SchoolMaker vs Thinkific (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Thinkific grades higher than SchoolMaker: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Thinkific grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
SchoolMaker
Course platform with milestones, community, coaching and AI coaches
Thinkific
Course, community and membership platform for experts and academies
Which one is for you
Pick SchoolMaker if
- Fits if you coach in steps and want a community inside the same product
- Works for course makers who want AI coaches for their students
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you grow, because plans cap members from 100 to 5,000 and above that you contact the vendor
- Skip it if you want no badge on the cheapest plan, as Lite keeps a SchoolMaker badge
- Watch out: Lite is only open to new customers
- Watch out: extra member packs come only with Business, and the page offers annual billing but the monthly price is the one recorded here
Pick Thinkific if
- Fits if you want a month to build your course before paying anything
- Works for academies selling seats to companies as well as to people, on Grow at $164
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're starting small, as there's no plan under Start at $82 a month billed yearly, or $109 monthly
- Not for you if your students expect an app, unless you'll pay $199 a month more
- Skip it if you need SSO or SCORM, which only come with the custom-priced Plus plan
- Watch out: Stripe and PayPal carry an extra Thinkific gateway fee in some countries
- Tight if you're on Start, with 2 admins, 1 community and 10,000 current students
How we grade them
| 2.2GPASchoolMakerFair | 2.4GPAThinkificFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CLite is $29 a month, inside the cheaper quarter, but it has a badge, 100 members and is for new customers only. Starter is $99, Pro $165 and Business $249. | CStart, now the cheapest plan, is $82 a month billed yearly with unlimited courses, and Thinkific takes no fee on sales through Thinkific Payments, whose 2.9% is card processing. So $2,000 of sales costs $82 a month, just past this category's dearer quarter at $79. Stripe or PayPal can add a fee in some countries. |
| Free plan and trial | C14-day free trial. No free plan, and the listing does not say a card is needed. | CNo free plan, but a 30-day trial of the whole platform, as long as any in this category. The listing doesn't say it needs a card. |
| Features | CSteps and milestones, community, live sessions, AI coaches, checkout, referrals, an API and webhooks. Members and courses are capped on every plan. | BDrag-and-drop courses with quizzes and drip, a community with spaces and events, a site builder, email automation, checkout with order bumps and sales tax, and B2B group orders on Grow. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You build the school and its steps yourself. | CNo App Store rating on record. It's drag-and-drop, but you're building a course, a site and a checkout, so there's some setting up before you sell. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with 8 integrations and an API on record. | BWeb, with Zoom, Stripe, PayPal, Zapier, HubSpot and Salesforce, and an API on Grow. Students get no app unless you buy the branded one for $199 a month. |
| Best for | a coach selling a course with community and AI coaches | a course business with a 30-day trial |
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: SchoolMaker and Thinkific. How we grade
Price against what you get
SchoolMaker starts at $29 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Thinkific starts at $82 a month and scores 2.7.
Thinkific scores higher, and starts $53 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other course and community platforms on the chart, 2 score higher than SchoolMaker for less, and 2 score higher than Thinkific 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
- SchoolMaker also covers webinars.
- Thinkific also covers invoicing.
At a glance
| SchoolMaker | Thinkific | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $29 per month, billed monthly | $82 per month, billed annually ($109 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial | 30-day free trial of the whole platform |
| Web | ||
| Made by | SchoolMaker | Thinkific |
| Price read from | schoolmaker.com | thinkific.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
SchoolMaker
- Plans cap members (100 to 5,000) and courses; above 5,000 members the vendor asks you to contact it.
- The Lite plan keeps a SchoolMaker badge on and is only open to new customers.
- The page offers annual billing with a stated saving, but the monthly price is the one recorded here.
- Business is the only plan that includes extra member packs.
Thinkific
- There is no free plan; the 30-day trial is the only way to try it.
- Stripe and PayPal carry an extra Thinkific gateway fee in some countries that varies by plan; Thinkific Payments charges 2.9%.
- Start, Grow and Expand cap current students at 10,000, and Start allows 2 admins and 1 community.
- SSO, SCORM and the AI teaching assistant are only in the Plus plan, which is priced through sales.
Key features
SchoolMaker
- Steps and milestones
- Courses are built as step-by-step journeys with milestones that students work through.
- Built-in community
- A community space for students inside the school, on every plan.
- Live sessions and coaching
- Consultations, live sessions and coaching, with Zoom or Google Meet links.
- AI coaches
- AI coaches that answer from course content: 10 on Lite, up to 30 on Business.
- Checkout and referrals
- Native checkout through Stripe, with no transaction fee from SchoolMaker.
- API, MCP and webhooks
- API, MCP server and webhooks on every plan, plus Zapier and Make.
Thinkific
- Course builder
- Drag-and-drop courses with video, quizzes, drip schedules, discussions and compliance rules; assignments and certificates start on Start.
- Communities
- Standalone communities with topic spaces, live events and paid memberships: 1 community on Start, 3 on Grow and 10 on Expand.
- TCommerce checkout
- Thinkific Payments with order bumps, gifting, buy now pay later, payment plans, abandoned cart reminders and automated sales tax.
- Site builder and email
- Branded websites and landing pages on a custom domain, members-only pages, and email automation with pre-built sequences.
- B2B selling
- Grow adds group orders so companies can buy bulk seats, and invoicing to bill and collect from business buyers.
- Branded mobile app
- Your own iOS and Android app with push notifications, sold as a $199 a month add-on and included on some Plus contracts.
Plans
SchoolMaker
Lite$29
per month for up to 100 members, billed monthly
1 course, 1 owner account, 100 GB storage and a SchoolMaker badge that stays on. Only for new customers.
Starter$99
per month for up to 500 members, billed monthly
15 courses, 5 team accounts, unlimited storage and free migration.
Pro$165
per month for up to 2,500 members, billed monthly
30 courses, 10 team accounts, priority support and free migration.
Business$249
per month for up to 5,000 members, billed monthly
Unlimited courses and team accounts, extra member packs, priority support and free migration.
Thinkific
Start$82
per month, billed annually ($109 billed monthly)
Live cohorts with Zoom, certificates, assignments, memberships, bundles, upsells, payment plans, an HTML and CSS editor, 2 admins.
Grow$164
per month, billed annually ($219 billed monthly)
No Thinkific branding, 3 communities, group orders and invoicing for B2B buyers, API and webhooks, phone support, 6 admins.
Expand$374
per month, billed annually ($499 billed monthly)
10 communities with 200 spaces, 1,000 GB of video a month, unlimited group sizes, email white-labeling, 15 admins, revenue sharing with 10 partners and launch support.
PlusCustom
AI teaching assistant, SSO, SCORM and learning paths, HubSpot and Salesforce integrations, 10,000+ user seats and a dedicated success team.
Ways to pay less
SchoolMaker
- Annual discount
Annual billing saving
The page lists a saving with annual billing: $120 a year on Lite, $240 on Starter, $408 on Pro and $600 on Business.
Thinkific
- Annual discount
Save 25% with annual billing
Thinkific's pricing page lists 25% off for annual billing: Start $82 a month instead of $109, Grow $164 instead of $219, Expand $374 instead of $499.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, SchoolMaker or Thinkific?
As of Nov 12, 2026, SchoolMaker is cheaper to start with: $29 a month, against $82 a month for Thinkific. SchoolMaker starts at $29 per month, billed monthly, and Thinkific starts at $82 per month, billed annually ($109 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, SchoolMaker or Thinkific?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither SchoolMaker nor Thinkific has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.