If you’re considering which platform to use for your online course or online community and currently are considering between Podia vs Thinkific – here will be a comparison!
Unsure if either will be your choice? Get my free platform guide to explore more.
If you’re thinking about creating online courses, setting up a community or selling digital products, both Podia and Thinkific might have crossed your way.
The truth is, their general offer is quite similar: both platforms give you a chance to set up and sell various digital products and manage your online community. Along with that, you also get all the basic must-have’s like a page builder, checkouts and student management.
The devil really is in the details, as they say! So let me take a closer look at Podia vs Thinkific for online course creators and how to make the most suitable choice between these two.
A quick disclaimer: as an online course creator with more than 8-year experience, I have had first-hand experience with most of the online course platforms. A lot of the comparison below goes beyond the basic features and includes various specific elements to keep in mind on either of the platforms.
Podia vs Thinkific comparison for course creators
Ironically, for years, both of these platforms were at the bottom of my suggested platform list but now they have crawled back up! With various updates and overall offer improvements, now I consider both, Podia and Thinkific, as one of the best choices for online course creators, especially, if you’re just getting started and seek an easy solution.
Below I have provided more insights in both, Podia vs Thinkific.
The good news though – BOTH platforms offer FREE plan so if you are curious on how either of them would work for YOU, you can always just sign up and get started! I really believe it’s the best way to find a great fit.
General insight into Podia
Podia is a digital storefront that gives you a chance to set up and sell online courses, digital downloads, coaching, audio recordings, as well as community space.
What makes Podia stand out from other competitors definitely is the OFFER. The price vs the value you get really is quite impressive as you can not only set up and sell your digital products but also manage an online community, have your sales pages, as well as email marketing set up all in one place.
It’s an easy choice if you want a quick start and you prefer simplicity, you don’t want to overthink the details like your sales pages or email connections.
You can get started for free and pay an 8% transaction fee on the sales you make or upgrade for only $39/monthly to eliminate any fees whatsoever.
The best features
- You can start without any previous tech experience
- The backend setup is very simple and easy to manage
- Sell more than just courses or memberships!
- Built-in email marketing feature
- It’s one of the most budget-friendly “all-in-one” platforms out there!
The cons
You know the saying “Jack of all trades, Master of none” – Podia seems to be offering very BASIC setup options for all of its features. It might come in as a good thing if you’re just getting started and don’t want the overwhelm of complicated backend setups. However, if you’re seeking some more next-level integrations and funnel features – this might not be your best bet!
General insight into Thinkific
Thinkific is the best-known as online course platform, however, these days they also have built-in community space and several other noteworthy features.
Similar as Podia, it gives you a chance to set up everything for selling an online course and hosting a membership, from sales pages to having the course space and managing your course students.
Also on Thinkific, you can get started for free with 1x course and 1x community available and ZERO transaction fees!
The best features
- A great user interface for courses and memberships
- Courses can be sold along with community access
- Various landing page templates available to get started with
The cons
Most of the cons would depend on your needs and preferences. To name one of the key things to keep an eye out for – you will need to connect Thinkific to an email marketing platform to send out broadcasts and email sequences. Also, the page builder, while looking nice, sometimes can be slightly annoying… That’s just a personal observation though!
Podia vs Thinkific comparison
As you might have noticed, both Podia and Thinkific really have a rather similar offer.
If you’re choosing between Podia vs Thinkific, here are some thoughts to consider:
Podia is better if you want to sell more than just online courses. As it gives an easy user interface to upload and sell other digital products as well, Podia would be an easier place to manage.
Thinkific would be a better choice if you want to focus on selling a course or a membership, either with or without the community space. As the key focus of the platform have always been LMS – a learning management system –
Thinkific’s backend has a higher quality. Overall, while Thinkific doesn’t offer an all-in-one platform per se, their backend setup and offer is better. Podia has a few more “holes” in the overall experience. For example, the page builder is VERY basic and there are not as many customization options in the overall user experience.
Choose Podia if that all-in-one aspect is really important! If you’re all about simplicity and really just want to have that SPACE online where you can start sharing your digital products, choose Podia and you’ll have it all at your fingertips.
To wrap it up, I would, most likely, go for Thinkific as in many cases it will be the most reliable choice.
However, Podia also has an amazing offer and if you are okay with the few limitations that it might bring upon you, this platform can also be a great choice!
>> Struggling to find the best course platform? Get this free Course Platform Guide!
Follow @coursecreationlab on Instagram and TikTok to learn more!
