Growth in mobile learning is one of the best ways to capture more engagement on your courses, according to the 2023 Digital Learning Trends Report. A lot of students are preferring to learn on mobile either because they’re frequently on the go, or they prefer microlearning. Mobile delivery of course content allows students to get quick access to content when they need it, wherever they are.
Thinkific offers two ways to deliver mobile course content: Thinkific Mobile and Branded Mobile. If you’re a course creator deciding which mobile app offering from Thinkific is better suited to your goals, this comparison guide can hopefully help you with your decision. We break down what each mobile app option is and who it’s designed for.
Already know what each option is all about? Skip down to the feature comparison table!
Skip ahead:
- Branded Mobile vs Thinkific Mobile Comparison Chart
- What is Branded Mobile?
- What is Thinkific Mobile?
- What if I’m still not sure which one is right for me?
Branded Mobile vs Thinkific Mobile Comparison
| Features | Branded Mobile | Thinkific Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $199/mo | Included in Start plans and above |
| Access to Courses, supporting the following lesson types: Video, Audio, PDF, Text, Downloads, Prerequisite, Drip Schedule Lessons | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Access to Communities and exclusive spaces within Communities | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Course and Community Connection: The ability to connect and jump back-and-forth between a course and community | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| In-App Notifications | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Push Notifications | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Drip Release notifications: Students can subscribe to be notified when a new course lesson is available | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Customizable App Store Listings: Creators can customize their app store listings, to maintain their brand identity | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Customizable Splash Screen and Logo: Creators to customize their app splash screen to reflect their brand for students to see when they first open the mobile app. Students log straight into branded schools without having to select a school. | ✔️ | ❌ |
| In-App Purchases: Creators can sell additional courses to their students in-app, in which revenue from purchases will be deposited directly into their bank accounts (which they have connected with the app stores) | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Your Trusted Experts: The Thinkific team will help you build and publish your branded mobile app every step of the way. They’ll build your app, help prepare your app store listings, and tackle the submission and review process, saving you time to focus on your business. | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Learn More | Branded Mobile | Thinkific Mobile |
Related: What is M Learning? Mobile Learning Pros/Cons & Tips
What is Branded Mobile?
Branded Mobile is a white-labeled mobile app builder for your online courses and communities, thats grants several features to showcase your brand, boost student engagement and drive sales. With this solution you can let your brand take center stage, as you’ll have your own dedicated listings on the Google Play and Apple App stores – enabling you to customize your listings to completely reflect your brand and not Thinkific’s.
Spotlight your brand with the following abilities for Branded Mobile:
- Customize your app’s display icon
- Design a custom app launch screen
- Showcase your brand identity with your own imagery and descriptions in the app stores
Other additional benefits of Branded Mobile include:
- Improved selling features such as in-app purchases for generating course sales
- Regular maintenance and new updates are added every 2 weeks
- Features like push notifications and more to improve course and community engagement on mobile formats
- Access to your course and community content, anytime, from anywhere.
Screenshot of an example course built on Thinkific Branded Mobile.
Who is Branded Mobile made for?
Branded Mobile has a ton of additional features and customizability to help you scale your brand and curriculum, for only $199/mo on top of your existing Thinkific plan. If you want your own white-labeled app, but do not necessarily have the bandwidth or resources to build yourself, Branded Mobile is the way to go.
Unlike building an app from scratch which can take significant resources and time (updards of 12-20 months), with Thinkific, our trusted team of experts will take care of creating and managing your mobile app, so you can focus on what you do best and offer a mobile app to your audience much sooner for only $199/mo.
Additionally, if you’re looking to utilize your mobile app as an additional revenue generator, Branded Mobile offers in-app purchases which allow your audience to purchase courses directly in the app, unlike Thinkific Mobile.
Related: How Branded Apps Build Brand Loyalty: Research and Options
What is Thinkific Mobile?
You can think of Thinkific Mobile as a way for students to access pre-purchased courses or communities under a universal Thinkific branded app in the Google Play or Apple App stores. Students can download the Thinkific Mobile app to view and take courses that they’ve previously purchased online.
Although there are minimal opportunities for custom branding in the Thinkific Mobile option, it still gives creators what they need to get a new course or community off the ground successfully, including:
- Mobile-optimized presentation of course content
- Ability to create and collaborate with mobile communities
- In-app and push notifications to keep your audience engaged
Who is Thinkific Mobile made for?
Generally, Thinkific Mobile is the fastest way to set up your mobile course or community. Included in Start plans and above, it has powerful capabilities to ensure that your students can access, engage, and view progress throughout the course. Thinkific Mobile is a great option for creators that are just starting out or do not need their brand identity to maintain across all their learning channels.
What if I’m still not sure which one is right for me?
At the end of the day, the decision comes down to two factors: cost and brand awareness. Consider the budget that you want to dedicate to your mobile product at this time. If it’s more of an early-stage experiment and you’re just looking to get your toes wet, Thinkific Mobile may be the better option for you. But if you’re looking to grow your audience and drive additional revenue, all while maintaining your brand identity, the investment into Branded mobile would be better at helping you get there fast.
If you’re still uncertain about which option is right for you, speak with a member of the Thinkific team. We can help answer any questions and get you into a plan that’s aligned to your budget and growth goals!
Missing a feature that you were excited about? Throughout the year, both products are going to continue to release new features that will help educators create faster, sell more, and keep students engaged – so be on the lookout for those updates as they’re available. Or, let our product team know right away so we can get to work on it!
Related:
- 7 Types of Mobile Learning and How to Use Them
- Top Advantages and Disadvantages of Mobile Learning
- How to Integrate Mobile Learning into Education
- The 8 Best Mobile Learning Management Systems
- 14 Easy App Builders (Free And Paid)
- 10 of the Best No Code App Builders
This article was originally published June 2023 and was updated August 2023 with new product comparison information.
