Thinkific vs Zenler (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Thinkific and Zenler share a 2.4 GPA, neither has a free plan, and Zenler starts cheaper, at $47 a month against $82 a month.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Thinkific
Course, community and membership platform for experts and academies
Zenler
Course platform with funnels, email, live classes and a branded app
Which one is for you
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
Pick Zenler if
- Fits if you want courses and email marketing from one account
- Works for creators who plan to offer a branded app to students
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you start on Starter, with 5 courses, 500 people, 1 site and no custom domain
- Skip it if you want memberships cheaply, as they need Pro at $97
- Watch out: AI agents, support-agent messages and AI credits are only on Pro and Premium
- Watch out: the page's social tags mention a $217 Premium price but its table shows $277 annual, and a launch discount can show a crossed-out price
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAThinkificFair | 2.4GPAZenlerFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CStarter is $47 a month on annual billing, in the middle of courses tools at $49. Pro is $97 and Premium $277. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | C30-day free trial with full access to all features. The listing does not say a card is needed. |
| Features | 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. | BCourses and memberships, live sessions, funnels, email, community and chat, a branded app and payments with no platform fee. Memberships and AI need the higher plans. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo store rating on record. You build courses, funnels and emails yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWeb, iOS and Android, with 4 integrations on record. |
| Best for | a course business with a 30-day trial | a course maker wanting funnels, email and an app |
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: Thinkific and Zenler. How we grade
Price against what you get
Thinkific starts at $82 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Zenler starts at $47 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Zenler starts $35 a month lower. Of the other course and community platforms on the chart, 2 score higher than Thinkific for less, and 1 scores higher than Zenler 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
- Thinkific also covers invoicing.
- Zenler also covers marketing automation, email campaigns, digital downloads and webinars.
At a glance
| Thinkific | Zenler | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $82 per month, billed annually ($109 billed monthly) | $47 per month, billed annually ($57 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of the whole platform | 30-day free trial with full access to all features |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Thinkific | Zenler |
| Price read from | thinkific.com | zenler.com |
| Checked | Nov 9, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Zenler
- Starter allows 5 courses, 500 people, 1 site and no custom domain; memberships need Pro.
- AI agents, support-agent messages and AI credits are in Pro and Premium only (2,000 and 4,000 credits).
- The page's social tags mention a $217 Premium price, but its pricing table shows $277 annually and $347 monthly; the table is recorded here.
- A launch discount may display a crossed-out price and an 'after 3 months' price on some visits.
Key features
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.
Zenler
- Courses and memberships
- Build courses with drip content and quizzes; memberships and bundles start on Pro.
- Live sessions
- Sell live classes and run webinars with built-in Zoom; plans cap live sessions at 10, 100 or 300.
- Funnels and email
- Lead magnet, video series and survey funnels, plus automations and scheduled broadcasts.
- Community and chat
- Communities on every plan (1, 20 or unlimited); live chat starts on Pro.
- Branded mobile app
- The vendor lists an app under your own name on the App Store and Google Play.
- Payments with no platform fee
- One-off and subscription sales through Stripe, PayPal or Razorpay, with no transaction fees from Zenler.
Plans
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.
Zenler
Starter$47
per month, billed annually ($57 billed monthly)
1 site, 5 courses, 1 community, 500 people, 5,000 emails a month, 2 funnels, 10 live sessions and 1 site admin.
Pro$97
per month, billed annually ($117 billed monthly)
3 sites and 3 custom domains, unlimited courses and people, 20 communities, 100,000 emails a month, 100 funnels, live chat, API support and AI agents.
Premium$277
per month, billed annually ($347 billed monthly)
10 sites and 10 domains, unlimited communities and funnels, 500,000 emails a month, 300 live sessions, 20 site admins, single sign-on and priority support.
Ways to pay less
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.
Zenler
- Annual discount
Annual billing
Annual billing lists $47, $97 and $277 a month against $57, $117 and $347 billed monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Thinkific or Zenler?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Zenler is cheaper to start with: $47 a month, against $82 a month for Thinkific. Thinkific starts at $82 per month, billed annually ($109 billed monthly), and Zenler starts at $47 per month, billed annually ($57 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Thinkific or Zenler?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Thinkific nor Zenler has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Thinkific and Zenler run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Zenler lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.