Teachable vs Thinkific: the 7.5% fee that flips the math
On sticker price, Teachable's Starter plan wins by $7/mo. But Teachable Starter takes 7.5% of every sale and Thinkific takes 0% — so for anyone actually selling courses, the "cheaper" plan is usually the more expensive one. Here's the exact crossover.
Prices verified 2026-07-13 from official pricing pages · annual billing.
Entry plans, head to head
| Teachable Starter | Thinkific Basic | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly (annual billing) | $29 | $36 |
| Base per year | $348 | $432 |
| Transaction fee | 7.5% | 0% |
The crossover: ~$1,120/yr in sales
Thinkific Basic costs $84/yr more in base fees ($432 − $348). Teachable Starter's 7.5% fee reaches $84 at $1,120/yr in course sales ($84 ÷ 0.075). So:
| Course sales/yr | Teachable Starter | Thinkific Basic | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $423 | $432 | Teachable (barely) |
| $5,000 | $723 | $432 | Thinkific by $291 |
| $20,000 | $1,848 | $432 | Thinkific by $1,416 |
| $50,000 | $4,098 | $432 | Thinkific by $3,666 |
The verdict: unless you're making almost nothing, Thinkific Basic beats Teachable Starter — and the gap explodes as you sell more, because Teachable keeps taking 7.5% while Thinkific's fee stays $0. Teachable only becomes fee-competitive on its Builder plan ($69/mo, 0% fee) — but at that point you're comparing $69 vs Thinkific's $36 Basic or $74 Start.
When Teachable still makes sense
Price isn't everything. Teachable's affiliate/partner tools, its checkout, and its coaching products differ from Thinkific's course-builder focus. If a specific Teachable feature maps to how you sell, it can be worth the fee. But if you're choosing on cost, the transaction fee is the number that matters — not the monthly sticker.
Check your exact numbers
Run your real course revenue through the cost calculator — it computes true cost including transaction fees for Teachable, Thinkific and Kajabi, and shows which plan actually wins at your sales level.
Sources
Teachable: teachable.com/pricing (Starter 7.5% fee, Builder+ 0%), 2026-07-13. Thinkific: thinkific.com/pricing (0% transaction fee all plans), 2026-07-13. Both also charge standard payment-processor fees (~2.9%), excluded here as roughly equal.