What this benchmark answers
How much does the platform itself cost at three practical sales levels?
Each scenario sells a $100 course 5, 20, or 100 times per month. The table combines the annual-billing monthly equivalent with published platform transaction or per-enrollment charges. Payment processing, tax, refunds, currency conversion, advertising, and labor are excluded so the platform layer stays comparable.
Original dataset
Monthly platform cost by plan and revenue
On a narrow screen, focus the table and use Left/Right to scroll; Tab leaves the table.
| Platform plan | Annual subscription | $500 monthly revenue | $2,000 monthly revenue | $10,000 monthly revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thinkific Basic | $475.00 | $39.58 7.9% of revenue | $39.58 2.0% of revenue | $39.58 0.4% of revenue |
| Thinkific Start | $978.00 | $81.50 16.3% of revenue | $81.50 4.1% of revenue | $81.50 0.8% of revenue |
| Thinkific Grow | $1,968.00 | $164.00 32.8% of revenue | $164.00 8.2% of revenue | $164.00 1.6% of revenue |
| Teachable Starter | $348.00 | $66.50 13.3% of revenue | $179.00 8.9% of revenue | $779.00 7.8% of revenue |
| Gumroad Direct sales | $0.00 | $52.50 10.5% of revenue | $210.00 10.5% of revenue | $1,050.00 10.5% of revenue |
| Teachable Builder | $828.00 | $69.00 13.8% of revenue | $69.00 3.5% of revenue | $69.00 0.7% of revenue |
| Podia Mover | $504.00 | $67.00 13.4% of revenue | $142.00 7.1% of revenue | $542.00 5.4% of revenue |
| Podia Shaker | $1,008.00 | $84.00 16.8% of revenue | $84.00 4.2% of revenue | $84.00 0.8% of revenue |
| LearnWorlds Starter | $288.00 | $49.00 9.8% of revenue | $124.00 6.2% of revenue | $524.00 5.2% of revenue |
| LearnWorlds Pro Trainer | $948.00 | $79.00 15.8% of revenue | $79.00 4.0% of revenue | $79.00 0.8% of revenue |
The benchmark dataset is available for personal or internal business research under the dataset reuse terms. Those terms explain attribution and when permission is needed for redistribution.
How to read it
The cheapest row is not automatically the best plan
At validation volume
Fixed subscriptions dominate the percentage. A lower recurring bill can preserve cash, but product limits, payment eligibility, and migration work can outweigh a small monthly difference.
At traction volume
Percentage and per-enrollment charges begin to overtake plan price. This is where fee-free upgrades often become cheaper on platform cost alone.
At growth volume
Fee-free plans look strongest in the narrow cost layer, but capacity limits, tax operations, support, email, and checkout conversion can still change total business cost.
Offline use
What stays with the spreadsheet download
Each CSV row carries its exact annual subscription, billing basis, payment-route assumption, excluded costs, official fee or billing source, last full audit date, and review due date. The documentation update date is separate: it does not mean the full pricing audit is complete. Existing numeric columns remain in their original order; explanatory columns are appended for spreadsheet imports.
For Thinkific Basic, $475 divided by 12 is approximately $39.58/month, not a $40 monthly invoice. At five $100 sales this leaves about $460.42 before processing and other excluded costs. For Teachable Starter, $29 plus 7.5% of $500 is $66.50, leaving $433.50 in that same narrow layer. Neither remaining amount is business profit or an available payout.
Keep the downloaded assumptions beside your own provider quote. The interactive calculator can add your processor rate, but payment-bundle surcharges are not filled in automatically. Its annual net is twelve identical modeled months, not a revenue forecast. For refunds and operating costs, use thecourse profit calculator and check the fee-return controls.
Model boundaries
Keep the gateway and processor scenarios separate
- Thinkific: the benchmark uses the native TCommerce route and excludes conditional third-party gateway fees.
- Gumroad: direct-sale platform charges are modeled; Discover marketplace sales are a separate 30% route.
- Payment processing: excluded because the provider, country, currency, payment method, and card origin change it.
- Teachable: Standard taxable/recurring additions, Global bundle fees, US custom-gateway integration and usage charges are not automatically included. Read the current payment-cost layers.
- Annual billing: monthly plan amounts are annual invoice totals divided by 12; actual cash is paid upfront.
- Feature equivalence: plans are not feature-matched. Run a real workflow pilot after cost screening.
The last completed full pricing audit is September 2, 2026; the next review was due October 1, 2026. October 4 export documentation and later scoped source checks do not complete the full audit. See the research log and fee glossary before reusing the dataset.
Primary pricing sources