat only.
- The company is publicly traded on the TSX.
Our verdict on Thinkific
Thinkific is priced like a website, not like software with seats. Start is $82 per month billed annually ($109 monthly), Grow is $164 ($219 monthly) and Expand is $374 ($499 monthly), each per site. Prices rise with caps on administrators, communities and video bandwidth, not with the number of people. Start and Grow rose about 10% from August 13, 2026, according to a Thinkific support notice.
That model is cheap for creators selling courses and awkward for corporate training. Start allows only 2 administrators, so a 20-person training team would need Plus, which is custom priced. G2 reviewers rate Thinkific 4.5 from 402 reviews, but a common complaint is that add-ons and upgrades make it expensive.
Thinkific FAQ
What is Thinkific used for?
Thinkific is a course creation and selling platform with a hosted site, payments and community features. Its Plus tier extends it to customer and employee training, though reviewers flag limited SCORM and reporting. It suits creators and training businesses selling paid courses to external customers.
How much does Thinkific cost?
Start is $82 per month billed annually or $109 billed monthly, Grow is $164 or $219, and Expand is $374 or $499. Plus is custom priced. There is no free plan, but there is a 30-day free trial.
Does Thinkific charge per user?
No. Plans are flat per site, with caps on administrators, communities and video bandwidth. A team of 20 administrators does not fit on Start, which allows 2.
What extra costs come with Thinkific?
A branded mobile app is $199 per month, and Thinkific Payments charges a standard rate of 2.9%. Using Stripe or PayPal adds their gateway fees on top.
About Thinkific
- Founded
- 2012.
- Headquarters
- Vancouver, Canada.
- Funding or owner
- Publicly listed (TSX: THNC)
Listed in: Learning Management Systems
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from Thinkific's own pricing, product or documentation pages, G2 and company records, checked on October 24, 2026. Unknown values are left out instead of estimated.