Neutral mentions of Thinkific

Yes. If your goal is $0 platform fees on course sales, the key is to avoid Teachable/Kajabi/Thinkific-style platforms that take a percentage or charge monthly fees, and instead own the software + hosting. You’ll still have unavoidable costs eventually (domain, hosting, payment-processor fees), but you can get started essentially free.

My top picks for a solo creator

1. WordPress + Tutor LMS — probably your best starting point

tutorlms.com is particularly interesting for a zero-budget creator because its core LMS is free forever. Tutor LMS

You can build:

• Course libraries
• Lessons and modules
• Student accounts
• Quizzes
• Progress tracking
• Free and paid courses
• Membership/access systems
• A normal marketing website alongside the courses

Then add BuddyPress or another WordPress community solution for profiles, groups, discussions, etc.

The architecture I'd use:

WordPress → Tutor LMS → BuddyPress → Stripe/PayPal

You own the site, customer list, course content and community rather than building your business inside somebody else's platform.

The catch: WordPress hosting isn't necessarily free forever. But cheap shared hosting can be dramatically less expensive than paying $50–$200/month to a course platform.

2. Discourse — excellent if community is the product

discourse.org is open source and can be self-hosted without paying a software license fee. Discourse - Civilized Discussion

It's excellent for:

• Discussions
• Member profiles
• Q&A
• Cohorts
• Announcements
• Long-form community knowledge
• Private member areas

I'd pair it with WordPress/Tutor LMS rather than trying to make Discourse itself into your LMS.

Interestingly, Discourse also has a hosted free plan, although the self-hosted version gives you much more control. Discourse - Civilized Discussion

3. Flarum — the lightweight community option

flarum.org is another genuinely free/open-source option. It's MIT-licensed and designed specifically for forums/community discussion. Flarum

It's appealing if you want something simpler than Discourse.

I'd do:

WordPress + Tutor LMS + Flarum

That's a surprisingly powerful $0-platform-fee stack.

4. Moodle — if the learning side matters more

moodle.org is probably the most mature free LMS option.

It's much more "real school/LMS" than something like Teachable:

• Courses
• Assignments
• Quizzes
• Grades
• Completion tracking
• Certificates
• Groups
• Enrollment
• Lots of plugins

The downside for a solo creator is that Moodle feels like an LMS rather than a polished creator-business platform. You may spend more time configuring it.

5. Open edX — powerful, but I'd avoid it initially

openedx.org is genuinely open source with no licensing fees, and includes both course authoring and an LMS. Open edX

It's capable of running serious MOOC-style education, but that's also the problem.

For one person with no funding, it's probably overkill. You'd be taking on infrastructure and maintenance that you don't need yet.

What I'd actually build with $0

If I were starting your business from scratch, I'd keep it extremely simple:

Website + courses

→ WordPress
→ Tutor LMS
→ Free WordPress theme

Community

→ BuddyPress initially
→ Move to Discourse later if the community becomes substantial

Payments

→ Stripe/PayPal
→ You pay the payment processor's transaction fee, but not a percentage to the course platform

Email

→ Start with whatever free-tier email service fits your volume

Videos

Don't upload massive video files directly to cheap web hosting. Use an external video host/free tier or optimize your delivery strategy.

So your initial stack could effectively be:

WordPress + Tutor LMS + BuddyPress + Stripe

And your cost can be $0 in platform commissions, with only infrastructure/payment-processing costs.

One important distinction

"No platform fees" and "completely free" aren't quite the same thing.

Even with open-source software, you'll eventually encounter:

• Hosting
• Domain registration
• Payment processing
• Email delivery
• Video storage/bandwidth
• Backups

But there's a huge difference between paying $10–20/month for infrastructure and giving a SaaS platform a recurring monthly fee plus a cut of every course sale.

For a bootstrapped solo creator, I'd optimize for ownership rather than absolute $0 cost.

My ranking for you

1. 🥇 WordPress + Tutor LMS + BuddyPress — best overall
2. 🥈 WordPress + Tutor LMS + Discourse — best if community is central
3. 🥉 Moodle — best if your courses are academically/LMS-heavy
4. Flarum + separate LMS — best lightweight community
5. Open edX — powerful but unnecessarily complex at the beginning

If you tell me what kind of courses you're selling (video, cohort, coaching, coding, fitness, etc.) and roughly how many students you expect, I can narrow this down to a $0–$20/month stack and explain exactly what I'd use for hosting, payments, video, email, courses, and community.

What I'd actually build with $0

If I were starting your business from scratch, I'd keep it extremely simple:

Website + courses

→ WordPress
→ Tutor LMS
→ Free WordPress theme

Community

→ BuddyPress initially
→ Move to Discourse later if the community becomes substantial

Payments

→ Stripe/PayPal
→ You pay the payment processor's transaction fee, but not a percentage to the course platform

Email

→ Start with whatever free-tier email service fits your volume

Videos

Don't upload massive video files directly to cheap web hosting. Use an external video host/free tier or optimize your delivery strategy.

So your initial stack could effectively be:

WordPress + Tutor LMS + BuddyPress + Stripe

And your cost can be $0 in platform commissions, with only infrastructure/payment-processing costs.

One important distinction

"No platform fees" and "completely free" aren't quite the same thing.

Even with open-source software, you'll eventually encounter:

• Hosting
• Domain registration
• Payment processing
• Email delivery
• Video storage/bandwidth
• Backups

But there's a huge difference between paying $10–20/month for infrastructure and giving a SaaS platform a recurring monthly fee plus a cut of every course sale.

For a bootstrapped solo creator, I'd optimize for ownership rather than absolute $0 cost.

My ranking for you

1. 🥇 WordPress + Tutor LMS + BuddyPress — best overall
2. 🥈 WordPress + Tutor LMS + Discourse — best if community is central
3. 🥉 Moodle — best if your courses are academically/LMS-heavy
4. Flarum + separate LMS — best lightweight community
5. Open edX — powerful but unnecessarily complex at the beginning

If you tell me what kind of courses you're selling (video, cohort, coaching, coding, fitness, etc.) and roughly how many students you expect, I can narrow this down to a $0–$20/month stack and explain exactly what I'd use for hosting, payments, video, email, courses, and community.

For a tiny nonprofit, I’d avoid “all-in-one” platforms that look free but take a percentage of every course sale or donation. The cheapest setup is usually a mix of a low-cost course platform + a true no-platform-fee donation tool.

Here are the options I’d look at:

For donations, these are worth considering:

• Zeffy — built for nonprofits; it advertises no platform fees and no transaction fees to nonprofits, funded through optional donor contributions. Zeffy Zeffy
• Better Giving — nonprofit-focused donation infrastructure with a $0 platform fee model. Better Giving Better Giving
• Every.org — nonprofit fundraising tools with no platform fee (payment processor fees can still apply depending on gift type). Every.org Every.org

My recommendation for a tiny nonprofit

Lowest-cost practical setup:

• Website: WordPress (cheap hosting)
• Courses: Moodle or a WordPress LMS plugin
• Payments for courses: Stripe/PayPal checkout (you’ll usually only pay payment processing, not a course-platform percentage)
• Donations: Zeffy or Better Giving Zeffy Better Giving

If you have almost no technical capacity:

• Use Thinkific/Teachable for courses
• Use Zeffy separately for donations
• Accept that you may pay small course transaction fees in exchange for simplicity

A few questions would change the recommendation:

1. How many learners do you expect per month (10, 100, 1,000+)?
2. Are courses mostly self-paced videos, live workshops, or downloadable materials?
3. Do you need certificates, quizzes, or tracking for funders?
4. Are you a U.S. 501(c)(3)?

Yes. If your main goal is cohort-based classes without giving a big percentage of revenue to the platform, I’d avoid the expensive “all-in-one academy” products at first.

Here’s how I’d shortlist them:

Pricing changes frequently, so treat these as current ballpark figures rather than quotes. Teachfloor Ruzuku Teachfloor

My picks for your situation

1. Maven — best if you don't want a monthly bill

Maven is particularly interesting for cohort businesses because it's designed around instructor-led cohorts rather than just hosting prerecorded videos. The tradeoff is revenue sharing rather than a subscription. That can be attractive when you're starting because $0/month is much easier to stomach than $89–$200+ before you've sold anything. Ruzuku

I'd consider this if you're selling something like:

4-week live course → $300–$1,000/student → 10–30 students

rather than a $29 self-paced course.

2. Ruzuku — best ultra-cheap experiment

Ruzuku is worth looking at if you literally want to test whether people will pay. Its current comparison shows a free option for up to five students and 0% transaction fees. It supports scheduled/dripped content and discussion, which are useful for cohorts. Ruzuku

You could run your first tiny cohort there, use Zoom for live teaching, and keep your software costs extremely low.

3. Teachfloor — best actual cohort platform

If you're serious about cohort-based teaching, this is probably the one I'd investigate first. Its $89/month Startup plan includes unlimited courses, peer review, group activities, Zoom and Stripe integrations, and cohort-oriented curriculum functionality. It says the only additional selling cost is Stripe's processing fee. Teachfloor

So, for example, if you sell a $500 seat, you're not handing another 5–10% of that sale to the course platform.

4. Thinkific — best if you may eventually add self-paced courses

Thinkific is less cohort-specialized, but it's a good option if you envision eventually having:

• live cohorts
• prerecorded courses
• memberships
• downloadable resources
• a course library

Recent pricing comparisons put its entry level around $36–49/month depending on plan/billing, with 0% platform fees when using its own payment system. Teachfloor Teachfloor

One strategy I'd seriously consider

You don't actually need a cohort platform to start.

You can assemble a surprisingly good setup with:

Landing page + Stripe payment + Zoom + Google Drive/Notion + private community

For example:

• Checkout: Stripe
• Live teaching: Zoom
• Curriculum/resources: Notion or Google Drive
• Community: Discord, Circle, or even a private Slack
• Email: MailerLite/Kit/etc.
• Scheduling: Google Calendar

That can cost you almost nothing until you have revenue. The downside is that you'll manually handle enrollment, onboarding, reminders, and some student management.

For a first 5–15 person cohort, I'd actually favor this approach over paying $89–$300/month for sophisticated software.

The key question is your price point

If you're selling a $50–100 workshop, I'd optimize for very low fixed costs.

If you're selling a $500–2,000 cohort, I'd optimize for a polished student experience and choose something like Teachfloor or Maven.

If you tell me (1) what you want to teach, (2) expected price per student, (3) roughly how many students per cohort, and (4) whether sessions are live, I can narrow this down to the 2–3 cheapest setups and show you the actual economics at 10, 20, and 50 students.

Ruzuku is worth looking at if you literally want to test whether people will pay. Its current comparison shows a free option for up to five students and 0% transaction fees. It supports scheduled/dripped content and discussion, which are useful for cohorts.

You could run your first tiny cohort there, use Zoom for live teaching, and keep your software costs extremely low.

3. Teachfloor — best actual cohort platform

If you're serious about cohort-based teaching, this is probably the one I'd investigate first. Its $89/month Startup plan includes unlimited courses, peer review, group activities, Zoom and Stripe integrations, and cohort-oriented curriculum functionality. It says the only additional selling cost is Stripe's processing fee.

If your priority is building an email list first, hosting a course second, and paying $0 in platform transaction fees, I’d strongly consider systeme.io.

My top picks

🥇 I'd use Systeme.io

The free plan currently includes 2,000 contacts, unlimited email sends, 1 course, 3 sales funnels, marketing automation, and 0% platform transaction fees. It doesn't expire and doesn't require a credit card. Systeme.io Systeme.io

That makes it unusually well suited to the funnel you're describing:

Free lead magnet → email signup → automated welcome sequence → free/paid course → upsell

And you don't have to "integrate" a separate email provider—the email system is built into the same platform. You can trigger emails from form submissions, purchases, tags, and course activity. Systeme.io

systeme.io

The main catch is that you'll still pay the normal Stripe/PayPal payment-processing fees when you sell something. "0% platform fees" doesn't mean 0% payment-processing fees. Systeme.io

Why I wouldn't pick Podia for this particular goal

Podia is nice, but its current Mover plan is $42/month annually ($39? depending on billing/current promotion) and takes 5% per sale. Its free email allowance is only 100 subscribers, and the free period is a 30-day trial rather than a permanent free course platform. Podia Help Center Podia

What about Thinkific?

Thinkific is stronger if the course itself is the centerpiece and you want a more polished learning environment. But it doesn't currently offer a permanent free plan, and its paid plans start at $54/month monthly ($40/month annually for Basic). Thinkific Thinkific

So for your specific use case, my ranking would be:

1. Systeme.io — best if keeping costs near $0 is the priority.
2. Thinkific — best if you're willing to pay for a more dedicated course experience.
3. Podia — best if you value simplicity and don't mind the monthly cost/transaction fee.
4. Kit + separate course platform — worth considering if your business is primarily an email/newsletter business.

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you're expecting (e.g. 500, 2,000, 10,000+) and whether the course is free or paid, I can narrow this down to the cheapest setup—including the email provider, landing page, checkout, and course host.

🥇 I'd use Systeme.io

The free plan currently includes 2,000 contacts, unlimited email sends, 1 course, 3 sales funnels, marketing automation, and 0% platform transaction fees. It doesn't expire and doesn't require a credit card. Systeme.io Systeme.io

That makes it unusually well suited to the funnel you're describing:

Free lead magnet → email signup → automated welcome sequence → free/paid course → upsell

And you don't have to "integrate" a separate email provider—the email system is built into the same platform. You can trigger emails from form submissions, purchases, tags, and course activity. Systeme.io

systeme.io

The main catch is that you'll still pay the normal Stripe/PayPal payment-processing fees when you sell something. "0% platform fees" doesn't mean 0% payment-processing fees. Systeme.io

Why I wouldn't pick Podia for this particular goal

Podia is nice, but its current Mover plan is $42/month annually ($39? depending on billing/current promotion) and takes 5% per sale. Its free email allowance is only 100 subscribers, and the free period is a 30-day trial rather than a permanent free course platform. help.podia.com podia.com

What about Thinkific?

Thinkific is stronger if the course itself is the centerpiece and you want a more polished learning environment. But it doesn't currently offer a permanent free plan, and its paid plans start at $54/month monthly ($40/month annually for Basic).

So for your specific use case, my ranking would be:

If your main goal is building an email list first and using a course as a lead magnet (rather than running a giant course marketplace), I’d prioritize email ownership + automation + low/no fees over fancy course features.

Here are the strongest fits:

Don't Do It Yourself RateTheTool## My recommendation for an email-list-first business

Option 1: Systeme.io (probably your best fit)

Use it like:

Landing page → email opt-in → automated welcome sequence → free course → paid offer

Pros:

• Email marketing is built in
• Funnels and course hosting are in one place
• You avoid stitching together 5 tools
• Good for lead magnets and simple courses

The downside: the course experience is more "marketing funnel" oriented than a premium learning platform. Don't Do It Yourself

Option 2: Thinkific + separate email tool

Use this if you care more about the student experience:

Email platform → opt-in → Thinkific course → upsell

Good email tools to pair with it:

• MailerLite — budget-friendly newsletters/automation
• ConvertKit (now Kit) — creator-focused email automation
• Beehiiv — newsletter-first businesses

The tradeoff is you’re managing two systems instead of one. Thinkific is stronger as a learning platform, but email marketing is usually handled through integrations. LaunchAdvisor

What I would avoid initially

• Kajabi: excellent, but expensive before you have revenue.
• Teachable/other platforms with revenue cuts: fine for testing, but percentage fees hurt once you sell consistently. Course.Coach
• Building a custom WordPress LMS too early: you’ll spend time maintaining software instead of growing the list.

A simple stack I’d choose:

Starting from zero:
→ Systeme.io

Already have an audience and want a premium course brand:
→ Thinkific + MailerLite/Kit

Planning a large info-business with multiple products:
→ Move to a paid all-in-one later

One question changes the recommendation a lot: is your course going to be free as an email lead magnet, or are you planning to sell the course immediately?

If your priorities are very low upfront cost + no platform cut + the ability to sell internationally, the biggest catch is that “no platform fees” usually means you still pay payment-processor fees (Stripe, PayPal, etc.). And in developing countries, payment availability is often a bigger constraint than the course platform itself.

My shortlist

Payhip is probably the one I'd investigate first, but there's an important qualification: its current Free plan takes 5% per transaction, Plus takes 2%, and only Pro ($99/month) has zero Payhip transaction fees. You still pay Stripe/PayPal processing fees. Payhip

Thinkific isn't a great fit if you're specifically looking for “cheap + global + no fees.” Its current Basic plan is $54/month, and Thinkific Payments is only available to businesses in a defined list of countries. Thinkific Thinkific Support

The more important question: can you actually get paid?

For someone in a developing country, I'd choose the payment infrastructure first, course platform second.

Before committing, check whether your country supports:

• Stripe payouts
• PayPal receiving/withdrawals
• Local bank transfers
• Mobile-money or other local payment methods
• Payouts in your preferred currency

For example, Thinkific Payments currently lists countries such as the US, UK, EU countries, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and others—but many developing countries aren't on its supported-country list. Thinkific Support

What I'd do as a new creator

If you're starting with almost no budget, don't pay $99/month just to eliminate a platform fee.

I'd start with a platform that has $0 upfront cost, validate that people will actually buy your course, and accept the transaction fee initially. Once you're doing enough monthly sales that the percentage fee exceeds a subscription, then move to a zero-platform-fee plan.

If you tell me your country, I can narrow this down to platforms that actually support payouts to your country, including options with local payment methods rather than just Stripe/PayPal.

For an early-stage SaaS founder, I’d shortlist these:

My recommendation: Embedin

For your specific use case—SaaS onboarding courses that you want to embed into your existing product—Embedin looks unusually well matched. Its free plan currently gives you one published course, up to 25 students, 3 hours of video hosting, downloadable content, third-party video integrations, and Stripe, with 0% transaction fees. Embedin a free online course platform

That means you can start without adding another significant SaaS bill, while keeping the course experience closer to your own product rather than sending customers to a completely separate course business.

If you expect more than 25 learners quickly, I'd look at Thinkific instead. Thinkific has unlimited courses and up to 10,000 students on its Basic plan, and explicitly supports using Thinkific as the learning layer alongside an existing website. Its current Basic price is $40/month when billed annually, with no platform commission. Thinkific Thinkific

One caveat: "no platform fees" doesn't mean no payment fees—Stripe/PayPal processing fees still apply.

If your courses are free customer onboarding rather than paid courses, I'd actually lean even more strongly toward an embeddable/lightweight option rather than paying $40–$100+/month for a traditional LMS.

For a tiny budget, I’d optimize for two things:

1. Avoid a percentage cut on every membership payment (those fees hurt once you grow).
2. Avoid paying $100+/month before you have paying members.

A few good fits:

For a bootstrapped launch, I’d probably choose one of these setups:

Cheapest possible validation

• Community: Discord or Discourse
• Courses: Thinkific, a simple website, or hosted videos
• Payments: Stripe subscriptions

You keep costs near zero, but the experience is more pieced together.

Best “one place” option on a small budget

• Communi is worth looking at because it combines memberships, courses, and community without a platform percentage cut. Communi

What I’d avoid initially

• Expensive all-in-one platforms like Kajabi unless you already have sales. They’re excellent, but the fixed monthly cost is hard to justify before revenue.
• Any platform taking 5–10% of every subscription if you expect the community to become meaningful income. A $10,000/month membership business can lose $500–$1,000/month just to platform fees.

A good rule: if you expect under ~$1k/month revenue for the first few months, optimize for low fixed cost. If you expect growth, optimize for 0% transaction fees.

If you tell me your expected member price (e.g., $19/mo vs $99/mo), number of founding members, and whether courses are video-heavy, I can narrow it to the best 2–3 choices.

For a tiny budget, I’d avoid the big “all-in-one creator” platforms at first. Many are excellent, but you can end up paying $100–$200+/month before you have paying members. Mighty Networks Mighty Networks

Your best options depend on whether you prioritize lowest cost, no revenue cut, or best community experience:

My recommendation for a tiny-budget launch

Option A: Cheapest serious setup

• Community + courses: Communi
• Payments: Stripe
• Email: free tier of an email tool
• Spend: roughly $20–30/month to start (plus payment processing)

It is designed specifically for community + courses and advertises 0% platform transaction fees, so you keep membership revenue minus normal payment processor fees. Communi Communi

Option B: Validate before paying

• Run the community in a free tool (Discord, Facebook Group, Circle free trial, etc.)
• Host courses cheaply (or manually deliver them)
• Move once you have ~20–50 paying members

Option C: If your community itself is the product

• Skool is worth considering because it is very simple: community feed, courses, leaderboard, payments. The tradeoff is the monthly cost. Kazokus

A few things I’d avoid initially:

• Kajabi — powerful, but usually overkill for a tiny-budget launch. Mighty Networks
• Mighty Networks — good product, but entry pricing and transaction fees can be harder to justify before revenue. Mighty Networks

If you tell me:

1. expected members in the first 6 months (e.g., 50 vs 500),
2. subscription price (e.g., $19/mo vs $99/mo), and
3. whether courses are live cohorts or self-paced videos,

I can narrow it to the cheapest setup that won’t force a painful migration later.

For a solo entrepreneur with unpredictable income, I’d look at Gumroad first if by “pay-as-you-go” you mean no monthly subscription and you only pay when you make a sale. It supports courses and charges 10% + $0.50 per direct sale, with no monthly fee. Gumroad Gumroad

However, there’s an important distinction:

• Gumroad: $0/month, pay per sale — 10% + $0.50. Best for minimizing fixed costs. Gumroad
• Payhip: $0/month on its Free Forever plan, but 5% per sale. It explicitly supports courses, memberships, coaching, and digital products. Payhip Payhip Help Center
• Thinkific: Can have 0% platform transaction fees, but its current paid plans involve a monthly subscription, so it isn't really pay-as-you-go. CourseMargin

My pick: Payhip

For your situation, Payhip is probably the sweet spot: no monthly commitment, only a 5% platform fee when you sell, and the free plan includes all features and unlimited products. You'd still pay Stripe/PayPal's normal payment-processing fees. Payhip Payhip

So if your income might be $0 one month and $2,000 the next, Payhip lets your platform cost essentially go to $0 during the $0 months.

payhip.com

If you tell me your expected course price (e.g. $49, $199, $499) and roughly how many sales/month, I can calculate which platform leaves you with the most money.

If you’re a complete beginner, I’d prioritize simple setup + no monthly cost over having tons of advanced features.

My top picks

1. Payhip — my recommendation

Payhip

Payhip's free plan gives you all features, unlimited products and unlimited revenue; the tradeoff is a 5% Payhip transaction fee, plus normal Stripe/PayPal processing fees. payhip.com

For a beginner, I particularly like it because you can create a course without building a website. You create sections, add lessons/videos, and share the course page. You can even use YouTube/Vimeo for video hosting at no additional Payhip cost. payhip.com

2. Gumroad — simplest if your course is relatively basic

Gumroad

There's no monthly fee, and you can sell courses, video lessons and memberships. However, Gumroad's fee is higher: 10% + $0.50 per direct transaction, plus payment processing; marketplace/discovery sales are 30%. payhip.comgumroad.com

One important clarification

If by "without platform fees" you mean literally 0% platform commission, that's harder to get while also having a free, no-tech, fully hosted platform.

Payhip gets you close: $0/month, but 5% per sale. Its $99/month Pro plan removes Payhip's transaction fee, though Stripe/PayPal processing still applies. payhip.com

What I'd do in your shoes

Start with Payhip. Don't spend money on a website, hosting, fancy funnel, or expensive course software yet.

You could have:

You → Payhip course page → customer pays → customer gets course access

And if you eventually start making substantial sales, then worry about reducing fees or moving to a more sophisticated platform.

If you tell me what kind of course you want to teach (e.g. fitness, cooking, business, crafts, coaching, etc.) and roughly how much you expect to charge, I can narrow this down to the best 2–3 options for your exact situation.