Thinking Cap LMS Pricing

The most cost-effective choice depends on your audience flow and how consistently your learners engage with the platform over a 12-month period.

• Account-based Licenses - Ongoing Consumption (Seats):
  This model is designed for stable, predictable workforces (typically internal employees). If you have a group of users who must maintain access to the LMS year-round for policy updates, career development, or regulatory compliance, the "Seat" model provides the lowest total cost of ownership. You pay a fixed annual rate for a specific capacity, and those seats belong to those users for the duration of the term.

• Activity-based Licenses - Flexible Consumption (MAUs):
  This model is built for "fluid" audiences. If you train external partners, seasonal contractors, or customers who might only log in once or twice a year, you shouldn't pay for them to occupy a permanent seat. With the MAU model, you only pay for the users who actually engage with the system during a specific month. This offers maximum flexibility for high-volume, low-frequency training programs.

To provide a fair and transparent billing model, we define a Monthly Active User (MAU) as any unique user or anonymous visitor who triggers a billable event within a calendar month. An individual is counted as "Active" if they meet any one of the following four criteria:

• Account Lifecycle:
  The initial creation of a new user account, or the reactivation of a previously deactivated account, within the current billing period.

• System Access:
  Any successful authenticated login to a learner, supervisor, or administrator portal.

• Learning Activity:
  Starting, resuming, or completing any course, assessment, or survey. This includes interactions with hosted SCORM/xAPI content or activities triggered via external or anonymous "deep links."

• Administrative Actions:
  This includes being marked as "Attended" by a supervisor for an instructor-led session, or any change in enrollment status, such as being enrolled in or withdrawn from a new activity.

• Platform Engagement:
  Any meaningful interaction with the system resources, such as accessing reference materials, downloading media files, or receiving automated system-generated notifications, announcements, or messages.

Note: A user is only counted once per month regardless of how many of these actions they perform.

An Account-based seat is defined by User Status rather than activity. A seat is consumed by any unique user account that is set to "Active" status in the LMS.

Once a user account is activated at any point during your license year, it occupies one seat license for the entire remainder of that license year. This remains true even if the user never logs in or is deactivated mid-term. This model allows you to guarantee access for your core team without worrying about fluctuating monthly costs.

To ensure we can provide the high level of dedicated service and infrastructure Thinking Cap is known for, our minimum entry points are 500 for Account-based (Seats) and 250 for Activity-based (MAU) licenses.

We believe in building long-lasting partnerships. To do this effectively, we bundle our implementation, training, and support services into the first year of your license to ensure your team is successful from day one. Because of this high-touch service commitment, we are unable to support tiers smaller than these enterprise minimums at this time.

No. One of our core competitive advantages is that we do not charge "onboarding fees" or "implementation costs". While many enterprise LMS vendors charge just to launch your site, Thinking Cap includes standard implementation in the price of your license.

We consider the setup process—including domain configuration, theme branding, and initial administrator training—to be an investment in your long-term success on our platform. Your budget should go toward your learners, not toward software activation.

For more information on our onboarding and implementation services, visit our Services page.

The "Service is Built-In" promise means that your relationship with Thinking Cap is a partnership, not just a subscription. You will never pay separate hourly fees for the essential services required to run your LMS effectively.

This includes:

• Unlimited Support: Direct access to our support team via phone and email for your administrators.
• Ongoing Training: As you hire new L&D staff, we provide the mentorship and screensharing sessions needed to get them up to speed.
• Maintenance & Upgrades: All version updates, security patches, and feature releases are included automatically. There are no "hidden" hosting or maintenance surcharges.

For more information on our support and training services, visit our Services page.

No. Your chosen pricing model remains fixed for the duration of your contract term. Dedicated infrastructure and administrative resources are allocated based on the specific licensing model selected at the time of purchase, making mid-term transitions unavailable.

Selecting the right model is a critical step in our procurement process. We will work with your to analyze your historical learner engagement and anticipated growth. This collaborative review ensures you identify and secure the most cost-effective model for your audience before the contract is finalized. You have the option to transition to a different model during your annual renewal period.

Thinking Cap maintains a "no-lockout" policy to ensure your learners are never prevented from training. Overages are checked monthly and are processed based on your specific licensing model.

• Account-based (Seats):
  Overages are triggered when the total number of seats used exceeds your annual seat cap. In this event, you are charged for each additional seat for the full license year at the per-seat overage rate defined for your specific tier. Your seat cap resets automatically at the start of the following license year.

• Activity-based (MAUs):
  Overages are triggered if the number of active users within a calendar month exceeds your monthly cap. In this event, you are charged for each additional active user for that specific month at the per-active user overage rate for your license tier. Your active user cap resets automatically at the start of the following month.

This monthly check ensures that your costs remain aligned with your actual usage while guaranteeing uninterrupted service for your entire audience.