Reprice After a Platform Fee Hike: Full-Cost Math

Your course platform renewal notice shows a higher subscription. Before you change a course price, rebuild the full cost stack: annual subscription, platform fee, processor fee. Thinkific raised its subscription prices by roughly 10% for renewals on August 13, 2026, across the Basic, Start, and Grow tiers. A founder who reads the bank balance daily asks what each sale must cover now, not whether the increase feels fair.

Basic moved from $49 per month to $54 per month on monthly billing and from $36 per month to $40 per month on annual billing. Start moved from $99 per month to $109 per month on monthly billing and from $74 per month to $82 per month on annual billing. Grow moved from $199 per month to $219 per month on monthly billing and from $149 per month to $164 per month on annual billing.

The subscription is only the floor

Thinkific does not add a platform transaction fee on its plans, but creators still pay the payment processor's handling charge, such as Stripe or PayPal. The fixed subscription is the floor, while percentage lines grow with revenue.

Across $0, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 in monthly course revenue, the Thinkific or Teachable Builder subscription cost changes little, while the broader cost stack changes more. Repricing from the subscription line alone can miss the margin problem.

Some platforms put the fee in a different place. Teachable charges a 7.5% platform fee on Starter, which equals $14.78 on a $197 course and roughly $150 per month when sales reach $2,000 per month. Skool's Hobby plan 10% fee becomes more expensive than moving to Pro when monthly sales pass about $1,000. In the US, Kajabi Payments processing is usually in the high-2% plus 30-cent range, and a creator's own Stripe connection can add a 2%, 1%, or 0.5% platform surcharge depending on tier. Compare the full stack at your revenue level, not the sticker price.

The worksheet comes before the price change

Start with the annual subscription line. Take the monthly price you actually pay and annualize it. Annual billing can lower the monthly subscription, but it moves cash out earlier, so keep the yearly figure separate from cash timing.

• Platform fee: if your plan charges a percentage when you use your own processor, multiply expected annual revenue by that rate. On Thinkific, using your own Stripe account instead of Thinkific Payments adds 5% on Basic, 2% on Start, and 1% on Grow.
• Processor fee: if you use Thinkific Payments, multiply expected annual revenue by the processing rate. Thinkific Payments charges about 2.9% for processing and an additional 0.5% on US, Canadian, UK, and EU purchases for sales tax and VAT handling.
• Minimum price: add the annual subscription, platform fee, and processor fee, then divide by expected annual units sold to find the floor price before profit.
• Target margin: divide the floor by the share of price that is not margin. Compare the calculated price with your current price. A lower result leaves room to hold price; a higher result makes the gap your minimum increase.

For multiple products, run the worksheet for each price tier. A low-price course and a high-price course do not absorb the same percentage fees, so the minimum price per sale can differ even when the subscription is shared.

After you set the price, check cash timing. The worksheet shows profit; cash arrives after the processor settles and the platform takes its share. Put the renewal date in your calendar so you can survive it without borrowing or burning cash. A price change after the renewal can protect the next year, but it does not refund the increase already paid.

A smaller increase can protect margin

When the floor is below your current price, hold the price and watch how many buyers still complete checkout. When it is above, raise only enough to restore the target margin. A large increase can protect margin, but it can also push buyers to a cheaper alternative, so the smallest defensible move is usually the right one, especially when slower growth is a deliberate choice.

Thinkific's free plan was discontinued in mid-2026, and the platform provides a 30-day free trial before payment rather than a permanent free plan. Use the trial to test the full stack, not just the subscription. The platform you keep should be the one with the lower cost at your expected revenue.