The two most-compared course platforms — and the choice usually comes down to fees. Teachable is cheaper to start; Thinkific charges no US transaction fee. Here's an honest, current breakdown of price, fees, and who owns your brand — plus a third option worth a look.
Free plan · no card needed · every feature included
Thinkific charges no transaction fee in primary markets like the US, but adds a per-transaction surcharge if you use your own Stripe account on lower tiers. Pricing verified 2026 — always check each provider for the latest.
You want the cheapest possible start and plan to test an idea fast. $39/mo Starter gets you live — just know it takes 7.5% of every sale, and there's no free plan to fall back on.
You're past testing and actually selling. No US transaction fee and unlimited students on every plan make it the better value at volume — though there's no free plan, and your course lives on Thinkific's platform.
Your site is (or could be) on Webflow. It's the only option here that runs courses as real pages of your own site — your brand and domain, every feature free to start, and a fee that falls to 0%.
Run your course business on your own Webflow site — every feature free to start, with a fee that reaches zero.