LMS Pricing & Plans: The Complete Guide for 2026

LMS Pricing Overview: 2026 Plans Compared

Here's every major LMS platform's pricing structure — monthly and annual — with the critical details that determine real cost.

Thinkific: $36-149/month (Annual)

Key insight: Thinkific eliminated its free plan, replacing it with a 14-day trial. All paid plans offer unlimited courses. The critical distinction is whether you use TCommerce (0% platform fee) or your own Stripe (1-5% surcharge). At $5,000/month revenue, that 5% surcharge on Basic costs $250/month — more than the subscription itself.

Kajabi: $69-319/month (Annual)

Key insight: Kajabi's higher sticker price includes email marketing, sales funnels, and website building that competitors charge extra for. The Kickstarter plan's 1-product/50-contact limits make it more of a trial than a usable plan. The real starting point for most businesses is Basic at $119/month annual.

Teachable: Free-$249/month

Key insight: Teachable's free plan lures beginners but the 10% transaction fee is brutal at scale. At $2,000/month revenue, you're paying $200/month in fees on a "free" plan. The crossover point where Teachable Pro ($79/month, 0% fee) becomes cheaper than Teachable Basic ($29/month + 5%) is around $1,000/month in revenue.

LearnWorlds: $24-249/month (Annual)

Key insight: LearnWorlds' Starter plan charges a flat $5 per sale rather than a percentage — better for high-priced courses ($200+), worse for low-priced ones ($20). At $20/course, $5/sale is effectively a 25% fee.

Podia: Free-$75/month

Key insight: Podia is the simplest and most affordable option but has the most limited feature set. No public API, ~15 native integrations, no SCORM support, and no native mobile app. The 8% free plan fee makes the $33/month Mover plan a better deal once you exceed ~$412/month in sales.

The Hidden Costs Most Comparisons Miss

The subscription price is just the starting point. Here are the costs that blindside course sellers:

1. Transaction Fees at Scale

Transaction fees are the single biggest variable cost in LMS pricing. Let's model the impact at $10,000/month revenue:

*Excludes Stripe/PayPal processing fees (~2.9% + 30¢) which apply to all platforms

The lesson is stark: Teachable's "free" plan costs $12,000/year at $10K monthly revenue. Thinkific Basic with TCommerce costs $432/year for the same revenue — a $11,568 difference. Free plans are only free when you have no revenue.

2. Payment Processor Surcharges

Thinkific's pricing page emphasizes 0% transaction fees, but there's an asterisk: that's only with TCommerce. If you use your own Stripe account, Thinkific adds a surcharge — 5% on Basic, 2% on Start, 1% on Grow. This catches businesses that already have established Stripe accounts with history, dispute management, and custom configurations.

The strategic move: Use TCommerce. The 0% platform fee plus integrated tax remittance outweighs the convenience of keeping your existing Stripe account for most businesses. The exception is if you need Stripe features that TCommerce doesn't support (like Stripe Billing for complex subscription logic).

3. Student Caps and Forced Upgrades

Thinkific caps all standard plans (Basic, Start, Grow) at 10,000 students. This isn't 10,000 active students — it's total students ever enrolled, including those who took a free lead magnet course three years ago. High-volume businesses hit this cap faster than expected, forcing an upgrade to the custom-priced Plus plan.

Kajabi uses contact limits instead: Kickstarter (50), Basic (10,000), Growth (25,000), Pro (100,000). LearnWorlds and Teachable offer unlimited students on all paid plans. Podia has no student limits.

4. Feature Gates That Force Plan Upgrades

Critical features locked behind higher tiers create pressure to upgrade:

• Thinkific Basic: No certificates, assignments, payment plans, memberships, or advanced HTML/CSS editing
• Thinkific Start/Grow: No SSO/SAML, no SCORM, no branded mobile app
• Kajabi Kickstarter: 1 product limit, 50 contacts, 250 email sends — barely functional
• Teachable Basic: 5% transaction fee, no certificates, no graded quizzes
• LearnWorlds Starter: $5/sale fee, no subscriptions, no certificates, no SCORM

5. External Tool Costs

Some platforms include tools that others require as paid add-ons:

Kajabi's $119/month Basic plan includes $100-400/month worth of tools that Thinkific and Teachable users need to purchase separately. However, if you already have preferred tools in these categories, you're paying for Kajabi features you won't use.

Total Cost of Ownership: Three Revenue Scenarios

The right platform depends on where you are financially. Here's the true annual cost at three common revenue levels:

Scenario 1: Early Stage ($1,000/month revenue)

Winner: Podia Mover is cheapest, but Thinkific Basic offers significantly more features (unlimited courses, e-commerce optimization, tax remittance) for just $36 more per year. At this stage, Thinkific Basic is the best value.

Scenario 2: Growing ($10,000/month revenue)

Winner: Thinkific Start at $888/year is the clear value leader. But factor in external tool costs — if you need email marketing ($30/mo) and a funnel builder ($50/mo), that's $960/year extra, making Kajabi's $1,428 all-in cost competitive.

Scenario 3: Scaling ($50,000/month revenue)

At $50K/month, transaction fees and feature access dominate the calculation:

Winner: At $50K/month, all serious platforms charge 0% transaction fees. The difference comes down to features, not cost. Thinkific Grow is cheapest in raw subscription, but you may be approaching the 10,000 student cap. Kajabi Growth includes marketing tools. The decision here should be capability-driven, not price-driven.

Enterprise LMS Pricing

Enterprise platforms operate in a different pricing universe. Instead of published plan pages, they use sales-negotiated contracts based on user count, features, support level, and deployment complexity.

Docebo

Custom pricing starting around $10,000-25,000/year depending on configuration. Per-user pricing models typically range from $4-8 per active user per month. Includes deep Salesforce integration, LTI support, SCIM provisioning, and 400+ native connectors. Best for companies with 500+ learners and complex integration requirements.

Absorb LMS

Custom pricing, typically $800+/month with per-user pricing models. Known for clean UI and strong mobile support. Includes SCORM/xAPI, LTI 1.3, Salesforce integration, and branded mobile apps. Best for mid-market companies that want enterprise features without enterprise complexity.

TalentLMS

The most transparent enterprise pricing: $69/month (Core) for up to 40 users, scaling to $459/month (Premium) for up to 1,000 users. Unlimited users available on Enterprise. The most accessible entry point for companies needing LTI, SCORM, SSO, and corporate training features without five-figure annual commitments.

Thinkific Plus

Custom pricing that bridges expert-focused and enterprise markets. Adds unlimited students, SCORM support, SSO/SAML, branded mobile app, and dedicated support. Ideal for training businesses and academies that need enterprise authentication and compliance features alongside Thinkific's course-selling capabilities.

Annual vs. Monthly Billing: The Savings

Every platform rewards annual commitment with meaningful discounts:

Recommendation: Use a monthly plan for the first 1-2 months while you evaluate the platform. Once you're committed, switch to annual billing immediately. Every month you stay on monthly billing after the evaluation period is money left on the table.

Making Your Pricing Decision

Here's the decision framework based on who you are:

• Independent experts launching their first course: Thinkific Basic ($36/month annual) with TCommerce. Best feature-to-price ratio with 0% transaction fees and tax remittance included. Upgrade to Start when you need certificates and memberships.
• Experts who want an all-in-one solution: Kajabi Basic ($119/month annual). Higher price, but includes email marketing and sales funnels. Worth it if you'd otherwise spend $50-100/month on external tools.
• Budget-conscious experts with simple needs: Podia Mover ($33/month). Cheapest option with 0% fees, but limited features and integrations. Outgrow it fast if your business succeeds.
• Training academies with growing student bases: Thinkific Start or Grow. The 0% fee + tax remittance combination maximizes margin. Watch the 10,000 student cap and plan for Plus when you approach it.
• Companies deploying corporate training: TalentLMS ($69-459/month) for transparent pricing. Docebo or Absorb for larger deployments where the annual contract model makes sense.

Sources & Further Reading

• Thinkific Pricing Page — Official plan details and feature comparison
• Kajabi Pricing Page — All-in-one platform plans and included features
• Teachable Pricing Page — Plans including transaction fee structure
• LearnWorlds Pricing Page — Plan comparison and per-sale fees
• TalentLMS Pricing — Transparent enterprise pricing tiers