Looking for a Thinkific Alternative? Here's Why We Built BTS (2026)

If you're reading this, you're probably frustrated with Thinkific. Maybe you've outgrown it. Maybe you never quite fit into its course-first mould. Or maybe you're just tired of the patchwork approach to building something that actually feels like a business.

We get it. We built BTS because we were frustrated too.

Here's the thing: BTS is where creators turn content and community into real businesses. We're not hiding behind a fake "unbiased comparison" article—we're being upfront. We built BTS specifically as an alternative to platforms like Thinkific, and we're going to tell you exactly why.

The creator economy is fragmented. Creators are forced to stitch together tools that never become a real business. You've got your course platform over here, your community tool over there, your email marketing somewhere else, and a dozen integrations holding it all together with digital duct tape.

That's the problem we set out to solve. BTS is the creator business infrastructure—one place to build something you own.

In this piece, we'll walk you through why creators leave Thinkific, what we built instead, and whether BTS is actually the right move for you. Spoiler: it might not be. And we'll tell you that honestly too.

Why Creators Leave Thinkific

Let's start with the uncomfortable truth. Thinkific is a solid course platform. It's been around since 2012, powers tens of thousands of creators, and has helped a lot of people launch their first online course. We respect that.

But there's a reason you're searching for alternatives.

The Community Problem

The most common complaint we hear from creators migrating from Thinkific? Community features feel like an afterthought.

Thinkific was built course-first. Community came later. And it shows. If you're trying to build something that's more than just a course catalogue—if you want real engagement, real relationships, real business infrastructure—you hit walls pretty quickly.

Creators today don't just sell courses. They build ecosystems. They nurture communities. They create ongoing relationships that generate recurring revenue and genuine impact. Thinkific's community features, while improved over the years, still feel bolted on rather than integrated.

The Fragmentation Trap

Here's what happens to a lot of Thinkific creators: they start with courses, realise they need community, add Circle or Mighty Networks. Then they need better email marketing, so they add ConvertKit. Then they want memberships with different access levels, so they're juggling Stripe integrations and Zapier automations.

Before you know it, you're spending more time managing your tech stack than actually creating content or connecting with your audience.

Most creator platforms optimise for transactions, not ownership. They want you to sell something. Transaction complete. Move on. But building a real business—something durable, something you own, something that compounds—requires more than transaction processing.

The Design and Brand Problem

We'll say it plainly: Thinkific looks dated. The interface, the student experience, the overall aesthetic—it feels like online course software from a different era.

For creators who've built their personal brand on great design, compelling content, and a modern aesthetic, putting their audience into a Thinkific course feels like a step backward. Your brand matters. Your student experience matters. And when your platform looks like it was designed in 2015, it undermines everything you've built.

The Pricing Reality Check

Thinkific's pricing has also gotten complicated. Their current structure includes:

• Basic Plan at $49/month with 5% transaction fees
• Start Plan at $99/month with 2% transaction fees
• Grow Plan at $199/month
• Plus Plan with custom pricing

Those transaction fees add up. If you're doing real volume—and you should be, if you're building a real business—you're either paying premium monthly fees or watching transaction fees eat into your margins.

What We Built Instead

When we set out to build BTS, we made deliberate choices about what we wanted to be—and what we didn't.

Creator Business Infrastructure

BTS is not a course platform. It's not a community tool. It's not a monetisation feature.

BTS is creator business infrastructure.

That distinction matters. A course platform helps you sell courses. A community tool helps you host discussions. But infrastructure? Infrastructure is the foundation you build your entire business on.

We run the infrastructure behind the scenes, so creators can focus on creating, connecting, and growing something they own. Everything lives in one space, designed to scale with your audience.

One Place, One Business

The fragmentation problem we talked about earlier? That's exactly what we built against.

In BTS, everything lives together:

• Your content
• Your community
• Your courses
• Your memberships
• Your payments
• Your audience data

No integrations to break. No tools to juggle. No wondering which platform has which customer's information. BTS gives creators one place to build something they own.

Modern, Brand-Forward Design

We obsessed over design because we know your brand matters. BTS doesn't look like back-office software. It doesn't feel like an online course portal from the early 2000s.

Your BTS space is an extension of your brand. It's modern. It's clean. It's something you're proud to send your audience to.

Unlike Skool's classroom-style interface, BTS is designed to look and feel like a modern brand, not an online course portal from a different era.

Structure and Momentum, Not Algorithms

Here's a philosophy that guides everything we build: We focus on structure and momentum, not algorithms.

We're not trying to be a social network that hooks you with dopamine hits. We're not a marketplace trying to compete your audience's attention away from you. We're infrastructure that helps you build something real, something structured, something with momentum.

BTS is not a social network or a marketplace. We don't have feeds trying to distract your members. We don't have algorithms deciding who sees what. Your audience comes to your space, engages with your content, and builds a relationship with you.

BTS vs Thinkific: Honest Comparison

Let's get specific. Here's how we actually stack up against Thinkific:

Where Thinkific Wins

We'll be honest about this. Thinkific has strengths we don't:

Course-specific features: If you're building highly structured, certification-focused courses with complex assessment requirements, Thinkific has more specialised course features. Quizzes, assignments, certificates, exam integration—they've had over a decade to build these out.

Established creator names: Thinkific has been around longer. They have bigger case studies, more established creator names, and a longer track record.

Enterprise features: If you're running courses for a corporate training department with specific compliance requirements, Thinkific's Plus plan has enterprise features we don't focus on.

Where BTS Wins

Design: Your space looks like your brand, not like course software.

Getting started: You can launch in hours, not weeks. Our onboarding is designed to get you earning quickly.

Integration of everything: Community, content, courses, memberships—it all works together seamlessly.

Support: Real humans who understand creator businesses, not just ticket systems.

Flexibility: We're infrastructure, not a rigid course template. Build what you need.

Is BTS Right for You?

Here's where we get really honest. BTS isn't for everyone. And that's intentional.

You're Perfect for BTS If:

You have an existing audience. BTS isn't a discovery platform. We don't find customers for you. If a creator has an audience but no structure, BTS is the answer. You bring your audience; we help you turn them into a real business.

You want to own your business. Not rent it. Not build on someone else's platform that could change the rules tomorrow. You want infrastructure you control.

You're building more than just courses. You're creating a community. Ongoing content. Memberships. A real ecosystem around your expertise.

You care about design and experience. Your brand matters. The experience you give your audience matters.

You're ready to grow. You're not experimenting or dabbling. You're building something real.

You Should Stick with Thinkific If:

You're purely course-focused. If your entire business model is standalone courses with no community component, Thinkific's specialised course features might serve you better.

You need specific certification features. Complex assessments, exam proctoring, corporate compliance requirements—Thinkific has more here.

You're already deeply invested. If you've built extensive courses in Thinkific with complex structures, migration might not be worth the effort.

You want a marketplace. We don't have one. If you're hoping the platform will send you customers, that's not what we do.

The Honest Decision Framework

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I want to build a creator business, or just sell courses?
2. Is community important to my model?
3. Does design and brand experience matter to my audience?
4. Do I have an existing audience I want to serve better?
5. Am I ready to invest in infrastructure, not just tools?

If you answered "yes" to most of these, BTS is probably right for you. If you answered "courses only" and "no community," Thinkific might actually be the better choice.

Making the Switch from Thinkific

So you've decided BTS is right for you. Here's what the migration process looks like.

What You Can Bring Over

Your content: Videos, PDFs, text content—all of it moves over. Export from Thinkific, import to BTS.

Your member list: Export your customers and import them into BTS. They'll get new login credentials for your BTS space.

Your brand assets: Logos, colours, brand guidelines—bring it all. BTS is designed to showcase your brand.

What You'll Need to Rebuild

Course structure: The specific way your courses are organised in Thinkific won't translate directly. You'll rebuild the structure in BTS, which is actually a good opportunity to improve it.

Integrations: Any Zapier workflows or third-party integrations connected to Thinkific will need to be redirected.

Payment processing: You'll connect Stripe to BTS. Existing subscriptions will need to be migrated or allowed to run out naturally.

Timeline Expectations

Most creators complete their migration within 1-2 weeks. Here's a realistic timeline:

Days 1-2: Set up your BTS space, import content, configure branding.

Days 3-5: Rebuild course structure, test the experience, invite beta testers.

Days 6-10: Migrate members, set up payments, launch publicly.

Ongoing: Let existing Thinkific subscriptions naturally expire while directing all new signups to BTS.

How We Help

We don't leave you alone in this process. Our creator success team helps with:

• Migration planning
• Technical setup questions
• Launch strategy
• Ongoing optimisation

From our experience: We've seen creators who struggled for months on Thinkific launch a completely transformed business on BTS within two weeks. The infrastructure makes the difference.

Get Started Free

Here's the part where we tell you about our pricing—and it's simpler than you might expect.

Free Starter Plan

BTS offers a free Starter plan. Not a trial. Not a 14-day test. A permanent free tier that lets you:

• Launch your space
• Start accepting members
• Begin earning revenue

The Starter plan has a 10% platform fee on transactions. For many creators, this is enough to validate their idea, build their initial audience, and prove their concept.

Pro Plan: $149/month + 3.5% + 30¢

When you're ready to scale, our Pro plan offers:

• Lower transaction fees (3.5% + 30¢)
• Custom domain
• Full branding control
• Priority support
• Advanced features

The Math That Matters

Here's a quick comparison for a creator earning $5,000/month:

BTS Starter (free tier): $500 in platform fees → You keep $4,500 BTS Pro: $149 subscription + ~$175 in transaction fees → You keep ~$4,676 Thinkific Basic: $49/month + 5% ($250) → You keep $4,701 Thinkific Start: $99/month + 2% ($100) → You keep $4,801

The numbers get closer at this level, but here's what they don't show: the time saved, the tools consolidated, the brand experience improved, the community integrated. Those things don't show up in a simple fee comparison.

No Risk to Try

You can launch on BTS for free today. Build your space. Import your content. See how it feels. If it's not right, you've lost nothing but a few hours.

Our recommendation: Start with the free tier. Get comfortable. Launch something. Then upgrade when the math makes sense for your business.

How BTS Approaches Creator Businesses

We've worked with over 1,600 creators on BTS, processing more than $1.4 million in payouts. Here's what we've learned about what actually works.

The Ownership Principle

What we've learned: The most successful creator businesses are the ones where the creator owns the infrastructure, the audience data, and the relationship. Renting tools doesn't build equity.

The Structure + Momentum Framework

Creators don't struggle because they lack ideas. They struggle because they lack structure. BTS provides opinionated infrastructure—a foundation that creates momentum instead of friction.

The Anti-Complexity Approach

Every feature we add has to pass a simple test: does this help creators build their business, or does it just add complexity? We've said no to more features than we've said yes to.

This methodology has helped creators like George Mirosevich transform their approach:

"I was already sharing a lot online... BTS just helped me turn it into something much more tangible."

Key Takeaways

• BTS is creator business infrastructure, not just a course platform—we built it for creators who want to own what they build
• Thinkific excels at course-specific features but struggles with community integration and modern design
• The right choice depends on your model—if you're community-focused with an existing audience, BTS is built for you
• Migration is straightforward and most creators launch within two weeks
• You can start free today and upgrade when it makes sense for your business

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does BTS cost?

BTS offers a free Starter plan to get started with no monthly fee and a 10% transaction fee. Our Pro plan is $149/month with significantly lower transaction fees (3.5% + 30¢). Check our pricing page for current details and a full breakdown.

Is BTS free to use?

Yes! We offer a permanent free Starter plan—not a trial. You can launch and start earning on day one without any upfront cost. Most creators start free and upgrade to Pro when their revenue justifies the lower transaction fees.

What makes BTS different from other creator platforms?

BTS is creator business infrastructure, not just a monetisation tool. Everything runs behind the scenes in one place—community, content, courses, payments—so you can focus on creating. We're not a marketplace or social network; we're the foundation you build your business on.

Can I migrate my existing members to BTS?

Absolutely. We help creators migrate from platforms like Thinkific, Patreon, Teachable, and others regularly. Your members can transfer seamlessly—export your list, import to BTS, and they'll receive new login credentials for your space.

How long does it take to set up BTS?

Most creators launch within a day. Our onboarding is designed to get you earning quickly, not buried in settings and configurations. If you're migrating existing content, expect 1-2 weeks for a complete transition.

Does BTS take a percentage of my earnings?

Yes, our fee structure is transparent. The free Starter plan has a 10% platform fee. Pro members pay 3.5% + 30¢ per transaction plus the $149/month subscription. Payouts process within 1-5 days globally (same-day in the US).

What kind of support does BTS offer?

Real humans who understand creator businesses. Our creator success team provides hands-on support—not just ticket systems. We help with everything from setup to launch strategy to ongoing optimisation.

Can I use my own domain with BTS?

Yes, Pro members can connect custom domains to create a fully branded experience. Your space looks and feels like an extension of your brand, not a third-party platform.

Is BTS better than Thinkific?

It depends on what you're building. If you want creator business infrastructure with integrated community, modern design, and everything in one place, BTS is likely better for you. If you need highly specialised course features with complex assessments and certifications, Thinkific has more depth there.

Can I use both BTS and Thinkific?

Some creators run multiple platforms during migration. But honestly, most find BTS handles everything they need in one place. The whole point of infrastructure is consolidation—one place to build something you own.

What payment methods does BTS support?

We support all major payment methods through Stripe integration: credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and more. Payments work globally, excluding a few restricted countries.

Does BTS work for coaching businesses?

Yes! Coaching, courses, communities, memberships—BTS supports all of these in one space. Many of our most successful creators run coaching businesses alongside course content.

What happens to my content if I leave BTS?

You own your content. If you ever decide to leave, you can export your materials. We don't hold your business hostage. That said, most creators who try BTS don't leave—we've built something they want to stay on.

Can I sell different types of products on BTS?

BTS supports subscriptions (monthly and annual), pay-per-view content, one-off payments, free trials, tips, custom requests, and bundles. You have full flexibility over your monetisation model.

Is BTS available worldwide?

BTS works globally with payouts in 1-5 days. We currently support creators everywhere except Africa, Spain, Venezuela, North Korea, Iran, and Russia due to payment processing restrictions.

How does BTS compare to Kajabi?

Kajabi is enterprise software designed for course creators. BTS is infrastructure for creator businesses. Kajabi starts at $143/month with a steeper learning curve. We're simpler to start, more flexible to scale, and designed for modern creator businesses rather than traditional course businesses.

What if I'm not technical?

You don't need to be. BTS is designed for creators, not developers. If you can use social media, you can use BTS. No coding, no complex configurations, no technical background required.

Do you offer refunds?

Pro subscriptions come with our satisfaction guarantee. If BTS isn't right for you in the first 30 days, we'll work with you to make it right or process a refund. We want creators who genuinely succeed on our platform.

How do I get started?

Sign up for free at behindthescenes.com. Build your space. Import your content. Launch whenever you're ready. There's no risk—start with the free plan and upgrade when it makes sense for your business.

About the Author

BTS Team is the Content Team at BTS—creator business experts who've helped over 1,600 creators build something they own.

We've spent years working with creators across education, business, fitness, and entrepreneurship niches. Everything we share comes from real experience helping real creators build real businesses on BTS.

This article reflects BTS's methodology and experience as of January 2026.

Ready to build something you own? [Start free on BTS today](/signup).

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