Choosing between Bettermode and Thinkific for your online courses or community?
It’s a tough decision!
Both platforms are powerful and popular, but they have key differences.
In this article, we’ll compare Bettermode vs Thinkific to help you choose your specific needs best.
We’ll dive into pricing, features, and ease of use so you can choose confidently.
Let’s dive in!
Overview
To give you the most accurate comparison, we’ve spent weeks testing both Bettermode and Thinkific.
We built sample courses and communities on each platform, explored their features, and compared their customer support.
We’re sharing our findings to help you choose the right tool.
Ready to build a thriving community? BetterMode offers customizable features and flexible plans to fit your needs.
Pricing: Free plan is available. Paid plan Starts at $49/month
Key Features:
- Project Tracking
- Communication
- File Sharing
Ready to join the 50,000+ creators already using Thinkific to sell their courses? See how easy it is to build your online empire.
Pricing: No free plan is available. Paid plan Starts at $74/month
Key Features:
- Course Creation
- Marketing Tools
- Community Features
What is Bettermode?
Bettermode isn’t your typical online course platform.
It’s more like a Swiss Army knife for building online communities with integrated courses.
It combines Thinkific and Circle and focuses on creating a seamless learning experience within a thriving community.
Ready to build a thriving community? BetterMode offers customizable features and flexible pricing plans to fit your needs. See how BetterMode can help you connect with your audience and drive growth.
Key Benefits
- Diverse Engagement Tools: Bettermode offers a wide array of features, including discussion forums, activity feeds, direct messaging, and live events, facilitating various interaction styles within your community.
- White-labeling and Customization: You can fully brand your community with custom themes, CSS, and Javascript, creating a seamless experience that aligns with your brand identity.
- Robust Integrations: Bettermode integrates with various third-party tools, including analytics platforms, marketing automation software, and CRM systems, streamlining your workflows.
Pricing
Bettermode’s pricing starts at $49/month. This base plan gives you access to core community features. They also have higher tiers that unlock more advanced features and greater scalability.
- Starter: Free
- Growth: $49/month
- Enterprise: Custom
Pros
Cons
What is Thinkific?
Thinkific is a popular platform designed to create, market, and sell online courses.
It’s a great option if your primary focus is delivering educational content and building a successful online course business.
Key Benefits
Thinkific really shines when it comes to course creation. Here’s what makes it stand out:
- Robust Course Builder: You get a lot of control over how your courses look and function. Thinkific lets you add videos, quizzes, downloads, and more.
- Marketing Tools: They offer tools to help you promote your courses, like email integrations and sales page templates.
- Customization: You can tailor the look and feel of your course platform to match your brand.
Pricing
Thinkific offers a range of plans to fit different needs. Their Basic plan starts at $36/month. Here’s a quick breakdown of what you can expect as you upgrade:
- Start: $74/month for 1 Community.
- Grow: $149/month for 3 Community.
Pros
Cons
Feature Comparison
Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty and compare the features of Bettermode and Thinkific side-by-side.
This will help you see which platform best aligns with your needs.
Community Platform
- Bettermode: Bettermode is a community platform built around forums, groups, and direct messaging. It provides various features to foster interaction and engagement.
- Thinkific: Thinkific has some community features but is primarily an LMS focused on online learning. Its community features are more basic and are part of the Thinkific Plus plan.
Course Creation
- Bettermode: Bettermode allows you to create interactive courses with quizzes and assignments, but its course creation tools are not as robust as Thinkific’s.
- Thinkific excels at course creation. Its user-friendly interface, drag-and-drop functionality, multimedia support, and various assessment tools make it a top choice for course creators.
Customization
- Bettermode: Bettermode offers more customization options, including white-labeling. This allows creators to brand their community platform and online learning environment fully.
- Thinkific: Thinkific provides some basic customization options but is not as flexible as Bettermode.
Marketing Features
- Bettermode: Bettermode integrates with popular email marketing tools and offers basic marketing features like landing pages.
- Thinkific: Thinkific has a broader range of built-in marketing features to help you promote the courses & grow your audience.
Mobile App
- Bettermode: Bettermode does not have a dedicated mobile app.
- Thinkific: Thinkific offers a mobile app for students and instructors, making accessing and managing courses convenient.
Transaction Fees
- Bettermode: Bettermode may charge transaction fees depending on your pricing plan.
- Thinkific: Thinkific does not charge transaction fees, allowing you to keep more earnings.
All-in-One Solution
- Bettermode: Bettermode aims to be an all-in-one platform for building online communities and courses. It focuses on customer engagement through various interactive features.
- Thinkific: While Thinkific offers a comprehensive set of features for online learning, its focus is primarily on course creation and delivery.
This comparison highlights that Bettermode is ideal for building a strong community with integrated courses, while Thinkific is better suited for those prioritizing course creation and sales.
Choose the platform that best aligns with your priorities.
What to Look for in a Community Platform?
- Engagement features: Look for features encouraging interaction, such as forums, groups, live chat, and Q&A sections.
- Customization options: Brand the platform to match your aesthetic and create a unique space for your community.
- Monetization options: If you plan to simply generate revenue from your community, consider features like paid memberships, subscriptions, and the ability to sell products or services.
- Integration with other tools: Check if the platform integrates with essential tools like email marketing platforms, analytics dashboards, and payment gateways.
- Scalability: Choose a platform that can simply grow with your community and handle increasing numbers of members and activities.
- Support and resources: Ensure the platform offers adequate support, documentation, and resources to help you succeed.
Final Verdict
So, which platform comes out on top? For us, it’s Bettermode.
Why? Because it offers a more complete package. It’s not just about courses; it’s about building a thriving community around your content.
Bettermode gives you the tools to create a truly engaging and interactive learning experience.
Of course, Thinkific is still a great option, especially if your main focus is on courses and you need a more budget-friendly solution.
Ultimately, the best choice fully depends on your specific needs & priorities.
We’ve given you all the information; now it’s your turn to decide.
Consider your goals, budget, and desired features, and choose the platform that perfectly fits your vision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use Bettermode and Thinkific together?
Yes! You can integrate Bettermode and Thinkific to combine the strengths of both platforms. For example, you could use Thinkific for course creation and Bettermode for community building.
Which platform is better for beginners?
Thinkific is generally easier to use, especially when creating courses. Bettermode has a slightly steeper learning curve but offers more flexibility.
Do I need coding skills to use these platforms?
No, both platforms are designed to be user-friendly and don’t require coding skills. Their visual interfaces and drag-and-drop features make it easy to create courses and communities.
Can I offer free courses on these platforms?
Yes, both Bettermode and Thinkific allow you to offer free courses. This can be a great way to attract students and build your audience.
What kind of customer support do these platforms offer?
Both platforms offer email support, and Thinkific offers live chat support on higher-tier plans. They also have extensive knowledge bases and helpful resources available online.
