Thinkific Pricing 2026: Plans, Fees and What It Really Costs
Thinkific's plans and prices in 2026, what each one gates, the gateway fee if you use your own Stripe, Thinkific Payments' rates and payouts, and what a year really costs.
Thinkific is an established course platform with unlimited courses on every plan, mature commerce tools and an enterprise tier. It starts at $109 a month, and what you pay on each sale depends on one choice: Thinkific's own payment system, or your own Stripe or PayPal account, which carries an extra fee.
Below is every Thinkific plan with its price, what each one includes and gates, the fees, payouts, the extras that cost more, and what a year really costs. Figures come from Thinkific's own pricing page and help center.
The short answer
Thinkific costs $109, $219 or $499 a month (Start, Grow and Expand), or $82, $164 or $374 a month billed yearly, with Plus priced by sales. There's no free plan, but a 30-day free trial. Thinkific Payments charges 2.9% + 30¢ for US cards with no platform fee; using your own Stripe or PayPal adds 2%, 1% or 0.5% by plan.
Key takeaways
- Every plan includes unlimited courses, quizzes, assignments, certificates, bundles, memberships, payment plans and Zoom sessions.
- Grow ($164 a month billed yearly) adds PayPal, removes Thinkific branding, and unlocks bulk email, the API and webhooks.
- Your own Stripe or PayPal costs 2% on Start, 1% on Grow and 0.5% on Expand, on the first $1 million of sales each calendar year.
- Thinkific Payments adds 0.7% on subscriptions and payment plans and 1.5% on international cards; US payouts take about two business days.
- A branded mobile app is a $199-a-month add-on.
Disclosure: we make Klasira, a course platform that competes with Thinkific. Every price and rule here comes from Thinkific's own public pages, checked in October 2026 and linked at the end. Prices change, so confirm on the vendor's page before you buy.
Thinkific plans and prices
Prices are in US dollars. Yearly billing saves 25%. All self-serve plans start with a 30-day free trial and can be changed or cancelled at any time.
| Plan | Monthly billing | Billed yearly | Admins / communities | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | $109/month | $82/month ($984 a year) | 2 / 1 | Solo creators selling courses and memberships |
| Grow | $219/month | $164/month ($1,968 a year) | 6 / 3 | Growing schools that want PayPal, the API and their brand only |
| Expand | $499/month | $374/month ($4,488 a year) | 15 / 10 | Established teams that need white-label email and large communities |
| Plus | Talk to sales | Talk to sales | By plan / unlimited | Enterprise training with SSO, SCORM and learning paths |
How much does Thinkific cost per month?
Thinkific Start is $109 a month, Grow $219 and Expand $499 on monthly billing. Billed yearly, they're $82, $164 and $374 a month: $984, $1,968 and $4,488 a year. Thinkific Plus, the enterprise tier, is quoted by sales at a flat rate with no per-learner fees.
Thinkific's strength is what even Start includes: unlimited published courses, a drag-and-drop course builder, quizzes, assignments, completion certificates, Zoom meetings and webinars, bundles, memberships, payment plans, abandoned cart recovery, a custom domain and affiliate reporting. Teachable and LearnWorlds keep some of those for higher plans (see Teachable pricing and LearnWorlds pricing).
What does each Thinkific plan include?
| Start | Grow | Expand | Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admins | 2 | 6 | 15 | By plan |
| Communities / spaces | 1 / 10 | 3 / 20 | 10 / 200 | Unlimited |
| Live events in communities | 5 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Video bandwidth | 200 GB/month | 400 GB/month | 1,000 GB/month | From 7,500 GB/month |
| Current students | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | Custom |
| Group size (team training) | 50 | 100 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| PayPal payments | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Remove Thinkific branding | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bulk email, B2B sales and invoicing | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| API, webhooks and Zapier actions | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Email white-labeling, custom SSL | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| SSO, SCORM, exams, learning paths | No | No | No | Yes |
| Support | Email and chat | Phone and priority chat | Phone and priority chat | Dedicated success team |
Two limits are easy to miss: 10,000 current students on every self-serve plan, and monthly video bandwidth, which a popular free course can use up on Start. One inconsistency: the comparison table leaves PayPal off Start, while Thinkific's FAQ lists PayPal as a supported gateway without naming plans.
Does Thinkific charge transaction fees?
Not on Thinkific Payments, its built-in processor, where you pay processing only. Connect your own Stripe or PayPal instead and Thinkific adds a third-party gateway fee on top of Stripe's or PayPal's own:
| Plan | Gateway fee on your own Stripe or PayPal |
|---|---|
| Start | 2% |
| Grow | 1% |
| Expand | 0.5% |
| Plus | None at this time |
The fee applies to the first $1 million of sales processed that way in each calendar year, then Thinkific waives it. Thinkific's help center has also said direct Stripe needs Grow or above while listing a Start rate, so confirm what your plan allows.
Thinkific Payments charges these rates in the US:
| Thinkific Payments (US) | Fee |
|---|---|
| Cards | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| International cards | +1.5% |
| Currency conversion | +1% |
| Subscriptions and payment plans | +0.7% |
| Instant payouts | 1.5% |
When we checked Thinkific's help center earlier in October 2026, it also listed a 0.5% charge on transactions where Thinkific assesses tax. The current pricing page presents tax handling as part of Thinkific's commerce tools without mentioning a fee, so ask Thinkific which applies to you.
How and when does Thinkific pay you?
Thinkific Payments pays US creators about two business days after a sale, and the pricing page says Thinkific adds no hold period of its own. Instant payouts cost 1.5% in the US. With your own Stripe or PayPal, you're paid on their schedule instead, and you handle sales tax yourself.
What costs extra on Thinkific?
- Branded mobile app: $199 a month; included on select Plus plans.
- Your own payment gateway: 2%, 1% or 0.5% of sales, by plan.
- Recurring billing: 0.7% on each subscription or installment payment on Thinkific Payments.
- Moving up for one feature: PayPal, the API and removing Thinkific branding all start on Grow, $82 a month more than Start on yearly billing.
Is there a free plan or free trial?
Not a free plan. Every self-serve plan starts with a 30-day free trial, and you can upgrade, downgrade or cancel at any time, including during the trial.
Which Thinkific plan should you choose?
- Start if you sell courses and memberships on Thinkific Payments and don't need PayPal or the API.
- Grow if you want PayPal, bulk email, B2B invoicing, your brand only, or integrations through the API, webhooks and Zapier.
- Expand for teams that need 15 admins, many communities, more bandwidth or white-labeled email.
- Plus for enterprise training with SSO, SCORM and learning paths.
Weighing it against its closest rival? Read Teachable vs Thinkific or the best Thinkific alternatives.
What it costs on real sales
Example (illustration, not data): $60,000 of course sales in a year, as 300 sales of $200 to US cardholders, on yearly billing where offered. Card processing of about 2.9% + 30¢ a sale (about $1,830 here) comes on top on every platform unless a row says it's included, so it's left out of the totals.
On Thinkific Payments, the 0.7% on subscriptions and payment plans would add up to $420 if all $60,000 came in installments.
To run the numbers with your own prices and sales, try our course platform fee calculator.
| Plan | Plan cost for the year | Platform fee on $60,000 | Plan plus platform fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thinkific Start, Thinkific Payments | $984 | $0 | $984 |
| Thinkific Start, your own Stripe | $984 | $1,200 (2%) | $2,184 |
| Thinkific Grow, Thinkific Payments | $1,968 | $0 | $1,968 |
| Thinkific Grow, your own Stripe | $1,968 | $600 (1%) | $2,568 |
| Thinkific Expand, your own Stripe | $4,488 | $300 (0.5%) | $4,788 |
| Klasira | See pricing | $0 (0%) | The plan price only |
How Thinkific's fees compare with Klasira
Thinkific is cheapest on fees through Thinkific Payments and charges a gateway fee when you bring your own Stripe. Klasira works the other way round: it sells only through your own Stripe account and adds 0% on any plan.
Klasira: 0% transaction fees on every plan, with each sale paid into your own Stripe account. Plan prices are on Klasira's pricing page; we leave them out here so this post doesn't go stale when they change.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Thinkific cost per month?
Start is $109, Grow $219 and Expand $499 a month, or $82, $164 and $374 a month billed yearly. Plus is custom.
Does Thinkific charge transaction fees?
No platform fee on Thinkific Payments. With your own Stripe or PayPal it adds 2% on Start, 1% on Grow or 0.5% on Expand, on up to $1 million of sales a year.
Does Thinkific have a free plan?
Not for new sign-ups. Every self-serve plan starts with a 30-day free trial.
Are certificates on every Thinkific plan?
Yes. Completion certificates, quizzes and assignments are on Start and up; exams are on Plus.
How much is the Thinkific mobile app?
The branded mobile app is a $199-a-month add-on, included on select Plus plans.
Try Klasira with your own course
If you'd rather keep your own Stripe without a gateway fee, try one course in Klasira and compare. Pick a theme, add one course and connect Stripe, then judge it on your own material. Start your school or see pricing.
Related: Klasira vs Thinkific, course platform transaction fees compared, Teachable pricing, Kajabi pricing, all course platform pricing and alternatives.
Sources
Details about other companies in this post were checked against these public pages in October 2026. Products, prices and rules change, so confirm with each source before you decide.
More on course platform pricing and alternatives
7 Best Kajabi Alternatives in 2026 (Cheaper and Leaner)
7 Best Thinkific Alternatives in 2026 (Cheaper Options Too)
7 Best Teachable Alternatives in 2026, Compared
Teachable Pricing 2026: How Much Teachable Really Costs
Circle Pricing (2026): Plans, Transaction Fees and Add-ons
