Thinkific vs Podia Pricing (2026)
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Team size
25 seats

Thinkific vs Podia

LMS & E-Learning pricing comparison · 2026

Thinkific costs $109–$499/mo, while Podia costs $42–$150/mo. These products use different pricing models ( vs Per-seat subscription), so a direct price comparison isn't meaningful — costs depend on usage volume and mix.

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Compare
2 products · LMS & E-Learning
Side-by-side · live
Thinkific
Thinkific pricing starts at $82/month billed annually (Start), $164/month billed annually
verified 3d ago
$708 $36K
View pricing →
Podia
Podia pricing starts at $42/month for the Mover plan, covering core course hosting and dig
verified 8d ago
$708 $36K
View pricing →
Recorded annual contract medians
Podia median is $35K less than Thinkific · different customer contracts; not a quote
Cheapest $708
Spread 98%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Grow
$66K/yr
year 1 license · $219/seat
Shaker
$1.0K/yr
year 1 license · flat plan price
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
Median annual
$36K/yr
Vendr · n=20
↓ Lowest median
Median annual
$708/yr
Vendr · n=53
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 21 sourced facts
14 hidden-cost · 4 contract · Vendr median · 2 review platforms
Last verified 3d ago
Confidence Medium confidence
Sources 14 sourced facts
9 hidden-cost · 2 contract · Vendr median · 2 review platforms
Last verified 1w ago
Confidence High confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
5 documented
  • Auto-Renewal Charges After Trial or Cancellation
    $99-$1,200
    4 sources
  • Thinkific Payments KYC Rejection Risk
    $500-$5,000
    4 sources
  • Community Features Sold as Paid Add-On
    10-25% of license costs
    1 source
  • Feature Lock-Up Requiring Repeated Plan Upgrades
    20-100% of license costs
    2 sources
  • Price Increases Over Time
    10-30% of license costs
    1 source
5 documented
  • Transaction fees on paid plans
    5-8% of license costs
    1 source
  • Email sending fees
    10-15% of license costs
    1 source
  • Zapier integration costs for basic functionality
    $20-$100/month
    1 source
  • Third-party video hosting required
    $7-$75/month
    1 source
  • Additional User Seat Costs
    5-15% of license costs
    1 source
REF · 04

Contract terms

The fine print, surfaced. Green = buyer-friendly. Each clause backed by a quoted source.

Thinkific
Podia
Auto-renewal
Yes
Yes
Cancellation
Not clearly disclosed; users report the UI shows 'no active subscription' after attempted cancellation while billing continues
—
Commitment
✓ Monthly or annual
—
Price escalation
Users report plan prices have increased over time as new features are added to the platform
Users report price increases year over year, including rising per-sale and per-email-send percentage charges
Can downgrade
—
—
Based on 6 verified sources (Vendr · TrustRadius · BBB)
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
TrustRadius
7.9out of 5 (10)
Trustpilot
1.2out of 5 (20)
Best for
Creators who need full commerce tools including live cohorts, certificates, and subscriptions
Watch out
Customer support is unresponsive or effectively non-existent
TrustRadius
7.7out of 5 (3)
Trustpilot
2out of 5 (25)
Best for
New creators just getting started with their first digital products
Watch out
Slow and unhelpful customer support, often limited to AI chatbot with long waits for human agents
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Thinkific pricing
Discount programs →
Visit Podia pricing
Discount programs →
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
LMS & E-Learning

Thinkific

$109–$499
/mo
4 plans
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
LMS & E-Learning

Podia

$42–$150
/mo
3 plans
Full pricing breakdown →
⚖

Different Pricing Models

Direct price comparison isn't meaningful here — Thinkific uses pricing while Podia uses Per-seat subscription pricing. Your actual cost will depend on usage volume, team size, or both. Here's each product in its native unit.

Thinkific

$109–$499/mo
See full Thinkific pricing →
vs
Per-seat subscription

Podia

$42–$150/mo
See full Podia pricing →

Thinkific and Podia both operate in the lms & e-learning category. This page compares their list pricing.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan Thinkific Podia
Start $109 /month $42 /month
Grow $219 /month $84 /month
Expand $499 /month $150 /month
Plus Custom —

Cost at Scale

Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.

Thinkific

3 scenarios
$82/month
Established Course Business — Start Plan
billed annually ($984/year, $82 × 12)
$164/month
Scaling Business With Communities — Grow Plan
billed annually ($1,968/year, $164 × 12)
Custom pricing (contact Thinkific sales)
Enterprise — Plus Plan

Podia

3 scenarios
$42/month
Hobbyist Creator with a Side Hustle
billed annually ($504/year) for the Mover plan. Payment processing fees come on top and scale with sales. Simple and affordable for low-volume sales.
$84/month
Growing Creator Ready to Scale
billed annually ($1008/year) for the Shaker plan. Payment processing fees and any email add-on for a larger subscriber list are extra and depend on sales and list size.
$84/month
Course Creator with Small Team
billed annually ($1008/year) for the Shaker plan. Additional team members, email for a 2,000-subscriber list, and payment processing fees are extra and vary with usage and sales.

Market Intelligence

Thinkific

Median annual cost
$35,958
Based on
20 deals

Podia

Median annual cost
$708
Based on
53 deals

What Users Say

Thinkific

Trustpilot
1.2out of 5 (20)
TrustRadius
7.9out of 10 (10)
Top complaints
  • Customer support is unresponsive or effectively non-existent
  • Unexpected charges after trial cancellation or subscription cancellation
  • Thinkific Payments funds withheld after KYC or approval denied post-launch

Podia

Trustpilot
2out of 5 (25)
TrustRadius
7.7out of 10 (3)
Top complaints
  • Slow and unhelpful customer support, often limited to AI chatbot with long waits for human agents
  • Accounts blocked without prior notice or explanation, with no human support available to resolve
  • Platform instability, bugs, and unreliable checkout and payment processing

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

Thinkific 6 hidden costs

critical
Auto-Renewal Charges After Trial or Cancellation $99-$1,200 (source dated Jul 2026)
critical
Thinkific Payments KYC Rejection Risk $500-$5,000 (source dated Jul 2026)
medium
Community Features Sold as Paid Add-On 10-25% of license costs
high
Feature Lock-Up Requiring Repeated Plan Upgrades 20-100% of license costs
medium
Price Increases Over Time 10-30% of license costs
See all Thinkific hidden costs →

Podia 8 hidden costs

medium
Transaction fees on paid plans 5-8% of license costs
medium
Email sending fees 10-15% of license costs
high
Zapier integration costs for basic functionality $20-$100/month
critical
Third-party video hosting required $7-$75/month (source dated Sep 2024)
medium
Additional User Seat Costs 5-15% of license costs
See all Podia hidden costs →

Contract Terms

Term Thinkific Podia
Auto-renewal Yes Yes
Cancellation Not clearly disclosed; users report the UI shows 'no active subscription' after attempted cancellation while billing continues —
Minimum commitment Monthly or annual —
Price escalation Users report plan prices have increased over time as new features are added to the platform Users report price increases year over year, including rising per-sale and per-email-send percentage charges

Continue researching

Thinkific

Podia

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