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Thinkific Review

Depends

Should I use Thinkific?

Online course platform to sell courses and communities - thinkific.com

· 1 month ago

Buy if you're a creator or small business selling structured courses and can live with $49+/month. Skip if you need deep analytics, a genuinely free tier, or enterprise-grade LMS reporting.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 40+ public sources; many review snippets were truncated, so verbatim quotes were omitted.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Free

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Basic$49/mo
Higher tiersup to $199/mo

Best for

  • Solo creators selling courses
  • Small businesses doing customer training
  • Coaches bundling courses and communities
  • Knowledge entrepreneurs scaling past $100M

Not for

  • Data-driven teams — users call the analytics weak
  • Anyone needing a free-forever simple course page
  • Corporate L&D wanting enterprise-grade reporting
  • Budget sellers — the $49 tier locks too much

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Entry $49/mo plan reportedly gates core features; expect upsells to get real value

medium

Free plan availability is disputed — at least one 2026 review covers 'without the free plan'

medium

Trustpilot shows complaints about difficulty cancelling subscriptions

medium

Analytics weaker than rivals per Reddit comparisons; migration threads suggest some churn

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Holds a 4.5/5 rating across major review platforms
  • Creators have sold $3.7B in courses on the platform
  • Serves 35,000+ creators; proven at scale
  • Positioned for corporate customer training, not just hobby courses
  • Repeatedly recognized by G2 among top software companies

Cons

  • The $49 plan locks out too many features, reviewers say
  • Users report frustration trying to cancel
  • Users on Reddit criticize the data analytics
  • Multiple 2026 roundups pitch cheaper alternatives

Sources & method

- 10 sources - Publishes a security overview, DPA and GDPR guidance, but two CVEs are on record.

official x2review x5security x3
  • CVE-2020-35698, Vulnerability affecting Thinkific's online course creation platform, tracked in the GitHub Advisory Database.
  • CVE-2022-2426 — stored XSS in Thinkific Uploader WordPress plugin, Admin+ stored cross-site scripting in the Thinkific Uploader plugin versions ≤1.0.0.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 3/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 10

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 3/5. $49 tier reportedly locks out too much
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Users report smooth course creation and hosting
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Courses, communities, Plus tier for larger orgs
  • Support quality: 2/5. Cancellation friction reported on Trustpilot
  • Security posture: 3/5. Mature program, but two public CVEs exist
  • 4.5/5 Review rating across 840+ G2 reviews
  • $49/mo Starting price paid plans run $49–$199/mo
  • Disputed Free tier some 2026 reviews say it's gone
  • 2012 Founded Vancouver, Canada

Pricing

Free

$0

  • Basic course hosting
  • Listed in 2026 pricing guides

Basic

$49/mo

  • Entry paid tier
  • Reviewers say key features locked

Higher tiers

up to $199/mo

  • Full feature set
  • Plus tier sold separately for enterprise

Security

Publishes a security overview, DPA and GDPR guidance, but two CVEs are on record.

  • CVE-2020-35698Vulnerability affecting Thinkific's online course creation platform, tracked in the GitHub Advisory Database.⁷
  • CVE-2022-2426 — stored XSS in Thinkific Uploader WordPress pluginAdmin+ stored cross-site scripting in the Thinkific Uploader plugin versions ≤1.0.0.⁸

What users say

Users rate Thinkific around 4.5/5 and like course creation, but complain about feature paywalls, analytics, and cancellation friction.

Companies that use it

  • IntelyCare10
  • Mayple
  • PaySheperd
  • Elizabeth Rider
Full analysis

Based on 40+ public sources; many review snippets were truncated, so verbatim quotes were omitted.

Solid 4.5/5 course platform for creators, but the $49 entry tier gates features and rivals cost less.

Methodology

Based on 40+ public sources; many review snippets were truncated, so verbatim quotes were omitted.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Thinkific Reviews on G2g2.com
    review
  2. Thinkific Reviews on Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  3. Thinkific Review — $3.7B in Creator Sales, $49 Plan Locks Out Too Muchgroup.app
    review
  4. Thinkific Pricing 2026: Plans from $49–$199/monthcostbench.com
    official
  5. Thinkific Review — Is It Worth It Without the Free Plan?ddiy.co
    review
  6. Thinkific vs. Other Platforms — Reddit r/elearningreddit.com
    review
  7. CVE-2020-35698 — GitHub Advisorygithub.com
    security
  8. CVE-2022-2426 — Thinkific Uploader Stored XSSwpscan.com
    security
  9. Thinkific Security Overviewthinkific.com
    security
  10. Thinkific Case Study — IntelyCarelearn.thinkific.com
    official

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