Thinkific vs Podia:
Which platform is right for your business?
We’ve broken down the key differences in pricing, features, and scalability so your team can make a confident decision.
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Thinkific vs. Podia
| Top Features | Thinkific | Podia |
|---|---|---|
| Create courses with any content type | ||
| Host Coaching sessions or Webinars (free and paid) | On Mover or Shaker plan | |
| Build and deliver Digital Downloads | – | |
| Learning Communities | ||
| Easy to use landing pages, powered by AI | ||
| Email and chat support | Email and Live chat only | |
| Student course reviews | – | |
| App integrations | 90+ in the Thinkific App Store | |
| Automated tax collection |
Pricing & plans
Thinkific plans give experts, academies, and companies the tools and features they need to grow their business end-to-end.
| Plans | Thinkific | Podia | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thinkific Start vs. Podia Shaker | $82/mo $984 billed annually | $84/mo $1,008 billed annually | 2.38% |
| Thinkific Grow vs. Podia Earthquaker | $164/mo $1,968 billed annually | $150/mo $1,800 billed annually | -8.54% |
What’s important to online learning educators?
The right tool can help you build, market, and sell an unforgettable course experience worth paying for. Let’s take a look at some of the differences between Thinkific and Podia.
Course Creation
A user-friendly course builder is key to delivering engaging learning experiences.
Podia is built for solopreneurs and small teams, offering the basics to create a standard course. However, those seeking more advanced tools to build and sustain engaging learning experiences may hit limitations.
Thinkific is designed for growing education businesses and corporate teams. It’s simple to use and offers the ability to build, launch, and sell an entire course without a big learning curve.
| Course Creation | Thinkific | Podia |
|---|---|---|
| No design or technical experience required | ||
| Create courses with any content type | ||
| Downloadable content | ||
| Embed 3rd party tools and sites | ||
| Student surveys | – | |
| Embed many types of multimedia content, including Storyline, Captivate & More | – |
Learning Experience
A great learning experience is vital to your success as a training business. It helps learners learn more effectively and encourages them to share it with others, helping you grow.
Podia delivers a basic learning experience typical of most online course platforms.
Thinkific goes beyond with advanced features that elevate the learner’s experience from standard to exceptional. Plus, learners can leave reviews that you can share publicly, helping attract more buyers to your offering.
| Teaching and Learner Experience | Thinkific | Podia |
|---|---|---|
| Sell memberships to a learning community | – | |
| Easy course navigation | ||
| Multiple Instructors | $20/mo per user | |
| Learner progress tracking | At the individual learner level, but don’t offer aggregate reporting. | |
| Learner course reviews | – | |
| Learner engagement survey | – | |
| Quizzes | Limited |
Sales and Marketing
Once your course is live, you need the right tools to reach your audience and drive revenue.
Podia provides a number of sales tools needed and a few basic marketing features to help you earn revenue from your course.
Thinkific provides everything you need to grow: build high-converting landing pages with AI, automate email marketing, and choose from 90+ no-code integrations – including ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, Shopify, and Salesforce.
Thinkific also provides access to an expert marketplace where you can hire marketing consultants who are experts on the Thinkific platform to help you launch your course and generate more sales.
| Sales & Marketing | Thinkific | Podia |
|---|---|---|
| Create free, paid, and time-limited courses | ||
| Email automation | Priced as an add-on | |
| Coupons and promotions | ||
| Subscriptions | ||
| Advanced Marketing Integrations (ie: Mixpanel, InfusionSoft, Segment.io etc.) | – | |
| Abandoned cart emails | – | |
| Currencies | 135+ | 29 |
| Affiliate program |
Everything you need to scale your training
From online courses and communities to memberships and digital downloads, Thinkific supports every way you want to share and scale your learning content.
1M+
courses published
20K+
teams supported
$4.23B
earned by customers
Results-driven courses, seamlessly delivered
Training only creates value when learners complete it and when your team can run the program behind it without an ops department. Thinkific gives your team what they need to build great courses, manage the programs around them, and see them through to completion at scale
Drag-and-drop course builder
AI-assisted course generation
Built-in AI teaching assistant
Live cohorts, self-paced, and blended formats
SCORM, video, and slide import
Quizzes, assignments, and certificates
Learning paths and prerequisites
Custom roles and granular permissions
Analytics and reporting on completion, progress, and engagement
Branded native mobile app
Communities built into the learning experience
Community lives inside the course. Discussions tie back to lessons, profiles show progress, and it all happens under one login.
Public and private spaces with course-gated access
Lesson-level discussions and comments
Posts, comments, reactions, and direct messaging
Member profiles with course progress
Live events and scheduled sessions
Moderation tools and admin roles
Branded iOS and Android mobile app with push notifications
Weekly email digests
Built for selling learning, not just taking payments
Run checkout, subscriptions, tax, and B2B invoicing in the same platform as your courses — no separate payment stack to wire up
Hosted checkout and order pages
One-time, subscription, and payment-plan pricing
Coupons, bundles, upsells, and order bumps
Multi-currency and local currency at checkout
Automated sales tax and VAT
B2B invoicing, POs, and seat licensing
Refunds, dunning, and failed-payment recovery
Revenue, MRR, and churn reporting
Built for businesses that
can’t afford to outgrow their platform
Start
Everything you need to sell, engage, and grow — with full commerce tools from day one.
$109/mo
Billed monthly
$82/mo
Billed annually
Save $330
by billing annually
Start includes:
Unlimited courses
Video lessons, multimedia, and student discussions
Live cohorts and coaching
Unlimited Zoom sessions, bookable calendars, and attendance tracking
Quizzes, assignments, and certificates
Grade student work and issue branded certificates on completion
Bundles, upsells, and payment plans
Raise average order value and conversions
Memberships and subscriptions
Charge monthly for ongoing access to a course library
Custom domain
Host your school or academy on your own domain
Most Popular
Grow
More selling power, deeper analytics, and professional support — everything Grow-stage businesses need.
$219/mo
Billed monthly
$164/mo
Billed annually
Save $660
by billing annually
Everything in Start, plus:
Removes Thinkific branding
Across your website and products
3 communities
Separate your audiences based on topic, level, or free vs paid
Exams and question banks
Run advanced exams and randomize quizzes from a question bank
B2B sales and invoicing
Sell bulk seats to companies and collect payment by invoice
Phone and priority chat support
Reach a human in minutes, not days
API access and webhooks
Connect Thinkific to your tools, or build something custom
Student engagement reports
See where learners get stuck and which lessons drive completion
Expand
Built for established teams that need a fully branded platform, greater admin control, and room to grow their audience
$499/mo
Billed monthly
$374/mo
Billed annually
Save $1,500
by billing annually
Everything in Grow, plus:
10 communities with 200 community spaces
Give every program, cohort, and audience its own space
1000 GB/mo video bandwidth
Stream to bigger audiences with 2.5× the bandwidth of Grow
Unlimited group sizes
Enroll whole teams and client organizations with no limit per group
Email white-labeling and custom SSL
Send student emails under your brand on a fully secured domain
15 administrator accounts
Give your team full access to run and manage your site
Revenue sharing with up to 10 partners
Automatically split course sales with instructors and partners
Dedicated launch support
Work with a specialist to plan, build, and launch with confidence
Phone and priority chat support
Reach a human in minutes, not days
Premium services designed for high-growth businesses that need a custom-built solution and dedicated support
Everything in Expand, plus:
Dedicated end-to-end support
Access award-winning support for your migration, setup, go-live, and beyond
AI teaching assistant
Give learners instant answers and free up your time without adding headcount
Single sign-on (SSO)
Use existing credentials for a seamless and secure log-in experience
Learning paths and SCORM
Build high-quality, guided learning programs with content you already have
CRM Integrations
With tools like HubSpot and Salesforce for a seamless experience
Generous user capacity
Scale confidently with 10,000+ student seats included
Custom roles and additional administrators
Grant precise access and permissions by role, and streamline control at scale
Custom analytics dashboards
Build exportable views of revenue, engagement, and learner performance
Branded mobile app
Your own iOS and Android app; included on select Plus contracts
Curious how Thinkific compares to alternative platforms?
We’ve broken down the key differences and features below to help guide your research.
Thinkific vs. Teachable
Thinkific vs. Learnworlds
Thinkific vs. Kajabi
Frequently asked questions
Can I cancel or change my account at any time?
Yes. You can cancel, upgrade or downgrade your account at any time from within your site dashboard.
Do I need a web host?
Your site is fully hosted with Thinkific; you don’t need anything else. Secure hosting and e-commerce are included.
Do I own my own content?
Absolutely! You always own your student data and your content. We’ll never market to your students, and you can export your data at any time.
How are payments processed?
Full e-commerce payment processing is included. Accept all major credit cards with a simple and secure checkout, and receive instant access to your funds in your account. We provide an SSL certificate to help ensure that all your data and customer information is secure. Note that transaction fees may apply if third party payment processors are used.
What is a Community?
A Thinkific Community is an online learning environment where students can engage in an interactive, communal learning experience. It shifts learning from a ‘one-sided’ experience to a collaborative, ‘two-way’ exchange.
Thinkific Communities allow you and your audience to connect globally, build trust and loyalty, and collaborate socially. You can build a community around your existing content to add even more value to your online courses, or create a community as a stand-alone, sellable product!
You can create a dedicated space for students to share knowledge and foster relationships while keeping the focus on your brand. Each community is a dedicated page on your Thinkific site where students and instructors can interact through posts and comments.
What are Digital Downloads?
Build a new lead and revenue stream with Digital Downloads! Drive leads or launch a new revenue stream by showcasing your unique genius and expertise. Upload or repurpose existing content – common digital downloads include eBooks, PDFs, templates, workbooks, guides, and spreadsheets.
Digital Downloads can also help you get started and earn more, faster. Whether you are just starting with Thinkific or already have existing products, setting up digital downloads is quick and easy – upload your file, price your product, and create a beautiful landing page using AI within minutes, not hours or days.
What are Coaching & Webinars?
Forge deeper connections and drive leads and revenue with Coaching & Webinars! Elevate engagement with your audience while boosting your bottom line.
With Coaching & Webinars, you can create and offer access for your 1:1 or 1:many live offerings for your leads and existing customers. Coaching sessions, webinars, or office hours – it can be just about anything you can think of!
“Thinkific offers exceptional scalability, enabling businesses to grow their course offerings and student base without any limitations. It can handle unlimited courses, students, and bandwidth, ensuring businesses can expand their e-learning offerings without worrying about technical constraints.”
Guy Marion
Chief Marketing Officer
Ready to create exceptional courses that scale?
Join thousands of professional educators who trust Thinkific to power their online businesses.
