Thinkific

Thinkific combines course hosting with community and membership features, letting instructors build a branded portal where members see courses, connect with peers in forums or groups, and manage recurring subscriptions. The platform includes tools for drip-feeding lessons, gamification badges, discussion boards, and direct messaging between members. You can customize the portal's look with your branding and control who sees what based on membership tier.

Thinkific fits creators who want more than just course delivery: you want to build community and sticky member experiences through discussion and peer connection. Unlike pure course platforms, it treats your portal as a destination where members spend time between lessons. The price is higher than single-course hosts, but you get membership infrastructure and community features built in, so you don't need separate community software.