Comparison

Thinkific vs Alison

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Thinkific

Access your courses, engage with your community, and learn on the go. Track progress, shop for new materials, and connect with peers. Features an AI assistant for instant answers and personalized learning.

Highlights
  • Automatic progress tracking
  • In-app course browsing and purchasing
  • Personalized home screen
  • Community discussions and live events
  • AI-powered learning assistant
  • Discover new learning opportunities
Features
Read full description

Access your courses, engage with your community, and learn on the go with the Thinkific mobile app. With the app, you can: Pick up where you left off: Your progress tracking is saved automatically, so you can jump back in with one tap and keep moving forward across all your devices. Shop without switching screens Browse, purchase, and instantly access additional courses, downloads, and digital products — all from within the app. Enjoy a personalized experience: From your progress and recent courses to your profile, certifications, and notifications, your home screen provides a personalized experience that reflects your unique learning journey. Connect with your community: Join discussions, share ideas, message peers, and participate in live events — making every course a more interactive experience filled with key learning moments. Access an AI-powered learning assistant: Get instant answers, ask questions, and pick up conversations across web and mobile with Thinker, the AI-powered teaching assistant. Discover more to learn: Browse and explore new learning opportunities to continue building your skills. Whether you're learning for work, upskilling, or personal growth, everything you need is in one place with the Thinkific mobile app. Download the app and start learning today.

About

Alison

Access over 4,000 free, CPD-accredited courses to upskill or change careers. Earn diplomas and certificates from anywhere, anytime, with flexible, self-paced learning. Join a global community of millions and build job-ready skills.

Highlights
  • 4,000+ free CPD-accredited courses
  • Earn diplomas and certificates
  • Mobile-friendly course content
  • Personalized course recommendations
  • Flexible self-paced learning
  • Track progress and schedule reminders
  • Synced coursework across devices
Features
Read full description

Learn Anything, Anywhere, Anytime For Free. Earn globally recognised, CPD-accredited diplomas and certificates from over 4,000 courses. Join Alison’s community of 30 million+ learners from over 195 countries on the world’s largest free online learning and empowerment platform. Are you looking to upskill? Or looking for a career change? Perhaps, you want to launch a side hustle? Whether you’re a student, a recent graduate, an employee, an entrepreneur, or simply a lifelong learner – Alison gives you access to the tools you need to empower yourself and get closer to your dream future. Learn across 9 categories: IT, Health, Language, Business, Management, Personal Development, Sales & Marketing, Engineering & Construction, and Teaching & Academics WITH ALISON, YOU CAN Tailor your learning based on your needs and interests Build job-ready skills for in-demand roles Grow industry-relevant knowledge and upskill Showcase accredited Certificates and Diplomas on your resumé WITH THE ALISON APP, YOU GET Free access to 4,000+ mobile-friendly CPD-accredited courses Course content suitable for use in areas with low internet connectivity Personalized course recommendations Flexible self-paced learning at your own convenience To schedule study reminders and track your progress Synced coursework progress across all your devices POPULAR CERTIFICATE COURSES Media Studies - Gaming, the Internet and Social Media Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Fundamentals of Health and Social Care JavaScript Application Programming Learning Lean Six Sigma: White Belt Basics of Motivational Interviewing Anger Management and Conflict Resolution POPULAR DIPLOMA COURSES Diploma in Caregiving Diploma in Business Administration Diploma in Customer Service Diploma in Mental Health Diploma in Environmental Management Diploma in Workplace Safety & Health Diploma in Food Safety Learn with expert-curated study material: Increase your knowledge by getting access to over 4,000 free courses with certificates created by subject matter experts. Who knows, you might just end up being more skilled than your boss (if you aren't already). Pick up right where you left off: Whether you’re at the beach, in the mountains, or lazing in bed under a blanket, your learning never has to stop. Unless of course, you want to stop. Explore our extensive directory of industry-relevant courses: Is there a new skill out there? We've got a course for it. With our ever-evolving course library, learn data science, animation, marketing, cybersecurity, real estate, interior design, creative writing, and much more. When there is solid proof of alien life on Earth, we'll have a course on how to talk to them too. Share your achievements: Get your certificates and diplomas posted right to your doorstep. Hang it on your wall or just hang out with it, we won’t judge. Take your career forward with Alison in just a few clicks - empower yourself today! Alison is a for-profit social enterprise, dedicated to ensuring anyone can study anything, anywhere, at any time, for free online.

Screenshots

Thinkific4 screens
Alison4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Alison at 79% against Thinkific's 13%. Alison also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.1) and ratings volume (12K vs 115). Thinkific's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Alison sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.00 per month. Thinkific asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Alison holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Alison has 12K ratings behind it against 115, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 13% of Thinkific's written reviews are positive against 79% of Alison's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Thinkific ships an update every 8 days, Alison every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Thinkific versus Alison: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThinkificAlison
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.1 (115 ratings)4.8 (12K ratings) — better
Positive reviews12.9% of reviews79.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11512K — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.1 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size81 MB118 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperThinkificAlison (Capernaum Limited)

Customer experience

Thinkific

All ratings104 ratings
Positive15.4%
Neutral3.8%
Negative80.8%
Written reviews93 reviews
Positive12.9%
Neutral8.6%
Negative78.5%

Alison

All ratings12,386 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral1.9%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews781 reviews
Positive79.0%
Neutral4.9%
Negative16.1%

User reviews

Thinkific

From 115 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and clean interface design
  • 🚀 Fast performance when working properly
  • 📱 Convenient on-the-go learning capability
  • 💡 Branded app option available
  • 🎓 Good for course content delivery when functional

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing
  • 🔐 Persistent login and authentication issues
  • 📵 Poor customer support and unresponsive team
  • 📱 Severe iPad/tablet compatibility problems
  • 🎬 Video playback issues and constant buffering

Alison

From 12K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💥 Excellent learning platform
  • 🎓 Useful certifications and diplomas
  • 🤓 Informative and educational content
  • 👍 Easy to use and navigate
  • 🌟 Great for personal and career growth

Room to improve

  • 💰 Paid certificates after free courses
  • 🐛 Occasional glitches and bugs
  • 🔍 Limited course selection in some areas
  • ⏱️ Lack of progress saving and resume options

Bugs and requests

Thinkific

Reported bugs

20 issues
  • Login failures and constant sign-outs
  • App crashes on startup or when searching for courses
  • Gray/blank screen appearing on launch
  • Video playback freezing and buffering
  • Complete button missing or not clickable
Show 15 more
  • Resume content button not remembering position
  • Full-screen mode reverting to normal view
  • Video speed resetting from 1.5x to 1.0x
  • Content not loading on iPad/tablet devices
  • Navigation buttons covered by white blocks
  • Course list indefinitely loading
  • Search functionality not working
  • Password reset loop not functioning
  • App not recognizing enrolled courses
  • Landscape mode blocking bottom of page content
  • Pinch-to-zoom causing page navigation issues
  • Videos not playing after recent updates
  • App crashing when switching between apps
  • Unable to find school/business name in app
  • Unwanted Thinkific pop-ups on unbranded domains

Requested features

15 requests
  • Unified dashboard for multiple courses from different creators
  • Ability to manage multiple courses without logging out
  • AirPlay and casting support for videos
  • Offline download capability
  • PDF annotation and highlighting tools
Show 10 more
  • Direct messaging and member directory in communities
  • Event visibility and live session notifications
  • Calendar integration
  • Better course search and discovery
  • Persistent full-screen mode across videos
  • Video playback speed consistency
  • Improved resume functionality to remember exact position
  • Better landscape mode support
  • Course list filtering and sorting options
  • Direct app links for easy student access

Alison

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Freezing during assessments
  • Inconsistent course progress tracking
  • Login issues with Apple credentials

Requested features

5 requests
  • Offline mode for courses
  • More language options
  • Improved search and filtering
  • Ability to favorite/save courses
  • Downloadable course materials

In-app purchases

None

Thinkific

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Alison

Subscriptions1
  • Alison offline learning monthly sub$5.001 Month
One-time9
  • Alison offline learning lite$3.00
  • Alison digital certificate$17.49
  • Alison digital certificate$18.49
Show 6 more
  • Alison digital certificate$22.99
  • Alison digital certificate$23.00
  • Alison digital certificate$29.49
  • Alison digital certificate$39.00
  • Alison digital diploma$75.00
  • Alison digital diploma$100.00

Questions

Is Thinkific free?
Thinkific is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Alison free?
Alison is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Thinkific or Alison?
Alison is rated higher. Thinkific averages 2.1 out of 5 from 115 ratings, while Alison averages 4.8 from 12K ratings.
Do Thinkific or Alison have ads?
Alison shows ads; Thinkific does not.
Which is updated more often, Thinkific or Alison?
Thinkific ships an update every 8 days, and Alison every 9 days. Most recently, Thinkific was updated on November 7, 2026 and Alison on November 8, 2026.

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