Brilliant
Thinkific
| Feature | Brilliant | Thinkific |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $11.99/mo | Free / from $49/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.6 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | stem-learners, students, career-changers, lifelong-learners | course-creators, coaches, educators, small-businesses |
| Founded | 2012 | 2012 |
| Interactive Lessons | ✓ | ✗ |
| Daily Challenges | ✓ | ✗ |
| Visual Explanations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Progress Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Offline Access | ✓ | ✗ |
| Community | ✓ | ✗ |
| Course Builder | ✗ | ✓ |
| Memberships | ✗ | ✓ |
| Communities | ✗ | ✓ |
| Certificates | ✗ | ✓ |
| Quizzes | ✗ | ✓ |
| Drip Content | ✗ | ✓ |
| Payment Processing | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Brilliant Pros
- Highly interactive visual learning approach
- Excellent for building mathematical intuition
- Short daily lessons that fit busy schedules
- Covers fundamentals through advanced topics
✗ Brilliant Cons
- Limited free content (only a few lessons per course)
- Focused on STEM only (no humanities/language)
- Can feel too gamified for serious learners
✓ Thinkific Pros
- No transaction fees on any plan
- Drag-and-drop course builder is intuitive
- Supports communities and memberships
- White-label branding options
- Built-in student engagement tools
✗ Thinkific Cons
- Limited marketing automation built-in
- Free plan restricted to one course
- Email features require third-party integration
The Verdict
Brilliant is built for stem learners and students, with a focus on interactive-lessons and daily-challenges. Thinkific targets course creators and coaches and leads with course-builder and memberships.
On pricing, Brilliant is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $11.99/mo compared to $49/mo for Thinkific. That $37.01/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Thinkific offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Brilliant takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.