# Thinkific vs CommonLight

The clearest difference is ads: Thinkific at none against CommonLight's shown. Thinkific also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 5 months). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Thinkific ships an update weekly, CommonLight every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Thinkific | CommonLight |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[1.8 (104 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thinkific/id1557573471/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **104** | — |
| Positive reviews | 12.9% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 5 months |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 79 MB | 29 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Thinkific](https://appshunter.io/developer/1557573473) | [16132308 Canada Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1847793897) |

## What reviewers say

### Thinkific

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thinkific/id1557573471)

Access courses and communities on your schedule, from anywhere. Learn with various lesson formats optimized for mobile and track your progress seamlessly. Stay connected with instructors and peers through integrated communities and activity feeds.

**Highlights:** Mobile course access, Progress tracking, Community interaction, Multiple lesson formats, Push notifications, On-the-go learning

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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

**Requested features**

- 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


### CommonLight

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/commonlight/id6754307637)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Thinkific free?

Thinkific is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is CommonLight free?

CommonLight is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Thinkific or CommonLight have ads?

CommonLight shows ads; Thinkific does not.

### Which is updated more often, Thinkific or CommonLight?

Thinkific ships an update weekly, and CommonLight every 5 months. Most recently, Thinkific was updated on September 27, 2026 and CommonLight on September 17, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*