The Thinkific alternative for coaches who do more than courses
Thinkific is a good LMS: unlimited courses, quizzes, certificates, and a 0% platform fee. But 1:1 coaching runs on a pasted Calendly link, and there are no habits, check-ins, or contracts. Coachful is the coaching platform that also sells your courses.
Coaches are switching
Thinkific
course platform
Coachful
All-in-one coaching platform
Thinkific is a strong course builder with unlimited courses and students on every plan, a 0% platform fee, a 30-day trial without a card, and a 4.6 on Capterra.
The gap is everything around a live client. Thinkific has no booking calendar, no calendar sync, no contracts, no habits, and no client intake; coaching products link out to Calendly and Zoom. Coachful sells courses and downloads with drip release and completion tracking, and wraps them in booking with two-way Google, Apple/iCloud and Outlook sync, built-in video, contracts, programs, daily habits, check-ins, and community, from $29/mo.
Three reasons coaches choose Coachful
Booking is built in, not pasted in
Self-serve booking pages, availability rules, buffers, paid sessions, and two-way Google, Apple/iCloud and Outlook sync. Thinkific coaching products have no calendar of their own.
Coaching between the lessons
Programs with weekly goals and daily tasks, habits, morning and evening check-ins, and goals with progress bars. Thinkific tracks course completion and quiz scores.
A branded app without the $199 add-on
Coachful’s iOS and Android app shows your branding on every plan. Thinkific’s own-brand app is a $199/mo add-on, more than the Basic plan itself.
Coachful vs Thinkific
Everything you need to run a coaching business — side by side.
CoachfulThinkific pricing and features as of May 2026 — check their site for the latest.
Switching from Thinkific is easy
Bring your clients over
Our team imports your client list and rebuilds your setup from Thinkific for you. Nothing gets lost in the move.
Maya Chen
James Park
Priya Shah
Lena FosterCoachfulMaya ChenJames ParkPriya ShahLena FosterSet up in minutes
Coachful is built specifically for coaches, so your programs, scheduling, and payments are ready the moment you sign in.
Building your website now — almost done! ✨
Go live, risk-free
Start a 7-day free trial. A card is required, but there is no charge during the trial and you can cancel in one click.
Your coaching platform
47 active clients
47
Clients
12
This week
$8.4k
Revenue
MayaJamesPriyaCoaches who made the switch
I tried running my coaching business across five different apps. It was a complete waste of time and money. Then I found Coachful. It was everything I need in one platform.
Christopher Duff
Founder, Duff X Athletics
It’s the coaching platform I always wanted — it just didn’t exist yet. I have one dashboard for everything and already saved $1,300 by cancelling all the tech I had duct-taped together.
Emily F.
Coach · United States
Fantastic piece of software for coaches who want everything to be in one place. The Coachful team have been amazing at being on hand to help get everything set up. Would highly recommend!
Luis
Coach · United Kingdom
Your Whole Practice, in 30 Seconds
Clients, sessions, programs, chat and payments in one calm workspace that carries your brand.
Everything a coach needs, in one place
All your questions, answered
What coaches ask before switching from Thinkific.
If you coach people live, yes. Thinkific is a course platform; its coaching product has no booking calendar, no calendar sync, no contracts, and no habit tracking. Coachful covers courses with drip and completion tracking and adds booking, built-in video, contracts, programs, habits, check-ins, and community, from $29/mo.
No platform fee on any paid plan. Thinkific Payments processes at 2.9% plus a card fee, and the older US Stripe surcharge was dropped in 2026. Coachful is also 0% platform fee; you keep everything after Stripe or Razorpay processing. One thing to know: Thinkific raised prices 10% in August 2026 for existing customers at renewal.
Thinkific Basic is $49/mo ($36 annual), Start $99 ($74), Grow $199 ($149), and Plus is custom. The branded mobile app is a $199/mo add-on. Coachful is $29/mo for up to 5 clients, $49/mo Solo for up to 20 clients, and $99/mo unlimited Pro, with the branded client app included.
You can sell a Coaching & Webinars product (5 on Basic, unlimited on Start and above), but sessions are booked through a pasted Calendly or Google Calendar link and delivered on Zoom. There is no intake form for coaching clients, no notes on a client record, and no progress dashboard. That layer is what Coachful is built around.
When your product is the course library and coaching is a side offer. Thinkific goes deeper on quizzes, assignments, certificates, SCORM on Plus, enterprise needs like SSO, and automated affiliate administration. Coachful creates affiliate links and tracks clicks, conversions, and attributed revenue, but payouts are handled manually. Thinkific's 30-day no-card trial is generous too.
Yes — a 7-day free trial. Card required at signup, no charge during the trial, cancel in one click.
Ready to leave Thinkific behind?
Get your whole coaching business in one place. 7-day free trial, cancel in one click.
Built for coaches who take their clients seriously
