For a course business, compare the limit that will force your next upgrade. Thinkific is a useful starting point for an expanding course catalog; Teachable makes the product-count and sales-fee tradeoff explicit; Kajabi ties course selling to a wider marketing business; Podia combines a storefront, community and bounded email capacity; and LearnWorlds deserves attention when learning paths and SCORM content matter. A cheap subscription can become the wrong purchase when the paid enrollment, product, contact or active-learner meter does not match how the business grows.
What the buying decision includes
This comparison is for an organization selling access to its own training catalog. It concerns the storefront, checkout, delivery and ongoing audience relationship. It is separate from creating an interactive course file or assigning mandatory staff training. Compare the same catalog, learner activity, administrator roles, email list and payment country across all five. A product, enrolled customer, email subscriber and monthly active learner are different commercial units.
| Platform | Useful starting point | Growth boundary | Decide first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thinkific | A branded academy with a growing catalog | Unlimited courses on current plans; SCORM requires Plus | Whether content format and commerce route fit the plan |
| Teachable | A course-led business with explicit catalog tiers | Starter has five products and a 7.5% platform fee | Product count and payment costs beyond the subscription |
| Kajabi | Courses inside an integrated marketing business | Basic has five products and 2,500 contacts | Whether replacing website/email/funnels justifies the bundle |
| Podia | A storefront, community and course business together | Mover has a 5% platform fee and bounded email subscribers | Separate paying customers from the email audience |
| LearnWorlds | A learning-focused academy with structured content | Starter enrollment fee; higher plans add SCORM and paths | Active learners, content-package limits and academy controls |
Thinkific
Thinkific’s current Start plan includes unlimited courses, a custom domain, subscriptions, payment plans, quizzes, assignments and certificates. That makes catalog expansion a different question from the product-count limits of some alternatives. More advanced content has a separate boundary: the current pricing page places SCORM on Plus. An unlimited number of ordinary courses does not establish that every exported training package can run on the entry plan. Thinkific official source.
Thinkific supports its own payments product as well as Stripe and PayPal, with third-party gateway fees applying in selected countries and varying by plan. Confirm the processor available for the business’s location and the relevant payment-method charges. Shortlist Thinkific when the academy model fits, then select the tier for content format, branding and administrative needs. Do not turn a broad unlimited-catalog statement into an unlimited-service claim. Thinkific official source.
Teachable
Teachable combines course delivery with digital downloads, memberships, coaching and selling tools such as upsells. It is a useful route when the business wants a course-oriented checkout and student experience without assembling every component separately. Distinguish a catalog item from the number of people who purchase it: selling the same course repeatedly and launching many separate offers create different plan pressures. Teachable official source.
The current pricing page lists five products on Starter, ten on Builder and fifty on Growth. Starter carries a 7.5% sales transaction fee; Builder and Growth display a 0% platform transaction fee under the applicable payment terms. Payment processing and any gateway-specific charges still need their own check. Price the intended catalog and sales pattern together. The lower subscription may fit a small launch, while a larger catalog or recurring sales can justify another tier without any invented revenue forecast. Teachable official source.
Kajabi
Kajabi brings courses together with a website, email marketing, funnels, communities and checkout. Its practical advantage is strongest when those functions replace work the business would otherwise run across several services. If you already have a mature website and marketing stack, the same breadth may duplicate existing spending rather than simplify it. Decide which system will own prospects and campaigns before moving the course catalog. Kajabi official source.
Basic currently lists five products and 2,500 contacts; Growth lists fifty products and 25,000 contacts. Processing fees apply, and the page distinguishes Kajabi Payments from charges for certain third-party providers, with country qualifications. Its no-revenue-sharing message should therefore not be read as fee-free checkout. The billing display also mixes annual and monthly reference figures, so confirm the selected term and payable total rather than relying on a crossed-out headline. Kajabi official source.
Podia
Podia combines courses, digital downloads, coaching, events, a website and community. That can suit a small education business selling several kinds of expertise from the same storefront. The important boundary is the audience: an unlimited number of customers does not mean unlimited email subscribers. Treat purchase access, community membership and marketing consent as related records with different responsibilities. Podia official source.
Current annual plans are Mover, Shaker and Earthquaker. Mover carries a 5% Podia transaction fee, while the other two remove that platform fee; processor fees remain. Included email capacity is 100, 500 and 1,000 subscribers respectively, with more capacity available separately. Mover and Shaker also have product/video/space limits. Choose from the full operating footprint, particularly if the email list grows much faster than paid customers. Podia official source.
LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds supports structured learning paths, completion rules, interactive content and SCORM/HTML5 packages. That makes it relevant when delivery requirements extend beyond uploading a set of videos. A business selling reusable professional training may value those controls more than a broad marketing bundle. Check whether the course file and learner journey you need belong to the selected plan. LearnWorlds official source.
The current pricing page places an enrollment fee on Starter; Pro Trainer removes it and lists up to twenty SCORM uploads, while higher plans extend content and administration scope. Monthly active-learner allowances are another independent limit. The product and pricing pages show inconsistent currency labels for the Starter enrollment charge, so obtain the applicable currency and fee at checkout rather than treating the symbol as settled. Branded mobile apps and other extensions also have separate terms. LearnWorlds official source.
Which purchase fits your operation?
Choose the growth unit before the brand: Thinkific for catalog expansion with the required content tier; Teachable for a product-count and sales-fee tradeoff; Kajabi when marketing consolidation is part of the purchase; Podia when storefront simplicity fits a bounded email and product footprint; and LearnWorlds when structured learning and package compatibility drive the academy. Compare processor charges separately from platform fees.
Before moving an existing school, define how active subscriptions, learner access, completion records and email permissions will transfer. Content-file migration alone does not establish that recurring payments or learning history move intact. If selling education is a new business line, keep the initial catalog and commercial terms understandable. If the business already has demanding learning-format requirements, make those a first filter rather than discovering them after the annual purchase.
For related decisions, compare authoring tools for creating the course content and learning platforms for employee training.
By Toolverly Editorial, with AI-assisted research and drafting. Product information checked October 27, 2026.
Photo by Johan Mouchet on Unsplash. Read about our publication or send a correction.