You’re ready to start an online course and are trying to figure out where to host it. That’s amazing! Welcome to the creator club.
Building an online course is an incredible and rewarding way to share what you know with the world, build your personal brand, and scale your income. But it’s also a big investment of your most valuable asset, your time, and you want to make sure you start in the right place.
If you’ve started exploring, you know that there are exactly one gazillion course platforms out there. And with subtle differences between them sometimes, it’s really intimidating to choose one.
So in this post, we’re looking at two top contenders: Thinkific vs. Teachable. We’ll line them up and compare based on features, price, business model, and access.
If you want more support in building your online course and community, come join OUR Mighty Community for free and meet other new and established community owners! We’d love to meet you. Join for free!
In this article…
What is an online course platform?
An online course platform is a software service that provides you with a robust set of prebuilt tools and features to build and deploy online courses. There’s no need for coding, a course platform has done the development for you and you just need to focus on creating an awesome course.
Creators choose online course platforms because it allows them to focus on what matters: their members and their content.
Before we compare Teachable and Thinkific, let’s unpack what you should look for in an online course platform.
1. Thinkific vs Teachable: Overview
Features | Thinkific | Teachable |
|---|---|---|
Custom Landing Pages |  | |
Multi-Media Course Builder | | |
Unlimited Courses | | |
Integrated Community | Yes (Not on the Free Plan) |  |
Apps | | iOS Only |
Native Live Streaming | | |
Live Events | Yes (*Zoom Integration) | |
Analytics | Native Progress Reports + GA Integration | 3rd-Party (Google Analytics Integration) |
2. Thinkific vs Teachable: Who are they?
Before we get started, let's look at what each of these platforms does:
Thinkific
Thinkific is an online course platform that has a major focus on content creation. On Thinkific, you can create and sell online courses that use a variety of third-party integrations. On top of that, you can deliver both dripped courses (where you release material for your course as you create it) as well as full content drops all at once. It comes pre-loaded with a drag-and-drop course builder, some nifty marketing functions, multiple currency sales, and an affiliate program.
Teachable
Teachable is an online course platform that focuses on customization and ease of use. The “power editor” tool allows you to create multimedia content from live coaching sessions to lectures, on top of offering third-party surveys for members to interact with. Like Thinkific, it comes with a drag-and-drop page builder plus an affiliate program.
3. Thinkific vs Teachable: Judgment criteria
When there are so many online course platforms to choose from, it can be hard to figure out which one is best for you. But here are the criteria we’re looking at for this comparison:
- Customization and course features
- Monetization & business ops
- Community Features
- Availability
There are plenty of ways to evaluable online course platforms, but we believe these criteria are the most important. So now we can get on to the main event: Thinkific vs Teachable. Let’s dive deep into what these platforms have going on.
4. Thinkific vs Teachable: Customization and features
In this category, we’re looking at which online course platform offers more options for you to experiment with how you create content. Customization and varied features are important because they allow you to re-engage your members with new experiences.
Thinkific
Thinkific and Teachable offer a lot of the same features. However, Thinkific offers advanced quiz creation tools and feedback surveys (something that Teachable doesn’t). These might seem like small attributes, but having robust ways to get member feedback is a major benefit. Plus, more in-depth quizzes will allow you to go deeper with your course content.
In addition to these two features, you can utilize text and video for your content, deploy discussion boards for members to interact on, and more. Thinkific also offers solid features for building your course website and sales pages.
Thinkific: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Custom landing pages
- Create quizzes and surveys
- Customize the course feel
- High-level of branding control
- Zoom integration for live teaching (Pro only)
Cons
- Limited features on free version
- Limited analytics
Teachable
When it comes to customization, Teachable offers a fairly robust set of features. Utilizing their platform to build an online course will give you access to strong editing software for video lectures and coaching sessions. You can also utilize quizzes and other third-party integrations. And on top of great customization features for designing content, you get unlimited access to video bandwidth, students, and the number of courses you can offer.
One thing to note, however, is that Teachable completely doesn’t have a robust community-building toolset. You can offer great content, but your members will really miss out on connecting with other like-minded people who are interested in accomplishing similar goals.
Teachable: Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Custom landing pages
- Power editor
- Affiliate program
- Add coaching packages
Cons
- Only pre-recorded content
- Best customization options require Business Plan
- Reported downtime
5. Thinkific vs Teachable: Monetization & business operations
Chances are, at least one of your reasons for building an online course is to open up a new income stream for yourself or your business. So let’s talk about what each of these platforms gives you to build your course-based business. When we think about monetization, it’s not just about offering options for how members access your work. It’s also directly tied to the types of experiences that the platform will allow you to great (like paid memberships).
Thinkific
Monetization will be a big factor for many people in deciding between Thinkific or Teachable. Luckily, Thinkific gives its creators a solid set of options for figuring out the best way to price your course.
With Thinkific you have access to charging subscription fees or offering paid memberships. And one of its strongest features is the ability to offer coupons and discounts to members who have disappeared or to potential new customers; you can sell your course with special offers. It also offers you some basic in-course analytic information to see how your members are doing and you can integrate with Google Analytics.
Thinkific also gives you the option to scale to more than just a 1-person business, giving you unlimited admin accounts–which is great.
One of the biggest downfalls of the business side of Thinkific is that you’re not able to charge in multiple currencies at a time. You can set your home currency, but if you’re selling in markets around the world you still need to use a fixed currency.
Thinkific: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Sell membership or course bundles (Pro only)
- Add coupons and discounts
- Add unlimited admin
Cons
- Single currency only
-Limited native analytics
Teachable
When you’re able to make the process of paying for your content easy for people they are more likely to buy into what you’re offering. No one wants to jump through a bunch of hoops to get what they want. You can also sell different subscription models with Teachable, including bundles and memberships, which gives you some flexibility for how you run your business. As a real bonus, Teachable will automatically collect the taxes on your purchase based on the student’s location.
Additionally, Teachable does not offer native analytics but does give integration with Google Analytics so you can keep track of your sales, member interaction, and sales pages. Another unique feature that Teachable offers is the ability to appoint members into leadership roles and even pay them for their work.
Teachable: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Price in your home currency
- Auto tax remittance
Cons
- No native analytics
- Live chat support only with Pro & Business plans
- $1 + 10% transaction fee on “free” plan, 5% on basic
6. Thinkific vs Teachable: Community features
With lots of great course platforms also offering a live support platform for community members, the ability to add community to your course is a huge win for you. Plus, you can add on community membership fees, discover the benefit of the network effect, and help keep your members motivated and accountable.
Here’s how these two options rank for their community features:
Thinkific
Thinkific has a community feature that’s basically a forum. It can be pretty easily added to an existing course, and members can post, like, and comment on others’ posts. The community lives in Thinkific, which is great – there’s no need to add a third-party app. You can organize conversations, and members can subscribe or unsubscribe to topics that interest them.
The downside to Thinkific’s community engine is that it’s really basic… it’s just a question and response forum that doesn’t even have the power of a Facebook group.
Thinkific: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Community platform built-in
- Members can comment & respond
Cons
- Very basic forum engine & feel
Teachable
Native community is where Teachable falls short from its competitors. And instead of adding one, one of the Teachable founders decided to start a new community company, Circle.so. While Circle is a fairly good community platform and can be integrated with Teachable, having to juggle and pay for two different platforms creates a more complicated UX for your members, and it means you’re paying twice to get a feature that other platforms build in.
Teachable: Pros and Cons
Pros
Cons
- No community built-in
7. Thinkific vs Teachable: Apps & Access
Many people want to interact with content and communities on the go. Whether it’s on their phone, tablet, or computer, having your course available in many places is incredibly valuable. their phones and mobile devices. The best online community platforms allow you to build a space that is available where your members are.
Thinkific
Thinkific falls behind when it comes to its availability options. They do not offer any kind of mobile app experience. This means that your members will have to access your online course through the web. We’re in a day and age where having your content available is a major benefit to sales and member activity. Don’t sleep on having these options.
Thinkific: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Intuitive web interface
- SSO sign-on
Cons
- No app
Teachable
While Teachable does have an app, it isn’t designed to be used as a primary option for members to interact with your online course. On top of that, it’s only available on iOS which bars a good chunk of members from even having the option. Your members’ ability to access your online course anywhere they are is important. Choosing an online course platform with a native app should be near the top of your list in your decision-making process.
Teachable: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Good web interface
- SSO
Cons
- iOS only app
8. Thinkific vs Teachable: Which is the winner?
So is Thinkific better than Teachable? The two platforms are offering you very similar experiences for building online courses.
If you’re only comparing Thinkific vs Teachable then it will largely depend on what you’re hoping to accomplish with online courses.
Thinkific is probably best for course creators that want maximum design customization. Teachable is probably best for those who want a “create it and leave it” course.
But for some of the other things we talked about above, both platforms are missing key features. Thinkific has a very basic course platform, but it’s an afterthought–hardly a home for a thriving community. Teachable doesn’t even have one.
And sorry if you’re one of the 2.5 billion Android users in the world, because neither of these platforms offers an Android app and Thinkific doesn’t have any app at all!
So what if you could get a robust, immersive course experience and pair it with the community option that G2 ranked best in the business? And what if that course came with a beautiful app built-in, no matter what device you have?
That, my friend, is why you need a third option.
Conclusion – Want another option? Try Mighty Networks
We’ve built a much better online course experience on Mighty Networks. Why? Because Mighty's powerful cultural software platform offers almost everything we’ve covered between the two platforms above in addition to being a world-class modern community platform and including an awesome mobile app.
Here are just a few of the many awesome features of Mighty's flexible Spaces:
- Personalized activity fees
- Live stream, post recorded videos, images, and audio clips
- Built-in events + easy Zoom integration
- Charge for courses, community memberships, groups, or bundles
- Create polls, quizzes, and surveys
Features Comparison
Features | Thinkific | Thinkific | Mighty Networks |
|---|---|---|---|
Custom Landing Pages | | | |
Multi-Media Course Builder | | | |
Unlimited Courses | | | |
Integrated Community | Yes (Not on the Free Plan) | | |
Apps | | iOS Only | |
Native Live Streaming | | | |
Built in Polls & Questions | | | |
Live Events | | | |
Analytics | Native Progress Reports + GA Integration | 3rd-Party (Google Analytics Integration) | Comprehensive Native Analytics + GA Integration |
And on top of all those features, your Mighty Network is available across the web, iOS, and Android which gives your members flexibility for how they interact with each other and your content.
Try it out for yourself. It’s free to try for 14 days, no credit card required.
What kind of online course will you build?
