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DigitalChalk, by Sciolytix vs. HubSpot Academy vs. Thinkific

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    DigitalChalk, by Sciolytix

    Score7 out of 10
    N/AThe DigitalChalk LMS, from Sciolytix gives users the tools and control to launch engaging, interactive, online courses. Users can create courses featuring animated PowerPoint, SCORM content, HD videos, audio, quizzes, exams and more.

    $35

    per month

    HubSpot Academy

    Score8.8 out of 10
    N/AHubSpot Academy is a free online training for inbound marketing, sales, and customer service professionals. This eLearning platform, that is available in four languages, specializes in comprehensive certifications, singular topic courses, and bite-sized lessons for professionals looking to grow their career and business.N/A

    Thinkific

    Score8.8 out of 10
    N/AThinkific Plus is a scalable learning platform that’s designed to be easy to use for teams and customers. Thinkific Plus offers enterprise-grade features that scale with the needs of enterprises, and the service includes a people seriously dedicated to helping users to reach their goals.N/A
    Pricing
    DigitalChalk, by SciolytixHubSpot AcademyThinkific
    Editions & Modules
    Essential
    $35.00
    per month
    Professional
    $79.00
    per month
    Premier
    $189.00
    per month
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    DigitalChalk, by SciolytixHubSpot AcademyThinkific
    Free Trial
    NoYesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNoNo
    Entry-level Setup Fee$399No setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details———
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    DigitalChalk, by SciolytixHubSpot AcademyThinkific
    Considered Multiple Products
    Sciolytix (DigitalChalk + Selleration)
    No answer on this topic
    HubSpot
    No answer on this topic
    Thinkific
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    88%
    Would buy again
    46 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    7 Answers
    89%
    Delivers good value for the price
    40 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    8 Answers
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    49 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    6 Answers
    87%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    39 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    7 Answers
    85%
    Implementation went as expected
    40 Answers
    Features
    DigitalChalk, by SciolytixHubSpot AcademyThinkific
    Learning Management
    Comparison of Learning Management features of DigitalChalk, by Sciolytix and HubSpot Academy and Thinkific
    Feature
    DigitalChalk, by Sciolytix
    9.5
    1 Ratings
    14% above category average
    HubSpot Academy
    8.9
    3 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Thinkific
    -
    Ratings
    Course authoring8.01 Ratings9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Course catalog or library9.01 Ratings8.33 Ratings00 Ratings
    Player/Portal10.01 Ratings8.93 Ratings00 Ratings
    Learning content10.01 Ratings8.33 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile friendly10.01 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Progress tracking & certifications10.01 Ratings8.93 Ratings00 Ratings
    Assignments10.01 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Compliance management9.01 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Learning administration10.01 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Learning reporting & analytics9.01 Ratings10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Social learning00 Ratings9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    eLearning Content
    Comparison of eLearning Content features of DigitalChalk, by Sciolytix and HubSpot Academy and Thinkific
    Feature
    DigitalChalk, by Sciolytix
    -
    Ratings
    HubSpot Academy
    8.1
    3 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Thinkific
    -
    Ratings
    Structured Learning00 Ratings7.93 Ratings00 Ratings
    Course Searches00 Ratings8.73 Ratings00 Ratings
    Cloud-Based Content00 Ratings7.92 Ratings00 Ratings
    Automation & Integration00 Ratings7.72 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    DigitalChalk, by SciolytixHubSpot AcademyThinkific
    Small Businesses
    Tovuti LMS
    Score6.6 out of 10
    Pluralsight Skills
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    Score7.6 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    iSpring LMS
    Score9.6 out of 10
    365 Data Science
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Articulate 360
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Bridge LMS, Skills & Performance Management
    Score7.4 out of 10
    A Cloud Guru (discontinued)
    Score8 out of 10
    Articulate 360
    Score9.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    DigitalChalk, by SciolytixHubSpot AcademyThinkific
    Likelihood to Recommend
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    8.9
    (8 ratings)
    9.2
    (54 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.6
    (8 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.5
    (2 ratings)
    8.7
    (44 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.5
    (2 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.5
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.9
    (10 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.4
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.6
    (3 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    3.6
    (1 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    4.5
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.4
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.4
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    4.5
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.5
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    DigitalChalk, by SciolytixHubSpot AcademyThinkific
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Sciolytix (DigitalChalk + Selleration)
    Digital Chalk is perfect for organizations who are looking for an easy to use Learning Management System and don't need all the bells, whistles, and bulk of the LMS giants, like Cornerstone or SuccessFactors. Digital Chalk doesn't require an administrative specialist to learn a whole new language and environment with endless options and settings. It's very easy to use for both learners and administrators, and yet at the same time provides the exact functions you need.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    HubSpot
    I would recommend HubSpot Academy as an 8. It is an 8 because it is very informative and a great start for learning HubSpot CRM. There is every topic you can think of with informative videos, interactive learnings, and practice quizzes. Topics like workflows, email marketing, sequences, etc. However, sometimes the videos are very long. They are more effective when they are shorter and there is more of them. It is a hit or miss when that happens. Also, the trainings do not go into great detail so it is better for starting learning the basics and functions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Thinkific
    I think Thinkific is very well suited if you want more control and not a ton of competition. It is very well suited if you want to create courses because it does an amazing job with providing course outline examples for you to stay organized and so forth. The only thing I would say where the courses might be less appropriate is if someone is expecting it to be like an udemy where people can see a ton of different course creators all in one place with course recommendations. Thinkific is not that type of platform and I LOVE that. On Thinkific, it almost feels like our site is our own ya know. I tried out other platforms and it just felt like you were competing with so many other people and could see other courses. Felt like being on a platter served with others. Thinkific just feels more unique in the sense it feels like when people come to your page, they are only seeing your page.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Sciolytix (DigitalChalk + Selleration)
    • While I used the platform, it improved its integrations with PowerPoint, making it easy to convert slides to the DigitalChalk format.
    • The editing layers for audio underneath the slides is very user-friendly and easy to use.
    • While we didn't use the quiz randomization, I liked how there was a structure built to it so that those who had more robust usage situations than ours would be able to improve engagement and assess learning at a higher level.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    HubSpot
    • Marketing and sales tips that can be implemented right away
    • Virtual learning environment that offers flexibility
    • Certified training respected in the sales vertical
    • Free to those who use HubSpot CRM
    • Clear, concise courses
    • Expanded library of sales and marketing courses
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Thinkific
    • Enables course creators to deliver high quality courses very fast
    • Offers unlimited hosting for videos included in the subscription price
    • Provides an easy to use administration interface that's powerful and accessible
    • Easy to scale subscription tiers on B2C plans, cost effective highly scaleable B2B plans (Thinkific Plus) ideal for companies who want to start a customer education program
    • Amazing support and account management team - great mindset and people in the teams.
    Read full review
    Cons
    Sciolytix (DigitalChalk + Selleration)
    • The administration of Digital Chalk is very easy. The function I think may be missing is an easy way to add revisions and assign them to the students who need them. For example, when you update a piece of a course it would have an indication that it is version xxx and would ask who would like to assign it to - everyone who has taken it before or just new students.
    • It would nice to have the system recognize when a student has already completed an element of a course that may be used in another course. For example, if video A is part of courses 1 and 2, and the student already watched it in course 1, it would ask the administrator if they should get automated credit for it in course 2, as well.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    HubSpot
    • Missing actual workshops on some of the premium features of HubSpot
    • Pace of updates and new platforms features might be missing from the existing learning content at the time.
    • Having the actual lessons in written format
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Thinkific
    • auto formatting of some course building content, does not format well on phone vs desktop
    • filter by group functionality for website based content, it's mostly filter by enrollments
    • the plug and play web building is convenient but really we need a UX/UI designer to build a super good looking website. Plug and play builder works but doesnt look SUPER sharp if done by someone with no dev skills or coding ability
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Sciolytix (DigitalChalk + Selleration)
    No answers on this topic
    HubSpot
    The platform is free, nothing to renew
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Thinkific
    I'm very likely to renewal as long as Thinkific stays focused on helping small businesses like myself to stay in the know of new and more effective ways to use digital learning tools to help our students get better success. I will also stay with Thinkific if they do not intend to hike up the prices and keep the different price plans suit all businesses regardless of the size.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Sciolytix (DigitalChalk + Selleration)
    No answers on this topic
    HubSpot
    For HubSpot Academy's usability, I rate it a 9 because it is very simple and easy to use. HubSpot Academy is very user friendly. You can pick a category like "email marketing" then you will have an intro video, follow up detail videos, practice quizzes, interactive practices, and some sections have a certification quiz at the end. It is very easy to navigate sections. The only reason I rate the usability a 9 instead of a 10 is because sometimes HubSpot Academy does not register the interactive practices.
    Incentivized
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    Thinkific
    Under Site Builder, when trying to add a new section, so many templates appear; however, preview is not shown, which makes it super difficult and time consuming to identify a template that suits the purpose. Customization of certification designs is a bit difficult too. There are limitations to the type of quiz questions I can create - for example, there's no option to have fill in the blank questions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Sciolytix (DigitalChalk + Selleration)
    No answers on this topic
    HubSpot
    No answers on this topic
    Thinkific
    I've never had any issues with accessing Thinkific but I can see when it has been a problem for others. When I get updates on when they are doing maintenance to their platform I tend to make sure that is not the day I plan to be working on my school so as not to get frustrated
    Incentivized
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    Performance
    Sciolytix (DigitalChalk + Selleration)
    No answers on this topic
    HubSpot
    No answers on this topic
    Thinkific
    When it comes to the performance of Thinkific for me I find that it's good but could be better. I tend to think that the larger the files and videos you upload on your courses may add to the impact of it's uploading (not sure if that's actually true or not). But overall the performance of Thinkific via my tablet and desktop is very good when I have a fast speed broadband speed
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Sciolytix (DigitalChalk + Selleration)
    As I mentioned previously, Digital Chalk's customer support is excellent. I also got a reply back within an hour, and it was usually the same person. So, they were familiar with our needs and how we were using the system. Honestly, most of the time we had to contact their support, it was an issue on the user's side, not in the software. Yet, they still helped identify the issue and consulted on how to fix it.
    Incentivized
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    HubSpot
    No answers on this topic
    Thinkific
    I rate Thinkific a ten because of its excellent customer service, ease of use, high-quality product, fair price with excellent ROI, and because they keep making improvements. Using Thinkific solved the problems of piecing together our course with various WordPress plugins, iframes, and payment processing software. It's easy to create a course website for people who can't write code.
    Incentivized
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    Online Training
    Sciolytix (DigitalChalk + Selleration)
    No answers on this topic
    HubSpot
    No answers on this topic
    Thinkific
    It was good and easy to understand
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Sciolytix (DigitalChalk + Selleration)
    No answers on this topic
    HubSpot
    No answers on this topic
    Thinkific
    I highly recommend utilizing the bulk importer for video content early on, as it saves a massive amount of time during the initial setup phase. Another insight is to set up your custom domain and email integrations (like Mailchimp or HubSpot) at the very beginning of the implementation
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Sciolytix (DigitalChalk + Selleration)
    DigitalChalk gave the organization the hands-on ownership of content creation and delivery while meeting our usage case of hands-off course management on a daily basis and extending the reach of the course content and certificate to as many people as possible. It's easy to use, very cost-effective to implement, and the overall experience means that the course participants get what they need out of the course without a lot of effort on their part.
    Incentivized
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    HubSpot
    I think it goes straight to the point. It doesn't have a million courses but it's enough with the ones they have because they're amazing.
    Incentivized
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    Thinkific
    ClickFunnels is great for funnels, but as of now, it does not do well with e-learning. Maybe they'll change that in ClickFunnels 2.0. But for now, I use Thinkific because I need a place where the students can come into their own dashboard, find all the courses they have purchased on a single place and be able to track their progress.
    Incentivized
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    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Sciolytix (DigitalChalk + Selleration)
    No answers on this topic
    HubSpot
    No answers on this topic
    Thinkific
    Great use easy and simple
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Sciolytix (DigitalChalk + Selleration)
    No answers on this topic
    HubSpot
    No answers on this topic
    Thinkific
    The opportunities to scale your online course business with Thinkific is endless. They provide a great range of plans with features, integrations and support to suit the needs of any business as different levels. The key here is knowing where to start with the budget you have and then knowing when it's time to scale up and the tools and resources it will require.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Sciolytix (DigitalChalk + Selleration)
    • DigtialChalk's ROI is positive - the cost model of low up-front costs to get started, then paying a small amount per course participant means that organizations implementing DigitalChalk as their platform get more than their money's worth from it. It returns profit quickly and on a consistent basis.
    • The asynchronous nature of the platform, combined with the targeted usage situation of hands-off course delivery and management, means that resources to create, deliver, and maintain courses can be held with either one person (like an instructional designer) or even an outside contractor. This means that there's little impact to the fixed operating costs involved with hiring someone else to manage it.
    Incentivized
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    HubSpot
    • Removed the training burden from managers to allow them to use the time elsewhere (2-8 hours)
    • Provided more standard and robust training to new hires, allowing for more consistent customer experience
    Incentivized
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    Thinkific
    • No email marketing makes it more difficult to collect leads.
    • Price can be a barrier at time for small businesses who don't have revenue.
    • Easy to use and helps with my business needs vs platforms like Squarespace.
    • Community building through workshops and webinars Thinkific host.
    • Access to educational resources and mobile app.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    DigitalChalk, by Sciolytix Screenshots

    Product screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshot