Thinkific vs Simplero

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Are you looking for the best Online Course platform or the most accessible Learning Management System?

You have probably already added Thinkific and Simplero to your shortlist. Since their basic features might seem similar, you might be wondering just how these two competitors compare.

This article will not only highlight the similarities but also point out the differences between these two platforms. Read on to see how Thinkific and Simplero compare.

Thinkific vs Simplero

Thinkific

Thinkific is one of the most popular platforms used by online course creators to sell online courses and digital products.

Its popularity stems from being an all-in-one platform that allows the user to design and market any online course. User-friendly tools make it easy to start your first course in practically no time!

Simplero

Simplero is more sales-oriented and focuses on selling your product, whether a course, a digital product or a membership site.

Simplero prides itself on being an all-in-one marketing software that allows coaches to create websites, email marketing, sales funnels, and most importantly, online courses.

Thinkific vs. Simplero at a Glance

ThinkificSimplero
Free TrialYes, 14 days.Yes, 14 days.
Pricing RangeStarter – $0
Basic Plan – $49/month
Pro Plan – $99/month
Premier Plan – $499/month
*Save 20% when signing up annually
Growth Package add-on with Pro Plan (charges based on active students)
Lower monthly rates for annual subscriptions
Build – $24 per month
Launch – $83 per month
Rule the World – $124 (currently most popular option)
Discounted rates for yearly packages
Best ForBest suited for coaches, trainers, authors, small businesses for starting and hosting online courses and membership sites.
Best suited for marketers and coaches who want a simple marketing software
User Interface Features
Customizable designs
Custom domains
Course bundles
Bulk email
Course reviews
Website builder
Easy to customize
Own domain
No plugins required
Landing page builder
Online CoursesSSO & segment
Course category options
Download course content in different content types enhances learning
Zapier integration enables connectivity to other software
Private community to enhance learning
Migration support with all annual plans
Monetization OptionsSell content
Affiliate marketing
Third-party adverts on social media platforms
Sales funnels
Audience promotions
Sales pages
Marketing OptionsFocuses on result
Retarget ads
Email marketing
Keyword research
Utilize SEO
Customer validation
Templates for longer landing pages
Lead generation through interactive questionnaires
Automated Email marketing
Centralized data management
Affiliate plugins

As an overview, it’s important to consider some of the following key points of these two platforms:

  • Thinkific focuses on creating your course from the ground up, whereas Simplero emphasizes marketing of your course. If you’re a first-time course creator, you might prefer Thinkific. 
  • Simplero’s entry-level package is cheaper at $24 per month than Thinkific’s, starting at $49 per month. 
  • Thinkific has a free version for basic course building. Simplero has a time-limited free trial but no permanent free plan. 
  • Thinkific is ideal for coaches, trainers, larger companies, and universities. Simplero, on the other hand, aims explicitly toward coaches and marketers who prefer simplicity in their platform.
  • Although Simplero is more focused on marketing your course material, Thinkific has a strong marketing strategy to promote courses. These include SEO utilization and retarget ads. 

Thinkific vs. Simplero: Pricing Comparison

Thinkific Pricing:

  • Free – This very basic plan boasts all the core Thinkific features, including content hosting, access to three courses, and an unlimited number of students.
  • Basic Plan – $49 per month or $39 per month if paid annually – Includes Thinkific app, unlimited courses, and student surveys. No Randomized Quiz Question bank or prerequisite lessons.
  • Pro Plan -$99 per month or $89 per month if paid annually – Includes live lessons with Zoom, unlimited courses, and student discussions. 
  • Premier Plan – $499 per month or $399 per month if paid annually – Includes everything from the previous packages and group analysts, SSO, and onboarding package. 

Simplero Pricing:

  • Build – $24 per month or $290 per year – The starter Simplero option offers 10 GB storage, draft courses, draft products, and capacity for 1,000 contacts. 
  • Launch – $83 per month or $990 per year – You get unlimited courses and a storage upgrade to 1,000 GB. This plan also includes subscriptions, worksheets, and five additional products.
  • Rule the world – $124 per month or $1490 per year – Currently the most popular Simplero option, with a considerable number of features. Some of these include 1 TB storage, unlimited courses and products, member badges, and upsells or downsells. 

With the variety of features offered in Simplero’s Rule the World, this plan is the most cost-effective.

Thinkific, on the other hand, provides a free version that has enough tools to get you started.

Thinkific vs. Simplero: A Comparison of Features and Tools

Features are critical when deciding on the best platform for your business needs. It’s important to differentiate between necessary features and nice-to-haves. Essentially, you want features that make the creation and use process equally simple. 

Tools that facilitate interaction between students and teachers also go a long way toward boosting sales. Read on to see the different features of each platform.

Online Courses

Online courses should be synonymous with simplicity. The goal is to be engaging and encourage further sales.

Online courses hosted on Thinkific allow course creators to educate students with various customizable features using simple automation. Simplero adds to all of this with redirection to sign-up pages and timed open/close for checkout pages. 

Which Platform Offers the Better Solution for Hosting Online Courses?

There is no clear winner in this category because Thinkific and Simplero perform similarly in terms of course hosting quality. Both are all-in-one platforms, with the primary difference being that Simplero places more emphasis on marketing your courses.

Sales & Marketing Features

Thinkific offers coaches an assortment of guidelines that promote courses across various social media platforms. Easily add links to your other existing pages that take students directly to your courses.

Since Simplero promotes itself as a marketing platform, it’s not surprising that this software offers detailed and specific marketing options.

Which Platform Offers Better Sales & Marketing Solutions?

Simplero performs better in this category. Some popular Simplero marketing features include templates for longer landing pages and interactive questionnaires that facilitate better lead generation. With this content as part of the default program, it simplifies the hard work. 

Student  Experience Features

Few factors influence your ultimate success rate quite as much as the student experience features. This factor is something that both Thinkific and Simplero take very seriously, which could make choosing between the two somewhat difficult.

Which Platform Offers Better Student Experience?

Thinkific still seems to have the upper hand. With a wide variety of surveys, quizzes, and discussions, this platform stands out and provides students with a user-friendly platform. 

Analytics Features

Thinkific and Simplero both recognize that visitor information is crucial to determining the success of your page. Since both software platforms make use of Google Analytics, they rank similar in this category. 

Which Platform Offers Better Analytics?

There is no winner here – both Thinkific and Simplero rely on Google Analytics. Once you have set up your page, simply install the app, add your tracking ID, and Google Analytics does the rest. Information gathered from Google Analytics will provide you with your page visitor’s demographic information. 

Customization Features

Since not all courses and learners are the same, it makes sense to have a platform that allows you to customize to fit your needs. The types of customizable options determine whether a visitor will return to the page. 

Thinkific allows you to add a custom domain easily, and the site builder feature provides an engaging learning experience. Simplero, like Thinkific, will enable you to edit several different areas of each course page. 

Which Platform Offers Better Customization Features?

Simplero shines in this category because the range of customizable features allows your landing page, visitor information, and thank-you pages to stand out.

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Final Thoughts

  • Choose Thinkific if: you want a software platform that focuses on providing exceptional course content that you can create from the very basics.
  • Choose Simplero if: you’re looking for automation features such as ad management, contact insights, and reporting dashboards to make up a professional marketing-driven course page. 

Our comprehensive evaluation of these two platforms shows that both can be highly effective options for your online courses.

Since both are all-in-one options, the choice hinges on the details of your business priorities – marketing or course creation. 

Do you prefer a platform that allows you to build your courses from the ground up, or are you leaning more toward a platform with enhanced marketing options? 

Whichever platform you choose, you’ll have access to advanced email marketing, customizable dashboards, and enhanced automation.

Both Thinkific and Simplero will give you resources to create professional pages. Growing your online course business has never been easier!

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  • Susan Tuttle

    Susan is a certified course creator and writer interested in online course platforms and learning management systems. Susan loves helping others through teaching and coaching. She is also passionate about helping businesses develop their online presence to reach prospective customers most effectively. Susan's background is in finance, marketing, and education. She has also spent time in the corporate world and the education space. Susan previously operated the Online Course Creation Coach consulting firm offering guidance on creating high-quality online courses and programs. Susan has been designing online courses since 2000 and has authored over 60 online courses. Susan is a current member of The Learning Guild and the Training Magazine Network.

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