Thinkific ‑ Online Courses vs. Courses Plus: Comparison

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Thinkific ‑ Online Courses vs. Courses Plus: At a Glance
3. Deep Dive Comparison of Core Features and Workflows
4. Customization, Branding, and the Customer Experience
5. Pricing Structure and Long-Term Value Assessment
6. Integrations and Ecosystem Compatibility
7. The Alternative: Unifying Commerce, Content, and Community Natively
8. Conclusion
9. FAQ

Introduction

The expansion of the digital economy has created a significant opportunity for Shopify merchants to diversify their revenue by offering expertise alongside physical products. Integrating educational content, such as online courses and membership communities, allows a brand to transition from a simple storefront to a comprehensive resource for its customers. However, the technical challenge often lies in how these digital assets are delivered. Choosing the wrong infrastructure can lead to fragmented customer experiences, where users struggle with multiple logins or feel disconnected from the primary brand identity. Finding a balance between robust learning management features and seamless store integration is essential for long-term growth.

Short answer: Thinkific ‑ Online Courses is an extension of a well-established external platform, making it a viable choice for those who already use Thinkific’s standalone services, though it can feel separated from the Shopify core. Courses Plus offers a more integrated, app-based approach with strong internal tools like AI quiz generation and certificates, making it better suited for merchants who want to manage everything through the Shopify dashboard. Both apps serve different needs depending on whether a merchant prioritizes external power or internal convenience.

The following analysis provides a feature-by-feature comparison of Thinkific ‑ Online Courses and Courses Plus. This objective review evaluates their functionality, pricing models, and user experiences to help business owners determine which solution aligns with their specific operational requirements. By examining how each app handles content delivery, student engagement, and technical integration, merchants can make an informed decision that supports both their immediate sales goals and their broader community-building efforts.

Thinkific ‑ Online Courses vs. Courses Plus: At a Glance

Deep Dive Comparison of Core Features and Workflows

Understanding the fundamental mechanics of each platform is the first step in assessing their utility. Thinkific ‑ Online Courses operates primarily as a bridge between the Shopify store and the Thinkific learning management system. When a customer purchases a course on Shopify, the app facilitates the creation of an account on the Thinkific side. This allows merchants to leverage Thinkific’s specialized course-building tools, which include drag-and-drop editors and various website themes. However, because the content is hosted on an external platform, the experience can sometimes feel like the customer is leaving the Shopify environment, which is reflected in the lower merchant ratings regarding the fluidity of the connection.

Courses Plus takes a different architectural approach. It is built to function more closely within the Shopify ecosystem. Merchants can create lessons from videos, images, and text directly through the app interface. It also includes modern features like AI-assisted course and quiz creation, which significantly reduces the time required to launch a new product. For businesses that want to keep their operations centralized, the ability to monitor customer progress and quiz scores within a familiar interface is a major advantage. While Thinkific focuses on a standalone "university" feel, Courses Plus emphasizes the "app" experience, allowing for a quicker transition from physical product sales to digital content delivery.

The workflow for managing students also varies. Thinkific offers manual student enrollment and the ability to email students directly from its dashboard, particularly in its higher tiers. Courses Plus provides tools like PDF certificate generation and progress tracking, which are essential for maintaining high engagement levels. Merchants must decide if they prefer the specialized, deep-focus environment of an external LMS or the streamlined, integrated workflow of a Shopify-native app.

Customization, Branding, and the Customer Experience

Branding consistency is often the deciding factor in customer trust. In the Thinkific ‑ Online Courses ecosystem, total control over branding comes at a premium. While the app provides website themes specifically for the course area, removing the Thinkific branding requires the "Grow" plan, which is priced at $199 per month. For smaller brands, this cost can be a barrier to maintaining a professional, unified look. If the customer notices a shift in design or a different URL when moving from the checkout to the course content, it may lead to confusion or a perceived lack of professionalism.

Courses Plus addresses branding through its tiered structure as well, but it maintains a closer visual tie to the store's existing theme. The app allows for the creation of PDF certificates that can be customized to match the brand's aesthetic, helping to reinforce the brand identity even after the course is completed. Because Courses Plus works with Shopify customer accounts and checkout, the friction of moving between the store and the learning content is minimized. This native feel is a primary reason why it holds a significantly higher rating in the Shopify App Store compared to Thinkific's offering.

Customer login flow is another critical component of the user experience. Fragmented systems often require users to manage separate credentials for the shop and the course area. Thinkific’s integration attempts to bridge this gap, but as an external platform, technical hiccups can occur, leading to support requests regarding login issues. Courses Plus leverages Shopify's existing infrastructure, which generally results in a more stable experience for the end user. When a customer can use their existing store account to access their digital purchases, the perceived value of the membership increases.

Pricing Structure and Long-Term Value Assessment

The financial commitment for these apps represents a significant portion of a merchant's digital overhead. Thinkific ‑ Online Courses offers a four-tier pricing model. The Free plan is quite generous in terms of student numbers but limits the merchant to only three courses and one community. As the business grows, the Basic plan at $49 per month introduces unlimited courses and custom domains. However, advanced features like memberships, bundles, and live lessons are gated behind the $99 "Start" plan. The most comprehensive tier, the "Grow" plan at $199, is necessary for those needing API access or the removal of external branding.

Courses Plus utilizes a different logic for its pricing tiers, focusing on the number of lessons rather than just the number of courses. The Demo plan is free but limited to five lessons per store. The Basic plan, at $29.99 per month, allows for up to 20 lessons and introduces drip content and certificates. For larger schools, the Professional plan at $79.99 supports up to 100 lessons and adds subscription capabilities. The Enterprise plan, matching Thinkific’s top tier at $199.99, offers unlimited lessons and bulk student invites.

When evaluating value for money, merchants should consider their projected content volume. A brand with a few massive, deep-dive courses might find Thinkific’s unlimited course structure on the Basic plan more attractive. Conversely, a merchant offering many short, bite-sized lessons or "how-to" videos might find the lesson-based limits of Courses Plus more restrictive as they scale. It is also vital to factor in transaction fees and the cost of the time spent managing a fragmented system. If a merchant chooses a cheaper plan but spends hours every week manually syncing data or answering login-related support tickets, the "better value" disappears.

Integrations and Ecosystem Compatibility

A course platform does not exist in a vacuum; it must communicate with email marketing tools, CRM systems, and automation software. Thinkific ‑ Online Courses excels in its breadth of external integrations. It works with Zapier, ConvertKit, Keap, MailChimp, and ActiveCampaign. This makes it a strong contender for established businesses that already have a complex marketing stack outside of Shopify. These integrations allow for sophisticated automated sequences, such as triggering an email campaign when a student completes a specific quiz or hits a milestone in their learning journey.

Courses Plus is more focused on the Shopify-specific ecosystem. It integrates with Shopify Flow, which allows merchants to create internal automations based on customer behavior within the store. It also works with Zoom for live webinars and Commentify for community engagement. By supporting YouTube and Vimeo for video hosting, it ensures that merchants can use the video platforms they are already familiar with. The support for Shopify's native checkout and customer accounts is perhaps its most significant integration benefit, as it ensures that the financial and user data remains within the Shopify database.

For merchants who want to bundle physical and digital goods, the "Works With" list is a vital checklist. Thinkific’s ability to connect with various email providers is excellent for nurturing leads, while Courses Plus’s integration with Shopify Flow is superior for those who want to trigger store-wide rewards or discounts based on course progress. The choice depends on where the merchant's "source of truth" resides—if it is in a separate CRM, Thinkific is powerful. If it is within Shopify, Courses Plus offers a more cohesive path.

The Alternative: Unifying Commerce, Content, and Community Natively

While both Thinkific ‑ Online Courses and Courses Plus offer paths to selling knowledge, they both represent a specific type of trade-off. Merchants are often forced to choose between the power of an external LMS and the convenience of a Shopify app. This choice often leads to "platform fragmentation," a state where a brand’s digital presence is duct-taped together across different platforms. This fragmentation results in separate logins, disjointed branding, and broken customer data, which ultimately hurts conversion rates and increases technical support overhead.

The concept of an "All-in-One Native Platform" addresses these issues by keeping everything within the brand's own ecosystem. Instead of sending a customer to an external site or dealing with an app that still feels like an add-on, a native solution allows digital products to live directly alongside physical stock. This approach ensures that a customer who buys a physical craft kit can immediately access a tutorial video using the same account and the same interface. By unified login that reduces customer support friction, merchants can focus on creating high-quality content rather than troubleshooting technical barriers.

Native integration also fundamentally changes how a brand can monetize its expertise. When a platform is built directly into Shopify, it can leverage all the key features for courses and communities without the need for complex "bridges." This leads to real-world results that far exceed what fragmented systems can offer. For example, some brands have doubled its store's conversion rate by fixing a fragmented system that previously confused their customers. By removing the friction from the sales funnel, the path from "interested visitor" to "active student" becomes a seamless experience.

Furthermore, the financial benefits of a native platform become clear when looking at total ROI. Without high monthly fees for branding removal or per-user overages, business owners can see a predictable pricing without hidden transaction fees. This stability is crucial for scaling a community without the fear of escalating costs. When the technology is invisible to the customer, they are more likely to engage with the brand's core message.

If unifying your stack is a priority, start by comparing plan costs against total course revenue.

The impact of this native philosophy is best illustrated by merchants who have successfully transitioned their entire business model. One brand found strategies for selling over 4,000 digital courses natively, proving that the Shopify ecosystem is more than capable of handling high-volume digital sales. By keeping the content "at home," these businesses maintain full control over the customer journey. Another business reported achieving a 100% improvement in conversion rate simply by unifying their fragmented sites into a single store.

Beyond just sales, the native approach fosters long-term loyalty. When a merchant understands how one brand sold $112K+ by bundling courses with physical goods, they see the power of a unified brand experience. Customers feel more connected to a brand that provides a single, cohesive home for all their interactions. This unity is the foundation of a modern e-commerce business that seeks to grow its community and its bottom line simultaneously. By all the key features for courses and communities into the core store experience, merchants can build a sustainable, scalable digital presence.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between Thinkific ‑ Online Courses and Courses Plus, the decision comes down to where you want your business to live. Thinkific is an excellent choice for those who are already entrenched in their ecosystem and require a deep, specialized learning management system that operates alongside Shopify. However, the costs associated with removing branding and the potential for a disjointed customer experience are significant trade-offs. Courses Plus offers a much tighter integration for Shopify-first merchants, providing essential tools like AI quiz generation and certificates within the dashboard, though it does impose limits on the number of lessons available in its lower tiers.

Both of these apps provide valuable services, but they also highlight the ongoing challenge of platform fragmentation in the e-commerce space. As a business scales, the friction of managing separate systems—or apps that don't fully feel like a part of the store—can hinder growth. Moving toward a natively integrated platform allows a brand to amplify its sales and reduce support tickets by creating a single, stable home for both commerce and content. When you provide a seamless experience, you aren't just selling a course; you are building a community that trusts your brand.

For those ready to scale without the complexity of tiered lesson limits or expensive branding fees, securing a fixed cost structure for digital products is a vital step toward long-term profitability. By keeping your customers within your store, you ensure that every interaction reinforces your brand's value. Before making a final choice, it is helpful to start by scanning reviews to understand real-world adoption patterns from other successful merchants.

To build your community without leaving Shopify, start by reviewing the Shopify App Store listing merchants install from.

FAQ

Is Thinkific better for large-scale online schools than a Shopify app?

Thinkific is a specialized Learning Management System (LMS) designed to handle complex educational structures. If a merchant requires advanced features like a specialized external student portal and is willing to pay higher fees for custom branding, it is a strong contender. However, for merchants whose primary business is their Shopify store, a native app or integrated platform often provides a more cohesive experience for the customer and less technical overhead for the owner.

Does Courses Plus charge per student?

Based on the provided data, Courses Plus offers "unlimited students" (represented as ∞ students) across its pricing plans, including the Demo and Basic tiers. This is a significant advantage for merchants who plan to grow a large audience quickly without facing escalating per-user costs. Instead of student counts, Courses Plus bases its pricing tiers primarily on the number of lessons provided within the store.

How does a native, all-in-one platform compare to specialized external apps?

A native platform lives inside the Shopify ecosystem, meaning it uses the store's existing checkout, customer accounts, and theme styles. This eliminates the need for customers to create a second account or navigate away from your brand's website. External apps often act as "bridges" to another platform, which can lead to login failures or design inconsistencies. A native approach typically results in higher conversion rates because it removes the technical friction that often stops a customer from completing a purchase or accessing their content.

Can I sell subscriptions with these apps?

Both platforms offer ways to handle recurring revenue, but the implementation differs. Courses Plus includes subscription and membership features in its Professional and Enterprise tiers. Thinkific ‑ Online Courses offers memberships and bundles starting at its $99 "Start" plan. When choosing between them, merchants should verify how well these subscriptions integrate with Shopify’s native billing and if they require additional third-party tools to function correctly. By checking merchant feedback and app-store performance signals, you can see how other store owners have successfully implemented these recurring revenue models.

What is the advantage of a flat-rate pricing model for courses?

Many platforms in the digital education space charge based on the number of students, seats, or a percentage of sales. A flat-rate model, such as a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses, allows a merchant to scale their marketing and sales without their software costs increasing in tandem with their success. This predictability is essential for calculating profit margins and planning long-term business investments in content creation.