Blackboard Learn vs Thinkific

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Our analysts compared Blackboard Learn vs Thinkific based on data from our 400+ point analysis of LMS Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Product Basics

Blackboard is an educational management tool used commonly in K-12, higher education, online education and corporate training. It’s cloud-based and has several add ons including Learn, Open LMS, Classroom, Predict, Intelligence, Ally, Collaborate and more. All have different specialties that add to the primary online education functions.

The core product, Blackboard Learn, includes course management, mobile accessibility and insights into data and analytics. Upgraded versions have more robust facilities, including advanced web conferencing, virtual classrooms and more in-depth reporting.
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Thinkific is a software platform that creates, sells, markets and delivers online courses. It enables people to learn online and turn unique skills and expertise into a sustainable business. Users can quickly customize an online class’s look, feel, and functionality and create content that aligns with a company, brand and vision with the system’s App Store. Some of the content includes PDF, audio, files HTML, quizzes, surveys and resources such as Articulate, Storyline and Typeform.

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$9,500 Annually
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$49/Feature, Monthly
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Tailored to your specific needs
Small 
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Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile

Product Assistance

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Mass Communications: A message can be written and then sent via social media, email, voice message, SMS or push notification to everyone who needs to see it.nbsp;
  • Student Retention: It provides data on incoming and outgoing students, which helps with the development of student retention strategies. Some functions within the dashboard are also specifically geared toward targeting at-risk learners. 
  • Accessibility: Not only does it allow for accessible file formats such as semantic HTML, audio files, ePub and electronic braille, but it can audit content sent out by instructors and return with annotations to improve accessibility. It is also fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 
  • Parental Involvement: Parents get access to see how students are doing and address potential problems early in the process. 
  • Multiple Translations: Over 15 different languages are available, including Arabic, English, Chinese (both simplified and traditional), Dutch, Russian, Korean and more. 
  • Implementation: Through a partner program, users can get help with implementation through technical support and strategy analysis. 
  • Accreditation Tracking/Documentation: The assessment and accreditation solution makes institutional reporting automatic, helps provide documentation where needed and streamlines evidence collection. 
  • Partnerships: More services are available for buyers who use partner programs. This support may be technical, marketing or strategic and varies depending on the different levels of partnership.  
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  • Easy to Set Up: Get complete control of content and data and make decisions about online course business based on what’s best for the brands and audiences. Customize every platform part to match the brand and continue to scale without missing a beat. 
  • Bonus Resources: Access premium training templates, programs and unique opportunities after subscribing to the Basic or Pro plan. 
  • Expert Advice: Get in-depth guidance on finding the most suitable course topic, pricing, creating content, marketing and selling. Access content and training from industry leaders in the online education business. Sell online courses at a professional level and ensure more students get success during the learning experience. 
  • Quick and Effective: Explore downloadable guides, templates and use the swipe copy capability to take all the guesswork out of structuring and launching new online courses. 
  • Convenient: Review workshops and summit replays and watch videos of industry experts as per convenience to level up online education business. 
  • More Secure: Take advantage of reliable, 24/7 monitoring and safe cloud hosting with SSL certificates. 
  • Exclusive Opportunities: Get unique discounts and offers on popular content creation tools and stand unique among competitors. 
  • Flexible: Sell knowledge in bundles, standalone courses, memberships and digital downloads. 
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  • Integration: It can be integrated with other essential educational programs such as Student Information Systems, lunch systems, online grade books and others to make collecting data easy. 
  • Collaboration: Through web conferencing and virtual classrooms, students, peers and coworkers can collaborate on projects and content creation. 
  • Mobile App: The app, which is available across several devices, offers mobile-friendly content that’s been adjusted to flip less on a phone screen. Learners can access tests, quizzes, notes and more. 
  • SaaS: It’s a software-as-a-service or cloud-based product. This means the hosting is online and not local. 
  • Templates: When instructors create courses, they can choose from several pre-made templates and customize as needed. 
  • Strategic Planning: Extra services include strategic planning, which comes with market research, help to develop a comprehensive strategy, deployment support and more. 
  • E-Commerce: It allows users to buy or sell courses, training materials and other content. This can be used as a revenue source or to find more information for a program. 
  • Sales Training and Development: In addition to its uses in K-12 and higher education, it helps with the training of employees to keep them in compliance or certified in a corporate setting. Individual workers can be tracked, and areas of improvement can be easily identified. 
  • Registration: It manages learners throughout the enrollment process and can help them sign up along pre-defined learning paths or prerequisites. 
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  • Live Lessons and Cohorts: Deliver world-class learning experience on live, blended or on-demand classes. 
  • Assessments and Certificates: Gain access to a wide range of engagement surveys, comprehensive quizzes, assignments, exams and certificates that offer a premium learning experience. 
  • Progress Tracking: Track student progress through in-depth reporting and provide certificates to validate their efforts. 
  • Drag-and-Drop Website Builder: Create a customized school or storefront or to display class and course value and advantages.
  • E-Commerce: Accept payments in more than 100 countries with NIL transaction fees. 
  • Website Themes: Rest easy with beautiful and easy-to-use website themes and advanced customizations and deliver a professional look to the website without the extra cost. 
  • Connect Tools: Add professional and personalized domain to the website, mailing lists or CRM. 
  • Academy: Access premium webinars and courses curated by industry experts who help in taking courses to the next level. 
  • A Community of Experts: Share inspiration and strategy with a community of more than 50,000 course creators and get ideas to make the product more comprehensive and effective. 
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Product Ranking

#6

among all
LMS Software

#57

among all
LMS Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

74
69
14
7
82
70
100
58
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Collaboration
Compliance
Reporting and Dashboard
Content and Course Management
User Management and Gamification
eCommerce
Platform Capabilities
Content and Course Management
Mobile Capabilities

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Blackboard Learn
Thinkific
+ Add Product + Add Product
AI-based Capabilities Assessments Collaboration Compliance Content And Course Management ECommerce Learning Delivery Mobile Capabilities Platform Capabilities Reporting And Dashboard User Management And Gamification 14 82 100 100 91 0 68 78 87 100 91 7 70 58 0 93 100 67 87 98 77 77 0 25 50 75 100
14%
0%
86%
0%
0%
100%
80%
0%
20%
70%
0%
30%
100%
0%
0%
33%
0%
67%
100%
0%
0%
0%
0%
100%
87%
0%
13%
87%
0%
13%
0%
0%
100%
100%
0%
0%
38%
0%
62%
38%
0%
62%
75%
0%
25%
88%
0%
12%
87%
0%
13%
93%
7%
0%
100%
0%
0%
80%
0%
20%
91%
0%
9%
64%
0%
36%

Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

71%
0%
29%
57%
0%
43%

User Sentiment Summary

Good User Sentiment 1521 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 491 reviews
79%
of users recommend this product

Blackboard Learn has a 'good' User Satisfaction Rating of 79% when considering 1521 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

91%
of users recommend this product

Thinkific has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 91% when considering 491 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

4.9 (18)
n/a
3.9 (789)
4.7 (171)
4.1 (456)
4.49 (155)
n/a
4.6 (133)
4.2 (54)
n/a
3.8 (204)
4.2 (32)

Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Blackboard Learn and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Compliance.

Compliance Award

Thinkific stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Grading: A total of 80% of users who mentioned the grading capabilities felt it worked well and saved them time.
Effective Communication: Over 70% of users who mentioned communications features were thrilled with the discussion boards, messaging, live classrooms and other features.
Great Customer Support: More than two-thirds of reviewers who mentioned the customer support had good experiences with the staff.
Easy to Use: Users felt that the UI worked well in over 50% of reviews.
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Ease of Use: Thinkific is known for its user-friendly interface and intuitive design, making it easy for both course creators and students to navigate the platform and manage their learning experience.
Customization Options: The platform offers a wide range of customization options, allowing course creators to tailor their courses to their specific branding and style preferences. This includes the ability to customize the look and feel of the course, as well as the content and structure.
Marketing and Sales Tools: Thinkific provides built-in marketing and sales tools to help course creators promote their courses and reach a wider audience. These tools include features such as email marketing, coupons and discounts, and affiliate marketing.
Community and Support: Thinkific has a strong community of users and offers excellent customer support. Course creators can connect with other users, share ideas, and get help from the Thinkific team.
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Poor Mobile Function: Around 75% who mentioned the app said they had issues with the design, especially on mobile.
Issues with Features: Over 41% of users said there were holes in the functionality of the integrations, grading features and said there was too much text on the website.
Steep Learning Curve: While many said the UI was easy-to-use, over 40% of those mentioned it said it took a long time to learn.
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Limited Course Design Options: Thinkific's course builder might feel restrictive for users who want to create highly customized learning experiences. The platform's strengths lie in delivering content in a straightforward manner, but it may lack the flexibility needed for intricate branching scenarios or complex gamification elements.
Marketing and Sales Features: While Thinkific provides basic marketing tools, users seeking advanced features like sophisticated email marketing automation or intricate sales funnels might find the platform's capabilities somewhat limited. Integrating third-party tools can address this, but it may introduce additional complexity and costs.
Pricing Structure: Thinkific's pricing structure, particularly for higher-tier plans with advanced features, can be a concern for budget-conscious users or smaller organizations. Evaluating the cost-benefit ratio and exploring alternative platforms with more competitive pricing for similar features is recommended.
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Blackboard is an online learning solution used most commonly in educational institutions. As one of the biggest players in the market, its users appreciate its features, useability, grading functions and the different channels of communication. The most common complaint was that it’s hard to learn. However, many said it was easy to navigate after getting over the initial learning curve. Though many people liked its features, there were gaps and additional functionalities wished for in almost every category. Its lack of accessibility was also an issue for some users. This solution is good for institutions looking to implement a standardized learning solution. However, it’s important to compare it to its big competitors as some complained it was generic or too similar to other systems. Still, this can be an extremely efficient platform for online and blended learning.

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Thinkific has garnered a reputation as a user-friendly and affordable platform that empowers businesses and individuals to create and deliver online courses. Users appreciate the intuitive drag-and-drop course builder, built-in payment system, and comprehensive reporting dashboard, making it a breeze to get started. The platform's flexibility allows for customization to match individual teaching styles and content requirements, while its affordability makes it accessible to a wide range of users. However, some users have expressed concerns about limited customer support and a lack of advanced features compared to competitors like Kajabi or Teachable. Thinkific's strength lies in its simplicity and ease of use, making it ideal for those new to online course creation or who prioritize a straightforward platform. Thinkific is best suited for solopreneurs, small businesses, and educators who are looking for an easy-to-use and affordable platform to create and deliver online courses. Its intuitive interface and essential features make it a great starting point for those new to the world of e-learning. However, users with more complex needs or who require extensive customer support may want to explore alternative options with more robust feature sets and dedicated assistance.

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