Thinkific vs Podia Pricing (2026)
Compare / Thinkific vs Podia
Shortlist
Team size
25 seats

Thinkific vs Podia

LMS & E-Learning pricing comparison · 2026

Thinkific pricing ranges from $49–$199/month, while Podia ranges from $42–$150/month. 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.

Visit
See pricing on each vendor's site
Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Thinkific pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Visit Podia pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Compare
2 products · LMS & E-Learning
Side-by-side · live
Thinkific
Thinkific pricing starts at $49/month (Basic), $99/month (Start), and $199/month (Grow) on
verified 8w ago
$708 $36K
View pricing →
Podia
Podia is a streamlined all-in-one platform for creators to sell online courses, digital do
verified 4w ago
$708 $36K
View pricing →
Verdict · Vendr median · year 1
Podia saves $35K vs Thinkific · 25 seats
Cheapest $708
Spread 98%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Start
$30K/yr
year 1 license · $99/seat
Shaker
$25K/yr
year 1 license · $84/seat
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 22 sourced facts
15 hidden-cost · 4 contract · Vendr median · 2 review platforms
Last verified 1mo ago
Confidence Medium confidence
Sources 8 sourced facts
4 hidden-cost · 1 contract · Vendr median · 2 review platforms
Last verified 1mo 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
  • Transaction Fees on Free Plan
    10% of course revenue
    1 source
  • 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
4 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
REF · 04

Contract terms

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

Thinkific
Podia
Auto-renewal
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
Can downgrade
—
—
Based on 5 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
Hobbyists and first-time creators wanting a low-cost entry point
Watch out
Customer support is unresponsive or effectively non-existent
TrustRadius
7.7out of 5 (3)
Trustpilot
2out of 5 (24)
Best for
New creators just getting started with their first digital products
Watch out
Poor and slow customer support
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Thinkific pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Visit Podia pricing
Free plan limits → 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

$49–$199
/month
4 plans
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
LMS & E-Learning

Podia

$42–$150
/month
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

$49–$199 / month
See full Thinkific pricing →
vs
Per-seat subscription

Podia

$42–$150 / month
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
Basic $49 /month $42 /month
Start $99 /month $84 /month
Grow $199 /month $150 /month
Plus Custom —

Cost at Scale

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

Thinkific

5 scenarios
$0/month
Solo Creator — Free Plan with Paid Course Sales
+ $1 + 10% per paid sale
$49/month ($588/year at monthly billing)
Growing Creator — Basic Plan
$99/month ($1,188/year at monthly billing)
Established Course Business — Start Plan
See all 5 scenarios →

Podia

3 scenarios
Mover plan at $33/month (annual) + 5% transaction fee ($25/mo) + Stripe processing (~$15/mo) = ~$73/month total. Simple and affordable for low-volume sales.
Hobbyist Creator with a Side Hustle
Shaker plan at $75/month (annual) + 0% transaction fees + Stripe processing (~$90/mo) + email add-on for 500 subscribers (~$15/mo) = ~$180/month total. The 0% fee saves $150/mo vs Mover at this revenue.
Growing Creator Ready to Scale
Shaker plan at $75/month (annual) + 2 team members ($40/mo) + email for 2,000 subscribers (~$30/mo) + Stripe processing (~$236/mo) = ~$381/month total.
Course Creator with Small Team

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 (24)
TrustRadius
7.7out of 10 (3)
Top complaints
  • Poor and slow customer support
  • Platform instability and bugs
  • Account locking without warning

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

Thinkific 7 hidden costs

critical
Auto-Renewal Charges After Trial or Cancellation $99-$1,200
critical
Thinkific Payments KYC Rejection Risk $500-$5,000
high
Transaction Fees on Free Plan 10% of course revenue
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
See all Thinkific hidden costs →

Podia 4 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
See all Podia hidden costs →

Contract Terms

Term Thinkific Podia
Auto-renewal 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

Continue researching

Thinkific

Podia

Related Comparisons