Thinkific is an online course platform designed to help you create courses quickly and easily. Its features make it an attractive option for course creators looking to build their educational offerings, from private student forums to easy customization options. You can also accept payments from your students via credit card or PayPal with no additional fees.
While Thinkific may offer you everything you want in a course creation platform, you may otherwise be thinking about leaving it for somewhere else. There are many reasons behind this – whether it’s because you’re not getting enough value out of its features or because there’s another platform offering more customized solutions tailored specifically towards your niche market or audience type.
Thankfully, we have the five best alternatives before making a big leap. We’ll look at the features each platform offers and any associated pros and cons so you can decide which one is right for you and your business needs.
Criteria for Selecting Alternatives
We had to consider certain criteria when selecting the best Thinkific alternatives for this article. It’s very important to have clear criteria when choosing a course creation platform because each one will offer different features and benefits which might be more or less suited to your particular needs.
Pricing
The first criterion was pricing – we wanted to select competitive platforms while still providing good value. We looked at whether any discounts were available and what kind of payment plans each platform could offer. We also considered how much you’d need to pay upfront or on an ongoing basis to use the service.
Features
The second criterion was features – we wanted to select platforms that offered a wide range of features for creating courses and additional tools for marketing, analytics, and more. We looked at the kinds of customization options available, how easy it is to set up a course from scratch with each platform, and any other special features that might be useful for course creators.
User-Friendliness
The third criterion was user-friendliness – we wanted to ensure each platform was easy enough for anyone without extensive technical knowledge or experience. We looked at how intuitive the interface is and whether helpful tutorials or support resources are available if needed.
Experience with Platforms
The fourth criterion was our own experience with each platform. Since our team has used all five platforms before, we would like to include our thoughts on their usability. It has allowed us to provide a more comprehensive overview of what you can expect from using each one.
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Top 5 Thinkific Alternatives
Teachable
Teachable is a popular platform for creating and selling online courses. It allows users to create a custom-branded course website, host videos, and other multimedia content, create quizzes and assignments, and track student progress.
Teachable also offers marketing tools to help promote courses and increase sales, as well as integrations with popular email marketing and payment processing services.
Features
Teachable offers a range of features to help you create and manage courses, from video hosting to customizable landing pages. It also includes marketing tools such as drip campaigns and affiliate programs, as well as analytics so you can track the performance of your courses.
Pricing
Teachable’s pricing plans are based on the number of students and courses you have. The basic plan starts at $39/month for up to 10 courses with unlimited students, while the Pro plan costs $119/month for unlimited courses and up to 3,000 active students.
User-friendliness
The Teachable platform is generally user-friendly, with helpful tutorials and support resources. Its drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to customize the look and feel of your courses, while its automated emails make it simple to keep in touch with your students.
Teachable Pros
Teachable has an intuitive interface that makes course creation easy. It offers a range of features, including marketing tools and analytics. Its pricing plans are competitively priced.
Teachable Cons
Some users report that customer service can be slow. Additionally, some features are not included in all pricing plans (such as email automation).
Kajabi
Kajabi is an all-in-one platform for creating and selling online courses, memberships, and other digital products. It offers course creation tools, website building, marketing automation, email marketing, and analytics.
Kajabi is designed to be a complete solution for online businesses, with built-in features like sales funnels, landing pages, and affiliate management.
Features
Kajabi offers a comprehensive set of features for creating and launching online courses. You can customize your course with drag-and-drop tools or use its design library for premade themes. Kajabi also provides marketing tools to help you promote your course, from automated email sequences to quizzes and surveys.
Pricing
Kajabi’s pricing is on the more expensive end – its basic plan starts at $119/month, while its most advanced plan costs $399/month (with discounts available if you pay annually). However, it provides unlimited access to all its features, so you won’t need to upgrade as your business grows.
User-friendliness
Kajabi is fairly easy to use but may require some technical knowledge to fully use its customization options. It has helpful tutorials and support resources to get up and running quickly, even without coding experience.
Kajabi Pros
The pros of using Kajabi include its comprehensive feature set, automation capabilities, and scalability.
Kajabi Cons
The downside is that it’s one of the pricier options out there – especially if you want access to all its features immediately.
Podia
Podia is another platform for creating and selling online courses, memberships, and digital products. It offers course creation tools, website building, email marketing, and membership site management.
Podia is known for its simplicity and ease of use, with a clean and intuitive interface that makes it easy to create and sell digital products.
Features
With Podia, you can add video content from YouTube or Vimeo with just one click. You can embed images or other content into your course lessons, like quizzes or surveys. The platform also provides powerful customization options to create a unique look and feel for your course.
Pricing
Podia offers two different pricing plans: the Mover plan starts at $39/month, while the Shaker plan starts at $79/month (billed annually).
Both plans offer access to Podia’s features and include unlimited students and products. The only difference is that the Shaker plan includes webinars, coupon codes, drip campaigns, etc.
User-friendliness
In terms of usability, we found Podia quite user-friendly – its drag-and-drop builder makes it easy to build courses from scratch without any coding knowledge required. Additionally, helpful tutorials are available on the platform if you need help getting started or have any questions.
Podia Pros
Podia prides itself on its beginner-friendly drag-and-drop builder, with powerful customization options. It offers transaction fees on all of its affordable plans and provides helpful tutorials & support resources in times of need.
Podia Cons
Podia may not be as well-versed in its integration capabilities with third-party services. There aren’t any options for private student forums, either.
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LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds is a platform for creating and selling online courses and training programs. It offers a variety of features, including course creation tools, website building, interactive videos, quizzes and assessments, and gamification.
LearnWorlds offers advanced features like e-commerce integration, white labeling, and custom domain names.
Features
LearnWorlds offers a range of features to help you create and manage courses, including the ability to create private student forums and easily customize the look of your site. It also has tools for marketing, analytics, and more.
Pricing
LearnWorlds has three pricing plans – one for individuals, one for businesses, and an enterprise plan. The individual plan costs $24/month (billed annually), while the business plan costs $79/month (billed annually). Both plans offer a 14-day free trial to test the platform before committing.
User-friendliness
LearnWorlds is relatively user-friendly. The interface isn’t as intuitive as some of its competitors, but it does have helpful tutorials and support resources available if needed.
LearnWorlds Pros
LearnWorlds offers many features at a reasonable price but also some downsides. Plus, it’s easy to customize your site with this platform.
LearnWorlds Cons
On the downside, it doesn’t have great customer service or support options compared to other platforms like Teachable or Kajabi.
Udemy
Udemy is an online learning marketplace allowing instructors to create and sell courses on various topics. It offers features like course creation tools, multimedia hosting, and student management.
Udemy is known for its large and diverse course catalog, with courses on everything from coding and business to music and art.
Features
Udemy offers customizable themes and templates, the ability to host live video classes, and support for webinars. You can also accept payments from your students via credit card or PayPal with no additional fees.
Pricing
Udemy’s pricing model is based on a commission system – you receive 70% of the revenue from each sale of your course after Udemy takes its 30%. The commission rate may vary depending on where you sell your courses (e.g., in the US, Canada, Europe, etc.). There are also options to set up subscriptions and discount offers to help boost sales.
User-friendliness
Udemy has an easy-to-navigate interface, making it simple to create and manage courses. Its range of tutorials and support resources makes getting started on the platform even easier without any technical knowledge or experience.
Udemy Pros
The biggest pro for Udemy is its commission structure which means you can keep more money from each sale than other platforms offer.
Udemy Cons
However, there are drawbacks, such as refund fees and limited customization options compared to other platforms like Thinkific or Kajabi.
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Conclusion
In this article, we’ve looked at five alternatives to Thinkific for course creators. We discussed the criteria used to select these platforms and reviewed each one’s features, pricing, user-friendliness, and pros and cons.
Overall, all five platforms offer great value for course creators looking for alternative options to Thinkific. Each one offers unique features and benefits that may be more or less suited to your particular needs. Our top recommendation is Teachable because it has a wide range of features, competitive pricing, and easy customization options.
Regardless of your chosen platform, it’s important to do your research before committing. Make sure you explore each option thoroughly so you can make an informed decision about which is best for your business needs.