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Exploring Alternatives to Thinkific: A Comparative Analysis

November 21, 2023 Business

In the bustling realm of online course platforms, Thinkific has cemented its place as a reliable and feature-rich solution. However, the digital landscape is diverse, and for creators seeking alternatives, there are several noteworthy options. Each of these platforms offers a unique blend of features, pricing policies, and advantages that may make them a better fit for certain users than Thinkific. Here, we explore six such platforms.

1. SendPulse

SendPulse is a multichannel solution that provides marketers with essential tools, including a no-code course builder. With its help, teachers, influencers, and online schools can design engaging online courses and educate large audiences online. 

SendPulse allows you to catch attention with pop-ups and web push notifications, get contact details with registration forms, promote your online courses through email campaigns, and successfully sell them. One solution will help you with multiple tasks and save costs. You can add instructors, embed various media formats, add quizzes, and issue certificates within the service. The solution supports the most popular payment systems so your payments are secured.

Below you can see the process of creating the course in SendPulse.

Pricing: SendPulse has a free plan which covers one course and 200 students. if you want to have more features, you’ll need to purchase a paid plan that starts at $ 21 per month.

Why is it a good Thinkific alternative?

 Since SendPulse is an all-in-one marketing solution, it allows you to combine several marketing tools without leaving the platform. You can use its CRM to collect contact data, set up chatbots for promotion, and send email campaigns notifying students about the start of the course. The platform also provides a handy LMS solution for employee training and onboarding so it’s also a great option for HR specialists and employee training agencies. 

2. Kajabi

Kajabi is more than a course platform, it’s a comprehensive business solution. It provides email marketing tools, a website builder, sales funnel creation (Pipelines), and a mobile app, which are all integrated seamlessly.

The platform allows you to build a mini-course or a signature program by using its easily adjustable themes and design tools. A build-from-scratch option is also available within service. When you create courses in Kajabi, you don’t have to worry about the look of your online courses on different screens since the platform ensures a mobile responsive layout. You can share your knowledge and get paid easily within the platform. It has integrations with PayPal and Stripe, ensuring seamless transactions. 

The image below demonstrates the process of creating a new course and embedding materials into it in Kajabi.

Source: OnlineCourseHost.com

Pricing: Kajabi doesn’t offer a free plan, and its pricing starts at $149 per month. The premium pricing corresponds to its all-in-one nature, which eliminates the need for additional software.

What makes Kajabi a worthy Thinkific alternative?

 For those who need a wide array of marketing tools and a CRM system, Kajabi offers a superior solution. Its all-in-one platform can be more cost-effective than using Thinkific in conjunction with other tools for e-learning

3. Podia

Podia is a user-friendly platform that supports not only courses but also digital downloads, webinars, and memberships. It has a straightforward interface and offers unlimited video hosting, which is a boon for content-heavy courses.

Pre-launch, cohort-based, pre-sell, standalone, and drip courses are the types of courses you can develop in Podia. Its user-friendly editor allows you to embed different types of content while native video hosting and prevents you from additional costs for video storage. 

With the platform’s help, you can offer upsells, issue certificates, design coupons, and limit access durations. If you have seat limits, the service allows you to set them up.

Check out the process of editing a new lesson for the course in Podia below.

Pricing: Podia’s pricing starts at $39 per month, with no transaction fees. This straightforward pricing model is attractive for creators who prefer simplicity.

Can podia serve as an alternative to Thinkific?

 Podia shines with its no-frills approach, simplicity, and better email marketing capabilities. For creators who want an uncomplicated setup, Podia can be a more suitable choice.

4. LearnWorlds

LearnWorlds is a powerful platform known for its interactive video features and a strong emphasis on creating engaging learning experiences. It offers advanced analytics and social learning tools.

By utilizing LearnWorlds and embedding interactive videos, ebooks, group and one-to-one sessions, testing, surveys, and certificates of completion, you can provide an effective learning process. If you are focusing on video teaching, you’ll ensure an engaging experience with automatically extracted transcripts and interactive tests. All materials will be visible and easily accessed.

The platform took care of the audience that prefers to access your course from mobile devices. You can develop a branded mobile app and interact with more students. With a no-coding visual editor, you’ll be able to build a stylish app interface, allow in-app purchases, and send push notifications.

Below you can see the process of building a course in LearnWorlds.

Pricing: LearnWorlds pricing begins at $29 per month, with a $5 fee per course sale on the starter plan. The higher-tier plans eliminate transaction fees and unlock more sophisticated features.

LearnWords may be a good Thinkific alternative if

 If interactive video is at the core of your courses, LearnWorlds provides better tools than Thinkific for creating an interactive video experience, including video analytics for insights into how students engage with content.

5. Teachery

Teachery is an excellent solution for artists, influencers, designers, content creators, coaches, and teachers. The service empowers you with a wide range of themes to use for different industries and business purposes. Its style editor helps you design beautiful courses by customizing the existing templates or creating brand-new courses from scratch.

Teachery empowers you to build an unlimited number of Course Hubs. It means that all your courses will be displayed in one shop. Students can easily access all courses related to the same topic. 

If you want to surprise your students during the checkout, you can offer a course bundle or a special discount. The platform’s Upsells feature has no limitations. Teachery allows course gifting. Clients can buy courses both for themselves and their friends.

In the screenshot below, you can see how a course from a template is created.

Pricing: Teachery offers a 14-day free trial. After the trial expires, you’ll need to buy a paid plan to enjoy the benefits of the service. It will cost you $49 monthly.

Teachery as a Thinkific alternative

 Easy customization is the main advantage of Teachery. With the platform’s templates and features, you can create a selling online course that matches your brand in minutes.

6. Uteach

Uteach is designed for educators and creators who strive to build media-rich and interactive online courses. You’ll be able to create a site for your courses, have your local payment gateway with no commission, and a mobile app for 24/7 support. The service has all the necessary tools for online school management, including promotion.

Uteach carries all the necessary tools for building a quality course that brings value, including attractive designs, quizzes, certificates of completion, access limitations, various embedded content formats, and specific pricing. Uteach also allows the “share as a gift” option.

Below you can see how to easily build a course from scratch in Uteach.

Pricing: Uteach has a 14-day free trial. Once it ends, you’ll need a paid plan. Uteach allows you to start teaching online for $39 monthly.

Uteach has its advantages over Thinkific

Uteach is a great choice for educators who incorporate live and coaching sessions. It has all the essential tools for accepting or rejecting coaching requests, organizing schedules, and managing reminders. 

Conclusion

While Thinkific is a strong contender in the e-learning platform space, alternatives like Teachable, Kajabi, Podia, LearnWorlds, Teachery and Uteach each have unique strengths. Creators must assess features, pricing, education technology and the specific needs of their audience to determine which platform offers the best fit for their online teaching endeavors. Whether it’s comprehensive business tools, a simple interface, interactive videos, or access to a broad audience, there’s a Thinkific alternative that can cater to those needs.