Teachable vs Thinkific: What Does Your Course Actually Cost?

7.5% of every sale on Teachable’s cheapest plan. That’s the number that should stop you before you enter your card details.

For most creators, Thinkific wins on real cost, because its entry plan skips a platform fee entirely. Teachable’s Starter plan looks cheaper on the sticker but takes a cut of every single sale on top of payment processing. Which one is actually right depends on how many students you expect and whether you’ll ever touch that Teachable platform fee — let’s get into the numbers.

Prices verified September 2026.

Which entry plan actually costs less?

On the sticker, Teachable’s Starter plan looks like the deal at $39/month billed monthly, against Thinkific’s Basic at $54/month. But Starter also charges a 7.5% platform fee on every sale, and that’s before payment processing (2.9% + 30c for US cards) even applies. Thinkific’s Basic plan charges 0% platform fee when you use Thinkific Payments — you still pay processing, but nobody’s skimming an extra cut off the top.

Do the math on a $50 course sale and the gap closes fast, then reverses. A handful of sales a month and Teachable’s platform fee alone can exceed the $15/month difference in sticker price. If you’re selling anything beyond a trickle, Basic’s flat 0% starts looking like the actual cheap option.

Annual billing changes both numbers, and both platforms reward you for committing upfront. Teachable’s Starter drops to $29/month annual, saving $120/yr according to its own math. Thinkific’s Basic drops to $40/month annual, a 25% discount versus monthly billing. Either way, you’re paying a year in advance to get there, which is worth knowing before you commit, see our Teachable review for more on how that Starter fee structure plays out.

When does the Teachable platform fee disappear?

Only when you upgrade. Teachable drops its platform fee to 0% on Builder ($89/month monthly, $69/month annual) and every tier above it. Until then, Starter users are paying 7.5% on every sale regardless of volume, which makes Starter a plan you outgrow the moment your course starts actually selling.

That’s a strange trap for a “starter” tier, the plan aimed at people just launching is the one plan where the platform takes a cut. Thinkific has no equivalent cliff. Its 0% platform fee on Thinkific Payments applies starting at Basic, so you’re not being taxed extra just for being new.

What do you get for the extra admin seats and features?

Both platforms gate real functionality behind their mid tiers, and it’s not the same functionality. Teachable’s Builder adds an affiliate program, real-time support, and community access; Growth ($189/month monthly, $139/month annual) adds Teachable branding removal, custom admin permissions, subtitles and translations, and an API capped at 10,000 requests/month. Thinkific’s Grow ($219/month monthly, $164/month annual) adds a third community space, 20 spaces, 6 administrators, 400 GB/month video bandwidth, branding removal, and an API with webhooks.

Notice the student cap on Thinkific: 10,000 students, and it’s identical across Basic, Start, and Grow. The tiers differ on communities, spaces, administrators, and bandwidth, not on how many students you’re allowed to teach. Teachable frames its scaling differently: students enrolled through Teachable checkout are unlimited on Starter, Builder, and Growth alike, so the ceiling you’ll hit first is products (5 on Starter, 10 on Builder, 50 on Growth), not enrollment.

One more line item worth knowing before you budget: Thinkific’s branded mobile app isn’t included anywhere, it’s a $199/month add-on, on top of whatever plan you’re on. That’s a real cost most people don’t see until they go looking for it.

If you’re weighing either of these against a true all-in-one, it’s worth reading how they stack up separately: Kajabi vs Teachable and Podia vs Thinkific both dig into that trade-off from a different angle.

Reader scenarios

A first-time creator with one $30 course and maybe 20 sales a month: Thinkific Basic, because avoiding that 7.5% fee matters more than the $15/month sticker gap once sales start. A coach running live coaching calls and digital downloads alongside a course: Thinkific’s Basic plan bundles 5 coaching/webinars and 5 digital downloads on top of its unlimited courses, while on Teachable those same coaching sessions and downloads are ordinary products, each one eating into the 5-product cap on Starter. A creator scaling past a handful of products who wants Teachable’s checkout and affiliate tools: Teachable Builder, once you’ve outgrown Starter’s fee trap and need the affiliate program built in.

Who should NOT choose Thinkific

Skip Thinkific if you need a mobile app on day one, that $199/month add-on stacks on top of your plan price, and it’s not optional if branded mobile access matters to your students. Skip it too if you’re chasing the lowest possible sticker price and plan to stay tiny forever; Teachable Starter’s monthly price is lower, and if you’ll never sell enough for the 7.5% fee to bite, that lower base price wins on paper. And if community features matter less to you than raw admin API limits, compare the numbers directly rather than assuming either platform’s higher tier is the obvious upgrade.

Who should NOT choose Teachable

Skip Starter specifically if you expect real sales volume, that 7.5% fee is the whole reason this plan exists, and it will cost you the moment your course stops being a hobby. Skip Teachable generally if you’re planning to sell a mix of coaching, downloads, and courses on a tight product cap; on Thinkific’s Basic those coaching sessions and downloads sit in their own separate allowance, but on Teachable every coaching session and every download counts as one of your 5 products on Starter, so a busy mix eats your ceiling fast. And if you want a published price for the top tier, neither platform gives you one. Teachable’s Custom and Thinkific’s Plus both require a sales call, so budget time for that conversation if you’re scaling past 50 products or need custom terms.

Switching later, if you do it, isn’t free in time or hassle. You’ll be exporting student data and course content, re-setting up payment processing, and probably losing whatever reviews or community history built up on the old platform. Choosing the right entry plan now beats fixing it in eight months.

FAQ

Is there a free plan on either platform? No. Teachable offers a 7-day free trial with a 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans; Thinkific offers a 30-day free trial. Budget for a real subscription from day one on both.

Does the Teachable platform fee apply if I use PayPal instead of teachable:pay? The 7.5% platform fee on Starter applies regardless of payment method, it’s separate from payment processing fees, which vary (2.9% + 30c for US cards via teachable:pay, up to 4.99% + 49c for international PayPal). Layering PayPal on top of Starter doesn’t remove the platform cut.

Which platform is cheaper for a course with heavy video content? Teachable’s storage is stated in total (up to 1TB video across all plans), while Thinkific caps video by monthly bandwidth (100 GB/month on Basic, scaling up per tier). If you have long-form video and expect high traffic, check Thinkific’s bandwidth cap against your expected viewer count before committing.

What happens if I go over Thinkific’s student cap? All three named Thinkific plans (Basic, Start, Grow) cap at 10,000 students; beyond that you’d need Plus, which is quoted individually through sales. If you’re anywhere near that number, get the Plus quote sooner rather than later.

Is annual billing worth it if I’m not sure I’ll stick with the platform? Only if you’re reasonably confident, since you’re paying a year upfront either way. Teachable backs its paid plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you’re still testing product-market fit, paying monthly on whichever platform keeps your exit cheaper and your risk lower.

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How we got these numbers. Prices and fees come straight from the official pricing pages of Teachable, Thinkific, checked in September 2026. Where a value wasn’t published, the table shows “—”. Prices in this space change often — confirm on the provider’s site before you buy.