Online course platforms have taken off in a big way, and for good reason. More people are turning their knowledge into income, and tools like Thinkific make it easier than ever to create, share, and sell what you know.
However, not all platforms are built the same. The one you choose can make or break your course business—from how your content looks to how easily students can access it.
Thinkific is one of the top names in the e-learning world. In this review, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know—from features and pricing to pros and cons and how it stacks up against competitors.
What is Thinkific?
Thinkific is a cloud-based online course platform designed to help creators, coaches, and businesses build and sell digital courses without knowing a single line of code.
You can upload videos, audio, PDFs, text lessons, quizzes, or surveys. The platform makes it simple to structure your content and design your course with a clean drag-and-drop editor.
What I really like is that the Thinkific app and dashboard are intuitive. Whether you’re just starting out or already running a business, creating a smooth learning experience is easy.
Thousands of instructors trust Thinkific to host everything from mini-courses to full online academies. With built-in tools for marketing, student engagement, and payment processing, it’s more than just a course builder—it’s a full e-learning solution.
Who is Thinkific best for?
Thinkific is designed for a wide range of users. Whether you’re just starting your course creation journey or running a large-scale business, Thinkific has the tools to support you.
- Coaches, consultants, and trainers: If you offer one-on-one guidance or group training, Thinkific lets you create courses that match your teaching style. It’s a great way to scale your expertise without adding extra work to your plate.
- Business professionals or agencies: Do you need to create employee or client training? Thinkific’s tools let you build custom learning paths and track progress, making them perfect for internal training or customer onboarding.
- Passionate hobbyists: If you know a niche subject you’re eager to share, Thinkific is a fantastic option. It allows you to turn your passion into income, whether you’re teaching photography, music, or even knitting.
- Educational institutions: With its scalable platform, Thinkific is great for schools or universities looking to digitize their coursework and reach a broader audience.
Whether you’re a solo creator or part of a large enterprise team, Thinkific is flexible enough to grow with your needs.
Thinkific Key Features
Thinkific offers a range of powerful tools that make creating and managing courses a breeze. Here are some of the platform’s most notable features:
- Drag-and-Drop Course Builder: The course builder is simple to use. You don’t need coding skills—drag and drop your lessons, quizzes, and multimedia content into place. It’s an intuitive design process that makes getting your course up and running easy.
- Multimedia Support: Thinkific supports various content formats, including videos, audio files, PDFs, and interactive quizzes. This gives you the flexibility to teach in a way that best suits your material, whether through lectures, downloadable resources, or assessments.
- Drip Content & Prerequisites: Thinkific lets you schedule lessons to release at certain times. You can also set prerequisites for lessons or modules, ensuring students follow a structured learning path, which keeps engagement levels high and guides learners through complex topics.
- Custom Branding & Website Builder: Want to maintain your brand? Thinkific’s website builder allows you to create a fully branded course site without needing a separate website. Customize logos, colors, and layouts to make the site reflect your unique style.
- Student Engagement Tools: Use completion certificates to motivate students, create student communities, and track progress. These tools help boost engagement, reward milestones, and build a loyal learning community.
- E-commerce Tools: With built-in payment processing, you can easily accept payments for your courses. You can also use coupons, set up upsells, and even run affiliate marketing programs to grow your course business.
Each feature helps streamline the course creation and selling process, making Thinkific a robust platform for anyone looking to build and grow an online course business.
Thinkific Pros and Cons
Like any platform, Thinkific comes with its set of strengths and some areas to consider. Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons:
Pros:
- No transaction fees on paid plans: One of the biggest benefits of Thinkific is that they don’t charge any transaction fees on paid plans. This means more of your earnings stay in your pocket.
- Highly customizable with zero coding: Thinkific’s platform allows you to fully customize your courses and website without knowing any code. Whether it’s tweaking the design or creating a custom course layout, it’s all manageable with simple drag-and-drop tools.
- Free plan: If you’re starting and want to try the platform, Thinkific offers a free plan. This allows you to create and sell your courses with limitations. Still, it’s a great way to explore the platform’s capabilities.
- Strong community support and extensive knowledge base: Thinkific has an active community of creators and a comprehensive knowledge base. If you run into any issues or need advice, chances are you’ll find solutions and support from fellow users or the Thinkific team.
Cons:
- Limited email marketing tools (unless integrated): While Thinkific provides some basic email marketing features, its email tools are limited. If you need more advanced email campaigns or automation, you’ll need to integrate with a third-party tool like Mailchimp or ConvertKit.
- Fewer design templates compared to some competitors: Thinkific’s design templates are functional, but they are a bit fewer in number compared to other platforms. You may find it lacking if you’re looking for a wide range of design options.
- Advanced features only on higher-tier plans: Some of Thinkific’s most advanced features—like affiliate marketing, priority support, and advanced integrations—are only available on higher-tier plans. If you want access to the full suite of features, you’ll need to invest in the more expensive plans.
Thinkific Pricing
Thinkific offers several pricing tiers to fit different needs and business sizes. Here’s a breakdown of each plan:
- Free Plan: If you’re testing the waters, Thinkific’s free plan is perfect. You can create and launch your first course, but it has some feature limitations. This plan is a great way to start without any financial commitment.
- Basic Plan: The Basic plan unlocks core features such as unlimited courses, quizzes, and email integrations. It’s perfect for those just getting started with online courses and looking for essential tools at an affordable price. The plan costs $49/month.
- Start Plan: The Start plan includes extra customizations like memberships, the ability to host live lessons, and Advanced CSS/HTML editing. This plan gives you more flexibility to design courses and engage with your students in real time. Priced at $99/month
- Grow Plan: The Grow Plan offers advanced features like automation, removing Thinkific Branding and Group orders. If you want to scale your business, this plan gives you the tools to do so efficiently. Priced at $199/ month
- Plus: Designed for enterprise clients, this plan includes bulk enrollments and API access for custom integrations. It’s perfect for larger organizations needing a fully branded, scalable solution for their e-learning needs. Custom pricing
What differentiates Thinkific from many competitors is that no transaction fees are included in any paid plan.
This is a major differentiator, as you get to keep all the revenue from your course sales, unlike other platforms that take a cut.
Visit Thinkific Pricing Page to learn more
Thinkific Integrations
Thinkific connects seamlessly with various third-party tools, expanding its functionality to suit your needs. Here are some key integrations:
- Marketing Tools: Integrate with Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and ActiveCampaign to automate email marketing and enhance customer relationship management (CRM).
- Sales & Payments: You can accept payments through Stripe and PayPal and set up an online store with Shopify. These integrations make it easy to manage transactions and sell your courses.
- Analytics: Use Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel to track performance, monitor traffic, and gather insights to improve your marketing strategies.
- Automation: With Zapier, Thinkific integrates with hundreds of other tools, allowing you to create custom workflows and automate repetitive tasks, saving time and effort.
These integrations are especially valuable for anyone looking to build robust marketing automation or manage a more sophisticated CRM system.
Thinkific Review: Final Verdict
Thinkific is a powerful, flexible, and affordable platform that works well for course creators at every stage of their journey.
Whether you’re just starting or looking to scale a larger business, Thinkific provides a comprehensive suite of tools to help you design, market, and deliver professional educational content.
The platform’s drag-and-drop builder, multimedia support, and custom branding options make creating a personalized learning experience easy. Plus, the no transaction fees on paid plans are a major benefit for course creators looking to keep all their earnings.
While Thinkific may lack advanced built-in email marketing tools, it compensates by being able to integrate with top marketing platforms like Mailchimp and ConvertKit. These integrations, combined with its automation options and robust support, make Thinkific a top-tier choice for creators who want to grow.
I recommend starting with the free plan to get a feel for the platform and see if it suits your needs. If you want to scale your course business, Thinkific’s paid plans offer plenty of features to help you succeed.
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