Thinkific vs Kartra (2023) • Which Is The Best for Your Course?

If you’re looking for an Online Course platform or Learning Management System (LMS), you might have wondered how Thinkific compares to Kartra.

Thinkific is an online course platform that best suits course-building. Kartra is a multi-faceted marketing tool that you can use for online courses.

Though similar, some important distinctions could affect the choice you make.

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Thinkific

Edupreneurs benefit from platforms like Thinkific by utilizing their knowledge independently and setting up an e-learning business. Companies can use its services to train employees or teach customers.

The platform provides everything to set up a site, build courses, and automate some marketing. It’s a strong choice as there is a free plan and an annual discount on its three paid plans.

The Basic plan is $49 ($39 per month annually), followed by Pro at $99 ($79 per month annually) and Premier at $499 ($399 per month annually).

Kartra

Kartra is an all-in-one marketing suite with course-building elements for entrepreneurs.

It’s not exclusively for digital creatives, however. Any online business can benefit from Kartra’s tools, and Kartra is an excellent option for online course building.

Its pricing ranges from the Starter package at $99 per month to Silver at $199, Gold at $299, and Platinum at $499. By paying annually, you will get a discount.

Thinkific vs. Kartra at a Glance

	Thinkific	Kartra
Free Trial	Yes, 14 days.	Yes, 14 days. ($1 trial)
Pricing Range	Free Plan – $0 per month Basic – $49 per month Pro – $99 per month Premier – $499 per month	Starter Plan – $99 Silver Plan – $199 Gold Plan – $299 Platinum Plan – $499
Best For	Entrepreneurs and Enterprises	Entrepreneurs and Enterprises
User Interface Features	Simplistic Drag and drop	Less intuitive Drag and drop
Online Courses	Create courses Market courses	Create courses Market courses
Monetization Options	Monetize courses Monetize memberships	Monetize courses Monetize memberships
Marketing Options	Build an email list Use multi-media options Have promotions	Build an email list Use multi-media options Have promotions

Comparing Thinkific and Kartra, you can see that they have very similar features for education entrepreneurs.

Companies can use them for training courses as well as marketing products that might require training.

The primary difference between the two is that Thinkific offers a free plan and Kartra offers more all-in-one marketing features, which are not exclusive for online courses.

Thinkific vs. Kartra: Pricing Comparison

Apart from Thinkific’s free plan, which still offers core features, these platforms are similarly effective learning management systems.

Kartra is geared more towards marketing features, while Thinkific has course creators in mind with the necessary tools to market said courses.

If you plan on expanding your business to include digital products beyond courses, then Kartra might be the right investment for you.

Thinkific Pricing:

Free – $0
- Host Content
- A limited number of courses
- Unlimited students
- Quizzes and surveys
- Access funds instantly
Basic – $49 ($39 per month when paying annually)
- Unlimited courses and students
- Drip Content. Email students
- Zapier integrations
- Custom Domain.

Pro – $99($79 per month when paying annually)
- Unlimited courses and students
- Two site admin spots
- Up to five course authors
- Advanced pricing
- Memberships and Bundles
- Certificates
- Advanced support
- Enhanced customization

Premier – $499 ($399 per month when paying annually)
- Unlimited courses and students
- Five site admins
- 15 group analysts
- 50 course admins/authors
- Single sign-on

Kartra Pricing:

Starter – $99 ($79 per month when paying annually)
- One custom domain
- 15,000 emails a month
- 50GB bandwidth
- Host 100 pages
- Host 50 videos
- Two membership sites
- One help desk.
Silver – $199 ($149 per month when paying annually)
- Three custom domains
- Unlimited emails, pages, bandwidth, videos, membership sites, team members, and help desks
Gold – $299 ($229 per month when paying annually)
- Five custom domains
- Unlimited emails, pages, bandwidth, videos, membership sites, team members, and help desks
- Kartra Agency
Platinum – $499 ($379 per month when paying annually)
- Up to ten custom domains
- Unlimited emails, pages, bandwidth, videos, membership sites, team members, and help desks
- Kartra Agency

Both platforms also offer premium plans with additional features.

Kartra adds Agency to its Gold and Platinum plans, and Thinkific invites enterprises to discuss unique needs for tailored packages.

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Thinkific vs. Kartra: A Comparison of Features and Tools

Both Thinkific and Kartra have the features and tools you need for course-building and marketing, as well as hosting, analytics, and great customization options.

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Online Courses

Thinkific is a dedicated online course platform with a free option to get you started.

Kartra is your all-in-one marketing suite that can automate your business to higher sales.

Even though they are equally efficient and effective, Thinkific has features for improved learner engagement and progress checks.

Which Platform Offers the Better Solution for Hosting Online Courses?

Thinkific’s course builder is better because it has tools for optimum course creation. An example is the handy bulk importer feature, which allows you to import multiple file types (Pro plan and up).

Sales & Marketing Features

If you need more business tools and you want to focus on expanding your business, then Kartra might be the best option for you.

It suits the entrepreneur who wants to spend less time on the tech side of the business without hiring someone else to do it for them.

You will have to use some basic coding skills to make the most of Kartra, but it can be the only platform you need because of its all-in-one nature.

Which Platform Offers Better Sales & Marketing Solutions?

Kartra’s sales and marketing features are better because there are more tools available.

Student Experience Features

Because Thinkific is a platform for edupreneurs, its features support best learning practices, such as testing in between modules, quizzes and many more.

You can customize Kartra to create a good experience for users and has added marketing benefits. However, its systems take getting used to for the administrator.

Which Platform Offers Better Student Experience?

The Thinkific student experience is better because the platform allows for advanced customization in design and layout.

Analytics Features

It is fair to say that both Thinkific and Kartra can offer excellent analytics features.

That said, there are some slight differences between what Thinkific and Kartra have to offer. Thinkific relies on Google Analytics, while Kartra does not.

Which Platform Offers Better Analytics?

Kartra’s analytic tools are in-built and part of its powerful marketing suite. You get more integrated tools to measure and improve your business. Google Analytics is available on all Thinkific paid plans, but not the free plan.

Customization Features

Thinkific has unlimited options and many templates to help you customize your site and your courses as a course-building tool.

Kartra, too, has excellent customization features, but it requires some coding knowledge.

Which Platform Offers Better Customization in Course-Building?

Thinkific’s drag and drop builder is better because it is more simplistic.

Final Thoughts

Choose Thinkific if: you need a platform that fully supports a learning environment, whether in-house training programs, digital products, or drip-fed courses. Set up your school and start your community.
Choose Kartra if: you want to turn your online school into an online empire or if your business needs LMS features.

Both Thinkific and Kartra perform well as course-builders and platforms to run successful courses. Their main difference lies in how technically you want to invest yourself.

It’s a bit like Apple and Android. The one OS is more intuitive, while the other allows you into its infrastructure to make internal changes.

Thinkific is ideal for anyone who wants to focus on running their online school. Kartra can empower your business’s marketing aspects, whether in education or another industry that needs an LMS.

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