Skilljar vs Thought Industries (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Skilljar grades higher than Thought Industries: 2.0 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Skilljar grades higher on value for money, features and platforms. Thought Industries grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Thought Industries
Customer learning platform with an AI knowledge layer
Paid
Which one is for you
Pick Skilljar if
- Fits if you train customers or partners and need certificates and reporting
- Works for software firms with a CRM and support desk to connect
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a price before a sales call, as every plan says Let's talk pricing
- Pricey if you add on: content syndication starts at $10k and the Data Connector at $25k
- Skip it if you train your own staff, since the page aims at external audiences
- Watch out: the fee per active learner falls with volume, so small programs pay the most per head
Pick Thought Industries if
- Fits if you run a customer academy and want an AI answer layer over it
- Works for programs sized to the 500, 2,000 or 5,000 learner tiers
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want Lens beyond Free, at $499 or $999 a month billed monthly
- Not for you if you want a published Academy price, as Starter, Professional and Enterprise are quoted
- Watch out: conversational AI is billed per query on every Academy plan
- Tight if you want the API or adaptive paths, as they are add-ons on Professional
How we grade them
| 2.0GPASkilljarFair | 1.8GPAThought IndustriesWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published. Cost is an annual plan plus a per-learner fee, and add-ons start at $10k, so we put it in the middle with no number to check. | DAcademy has no published price. Lens, the one product with prices, is $499 a month for Pro and $999 for Pro+, against a category middle of $37. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan or trial is listed on the pricing page. | CLens has a Free tier, but Academy, the main platform, has no free plan or trial listed. |
| Features | BBranded academy, certificates, selling training, reporting, automations, live sessions, API and SSO. The listing shows no gap in the core job for external training. | CAI-assisted authoring, certifications, live training and selling courses. The listing shows adaptive paths, gamification, custom reports and the API as add-ons on Professional. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and building an academy means setting up content and branding. | CNo store rating on record, and an academy has to be set up and branded. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with an API and integrations such as Salesforce, Gainsight, Zoom, Webex and Zendesk. | CWeb only, with Stripe as the one named integration. API, webhooks and SFTP are add-ons on Professional. |
| Best for | a training academy for customers and partners | a customer learning platform with an AI answer layer |
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: Skilljar and Thought Industries. How we grade
Where they differ
- Skilljar also covers reports.
In commonWebPublic APIOnline courses
At a glance
| Skilljar | Thought Industries | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Skilljar | Thought Industries |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Skilljar
- No price is published: every plan says 'Let's talk pricing', so cost can only be learned from sales.
- The price has two parts: an annual plan plus a fee per active learner per year, and the per-learner rate falls as volume rises.
- Content syndication starts at $10k, the Data Connector at $25k and a five-language pack at $10k, as add-ons.
- Aimed at external audiences (customers and partners); the page does not position it for employee training.
Thought Industries
- Academy has no published price: Starter, Professional and Enterprise are sized per program, with learner caps of 500, 2,000 and 5,000.
- Lens is priced separately: Free, $499 a month (Pro) and $999 a month (Pro+), billed monthly; the page calls Lens Early Access.
- Adaptive paths, gamification and custom reports are add-ons on Professional; the API, webhooks and SFTP are add-ons there too.
- Conversational AI learning is billed per query on every Academy plan.
Key features
Skilljar
- Branded academy
- Academy sites use custom themes and a low-code page builder, with HTML and CSS available for teams that want to go further. Essentials includes one site, Professional two, Enterprise three.
- Certificates and certifications
- Completion certificates, proctored exams and accredited certifications, with integrations named for LinkedIn, Credly, Accredible and Caveon.
- Selling training
- Courses, paths, subscriptions or training credits can be sold, with promo codes and Stripe, PayPal and Salesforce integrations named on the home page.
- Reporting and benchmarks
- Custom and scheduled reports on enrollments and engagement, benchmarks against other Skilljar customers, and training data that can be sent to Salesforce.
- Automations and live sessions
- Automated learner emails for registrations, reminders, completions and group assignments, plus virtual instructor-led training through Zoom, Webex and GoTo.
- API and SSO
- A REST API and learner single sign-on come with every plan. Admin SSO and content syndication to customers' own LMSs start at the Professional plan.
Thought Industries
- AI-assisted authoring
- Academy drafts courses, images and quizzes from a prompt or your own files, and keeps reusable templates and snippets across courses.
- Branded audience sites
- Panoramas are separate branded academies for each customer, partner or region: 3 on Starter, 10 on Professional and 25 on Enterprise.
- Certifications and live training
- Learning paths, assessments and certifications, plus in-person and virtual instructor-led sessions that are tracked like any course.
- Selling courses
- Professional and Enterprise add a course storefront with Stripe checkout, subscriptions and bulk team purchases.
- Lens answer layer
- Lens reads connected knowledge sources, such as a website or PDFs, and returns cited answers through a widget, an API or MCP.
- Reporting
- Content-level and scheduled reports come on every Academy plan; custom reports and a BI connector are add-ons on Professional.
Plans
Skilljar
Pricing could not be confirmed. See skilljar.com.
Thought Industries
Pricing could not be confirmed. See thoughtindustries.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Skilljar or Thought Industries?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Skilljar has no price we could confirm, and Thought Industries has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Skilljar or Thought Industries?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Skilljar nor Thought Industries has a free plan.
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.