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Thinkific vs Teachable: the 7.5% that changes everything
Teachable's entry plan is $11 a month cheaper than Thinkific's. It also takes 7.5% of every sale. Here's the point where "cheaper" flips — and it arrives sooner than you'd think.
The short answer
Selling under ~$147/month? Teachable Starter at $29. The 7.5% fee costs you less than the $11 price gap, and you're not yet at the scale where percentages hurt.
Selling more than ~$147/month? Thinkific Basic at $40, which takes no cut. At $1,000/month in sales you keep $768 more per year. At $2,000/month, $1,668 more.
The trap to avoid: comparing $29 against $40 and concluding Teachable is cheaper. For anyone actually selling courses, it usually isn't — and the gap widens with every sale.
The transaction fee, worked through
Teachable's Starter plan carries a 7.5% transaction fee on sales. Its Builder ($69) and Growth ($139) plans drop that to 0%. Thinkific's pricing page makes no mention of transaction fees on any paid plan.
So the comparison at entry level is: $29 + 7.5% of everything you sell, against $40 flat.
The $11/month gap is erased when 7.5% of your sales reaches $11 — that is, at $146.67/month in sales. Roughly three sales of a $50 course.
| Your monthly course sales | Teachable Starter ($29 + 7.5%) | Thinkific Basic ($40) | You save with |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0 | $29.00 | $40.00 | Teachable, $11/mo |
| $147 | $40.00 | $40.00 | Dead heat |
| $500 | $66.50 | $40.00 | Thinkific, $318/yr |
| $1,000 | $104.00 | $40.00 | Thinkific, $768/yr |
| $2,000 | $179.00 | $40.00 | Thinkific, $1,668/yr |
| $5,000 | $404.00 | $40.00 | Thinkific, $4,368/yr |
Teachable and Thinkific prices billed annually. Payment processing is charged separately by both — these figures are platform cost only.
At $5,000/month in sales, Teachable's Starter plan costs you ten times what Thinkific's does. Long before that you'd move to Teachable Builder at $69 with 0% fees — but note that Builder is still $29/month more than Thinkific Basic, and you'd be paying it to escape a fee Thinkific never charged.
Side by side
| Thinkific | Teachable | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | Basic $40/mo | Starter $29/mo |
| Transaction fee, entry | None listed | 7.5% |
| Mid plan | Start $82/mo | Builder $69/mo — 0% fee |
| Upper plan | Grow $164/mo | Growth $139/mo |
| Courses / products | Unlimited courses on Basic | 5 products on Starter |
| Community | 1 included on Basic | Not on Starter |
| Custom domain | Basic | Yes |
| Abandoned cart recovery | Basic | Starter |
| Live cohorts & coaching | Start ($82) | — |
| Certificates | Start ($82) | Growth ($139) |
| Memberships / subscriptions | Start ($82) | Yes |
| Remove platform branding | Grow ($164) | Growth ($139) |
| Affiliate program for your students | — | Builder ($69) |
| Free trial | Yes | 7 days + 30-day guarantee |
| Annual discount | Save 25% | Save 22% |
All figures billed annually, read from each vendor's own pricing page on 16 September 2026.
Beyond the fee
Where Thinkific is stronger
- Unlimited courses on the entry plan, against Teachable's 5 products. If you publish a lot of small courses, this alone decides it.
- A community included on Basic. Teachable doesn't offer one at Starter level.
- Live cohorts and coaching on Start — unlimited Zoom sessions, bookable calendars, attendance tracking. If you teach live, Teachable has no direct equivalent in these tiers.
- No transaction fee at any paid tier, which is the whole argument above.
Where Teachable is stronger
- Cheaper to start, genuinely — $29 against $40, and if you're pre-revenue that's real money.
- An affiliate program for your own students from Builder up, letting buyers resell your course. Thinkific doesn't list this in these tiers.
- Remove branding at $139 versus Thinkific's $164.
- 30-day money-back guarantee on top of the 7-day trial.
Questions we get asked
Is 7.5% really that bad?
On a $50 course it's $3.75 — trivial. At 100 sales a month it's $375, which is nine times what Thinkific's entire Basic plan costs. Percentage fees feel harmless at small numbers and become the largest line in your business at large ones. That's the whole point of the table above.
Should I just start on Teachable Starter and upgrade later?
It's defensible if you're genuinely pre-revenue — $11/month is $11/month. But watch the threshold: once you pass roughly $147/month in sales, every month you stay costs you money. Set a reminder rather than discovering it a year later.
Which is better for selling a single flagship course?
Thinkific, on cost, because one flagship course usually means meaningful revenue per month and the 7.5% bites hard. Teachable's 5-product limit isn't a constraint for you, so the fee is the only variable that matters — and Thinkific doesn't charge one.
You earn from both. Why should I believe the maths?
Because you can check it. Teachable's 7.5% is on its own pricing page; Thinkific's makes no mention of a fee; the crossover is $11 ÷ 0.075. Nothing in this page rests on our judgement — it's arithmetic with the sources named, which is deliberately the kind of claim we can't quietly bias.
The verdict
Thinkific for almost anyone selling seriously. No transaction fee, unlimited courses on the entry plan, and a community included. Once you're past about $147/month in sales it's simply cheaper, and it keeps getting cheaper relative to Teachable as you grow.
Teachable if you're pre-revenue or testing an idea, where $29 against $40 matters and 7.5% of nearly nothing is nearly nothing. Move before it costs you.
The broader lesson, which applies well beyond these two: in creator platforms the headline price is rarely the price. Look for the percentage, and work out where it overtakes the fixed fee. That's the number that decides it.
Pricing read from thinkific.com and teachable.com on 16 September 2026, in USD with annual billing. Teachable's 7.5% Starter transaction fee is stated on its own pricing page; Thinkific's pricing page contains no mention of transaction fees. Under our methodology this comparison is at the "researched, not tested" level. Found something out of date? Tell us.
