SilkRoad Learning vs. Thinkific

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
SilkRoad Learning
Score 7.7 out of 10
N/A
SilkRoad Learning is a web-based LMS. The vendor advertises enterprise-level platform for addressing skills gaps and regulatory compliance, as well as ecommerce and mobile support. It can integrate with other SilkRoad offerings and 3rd party content.N/A
Thinkific
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Thinkific 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
SilkRoad LearningThinkific
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
SilkRoad LearningThinkific
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
SilkRoad LearningThinkific
Features
SilkRoad LearningThinkific
Learning Management
Comparison of Learning Management features of Product A and Product B
SilkRoad Learning
8.6
3 Ratings
5% above category average
Thinkific
-
Ratings
Course authoring9.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Course catalog or library9.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Player/Portal7.63 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning content8.53 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile friendly8.53 Ratings00 Ratings
Progress tracking & certifications9.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Assignments7.13 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance management8.13 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning administration7.63 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning reporting & analytics10.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Social learning10.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
SilkRoad LearningThinkific
Small Businesses
iSpring LMS
iSpring LMS
Score 8.9 out of 10
iSpring LMS
iSpring LMS
Score 8.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
iSpring LMS
iSpring LMS
Score 8.9 out of 10
iSpring LMS
iSpring LMS
Score 8.9 out of 10
Enterprises
Axonify
Axonify
Score 10.0 out of 10
Articulate 360
Articulate 360
Score 9.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
SilkRoad LearningThinkific
Likelihood to Recommend
8.1
(12 ratings)
8.2
(50 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
3.6
(2 ratings)
7.3
(2 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(1 ratings)
7.7
(40 ratings)
Availability
8.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
7.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
7.0
(1 ratings)
9.3
(7 ratings)
Online Training
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
4.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
SilkRoad LearningThinkific
Likelihood to Recommend
SilkRoad
It is very well suited as a web based LMS. They have excellent customer service and support. Ask about the reporting features - these are challenging in many LMS applications. The training they provided for administrators is also very good. Overall a great company, and they are constantly working to improve the product
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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.
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Pros
SilkRoad
  • GreenLight is very good at keeping track of employee requirements through the use of qualifications. It is the backbone of how courses, classes, requirements and activities are assigned and monitored.
  • The content objects (development) portion of GreenLight is robust. It allows you to mix various content objects from different sources. For instance if you import a SCORM ecourse, an AICC ecourse and want to add an HTML page as an introduction, the software will allow you to combine all seamlessly into one course. In addition, the navigation and sequencing tools offer considerable functionality.
  • The reporting feature of this software is very good (but not best of class). The number of standard reports is fairly extensive and cover most needs. Having the ability to output files for further analysis and manipulation in Excel takes care of a number of areas where the standard reports fall short.
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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.
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Cons
SilkRoad
  • 'my profile' has been a little glitchy for us but we are a very small team and don't use that element much, photos don't load or stay loaded
  • Sometimes the main list with due dates, type of training etc. seems hard for people to completely understand some more customizable sections here would be useful for us
  • On the whole, is not a customizable as other platforms we've used. Is good at tracking but not so much the kind of cataloging we need.
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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
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Likelihood to Renew
SilkRoad
Our training director has determined that the customer service and ease of use is too difficult. She intends to check into other LMS systems and end our contract with Silkroad.
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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.
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Usability
SilkRoad
I have a better understanding of the system and so it is easier for me to use. The student side is very easy and simple for anyone to use.
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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.
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Reliability and Availability
SilkRoad
There have been many times when the site was unavailable for a short time. Also, glitches and unexplained ed activity such as sending training notifications out to terminated employees.
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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
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Performance
SilkRoad
It works well most of the time.
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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
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Support Rating
SilkRoad
The questions regarding how to implement in the system are answered quickly and efficiently. If there is an issue with the technical side or integrations it takes forever to get results and after much escalating.
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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.
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Online Training
SilkRoad
some are thorough and others are not. I like that they are available for review.
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Thinkific
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
SilkRoad
No answers on this topic
Thinkific
The implementation period took time like it would in earning and using any new tool. It was more about being organised, having better time management processes in place and having people you were able to reach out to if you were every able stuck. The other key ting with the implementation period was giving yourself a realistic time scale to get the job completed.
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Alternatives Considered
SilkRoad
SilkRoad Learning is much easier to customize and roll out globally. The Skillsoft product was expensive, cumbersome, and required a large ramp up time. When working with clients on Skillsoft, too much had to be predetermined, the languages were not fully developed and learners had to pay each time they accessed a module and get reimbursement from the company - it was not effective.
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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.
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Scalability
SilkRoad
The system went down/offline for 5 or 6 days in January. This is the month we have 3400 employees taking annual required training. It had several glitches afterwards that took months to correct.
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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.
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Return on Investment
SilkRoad
  • GreenLight has provided an easy route for our users to receive training online and in-class. They can quickly and easily search and sign up for anything on the catalog. Being in healthcare, we provide a lot of training on a constant basis. GreenLight has provided a great foundation for our company to accomplish it's training needs and goals.
  • Employees can quickly access and complete online trainings so that they can get back to their jobs.
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Thinkific
  • I have to work harder to insure I get a monthly return on my investment.
  • A positive is once I create a course, I market it over and over each year.
  • Being able to mix hosting a live masterclass with course modules allows me to offer more value to my customers, which is good for my business.
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