Thinkific vs Ghost
Side-by-side comparison of Thinkific and Ghost.
Build and sell online courses without technical headaches
Open-source publishing platform built for serious creators
What they are
Thinkific
Thinkific is a hosted course platform where creators build, market, and sell online courses, membership sites, and digital communities. It suits independent educators, coaches, and small teams who want a dedicated course home without stitching together separate tools. The course builder is straightforward, though the platform's customization ceiling is lower than fully self-hosted alternatives, and transaction fees disappear only on paid plans.
Ghost
Ghost is an independent publishing platform that combines a CMS, email newsletter tool, and membership system in one place. It is used by independent writers, journalists, and media companies who want to own their audience without relying on third-party platforms. The open-source core can be self-hosted for free, while Ghost Pro handles hosting at a monthly fee. The tradeoff is that it is more opinionated than WordPress and has a steeper learning curve for non-technical users.
if you need hosting and monetization. Starts at 63/mo.
- +No transaction fees on paid plans
- +Unlimited courses and students on most tiers
- +Built-in community and membership features
if you need hosting and monetization. It has a usable free tier to start with.
- +No platform cut on membership revenue, unlike Substack
- +Built-in email newsletter delivery included on paid plans
- +Clean, distraction-free editor focused on writing
Which to choose
Thinkific and Ghost both cover hosting, monetization, so this is a real either-or for some teams. The right pick depends on which one's wider feature set and pricing fit how you work.
Read the full reviews for Thinkific and Ghost.
Pricing checked 3 Jun 2026.