Teachable, Thinkific or LearnWorlds: what each entry plan charges per sale on top of the subscription
Disclosure: Independent article; no affiliate links or sponsorship.
Draft text was prepared with AI assistance and checked against the cited official pricing and plan pages.
Draft text was prepared with AI assistance and checked against the cited official pricing and plan pages.
The buying question this page answers: Which entry plan costs least once the platform's own per-sale fee is added to the subscription?
The sticker price of an entry plan is only half the bill: each platform also takes something from every sale, and each does it differently. This page sets the listed subscription next to the listed per-sale fee so you can judge them against your own course price and expected sales.
Comparison
| Criterion | Teachable | Thinkific | LearnWorlds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | Starter[1] | Start[2] | Starter[3] |
| Entry price (billed monthly) | 39 USD/month[4] | 109 USD/month[5] | 29 USD/month[6] |
| Transaction fee (entry plan) | 7.5% transaction fee[1] | 2.0% third-party payment gateway fee (Stripe); no fee on Thinkific Payments[7] | $5/enrollment[3] |
| Course/product limit (entry plan) | 5 products[1] | Unlimited[2] | Unlimited[8] |
| Reference price | 39 USD [4] | 109 USD [5] | 29 USD [6] |
| Price history | Price history not collected | Price history not collected | Price history not collected |
Who it fits
Teachable
- Creators expecting only a handful of sales at first: Starter is listed at $39 per month billed monthly, and Starter sales carry a 7.5% transaction fee.[4]
Thinkific
LearnWorlds
- Creators selling fewer, higher-priced enrollments: Starter is listed at 29 USD per month billed monthly and charges a flat $5 per paid enrollment instead of a percentage.[6]
When not to buy
Teachable
- Think twice if you plan steady sales from launch: a percentage taken from every Starter sale grows with your revenue, so weigh it against a tier that drops the fee.
Thinkific
LearnWorlds
- Skip it if you intend to sell many inexpensive enrollments, because a flat charge per paid enrollment eats a larger share of a cheap course than of an expensive one.
Key differences
General
- The fee models differ: Teachable Starter takes a 7.5% transaction fee, LearnWorlds Starter charges $5 per paid enrollment, and Thinkific Start adds a 2.0% third-party gateway fee only on Stripe sales in listed countries, with no fee on Thinkific Payments.[4][5][6][7]
- A percentage fee rises with the course price while a flat per-enrollment fee stays the same, so which plan ends up cheaper depends on your price point and volume; work it out from the listed fees rather than from the subscription alone.
Limitations
Teachable
- Payment processing fees, for example 2.9% + 30c on US cards, are charged on top of the Starter transaction fee; the pricing page shows 0% transaction fee on Builder, Growth and Custom only when using Teachable Payments.[4]
Thinkific
- The 2.0% gateway fee applies only to sales through third-party gateways in the countries Thinkific lists, and only on the first $1M of sales per calendar year; standard processing fees are separate.[7]
LearnWorlds
- The $5 enrollment fee is listed for Starter only, with no enrollment fee from Pro Trainer upward; Stripe or PayPal gateway fees are charged separately.[6]
General
- Only entry plans are covered here. Prices of the higher tiers that remove the per-sale fee, and the list of countries where the Thinkific gateway fee applies, are not recorded in our sources yet.
Sources
- Teachable — Cheapest self-serve paid plan · Teachable · accessed 2026-10-22 · scope: Cheapest self-serve paid plan
- Thinkific — Cheapest self-serve paid plan (pricing page lists Start, Grow, Expand, Plus) · Thinkific · accessed 2026-10-22 · scope: Cheapest self-serve paid plan (pricing page lists Start, Grow, Expand, Plus)
- LearnWorlds — Cheapest self-serve paid plan · LearnWorlds · accessed 2026-10-22 · scope: Cheapest self-serve paid plan
- Teachable — giá gói trả phí rẻ nhất (USD) · Teachable · accessed 2026-10-22 · scope: giá gói trả phí rẻ nhất (USD)
- Thinkific — giá gói trả phí rẻ nhất (USD) · Thinkific · accessed 2026-10-22 · scope: giá gói trả phí rẻ nhất (USD)
- LearnWorlds — giá gói trả phí rẻ nhất (USD) · LearnWorlds · accessed 2026-10-22 · scope: giá gói trả phí rẻ nhất (USD)
- Thinkific — Start plan; fee applies only to sales via third-party gateways in listed countries, on the first $1M sales per calendar year; standard processing fees (2.9% on Thinkific Payments per pricing FAQ) are separate · Thinkific · accessed 2026-10-22 · scope: Start plan; fee applies only to sales via third-party gateways in listed countries, on the first $1M sales per calendar year; standard processing fees (2.9% on Thinkific Payments per pricing FAQ) are separate
- LearnWorlds — Starter plan, 'Paid Courses' row of the full plan comparison (free courses not included on Starter) · LearnWorlds · accessed 2026-10-22 · scope: Starter plan, 'Paid Courses' row of the full plan comparison (free courses not included on Starter)