Thinkific or Teachable: check student access and applicable fees

Analysis of official documentation, with no testing on a paid account.

Differences that change choice

Separate price of product sold

A course can be sold alone, in a set or with a subscription. Define the expected access to each step: purchase, deadline, refund and end of subscription. A video library is not enough if the commercial product includes tracking or a community.

Thinkific distinguishes several types of products and functions according to the offers. At Teachable, product limits and rules of use must be verified on the current contract. Do not promise an unlimited number without understanding any associated thresholds and fees.

Have the fees confirmed for your situation

The Teachable documents consulted present different generations of offers and limits. Request a summary of the plan, published products, manual entries and payment processing fees. This verification is necessary before transposing an old grid to a new account.

For Thinkific as for Teachable, review the availability of payment solutions in your country and their pricing. Distinguish platform commission, payment processing and possible integration supplement. A zero rate on a line does not mean that the sale has no charge.

Test a student's difficulty

Prepare a fictitious module and ask a user to resume progress on another device. Add a question to the media and simulate an access change. Check if the trainer easily finds what happened and can explain the situation.

Choose on this complete operation, adding the export of students and recoverable content. Thinkific or Teachable may be suitable according to the educational format and contract. The decision must await clarification of the ambiguous costs; a promise of turnover or educational success is not a criterion verified in this file.

Example: Selling a training course to a small group

Consider this example: a trainer prepares six modules for twenty participants, with a video, a practical scenario and individual feedback for each module. Start by creating just one module and ask a test user to work through it. Check that they can find the instructions and their progress on a phone, then that the trainer can find their request for help.

Thinkific documents recurring price settings in the Product Pricing tab, with frequency and possible first personalized payment. The help specifies that a free trial and a first personalized payment cannot be applied together. This may change a planned commercial offer on paper.

A calculation of costs before fixing its price

The grid Teachable Viewed 11 October 2026 lists transaction fees of 7,5 % for Starter, compared with 0 % platform fees for Builder. A purely arithmetic example: on a hypothetical fee base of 1 000 $, 7,5 % is 75 $, before the subscription and other charges. This calculation makes no assumption about your actual fee base or payment country.

Compare the total cost of two realistic sales scenarios, then check enrolment, a simulated refund, access after the subscription ends and a useful export for tracking students. We could not recheck the Teachable help page detailing fees during this review; confirm the processing fees and conditions for your account before buying.

Reviews to consult

• Thinkific
• Teachable