Top 4 Thinkific Alternatives in 2025 (insider perspective)
Get an insider's perspective on the best Thinkific alternatives in 2025. Discover how Esmerise, Kajabi, Podia, Teachable compare in ease of use, features, pricing, and more.
Introduction
Unlike most “Thinkific alternatives” articles you’ll find online, which just list features and prices of similar platforms in a superficial way, here you’ll get a different perspective.
We’re the team behind Esmerise, and over the years we’ve helped hundreds of creators migrate not only from Thinkific, but also from the other platforms we’ll discuss here. This has given us a unique and practical understanding of how these solutions really work for creators. We know them in depth: exactly where each one shines, where it causes friction, and which specific types of creators it is (or isn’t) really built for.
We’re happy to share all this with you: you’ll find a pragmatic review of all the best alternatives to Thinkific. Of course, we’ll also talk about Esmerise, our own platform, which we engineered specifically to address the gaps and opportunities we discovered through direct experience.
Our goal is to give you the clarity you need to make a truly strategic decision. The platform you choose will in fact have a huge impact on your efficiency, your students’ experience, and your business success. Let’s get started!
We’re the team behind Esmerise, and over the years we’ve helped hundreds of creators migrate not only from Thinkific, but also from the other platforms we’ll discuss here. This has given us a unique and practical understanding of how these solutions really work for creators. We know them in depth: exactly where each one shines, where it causes friction, and which specific types of creators it is (or isn’t) really built for.
We’re happy to share all this with you: you’ll find a pragmatic review of all the best alternatives to Thinkific. Of course, we’ll also talk about Esmerise, our own platform, which we engineered specifically to address the gaps and opportunities we discovered through direct experience.
Our goal is to give you the clarity you need to make a truly strategic decision. The platform you choose will in fact have a huge impact on your efficiency, your students’ experience, and your business success. Let’s get started!
What does Thinkific really offer, and what criteria do we use to evaluate the best alternatives?
Thinkific is a solid and flexible platform, among the most well-known and established for creating online courses. The main reasons we hear from people migrating away from Thinkific are:
These weaknesses fall within the strategic criteria we will use to evaluate each alternative:
- High costs for a professional brand: removing the Thinkific logo requires the $195/month plan, and the branded app costs an extra $199/month.
- Non-integrated learning experience: like other traditional platforms, courses and community are separate environments. Gamification is not native and requires third-party apps, resulting in a rather outdated student experience.
- Costly and imperfect mobile experience: the branded Thinkific student app leaves much to be desired, as reflected in critical iOS reviews. There is also no dedicated creator app for full business management on the go.
These weaknesses fall within the strategic criteria we will use to evaluate each alternative:
- User experience and ease of use: is the platform an accelerator for your business or a brake that requires constant learning?
- Marketing and sales tools: is the page builder powerful and intuitive enough? Is it easy to integrate with external tools?
- Community and engagement: does the platform combine courses, community, and gamification into a modern learning experience?
- Mobile experience (creator and students): does it offer a single unified, branded app?
- Value for money (real value): is the cost sustainable and justified by the growth features offered?
Teachable: the traditional choice
📌 For a more direct comparison, check out our article Thinkific vs Teachable.
| Key Metric | Rating |
|---|---|
| User Experience | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Very easy at first, but can become limiting) |
| Community & Gamification | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Basic features, not integrated with courses) |
| Mobile Experience & App | ⭐️⭐️ (App only for iOS students, no branding options) |
| Marketing & Sales | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Essential tools that work well) |
| Value for Money | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Great to get started, less convenient on advanced plans) |
What it’s really like to build and take a course on Teachable?
Teachable’s course editor is functional and very intuitive for beginners, thanks to its drag-and-drop system now common to most platforms. However, the student experience is quite pragmatic: it relies on a traditional content list that’s completely separate from any community features, which doesn’t encourage engagement or the feeling of being part of a shared journey. This feels increasingly limiting in 2025, especially compared to more modern platforms.The same can be said for the app and mobile experience, which is pretty disappointing: as a creator, there’s no dedicated app for you, though you can manage things from a mobile browser. For your students, the official app is only available for iOS (leaving Android users out), you can’t customize it with your own branding (not even as an add-on), and it doesn’t integrate the community feature, making it ultimately incomplete.
Community and gamification (student engagement)
Teachable was one of the first online course platforms, and you can feel its “age” especially in the student experience. The community feature is there, but it’s still kept separate from courses: you can link to it, but there’s no native integration, so interactions aren’t really contextual. As for gamification, it’s simply not there. In short: Teachable still offers a very traditional, functional but not very engaging experience. If you want to build a real community or use modern engagement tools, it’s probably not the best alternative for you.
What’s it like to sell and monetize your digital products on Teachable?
Teachable provides reliable tools to sell courses, bundles, subscriptions, and payment plans, with decent flexibility.There are two payment options:
- Teachable:Pay (integrated): Easy to set up for cards and PayPal, but payouts follow Teachable’s own schedule.
- Custom gateways (Stripe/PayPal): More control, but PayPal only works together with Stripe and only for one-time payments in USD, an important limitation for many in Europe.
How much does Teachable really cost?
The basic plan starts at $59/month and allows up to 5 products of each type, great for starting out. However, if you want advanced features (like connecting your own domain), higher plans are less competitive and quickly become more expensive than many alternatives.
Our Insider Perspective
💡 Teachable is great for those starting a simple project on a reliable, established platform. However, its lack of true innovation, perhaps due to its acquisition by Hotmart, and a less engaging mobile and student experience make it increasingly uncompetitive. These are the main reasons why creators we've helped have chosen to migrate to Esmerise.
Podia: the simple and affordable option
📌 For a more direct comparison, check out our article Thinkific vs Podia.
| Key Metric | Rating |
|---|---|
| User Experience | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Extremely simple and intuitive) |
| Community & Gamification | ⭐️⭐️ (Functional community but separated, gamification absent) |
| Mobile Experience & App | ⭐️ (No native app for creators or students) |
| Marketing & Sales | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Excellent page builder and flexible product management) |
| Value for Money | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Great value, generous plans) |
What is it really like to create and take a course on Podia?
The course creation experience on Podia is one of its strongest points. The interface is clean, modern, and very intuitive, making it quick and frictionless to set up your courses. However, the student experience, while visually appealing, still relies on the traditional list of contents. The community, although functional, remains a separate product and is not smoothly integrated into the lessons, which limits contextual interactions.The biggest compromise of this approach shows up on mobile: Podia doesn’t offer any native app, for creators or students. While the website is well-optimized for mobile browsers, the total absence of a dedicated app is a significant strategic limitation in 2025, reducing accessibility and engagement for users on the go.
Community and gamification (student engagement)
Podia offers a well-designed and flexible community feature that lets you create both public and private spaces. However, like other platforms from its generation, the community is treated as a separate product from the course experience (even if it can be linked, like in Teachable). Gamification, on the other hand, is completely missing. In short, the lack of a dedicated app, absence of gamification, and a community that’s detached from the learning flow may result in a less engaging experience for students.
What is it like to sell and monetize your digital products on Podia?
Podia stands out for those selling not only courses, but also digital downloads, webinars, and community memberships. Payment processing is handled through the usual partners, Stripe and PayPal, and you’ll need to connect an account to receive funds. One of Podia’s biggest strengths is its page builder: it’s one of the most modern and intuitive on the market, letting you create professional sales pages effortlessly using well-designed templates. There’s also a built-in basic email marketing system (with a small additional cost) and a solid set of direct integrations.How much does Podia really cost?
Its pricing is one of its strongest advantages. The plans are simple, transparent, and very affordable. The base "Mover" plan (about $39/month) already offers unlimited products with a small 5% fee, while the "Shaker" plan (around $89/month) removes it entirely. There are no hidden fees for essential features, making Podia one of the most budget-friendly alternatives on the market.
Our Insider Perspective
💡 Podia offers one of the best value-for-money ratios on the market. It’s extremely user-friendly, and its page builder is excellent, making it ideal for those selling multiple digital products. However, its biggest drawback is the complete lack of a mobile app for both creators and students. This is the main reason creators cite when migrating to Esmerise.
Kajabi: the powerful all-in-one option
📌 For a more direct comparison, check out our article Thinkific vs Kajabi.
| Key Metric | Rating |
|---|---|
| User experience | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (well designed but sometimes complex) |
| Community & gamification | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (separate community, very limited gamification) |
| Mobile experience & app | ⭐️⭐️ (fragmented ecosystem, branded app is expensive) |
| Marketing & sales | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (very good, but with restrictive limits on base plans) |
| Value for money | ⭐️⭐️ (very expensive, entry plans not convenient) |
What is it really like to create and follow a course on Kajabi?
Kajabi’s editor is powerful and full of features, which results in a slightly steeper initial learning curve compared to, for example, Thinkific. Creators who migrated to Esmerise from Kajabi have often told us that day-to-day use feels cumbersome, with many functions that end up never being used. The student experience is rather traditional, based on a visually unappealing list of lessons and completely separated from the community.The mobile ecosystem is unfortunately its biggest weakness: it is split across three different apps (creator, students, community), creating a confusing user experience. The creator app is also very limited to a statistics dashboard, and although it is possible to have a branded app for students, it requires an expensive monthly add-on.
Community and gamification
Kajabi offers a dedicated platform, Kajabi Communities, which is a solid choice if you want to sell a community as a standalone product (and very powerful for this specific use). However, it’s designed more as a separate entity, likely developed over time following the success of platforms dedicated exclusively to community features. The limitation becomes clear when you try to integrate it with courses: the community is intended to be its own separate world, as shown by the fact that students need one app for courses and another for the community. Native gamification is also absent within courses and is only available, with some basic features, in the community platform.
What is it like to sell and monetize your digital products on Kajabi?
Kajabi offers a very extensive suite of tools: you can sell courses, coaching, memberships, and even podcasts. Its page builder is one of its strengths, with good-quality templates and plenty of flexibility. However, the built-in email marketing system is heavily limited in the basic plan (only 250 contacts), and the decision to block essential integrations (such as Zapier and Google Analytics) in the lower-tier plans creates an isolated and impractical ecosystem for beginners.How much does Kajabi really cost?
Pricing is Kajabi’s biggest drawback. The basic plan (about $89/month) is almost unusable, limiting you to just one product. To gain even minimal operational freedom, you quickly need to upgrade to the $159/month plan. If you want a custom-branded app, you’ll have to add an extra $199/month. These limits and extra costs make the platform very expensive for those looking to grow. However, if cost is not an issue for your business, in terms of features alone Kajabi ranks as the most complete all-in-one on the market.
Our Insider Perspective
💡 Kajabi is the choice for those with a high budget who need a mature 'all-in-one' marketing ecosystem. However, its complexity, prohibitive costs, and a fragmented, dated user experience are the main reasons why creators we've helped have chosen to migrate. It's a powerful platform, but often oversized and not agile enough for the needs of the modern creator.
Esmerise: the modern all-in-one with a native app
What’s it really like to create and follow a course on Esmerise?
Esmerise redefines course creation by removing the divide between backend and frontend. As a creator, you build and edit content "in-context", seeing exactly what your students will see in real time. For them, learning isn’t just a list of lessons, it’s an integrated learning ecosystem, where courses, community, and gamification work together to dramatically boost engagement and completion rates.This philosophy extends seamlessly to mobile. Esmerise offers a unified native app for both you and your students, a unique feature in this industry. You can manage your entire academy from your phone with no limitations. Your students access all content and interactions in a consistent and professional space. Most importantly, the app is customizable with your icon starting from the mid-tier plan, without the high extra costs typical of other platforms.
The platform is also fully localized in 4 languages (Italian, English, Spanish, and French), with customer support available in all of them, and includes a full video walkthrough to help you make the most of every feature.
Community & Gamification (Student Engagement)
Modern learning science is clear: isolated and passive learning doesn’t work. Studies published in leading academic journals (such as Computers & Education and the British Journal of Educational Technology) consistently show that the most effective online courses create synergy between content, social interaction, and motivation. When students feel part of a shared journey and see their progress recognized, completion rates increase dramatically.Esmerise was built from the ground up on this principle, offering a truly integrated learning environment that includes the option to activate a forum section and group chat, both seamlessly embedded within the course space.
This is further enhanced by a flexible and native gamification system. You can create a real internal economy 🏆 with points, badges, and rewards to recognize consistency and progress, turning learning from a passive task into an engaging journey.
Community and gamification are no longer add-ons, but core elements of the new generation of digital learning paths.
How does selling and monetizing your digital products work on Esmerise?
Esmerise takes a centralized and powerful approach, allowing you to create products that combine courses, community, and gamification in one single offer. Payment management is extremely flexible (Stripe, PayPal, installments, multi-currency), and the strategic advantage lies in the many direct native integrations with leading industry tools, eliminating the need for Zapier for common automations.How much does Esmerise really cost?
Esmerise pricing plans are designed to include premium features without outrageous add-on fees. The basic plan already includes unlimited products, but the real competitive edge is in the intermediate tier: the fully customizable mobile app with your brand is included, a feature that on other platforms can cost hundreds of euros more per month. The goal is to give you all the tools to grow, with no surprises. We believe that Esmerise currently offers the best value for money on the market, whether you're just starting out or already have an established brand and want to stand out.
Our Insider Perspective
💡 Esmerise is not just an alternative, but a direct response to the limitations of traditional platforms. Instead of separating courses, community, and mobile, we’ve integrated everything into one powerful and intuitive ecosystem. An exceptional student experience is the biggest accelerator for a creator's business, and our entire platform is built on this principle, from the app included in the price, to the human support that guides you in your growth, to the revolutionary 'in-context' creation experience. Esmerise is the best alternative for those who want to stand out from the competition and build a successful business in the 2025 landscape.
Final comparison: Teachable vs Podia vs Kajabi vs Esmerise
| Key Aspect | Kajabi | Teachable | Podia | Esmerise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usability & interface | ⏳ Learning curve 🧩 Complex interface | ✅ Very simple ⚠️ Becomes limiting | ✅ Very simple ✨ Modern interface | ✅ Intuitive & smooth ✨ In-context interface |
| Student experience | 👴 Traditional 🧊 Isolated community | 👴 Traditional 🧊 Isolated experience | 👴 Traditional 🎨 Clean design | 🎓 Integrated experience 🤝 Social learning |
| Marketing & sales | 📄 Powerful page builder 🔒 Limits on basic plans | 📄 Basic builder 🔗 Native integrations + Zapier | 📄 Excellent builder 📧 Integrated email marketing (extra) | 📄 Excellent builder 🔗 Native integrations |
| Community & gamification | 🟡 Separate 🟡 Limited gamification | 🟡 Separate ❌ Absent | 🟡 Separate ❌ Absent | ✅ Integrated 🏆 Advanced gamification |
| Mobile & white-label app | 😵💫 3 separate apps 💸 Costly extra ($199/mo) | 📱 iOS app only ❌ Not brandable | ❌ No app ❌ Not available | ✅ Unified app 🎁 Included & brandable |
| Pricing & value | 💸 Expensive 🔒 Basic almost useless | 💲 Affordable start ⚠️ Higher plans less convenient | ✅ Great value ♾️ Generous plans | ✅ Great value 🎁 Unique features included |
Final verdict: which platform to choose in 2025?
We hope this in-depth analysis has been helpful. As we’ve seen, the key is choosing the platform that offers the best experience to build a successful business in 2025. The online learning world has evolved, yet many legacy platforms are struggling to keep up, forcing you to compromise: a solid course but with an outdated student experience, or a lively community with weak teaching tools (like Skool and similar).
Esmerise was born from exactly this: listening to the frustrations and needs of hundreds of creators who, like you, wanted more. We engineered from the ground up a new learning ecosystem where courses, community, and gamification finally work together. Because when students are more engaged, they don’t just complete your courses, they become a loyal community that supports your long-term growth.
Along the way, we removed all unnecessary complexity and added industry-first features, like a unified PWA app customized with your brand (included, not an expensive extra), human multilingual support 🇮🇹🇬🇧🇪🇸🇫🇷 to support you along the way, and affordable pricing plans with no artificial limits, designed to grow with you.
Esmerise was born from exactly this: listening to the frustrations and needs of hundreds of creators who, like you, wanted more. We engineered from the ground up a new learning ecosystem where courses, community, and gamification finally work together. Because when students are more engaged, they don’t just complete your courses, they become a loyal community that supports your long-term growth.
Along the way, we removed all unnecessary complexity and added industry-first features, like a unified PWA app customized with your brand (included, not an expensive extra), human multilingual support 🇮🇹🇬🇧🇪🇸🇫🇷 to support you along the way, and affordable pricing plans with no artificial limits, designed to grow with you.
Start building your business today.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Thinkific in 2025?
Podia and Teachable are the most similar platforms and represent a good starting point. Kajabi positions itself as the most comprehensive all-in-one solution, but at a significantly higher cost. If you're looking for a true leap in modernity, user experience, and overall value, we believe the ideal choice is Esmerise, thanks to its integrated ecosystem that combines courses, community, and a branded app included.
Which platform is more powerful than Thinkific for marketing and automation?
Kajabi is more powerful for marketing, offering an 'all-in-one' ecosystem with funnels, advanced email marketing, and a CRM. However, it is much more expensive and complex than Thinkific. Esmerise offers a balanced alternative, with a powerful page builder and numerous direct native integrations that eliminate the need for Zapier for common automations, all while maintaining a competitive price.
Which platform offers the best mobile experience compared to Thinkific?
Kajabi's mobile experience is fragmented across 3 apps. Teachable has a limited app for iOS only, and Podia has no app at all. The best alternative is Esmerise, the only platform offering a single, unified native app for both creators and students, fully brandable, and included in its mid-tier plans.
Why should I look for a Thinkific alternative?
The main reasons are the very high hidden costs to scale (removing their branding and getting a custom app is prohibitive), a non-integrated learning experience (community and courses are separate), and an unintuitive page builder. If you want a professional brand without breaking the bank and want to offer a modern experience, you should consider alternatives.
What is the best Thinkific alternative for building a community?
While Teachable, Podia, and Kajabi offer community features, they are often separate from the course area. For a truly integrated experience, Esmerise is the best alternative. It is built to merge courses and community into a single environment, increasing student engagement and the perceived value of your offer.
