A Thinkific alternative with live cohorts, community and no extra fees
October 13, 2026 · 6 min read · Other platforms' prices and fees checked October 13, 2026
Thinkific is a solid course builder. If you are comparing it with other platforms, the questions that usually decide it are: what each plan includes, what you pay on top of card fees, and how live teaching and community work.
Thinkific plans
| Plan | Monthly | Billed yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $54/mo | $40/mo |
| Start | $109/mo | $82/mo |
| Grow | $219/mo | $164/mo |
| Plus | Quote | Quote |
With Thinkific Payments you pay 2.9% per transaction. If you use Stripe or PayPal instead, Thinkific adds its own gateway fee (which depends on your plan) on top of the processor's fee. Custom domains are included on all plans.
Live teaching and community
Thinkific's Basic plan is capped at 5 live events and 5 coaching or webinar sessions; Start and above are unlimited and add Zoom sessions in courses and live cohorts. Communities scale by plan (1 community with 5 spaces on Basic, up to 3 communities on Grow), and paid community memberships start on Start. A branded mobile app is a $199/mo add-on.
On TeachMillers, live cohorts come with a built-in live room on the paid plans, so classes happen inside your academy instead of a separate video tool. Every academy has a private community with spaces, questions with accepted answers, polls, leaderboards, levels and badges, and each cohort gets its own private space.
Money and students
Students pay the teacher directly through the teacher's own Stripe account. TeachMillers takes no share of sales; it earns only from the teacher's plan. Stripe's own card fees still apply. The students are the teacher's: names and emails are visible in the dashboard and can be exported.
Being found
On top of their own academy, teachers can be listed in the curated TeachMillers marketplace, where every course, cohort and book is reviewed before it appears.
At a glance
| Thinkific | TeachMillers | |
|---|---|---|
| Extra fee on your own Stripe | Yes, a Thinkific gateway fee | No |
| Live classes | Capped on Basic; Zoom-based | Built-in live room (paid plans) |
| Community gamification | Not listed on the pricing page | Leaderboards, levels, badges |
| Custom domain | All plans | Paid plans |
Try TeachMillers free
Your own academy, your students, paid straight to your Stripe with 0% platform fee.
Questions
- Is TeachMillers a good Thinkific alternative for live cohorts?
- Yes. Cohorts are built in: weeks that open on dates, weekly classes in a built-in live room, materials, assignments with feedback, attendance and a private space per cohort.
- Do I pay a transaction fee on TeachMillers?
- No platform fee. You are paid through your own Stripe account and pay only Stripe's card fee.
Sources
Prices and fees change. Always check the provider's own page before deciding.