Searching for an honest ThriveCart review that shows if it’s genuinely worth the investment? According to ThriveCart, users report increasing their sales from $5,000 annually to over $25,000 in just six months using their powerful checkout platform. Unlike competing tools that drain your profits with monthly subscriptions, ThriveCart offers a one-time payment of $690, equivalent to what you’d pay annually elsewhere.
Additionally, its robust features, like upsells and optimised checkout layouts, can increase your average order value by 25-50% without requiring extra work. In a month, some entrepreneurs have generated $572 from order bumps and upsells.
This ThriveCart review will examine its use, key features, ThriveCart pricing, and whether it deserves a place in your digital business toolkit as we head into 2025.
What is ThriveCart, and What Is It Used For?
ThriveCart stands as a robust shopping cart platform that simplifies the entire online selling process. At its core, this checkout system enables you to sell products and services online without the technical headaches associated with e-commerce. For authors and publishers, ThriveCart integrations with Lulu provide seamless connectivity between digital checkout and print-on-demand services. Let’s explore what makes this platform tick and who benefits most from its features.
1. A simple explanation of ThriveCart
ThriveCart is an all-in-one shopping cart solution that handles your online business’s payment and checkout experience. The platform allows you to create professional checkout pages, manage your products, and track sales from one intuitive dashboard.
“ThriveCart is a page creation platform designed to help create cart pages and funnels for businesses, as well as manage the pricing structure, tracking, and reporting of sales through those pages.” Moreover, it’s not just a payment processor; it’s a comprehensive tool that functions as your funnel builder, landing page creator, and course-building platform, all rolled into one.
As highlighted by ThriveCart, the system integrates seamlessly with popular payment processors, including Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, making it easy for your customers to pay however they prefer. What’s particularly appealing is that ThriveCart isn’t the “merchant of record.” They don’t process transactions or store funds themselves, giving you direct control through your payment processor.
2. Who typically uses ThriveCart
ThriveCart serves a diverse range of online entrepreneurs, yet certain business types find it exceptionally valuable:
- Digital product creators: Course creators, eBook authors, and membership site owners find ThriveCart particularly beneficial for its seamless delivery systems. Many authors leverage Thrivecart integrations to offer both digital and printed versions of their books through the same checkout process.
- Physical product sellers: Though primarily known for digital products, ThriveCart handles physical product sales effectively.
- Coaches and consultants: Service-based entrepreneurs use it to streamline payments for coaching packages and consulting programs.
- Online course instructors: With the built-in Learn platform, it’s ideal for those selling educational content.
“ThriveCart is hands down the best shopping cart out there for digital products like courses, eBooks, a membership site, or coaching packages.” Fundamentally, it’s designed for entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses without the complexity of piecing together multiple systems.
ThriveCart particularly shines for “business owners that want a robust sales funnel and checkout solution without monthly fees” and “course creators, coaches, and digital product sellers that want to increase their conversion rates.”
3. What makes it different from other tools
ThriveCart’s standout advantage is its pricing model. Unlike tools that charge recurring monthly fees, ThriveCart offers a one-time lifetime deal: “You will never be charged monthly, yearly, or percentage-based fees from us if you purchase this limited lifetime account.” It leads to significant long-term savings.
Additionally, ThriveCart includes its built-in course platform, ThriveCart Learn. As one user described it: “ThriveCart Learn would be a FANTASTIC resource library for clients to access psychoeducational material,” which means there’s no need to pay separately for a learning management system.
- Revenue Boosting Tools: ThriveCart includes “revenue-boosting features like coupon codes, split pay, bump offers, and upsell offers that pop up on the checkout page,” helping to increase your average order value without extra effort.
- Embeddable Checkout: “With ThriveCart, you can embed your cart directly onto your website or sales page… this is a HUGE benefit.” It preserves your branding and provides a smooth user experience.
- GDPR Compliance: ThriveCart supports legal compliance by offering “features that help you keep your business GDPR compliant, including the ability to add a checkbox to receive consent.”
- Simple & Affordable: Compared to tools like ClickFunnels, users say, “ThriveCart is very simple and cheap while ClickFunnels is complex and expensive,” making it a practical choice for budget-conscious entrepreneurs.
Whether you’re selling digital products, running a coaching program, or launching online courses, ThriveCart delivers value, simplicity, and real business impact. Its lifetime deal, built-in learning tools, and sales-focused features make it a wise investment for anyone looking to streamline their sales process and boost profits.
ThriveCart Review: Features That Make ThriveCart a Top Funnel Tool
ThriveCart’s impressive feature set propels it ahead of many competitors in the online sales funnel space. Examining the platform’s capabilities reveals why it’s becoming an increasingly popular choice for digital entrepreneurs in 2025.
1. High-converting checkout pages
First and foremost, ThriveCart excels at helping you create beautiful, high-converting checkout pages. The platform allows vendors to design effective Checkout, upsell, and success pages directly within their user-friendly editor. What separates ThriveCart from many alternatives is its unique template-sharing feature, which allows you to import designs from other vendors or access a curated gallery of high-performing layouts.
The platform supports multiple checkout styles, including one-page checkouts, embeddable forms, and pop-up carts. This flexibility allows you to match your checkout experience to your marketing approach. ThriveCart’s drag-and-drop editor makes customization straightforward for businesses concerned with maximizing conversions, even without technical expertise.
2. 1-click upsells, down sells, and order bumps
ThriveCart’s revenue-boosting features truly shine with its funnel capabilities. The one-click upsell functionality allows customers to add products without re-entering payment details, significantly reducing friction in the buying process.
- One-click upsells streamline conversions instantly.
- Order bumps can lift AOV by nearly 20%
- Smart downsells help recover missed revenue
Order bumps represent one of ThriveCart’s most powerful conversion tools. These simple checkbox offers appear directly on your checkout page and can boost your average order value by 19%. With the Pro+ upgrade, you can implement up to six order bumps on a single checkout page, strategically showing different offers based on customer behavior.
Downsells provide a second chance at a sale when customers decline an upsell. ThriveCart automatically routes customers through your funnel, showing the next appropriate offer based on their decisions. This systematic approach ensures you maximize revenue from every visitor.
3. Flexible payment options and plans
ThriveCart offers remarkable flexibility in structuring payments. Beyond standard one-time charges, you can create advanced split-pay options and payment plans with just a few clicks. This allows customers to break purchases into manageable installments without a complex setup.
The platform supports multiple payment processors simultaneously, giving customers their preferred payment method. ThriveCart handles recurring billing seamlessly for subscription-based businesses, including trials and various subscription models.
4. Affiliate program and JV contracts
The built-in affiliate system allows you to expand your reach through partner marketing. With minimal setup, you can enable commissions, create registration links, and have affiliates promoting your products. Modern entrepreneurs often combine this with community platforms, creating a Circle ThriveCart integration for enhanced customer engagement.
- Auto-tracks affiliate referrals and payouts
- Quick affiliate onboarding with shareable links
- Full transparency in commission reporting
ThriveCart’s JV contracts enable automated revenue sharing with partners, separate from affiliate commissions. For instance, on a $200 sale with 30% affiliate commission and a 50% JV split, it auto-distributes $60 to affiliates and divides the remaining $140 between partners.
5. Sales tax automation and dunning
Calculating correct sales tax rates can be complex, especially for global businesses. ThriveCart’s built-in tax calculation automatically determines appropriate rates based on location and product type. According to ThriveCart, Pro+ users can implement tax-inclusive pricing, which reduces cart abandonment by 22% on average by eliminating surprise fees at Checkout.
The platform’s dunning system automatically handles failed payments by sending well-timed notifications to customers. You can set up three reminders before and after payment dates at specific intervals. This systematic approach recovers revenue that might otherwise be lost due to expired cards or failed transactions.
ThriveCart Learn and Learn+: Course Hosting Made Easy
Beyond its checkout and funnel capabilities, ThriveCart offers a robust course hosting solution that many entrepreneurs overlook. This built-in feature eliminates the need for separate course platforms, saving you time and money while keeping everything under one roof.
1. What is ThriveCart Learn?
ThriveCart Learn is a powerful course platform included at no additional cost with every ThriveCart account. This built-in system allows you to create and deliver digital courses, set up modules and lessons, and give customers access immediately after purchase. Educational content creators often utilize ThriveCart integrations to provide printed workbooks alongside their digital courses.
The platform organizes everything through “projects,” which serve as internal containers for your courses. These projects aren’t visible to students but help you structure your content. Interestingly, you can clone courses or move them between projects, making content management remarkably straightforward.
2. How Learn+ adds more functionality
As the ThriveCart review by Martin Blog explained. At the same time, the standard Learn platform offers substantial capabilities; ThriveCart Learn unlocks advanced features through a one-time upgrade of $195. This premium version includes the following:
- Multiple instructors: Add team members, staff, or guest teachers to your courses
- Course bundling: Group multiple courses together to sell as packages
- Advanced student segmentation: Tag and organize students based on behavior
- Custom access rules: Control exactly who sees specific content and when
- Enhanced customization: Greater control over design and structure
Primarily designed for creators managing multiple courses or scaling their digital product business, Learn+ eliminates the limitations of the free version without introducing monthly fees.
3. Creating and managing courses inside ThriveCart
The course creation process within ThriveCart Learn is remarkably user-friendly. The platform offers three flexible layout options for your course content alongside extensive customization for login pages, registration, and student dashboards. Many successful course creators implement Circle ThriveCart strategies to build stronger student communities around their educational content.
One standout feature is the sophisticated content-dripping capability. Rather than simply giving students immediate access to everything, you can strategically release content using various methods:
- Releasing modules/lessons at specific intervals (daily, weekly, monthly)
- Setting particular calendar dates for content release
- Unlocking content after trial periods or specific rebills
ThriveCart Learn supports embedded videos (though it doesn’t host natively), text lessons, and downloadable resources. The upcoming quiz functionality will further enhance the platform’s educational capabilities.
The system provides straightforward tools for student management, such as importing students, tracking progress, and managing enrollments. Subsequently, you can see where each student stands in their learning journey.
ThriveCart Pricing: Is the Lifetime Deal Worth It?
ThriveCart’s unique pricing model sets it apart in a market dominated by subscription-based tools. Unlike competitors that drain your budget monthly, ThriveCart offers a compelling lifetime deal that deserves careful consideration.
| Feature | Thrivecart Standard | Thrivecart Pro |
| Cost | $495 (One-Time Payment) | $690 (One-Time Payment) |
| Key Features | Lifetime access to ThriveCart | Everything in Standard, plus: |
| Unlimited products | Subscription management | |
| Unlimited funnels | Advanced affiliate management features | |
| Affiliate management | Automatic sales tax calculation | |
| Built-in sales tax calculation | Client invoicing tools | |
| High-converting checkout pages | Intelligent business projections | |
| One-click upsells and downsells | Custom domain name support | |
| A/B testing for checkout pages | ||
| Integration with popular email marketing tools | ||
| Embeddable checkout forms |
1. How much does ThriveCart cost?
ThriveCart operates on a refreshingly simple one-time payment model. The Standard plan costs $495 as a single payment with no recurring fees, and the Pro version requires a one-time investment of $690. When considering such a significant lifetime investment, some business owners research ThriveCart Glassdoor reviews to understand the company’s stability and employee satisfaction.
For those interested in advanced course creation capabilities, Learn+ is available as an additional one-time upgrade of $195. ThriveCart occasionally offers an Ultimate Bundle for $985, including the Standard license, Learn+, and your first year of Pro+.
Indeed, all purchases come with a 14-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to test the platform risk-free.
2. What’s included in the Pro version?
The Pro upgrade adds seven powerful features to enhance your business operations:
- A comprehensive affiliate center for partner marketing
- JV contracts and revenue-sharing capabilities
- Advanced business projections and analytics
- Multi-user access and client usage permissions
- Built-in sales tax calculation and reporting
- Subscription saver functionality (dunning)
- Custom domain name support
These Pro features are significantly valuable for scaling businesses, particularly those utilizing affiliate marketing or subscription models.
ThriveCart Review: Strengths and Limitations
Despite its tremendous popularity among online sellers, ThriveCart isn’t perfect for everyone. Let’s examine what makes this platform shine, where it falls short, and what other options you might consider.
| Category | Details |
| ✅ Main Advantages of Using ThriveCart | One-Time Payment Model: ThriveCart’s lifetime deal is cost-effective, offering long-term savings compared to competitors like SamCart with monthly fees. |
| Revenue-Boosting Features: Tools like upsells, order bumps, and optimized checkout layouts help users increase their bottom line by 25%-50% or more annually. | |
| Payment Flexibility: Supports multiple methods, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and cryptocurrencies, allowing global reach. | |
| Ease of Use: The platform is “extremely easy to use right out of the box” with a clean, polished interface. | |
| ⚠️ Limitations and What It Lacks | Slow Development: Users report that “many features are missing and may never be added,” indicating stagnation in development. |
| Limited Templates: Fewer design templates; the platform encourages use of custom sites, making it less design-flexible than some alternatives. | |
| Weak Account Management: Customer account handling is described as “terrible” by users. | |
| Lacks Built-in Email Marketing: ThriveCart does not include native email tools, and its course features are weaker than platforms like Kajabi or Teachable. |
Best ThriveCart alternatives to consider
Looking for the best ThriveCart alternatives? Several top-tier platforms offer robust features to match your goals, whether you need more design flexibility, built-in email marketing, or a hosted storefront. Here are the top ThriveCart alternatives worth considering in 2025.
1. ClickFunnels: All-in-One Funnel Builder
ClickFunnels is a comprehensive sales funnel builder that helps entrepreneurs and marketers create high-converting landing pages, sales funnels, and automated marketing sequences. It’s designed to streamline the entire customer journey, from the first click to the final purchase.
Why Choose ClickFunnels Over ThriveCart?
While ThriveCart focuses mainly on checkout optimization, ClickFunnels delivers a complete selling ecosystem. It allows you to build end-to-end funnels, run webinars, capture leads, and manage your sales pipeline without needing third-party tools. It’s a one-stop shop for serious marketers.
What Makes It Stand Out?
ClickFunnels combines flexibility and power in a way ThriveCart can’t. With its visual funnel builder, built-in email marketing (Follow-Up Funnels), and deep automation capabilities, it goes beyond sales pages, helping you nurture leads, upsell effectively, and automate your business at scale.
Top Features:
- Drag-and-drop funnel and page builder
- Built-in email marketing & automation (Follow-Up Funnels)
- A/B testing for funnels and pages
- Webinar funnels & membership site integration
- Affiliate program builder with Backpack
- Dozens of pre-built funnel templates
- CRM for lead and customer management
Ideal For:
ClickFunnels is ideal for course creators, consultants, eCommerce sellers, and coaches who want more than a checkout page. It’s a far more complete platform than ThriveCart for building a full sales and marketing machine.
Real-World Ratings:
- G2: ⭐ 4.6/5 (based on 410+ reviews)
- Capterra: ⭐ 4.5/5 (based on 666+ reviews)
- TrustPilot: ⭐ 4/5 (based on 2,200+ reviews)
Want the full breakdown? Before you decide, read our full ClickFunnels review here to see if it’s the right ThriveCart alternative for your business.
2. Kartra: Business Automation Made Simple
Kartra is an all-in-one business platform that combines email marketing, landing pages, checkout tools, membership portals, and automation into a single dashboard. It’s designed to help digital entrepreneurs seamlessly manage every aspect of their online business.
Why Choose Kartra Over ThriveCart?
While ThriveCart shines in checkout optimization, Kartra offers a complete business suite with integrated email marketing, page building, and advanced automation. You don’t need extra tools; Kartra covers everything under one roof, making it more cost-effective for managing multiple workflows.
What Makes It Stand Out?
Kartra’s biggest strength lies in its deep native integration between marketing, sales, and customer management tools. You can track a user’s behavior across emails, pages, and checkouts and trigger actions accordingly. It’s like having CRM, email, checkout, and funnel tools in sync.
Top Features:
- Visual drag-and-drop funnel builder
- Built-in email automation & sequences
- Membership site creation
- Advanced behavior-based tagging
- Integrated video hosting
- Calendar scheduling tool
- Comprehensive analytics dashboard
Ideal For:
Kartra is ideal for digital marketers, online educators, and service-based businesses looking to centralize their marketing and sales operations. It’s especially valuable for those who want automation, customer tracking, and product delivery handled in one place.
Real-World Ratings:
- G2: ⭐ 3.9/5 (based on 57+ reviews)
- Capterra: ⭐ 4.5/5 (based on 160+ reviews)
- TrustPilot: ⭐ 3.5/5 (based on 120+ reviews)
Want to explore how Kartra compares to ThriveCart? Check out our full Kartra review here and discover if it’s the most innovative solution for your business.
3. Kajabi: Launch. Grow. Monetize.
Kajabi is a premium all-in-one platform for course creators, coaches, and digital entrepreneurs. It offers tools to build websites, host online courses, email marketing, set up automation, and sell digital products from one intuitive dashboard.
Why Choose Kajabi Over ThriveCart?
Kajabi goes far beyond just checkouts. It’s built for those who want to create, host, market, and sell online courses or digital content in one place. Unlike ThriveCart, Kajabi gives you complete control over course delivery, student engagement, and brand experience.
What Makes It Stand Out?
Kajabi’s biggest strength is its seamless course creation and community-building features. With integrated landing pages, automated pipelines, coaching programs, and its mobile app, Kajabi empowers creators to grow without duct-taping third-party tools together. It’s the proper “everything-under-one-roof” solution.
Top Features:
- High-quality course hosting and student tracking
- Built-in email marketing & funnels
- Branded mobile app for students
- Website builder with customizable themes
- Automation via Pipelines
- Community feature for student interaction
- Integrated podcast hosting
Ideal For:
Kajabi is perfect for online educators, coaches, consultants, and membership site owners who want a beautiful and robust digital experience without needing extra plugins or tools. It’s a top pick for building and scaling knowledge-based businesses.
Real-World Ratings:
- G2: ⭐ 4.3/5 (based on 80+ reviews)
- Capterra: ⭐ 4.4/5 (based on 200+ reviews)
- TrustPilot: ⭐ 4.3/5 (based on 2000+ reviews)
Curious if Kajabi is a better fit than ThriveCart? Please read our full Kajabi review here to see why many creators are switching.
4. SendOwl: Simple. Secure. Sell Fast.
SendOwl is a lightweight and secure digital checkout platform for creators selling digital goods, subscriptions, memberships, and services. It helps you manage products, deliver files instantly, and easily handle payments, making it ideal for fast and efficient selling.
Why Choose SendOwl Over ThriveCart?
SendOwl is better if you want a more straightforward, faster, and affordable way to sell digital products. Its no-fuss interface, lower pricing, and streamlined setup are perfect for solo creators or small teams that don’t need all the bells and whistles of ThriveCart.
What Makes It Stand Out?
SendOwl stands out for its clean interface and quick product delivery system. It supports pay-what-you-want pricing, license key generation, and drip content, rare features for a minimalist platform. Plus, its affiliate management system is surprisingly powerful for the price point.
Top Features:
- Instant product delivery
- Supports pay-what-you-want pricing
- Affiliate management included
- Supports subscriptions & memberships
- License key & PDF stamping
- One-click upsells and cart abandonment.
- Customizable checkout forms
Ideal For:
SendOwl is ideal for creators, developers, musicians, and solopreneurs who sell digital downloads or subscriptions and want a simple, budget-friendly tool that works without the learning curve or complexity of bigger platforms.
Real-World Ratings:
- G2: ⭐ 4.5/5 (based on 15+ reviews)
- Capterra: ⭐ 3.7/5 (based on 80+ reviews)
- TrustPilot: ⭐ 1.9/5 (based on 130+ reviews)
5. Sellfy: Sell Digital & Physical Goods Easily
Sellfy is an all-in-one eCommerce platform built for creators who want to sell digital products, physical items, subscriptions, or print-on-demand merchandise. It offers a fast setup, a hosted storefront, and built-in marketing tools; no technical skills are required.
Why Choose Sellfy Over ThriveCart?
Choose Sellfy over ThriveCart if you want a hosted storefront with zero setup hassle. While ThriveCart excels at optimizing checkout, Sellfy gives you a ready-made online store to showcase and sell your entire product catalog without needing a separate website.
What Makes It Stand Out?
Sellfy stands out with its all-in-one hosted solution, making it ideal for creators who want to launch quickly. It also supports digital, physical, and subscription products and print-on-demand features, and it is manageable from a single dashboard with no coding required.
Top Features:
- Hosted storefront with product pages
- Supports digital, physical, and subscription sales
- Built-in email marketing
- Print-on-demand integration
- Discount codes and upsells
- Embeddable buttons and cart
- Store customization tools
Ideal For:
Sellfy is ideal for content creators, artists, writers, and musicians who want to sell digital and physical products through a clean, simple storefront without managing complicated integrations or external hosting platforms.
Real-World Ratings:
- G2: ⭐ 3.9/5 (based on 53+ reviews)
- Capterra: ⭐ 4.5/5 (based on 30+ reviews)
- TrustPilot: ⭐ 4.2/5 (based on 100+ reviews)
Conclusion
ThriveCart is a powerful checkout solution for digital entrepreneurs seeking to maximize their sales without subscription fees. Throughout this ThriveCart review, we’ve examined how this platform combines essential features like high-converting checkout pages, revenue-boosting upsells, and flexible payment options into one comprehensive system.
After weighing all factors, ThriveCart offers exceptional value through its lifetime pricing model. You’ll pay once and benefit forever rather than watching subscription costs drain your profits month after month. Additionally, the built-in Learn platform eliminates the need for separate course hosting systems, saving you hundreds or thousands of dollars annually.
Though ThriveCart has limitations regarding template variety and development pace, these drawbacks pale compared to the financial advantages and conversion-boosting tools you gain. Most compelling evidence shows users increasing average order values by 25-50% through the strategic implementation of order bumps and upsells.
Should you add ThriveCart to your business toolkit in 2025? After weighing all factors, including research from sources like ThriveCart and Glassdoor for company insights, ThriveCart offers exceptional value through its lifetime pricing model and conversion-boosting features.
