Updated 30 March 2026
Launching on Thinkific Free
1 course. Unlimited students. 0% transaction fees. Thinkific's Free plan is genuinely useful for testing a course concept before committing to a paid subscription. Here is everything you can do and when you need to upgrade.
1
Course
Unlimited
Students
0%
Transaction fees
What You Get on Free
Included Features
- 1 course with unlimited lessons (video, text, PDFs, audio)
- Unlimited students (no cap on enrollments)
- 0% Thinkific transaction fees (only pay Stripe 2.9% + $0.30)
- Basic quizzes and surveys within your course
- Community space for student discussion
- Free or paid course pricing (you set the price)
- Basic course analytics (enrollments, completions)
- Student progress tracking
- Hosted on yourname.thinkific.com subdomain
Not Included
- Custom domain (stuck with thinkific.com subdomain)
- Email marketing tools
- Drip content (scheduling lesson releases over time)
- Completion certificates
- More than 1 course
- Removing Thinkific branding
- Affiliate marketing tools
- Course bundles or memberships
- Assignments and grading
Step-by-Step Setup Guide
1. Create your account
Sign up at thinkific.com. No credit card required. Choose the Free plan. Your site will be at yourname.thinkific.com.
2. Build your course
Add chapters and lessons. Upload video content (Thinkific hosts videos with DRM protection). Add text lessons, PDFs, downloadable resources, and quizzes. Preview the student experience before publishing.
3. Set your pricing
Choose free, one-time payment, or subscription pricing. For a first course, $29 to $99 is a common starting range. You can also offer a free course to build your email list and audience.
4. Connect Stripe
Create a Stripe account (free) and connect it to Thinkific. Funds from course sales go directly to your Stripe account minus Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee. No Thinkific middleman.
5. Customize your landing page
Edit the course sales page with your description, curriculum outline, instructor bio, and testimonials. The Free plan landing page builder is basic but functional.
6. Launch and share
Publish your course. Share the link on social media, your email list, and any relevant communities. Embed a buy button on your existing website if you have one. Track enrollments in the dashboard.
Marketing Without Paid Tools
Since the Free plan does not include email marketing, here is how to market your course without paid tools:
Social media sharing
Share your course link on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Facebook groups, Reddit, and relevant online communities. Write value-driven posts that demonstrate your expertise, with a link to the course at the end.
Existing website embed
If you have an existing website or blog, embed a Thinkific buy button or link. Write blog posts related to your course topic and include calls to action directing readers to your course.
Email outreach (manual)
Use your personal email to reach out to your network. Send individualized messages to people who would benefit from the course. Personal outreach converts at much higher rates than mass email.
Free Mailchimp tier
Mailchimp offers a free plan for up to 500 contacts. Use it alongside Thinkific to build an email list. Collect emails via a free landing page, then send course announcements to your list.
YouTube and podcasts
Create free content on YouTube or a podcast that demonstrates your expertise. Include your course link in descriptions and show notes. Free content builds trust and drives course sales.
When to Upgrade
Upgrade from Free to Basic ($49/month) when any of these become true:
You want a custom domain
yourname.thinkific.com looks unprofessional for a paid course. A custom domain (yourcoursesite.com) builds credibility and trust. This is the most common reason to upgrade.
You need drip content
For multi-week courses, you want to release lessons on a schedule rather than all at once. Drip content prevents students from rushing through and improves engagement and completion rates.
You want to create a second course
The Free plan only allows 1 course. Once you validate your first course and want to expand your catalog, you need Basic for unlimited courses.
You need email marketing
As your student base grows beyond what manual outreach can handle, built-in email marketing tools let you nurture leads, announce new content, and recover abandoned checkouts.
You want affiliate marketing
Letting others promote your course for a commission is one of the most effective growth strategies. Affiliate selling is available on Basic and above.
Free Plan Revenue Potential
There is no revenue cap on Thinkific Free. You can sell a $500 course to 1,000 students and earn $500,000 in revenue on the free plan, paying only Stripe's processing fees. The limitations are functional (1 course, no custom domain, no email tools) rather than revenue-based.
Realistic first-course revenue expectations: most first-time course creators generate $500 to $5,000 in their first 3 months. A few generate significantly more with an existing audience. The Free plan is designed to get you to your first sales without any financial risk.
Once your course generates $100+/month consistently, the $49/month Basic plan upgrade pays for itself in credibility (custom domain) and growth tools (email marketing, drip content, affiliate program).