Lyceum vs Thinkific
What Thinkific saves for Plus, Lyceum puts on Starter.
Thinkific is a steady course platform with a long record, and for a library of self-paced courses it does the job. The site builder is solid, a custom domain comes with every plan, Zoom sessions are unlimited from Start, and on Thinkific Payments the platform fee is 0%. Bigger schools get SCORM and an AI teaching assistant on Plus, which is priced on a sales call.
The gaps show when you count. Thinkific caps students at 10,000 on every self-serve plan, gives you one community until Grow, and keeps SCORM and the AI assistant for Plus. Lyceum puts a tutor on every lesson of every plan and imports SCORM on Starter. Members are never counted. They pay your own Stripe with no gateway penalty, and Academy takes 0%. Thinkific still has affiliate reporting and a branded app for $199 a month; ours are on the way.
The side by side
Their plans, our plans, and every row we could check.
Thinkific
Course platform, priced from thinkific.com/pricing
- Basic: $54 a month, or $40 billed annually; 1 community, 1 admin, 10,000 students
- Start: $109 a month, or $82 annually; 1 community, 2 admins, unlimited Zoom sessions
- Grow: $219 a month, or $164 annually; 3 communities, 6 admins
- Plus: custom pricing; SCORM, the AI teaching assistant, and CRM integrations live here
- Thinkific Payments: 2.9%; your own Stripe or PayPal adds a gateway fee that varies by plan
- Branded mobile app: $199 a month add-on; 30-day free trial, no free plan
Lyceum
Three plans, and the money lands in your own Stripe
- Starter: $49 a month plus 5% of member revenue
- Pro: $99 a month plus 2%
- Academy: $249 a month, 0% of member revenue
- Annual billing: two months free on every plan
- No cap on members or contacts; 14-day free trial on every plan
- Members pay through your own Stripe; Stripe's card fee is separate, as it is everywhere
○ marks what we are still building, named plainly. Thinkific’s figures are from thinkific.com/pricing, read on 4 September 2026. Prices change; check theirs before you decide. Where their page did not say, the cell says so.
Still on the way
What is still on the way at Lyceum
Thinkific has affiliate reporting on every plan and a branded app as a $199 a month add-on today. Neither platform lists a visual automations builder.
- A visual when-then automations builder
- An affiliate program
- A branded native mobile app
Today a school works in any phone browser with nothing to install, and we do not publish ads to Meta or Google. We will not list any of this as included until it is real.
Switching from Thinkific
Asked before people move.
Can I import my Thinkific courses?
If your courses are SCORM packages, upload them and they play here on any plan. Otherwise download your videos and files, paste your outline into the Architect, and it rebuilds the modules and lessons for you to edit. Your student list comes over as a CSV. Write to support@joinlyceum.com if you want a person on it with you.
Thinkific has 0% fees on Thinkific Payments. Is that cheaper?
Sometimes. Thinkific Payments charges 2.9% for processing, and using your own Stripe instead adds a gateway fee that varies by plan. Lyceum's share is 5% on Starter, 2% on Pro, and 0% on Academy, always through your own Stripe, with Stripe's card fee separate. Academy at $249 against Grow at $219 is close on seat price; the difference is what comes in the box: the tutor on every lesson, the CRM, attendance, funnels, and no student cap.
Do I need a Plus plan for SCORM or AI on Lyceum?
No. SCORM import and The Study, with its AI notes and tutor, are on Starter at $49. The Director, the assistant that reads your live numbers, and the AI SEO engine are held for Academy, and Academy is a price on the page rather than a sales call.
The same school, under your own name.
Already on Thinkific? Type your email, enter the code we send, and your studio opens. Building is free, and a plan starts only when you are ready to enroll paying members. If you would rather a person moved you, write to support@joinlyceum.com.
Free to build · no card until you open the doors · your content leaves with you