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Thinkific alternatives · Courses

Free alternatives to Thinkific

Thinkific has no free plan. 9 of the 41 other course and community platforms in this directory are free or have a free plan.

Thinkific is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $82 per month, billed annually ($109 billed monthly). 2 of them have no paid plan at all; the rest pair a free plan with paid ones.

9 tools · Listings checked up to Nov 12, 2026 · Where the facts come from

How each one differs from Thinkific

  1. Hotmart

    Sell courses and digital products for a cut of each sale

    What is free: Everything. There is no paid plan.

    • Hotmart is free. Thinkific starts at $82 per month, billed annually ($109 billed monthly).
    • Hotmart has a free plan. Thinkific does not, though it has a free trial.
    • Hotmart also covers marketing automation, affiliate tracking, digital downloads and webinars.
    • Thinkific also covers invoicing.
    Hotmart vs ThinkificHotmart pricing and details

  2. Maven

    Marketplace for live cohort courses and workshops taught by experts

    What is free: Everything. There is no paid plan.

    • Maven is free. Thinkific starts at $82 per month, billed annually ($109 billed monthly).
    • Maven has a free plan. Thinkific does not, though it has a free trial.
    • Maven also covers surveys and email campaigns.
    • Thinkific also covers invoicing.
    Maven vs ThinkificMaven pricing and details

  3. systeme.io

    All-in-one marketing suite with funnels, email, courses and community

    What is free: 2,000 contacts, unlimited emails, 3 funnels, 1 course with 500 students, 1 community, 1 blog, 1 automation rule and 1 email campaign. No card needed.

    • systeme.io starts at $17 per month for up to 5,000 contacts, billed monthly. Thinkific starts at $82 per month, billed annually ($109 billed monthly).
    • systeme.io has a free plan. Thinkific does not, though it has a free trial.
    • systeme.io also covers booking links, sales pipeline, marketing automation and email campaigns.
    • Thinkific also covers invoicing.
    systeme.io pricing and details

  4. Discourse

    Open-source discussion forum software with hosted plans

    What is free: Free hosting plan: 2 staff seats, 10 categories, 5GB of storage, 20k emails a month and 500k page views a month.

    • Discourse starts at $100 per month. Thinkific starts at $82 per month, billed annually ($109 billed monthly).
    • Discourse has a free plan. Thinkific does not, though it has a free trial.
    • Only Discourse lists iOS and Android apps.
    • Discourse is open source, according to its own site.
    Discourse pricing and details

  5. LifterLMS

    WordPress LMS plugin with a free core and paid bundles

    What is free: Core plugin: unlimited courses, memberships, students and teachers, with quizzes, certificates and achievement badges.

    • LifterLMS starts at $398 per year for 1 site (Earth bundle), or a free core plugin. Thinkific starts at $82 per month, billed annually ($109 billed monthly).
    • LifterLMS has a free plan. Thinkific does not, though it has a free trial.
    • LifterLMS also covers templates, marketing automation and reports.
    • Thinkific also covers invoicing.
    LifterLMS pricing and details

  6. Sensei LMS

    WordPress course plugin with a free core and a paid Pro tier

    What is free: Sensei Free: unlimited free courses, certificate builder, basic quizzes and learning mode, open-source and community supported.

    • Sensei LMS starts at $15 per month, billed yearly ($179), for Sensei Pro; the core plugin is free. Thinkific starts at $82 per month, billed annually ($109 billed monthly).
    • Sensei LMS has a free plan. Thinkific does not, though it has a free trial.
    • Sensei LMS is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
    • Sensei LMS also covers templates.
    Sensei LMS pricing and details

  7. Ruzuku

    Course platform with live sessions, community and no sales fee

    What is free: Up to 5 student enrollments at a time, unlimited courses, community discussions, live meetings, sales pages and payments.

    • Ruzuku starts at $99 per month, billed monthly ($997 per year). Thinkific starts at $82 per month, billed annually ($109 billed monthly).
    • Ruzuku has a free plan. Thinkific does not, though it has a free trial.
    • Ruzuku also covers webinars.
    • Thinkific also covers invoicing.
    Ruzuku pricing and details

  8. Fourthwall

    Creator shop with merch, digital products and memberships

    What is free: Design and sell products, offer memberships, run promotions; 5% fee and 5 GB limit on digital products.

    • Fourthwall starts at $15 per month for Pro. Thinkific starts at $82 per month, billed annually ($109 billed monthly).
    • Fourthwall has a free plan. Thinkific does not, though it has a free trial.
    • Only Fourthwall lists iOS and Android apps.
    • Fourthwall also covers online store, digital downloads, merchant of record and print on demand.
    Fourthwall pricing and details

Common questions

Is there a free alternative to Thinkific?

Yes. Hotmart, Maven, systeme.io, Discourse, LifterLMS, Sensei LMS, Ruzuku, Paid Memberships Pro and 1 more are free or have a free plan.

Does Thinkific have a free plan?

Thinkific has no free plan. Thinkific is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $82 per month, billed annually ($109 billed monthly).

When was this checked?

Each listing shows its own date. On this page they run from Oct 17, 2026 to Nov 12, 2026. Vendors change prices and plans without notice, so confirm on their site before you buy.

This page is built from the listings. A tool is here because its listing says so, and the order is how close each is to Thinkific: the alternatives its listing names first, then the tools that share the most features with it.