SamCart vs ThriveCart
We give SamCart a 2.4 GPA and ThriveCart a 2.6, out of 4.0. ThriveCart grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
SamCart
Checkout and sales page builder with courses and an AI assistant
ThriveCart
Checkout, funnel and course platform with a lifetime licence option
How we grade them
| 2.4GPASamCartFair | 2.6GPAThriveCartGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CCore billed yearly is $79 a month less 25%: $59.25. SamCart takes no cut beyond SamPay's 2.9% + 30 cents card rate (not counted), though tax collection adds 0.5%, $5 on $1,000. That's above this category's dearer quarter, short of its dearest tenth. | BThe lifetime Standard licence is $495 once, with no cut of sales. Spread over two years, as we do for one-off prices, that's well under the yearly plan's $888 for the same two years ($444 + $444) and under two years of this category's middle price. Processor fees aren't counted. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan. There's a 7-day free trial on every plan, a week and no more, and the listing doesn't say it needs a card. | CNo free plan, but a 30-day free trial on the monthly and yearly plans, longer than most here. The listing doesn't say whether it needs a card. |
| Features | BCheckout with wallets and buy now pay later, sales and link-in-bio pages, a courses app with a members area, subscriptions with a customer portal and an AI assistant. The whole job is covered; upsells, A/B tests and affiliates wait for Pro. | BCheckouts, order bumps, one-click upsells, A/B tests, subscriptions with retention offers, buy now pay later, sales tax, and courses and communities through Academy. Nothing's missing from the job; affiliates and custom domains need Pro+. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record. The AI assistant drafts copy and pages, which helps, but you're still building pages, checkouts and a members area before you sell. | CNo App Store rating on record. A visual editor helps, but you're building checkouts, funnels and courses and linking Stripe, PayPal or Authorize.net before anything sells. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with PayPal, Stripe Link, Zapier, Klarna, Afterpay, Affirm, Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager. The API needs Pro, and no phone or desktop app is listed. | BWeb, with Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net, Zapier, ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit, Mailchimp and HubSpot. No phone or desktop app is listed. |
| Best for | checkouts and sales pages with AI help | paying once for checkouts, funnels and courses |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: SamCart and ThriveCart. How we grade
Price against what you get
SamCart starts at $79 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. ThriveCart starts at $37 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and ThriveCart starts $42 a month lower. Of the other tools for selling digital products on the chart, 2 score higher than SamCart for less, and 2 score higher than ThriveCart for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- SamCart starts at $79 per month. ThriveCart starts at $37 per month, billed annually ($47 monthly).
- ThriveCart also covers community.
At a glance
| SamCart | ThriveCart | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $79 per month | $37 per month, billed annually ($47 monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial on every plan | 30-day free trial on the monthly and yearly plans |
| Web | ||
| Made by | SamCart Inc. | ThriveCart |
| Price read from | samcart.com | thrivecart.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
SamCart
- Course and ebook sellers who want checkout, pages and hosting together
- Marketers who rely on upsells, order bumps and A/B tests
- Creators who want AI to draft sales pages and products
ThriveCart
- Course sellers who want checkout, funnels and course hosting together
- Creators who would rather pay once than pay every month
- Sellers who run affiliate programs and upsell funnels
Worth knowing
SamCart
- No free plan, only a 7-day trial; Core starts at $79 a month, with 25% off for yearly billing.
- SamPay charges 2.9% + 30 cents a sale on both plans, and tax collection adds 0.5% on Core or 0.35% on Pro.
- Upsells, order bumps, A/B testing, affiliates, the API and third-party processors all need Pro at $199 a month.
- Core includes one team seat and Pro ten; more seats and marketplaces need the custom Done For You plan.
ThriveCart
- ThriveCart takes 0% of sales, but payments run through your own Stripe, PayPal or Authorize.net account, whose processing fees apply.
- The affiliate center, multiple order bumps, dunning and custom domains all need Pro+ at $87 a month or $804 a year.
- The lifetime Standard licence costs $495 once; Pro+ bought outright costs $790 and then $295 a year from year two.
- Checkout pages offer paid add-ons, such as $69 courses and a $19 one-time offer, which are optional.
Key features
SamCart
- Checkout pages
- Mobile-first checkouts with stored cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo and buy now pay later through Klarna, Afterpay and Affirm.
- Pages and link-in-bio
- Sales pages, microsites, link-in-bio pages and opt-in pages on your own domain, built with AI help and no code.
- Courses and members area
- A courses app with a built-in members area and video hosting, so courses can be sold and delivered without another platform.
- AI assistant
- Writes sales copy and designs ebooks, courses, lead magnets, social posts and ads. Core has limited AI use; Pro is unlimited.
- Upsells, tests and affiliates on Pro
- One-click upsells, order bumps and upgrades, A/B tests of pages and prices, an affiliate center and failed-payment recovery.
- Subscriptions and customer portal
- Memberships, recurring plans and payment plans, with a portal where customers update cards and manage their own subscriptions.
ThriveCart
- Checkouts and funnels
- Modal, single-page or multi-step checkouts, order bumps, one-click upsells and downsells, and a visual page editor for whole funnels.
- Payment options
- Cards, PayPal, buy now pay later through Afterpay, Klarna, Affirm or ThrivePay Installments, multi-currency pricing and crypto on Pro+.
- Subscriptions
- Trials, renewals, upgrades and cancellations, a fixed monthly billing date, subscription bumps at checkout and retention offers before cancelling.
- ThriveCart Academy
- Courses with drip content, quizzes and certificates, plus branded communities, included with every subscription; limits rise from Starter to Growth.
- Affiliates on Pro+
- Recruit affiliates, set commissions, track referrals and pay affiliates automatically, with joint venture contracts for partners.
- Digital delivery and tax
- Instant delivery with expiring download links, plus sales tax calculation and collection with tax-inclusive pricing.
Plans
SamCart
Core$79
per month
Unlimited pages, products and checkouts, AI assistant with limited use, courses app, cart abandonment, integrations and 1 team seat.
Pro$199
per month
Adds one-click upsells, order bumps, A/B testing, Subscription Saver, the Affiliate Center, advanced reports, API, other processors and 10 seats.
Done For YouCustom
Sold through a call: white glove setup, a dedicated account manager, priority support, multiple marketplaces and the lowest processing rates.
ThriveCart
Standard$37
per month, billed annually ($47 monthly)
Unlimited products and funnels, 1 order bump, upsells, A/B tests, cart recovery, sales tax tools, and Academy Starter for 2,000 community members.
Pro+$87
per month ($804 billed yearly)
Adds multiple order bumps, the affiliate center with automatic payouts, dunning, custom domains, team permissions and the Academy Growth plan.
Standard lifetime$495
one-time
A ThriveCart Standard account for a single payment with no subscription, offered beside the monthly and yearly plans.
Pro+ hybrid$790
one-time, then $295 a year from year 2
Pro+ bought on its own page for a one-time $790, followed by a $295 yearly subscription from the second year.
EnterpriseCustom
For high-volume sellers: volume-based processing rates, unlimited team seats, a dedicated account manager, migration and white-glove setup.
Ways to pay less
SamCart
- Annual discount
25% off with yearly billing
SamCart's pricing page offers yearly billing at 25% off the monthly prices of $79 for Core and $199 for Pro.
ThriveCart
- Annual discount
Save 20% on Standard with yearly billing
ThriveCart's checkout lists Standard at $444 a year ($37 a month) as a 20% saving on $47 a month; Pro+ is $804 a year instead of $87 a month.
- Lifetime license
Lifetime Standard licence for $495
ThriveCart sells a Standard account for a one-time payment of $495 instead of a monthly or yearly subscription.
- Nonprofit
Special pricing for schools and charities
Schools and registered charities can fill in a form on ThriveCart's site, and its support team will be in touch about special pricing.
