Thinkific is a popular home for online courses, but its pricing page lists four plans, no free plan, and a gateway fee that varies by plan without showing the amounts. That is a lot to untangle before you have sold a single course. I run my own stores and teach high-ticket dropshipping at Ecommerce Paradise, so I look at course platforms the way a store owner would: what does it cost per year, and how much of each sale do I keep?
Everything below comes from each vendor’s own pricing page as I reviewed it in October 2026. Where a page does not show a number, I write “not shown” instead of guessing, and where a vendor’s page contradicts itself, I say so. Prices change often, so confirm them before you sign up. Some links in this article are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you sign up, at no extra cost to you.
A course platform only matters if you have something to teach and an audience to teach it to. If you are still choosing a business model, start with my guide to what high-ticket dropshipping is, then come back and pick the platform that fits your plan.
Thinkific Alternatives at a Glance
| Option | Starting price | Free option | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teachable | Starter at $29 a month billed annually, $39 monthly | No free plan listed | Creators who want 0% platform fees on Builder and above |
| LearnWorlds | Starter at $24 a month billed annually, $29 monthly | 30-day free trial | Creators who want a low entry price and are willing to pay per enrollment |
| Systeme.io | Startup at $17 a month | Free plan, no card required | Beginners who want funnels, email, and courses at a low price |
| Kajabi | Basic at $143 a month billed annually, $179 monthly | Free trial, length not shown | Creators who want an all-in-one platform and a higher price |
| Circle | Professional at $89 a month | 14-day free trial | Creators who care more about a community than a course |
A course platform helps you teach, but it does not give you a store to run. If you want a high-ticket store built for you with the products and suppliers lined up, start here. See the done-for-you store build →
What Thinkific Costs and Where It Falls Short
The Thinkific pricing page lists Start at $109 a month or $82 a month billed annually, Grow at $219 or $164, and Expand at $499 or $374. Plus is custom, and a branded mobile app add-on is listed at $199 a month. The page says there is no free plan and offers a 30-day free trial instead.
Published courses are unlimited on all listed plans, and current students are capped at 10,000 on Start, Grow, and Expand. Communities are listed as 1, 3, and 10 on those three plans, and administrators as 2, 6, and 15. Thinkific Payments has a standard 2.9% processing fee, while third-party gateway fees vary by plan and the amounts are not shown.
So where does Thinkific fall short? Mostly on cost for a beginner. With no free plan, the cheapest annual option is $984 a year before processing, and the gateway fee amounts are not shown. My Thinkific pricing breakdown covers the plans in more detail.
How to Pick a Thinkific Alternative
Start with the fee model. Some platforms charge a flat monthly price, some charge a percentage of each sale, and some charge per enrollment. The right choice depends on how much you expect to sell.
Next, check what is included. Email, funnels, and community can be built in or sold as extras. Write down what you need before you compare prices, because an all-in-one plan can replace several subscriptions.
Finally, check what you own. You want your student list, your content, and your payment setup to move with you. My guide to finding suppliers for high-ticket products is worth reading if the course supports a store, because your supplier knowledge is often the best thing to teach.
1. Teachable
Teachable is the 0%-fee-on-higher-plans option. The pricing page lists Starter at $39 a month or $29 billed annually, Builder at $89 or $69, Growth at $189 or $139, and a custom plan. Starter charges a 7.5% transaction fee, while Builder and Growth list 0%.
Starter allows 5 products and 1 admin user, Builder 10 products and 1 admin, and Growth 50 products and 5 admins. Students are unlimited and video storage is listed as up to 1 TB on the three plans. No free plan is listed.
The trial length is unclear, since the plan pages and FAQ list 7 days with a 30-day money-back guarantee while a pop-up says it was extended to 30 days. Processing fees are separate: 2.9% plus 30 cents on US cards and 3.49% plus 49 cents on US PayPal. I wrote a full Teachable alternatives guide if you want a longer list.
2. LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds is the low-entry-price option. The pricing page lists Starter at $24 a month billed annually or $29 monthly, Pro Trainer at $79 or $99, Learning Center at $249 or $299, and a custom Corporate plan. Starter charges $5 per paid enrollment, while Pro Trainer and Learning Center list no enrollment fees.
Active learners per month are listed as 1,000 on Starter and 2,000 on the next two plans, with 1, 5, and 25 admins. The page lists a 30-day free trial, but whether a payment method is required is not shown. Stripe and PayPal fees of 2.9% plus $0.30 are separate, and the page does not say how they vary by plan.
Prices exclude VAT, and non-profit discounts are available by request with the amounts not shown. LearnWorlds suits creators who want a low monthly price and will outgrow the per-enrollment fee. I covered it in my LearnWorlds review.
3. Systeme.io
Systeme.io is the free-to-start option. The pricing page lists Free at $0, Startup at $17 a month, Webinar at $47, Unlimited at $97, and a plan for teams with no price shown. The FAQ lists 0% transaction fees on all plans and says the free plan never expires.
The Free plan lists 2,000 contacts, 3 sales funnels, 1 course with 500 students, 1 blog, 1 affiliate program, 1 custom domain, and 1 email campaign. Startup lists 5,000 contacts, 10 funnels, and 5 courses, while Unlimited lists unlimited contacts, funnels, and courses. Emails are unlimited on all plans.
Annual prices are not shown, but the page mentions a “2 months free” annual option. A trial is not shown, because the free plan is ongoing with no card required. Systeme.io suits beginners who want to start at $0 and keep the sale price.
4. Kajabi
Kajabi is the all-in-one option at a higher price. The pricing page lists Basic at $179 a month or $143 billed annually, Growth at $249 or $199, and Pro at $499 or $399. Basic allows 5 products, 2,500 contacts, and 2 admin users, Growth 50 products and 25,000 contacts, and Pro unlimited products and 100,000 contacts.
The Kajabi Payments fee in the US is listed at 2.9% plus $0.30 on Basic, 2.8% on Growth, and 2.7% on Pro. A third-party provider fee of 2%, 1%, and 0.5% applies on those plans. Extra contacts cost $125 a month per block of 25,000, and a trial length is not shown.
The page also conflicts with itself. The Basic annual card reads “Billed annually ($179/mo),” while the annual price elsewhere is $143. Confirm which applies at checkout. I wrote a full Kajabi alternatives guide with more.
5. Circle
Circle is the community-first option. The pricing page lists Professional at $89 a month, Business at $199, Scale at $419, and Circle Plus with custom pricing. Transaction fees are listed at 2% on Professional, 1% on Business and Scale, and 0.5% on Circle Plus.
Member limits are listed as unlimited on all plans. The footnote says the prices are based on annual billing and exclude taxes, and monthly-billing prices are not shown. The page lists a 14-day free trial with no credit card required and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
An Email Hub add-on is listed at $99 a month for 10,000 contacts, on top of a community plan. Circle suits creators who want a community more than a course library. If you only want a simple membership, you can also see how a creator page looks on my own Patreon.
What Each Option Costs Per Year
These figures are my own math from the listed prices. They use one example: 40 course sales a month at $50 each, so $2,000 a month or $24,000 a year, billed annually, before card processing. Your numbers will differ.
Thinkific Start is $82 a month, or $984 a year. Teachable Starter is $348 a year plus a 7.5% fee of $1,800, for $2,148, while Builder is $828 a year with 0% fees. LearnWorlds Starter is $288 a year plus $5 per enrollment, which is 480 sales and $2,400, for $2,688, while Pro Trainer is $948 with no enrollment fees.
Systeme.io Free is $0 and Startup is $204 a year, both with 0% transaction fees. Kajabi Basic is $1,716 a year on the $143 price or $2,148 on the $179 price, because its page shows both. Circle Professional is $1,068 a year plus a 2% fee of $480, for $1,548.
Card processing of 2.9% plus $0.30 would add about $840 a year in this example, since 2.9% of $24,000 is $696 and 480 sales at 30 cents is $144. That applies to most options. By the same math, LearnWorlds Starter and Teachable Starter cost more at this volume than several plans with a higher sticker price, so the cheapest-looking platform is not always the cheapest.
Which Option Fits Which Store Owner
If you are testing an idea, Systeme.io’s free plan is the lowest-risk way to start. If you already have steady sales, a flat plan with no enrollment or transaction fees, such as Teachable Builder or LearnWorlds Pro Trainer, can cost less than a percentage.
If you want an all-in-one system and can afford it, Kajabi bundles products, contacts, websites, and communities into one plan. If your focus is a community, Circle lists unlimited members on every plan.
If Thinkific already works for you and your students are under its cap, there may be no reason to move. Moving a course costs time, and your students need clear instructions.
Features Worth Paying For
Fee structure comes first. A flat plan with 0% fees pays off as your sales grow, while a per-enrollment fee gets more expensive with each sale. Pick the structure that matches your expected volume.
Email and funnels come second. Systeme.io lists unlimited emails on every plan, and Circle sells email as a paid add-on. If you plan to sell through email, count what each platform includes.
Community comes third. Thinkific lists 1, 3, or 10 communities by plan, and Circle lists unlimited members. Decide whether a community is the product or just a bonus.
Using a Course With a High-Ticket Store
A course can support a high-ticket store by building trust and answering questions before the sale. A buyer’s guide, a setup walkthrough, or a care course for the product you sell all work. Keep it focused on one product category.
Pair the course with a store platform such as Shopify, and choose a niche where buyers keep learning after they buy. My high-ticket niches list is a good place to start.
A Simple 30-Day Test Plan
Pick one platform and start on a free plan or trial. Build one short course with three lessons, and invite five people to try it. Note where they get stuck.
In week three, make one real test sale with your own card and check the fees you actually paid. Compare the result with the listed rates. Fix anything that confused your first students.
At the end of the month, decide whether the platform helped you teach. Cancel any trial before it converts, and keep a copy of every lesson and student email.
Costs to Watch as You Grow
The first cost is the plan jump. Thinkific goes from $82 to $164 to $374 a month on annual billing, and Kajabi goes from $143 to $199 to $399. The second cost is per-sale fees, such as Teachable’s 7.5% on Starter and LearnWorlds’ $5 per paid enrollment.
The third cost is add-ons. Thinkific lists a branded mobile app at $199 a month, Circle lists an email add-on at $99, and Kajabi lists extra contacts at $125 per block. Check where your needs would land before you scale.
Moving Away From Thinkific Safely
Do not cancel Thinkific the day you start a new platform. Export your student list and download your course content first. Tell students where the course is moving, and give them a clear date.
Check how existing purchases transfer, since that detail is not shown on the pricing pages I read. Keep the old course open until students have logged into the new one, and close the old account once a full cycle has passed.
When Thinkific Is Still the Right Pick
Thinkific may still be the right pick if you want unlimited published courses and a cap of 10,000 students on its first three plans. It also lists multiple communities and partner revenue sharing on its paid plans. A 30-day trial gives you a month to test it.
If most of your needs match those cases, test the numbers before you switch. Match the platform to your plan, and do not switch only because a list told you to.
Hiring Help to Build Your Course
A course needs a lot of upkeep. A virtual assistant from OnlineJobs.ph can upload lessons, answer student questions, and format emails from a short guide. Write down your tone and your answers to common questions first.
For a one-off job, such as editing a lesson video or designing a cover, a freelancer on Fiverr can save you time. Share access carefully and remove it when the job ends.
Common Mistakes With Course Platforms
The first mistake is picking a platform before you know your price. The second mistake is comparing monthly fees and ignoring per-sale fees, which can cost far more.
The third mistake is collecting payments before your company exists. If you have not formed your company, read my guide to business formation for high-ticket dropshipping. To file an LLC quickly, Bizee is one option I recommend.
The fourth mistake is skipping the test sale. Run one real purchase before you tell anyone the course is live.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free alternative to Thinkific?
Systeme.io lists a free plan that never expires, with 2,000 contacts and 1 course. Teachable, LearnWorlds, Kajabi, and Circle list free trials rather than free plans.
How much does Thinkific cost?
The pricing page lists Start at $109 a month or $82 billed annually, Grow at $219 or $164, and Expand at $499 or $374. There is no free plan, and a 30-day trial is offered.
Which platform has no transaction fees?
Systeme.io lists 0% on all plans, and Teachable lists 0% on Builder and Growth. Card processing fees still apply on most platforms.
Is Teachable cheaper than Thinkific?
On listed annual prices, Teachable Starter at $29 a month is lower than Thinkific Start at $82, but Starter adds a 7.5% transaction fee. Compare total cost at your expected sales.
Do I need a course platform for a dropshipping store?
It is not required, but a short course or guide can build trust and answer questions before a sale. Start with a free plan and see whether people use it.
Final Verdict on Thinkific Alternatives
Teachable is the pick for 0% fees on its higher plans, LearnWorlds is the pick for a low starting price if you can handle per-enrollment fees, Systeme.io is the pick for starting free, Kajabi is the pick for an all-in-one platform once you confirm its price, Circle is the pick for community-first creators, and Thinkific is worth keeping if its student and course limits suit you.
Start with a free plan or trial, confirm the current fees on each live page, and run the numbers at your real sales volume. Then put your attention on what you teach, because a platform only matters when students want the next lesson.
Want a high-ticket store with the products, suppliers, and pages already set up? Let my team build it for you. Get your store built →
Prefer to learn the model yourself? Start with my free mini course, or go deeper in the masterclass and coaching. Free mini course → Masterclass → Coaching →
Related Articles
If you found this useful, these guides go deeper on related topics:
- Thinkific Pricing in 2026: Plans, Fees and What You Actually Pay
- 10 Best Teachable Alternatives in 2026: Course Platforms with Better Pricing, Real Free Plans, and Stronger Community Features
- Best Kajabi Alternatives in 2026: 3 Course Platforms Compared by Price, Fees and Fit
- Best Online Course Platform for Beginners in 2026: 10 Honest Picks Compared by Price, Fees, and Real-World Use Cases
- LearnWorlds Review 2026: The Best Online Course Platform for Ecommerce Entrepreneurs?
Trevor Fenner is an ecommerce entrepreneur and world traveler from Seattle, Washington, and the founder of Ecommerce Paradise, a platform focused on helping entrepreneurs build and scale profitable high-ticket ecommerce and dropshipping businesses. With over a decade of hands-on experience, Trevor specializes in high-ticket dropshipping strategy, niche and product selection, supplier recruiting and onboarding, Google & Bing Shopping ads, ecommerce SEO, and systems-driven automation and scaling. Through Ecommerce Paradise, he provides free education via in-depth guides like How to Start High-Ticket Dropshipping, advanced training through the High-Ticket Dropshipping Masterclass, and fully done-for-you turnkey ecommerce services for entrepreneurs who want a faster, more hands-off path to growth. Trevor is known for emphasizing sustainable, real-world ecommerce models over hype-driven tactics, helping store owners build scalable, sellable, and location-independent brands.
He maintains homes in Seattle and Bali, spends most of the year overseas, and usually returns to Seattle for about a month each summer.
