If you’re looking for a flexible and customizable online training software that you have full control over, Thinkific is for you.
Since its inception, Udemy has been notorious for running promotions with large discounts on their courses. In fact, it is not uncommon for them to promote courses at 80% or even 90% off to their database of customers. In doing so, they’ve basically trained their customers to never pay full price for a course. Instead of paying full price, most customers simply wait to receive an email with a promotion before making a purchase.
With Thinkific you’re in control.
In this article, we’ll explore the differences between Thinkific and Udemy.
Related: The Top 6 Best Udemy Alternatives
Thinkific vs Udemy and other online course platforms
G2 Grid® for Online Learning Platforms
 |  |  |  |
Customizable look and feel
With Udemy, you’re stuck with how the course and landing page will look. You’re tied into their system. On Thinkific you can match the look and feel of your business.
White Labeling
Look professional and host your courses on your own domain, with no reference to Thinkific. You’ll add trust and authority to any size business.
Flexible Pricing
Don’t be limited by your platform. Thinkific allows you to charge the way you want: one-time payments, a payment plan, or flexible recurring payments.
Transaction fees
Udemy takes up to 50% of your revenue when hosting your courses with them. The most Thinkific will take is 10% if you’re on our free plan. Move up to business and pay no transaction fees to Thinkific.
Own your student data
Be in control of your customers, and their data. If you want to send them emails about a similar offering, go for it! On Udemy you don’t own that data and can’t grow your business outside that course.
Instant access to funds
On Udemy, you’re usually waiting 2-3 months before you get money in your account. With Thinkific, you are getting your money right away.
Integrations
Thinkific’s new App Store is the first of its kind in the online education industry. You can easily access and integrate professional tools to enhance the functionality of your online courses with our course creation toolkit. No technical expertise is required!
The sky’s the limit with Thinkific. Not only do we have great integrations with the most popular software, but we also have a great Zapier integration. If you’re looking for something really custom, we also have Webhooks and a well-documented API.
Drip Content
Grant access to more course material based on the date they signed up, or from the date the program started. Also as a bonus, Thinkific has pre-requisite lessons and courses as well.
Membership
Thinkific has lots of tools and features to create and grow an engaged community. There’s a reason why some of the biggest names in the industry such as Lewis Howes and Grant Cardone run their membership sites on Thinkific.
Udemy vs Thinkific Comparison Table
| Thinkific | Udemy | |
| Pricing | $99/month | Free |
| Transaction Fee | 0% | Up to 50% |
| Customer Support | ||
| Phone | Yes | No |
| Yes | Yes | |
| Student Experience | ||
| Send Personalized automated emails to your students | Yes | No |
| Student progress reporting | Yes | No |
| Quizzes, Surveys, Exams | Yes | Yes |
| Built in Student Discussion | Yes | Yes |
| Course reviews (social proof) | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple Instructors | Yes | No |
| Storyline, Captivate and more | Yes | No |
| Voice over presentations | Yes | Yes |
| Completion certificates | Yes | Yes |
| Marketing & Sales | ||
| Free, Paid and Subscription | Yes | No |
| Access your funds instantly | Yes | No |
| Coupons & Promotions | Yes | Yes |
| Upsells & Bundles | Yes | No |
| Groups Bulk sell courses, manage students and track progress of the students in the group | Yes | No |
| Advanced Marketing Integrations (ie: Mixpanel, InfusionSoft, Segment.io etc.) | Yes | No |
| Affiliate program | Yes | Yes |
| White Labeling | Yes | No |
| Marketplace | No | Yes |
| Features | ||
| Unlimited Courses, students | Yes | Yes |
| Drip Content | Yes | No |
| Time-Limited Courses | Yes | No |
| Prerequisite lessons and courses | Yes | No |
| Bulk import course content | Yes | No |
| Bulk Student Import / Enrollment | Yes | No |
| Site Builder – Drag and Drop Page designer | Yes | No |
| Themes and Color pickers | Yes | No |
| Easily add externally hosted content & apps | Yes | No |
| Custom Domains | Yes | No |
| Private / hidden courses | Yes | No |
| MailChimp Integration | Yes | No |
| Landing Page, Sales Page Custom HTML/CSS | Yes | No |
| Multiple Course/Site Admins | Yes | No |
See what our customers say
 |  |
We hope you’ve found this comparison of Thinkific vs Udemy useful. Features and support are constantly changing! This analysis was accurate to the best of our knowledge as of August 2021
