If you've been considering switching tools with the changes coming to ThriveCart Learn/Academy, this article is intended to help you decide if MemberVault is a good fit for you and your business!
For some context: ThriveCart Learn was a one-time payment lifetime license you could use to offer your courses without having a recurring platform fee to keep track of. Now ThriveCart is adding the The Academy, which has a lot more bells and whistles but comes with a monthly/annual cost.
To the best of our knowledge, ThriveCart is honoring Learn lifetime licenses in some way, but you won't get all the new robust features of the Academy.
Since Learn is going away at some point -- let's compare MV to the new Academy platform:
✅ Both have gamification, and engagement tracking
✅ Both have quizzes, a course builder, drip scheduling, bundling
✅ Both allow you to sell and deliver content
✅ Both have communities with nested threads and @ tagging
❌ MemberVault doesn't have video hosting (yet, it's on our 2026 list) and Academy does
❌ MemberVault doesn't have any AI features (although we're looking into adding a MCP connection later this year)
❌ We don't see anything on the Academy features list RE: blogging or pages, so it's not clear if you can use it as your website, like you can with MemberVault
❌ The base level of Academy ($47/mth) says "community support", which makes us think you don't get email or chat support like you do with any plan on MemberVault
Those are the main points we see, but if you've either:
left ThriveCart Learn and moved to MV
work with people to migrate from TL to MV
We'd love your help to better understand the nuances, so we can create super helpful content for people wanting to move over! Email us at hello@membervault.co if that's you!
We know making tool decisions is STRESSFUL. 😣
There is the fear of choosing *wrong* and then kicking yourself for months (or even years), as you trudge back to research mode again. And then there is the lost time and energy. Oof. 😬
HOT TAKE: At the end of the day, no tool is perfect. And no tool will completely solve issues of marketing and sales. That skill comes from you.
The right tool choice comes down to what matters most to you.
...MemberVault is for people who enjoy buying from a smaller, family owned business that is actively in collaboration with our members, and has been since 2016.
...It's for people who like the simplicity of knowing EVERY feature is available on every plan (no gotchas, or upgrade requirements to get access to things you need).
...It's for people who know Mike, Erin, or Hannah will be helping them when they have questions. No massive delays, or deleted comments around here.
...It's for people who like knowing we have their back.
If you haven't signed up for our trial yet, snag a special extended 30 day free trial here!
Related Articles:
Questions? Reach out to us at hello@membervault.co, within our Facebook group, The MV Collaborative, or via chat support within your admin account (not sure how to log in? look up your account here).